Debrecen Zoo Debrecen Zoo

The zoo announced great news!
'Home to Scimitar-horned Oryxes Once Again!
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We are happy to announce a major collection update and professional achievement with the arrival of two scimitar-horned oryxes from Zoo Leipzig on February 2 under a European Endangered Species Program (EAZA EEP). Now exhibited in our African Panorama Section, Katja and Kirsten, mother and daughter born in 2016 and 2022 respectively, are of immense conservation value as they belong to a species that was officially declared extinct in the wild in 2000. Thanks to successful breeding efforts, zoos around the world are home to a fairly large population and have been actively involved in reintroduction programs since 1985. Our history with scimitar-horned oryxes dates back to 2009, when we welcomed a pair that would live a ripe old age. We hope to add a suitable male to the group in the near future and join conservation breeding efforts.
Once widespread throughout North Africa, scimitar-horned oryxes (Oryx dammah) have been named after their scimitar-like curved horns measuring about one meter in length. Adaptations in physiology and diet allow them to do excellently in arid deserts and semi-deserts; they lose very little water by sweating as they tolerate a body temperature of up to 46 °C, meaning they can survive without drinking water for months, relying purely on moisture intake from grasses. In the wild they formed herds of up to 40 individuals led by a dominant bull each, migrating up to several hundreds of kilometers in search of optimal grazing grounds. Reasons for their extinction in the wild include excessive hunting as well as loss of habitat and food shortage from grazing livestock; in addition to their high-concern IUCN Red List category, they are included in Appendix I of CITES for protection against international trade.'
 
'Celebrating World Wildlife Day with a New Exhibit and Rare Newcomers!
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We have some extraordinary news to share with you on World Wildlife Day with the recent arrival of a pair of green tree pythons in our exotic Palm House. Members of species we have never kept before, the newcomers now live in a newly built naturalistic exhibit of their own, thanks to generous support from private donors. Aged seven and two respectively, the female and male are hoped to form a successful breeding pair.
Native to tropical rainforests in New Guinea, Eastern Indonesia and the northwest of Australia’s Cape York Peninsula, green tree pythons (Morelia viridis) are the most arboreal of all python species. They mostly prey on small mammals, birds and reptiles, constricting them after an ambush. Solitary except for their breeding season, they have a very distinct way of resting or lying in ambush on tree branches.
Females lay their eggs in tree hollows and coil around them for incubation. Green tree pythons have a number of appearance and behavior traits in common with emerald tree boas native to South America, presumably due to major similarities in habitat despite taxonomical differences and great distance in distribution.
Due to habitat loss from deforestation as well as illegal captures for the pet trade, green tree pythons are included in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List. A zoo rarity in Hungary, they are only exhibited in two other institution.'
Source: The zoo's FB page
 
'Cape Porcupine Pair Now First-time Parents!
We have some extraordinary and long-awaited news to share with you as two healthy offspring were born to our Cape porcupine pair on February 27. Though they had not met each other before their arrival last summer, introductions went great and they seem to have absolutely made themselves at home here. Before welcoming them as our first ever Cape porcupines we used to be home to crested porcupines, but this is the very first time we have ever managed to breed these charismatic giant rodents. Yet to be sexed, the little twins are sure to remain behind the scenes indoors for the weeks to come but will venture outside as soon as the weather warms up for spring.
Native to savannahs and forests in South Africa, Cape porcupines (Hystrix africaeaustralis) are the largest rodents on the continent, feeding mainly on various plant parts but also observed to gnaw on an occasional bone or carcass. They also venture into cultivated fields and feed on crops, hence their being regarded as pests in several areas. Despite foraging for food solitarily at night, they actually live in strictly monogamous pairs that scent-mark and protect their territories and rear their young together. When in danger, they will first give fair warning by stomping, hissing, rattling their tail, and rustling their needle-sharp quills, ultimately charging at their attacker backwards or sideways, potentially causing serious stab wounds.
Due to overhunting in some areas, Cape porcupines are included in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. A true zoo rarity in Hungary, they are currently only exhibited in our zoo.'
Source: the zoo's FB page
 
'Soon after announcing the arrival of our two female scimitar-horned oryxes named Katja and Kirsten, we have further great news to share about this unique African species now extinct in the wild and found only here in Hungary. There was actually a third newcomer back in February as Katja had a calf on the way, born on March 15.
The little male has an excellent appetite and is thriving in Africa Panorama exhibit, spending more and more time outside in good weather. We want you to be the ones to name him, so please share your name suggestions in a comment below till 10:00 on March 31. The best submission will be rewarded with a single Zoo Pass, valid this year.'
Source: the zoo's FB page
 
On the 18th of June the first red panda cub was born in the zoo. It has been revealed that it is a female. Also, two crested geckos hatched this year.

Source: the zoo’s Facebook page.
 
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