Not anymore.
Bush Dogs in North American Zoos
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
Not anymore.
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
Right St Louis lost its bush dogs of old age some years ago.
When? They had several in 2018.
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
I accessed the river's edge exhibit description and in there it says all the species the exhibit has so I could see all of them and when I pressed the bush dog button to see the description of them, it asked me for an account and a password so this leave me with two theories:
A. They are still there but off-show
B. They left or died.
Sometime between your mid-2018 visit and @Moebelle's mid-2019 visit, so not more than a couple years ago: Aug. 2019 - River's Edge - South America - (Former Bush Dog) Capybara Exhibit - ZooChat. They are also no longer listed on the website.
Additional notes:
Any evidence for more bush dogs? The post right above yours states that Alexandria only has the one male.
As of at least January 2020, Palm Beach no longer holds Bush Dogs - they are no longer listed on the website and their former enclosure is occupied by a Komodo Dragon: Palm Beach Zoo News [Palm Beach Zoo]
There are additional notes from a few months ago about Bush dogs on pages 3 and 4 of the Zoo Atlanta news thread; I thought about separating it into another thread, but ultimately didn't because I had nothing further to add: Zoo Atlanta 2017-2019 [Zoo Atlanta]
I had never even heard of bush dogs until I was at a wild cat conservation talk and a Brazilian jaguar researcher mentioned them and showed a slide. I am not sure when this was - maybe around 2003 or 2005? Then shortly after that I learned that some US zoos had imported them. I agree they are great to see and so unique in the dog family that more zoos should have them. I have personally seen them in USA at San Antonio Zoo and Palm Beach Zoo and in Europe at Le Menagerie (Jardin des Plantes).
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
Yes, I think Merlin is the only one at Alexandria and at Atlanta one of the bush dogs died in 2019 ad the other in 2016 but there could be more there.
Unlikely, as they are no longer on exhibit, no reference of them exists on their website, and I can't find any news article or social media post that mentions more than the deceased pair.
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
Now with less zoos, if there isn't a big import from South America or Europe, in some years they could be extinct in North American Collections.
Miranda actually passed away I believe last year. Now it is only Chester, who is also reaching the end of his life soon unfortunately
. I don’t expect to see them again there for a long while
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
Oh, that is so sad!Miranda actually passed away I believe last year. Now it is only Chester, who is also reaching the end of his life soon unfortunately
Bush dogs are pretty rare in USA and more and more are constantly dying.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Sadly, they are not really even that widely kept in Brazilian zoos. Deeply ironic to say the least as it is this country that comprises the majority of the species wild range.
Not only that but there appears to be a lack of direction and coordination towards a well managed breeding programe among the institutions here.
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Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
This specie could easily be kept away from zoos for a while. For example, some species we're kept at zoos in the past and currently no zoos have them. The same could happen here, but I need to say that the population of Europe looks a lot healthier than the North American one.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Totally agree. This has happened with many species in the past and the bushdog could well be next which would be a shame for such a charismatic , poorly known, and interesting little canine.
Slightly off topic but I'm also quite frankly concerned and disappointed at the notable lack of in-situ conservation and research done with regards to the species across Latin America (though I am fully aware that they are notoriously hard to spot let alone study in the wild).
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
Yes, that is true.
Krexotics
Member
update from Alexandria Zoo - Bush Dog : Merlin 1.0 , sadly passed away .... the zoo once housed the pair "Merlin and Mona" until the passing of Mona, then merlin was moved to a different exhibit so keepers could keep a better watch on him. Howler monkeys were placed in their exhibit after the Howler enclosure was destroyed by large trees during the 2020 hurricane laura