Zion Wildlife Gardens Zion to face charges over tiger attack

[Arvicola]

1) In any case the TAG recommendations are very hypocritical, as they actively encourage the hybridisation of, eg, giraffe and zebra subspecies, or even separate crested porcupine species (northern and southern)!QUOTE]

Hi there
I'm not sure where the porcupine hybridisation comes from. To my knoweldge there is only 1 female northern in the region, and she is a phase out (a TAG reccomendation) in favour of the southerns. The only offspring to have been bred in New Zealand are from a pair of southerns, so no hybrisation of species has happened.

 

[Chlidonias]

To my knowledge, Orana Park's offspring were produced from the breeding of their northern and southern crested porcupines together on TAG recommendation

 

[Steve Robinson]

1) being hybrids or mutants certainly wouldn't be a point in absolutely preventing Zion's cats going to ARAZPA zoos.

But, being a CITES 1 species, it WOULD stop them being imported into Australia.

I wonder sometimes how much secret interest in mutants that there is among ARAZPA zoos. They are proven money spinners. Dreamworld proved that and then Taronga and Western Plains jumped on the bandwagon with Chester. Mogo and Canberra are featuring white lions down south and even Werribee is ready to jump on that bandwagon with their heterozygous males.

 

[Arvicola]

To my knowledge, Orana Park's offspring were produced from the breeding of their northern and southern crested porcupines together on TAG recommendation

Hi again Chlidonias.
The female that produced the 2 offspring was not the cristata, but the africaeaustralis that came from the U.K. a few years ago. The cristata has been at Orana for some years now and was previously housed with the africaeaustralis male (who is the father of the 2 youngsters) until their correct species identification was confirmed. That pairing never produced any offspring. So the pair that produced the offspring are both africaeaustralis, and so their offspring are too.

Have a great Christmas everyone

 

[Chlidonias]

Hi again Chlidonias.
The female that produced the 2 offspring was not the cristata, but the africaeaustralis that came from the U.K. a few years ago. The cristata has been at Orana for some years now and was previously housed with the africaeaustralis male (who is the father of the 2 youngsters) until their correct species identification was confirmed. That pairing never produced any offspring. So the pair that produced the offspring are both africaeaustralis, and so their offspring are too.

hi Arvicola,
are you saying that the original male at Orana was an africaeaustralis mis-identified as a cristata when first imported? I knew the female that had the babies was Sage, an africaeaustralis that had been transferred from Wellington Zoo about a year and a half earlier as a six month old. I was specifically told by the keepers at the time of the breeding that the male was the original cristata and there were some issues amongst the keepers as to the mixed pairing. If the male they had was wrongly identified as cristata rather than africaeaustralis then that would explain my (apparently incorrect) belief on them being hybrids

 

[Chlidonias]

Originally Posted by Chlidonias
1) being hybrids or mutants certainly wouldn't be a point in absolutely preventing Zion's cats going to ARAZPA zoos.

But, being a CITES 1 species, it WOULD stop them being imported into Australia.

in the context of my post, it should be obvious I was referring to NZ zoos

 

[Arvicola]

If the male they had was wrongly identified as cristata rather than africaeaustralis then that would explain my (apparently incorrect) belief on them being hybrids

Hi Chlidonias
Yes he was reidentified 4 or 5 years ago now, and on ISIS he is now , and has been for some time, listed as africaeaustralis.

Have a great Christmas and New Year

 

[Chlidonias]

OK then, all mysteries are cleared up over time
(as he wasn't listed on ISIS any more I had assumed he had died, rather than being reassigned to another species)

[we've sort of side-tracked the purpose of this thread though...]