Question: are you interested in how the wild cousins of zoo animals are doing?

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I spend a fair amount of time trying to figure out how the wild relatives of my favorite zoo animals are doing in the wild. There is scientifically valid information out there for many species, often put out by IUCN specialist groups, but it is often buried on websites and in reports that most people don't read.

Would it be of interest to the ZooChat community to collate this information in this thread for animals that people like to see in zoos and wonder how their wild relatives are doing?

If it is of interest then I am willing to curate this thread and help people find the information about how the wild relatives of their favorite critters are doing in the wild, and of course with the great pool of knowledge here I'm sure that many people have much information to share also.

I think that this could be of some meaningful conservation value as many zoo people read this site and could incorporate this information into graphics, keeper talks, etc.

If people are interested then I guess that you will post replies, and if not, then this thread will go unanswered.
 
IanRRobinson said:
Anyone on this forum should be interested, and I certainly am. Thanks for the offer!! :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Ian. Maybe you can illuminate on this thread us on how your favorite bird groups are doing in the UK if you ever have time and interest.
 
We could start a Zoochat Wiki? And for each species have notes on both how a species is doing in Captivity and how it is doing in the wild?
 
Just my two cents worth, but it seems pretty broad to include all the worlds animals on one thread. (This thread could get really long really quickly). Might make more sense to do a separate thread for large general groupings. I am thinking of something like one thread for raptors, one for songbirds, one for crocodilians, one for mammalian carnivores, etc.
 
That´s a great idea for a thread, David, but will people really read it?
I was kinda surprised by the question "are you interested in how the wild cousins of zoo animals are doing?" - of course we are, aren´t we? I kinda thought, that ZooChatters are interested in wildlife in general, not only in animals kept in zoos..They are reading about animals in the wild, researching the information they want in books and on the internet... Or don´t they? :)

If there are people here, who are interested in zoo animals only and don´t read anything about their situation in the wild, I would simply tell them - after your visit in a zoo, take a list of your favourite animals and look them up on Arkive, IUCN, EOL etc. As simple as that.

Don´t get me wrong, David, it is a great offer to do the research for us, but I´m afraid that you would spend lots of your precious time on something that isn´t really needed..

Or maybe I am wrong.. sorry.. ;)
 
Stefka said:
That´s a great idea for a thread, David, but will people really read it?
I was kinda surprised by the question "are you interested in how the wild cousins of zoo animals are doing?" - of course we are, aren´t we? I kinda thought, that ZooChatters are interested in wildlife in general, not only in animals kept in zoos..They are reading about animals in the wild, researching the information they want in books and on the internet... Or don´t they? :)

If there are people here, who are interested in zoo animals only and don´t read anything about their situation in the wild, I would simply tell them - after your visit in a zoo, take a list of your favourite animals and look them up on Arkive, IUCN, EOL etc. As simple as that.

Don´t get me wrong, David, it is a great offer to do the research for us, but I´m afraid that you would spend lots of your precious time on something that isn´t really needed..

Or maybe I am wrong.. sorry.. ;)
Click to expand...

For many of us, our reference is Wikipedia as it is usually at the top of a Google search and our enquiries usually are not for a PhD thesis so Wikipedia is sufficient. A more reliable source is always appreciated.
 
nanoboy said:
For many of us, our reference is Wikipedia as it is usually at the top of a Google search and our enquiries usually are not for a PhD thesis so Wikipedia is sufficient. A more reliable source is always appreciated.
Click to expand...

I believe that EOL (Encyclopedia of Life) is the best place to start when looking for information about certain species. They include articles and pictures from various websites (IUCN, Arkive, AmhibiaWeb...), including the articles from Wikipedia. So you get it all in one pack on one site. Plus lots of references and links for further research. You can also view the species on taxonomic tree and read all the common and scientific names of the species.

And if you log in, you can create your own collection of species you´re interested in and access it easily in the future, find out about updates and so on.
 
Stefka said:
I believe that EOL (Encyclopedia of Life) is the best place to start when looking for information about certain species. They include articles and pictures from various websites (IUCN, Arkive, AmhibiaWeb...), including the articles from Wikipedia. So you get it all in one pack on one site. Plus lots of references and links for further research. You can also view the species on taxonomic tree and read all the common and scientific names of the species.

And if you log in, you can create your own collection of species you´re interested in and access it easily in the future, find out about updates and so on.
Click to expand...

Stefka, I did not know about this website! I was always frustrated when Wikipedia didn't have much information on some species, but now I know where I'll be looking from now on! ;)

And at nrg800 and Arizona Docent, those are great ideas!
 
Stefka said:
I believe that EOL (Encyclopedia of Life) is the best place to start when looking for information about certain species. They include articles and pictures from various websites (IUCN, Arkive, AmhibiaWeb...), including the articles from Wikipedia. So you get it all in one pack on one site. Plus lots of references and links for further research. You can also view the species on taxonomic tree and read all the common and scientific names of the species.

And if you log in, you can create your own collection of species you´re interested in and access it easily in the future, find out about updates and so on.
Click to expand...

Top website. Cheers!

Less user-friendly and readable than Wikipedia, but it definitely has potential!
 
I am very interested in conservation status of animals represented in zoos. Sadly, I think that zoos which are on the Species Survival Plan, might be the last hope for some of these species. Wasn't the black rhino declared extinct in the wild and the scimitar horned oryx is also extinct in the wild? My local zoo, Omaha Zoo, has many programmes for conservation. I don't think that many zoo patrons know that these programmes exist or why they exist. I would LOVE to have more information about these species. I comb such things as Google News for information and now in this thread I have been given more links to information and I really appreciate it. Thank you all very much.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top