Antwerp does keep both P. carinatus and P. chapini in the same exhibit and they're difficult to tell apart, but my best guess from tank signage on this one is P. carinatus. ZTL says Antwerp is the only public collection holder for both species.
This is the first Cyclanorbis elegans I have heard of outside of there native range. Are they more common than I knew of, or are they only kept at Antwerpen. If so how many do they have, any breeding success or plans, any coordinated plan for the species survival and a captive population? They seem to be in quite a dire situation in the wild so I hope to learn as much as possible.
@DelacoursLangur According to Zootierliste Cyclanorbis elegans is only kept in public collections at Antwerp and Wroclav in Poland. Unfortunately ZTL also says that both zoos only keep a single individual, so any breeding success or plan for the survival of this species are unfortunately out of the question.
This seems like a prime candidate for a captive breeding population. Hopefully this is owing to a good in-situ conservation, I know the TSA does some amazing field work so maybe they are involved, im going to see If I can find any info. Either way it seems like a good candidate for an ex-situ breeding program.
Great shot, I always struggle to get good photos of turtles -water, glass and kinetic animals is not a good combination for my camera.
Many thanks for your extensive photographic record of the zoo, it brings back great memories of my visit last year and provides a real feel of the place for those who've never visited.
@Shorts Thank you, your comment is very much appreciated.
It is definitely a challenge to get decent photos of turtles, given the factors you already mentioned and others (water, glass, lighting, moving animals), even with a very decent camera like the one I use currently (Olympus O-MD E-M10 Mark III). I certainly don't always get it right like this photo.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed visiting Antwerp and are enjoying my postings. I do plan to continue with these and to post more exhibit photos, but that, as I've said elsewhere, is a long-term project that is going to take a lot of time.
I personally have grown to appreciate Antwerp Zoo much more in the last few years with all the recent developments.
