San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo

so whats the alternative?

western zoos own their own pandas? and thus san diego along with all the other panda keeping zoos start their own sustainable panda genepool and thus can afford to display pandas without any obligation to panda conservation in the wild.

agreed, its an exorbitant amount, but those pandas in US and european zoos are making money for pandas in the wild (unless you believe that the money is being embezzled). i would assume those few panads in western zoos make ten times more money for their wild counterparts than all the hundreds of gorillas in zoos do.

unfortunately, its such a high price that some zoos are considering no longer keeping panadas, which means they make no money at all.

i think most of you guys are partially uneasy about the rental scheme becuse you might secretly like the idea of your favorite zoo "owning" its own pandas.

i'm not without my own concerns with the rental scheme, but i just wanted to voice another perspective. if pandas were as common in zoos as elephants (which they might very well become if western zoos owned them) - would it actually be more benificial for them as a species?
 
excellent point pat,

Am all for the loan agreement if the money is being spent properly in china.

They more of a token in US zoos, and will always remain that way. It also keeps up the hype of giant panda and their plight. If they where common in zoo not many people would care so much.
 
Something with San Diego zoo and ISIS: They now claim to have a different subspecies of Visayan Warty pig to the rest of the U.S. This is actually inpossible, as all the U.S animals were imported by San Diego and then the young were distributed across the country. They also claim to have over 30.
 
Four US collections are not listed to subspecies level. San Diego still have Sus cebifrons cebifrons, I expect this subspecies is still kept in all US zoos. It's probably nothing more than a data error.
 
hornbill - you have to remember that ISIS data is entered by ISIS member zoos. they reguarly make mistakes or update things. like bongorob said, this is probably san diego just updating their records and choosing to list at a more specific subspecies level. if all US animals descend from san diego, then its likely ALL animals are this subspecies.

try not to over analyse ISIS data.....
 
I hope I can go here soon in the near future, everyone I know says it's fantastic, and I'd love to go there someday.
 
following the devestating wildfires that have spread throughout the state of california the wild animal park announced 2 animal casualties.
although physically the park remains unscathed a clapper rail (bird) and wild ass or kiang, died from what is believed to be a combination of smoke inhalation and stress. the other animals all survived unharmed with staff observing most of the 'free range' stock moving towards the ponds and lakes in the centre of the exhibits
 
I was reading the article about the deaths and a comment posted by another reader asked what a wild ass was. It seems that he got it confused with a certain part of the body, especially as that is the way americans say and spell it. This is a perfect example of the ignorance of people that I was talking about in another thread. He just didn't know that ass=donkey.
 
So far, 10 staff and their families have lost their homes also. Staff from both the zoo and the wild animal park are working closely to help the animals and the staff.
 
i was watching in a presentation one time, that they lost a few rhino calves that were newly born 10 years o so back from bad wild fires
 
provides a good account of the zoos in the region, there animals, and how san diego wap staff atcually saved animals and breeding facilities!

Amid Wildfires, Zoo Animal Rescues
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

As firefighters at last gain control of what may be one of the worst series of fires in U.S. history, more information is coming to light about wildlife that was lost or impacted by this week's Southern California tragedy.

While many animals housed at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park were saved, two perished as a result of the blazes. Post-mortem analysis has yet to reveal the precise causes of death, but keepers believe they were due to evacuation-related stress.

The first victim was a rare clapper rail bird that was only one of two breeding females at the park. Destruction of coastal marshland habitat has drastically reduced numbers of this bird, so researchers were hopeful this female could help in repopulation efforts. Last year, her chicks were successfully released into the wild.

The second loss at the park was a Kiang, a wild member of the horse family. This male was also of breeding age. Among the least studied animals in the world, the Kiang is also rare.

"Very few zoos have this species in their collections," San Diego Zoo spokesperson Yadira Galindo told Discovery News. "The deaths of both of these animals represent a tremendous loss for us."

An evacuated condor pen at the Wild Animal Park was also destroyed and more than 600 acres at the park burned.

"A true miracle saved the cheetah and wild dhole (a type of wild dog) breeding complexes," Galindo said.

She explained that park staff directly battled the blaze. Workers who normally maintain the facility's vehicles initiated a heroic effort. Individuals went in circles, continuously watering down the complexes, which were full of animals.

Due to their efforts, and the course of the fire, "it burnt down right in the middle of these two complexes" saving the animals and the structures, she said.

At the San Diego Zoo itself, primates, birds and other animals particularly sensitive to smoke inhalation are under close watch by vets. The primates now have continual access to their climate-controlled bedrooms.

