Bioparco di Roma Bioparco di Roma

I returned from a long trip to Italy and visited Bioparco Roma last weekend. The only zoological facility I visited on this particular trip. Not as good as the other major European zoos I've visited, but only the elephant, hippo and crocodilian habitats stood out as very poor. Mostly a decent zoo. I was impressed with bear habitat and marmoset exhibits especially.

The orangutan enclosure is empty after the last orangutan died in the summer, and there is a sign saying of "new ideas for exhibit". The Onager (Khulan) appears to be gone as it isn't on the map anymore and the yard where it was housed is empty (I did see an old sign for it). Also didn't see a number of herp and bird species listed as present on Zootierliste, so I assume the website is a bit outdated with info from this particular zoo?
 
SusScrofa said:
I returned from a long trip to Italy and visited Bioparco Roma last weekend. The only zoological facility I visited on this particular trip. Not as good as the other major European zoos I've visited, but only the elephant, hippo and crocodilian habitats stood out as very poor. Mostly a decent zoo. I was impressed with bear habitat and marmoset exhibits especially.

The orangutan enclosure is empty after the last orangutan died in the summer, and there is a sign saying of "new ideas for exhibit". The Onager (Khulan) appears to be gone as it isn't on the map anymore and the yard where it was housed is empty (I did see an old sign for it). Also didn't see a number of herp and bird species listed as present on Zootierliste, so I assume the website is a bit outdated with info from this particular zoo?
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The website is indeed outdated and the zoo itself isn't really talkative about animals leaving the collection; the elephant "habitat" in particular is yearly frowned upon with many animals' activists protesting in front of the zoo to release the elephants "back in the wild where they belong".
Of course that's not possible given that they're both captive bred (afaik) and they're quite old which means that any move is risky.

The zoo is also pretty much a (torn out) historical monument which, given our laws on historical heritage, prevents them from demolishing unsuitable habitats and outdated buildings, so they usually get surplus or hardy species.

If you noticed, for example, the giraffe viewing outpost, those were the old mandrill cages and in the 90' the tigers's ones, while the gift shop was the old Ape House (unless outsiders house their plastic trees in tall cages:D).

With this being said, they do some really nice work on native herps, namely Sardinian brook salamander, Appenine fire-bellied toad and recently the Aeolian wall lizard.
 
Piece of October 2023 News Not Mentioned:

On October 19th, it was mentioned that the zoo transferred (2.0) cotton-top tamarins to the Darling Downs Zoo in Australia*.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On January 3rd, 2024, the zoo announced that a (0.1) Sumatran tiger was born.

Bioparco di Roma

*Information given by @Zorro in the Darling Downs Zoo News 2023 thread.
 
My first 18 months of life were lived 200 yards from this zoo, not that I was old enough to remember. I apparently never went there, my mom hated zoos. "Poor brutes". She may have been ahead of her time.
 
Torgos said:
My first 18 months of life were lived 200 yards from this zoo, not that I was old enough to remember. I apparently never went there, my mom hated zoos. "Poor brutes". She may have been ahead of her time.
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That may have been the status quo for zoos in Italy at the time. It is not so with zoos these days. Look around you ... even in Italy people seem to complain about the last Marsicano bears (40-60) and the Abruzzo wolves being too numerous (400-500)... Ask yourself how large the Italian population is .... Nature is under criticital threat from us humankind. So, we need zoos and other ex situ facilities just as bad and a sympathic general public than we need 50% E.O. Wilson's Half Earth .... NOW!
 
Mickey said:
The website is indeed outdated and the zoo itself isn't really talkative about animals leaving the collection; the elephant "habitat" in particular is yearly frowned upon with many animals' activists protesting in front of the zoo to release the elephants "back in the wild where they belong".
Of course that's not possible given that they're both captive bred (afaik) and they're quite old which means that any move is risky.

The zoo is also pretty much a (torn out) historical monument which, given our laws on historical heritage, prevents them from demolishing unsuitable habitats and outdated buildings, so they usually get surplus or hardy species.

If you noticed, for example, the giraffe viewing outpost, those were the old mandrill cages and in the 90' the tigers's ones, while the gift shop was the old Ape House (unless outsiders house their plastic trees in tall cages:D).

With this being said, they do some really nice work on native herps, namely Sardinian brook salamander, Appenine fire-bellied toad and recently the Aeolian wall lizard.
Click to expand...
The issue here is public disvestment in ex situ conservation education and support as well as a general neglect and ignorance what modern day accredited zoos should look like and are making a difference (despite some ... pretending zoos are prisons, where nature is a wildllife and plantlife prison these days surrounded by ever growing human populations making absurd demands upon our environment and only Living Planet.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
The issue here is public disvestment in ex situ conservation education and support as well as a general neglect and ignorance what modern day accredited zoos should look like and are making a difference (despite some ... pretending zoos are prisons, where nature is a wildllife and plantlife prison these days surrounded by ever growing human populations making absurd demands upon our environment and only Living Planet.
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Actually they, and other Italian zoos as well, do quite a lot of advertisement, the problem seems to be that people are quite hardy in learning or even reading (we unironically have one of the highest numbers of functional illiterates amongst western countries), but everything else is pretty much accurate, although I must admit, a bit grim:confused:.
 
52 Aeolian wall lizards hatched at the breeding centre built in the zoo.

Bioparco di Roma on Instagram: " Nate le prime lucertole delle Eolie al Bioparco! Un piccolo grande traguardo per la natura. Per la prima volta al Bioparco di Roma sono nate 52 lucertole delle Eolie (Podarcis raffonei), una delle specie più rare e minacciate del Mediterraneo. Un risultato importantissimo per il progetto europeo LIFE EOLIZARD, che lavora per salvare questa lucertola unica, oggi presente solo in pochi isolotti delle Eolie e in pericolo a causa della perdita di habitat e di specie invasive. ✨ Ogni nascita è una piccola grande speranza per il futuro di questa specie e una dimostrazione concreta di quanto la scienza possa fare per proteggere la biodiversità. Se siete curiosi di saperne di più su questo straordinario progetto di conservazione, visitate il nostro sito! #bioparco #roma #villaborghese #Conservation #conservazione #lifeEolizard #Triton #LIFEproject #LIFEprogramme #reptiles #lizard"
 
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