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Just saw an article about Basel Zoo:

From DNA samples taken, it has been found that five-month old orangutan 'Padma' was not fathered by the male 'Budi' that shares the enclosure with Padma's mother but rather by dominant male 'Vendel' who lives in a separate enclosure and mated through the dividing barrier.

The article is included below:
https://phys.org/news/2019-01-daddy-swiss-orangutan-paternity.html
 
Today, the Basler people have voted because of the planned Ozeanium, and they voted with 54% against it. For the Swiss ,public aquariums seem to be a very bad and evil thing you have to fight. And now, after the opponents of the project have gone home happily, they can enjoy their caged dogs and cats, let the pig taste from the factory farms and dream sweetly in their feather filled beds ...
 
Well, one could theoretically build exactly the same aquarium 5 km further in either France or Germany. There people welcome tourist money and nimbyism is much lower than in Basel.
 
Has this happened before? It sounds like it isn’t the first time that the people of Basel voted down an aquarium in their city.
 
As I understand it, the vote is about planning permission rather than funding. Is that correct? And, if so, is it possible to make some alterations to the design and then reapply?
 
That's right. The Oceanium would be to 100% funded private and not by taxpayers' money. Unfortunately, the animal rights activists, and the Party "TheGreen", have successfully managed to get the mood off the project with the typical, false claims.However, I have to say, the idea of making the aquarium a huge, ugly concrete block in the city was not good. That could well have influenced the vote. The interior design with exposed concrete was really ugly, too. A modern aquarium has the advantage over a zoo to be able to use specifically modern, beautiful architecture - for the animals, this, in contrast to a zoo, no disadvantages. Examples of a successful aquarium architecture are the Georgia Aquarium, the Tennessee Aquarium, the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Oceanografic in Lisbon ... Unfortunately, this was not understood in Basel, and decided on the wrong architect. They should have rather engaged Peter Chermayeff.It would still be possible to build the aquarium on the German side of Basel, or in the zoo grounds. But does Basel really need a large aquarium? Finally, there is a great aquarium in the zoo, even if there are no giant tanks, so it is still a highlight of the zoo. However, the main reason for the Ozeanium was to stay competitive with Zurich Zoo. He has overtaken Zolli long ago
Loxodonta Cobra said:
Has this happened before? It sounds like it isn’t the first time that the people of Basel voted down an aquarium in their city.
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This was the first time because it was also the first aquarium planned in Basel. It was also the first time that the Basel Zoo was confronted with a vote, because until now it has always had the support of the population. And if the aquarium had arisen on the zoo grounds, the vote would never have existed. Unfortunately, there is no room for a new aquarium there
 
Bib Fortuna said:
Today, the Basler people have voted because of the planned Ozeanium, and they voted with 54% against it. For the Swiss ,public aquariums seem to be a very bad and evil thing you have to fight. And now, after the opponents of the project have gone home happily, they can enjoy their caged dogs and cats, let the pig taste from the factory farms and dream sweetly in their feather filled beds ...
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For once, I'm absolutely agree.

@sooty mangabey: Theoreticaly yes. But the funding was earmarked ("zweckgebunden") for this specific project. So - afaik - there is no obligation for the donors to leave the money in the cash box or keep their financial promises for another, redesigned project. Also reapply would mean a second vote. And - as you may know as a British;) - such a thing is not very popular and could easily end in another desaster, specially if the Ozeanium should be built on the exact same place.
 
Jurek7 said:
Well, one could theoretically build exactly the same aquarium 5 km further in either France or Germany. There people welcome tourist money and nimbyism is much lower than in Basel.
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That would be a good idea, but if that was possible? I think that future aquarium projects will be harder and harder in the German-speaking world in the future. In Pfungstadt near Frankfurt, the largest aquarium in Germany is planned with 14 million liters of water. Unfortunately, the future operators have made the mistake of planning it mainly for sharks, and named the project Shark City. As a result, there was considerable resistance from animal rights activists because, in their opinion, all sharks can not be kept in aquariums, and by inhabitants of the city. Even a German, well-known actor, Hannes Jaenicke, interfered in the debate. However, he is already critical of zoos. There was even a court hearing, but it turned out in favor of the aquarium, which also got the green light from the politicians, even from the Greens, who see in the project for Pfingstadt-a really small nest-a great opportunity.
 
I didn’t appreciate that the Basel project was outside the zoo - I thought it was a replacement for the current aquarium. How far from the zoo was the proposed site? Is it a brownfield site, or would the development entail destruction of already existing buildings? Either way, a real shame. Basle’s recent record of developments is very impressive.

It seems odd that animal rights activists should be angered by a project concerning fish: apes and elephants and dolphins I can understand (even if i disagree), but fish?
 
It is the time of publishing annual reports and Zoo Basel has recently uploaded theirs.

What is interesting is that there has hardly been any change in the collection over 2018.

No new mammal species are kept or have departed. Noteworthy births include 3 Lesser kudu

In the bird department 2 parrot species that were behind the scenes already for ages have departed. Additionally the last Cape weaver was sent away, as have the 6 Montserrat orioles.The only additions are Gentoo and King penguin returning from Wuppertal and 1.1 Little owl, which are in the former Snowy owl aviary.

In the reptile & amphibian department exciting arrivals are 6 Hellbenders and 2 Lesser Antillean iguana (all currently behind the scenes). Also new are Armadillo girdled lizards and in 2019 Shingleback lizard (on show in former Bearded dragon terrarium). The zoos Clawed frogs and remaining Peruvian White-lipped frog have died last year.

The annual report can be downloaded here:
Zoo Basel-Zoobesuch-Zoo Infos
 
Re: Antillean iguana. Are these wild born individuals, ex the private sector or offspring from the national zoo in Wien, Austria or Jersey Zoo (both collections I believe have bred the species)?
 
lintworm said:
In the reptile & amphibian department exciting arrivals are 6 Hellbenders and 2 Lesser Antillean iguana (all currently behind the scenes). Also new are Armadillo girdled lizards and in 2019 Shingleback lizard (on show in former Bearded dragon terrarium). The zoos Clawed frogs and remaining Peruvian White-lipped frog have died last year.
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You nearly slipped that one past us unnoticed, hiding it in the middle of a post and phrasing it in such a matter-of-fact way! :D :o
 
The zoos remaining 2 Wolves have been euthanized to to old age related health problems. Their enclosure will be taken over by the Nutria. Their current enclosure will soon disappear as works on the renovation of the Bird house should start before the end of the year.

After the birth of another Western chimpanzee in August (mother Benga), a Gorilla was to Faddama, for whom it is the 4th young. For the first time in 16 years Rock hyrax were born.
 
Regarding the referendum against Oceanium. This part of Basel is very densely overbuilt with narrow streets. I can understand that this could have tipped the public results against the aquarium. Perhaps if the plan added a multi-level car parking underneath, like Aquatis in Lausanne? Currently the mood of the direction seems to be waiting out some years. Pity, because Oceanium has been planned for over a decade.
 
Work begins on the aviary

Preparations for the construction work on the aviary are under way. Basel Zoo will start the construction work at the end of October.

The aviary – opened in 1927 and designed by architect Heinrich Flügel – is set to be renovated and extended. A river delta habitat for oriental small-clawed otters and pelicans will be added below the aviary.

The aviary is closed to visitors for the duration of the works. The path network will also be changed to allow for the new enclosures, which will mean that some paths will occasionally be closed or that visitors may have to take a slight detour. The construction site will be accessed from Bachlettenstrasse, keeping construction traffic within the zoo to a minimum.

The entire complex will include the newly completed Schutzmatte bird station, an enclosure for oriental small-clawed otters, and an extended pelican enclosure, and will cost approximately 22 million Swiss francs. The new complex is expected to open in the first half of 2022. During this time, the birds will be rehoused in the bird station, which is not accessible to the public.
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Source : Zoo Basel.
 
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