Species that need breeding programs?

Sarus Crane said:
Andean or Puna Flamingo > Chilean Flamingo
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This is an interesting case. Both rare flamingos experience massive natural breeding failures, where 100s of doomed eggs or chicks could be collected with no loss to the wild populations. It is because of unpredictable drying and freezing of Andean lakes. Zoos supported financially nature reserves in the Andes, where they breed, at least for some time. But no birds reached Western zoos. Currently, less than a dozen birds of each species live and irregularily breed in Berlin zoo. Slimbridge has a flock of Andean, but seems not to make much effort to breed them. Apparently they are not even sexed.

Sarus Crane said:
Madagascar Pond Heron > Javan Pond Heron
Greater Adjutant Stork > Marabou Stork
Madagascar Sacred Ibis > African Sacred Ibis
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There are breeding groups of all three species in Western zoos, and it is difficult to explain by anything else than lack of interest.
 
Jurek7 said:
This is an interesting case. Both rare flamingos experience massive natural breeding failures, where 100s of doomed eggs or chicks could be collected with no loss to the wild populations. It is because of unpredictable drying and freezing of Andean lakes. Zoos supported financially nature reserves in the Andes, where they breed, at least for some time. But no birds reached Western zoos. Currently, less than a dozen birds of each species live and irregularily breed in Berlin zoo. Slimbridge has a flock of Andean, but seems not to make much effort to breed them. Apparently they are not even sexed.



There are breeding groups of all three species in Western zoos, and it is difficult to explain by anything else than lack of interest.
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Where are the Greater Adjutants?
 
Sarus Crane said:
Ok then Lelwel. Why AREN'T hartebeests in captivity? Husbandry too challenging?
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I also wonder why there aren't ( almost ) anymore in zoos. In the past they have been kept and bred in quite good numbers in ( at least European ) zoos and I can remember seeing Cape hartebeests at Artis Amsterdam, Burger's Arnhem, Blijdorp Rotterdam ( all the Netherlands ) and Hannover and Krefeld in Germany in the late 1970s - and 1980s. At Hannover I saw also the Coke's hartebeest.
Realy a pitty they are almost vanished but I realy have no clue why !
 
I misread and thought Lesser Adjutant. It is bred in Western zoos and threatened and a good replacement of the common Marabou. No Greater Adjutant in the West to my knowledge. Although there is a project in India, which regularly deals with chicks pushed out of wild nests => probable source of zoo birds without affecting wild population.
 
EAZA has listed both blonde and Ka'apor capuchins as candidates for EEPs (https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads/CCC/BPG-2019/20190828-Best-Practice-Guideline-Capuchins2.pdf). In addition, EEPs have already been initiated for buffy-headed and buffy-tufted marmosets, as well as the white-footed tamarin. I would be surprised if plans to import any are imminent (excepting the white-footeds, which Jersey and Beauval have been trying to import for some time now), but an international breeding programme would certainly be in all these species' interests.

Similarly, I believe Prague Zoo has mooted the possibility of acquiring Blakiston's fish owls - again, though, this is probably just back-of-the-envelope discussion at the moment.

Paying less heed to real-world bureaucracy, I would pick the mountain tapir as an ideal candidate for captive breeding - a tiny population and endemic to a small area in the higher reaches of the Tropical Andes. I'd love to see some European zoos make room for them but won't hold my breath - despite rumours from Cologne and (I believe) Berlin, Colombia has stuck firm to its 'no exports' line.

More realistically, plans have been mooted to expand range country programmes for a variety of species - such as pigmy hogs, Javan warty pigs, Philippine eagle owls, black-winged mynahs, Negros bleeding hearts and Darwin's frogs - to Europe and/or America. I do hope at least some of these get off the ground.
 
Gavialis said:
EAZA has listed both blonde and Ka'apor capuchins as candidates for EEPs (https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads/CCC/BPG-2019/20190828-Best-Practice-Guideline-Capuchins2.pdf). In addition, EEPs have already been initiated for buffy-headed and buffy-tufted marmosets, as well as the white-footed tamarin. I would be surprised if plans to import any are imminent (excepting the white-footeds, which Jersey and Beauval have been trying to import for some time now), but an international breeding programme would certainly be in all these species' interests.

Similarly, I believe Prague Zoo has mooted the possibility of acquiring Blakiston's fish owls - again, though, this is probably just back-of-the-envelope discussion at the moment.

Paying less heed to real-world bureaucracy, I would pick the mountain tapir as an ideal candidate for captive breeding - a tiny population and endemic to a small area in the higher reaches of the Tropical Andes. I'd love to see some European zoos make room for them but won't hold my breath - despite rumours from Cologne and (I believe) Berlin, Colombia has stuck firm to its 'no exports' line.

More realistically, plans have been mooted to expand range country programmes for a variety of species - such as pigmy hogs, Javan warty pigs, Philippine eagle owls, black-winged mynahs, Negros bleeding hearts and Darwin's frogs - to Europe and/or America. I do hope at least some of these get off the ground.
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I hope Javan Warty Pigs get selected. They're bigger and more impressive than the Visayans.
 
The island raccoons subspecies, and espically the Cozumel Raccoon, which is its own species would be a great fit. They are extremly endangered, very unkown. And would be in general a better zoo animal than north american raccoons. Who are very popular animals, but extermly succesfull and woudn't need any help for its survival.
 
