Philadelphia Zoo Philadelphia Zoo 2021 News

CarLover

CarLover

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5+ year member
Gibbon brothers Orion and Aries have left the Philadelphia Zoo and are now living at the Point Defiance Zoo. Keepers hope to integrate them with the lowland anoas, Malayan tapirs, and porcupines there at their Asian Forest Sanctuary Exhibit. Their parents Phoenice and Mercury are still at the Philadelphia Zoo with their youngest child Polaris.

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article248458715.html
 
vogelcommando said:
On Dec.13 a Francoise langur was born at the Philadelphia Zoo :

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=219505893181093
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When Chester, the male francois langur, first arrived in the Philadelphia Zoo, he shared an exhibit with the Zoo's only douc langur, Toi. They got along very well, but sadly, she died of complications of old age just a few months later. Shortly after that, two female francois langurs joined Chester. My plan was to record their life together as they formed bonds and added offspring to their family group. Unfortunately, the coronavirus made it impossible for visitors to see any of the animals in the Rare Animal Conservation for most of 2020. The building was only reopened for a few weeks before it was closed to visitors again. This is the link to one of the videos I recorded of Chester with Toi.
- And this is the link to one of the videos I recorded of Chester with his new female companions after Toi died
 
Zoo Visitor said:
When Chester, the male francois langur, first arrived in the Philadelphia Zoo, he shared an exhibit with the Zoo's only douc langur, Toi. They got along very well, but sadly, she died of complications of old age just a few months later. Shortly after that, two female francois langurs joined Chester. My plan was to record their life together as they formed bonds and added offspring to their family group. Unfortunately, the coronavirus made it impossible for visitors to see any of the animals in the Rare Animal Conservation for most of 2020. The building was only reopened for a few weeks before it was closed to visitors again. This is the link to one of the videos I recorded of Chester with Toi.
- And this is the link to one of the videos I recorded of Chester with his new female companions after Toi died
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The reason the building was closed again was because mayor Jim Kenney announced the new restrictions. When the zoo reopens in February the building might reopen again.
 
Kevin2342 said:
The reason the building was closed again was because mayor Jim Kenney announced the new restrictions. When the zoo reopens in February the building might reopen again.
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I can't say for sure, but I don't think that is the reason the Zoo closed the Rare Animal Conservation Center again. That definitely is not what I heard. Also, if the Philadelphia Museum of Art is allowed to reopen this month, and many branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia have been told they have to reopen to the public, surely the Zoo's Rare Animal Conservation Building would have been allowed to re-open if the Zoo itself had stayed open.
 
Does anyone happen to know what subspecies of Sloth Bear the zoo has? I recall hearing somewhere that they have both, but which are which?
 
New zoo hours, directly from their e-mail:
February 12 through February 15
9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

February 17 through March 21
Open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. close beginning March 1)

Beginning March 24
Open Everyday
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
 
red river hog said:
Does anyone happen to know what subspecies of Sloth Bear the zoo has? I recall hearing somewhere that they have both, but which are which?
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IIRC the male is an Indian and the female is a Sri Lankan. If they've had a surviving cub, it's a cross between the two. At least that was the situation when I last visited in 2017.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
IIRC the male is an Indian and the female is a Sri Lankan. If they've had a surviving cub, it's a cross between the two. At least that was the situation when I last visited in 2017.

~Thylo
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Oh that's interesting. They do have a surviving cub, Keematee, who was born earlier this year. I wonder why they would breed the two Sloth Bears if they're different subspecies. :confused:
 
Not sure if this is relevant but there is so little going on, the newborn Francois's langur is starting to change color from gold to black. A video released by the zoo today showed the langurs exploring the entranceway to Zoo360 from their exhibit and the baby is growing quickly.
 
red river hog said:
Oh that's interesting. They do have a surviving cub, Keematee, who was born earlier this year. I wonder why they would breed the two Sloth Bears if they're different subspecies. :confused:
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Genetic diversity. The plan was for the AZA to focus on Sri Lankan and EAZA to focus on Indian, however the Indian program was more successful than the Sri Lankan and the SSP decided that genetic diversity was too low to sustain the population long-term. Therefore, they imported some of the European-bred Indian Sloth Bears to increase our genetic population. At least Philadelphia, Cleveland, Omaha, and Columbus have single Indian animals in mixed pairings.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Genetic diversity. The plan was for the AZA to focus on Sri Lankan and EAZA to focus on Indian, however the Indian program was more successful than the Sri Lankan and the SSP decided that genetic diversity was too low to sustain the population long-term. Therefore, they imported some of the European-bred Indian Sloth Bears to increase our genetic population. At least Philadelphia, Cleveland, Omaha, and Columbus have single Indian animals in mixed pairings.

~Thylo
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A typical no-brainer. I am sure they could have sourced Sri Lankan from Dehiwala Zoo.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
A typical no-brainer. I am sure they could have sourced Sri Lankan from Dehiwala Zoo.
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I'm sure Indian from Europe would have been easier to obtain, and allowed for more individuals to be brought in. Surely Dehiwala doesn't have a massive number of bears?

~Thylo
 
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