Ähtäri Zoo Ahtari zoo

aeemeli said:
Some background info about the pandas with sources from Finnish press! All three big zoos in Finland (Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki, Ähtäri Zoo and Ranua Zoo) were first considered to be the new home for the pandas.

Korkeasaari Zoo's previous director Jukka Salo was the one to start the whole thing back in 2014 (Yle). Then as he resigned, Korkeasaari Zoo got a new director who quickly declined the pandas: calculations were made that there wouldn't be enough visitors in southern Finland to cover the costs (IS), and Korkeasaari already had other big building projects planned.

So the pandas ended up in Ähtäri Zoo (with mr. Salo working with them). The city of Ähtäri backed their loan for the project - which ended up being illegal, as it was too big of a financial risk (IL). And now of cource they're having financial problems, and the Chinese Embassy is trying to help them with the funding to keep the pandas (MTV)
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Thank you for the information @aeemeli and Welcome to the ZooChat!
 
Ähtäri Zoo has got a new male snowy owl from Kaunus, Lithuania.

He is going to be paired with their own Tundra.
 
Ähtäri zoo announced that their male european bison, Hektor, will be part of a rewilding program in Romania at 2024.
 
Ähtäri announced that they will get a new male snow leopard next year. They did not enclose from where, but it sure will be exciting.
 
The zoo announced that they at the moment have no wolfs.

Their last three wolfs have been euthanized at age of 15-years due to all of them having several age related issues. The decision was done after long discussions with the vets and zoo specialists.

They were siblings and had spent their entire life together if I have understood correctly.

It is unclear if they will have a new pack, but if reading between the lines their experience with the wolfs have been difficult, yet rewarding. Also indicating that they plan not to include new pack any time soon.
 
A young Finnish forest reindeer male, Laku, has been moved from Ähtäri to Riga as a part of EEP-Program.
He'll have his own herd of females waiting for him.
 
A red panda was bitten by an adder

A red panda housed at Finland's Ähtäri Zoo has survived after being bitten by an adder last week, the facility said in a press release.

The female panda, named Phoenix, was taken to a veterinary clinic last Friday after it showed signs of dehydration and zoo staff noticed the bite.

The press release noted that the mammal was found to be in good health for her age following the check up, and returned to Ähtäri later the same evening.

Phoenix then spent a few days in the zoo's infirmary, under observation, before returning to her own shelter on Thursday where she was reunited with her partner, Pablo.

"There may not have been any real danger to her life, but she was in a bad state," zoo curator Marko Haapakoski told Yle.

Ähtäri Zoo is located in a heavily forested area, which means adders can sometimes access the enclosures and their surroundings.

"We don't know for definite how many there are, as the enclosures are quite big, but maybe once a summer we see snakes in the area," Haapakoski said.
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Rare red panda survives snake bite at Ähtäri Zoo
 
Mymmeli said:
The zoo announced that they at the moment have no wolfs.

Their last three wolfs have been euthanized at age of 15-years due to all of them having several age related issues. The decision was done after long discussions with the vets and zoo specialists.

They were siblings and had spent their entire life together if I have understood correctly.

It is unclear if they will have a new pack, but if reading between the lines their experience with the wolfs have been difficult, yet rewarding. Also indicating that they plan not to include new pack any time soon.
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I am not particularly happy the zoo does not have any immediate plans for new wolves at Ahtari Zoo. Given their status in Finland and Scandinavia, it will be vital to exhibit this top predator in the zoo and create some much needed buffer and public awareness about wolves in Finland and participate in the northern/temperate wolf EEP.
 
Cobi said:
A red panda was bitten by an adder



Rare red panda survives snake bite at Ähtäri Zoo
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This isn't the first time she has been bitten. :rolleyes: She apparently likes little snakes too much.

Kifaru Bwana said:
I am not particularly happy the zoo does not have any immediate plans for new wolves at Ahtari Zoo. Given their status in Finland and Scandinavia, it will be vital to exhibit this top predator in the zoo and create some much needed buffer and public awareness about wolves in Finland and participate in the northern/temperate wolf EEP.
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In one recent facebook comment the zoo was replying that they have some plans, but nothing else has been published yet. So fingers crossed.

Also. They announced that their snowy owls seems to be nesting. So fingers crossed for owlets too.
 
Now it’s official, the giant pandas of Ähtäri Zoo are returning to China. The transport will take place later this year.

”In order to guarantee the continuation of the Zoo’s operations, going into debt restructuring and returning the pandas are the right solutions for the entire zoo and our animals”, says the chairman of the Ähtäri Zoo’s board.

Source: the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE 23.9.2024

EDIT // Found some numbers about the case. Last year Ähtäri Zoo made an operating loss of just over 2 million euros and loss for the financial year around 800 000 €, according to the financial statements submitted to the Trade Register. The company's equity was negative by approximately 4.5 million at the turn of the year. Source: Helsingin Sanomat 19.7.2024
 
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aeemeli said:
Now it’s official, the giant pandas of Ähtäri Zoo are returning to China. The transport will take place later this year.

”In order to guarantee the continuation of the Zoo’s operations, going into debt restructuring and returning the pandas are the right solutions for the entire zoo and our animals”, says the chairman of the Ähtäri Zoo’s board.

Source: the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE 23.9.2024

EDIT // Found some numbers about the case. Last year Ähtäri Zoo made an operating loss of just over 2 million euros and loss for the financial year around 800 000 €, according to the financial statements submitted to the Trade Register. The company's equity was negative by approximately 4.5 million at the turn of the year. Source: Helsingin Sanomat 19.7.2024
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Sad to see them go, but it’s better than the zoo as a hole going into bankruptcy :(. At least I had the chance to see them once last year.
 
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