San Francisco Zoo Lipman Family Madagascar Center

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JVM

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I am not very familiar with this facility, but does anyone know much about this exhibit that the SF Zoo is building? I was looking recently into the fact they seemed to have so many species of lemur and found some references to it, but no real discussion of what the 'plan' is besides mentions it has been in development for years and will involve an artificial baobob tree.

Any word if aye-aye will return to the zoo? I heard they had a good breeding record.
 
I hope the list of species changes to include more rarely seen endemic species:
The white-faced whistling duck, African openbill and hamerkop are also found in mainland Africa. Ring-tailed and black-and-white ruffed lemurs are common in zoos, as are hissing cockroaches
Are the 'mongooses' euplerids or herpestids?
 
pachyderm pro said:
Here is a link to pretty much everything that has been officially mentioned by the zoo so far including a tentative species list (no mention of aye-ayes specifically beyond vague listing of "other lemurs"). This definitely has the potential to be an impressive development, but it's San Francisco so I'm not holding my breath.

Construction Updates | San Francisco Zoo & Gardens.
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I did see this page already but overlooked the possibility of opening the absurdly tiny image in a new tab to read it...

...um, did they really mispell 'Mongoos' or am I missing something?
 
I like the examples of "Madagascan" fish pictured - a South American cichlid, an African killifish, and a New Guinea rainbowfish. Top quality research from their photo team there.
 
When I went to the zoo back in December 12th, 2022, I saw that they finally place the baobab tree on site.

I wish the zoo was much better in updating the public on this development.
 
Dassie rat said:
I hope the list of species changes to include more rarely seen endemic species:
The white-faced whistling duck, African openbill and hamerkop are also found in mainland Africa. Ring-tailed and black-and-white ruffed lemurs are common in zoos, as are hissing cockroaches
Are the 'mongooses' euplerids or herpestids?
Click to expand...


The range of the white-faced whistling-duck covers tropical South America, all of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Madagascar (the white-faced whistling-duck is the most common duck species found in Madagascar) while the African openbill and hamerkop is native to both Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. So all three species are surprisingly accurate.

To be a bit pedantic, but I believe the African openbills that are in American zoos are the nominate subspecies; the Madagascar subspecies, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology can be differentiated from the mainland African (nominate) subspecies by "...being smaller, with a thinner bill, which has more pronounced longitudinal ridges." I doubt the zoo will be that pedantic to get the Malagasy subspecies and instead move their resident openbill into the aviary.

I've always wondered what subspecies of hamerkop was imported en masse... The only difference I can find is that the West African subspecies (ssp. minor) is "smaller and darker".

I look forward to the return of the lesser vasa parrots and the addition of the Madagascan plover into their collection.

I would like to see them add Malagasy sacred ibises (Threskiornis bernieri ssp.) to the roster (different from the African sacred ibis by having white or blue eyes depending on the subspecies). Oakland and Santa Barbara Zoo are the only zoos I've visited that have them on display, and they are the nominate subspecies (the Aldabra subspecies has blue eyes).

Another species that I would love to see added (and Safari West has them listed on their website) are Malagasy turtle-dove (Nesoenas picturatus ssp.).

A wish-list species I would be both surprised and excited to see is if they manage to import some cuckoo-rollers (Leptosomus discolor ssp.), another iconic, Madagascar species.
 
Zoo Birding said:
I would like to see them add Malagasy sacred ibises (Threskiornis bernieri ssp.) to the roster (different from the African sacred ibis by having white or blue eyes depending on the subspecies). Oakland and Santa Barbara Zoo are the only zoos I've visited that have them on display, and they are the nominate subspecies (the Aldabra subspecies has blue eyes).
Click to expand...
Are there actually any Madagascar Malagasy sacred ibises in captivity? For some reason, this seems unlikely.
 
Zoo Birding said:
The range of the white-faced whistling-duck covers tropical South America, all of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Madagascar (the white-faced whistling-duck is the most common duck species found in Madagascar) while the African openbill and hamerkop is native to both Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. So all three species are surprisingly accurate.
Click to expand...
While WF Whistling Ducks are certainly native to Madagascar, that doesn't change the fact it is a least concern, non-TAG recommended species that takes valuable space away from TAG-recommended species in need of more institutional support, such as the Madagascar Teal. Truthfully, I would be thrilled if all AZA zoos were to stop keeping WF Whistling Ducks (along with mandarin ducks and ringed teals), as it's a species that has no conservation value and takes up space that'd be better used going to different waterfowl species.
 
wild boar said:
Are there actually any Madagascar Malagasy sacred ibises in captivity? For some reason, this seems unlikely.
Click to expand...

Here are pictures I've uploaded on the Oakland Zoo albums of one of their Malagasy sacred ibis.

Close Up of a Malagasy Sacred Ibis [May 11, 2022]

Close Up of a Malagasy Sacred Ibis [May 11, 2022]

There are two species of Malagasy sacred ibises and they can be separated by their eye color...