While the Los Angeles Zoo was not directly damaged by the fires, general curator Michael Dee informed Discovery News that animals there are also under watch due to poor air conditions.

He said one male orangutan now has pneumonia-like conditions and is being kept inside a climate-controlled room. Dee explained that fire-related deaths and health problems in animals are often linked to levels of activity.

"Remember that animals operate at 100 percent if there's a disaster like this; it's part of their natural defense mechanism, mostly used in response to predators at other times," he explained.

Dee also said that unless wild animals are gradually introduced to evacuation containers, the stress of the movement, and of being enclosed, can kill them.

"Certain animals will bang themselves to death, or others may suffer cardiovascular distress," he said, noting horses he saw on the news that were being evacuated, looked terrified and had to be "pulled with great difficulty" into evacuation trailers.

In other cases, he said fires can exacerbate preexisting health conditions, such as breathing problems, disease, old age or parasite infestation.

SeaWorld San Diego, located near the coast, was not damaged.

Both Dee and Galindo, however, expressed concern over smaller animal rescue facilities, such as the California Wolf Center and Shambala Preserve, which were in the path of the blazes. The fate of the wolf center and its animals remains unknown, but Dee said he spoke to staff at Shambala Preserve early this week, and animals there appear to be fine.

While zoo animals will eventually be accounted for, the death toll of the region's wildlife will never be known.

"I remember walking through Griffith Park, before the May fire this year, and it was full of birds and other wildlife," he said. "When it burnt down, an entire generation went with it."
 
Writhedhornbill said:
Something with San Diego zoo and ISIS: They now claim to have a different subspecies of Visayan Warty pig to the rest of the U.S. This is actually inpossible, as all the U.S animals were imported by San Diego and then the young were distributed across the country. They also claim to have over 30.
Click to expand...

Regarding the subspecies change... I've noticed a lot of SD's listings have changed subspecies lately, but mostly it appears that they are now using the subspecies listings in Wilson's Mammal Species of the World 3rd Edition.
 
Nope, just as dumbfounded as everyone else. I was under the impression they had the two aging off-exhibit females, really shocked to see those kind of numbers listed. I halfway wonder if those aren't somehow historical numbers or something. The SD WAP also lists 2 pairs of pygmy hippos that I can't fathom them having in their CURRENT collection.
 
Speaking of San Diego, does anyone know whatever happened to their large herd of Mishmi takins?
 
A bit late to this thread, but here are some answers:

Mishmi takin: Currently at Peace River's Iron Mountain preserve in Marfa, Texas, along with most of the former caprid collection from the zoo and WAP (Spanish ibex, Siberian ibex, blue sheep, East Caucasian tur, Nilgiri tahr ...). There is precious little information available on this private facility online, but I have heard that it is great for the animals - very large enclosures (acres in size) with natural rocky terrain.

Douc langurs: those listed on ISIS are historical records ... animals from 1970's onwards, that either have lost the death date, or which ISIS is not reading and computing the death.

Visayan warty pigs: the subspecies designation is both correct and false. All of the pigs in the US are from the Panay population, whose status is known to be different than the Negros pigs, but has not been fully ascertained. Hence when the pigs arrived, they were all listed to just the species level. San Diego must have taken the liberty of assigning the cebifrons subspecies to "prove" that they know that the pigs are not subspecies hybrids, although whether the Panay pigs are truly S. c. cebifrons or another subspecies has not been determined.
 
Any idea why they surplussed so many of their caprids? I suppose it's probably due to Journey into Africa and Elephant Odyssey eh?
 
Ituri --
Yes many of these animals were moved around because of Journey Into Africa and Elephant Odyssey. They were either moved to other areas in one of the two parks or sent on loans to other zoos for genetic diversity. Some animals are simply off exhibit.
 
Many of us often debate which zoos are the greatest in the world. It's interesting that as the San Diego Zoo board of trustees prepares to produce a new master plan this year, one that will cover the next 5-10 years, the board actually went on a self-funded, 10 day tour of great U.S. zoos. Perhaps one could argue that the 6 zoos and 1 aquarium that they deliberately chose to visit are 7 of the very best institutions in North America. Naturally there are some very good collections that were not visited, and so this short list isn't necessarily everyone's opinion of the best American zoos outside of San Diego.

Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo
Denver Zoo
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
Bronx Zoo
Chicago (it doesn't specify whether it was Brookfield, Lincoln Park, or both)
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Shedd Aquarium
 
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