Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center News

Well, while I am at it... As overall there are not a lot of animals at the center, for those interested, the current stock list is as follows:

2.9 Giraffe
3.2 Okapi

6.0 Barasingha

2.4 Yellow-backed duiker

4.6 Southern sable antelope

0.4 Common eland
1.4.2 Eastern bongo
2.6 Speke's sitatunga

2.0 African wildcat

2.2 Blue-billed curassow

3.3 Saddle-billed stork
8.3 Abdim's stork
3.7 Milky stork

13.19 Mississippi sandhill crane
10.8 Whooping crane
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Not huge, but with some nice species and quite large populations.
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The populations sizes are really where the center shines-- the animals present (giraffe, antelope, and cranes, anyways) breed well, and the offspring are readily being dispersed to other collections (or the wild, in the case of the cranes!). The okapi breeding program should come online shortly, with two young females and room for expansion (the complex can hold 4.6+offspring). The collection is certainly not large, this is true. Unfortunately, the center is two phases behind on construction due to huge construction errors during the first phase, an on-going lawsuit with the construction company, and now the pandemic hitting the pockets of both Audubon Nature Institute and San Diego Zoo Global quite deeply. There has also definitely been some trial and error-- given the center's unique environment (the south eastern Louisiana swamp), some species have proven to just not succeed in the environment (common eland) and are in the process of being phased out [luckily not much of a loss, in the scheme of things]. There should be one additional species arriving this year, if all goes as planned.
 
Kudu21 said:
Audubon Nature Institute has shared a rare photo from the Species Survival Center on their social media pages for those interested in having a glimpse of what the facility looks like:
Facebook
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This looks like a nice facility. Are giraffes the largest animal that this facility is likely to work with, or is there the ambition to scale up to full San Diego Safari Park-type capacity eventually and have elephant and/or rhino herds also?
 
DavidBrown said:
This looks like a nice facility. Are giraffes the largest animal that this facility is likely to work with, or is there the ambition to scale up to full San Diego Safari Park-type capacity eventually and have elephant and/or rhino herds also?
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Giraffe will likely be the largest animal the facility will work with for the foreseeable future. Management does hope to eventually acquire Indian rhinoceros in the future, but this will likely be years down the line. Issues with the initial construction of the facility and the pandemic have meant that the facility is five years behind schedule. When the idea for the Species Survival Center/Alliance for Sustainable Wildlife was very first conceived, a breeding center for Asian elephants was considered for the site, but that money went towards funding the new elephant exhibit at the Audubon Zoo instead. Elephants are not on any future plans for the facility.
 
Sarus Crane said:
Is there a way that people can visit the facility? Do you work there @Kudu21? Would really like to see all those Saddlebills!!!
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I do believe the facility is completely closed off from visitors but who knows, things can change if they decided to allowed outside visitors. It reminds me of how the SDZ Safari Park was originally envisioned to only be a breeding center for hoofstock and not allow visitors until that changed obviously :D
 
Sarus Crane said:
Is there a way that people can visit the facility? Do you work there @Kudu21? Would really like to see all those Saddlebills!!!
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@Julio C Castro is correct. The FMASSC is completely closed to the public. In fact, the property the facility is built on is leased from the United States Coast Guard, and there is a clause in the lease that states that the facility must remain private and that no large scale public tours are to be conducted on the site. Essentially the only way a non-zoo professional can visit the facility is by either paying a hefty lump sum of money to win a raffle for a private tour via Audubon Nature Institute's annual gala, Zoo-To-Do, or be lucky enough to attend one of the schools or universities that the facility partners with for educational tours/volunteer opportunities.
 
100 walking leaf insect nymphs have hatched at the Audubon Invertebrate Rearing Facility, now located at the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center, following the closing of the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in 2020. A large collection of invertebrates is being propogated here for eventual exhibition at the new Insectarium, which will be located in the former Imax theater of the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.
 
Kudu21 said:
100 walking leaf insect nymphs have hatched at the Audubon Invertebrate Rearing Facility, now located at the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center, following the closing of the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in 2020. A large collection of invertebrates is being propogated here for eventual exhibition at the new Insectarium, which will be located in the former Imax theater of the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.
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I did not realize they were opening a new Insectarium! That's great news.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I did not realize they were opening a new Insectarium! That's great news.

~Thylo
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Audubon always had plans to relocate the Insectarium due to the restrictions of being housed in the Customs Building, COVID just expedited the move. Construction should have begun this winter, with an expected 2023 completion date, alongside some other renovations to the aquarium itself.

In other news, here is a new local news piece on the facility's breeding programs:
A baby boom comes to the Audubon Nature Institute west bank facility

And because I haven't given a stocklist for the facility in a while, the facility currently houses:

2.6 Generic giraffe
3.2 Okapi

4.0 Barasingha

3.5 Yellow-backed duiker
3.6 Southern sable antelope
2.7 Speke's sitatunga
3.4 Eastern bongo
0.2 Common eland

3.3 Blue-billed curassow

7.3 Abdim's stork
3.4 Saddle-billed stork

14.19 Mississippi sandhill crane
10.6 Whooping crane
 
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The first of two expected generic giraffe calves was born this week to dam "Oso" and sire "Gus".

With that, an updated stocklist for the facility:

1.5.1 Generic giraffe
3.2 Okapi

4.0 Barasingha

3.5 Yellow-backed duiker
4.6 Southern sable antelope
2.8 Speke's sitatunga
4.4 Eastern bongo
0.2 Common eland

0.0.10 Domestic helmeted guineafowl

5.4.1 Blue-billed curassow

7.3 Abdim's stork
2.3 Saddle-billed stork

16.19.4 Mississippi sandhil crane
13.10 Whooping crane

1.0 Aldabra giant tortoise
 
This may be a question more appropriate for another thread with regards to the giraffe population in North America, but is there a reason why generic giraffes are still being bred in AZA facilities?
 
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