Reviving this thread with Indian zoo news on rhinos:
Vandalur Zoo - interest in Indian rhinos for gaur.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/1306...s/article/one-horned-rhinos-vandalur-zoo-soon
What surprises me here is that the words conservation and breeding programme are completely lacking in evidence. You just shout / cite an interest in a species, publish it in a paper and hope it will happen. It quite looks like the practice in professional football / soccer.
Vandalur has never had a good track record with the Indian rhino - the longevity for the last one was just 4 years -. Admittedly, the zoo is of sufficient standards .. in terms of husbandry techniques, animal management and enclosure design (much more than quite a lot of Indian zoos), but still I feel there has not been a real case for bringing Indian rhino to Vandalur.
What would turn me round is probably an indication of the zoo to wish for participation in the conservation breeding programme for the species. Sadly, even now .. transfers of rhinos between Indian zoos are not conducted on this basis, but rather on whether a demand and supply economy exists between 2 State Zoos. I wish it were different and that both the designated species coordinator and the CZA would intervene to really put breeding programmes to the fore in Indian zoos.
The recent proposed move of a Kanpur Zoo rhino to a Karnataka based zoo .. that has not had the species previoiusly nor any previous breeding history with the species is a case in point. I would rather have that rhino go to either Patna or Assam State Zoo for breeding and in due course bringing round the zoos of old with prior experience of rhino management like Mysore, Hyderabad and Kolkota into the breeding program.
I would love for any of your readership to take me up on this issue without degenerating into an animal welfare discussion!
