Zoologico Nacional de Cuba National Zoo of Cuba

kiang

kiang

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
The National Zoological Park in Havana has arranged an import with the government of Namibia, to transfer 148 animals donated by the national government.
Animals to be imported include lions, elephants, rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, buffalos, hyenas, honey badgers, porcupines, kudu, bat-eared foxes, ostriches and white-backed vultures.
The first shipment is due in October.

BBC News - Nambian-Cuban 'Noah's Ark' plan criticised
 
Namibia allowed Africam Safari zoo of Puebla, Mexico to move 9 young elephants to their park. But africam is an AZA accredited institution with high international standards. Cuban zoos are a different matter. But cuba has given strong aid programs to many african nations. Cuban doctors, vets, health specialists work throughout africa, i have met some in Havana and they are dedicated people. I found the havana zoo very depressing by the way. But i am not certain if it is the same zoo mentioned.
 
I think it's vile. No excuse for taking this many wild animals and making them captive. No excuse for ever taking a wild animal and making it captive unless it is in danger or injured or the species is critically threatened.

If improving the gene pool at Cuba is the issue then they have to do what other zoos do - get standards up enough so they can become an accepted part of international breeding programmes.

Cuba either need to do it the right way or not run a zoo at all. Wild animals are not to be used as diplomatic bargining chips in this way.

Full stop this is horrible and wrong.
 
wenxue said:
I think it's vile. No excuse for taking this many wild animals and making them captive. No excuse for ever taking a wild animal and making it captive unless it is in danger or injured or the species is critically threatened.



Full stop this is horrible and wrong.
Click to expand...

Why do you feel this way? Do you believe that it is wrong to keep animals in captivity? And, if so, where would you draw the line? For example, how would you feel about the moving of ungulates to 'ranches' in places such as Namibia and South Africa? For example, http://www.umphafa.com/. Your response suggests that this is a very black and white issue - and i'm not sure that it is!
 
wenxue said:
I think it's vile. No excuse for taking this many wild animals and making them captive. No excuse for ever taking a wild animal and making it captive unless it is in danger or injured or the species is critically threatened.

If improving the gene pool at Cuba is the issue then they have to do what other zoos do - get standards up enough so they can become an accepted part of international breeding programmes.

Cuba either need to do it the right way or not run a zoo at all. Wild animals are not to be used as diplomatic bargining chips in this way.

Full stop this is horrible and wrong.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more!
It is all about money and in striking contrast to all conservation efforts in
Africa.

BBC News Havanna, 21.8.2012, Cuba Zoo gets ready for...:
"The park wants to attract more foreign tourists and their hard currency."
(no wonder they are looking for private investors)

Havanna Times, 25.4.2012, The Santiago de Cuba Zoo:
"Unfortunately the passing of time (sic!) and the inability to replace some of these specimens has meant many of the younger generation being unable to enjoy these."
A visitor from Vermont commenting:
...thanks for bringing back fond memories of our family's visit to Santiago Zoo in 2004.
I remember the chimpanzee who had been taught to smoke a cigar! Perhaps he has subsequently died of lung cancer.
 
That import is a huge mistake, it is not the first one an African nation has done to Cuba. First it was Congo, Angola, now Namibia. It has been more than 50 years of pure failure in keeping healthy (and life) captive exotics in Cuba.

It is very sad that these animals will have the same fate of the others in the past.
 
You can now see photos of the animals from the Namibia import on the new Zoologico Nacional de Cuba gallery. The animals seem to have adapted well to Havanna, we can hope that the some of the offspring will be sent to european zoos eventually.
 
OMG!
The African plains exhibit, has anyone seen this recently?
 
The video shows clearly the Zoologico Nacional de Cuba, not the Havana zoo. They are different places. The Havana zoo is in the Vedado section and the Zoologico Nacional is on calle Boyeros near the airport of Havana. Tha african savana at the zoologico nacional is quite large but the buses rush thru it making photography difficult. In the zoologico nacional gallery here on zoochat you can see a photo of rhinos, cape buffalo and giraffes all together, as magill mentions. What is very interesting that both zoologico nacional and the havana zoo recieved animals from Namibia about 3 years ago, including many rare taxa in zoos such as red hartebeets, roan antelope, ratels, brown hyenas and black backed jackals. These animals have adapted quite well to Havana, Actually i think that U.S. zoo professionals like Magill are already considering the exciting possiblities of exchange and ties to the Cuban zoos if the embargo goes down.
I wrote a review of zoologico nacional and i still owe zoochat a review of the Havana zoo, but i did post some photos of both places.
 
Thank you for the clarification.
 
The National Zoo in Havana will receive about ninety animals from Mexican zoos for their "Eurasian Prairie", which is scheduled for completion this year.

"Armando Barrios, institutional communicator of the entity, reported that the group includes specimens of red deer and sika, fallow and white fallow deer, Barbary and dwarf goats and white Bengal tigers."

"The exchange contemplates the National Zoo sending grant zebras, flamingos, spotted hyenas and leopards to the Mexican Association."


See the article here: Cuban National Zoo will receive new animals




 
I had read about this in a article in spanish. Fallow and sika deer,as well as aoudad are quite common in mexican zoos so it will be easy to send surplus animals to Cuba. White tigers are now also easy to find in mexican zoos. The spotted hyenas and leopards that zoologico nacional de Cuba will send to Mexico have been bred from the Namibia import of a few years ago. There are no african leopards in the US now. This exchange seems good for Both sides.
 
Any news items on breeding the rhinos? I heard sometime ago they had managed calves from both white and blacks!?
 
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