All the animals being sent to the US will be post-reproductive, at least the initial group. At this point the purpose is to raise awareness and funds for the Tasmanian Devil rescue program in Australia.
Tasmanian devils in the US
- Thread starter Chlidonias
- Start date
All the animals being sent to the US will be post-reproductive, at least the initial group. At this point the purpose is to raise awareness and funds for the Tasmanian Devil rescue program in Australia.
post-reproductive or from over-represented genetic lines (i.e. not needed for the programme), so the latter *could* breed. I don't know if there's a stipulation not to breed them though. If the captive programme does extend outside Australia (as opposed to the current advocacy role the overseas animals will play) they aren't going to want over-represented and inbred animals re-entering the population so that may be the case.
Any post-reproductive animals aren't going to last long (average total lifespan is only around 5-7 years) so there will have to be further imports just to keep animals at the zoos.
Its too bad the Aussies wont share healthy, young, reproductive animals with zoos in North America and Europe. The contagious cancer sounds like it will wipe out the wild population sooner or later. It seems inevitable. They should start building up healthy populations on other continents incase something were to happen to the Australian captive population. What if it gets into the captive stock? What if a new disease breaks out? They would be wise to build up captive numbers that are completely isolated and what better isolation than different continents. And its not like European and North American zoos a poorly managed. Both have done wonderful things for a number of critically endangered species. The devils would be well cared for. They would be highly in demand so the population would grow but be carefully managed to ensure maximum genetic diversity. And by having good sized populations they can better help raise awareness and funds for their wild relatives while providing animals for possible reintroduction.
It would be wise to be patient... Its been about 10 years since Tassie Devils were in US zoos. Those that have worked with devils in the past are not likely to still be around for this new import. And if they are still around, they may not be working directly with these new animals. It is best to work with non-breeding animals before you start out with more valuable individuals. Mistakes do happen in zoo animal husbandry.
Actually, if u do some research u will find that they discovered a population of healthy and apparently immune devils a few years back. There's even a tv special about it on discovery or something. They just need to breed them to a larger population. This group was segmented on a part of Tasmania far from the majority of devils. It is believed that poisons, pesticides and heavy inbreeding due to the extinction of the thylacine aka Tasmania tiger caused this as devils no longer have a natural predator other than man and his chemicals. It's great to see San Diego get 1st batch but Albuquerque seems like an odd choice over a national zoo or Henry Doorly, Brookfield, Columbus, Bronx. Hope it goes well and they end up back here in fort Wayne where I believe we had the last foreign population before Australia stopped allowing them outside the country.
Cab you provide some proof for that as I'm skeptical of that claim.
Bronx would be a poor choice as they have no room for them on exhibit and don't have an Australian section. The Prospect Park Zoo, as I mentioned before, may be a better choice. Besides that, I am surprised that another big-name zoo didn't get picked.
That's incorrect, the last foreign population of Tasmanian Devils still resides and breeds(?) at the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark.
~Thylo
Bronx would be a poor choice as they have no room for them on exhibit and don't have an Australian section. The Prospect Park Zoo, as I mentioned before, may be a better choice. Besides that, I am surprised that another big-name zoo didn't get picked.
That's incorrect, the last foreign population of Tasmanian Devils still resides and breeds(?) at the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark.
~Thylo
The Rio Grande Zoo finished preparing a $300,000 exhibit for Tasmanian Devils in 2008, expecting them that summer, but they never came. That's why they're getting them now.
ABQjournal Metro: Zoo Expecting a Tasmanian Devil of a Delivery
Funny enough, this article was written on my birthday!
ABQjournal Metro: Zoo Expecting a Tasmanian Devil of a Delivery
Funny enough, this article was written on my birthday!
That's incorrect, the last foreign population of Tasmanian Devils still resides and breeds(?) at the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark.
~Thylo
You're correct they have bred this year in Denmark.
azcheetah2
Well-Known Member
Late October? Cool. I'll be going to San Diego in December or January.
It's been at least a year since the last post has been posted on this thread. So I'll continue the thread with the following information for those of us who wish to get caught up on this:
US zoos currently exhibiting Tasmanian devils: San Diego Zoo, Albuquerque BioPark
US zoos considered for keeping Tasmanian devils: Fort Wayne Children's Zoo (they actually held the last Tasmanian devils in the US in 2004)
Also, does the Los Angeles Zoo have its Tasmanian devils yet? (there are photos on ZooChat of the enclosure under construction)
US zoos currently exhibiting Tasmanian devils: San Diego Zoo, Albuquerque BioPark
US zoos considered for keeping Tasmanian devils: Fort Wayne Children's Zoo (they actually held the last Tasmanian devils in the US in 2004)
Also, does the Los Angeles Zoo have its Tasmanian devils yet? (there are photos on ZooChat of the enclosure under construction)
As of June 2015 the Tasmanian devils are not on exhibit at the LA Zoo, but the exhibit for them appears to be almost complete. Likely their arrival is imminent sometime in 2015.