One of the Zoo's New Malagasy Sacred Ibises [May 11, 2022]

One of the Zoo's New Malagasy Sacred Ibises [May 11, 2022]

This is one of the zoo's six new Malagasy sacred ibises in their newly renovated Hillside...
 
Aardwolf said:
I'm not sure how the new SSP changes are impacting the CPP TAG plans, but the goal was to phase out sacred ibis in favor of this species.
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What is a CPP Taxonomic Advisory Group? Did you mean phase out the mainland species or Aldabra subspecies? How I'm interpreting this is the two Malagasy subspecies are managed separately, as is the African species.

Dassie rat said:
5 ZTL zoos have a Madagascar sacred ibis
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What is a "ZTL zoo"? Are you referring to the Malagasy species or Malagasy subspecies?
 
Neil chace said:
While WF Whistling Ducks are certainly native to Madagascar, that doesn't change the fact it is a least concern, non-TAG recommended species that takes valuable space away from TAG-recommended species in need of more institutional support, such as the Madagascar Teal. Truthfully, I would be thrilled if all AZA zoos were to stop keeping WF Whistling Ducks (along with mandarin ducks and ringed teals), as it's a species that has no conservation value and takes up space that'd be better used going to different waterfowl species.
Click to expand...

Fortunately, SF has a female Madagascar (Bernier's) teal that, last I check, was at the Puente al Sur section of the zoo.

To my knowledge, I'm unaware of any American zoos that keep Madagascar pochards, a critically endangered species worthy of being displayed.

You do realize that the hamerkop is a species of least concern but on the SSP, right? I USED to think SSP focused on species with conservation needs but that's not always the case. Since this is a Malagasy discussion, the crested coua is also a species of least concern as well.

I'm personally would like seeing accurate exhibits that display animals native to the countries they are maybe from.

Regarding Malagasy birds, there's quite a bit of overlap with mainland Africa, with several endemics present in American zoo collections. Aside from the vasa parrots, there are Madagascar (grey-headed) lovebirds that are sporadically kept in private avicultural collections and none I've seen in zoos.

I do get where you're coming from regarding space and putting emphasis on species needing the spotlight but for most institutions, that's not possible.
 
pachyderm pro said:
Here is a link to pretty much everything that has been officially mentioned by the zoo so far including a tentative species list (no mention of aye-ayes specifically beyond vague listing of "other lemurs"). This definitely has the potential to be an impressive development, but it's San Francisco so I'm not holding my breath.

Construction Updates | San Francisco Zoo & Gardens.
Click to expand...
The project has seemingly stopped dead in the water for over a year, with only a very unattractive giant fake baobab having been plopped down in the middle of the existing Primate Discovery Center. I do not have high hopes for this one…
 
Zoo Birding said:
You do realize that the hamerkop is a species of least concern but on the SSP, right? I USED to think SSP focused on species with conservation needs but that's not always the case. Since this is a Malagasy discussion, the crested coua is also a species of least concern as well.
Click to expand...
You'll notice I didn't mention hamerkops in my post. I only mentioned White-Faced Whistling Ducks, a species that is not an SSP species, and yet is one of the most common waterfowl species in AZA zoos. There is a place for Least Concern species in zoos, and also a place for species that aren't TAG managed, but that place is not species that are directly competing for space with other species more worthy of management. Hamerkops don't have a similar species to easily replace them with, hence why it's more reasonable for a zoo to keep hamerkops (or couas for that matter) than WF Whistling Ducks. Madagascar pochards are managed by zoos in Europe, but not the United States.
 
reduakari said:
The project has seemingly stopped dead in the water for over a year, with only a very unattractive giant fake baobab having been plopped down in the middle of the existing Primate Discovery Center. I do not have high hopes for this one…
Click to expand...

I agree. Construction has been dawdling at an absolute snail's pace and updates are rare. Compared to Fresno, Sacramento, Sequoia Park, and SDZ who have all been busy with projects in recent years and buzzing along like bees, really makes you wonder why this complex is taking so long.
 
wild boar said:
What is a CPP Taxonomic Advisory Group? Did you mean phase out the mainland species or Aldabra subspecies? How I'm interpreting this is the two Malagasy subspecies are managed separately, as is the African species.


What is a "ZTL zoo"? Are you referring to the Malagasy species or Malagasy subspecies?
Click to expand...
Ciconiiformes/Phoenicopteriformes/Pelecaniformes
 
Aardwolf said:
I'm not sure how the new SSP changes are impacting the CPP TAG plans, but the goal was to phase out sacred ibis in favor of this species.
Click to expand...
Were you saying that the TAG was planning on phasing out the mainland species or Aldabra subspecies? How I'm interpreting this is the two Malagasy subspecies are managed separately, as is the African species.
 
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