Zoo Koki Pheasant enclosures
- Thread starter ZOO KOKI
- Start date
35 species is impressive. Very few zoos have pheasants at all.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
We used to have a wide range of spp, both as a private collection and when we first opened to the public. Pretty much all have been phased out as the public are just not interested. Two generations ago perhaps, but not any more...
Too bad (though not THAT bad because they are not cats
). My local zoo, Reid Park Zoo, is supposedly going to add a pheasant area as part of their upcoming Asia expansion (scheduled for 2022). It will be interesting to see what happens and how many species they get.How on Earth and when did we fall from grace here?
We may only show and become big ABC et cetera zoos, while failing to make a meaningful narrative of biodiversity conservation and education without an representative animal collection (as well as plants) we will ultimately fail dismally on conserving Planet Earth diversity and ourselves as a species. People will only want to conserve what they know and love. If they do not experience the diversity and ecologically useful roles of pheasants in the global ecosystems what values do we disown as a zoo community?
Maybe they need a massive PR drive. Worked for Meerkats.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Yes, you are right, I agree - but I fear we are facing practical problems and not theoretical ones, in the coming weeks and months.
The ABCs are the species people always want to see. Unfortunately others come in and out of fashion. While flamingos and large parrots are always in fashion others go through phases, pheasants, waterfowl, lorikeets, owls and diurnal birds of prey come and go.
Although I have not read the paper myself, I am familiar with the oft quoted piece by William Conway called How To Display A Bullfrog (or something close to that). I think he was onto something - if zoos really put effort into displaying pheasants (or whatever else) with enthusiasm, I think we could turn the tide. My local Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has a few ABC animals and a lot of smaller ones (and a lot of non-animal exhibits) and people love it. This is partly due to a huge (largest I have seen) and enthusiastic docent program. I am not a plant person per se, yet one of my more memorable docent encounters there was learning about jojoba!
Andrew, I really do think that zoos like museums and universities are educational facilities and I refuse to believe that this is not a public task - you know that most governments and public authorities have economised away everything public to the private sector, this includes culture, education and environment and conservation. It is a failing in the complex short term economic model we - as yet - keep adopting (despite numerous indications where we are failing ourselves, society, the environment and most importantly our only liveable planet.
I agree ...., we volunteers have an added value in PR and awareness that is tapped, yet ... not always valued in other ways (as well as the terms). I do personally feel it is a public and social responsibility ...
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
As I said, I do agree - but at a time when we are surviving day-to-day on public donations including children's pocket money, it might have to wait...
We'
*Red Panda with (not in the same enclosure obvs) Red-billed Blue Magpie & White-Eared Pheasant
*Gaur with Red Junglefowl & Shama
*Visayan Spotted Deer with Palawan Peacock Pheasant & Luzon Bleeding-heart
*Yellow-throated Marten with Himalayan Monal and Slaty-headed Parrakeet
and my favourite, very hard to achieve...
*Snow Leopard, Bharal, with Grandala, Blood Pheasant and Snow Pigeon.
Any or all of these, with appropriate landscaping, graphics and planting, could be very attractive and maybe take some attention away from the Meerkats
Maybe when times improve..... I've always fantasised about having appropriate bird species housed adjacent to a geographically appropriate charismatic mammal, like:
*Red Panda with (not in the same enclosure obvs) Red-billed Blue Magpie & White-Eared Pheasant
*Gaur with Red Junglefowl & Shama
*Visayan Spotted Deer with Palawan Peacock Pheasant & Luzon Bleeding-heart
*Yellow-throated Marten with Himalayan Monal and Slaty-headed Parrakeet
and my favourite, very hard to achieve...
*Snow Leopard, Bharal, with Grandala, Blood Pheasant and Snow Pigeon.
Any or all of these, with appropriate landscaping, graphics and planting, could be very attractive and maybe take some attention away from the Meerkats
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
Yes, I wholly sympathise with your point of view, but it’s worth noting that despite being seen by People Like Us as being one of the must-see US zoos, the ASDM receives about 400,000 visitors each year, while the nearby, and as I understand it pretty average Reid Park Zoo gets 550,000 - possibly because of those ABCs.
Years ago (early 1990's), San Diego Zoo had side-by-side exhibits for snow leopard and bharal. It may have been the only herd of bharal in the USA. They have sadly all since died.
ZOO KOKI
Member
Yes now we have 28! and we dont have Polyplectron!
ZOO KOKI
Member
We are not thinking about the public. We are a small zoo we do not have to pay large amounts of money. We are thinking of hosting a large collection that serves as a reference center.
ZOO KOKI
Member
It is not a fad for us. we have been raising pheasants for more than 25 years
www.faisanesdelmundo.com is one of our online educational projects.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Good luck with it. I have personally been involved with these birds since I was eleven years old, and they stand behind everything we have done since. Life has changed for us, but we send our very best wishes for your project.