EXOTICS NEWS

The latest from the world of exotic animals

New Orang-Utan Habitat

A new outside habitat has been completed at Dudley Zoo & Castle. The extension, attached to their original indoor facility, has been completed at a cost of £500,000. The large grassy area is fitted out with a range of climbing poles and ropes etc… and is now home to all four Bornean orang-utans - “Jazz”, “Sprout”, “Djimat” and “Benji”. Elsewhere in the zoo the first five naked mole-rats have been born to the new colony which arrived in 2018.

Here 140 Tequila Splitfin (Zoogoneticus tequila) have been installed, with some Golden Skiffia or Golden Splitfin (Skiffia francescae) to be added in due course. The goodeid species are extremely rare and in some cases extinct in the wild, but are quite easily bred in captivity - being live-bearing species, and they can be kept privately by individuals belonging to the Goodeid Working Group. This allows other people to become actively involved in contributing to the conservation of this rare group of fishes.

European Zoos” and more recently, in May 2022, “A Legacy of Shame –Elephants in Zoos”. The giraffe report focuses on the welfare, nutrition, social behaviour and stereotypical behaviours (mainly oral) of giraffe in captivity. In addition the infamous EAZA/ Copenhagen Zoo situation, regarding the giraffe “Marius”, was chosen as an individual example of bad practice.

Rare Fish Get New Natural Pool

Tropiquaria, at Watchet, have long been home to several Critically Endangered goodeid fish species, as a member of the Goodeid Working Group, and in cooperation with other collections. Now a new, more natural, pond has been created for two of those species in the tropical house at the collection.

The Goodeid Working Group is a non-profitable international Working Group managed and run on a 100% voluntary basis. It was established on 1st May, 2009 in Stockholm, Denmark in response to the critical environmental issues facing the majority of wild Goodeid species/populations, plus the poorly-documented ‘disappearance’ of many captive collections. The primary goal of the Goodeid Working Group is to “promote collaboration between like-minded hobbyists, universities, public aquaria, zoos, museums and conservation projects in order to maintain aquarium populations of Goodeids while assisting in preservation of remaining natural habitats”. Goodeids are fish endemic to Mexico and some areas of the United States, the family contains about 50 species within 18 genera and is named after ichthyologist George Brown Goode.

The Giraffe/Elephant BFF Reports

In the last year or so the anti-zoo group the “Born Free Foundation” (BFF) has recently published two reports, the first in February 2021 called “Confined Giants - The Plight of Giraffe in

According to the BFF there are currently 580 elephants in European zoos, with 49 elephants in U.K. zoos. The elephant report is backed by some well-known names, as is often the case; Damian Aspinall - Chairman of the Aspinall Foundation, Angela Sheldrick CEO of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham. The BFF are calling for the “capture of wild elephants for display must stop and breeding in captivity should end”. However those that remain in captivity should be provided with the best possible conditions for the rest of their lives. Angela Sheldrick said “The report uses individual case studies to outline the history and continuing plight of captive elephants. Revealing the impact of captivity on their physical and psychological health”. Stating that “40% of infant elephants in zoos die before they reach the age of five” and that “no zoo in the world can provide elephants with the complex social structures and vast spaces they need to thrive”. Chris Packham said “The attempted captive breeding and capture of wild elephants to be imprisoned in zoos is plain wrong and here is all the evidence to prove it”. “A tragic catalogue of inhumanity wrought upon a creature we claim to love”. “It must end today” he said.

In response Jamie Christon CEO of Chester Zoo said “The Born Free report draws on outdated data and information, referring to practices which simply do not take place in modern U.K. zoos”. “Born Free paint a picture of how some zoos were over 50 years ago – but conservation-focused zoos like ours are now a million miles away from that” he said. summer. The hotel also has a timed lighting system to avoid disturbing the glowing females. Glowworms are not worms but beetles and only the flightless female glows, to attract a male on summer nights. Although the males fly, the species is notoriously bad at dispersing, and so becomes trapped in small areas of suitable habitat. The larvae is a gardener’s friend, being a voracious predators of snails.

