From the Los Angeles Times article from the news thread:
Special Memories closed in 2020, so their listing for Abdim's can be removed.
I can say I last saw one in the large aviary in Tiger Trail last October, it was roosting on top of a tree. However, on my last visit, they had less birds overall in the aviary and it seemed like it was just for the day due to the keepers cleaning up the aviary. I’ll check again in March when the Basecamp opens and report on here
Well, the storks were there first after all.
I can say I last saw one in the large aviary in Tiger Trail last October, it was roosting on top of a tree. However, on my last visit, they had less birds overall in the aviary and it seemed like it was just for the day due to the keepers cleaning up the aviary. I’ll check again in March when the Basecamp opens and report on here
I wonder how rapidly the colony will grow and which facilities outside San Diego do you think will be among the first to receive offspring?
I would not get my hopes up. This is a last ditch effort to save the population, and even with successful breedings from this group, imports would be necessary to sustain it long term. The population is aging rapidly and is very closely related. This species requires a large flock to actually successfully produce offspring, which is why the groups from the Zoo, Safari Park, and Audubon Species Survival Center were consolidated in the first place. It would not make sense to start splintering the group off again after chicks are produced.
Then they're going to have to be really careful about preventing inbreeding.
It’s too late for that. The population has been so small for so long that there’s already been inbreeding in the population. At this point, having inbred chicks is better than having no chicks at all. Inbreeding isn’t necessarily always a bad thing, and the effect it will have can vary dramatically depending on the species and the degree of inbreeding. Many now thriving captive populations wouldn’t still exist without inbreeding. It, of course, isn’t ideal, but sometimes it’s the only option. As I said, the population will be lost without imports either way, so ideally if San Diego is able to progress with imports, that fresh blood can be outbred with the current population.
San Diego & Zoo Negara could perhaps work together to bring NA's population back to healthy genetics. Zoo Negara has their own captive breeding program and have worked together before.
So Miami no longer holds African Openbills??? I thought one or two were in a small aviary in the African section?
Which species did you see behind the scenes? Did you do the tour where you see the animals in chainlink enclosures getting ready to be shipped out or are behind the scenes for breeding purposes?