Exmoor Zoo What did you think of it?

[pipaluk]

Thank you for your reply. I know there's no such species or subspecies commonly called the black leopard. I didn't know exactly what people referred to when writing "black leopard". I'm happy to know they're just referring to melanic morphs of Panthera pardus.

I think the point is that (as far as i'm aware) all apart from one black leopard in the UK are of no specific sub-species, i.e either their purity isn't known or they are hybrids of more than 1 sub-species. The fact they are black is incidental to the fact they aren't pure!!

 

[chimpman]

I think the point is that (as far as i'm aware) all apart from one black leopard in the UK are of no specific sub-species, i.e either their purity isn't known or they are hybrids of more than 1 sub-species. The fact they are black is incidental to the fact they aren't pure!!

I am not surprised they are not genetic pure bred. My original question was to check how people were using the term. A lot of people use vague terms, such as "black panther." There's also lots of people who think white tigers are a species or subspecies; although, I wouldn't expect those sort of errors here.

 

[pipaluk]

I am not surprised they are not genetic pure bred. My original question was to check how people were using the term. A lot of people use vague terms, such as "black panther." There's also lots of people who think white tigers are a species or subspecies; although, I wouldn't expect those sort of errors here.

I think you have answered your own question here! Except to say whether you wish to call it a black leopard or a panther , its classification would still be the same as if it were a spotted leopard of a specific or non-specific sub-species.

 

[chimpman]

I think you have answered your own question here!

I am not sure what point it is you want to make. I am aware that some names are used for animal species that are vague, e.g. panther. In addition, I am also aware that some people think certain animals are a species or subspecies when that is not the case, e.g. most white tigers.

When I saw the term "black leopard" in this thread, and had also seen the term "black leopard" in a thread about the Welsh Mountain Zoo, I wondered what people were talking about. I know that there is no regulation of the common names of species. It would be possible for me to call Panthera pardus, the African spotted cat. I wouldn't. Like most people I would stick to using the common name used by most people, leopard. As I'm new to the forum I wanted to discover whether people were referring to the melanic morph of Panthera pardus or to something else. I have now found out that it is the former.

Therefore, I do not know how I have answered my own question.

 

[pipaluk]

I am not sure what point it is you want to make. I am aware that some names are used for animal species that are vague, e.g. panther. In addition, I am also aware that some people think certain animals are a species or subspecies when that is not the case, e.g. most white tigers.

When I saw the term "black leopard" in this thread, and had also seen the term "black leopard" in a thread about the Welsh Mountain Zoo, I wondered what people were talking about. I know that there is no regulation of the common names of species. It would be possible for me to call Panthera pardus, the African spotted cat. I wouldn't. Like most people I would stick to using the common name used by most people, leopard. As I'm new to the forum I wanted to discover whether people were referring to the melanic morph of Panthera pardus or to something else. I have now found out that it is the former.

Therefore, I do not know how I have answered my own question.

You answered your own question because you knew white tigers weren't a specific sub-species, and the same principle applies to leopards, the colouration is irrelevant to the individual animal's classication.

 

[Chlidonias]

You are not wrong by saying they are a colour morph when talking of leopard 's in general but as I stated they would belong to a subspecies and these could be possibly either Panthera pardus pardus or Panthera pardus delacouri. Now subspecies can hybridise in captivity if the provenance of the original individuals isn't known by the holding institution and in the case of some other species, natural hybridisation(in the wild) can occur. I wasn't questioning the colour morph statement,just adding to it.
Cheers

I see what you mean now. I had misunderstood what you were saying in your original post. I thought you meant that black panthers in the wild form a discreet subspecies from spotted leopards. And because I thought you were referring to wild leopards I didn't understand the hybrid remark.

Indeed melanistic morphs appear in different subspecies of leopard, but as mentioned since then by other posters most of the leopards in captivity in the UK (and elsewhere) are generic "zoo leopards" of no (or no known) subspecific status.

 

[chimpman]

You answered your own question because you knew white tigers weren't a specific sub-species, and the same principle applies to leopards, the colouration is irrelevant to the individual animal's classication.

