Incorrect 'facts' heard at zoos

Last time I visited Blackpool Zoo, whoever gave the tiger talk managed to get three things entirely wrong in the same sentence! As I recall, they said something along the following lines:

"Amur tigers are the rarest of the three species of tigers"

1) They are certainly not the rarest tigers - the South Chinese Tiger holds that dubious honour

2) There is only one species of tiger

3) For that matter, there are more than three subspecies, so they got it wrong from that point of view too!
 
TeaLovingDave said:
"Amur tigers are the rarest of the three species of tigers"
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orange tiger, white tiger, and Tamil tiger....;)

(there's also Tiger Beer but they spend most of their time on the floor)
 
Chlidonias said:
orange tiger, white tiger, and Tamil tiger....;)

(there's also Tiger Beer but they spend most of their time on the floor)
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And if you live in Australia, you would know that Tiger Airways was extinct for a bit, but is now critically endangered maybe even extinct in the wild. :D

Anyway, back to the topic. :p
 
Could the description of bactrian camels as being critically endangered perhaps be described as incorrect?
 
There are some taxonomists who do say there are 3 species of tigers - P. tigris, P. sumatrae, and P. sondaica. These taxonomists also say the P. sumatrae may be a hybrid of tigris and sondaica. P. tigris would have 5 subspecies, P. suamtrae would be monotypic, and P. sondaica would have 2 subspecies.
 
TARZAN said:
Could the description of bactrian camels as being critically endangered perhaps be described as incorrect?
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No, the wild Bactrian Camel (Camelus ferus) is critically endangered with about 500 animals left.
 
Chlidonias said:
at the Angkor Zoo in Cambodia there were two ID signs I particularly liked: one on an aviary containing quail said "(Turkey?)" [yes, with the question mark] and then there was one saying "strange snake head of boa body of cobra" - there was a python in that cage but I'd love to know what the sign was actually for!
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I like the honesty in these signs. It's how I like to label my Flickr pics ;)
 
jbnbsn99 said:
There are some taxonomists who do say there are 3 species of tigers - P. tigris, P. sumatrae, and P. sondaica. These taxonomists also say the P. sumatrae may be a hybrid of tigris and sondaica. P. tigris would have 5 subspecies, P. suamtrae would be monotypic, and P. sondaica would have 2 subspecies.
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I fear that P.(t.) sondaica is beyond having any subspecies currently..:(

Originally Posted by TARZAN
Could the description of bactrian camels as being critically endangered perhaps be described as incorrect?
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The tendency of some UK zoos to describe their domesticated Bactrain Camels as being a valuable genetic source for an endangered animal is -putting it politely - a bit dubious. They might as well say that any donkeys in the Children's Zoo are a valuable effort towards saving the Nubian Wild Ass...:rolleyes:
 
IanRRobinson said:
I fear that P.(t.) sondaica is beyond having any subspecies currently..:(



The tendency of some UK zoos to describe their domesticated Bactrain Camels as being a valuable genetic source for an endangered animal is -putting it politely - a bit dubious. They might as well say that any donkeys in the Children's Zoo are a valuable effort towards saving the Nubian Wild Ass...:rolleyes:
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Yes, that's what I think.
 
When the Bird Show at Taronga first started the PR Dept produced some big signs promoting this just inside the Zoo's entrance, featuring a closeup of a Bald Eagle. Although a stunning photo, there are no Blad Eagles in Australia, let-alone the Bird Show. When I pointed this out to the person responsible I was told "Only you would know it's a Bald Eagle - nobody else would, nor would they care" - or words to that effect.

I pointed out that every American walking through the gates would recognise their national bird and be very disappointed if they didn't see one in the show, but I was ignored. So were the staff from the Bird Show who had been making the same arguments (unbeknownst to me).

It was changed a few weeks later, I believe, after complaints from the public.

And on the subject of signage, this label for a Sacred Kingfisher appeared on an aviary at the Australian Reptile Park some years ago, but didn't stay up too long:

http://www.zoochat.com/85/label-29471/

:p

Hix
 
Putting an animal which they don't hold on an advert for a zoo project is extremely misleading. I believe this is what is known as false advertising in the advertising business. I would be extremely annoyed if I saw a an animal I was interested in (gorillas, binturongs, Sumatran rhinos) on a zoo poster and went there to find that they are not at the zoo and never have been!
 
OrangePerson said:
It took Yorkshire Wildlife Park ages to get a zebra after they used one in their very nice logo :)
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In fairness, I understand from speaking to management there they chose a zebra because they were anticipating having them from opening, but then encountered a lot of delays and difficulties actually getting hold of the animals!
 
It was a bit of an ongoing joke - any luck with a zebra yet?

I wasn't suggesting they were trying to cheat anyone, just the irony!
 
I didn't hear this at a zoo. But earlier this week I heard a radio advert for a vet hospital in a Melbourne suburb that said "bring your pets, from Fijian banded iguana to...".

Well, exotic reptiles are illegal here in Australia, so I was confused as to why they used the iguana example, given that no one legally has one here!!
 
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A few days ago there was a news item about a man who had smuggled exotic animals. These included '50 reptiles and 40 snakes.' Unfortunately, there are still people who refer to 'birds and animals' or 'butterflies and insects,' so we have a long way to go.
 
Mr T said:
Putting an animal which they don't hold on an advert for a zoo project is extremely misleading. I believe this is what is known as false advertising in the advertising business. I would be extremely annoyed if I saw a an animal I was interested in (gorillas, binturongs, Sumatran rhinos) on a zoo poster and went there to find that they are not at the zoo and never have been!
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I agree. Plus, UPDATE the website, PLEASE! I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo a couple of years ago because the website said they had 2 or 3 different species of Lemur. Got there and the Lemur exhibit was EMPTY! They'd sent the critters to other zoos more than 2 months prior to my visit. I was SO annoyed.

And there's a place in Tucson that still claims on their website to have animals that've died several years ago. I can understand if it was a recent move/death and they haven't had a chance to update the website, but there's no excuse for still showing it on the website when it's been over a year since they'd lost the animal. The Southern Nevada Zoological Park (Las Vegas Zoo) has a few exhibits that claim to have an animal when actually it's empty and the animal had died some time before.

When I am going to an area with several zoos and don't have time to visit them all, I base where I'm going on how many of 'my' animals they have.
 
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