Zoo Basel Zoo Basel News

Faddama, a female Gorilla, died yesterday because of "Fuchsbandwurm" (sorry, did not find a translation). They discovered that she suffering from it this January and medication was given, which helped her. Now for the last three days she deteriorated and was found dead in the enclosure in the morning hours of March 31st. She just turned 40 beginning February.
 
Illness caused by "Fuchsbandwurm" = Cystic echinocccosis (CE), also known as hydatid disease, is caused by infection with the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus (copy paste from google).

This is unfortunately not so rare illness in apes in European zoos. Usti nad Labem lost its breeding orang male few years back. Vets had no idea what was wrong with him, he was (falsely) diagnosed with metastased cancer tumors in lungs. Real cause was found only during obduction of his body.
 
They sent her to Berne, to confirm this diagnosis. But I think it's most probably what took her life.

Fox tapeworm is unfortunately well known in Basel. We lost Kisoro, Zungu and Quarta to it. I actually thought we were done with it. When I heard beginning this year, that Faddama suffers from it as well, I was really surprised. But I read, that the incubation period can last up to 15 years. So then again it would fit. (Kisoro was infected in 2010 and died 2014). So I assume that's when the Ladies infected themselves as well.

By now the food is treated with necessary precautions and some foods are imported from regions of Switzerland, where there is no fox tapeworm.

I really hope we're done with it now. I really do! :'-(
 
The bird house in Zoo Basel will open again after renovations on June 3rd. The building was completely renovated and a new smaller wing added. The new wing will be a walkthrough cloud forest for small Neotropical species. The main building will be a rainforest walkthrough which will (mainly?) house SE-Asian species. In addition there will be 6 outdoor aviaries, one a walkthrough for waldrapp (the former ibis & egret aviary). Finally a new small-clawed otter- and a pelican enclosure were created. The former duck pond is now gone.

The following species have been confirmed, ones with an * are new to the zoo:

Likely in the cloud forest:
- Blue-necked tanager
- Bay-headed tanager
- Yellow cardinal*
- Blue-backed grassquit*
- Red siskin
- Red-legged honeycreeper
- Turqoise tanager
- Violaceous euphonia*
- Montserrat oriole
- Soccoro pigeon

Likely in the main walkthrough:
- Bartlett's bleeding-heart pigeon
- Blue-crowned laughing-thrush*
- Blue-crowned hanging parrot
- Asian fairy bluebird*
- Nicobar pigeon*
- Emei Shan liochlia*
- Orange-bellied leafbird*
- Palawan peacock-pheasant
- Red-billed leiothrix
- Red-tailed laughing-thrush
- White-rumped shama
- Black-naped fruit-dove*
- Crested wood partridge
- Chestnut-backed thrush

Likely in the outdoor aviaries:
- Waldrapp
- European roller*
- Hill myna
- Sumatran laughing-thrush*
- Bali myna
- Purple-naped lory*
- Fischer turaco
- Kilimanjaro white-eye
- Java sparrow

More species will likely be added, but this is what is now confirmed on the website.

Vogelhaus im Zoo Basel

A link with a few pictures:
Eröffnung neues Vogelhaus
 
Four gorillas, the whole group of dikdiks few years ago... they really need to make the fence and the gate fox-proof.

That wouldn't matter if it comes in with contaminated food as seems to be the case. Given that this disease can have an incubation time of 15 years, measures regarding food safety taken in 2011 by Zoo Basel would still have been too late....

Gorilla Faddama gestorben
 
The bird house in Zoo Basel will open again after renovations on June 3rd. The building was completely renovated and a new smaller wing added. The new wing will be a walkthrough cloud forest for small Neotropical species. The main building will be a rainforest walkthrough which will (mainly?) house SE-Asian species. In addition there will be 6 outdoor aviaries, one a walkthrough for waldrapp (the former ibis & egret aviary). Finally a new small-clawed otter- and a pelican enclosure were created. The former duck pond is now gone.

The following species have been confirmed, ones with an * are new to the zoo:

Likely in the cloud forest:
- Blue-necked tanager
- Bay-headed tanager
- Yellow cardinal*
- Blue-backed grassquit*
- Red siskin
- Red-legged honeycreeper
- Turqoise tanager
- Violaceous euphonia*
- Montserrat oriole
- Soccoro pigeon

Likely in the main walkthrough:
- Bartlett's bleeding-heart pigeon
- Blue-crowned laughing-thrush*
- Blue-crowned hanging parrot
- Asian fairy bluebird*
- Nicobar pigeon*
- Emei Shan liochlia*
- Orange-bellied leafbird*
- Palawan peacock-pheasant
- Red-billed leiothrix
- Red-tailed laughing-thrush
- White-rumped shama
- Black-naped fruit-dove*
- Crested wood partridge
- Chestnut-backed thrush

Likely in the outdoor aviaries:
- Waldrapp
- European roller*
- Hill myna
- Sumatran laughing-thrush*
- Bali myna
- Purple-naped lory*
- Fischer turaco
- Kilimanjaro white-eye
- Java sparrow

More species will likely be added, but this is what is now confirmed on the website.

Vogelhaus im Zoo Basel

A link with a few pictures:
Eröffnung neues Vogelhaus

Another confirmed species is the Visayan tarictic hornbill, which is new for the zoo. Both scissor-billed starlings and red-eared parrotfinch (only kept in Karlsruhe currently) also appeared on the website, but were removed again, so presumably these are still planned but haven't arrived yet.

The building opens this weekend, though the waldrapp & roller aviary won't be finished yet.

For those interested, the latest annual report, including a complete stock list, can now be downloaded from their website:
Zahlen & Fakten – im Geschäftsbericht | Zoo Basel
 
Another confirmed species is the Visayan tarictic hornbill, which is new for the zoo. Both scissor-billed starlings and red-eared parrotfinch (only kept in Karlsruhe currently) also appeared on the website, but were removed again, so presumably these are still planned but haven't arrived yet.

The building opens this weekend, though the waldrapp & roller aviary won't be finished yet.

For those interested, the latest annual report, including a complete stock list, can now be downloaded from their website:
Zahlen & Fakten – im Geschäftsbericht | Zoo Basel

Other confirmed species for the bird house: Vietnam pheasant and marbled teal, the latter aren't there yet as they will go in the waldrapp aviary.
 
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