Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo visits...

[patrick]

mmmmm. You can look at this from several angles I think. It might depend on how exclusively solitary the species is in its habits in the first place. Also how easy it is for the two members of a 'solitary' species kept either together, or in adjacent pens, to be able to avoid each other. Where is the boundary between it being a beneficial experience- or a stressful one....? (just asking the question..)

absolutely i agree it could flip the other way round and be stressful.

however - lets be smart here. we are talking about animal management and if there is one thing that clear to me, its that things arn't always clear!

animals, like people can be highly variable in behaviour and can have very different needs from other members of their species. the answer is to manage things on a case by case basis.

i'm not saying that maned wolf needs a friend. but i'm not going to be so extreme as place a blanket rule that "solitary" animals don't enjoy companionship in captivity.

 

[Ara]

I just wish that they weren't called maned "wolves." They are more of a long-legged fox than a wolf - both in behaviour and appearance; but I suppose we're stuck with "wolf ".

(Incidentally, in South America the jaguar is generally known as the "tigre", tiger. Just another mis-name.)

Someone mentioned how carnivores must do it harder in captivity than other animals. I agree, particularly in the case of cats large and small, full of hunting instinct and superbly designed for the kill. Their instincts are totally frustrated in captivity. (By comparison I'm sure a water buffalo, for example, doesn't really mind being in a zoo paddock instead of out in the wild.) Yet to let cats hunt in captivity would be grossly inhumane to the prey animal. I don't know what the answer is.

 

[patrick]

(Incidentally, in South America the jaguar is generally known as the "tigre", tiger. Just another mis-name.)

not in brazil though - there it is known as "onca pintada" whereas the puma was called "onca parda". its even labeled onca pintada on the cinquenta reais bill. a "tigre" is tiger.

i think "tigre" is only used in some spanish speaking countries.

 

[Jaywa]

I just wish that they weren't called maned "wolves." They are more of a long-legged fox than a wolf - both in behaviour and appearance; but I suppose we're stuck with "wolf ".

(Incidentally, in South America the jaguar is generally known as the "tigre", tiger. Just another mis-name.)

Someone mentioned how carnivores must do it harder in captivity than other animals. I agree, particularly in the case of cats large and small, full of hunting instinct and superbly designed for the kill. Their instincts are totally frustrated in captivity. (By comparison I'm sure a water buffalo, for example, doesn't really mind being in a zoo paddock instead of out in the wild.) Yet to let cats hunt in captivity would be grossly inhumane to the prey animal. I don't know what the answer is.

Someone with insight at last!! You have thought about the animal - how it thinks, feels and is programmed. Perhaps we could get you on the Board of this joint to rethink their future planning. Thanks for your obvious deep concern.

 

[dragon(ele)nerd]

i'm not saying that maned wolf needs a friend. but i'm not going to be so extreme as place a blanket rule that "solitary" animals don't enjoy companionship in captivity.

I'm not trying to be getting on the wrong side of this, but could it be that animals are different like humans, i have never had a real friend in my life and i guess i have turned out ok. With maned obvoiusly like all animals certain individuals are different but for the whole majority of the species they are not fully social animals?

Not trying to get on the wrong side of this