Tagged Animals.

[European Fauna]

Many keepers and curators claim that they can identify hoofstock individuals within a herd by sight alone with 100% reliability.I have always doubted this , and supposed that at best they would be able to identify certain individuals with salient features or mannerisms, but not identify all individuals in a large herd.Indeed, research was carried out on this assertion , and the conclusion was that the majority of keepers / curators were mistaken far more often than they believed.(I regret not having made a note of the names of the researchers or the reference of their study).How are your zoos identifying their stock ? Are they using tags , tattoos , chips , rings , dyes or something else?Which methods do you prefer and why?Please comment re. all stock , not just hoofstock.For example, does anybody have a method for amphibians?

 

[James27]

I think amphibians are just kind of left to breed. Hoofstock normally have ear tags, I think it looks kind of messy but there's not much else to do really.

 

[Jacobea]

I think ear-tagging is something that EU law demands of most hoofstock type animals. Not sure why.

Most animals like cats and canids, and probably many primates species are/would be microchipped like dogs and birds are ringed (again, this latter is something the EU requires, I think).

 

[Panthera Puss]

Safe dyes have been used with the study of Lemurs for example (hard to identify when moving quickly), both in the wild & zoos. It's best not to spray on if using aerosol because the hiss upsets them - spray into can cap then paint on with small brush. The colouring would be only temporary of course.

 

[Hix]

When the Chimps at Taronga were moved from their cages into the Chimp park back in 1980 they were all tatooed on the lower lip.

And with 20 in the group, the keepers can tell them all apart (although it takes new keepers a while to learn them all).



Hix

 

[gentle lemur]

I don't like eartags - they mess up my photos. I don't think it's a legal requirement in the UK, otherwise they would have to do it with pigs, hippos, giraffes etc, which don't usually get them - I've just checked my newest photos from Howletts and Port Lympne and nothing I've shot has them (hog deer, blackbuck, water buffalo, European bison & roan antelope).
Of course all animals are microchipped these days, unless they are very small, which I'm sure is very useful and entirely non-obtrusive.

Alan