It is apparent that you have not been reading my posts correctly. I have not answered my own question because I did not ask whether black leopards or white tigers were subspecies. I used white tigers as an example of when people incorrectly talk about certain colour morphs of some felid species as if they were a subspecies. My question was what animal posters on this Internet forum were referring to when they used the term "black leopards". I did not answer that myself.

 

[Gajah69]

I'm interested to learn why you use the word "panther".

I use it due to my age, when I first got around these kind of animals,they were referred to as Black panthers.I guess to distinguish them from their spotted cousins. Alot of circus text also uses Black panther.
Cheers

 

[Gajah69]

Do you have any reference to support your statement? There is some disagreement about the number of Panthera pardus ssp. so I'm just curious why you've said there's nine of them.

The IUCN/CITES lists 9 subspecies but there are another 2 that could also be added potentially. Anatolian leopard from Turkey and the Balochistan Leopard from pakistan,Afghanistan and Iran.
Cheers

 

[Nisha]

2x Jacksons Chameleon (Chamaeleo jacksonii) have hatched. A first UK breeding for this species
Rare chameleons are first-ever to be born in UK after their parents were rescued from wildlife smugglers | Mail Online

 

[Chlidonias]

2x Jacksons Chameleon (Chamaeleo jacksonii) have hatched. A first UK breeding for this species
Rare chameleons are first-ever to be born in UK after their parents were rescued from wildlife smugglers | Mail Online

I was about to say that doesn't seem likely to be true (about them being the first bred in the UK)! However they are actually Johnston's chameleons, not Jackson's.

 

[kiang]

2x Jacksons Chameleon (Chamaeleo jacksonii) have hatched. A first UK breeding for this species
Rare chameleons are first-ever to be born in UK after their parents were rescued from wildlife smugglers | Mail Online

Which other UK collections received the chameleons?

 

[Chlidonias]

Which other UK collections received the chameleons?

EXMOOR TODAY | NEWS | Zoo helps in rescue of rare chameleons | 2012

WASHFORD’S Tropiquaria Zoo has been at the centre of an international wildlife operation after giving sanctuary to six rare chameleons believed to be among the only consignment of the creatures in the UK.
The six three-horned Johnston’s chameleon’s have settled in well and three are already on display.
They were among a shipment of 112 three-horned chameleons which were seized in Belgium at the end of April.
The animals were en route from Burundi in Central Africa to the Czech Republic, but the authorities intervened when they discovered the chameleons were not packed properly or accompanied by the correct paperwork.
Several of the reptiles had died in transit but many survived and 54 were shipped to the UK last Friday, together with 154 Pekin robins which had been seized in a separate operation.
Bristol Zoo co-ordinated the South West side of the rescue and helped transfer the robins and chameleons to new homes in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, including both Tropiquaria and Exmoor Zoo.
Tropiquaria director Chris Moiser said: “The work of Bristol Zoo probably saved several zoo staff from driving several hundred miles as we all met them at a central pick-up point.
“We are hoping to help establish a UK breeding population of the three-horned chameleons, as we do not believe there are currently any in captivity.”
The three-horned Johnston’s chameleon originally comes from Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda but there is insufficient information on their numbers to even establish whether they are endangered, vulnerable or moving towards extinction.
Mr Moiser said it was fortunate the creatures were seized in Belgium as some EU countries routinely destroyed seized endangered wildlife as they did not have the facilities to hold them prior to rehoming.
“In zoo conservation terms, Tropiquaria was part of an amazing happening involving 17 other BIAZA zoos (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and several national organisations.
“What happened at Tropiquaria was at the end of a chain of wildlife law enforcement actions and required a great many other people working together to achieve,” Mr Moiser said.
The seized Pekin robins were believed to have been wild caught as the Belgian bird dealer who had them was unable to prove they had been captive bred.
Some 154 of the birds were sent to the UK to bolster existing breeding stocks.

 

[kiang]

Thanks for that chli.

 

[jacks zoo]

Amazon World have also bred them from (I believe) the same shipment. Its a fairly safe bet that some of the females were gravid when captured-does this count as a true 'first captive breeding'? An excellent achievement either way though.

 

[Nisha]

Female Cheetah, Nina has passed away this week