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Sarus Crane said:
Ok then Lelwel. Why AREN'T hartebeests in captivity? Husbandry too challenging?
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Based on the recent trends in Europe it tends to be a lack of founders, lack of interest and a species that seems quite prone to accidents. The last 4 European females lost their lives rather unfortunately (during transport and while giving birth). On the other hand they have very high fecundity in the wild, so if enough zoos are interested they could probably be managed pretty well, as breeding hasn't been a real problem in zoos either. It will probably never happen but Swayne's Hartebeest are in extremely need of any conservation action as the only really viable population is concentrated in 1 small reserve.
 
GiratinaIsGod said:
The island raccoons subspecies, and espically the Cozumel Raccoon, which is its own species would be a great fit. They are extremly endangered, very unkown. And would be in general a better zoo animal than north american raccoons. Who are very popular animals, but extermly succesfull and woudn't need any help for its survival.
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While the Cozumel is it's own species, the other racoons are the result of introductions on to Bahamas and Guadaloupe (Barbados one is extinct). There are a number of subspecies found on little islands off Florida, but I don't know if they are endangered.
 
lintworm said:
Based on the recent trends in Europe it tends to be a lack of founders, lack of interest and a species that seems quite prone to accidents. The last 4 European females lost their lives rather unfortunately (during transport and while giving birth). On the other hand they have very high fecundity in the wild, so if enough zoos are interested they could probably be managed pretty well, as breeding hasn't been a real problem in zoos either. It will probably never happen but Swayne's Hartebeest are in extremely need of any conservation action as the only really viable population is concentrated in 1 small reserve.
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I seem to recall reading that hartebeest were fairly highly strung and didn't adjust well to captivity. Black wildebeest seem to be similar in nature, although they are common enough in captivity.
 
vogelcommando said:
I also wonder why there aren't ( almost ) anymore in zoos. In the past they have been kept and bred in quite good numbers in ( at least European ) zoos and I can remember seeing Cape hartebeests at Artis Amsterdam, Burger's Arnhem, Blijdorp Rotterdam ( all the Netherlands ) and Hannover and Krefeld in Germany in the late 1970s - and 1980s. At Hannover I saw also the Coke's hartebeest.
Realy a pitty they are almost vanished but I realy have no clue why !
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lintworm said:
Based on the recent trends in Europe it tends to be a lack of founders, lack of interest and a species that seems quite prone to accidents. The last 4 European females lost their lives rather unfortunately (during transport and while giving birth). On the other hand they have very high fecundity in the wild, so if enough zoos are interested they could probably be managed pretty well, as breeding hasn't been a real problem in zoos either. It will probably never happen but Swayne's Hartebeest are in extremely need of any conservation action as the only really viable population is concentrated in 1 small reserve.
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Not sure if I read it in some other thread here or elsewhere, but apparently, their diet is a bit tricky to get optimal as well, as they feed on "hard" species of grass in wild.
 
tetrapod said:
While the Cozumel is it's own species, the other racoons are the result of introductions on to Bahamas and Guadaloupe (Barbados one is extinct). There are a number of subspecies found on little islands off Florida, but I don't know if they are endangered.
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It is only the abstract, but a paper from earlier this year: Error - Cookies Turned Off

"In addition, our results question the taxonomic status of the Cozumel raccoon, as currently available genetic data support a conspecific status with the northern raccoon."
 
tetrapod said:
I seem to recall reading that hartebeest were fairly highly strung and didn't adjust well to captivity. Black wildebeest seem to be similar in nature, although they are common enough in captivity.
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I have heard this too - certainly, the last hirola (admittedly, not a true hartebeest) at Gladys Porter was well-known for being an extremely 'difficult' and aggressive animal. I believe red tape is also an issue - hartebeest (indeed all alcelaphines) are carriers of MCF (malignant catarrhal fever), a highly-transmittable disease that is fatal in domestic cattle. I would imagine importing any wild-caught animals to Europe would be nigh-on impossible
 
Jurek7 said:
This is an interesting case. Both rare flamingos experience massive natural breeding failures, where 100s of doomed eggs or chicks could be collected with no loss to the wild populations. It is because of unpredictable drying and freezing of Andean lakes. Zoos supported financially nature reserves in the Andes, where they breed, at least for some time. But no birds reached Western zoos. Currently, less than a dozen birds of each species live and irregularily breed in Berlin zoo. Slimbridge has a flock of Andean, but seems not to make much effort to breed them. Apparently they are not even sexed.
Click to expand...
Many of Slimbridge's Andeans are very old, some were imported in the 1960s. 6 pairs laid 9 eggs last year, during a hot spell of weather, but unfortunately none were fertile. Some pairs were given Chilean eggs to hatch and rear. However breeding attempts are very sporadic and the last success was in 1999. The climate at Slimbridge may not be quite right for them.
 
A realistic this one : the Aruba subspecies of the Brown-throated conure.
The island is invaded by Boa constrictors which seem to take almost every chick hatched and form also a threat for the adults !
On the island ( and on Curaçao ) the species is kept by bird-keepers and breeders in small numbers and also in Europe some pure birds still should to be found but a controlled breeding-programm would be very important to save the species !
 
gentle lemur said:
Many of Slimbridge's Andeans are very old, some were imported in the 1960s. 6 pairs laid 9 eggs last year, during a hot spell of weather, but unfortunately none were fertile. Some pairs were given Chilean eggs to hatch and rear. However breeding attempts are very sporadic and the last success was in 1999. The climate at Slimbridge may not be quite right for them.
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Infertile eggs are common in zoo flamingos, it is because many pinioned males cannot balance during copulation. There are many further problems, for example many flocks are made mostly of males which disturbs breeding.

Slimbridge could pass the breeding couples (hopefully they can identify them) to Berlin. There is another problem because the aviary in Berlin is really small, but hopefully they can extend it. Sad to see yet another threatened species going extinct in zoos.
 
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