ZooChat Cup finals: Bronx vs Chester

[lintworm]

All in all, while I do think Chester beats Bronx in terms of invertebrates and fishes (Chester keeps/breeds a larger variety of endangered South Asian Cyprinidae afaik), Bronx clearly dominates when it comes to herps. While Chester certainly has some major accomplishments under their belt (namely the repeatedly tuatara breeding), in general the zoo seems to have an increasing lack of interest in herps and I've noticed they've been reducing the overall collection size quite substantially since my initial 2016 visit, whereas Bronx has been steadily increasing their collection as well as taking on more complicated and endangered species in the past few years. This, combined with their unmatched conservation programs, lead to a clear 2-1 victory as far as I'm concerned.

When looking at the latest stock list, Chester did actually increase the number of reptile species they keep (58 at the start of 2019 against 53 mentioned in the IZY), whereas number of amphibians remained stable at 29.

Btw. are there any proper pictures showing the inside of the Reptile house?

 

[Dormitator]

I'm voting 2:1 Chester for their taxonomic balance here.

In my last visit to the Bronx (2017) the goliath beetles on display were very much dead, as were most of the other large beetles if I remember correctly, and the species name on one of the signs was completely incorrect. Worse, I seem to remember them being dead and in the same positions on my previous visit in 2011. If that's changed or I've missed something about them being labeled as dead then I'm very happy to redact this.

I'll upload a photo tomorrow if I can get access to my computer, but the links below are of two tanks in Jungleworld.

Google Image Result for https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3718/9086654448_57145abe09_b.jpg
Google Image Result for https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8400870238_9cf1a24a62.jpg

 

[ThylacineAlive]

I'm voting 2:1 Chester for their taxonomic balance here.

In my last visit to the Bronx (2017) the goliath beetles on display were very much dead, as were most of the other large beetles if I remember correctly, and the species name on one of the signs was completely incorrect. Worse, I seem to remember them being dead and in the same positions on my previous visit in 2011. If that's changed or I've missed something about them being labeled as dead then I'm very happy to redact this.

I'll upload a photo tomorrow if I can get access to my computer, but the links below are of two tanks in Jungleworld.

Google Image Result for https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3718/9086654448_57145abe09_b.jpg
Google Image Result for https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8400870238_9cf1a24a62.jpg

I can assure you the zoo's beetles are not dead... On my last visit I even got to watch the weevils feeding. I believe the zoo has placed dead goliath beetles in CGF between live animals being available in the past but I've been told that the zoo currently has double digits of G. goliatus which are very much alive.

Luckily for Chester, Bronx does not have any aquarium

I missed this before so will comment now. While this is true, I wouldn't say it exactly means much considering Bronx still isn't far behind on fish species and Chester equally is lacking any kind of reptile house (yet is over 100 species behind Bronx in terms of herp species).

Btw. are there any proper pictures showing the inside of the Reptile house?

Having just checked, there don't seem to be many updated photos, no. From a quick search, I found the African lizard enclosure and the poison dart frog enclosure, neither of which are as shallow as the photos make them appear. There are several outdated photos in the gallery, but I feel it wouldn't be fair to use those considering the zoo has redesigned most of the house's displays and changed a lot of the species out.

All else I can really add on the zoo's herp displays which have gone unmentioned thus far are the reptile nursery which is a window within WoR that looks into the bts hatching area and showcases a lot of the zoo's more recent breeding successes, and the zoo's outdoor turtle pond which houses a few native turtle species. The zoo also has multiple outdoor herp displays in the Children's Zoo which mainly focus on more desert-dwelling species but also natives such as ratsnake and tiger salamander.

~Thylo

 

[Dormitator]

That's brilliant they're doing so well with Goliathus, exceptionally difficult species to rear long-term.

However, although the situation at the moment appears to be that they are displaying live beetles, to me the fact that they were displaying beetles that were very much dead to give an apparent impression that they were alive is a black mark in their book.

 

[TheGerenuk]

Oh my, this match is close. I've personally voted in favour of Bronx, considering its many species and breeding programs, especially for Kihansi spray toad.