Combined ape and aquatic enclosure?
- Thread starter Lota lota
- Start date
If it were invasive turtles it would have been good encrichment for the chimps,and a service to the native australian fauna.
Not if it gave them salmonella.
The zoo has had problems historically with diseases spread by vermin, so they’d have been as keen to protect the health of the chimps as they were to save the turtles.I looked up the story and it said the Eastern snake-necked turtles had laid their eggs in the chimpanzee exhibit for years (apparently without incident) until a three year old (Lani) was bitten by one of them. She was screaming as it refused to let go of her finger. As an older juvenile, she made a regular practice of going to the moat to kill them - a practice which spread to the other juveniles of the troop.
It didn’t specify either way. It just said they would pull the shell apart, bite into the turtle and throw it to each other.
I’ve similarly seen a juvenile from this troop kill duckings (but not eat them), so would assume it’s mostly play motivated. They’re a brutal species for sure, but a fascinating one nonetheless.
Turtles, and animals other than apes, would make better sense. I imagine exotic turtles could be kept with e.g. tapirs or hippos.
In Europe, native European pond turtle is endangered regionally. I imagine that a zoo keeping a colony of pond turtes in water moats and releasing hatchlings, could make a real difference for conservation. For example Tierpark Berlin with its numerous pools and moats e.g. around bison.
In Europe, native European pond turtle is endangered regionally. I imagine that a zoo keeping a colony of pond turtes in water moats and releasing hatchlings, could make a real difference for conservation. For example Tierpark Berlin with its numerous pools and moats e.g. around bison.
I'm not sure if this was mentioned already, but in the main atrium of JungleWorld at Bronx, the gibbons have access to the tapir riverbank and (presumably) the gharial riverbank, which also houses pangasius catfish, giant gourami, iridescent catshark, batagur turtles and loads of other species.