I should like to see said photographs! I have never heard of Burramys being sent out of Australia [which doesn't mean they haven't been of course] but while they are part of captive breeding programmes in Australia the long-term breeding sustainability of those groups was never very good. And it seems really odd that if some were sent out of Australia that in all of Europe one would only end up at a place like Amazon World!
Give me time,the picture should be up before the end of the year,will link it to a post in this thread when its done.But as tealovingdave says I have more than a few interesting photos that need,scanning for uploading on here any way!!
excellent. Out of curiosity, did the animal have a sign saying "Burramys parvus" or just "mountain pigmy possum"? I have no problem with being proved wrong when the photo is uploaded, but my working theory (because I don't believe at all that it was a Burramys) is that it was a long-tailed pigmy possum Cercartetus caudatus, which comes from the mountains of New Guinea and would be far more likely to turn up unexpectedly in Europe via Indonesian animal dealers than would a Burramys. If the animal was simply called a "mountain pigmy possum" when the zoo obtained it they may have assumed the wrong identity for the species (or the same for yourself if there was no scientific name on the zoo's label).
You say more likely, but that species has never been held in Europe either
C. caudatus not being listed on Zootierliste doesn't negate the likelihood of it being that species instead of Burramys. For it to be Burramys there would have to have been a government-approved export for purposes related to the conservation of the species (given the rarity of the species) and it is highly unlikely that Amazon World would be a recipient (think of the Leadbeater's possum export).You say more likely, but that species has never been held in Europe either
but it isn't actually "equally true for all three species", because Burramys has always been so rare that an export from Australia wouldn't simply happen unannounced without a significant paper trail! It would sort of be like a numbat being seen at Amazon World. With the time frame (being seen in 2001) it would also have to be a very recent export (otherwise it would have to have been the product of an overseas successful breeding programme which would not have gone unnoticed by the Australian conservers). On the other hand, wild animals come out of Indonesia all the time.
you misinterpreted my point. I realise Amazon World is well-known amongst the UK Zoochatters for the unusual species it holds. My point was that if Burramys were legally exported from Australia it would only be for a managed breeding programme due to their rarity (i.e. different from sending something like red kangaroos or koalas overseas). The recipient zoos would be large zoos well-known for conservation work - in the UK places like London, Chester, Edinburgh would be top choices. Amazon World would not even be on the same page, or even in the same document! Them having rare South American animals is of no relevance whatsoever to whether they would have a Burramys.TeaLovingDave said:
if it was a Burramys then I've dug myself into a mighty deep hole!TeaLovingDave said:
in any case, before the photo gets scanned in I think we're going to end up going in circles of Occams Razor; your strong doubt about the identity of the individual and incredulity at the idea of anywhere having had Burramys will make you see a misidentified Cercartetus as the most likely conclusion, whilst my trusting the word of zoogiraffe and having seen his photograph of the individual makes me see the original identification as the most likely conclusion. Either one of us could be wrong
It was labelled as Burramys parvus,as that is what I wrote down in my notes!
TeaLovingDave said:
hmm, these two statements do not match very well....zoogiraffe said:
