Zoo Basel Zoo Basel News

The king and gentoo penguins have left the zoo and are temporarily in Wuppertal, their enclosure will be renovated and extended (about 2.5-3 times the current size) and this should be finished within a year from now.

Back again in the zoo are Spotted garden eels, the Swainson's toucan seem to have left though.

Last September another West-African chimpanzee was born, the second this year.
 
Den Baslern sind sie zu heimisch geworden: Zolli gibt die Wolf-Haltung auf

Above link leads to an article of a Swiss Boulevard Newspaper. For those who understand German or translate it word by word – I don’t like the tone of the article.

They wrote the article based on the yearly zoo report (which has not yet been published). So, no direct confirmation from Basel Zoo.

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Too domestic for Basel Zoo - « Zolli » gives up keeping of Wolves

Basel Zoo’s strategy, to minimize the species kept for the benefit of giving more space to remaining species, works out well. Next species which will not be replaced are the Wolves and the old Sun Bear lady.

In last year’s not yet published annual zoo report Basel Zoo gets good grades. Samuel Furrer oft he STS-office (STS = Swiss Animal Wellfare) counts it among the three best zoos of Switzerland. But still, there are enclosures which are not meeting requirements of STS.

For example they claim that the wolf enclosure is too small and not up to date anymore. This reports «Schweiz am Wochenende». Furrer says he contacted the Zoo after his inspection and placed his complaint. Apparently the zoo is going to end keeping wolves. Once the two – already old animals – are dead they will not be replaced.

Focussing on exotic Species

The Zoo’s spokeswoman Franziska Viscardi says : « Wolves are domestic animals again. Our zoo focusses on exotic animals. ». The space of the wolf enclosure will be used for a «not yet defined purpose».

Another species which will not be replaced is the old sun bear lady. This enclosure will be used for other animals.

In the past years Basel Zoo gave up several species and used the new space to improve the enclosures for the remaining animals. Species like the Canadian Otter, the vervet monkey or the spectacled bear have already are no longer residing at the Zoo.
 
This is me speculating/my own opinion.

Latinka (the sun bear) is old and I already suspected that she will not be replaced. The wolf enclosure really is small. I imagine that if they wanted to keep breeding wolves they'd done something about it.

There are a few empty spots in the zoo (and near the wolf enclosure) which inspire me to dream.

If you walk up the stairs just beside the wolves there's a meadow - and if you turn left towards the flamingo pond there's the old agouti/wild goose enclosure which has been empty for years.

So maybe they enlarge the enclosure towards the upper level – or they could enlarge the snowy owl enclosure which is located right beside the wolves and looks tiny too. Or they enhance the owl "castle".

It's all a matter of finances. There are enough ideas around. Basel has been doing good up to now, so I am not worried. They will do the right thing. I am curious for what there is to come :)
 
scuttleclaw said:
Den Baslern sind sie zu heimisch geworden: Zolli gibt die Wolf-Haltung auf

Above link leads to an article of a Swiss Boulevard Newspaper. For those who understand German or translate it word by word – I don’t like the tone of the article.

They wrote the article based on the yearly zoo report (which has not yet been published). So, no direct confirmation from Basel Zoo.

***************************************************************
Too domestic for Basel Zoo - « Zolli » gives up keeping of Wolves

Basel Zoo’s strategy, to minimize the species kept for the benefit of giving more space to remaining species, works out well. Next species which will not be replaced are the Wolves and the old Sun Bear lady.

In last year’s not yet published annual zoo report Basel Zoo gets good grades. Samuel Furrer oft he STS-office (STS = Swiss Animal Wellfare) counts it among the three best zoos of Switzerland. But still, there are enclosures which are not meeting requirements of STS.

For example they claim that the wolf enclosure is too small and not up to date anymore. This reports «Schweiz am Wochenende». Furrer says he contacted the Zoo after his inspection and placed his complaint. Apparently the zoo is going to end keeping wolves. Once the two – already old animals – are dead they will not be replaced.

Focussing on exotic Species

The Zoo’s spokeswoman Franziska Viscardi says : « Wolves are domestic animals again. Our zoo focusses on exotic animals. ». The space of the wolf enclosure will be used for a «not yet defined purpose».

Another species which will not be replaced is the old sun bear lady. This enclosure will be used for other animals.

In the past years Basel Zoo gave up several species and used the new space to improve the enclosures for the remaining animals. Species like the Canadian Otter, the vervet monkey or the spectacled bear have already are no longer residing at the Zoo.
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I can hardly believe the zoo spokeperson would term wolves as "domestic animals again", unless she meant wolves now once more grace some open spaces in Suisse.

However, as an conservation education exhibit - same goes for lynx and wild cat - it remains imperative given that none of their populations are overtly robust, some remain as "vagrants" at best and lack fully adequate protective measures outside the Swiss conservation cohorte.

I do agree and found it surprising to read that in case of the lynx reintroductions since the early seventies, it indeed seems to have been a little on the naive. For instance, to not do a proper predator-prey base study beforehand and the total absence of any predator kill compensation scheme untill the start of 1988 ... (in a country with an important rural livestock presence) and thus opposition remained under some of the hunters', farmers' and rural folks communities alike This is probably worked against re-establishment of lynx in some parts of the country and I am not sure whether eastern and western populations have since connected (???).

To illustrate all this, I attach the KORA lynx reintroduction project pages as well as the WWF Switzerland policy document on Carnivora in Switzerland for your perusal.
LINK A: http://www.kora.ch/malme/05_library...The_reintroduction_of_lynx_in_Switzerland.pdf
http://www.kora.ch/malme/05_library..._Die_Rueckkehr_des_Luchses_in_die_Schweiz.pdf

LINK B: WWF Switzerland
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
I can hardly believe the zoo spokeperson would term wolves as "domestic animals again", unless she meant wolves now once more grace some open spaces in Suisse.
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Given the context of the passage (and also assuming it is a translation into English), "domestic" means "native", not "domesticated".
 
Kifaru Bwana - as I said at the beginning - it is an article from a boulevard newspaper. I posted it because I they mention the yearly zoo report. So there's some truth in it.

But yes Chlidonias, I translated this article (the link to the original is at the beginning of the first post) and this would make more sense than "domestic". Sorry for the confusion.

I'm sorry but I somehow can't quote your post?
 
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I don’t know why, but I had been under the impression there were three or so bears at Basel. I can’t wait to see her, anyway! I hope she is keeping well.
 
I found an old press statement of Frankfurt Zoo of October 2010 regarding her departure to Basel. It says that She is "approximately 23 years old" - which makes her 30 years old this year.
 
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