“The report highlights a number of things to improve welfare standards for elephants” he added. “We`ve actually been implementing these for many years, it is already part of zoo best practice” “If anything, the bar Born Free set is quite low” “we pursue world-class standards of animal care and have been exceeding what`s in the report for a long time”.

Spixs`s Macaw Release

UK Glowworm Release

More than 500 captive-bred glowworm larvae (Lampyris noctiluca) have been released in the grounds of Elvetham Hotel in Hampshire and Cornwall by ecologist and conservationist Peter Cooper, in an effort to revive this declining species.

Further batches of larvae (totalling 596) and some adults will be released again in the same place this year and at Combeshead in Cornwall – a rewilding and glamping site run by Derek Gow. The four-year project is led by ecologist Derek Gow, who has been working on several rewilding projects including water voles, beavers and wild cats. Peter, who works for Derek Gow, was already breeding glowworms with a method he perfected during the pandemic, assisted by YouTube tutorials from a glowworm keeper in Germany. Glowworm larvae are kept on a bed of coconut fibre in plastic takeaway tubs with a damp sponge to retain moisture, and fed fresh snails – also bred for the purpose – every day during their growing season. Peter has even taken the glowworms with him in a cool-bag when travelling for work, so he can keep an eye on them and satisfy their voracious appetite for snails. The gardener at Elvetham has been collecting snails and leaving them in the release-zone for the larvae that will be released. These larvae will reach maturity and glow next

In a ground-breaking event, eight Critically Endangered Spixs`s macaws – the world`s rarest bird, were released into the wild from the Spixs`s Macaw Release Centre`s holding aviaries at Curaca, Brazil on the 11th June into the Caatinga region. These birds were fitted with radiotracking collars and were released alongside eight Illger`s macaws which have spent the last few months living with the Spixs`s macaws and will help them get used to the unfamiliar environment.

In March 2020 52 Spixs`s macaws – out of a flock of 170 birds, were sent from the private parrot breeding facility to the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP) in Berlin, Germany via Berlin Airport, courtesy of Crossborder Animal Services specialist transport, to Curaca in North-eastern Brazil. Here they have spent the last two years living in the release aviaries and in 2021 they have produced three more chicks in these aviaries. Most of the world captive population, of about 200 birds, were kept at Pairi Daiza Zoo in Belgium and the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP). Both collections have bred numerous Spixs`s macaws between them.

The total number of Spixs`s macaws at the site at Curaca was 55 birds, but some will be retained for further breeding and future potential releases in the on-going release programme. At the end of 2022 it is planned to release a further 12 Spixs`s macaws into the same area.

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New Snake in Paraguay

A team of researchers in Paraguay have scientifically described a new species of snake.

A juvenile specimen of Phalotris shawnella, was captured, but later escaped. “This individual was originally discovered by chance when digging a hole at Rancho Laguna Blanca” said co-author Jean-Paul Brouard - an expert with the Paraguayan NGO Para La Tierra.

Phalotris is a group of small to medium-sized, semifossorial snakes in the family Colubridae. Phalotris shawnella is particularly attractive and can be distinguished from other related species by its red head, a yellow collar, a black lateral band, and orange ventral scales with irregular black spots. The species is endemic to the Cerrado forests in the San Pedro region of northeastern Paraguay.

These snakes were first described in 1862, and are noted for their striking coloration with red, black, and yellow patterns. They are distributed largely in open areas of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. There are currently 15 species of Phalotris currently recognized, separated into three species groups: the tricolor group of five species, the bilineatus group with four species, and the nasutus group which includes six species. The newly-described species, Phalotris shawnella, belongs to the nasutus group.

New Indian Species Discovered

A new species of non-venomous snake has been discovered at a height of over 1,700 metres above sea level in Murlen National Park, Mizoram, in the Champai District of North-eastern India. Unlike its six “sister-species” this new snake has been found well-away from water sources and is the only one of its genus to be found at this height. It has been named Herpetoreas murlen after the Murlen National Park.

The new species features a dark olive-grey body, randomly-speckled scales with black on the borders, interscales speckled sparsely with white, and a dorsolateral stripe reaching from the neck to the tail.

It is closest genetically to Herpetoreas burbrinki, its Chinese cousin.