International Zoo News Vol. International Zoo News Vol. December 2. 00. 0 CONTENTS * * *OBITUARYMartin Bourne. I am sad to report the death on 9 September 2. Dr Martin Bourne. As an Associate Member of the Zoo Federation and co- chair of the EAZA Small Mammal TAG he will be known to many within the zoo community. These contacts were reflected in the large and diverse private collection of animals he amassed at his five- acre farm on the northernmost outskirts of Manchester, England. Here could be found a veritable wonderland of fauna including markhor, pudu, binturong, brush- tailed porcupine, zorilla, palm civet, lesser Malay chevrotain, various callitrichids, cranes, waterfowl and other birds, even poison- arrow frogs, illustrating an interest in all kinds of animal life. Breeding results were many, but I know he was particularly proud of breeding Brazilian tapirs. Dr Bourne made contact with Jean- Marc Lernould of Mulhouse Zoo some years ago and became a member of the Rare Lemur Consortium. This led to something of a specialization in the family Lemuridae, resulting in no fewer than 1. Dr Bourne. I was fortunate to visit this collection on a number of occasions, and my favourite memory is of feeding a wide variety of lemurs some choice fruit . Much of the never- ending round of feeding and cleaning this sizeable collection was undertaken by Dr Bourne himself . The response was usually apparent . Dr Martin Bourne was a youthful 6. Flora and fauna had held a fascination for him since his earliest years, and his home became a true showcase for this passion. I am pleased to report that his widow and daughter intend to continue the valuable work that has been started, and to pay tribute to Dr Bourne by fulfilling his aspirations for the collection. Tim Brown, Chairman, Independent Zoo Enthusiasts Society * * *THE SETTING UP OF A PUBLIC WALK- THROUGH MIXED LEMUR EXHIBITBY DARREN WEBSTERMixed lemur exhibits have become very popular within the zoo community during the last few years, with more and more zoos planning to set up similar exhibits in the near future. In this article I have tried to explain why and how Blackpool Zoo decided not only to mix lemur species, but also to allow members of the public in with them. Introduction. Blackpool Zoo had had plans to mix three lemur species for several years prior to work commencing in the spring of 1. During this time, ideas for the exhibit had changed several times. Major Currency Pairs Forex Quotes - forex.tradingcharts.com forex.tradingcharts.com/quotes/major The capuchin monkey is commonly seen throughout Costa Rica. Also called white-faced monkeys, these small primates are widely recognized as the most intelligent New. Muntjac deer information and care. Frequently called Barking Deer, muntjac deer are the oldest known deer dating back before pre-historic times. The Wisconsin National Primate Research Center has created this series of factsheets as a starting point to find information about the various primate species. SOME UNUSUAL MIXED EXHIBITS AT POZNAN ZOO'S NOCTURNAL HOUSE. BY RADOSLAW RATAJSZCZAK AND EWA TRZESOWSKA. Since the opening of the nocturnal house in our zoo in. Home > Animals & Exhibits > Kids Kingdom > Striped Skunk Striped Skunk. The striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) gets its name from the Latin word. She is a member of the Yato Tribe and the daughter of Umibouzu and the.
The original concept behind the new exhibit was to house the zoo's non- breeding lemur species and individuals in a more naturalistic setting, whilst trying to educate the public about the plight of lemurs, and of the island of Madagascar in general. Another advantage of mixing the lemurs was that it would free up several more enclosures in the primate house, allowing new species to be brought into the collection. Several sites within the 4. No mammal species were currently housed in this area, and apart from the giant tortoises (Geochelone gigantea) towards the rear of this piece of land, it held very little interest for members of the public. The site included not only a wooded area, with about a hundred trees and shrubs of various sizes, but also a large grassed area, leading towards the lake. The main reason for choosing this site instead of the island was that we felt it very important that the public should be able to view the inside accommodation. We thought it was unlikely that lemurs of any species would willingly choose to spend a lot of time outside during the British winter; so accessible inside viewing would be very important for the winter visitor. The removal of the giant tortoises to a new enclosure would immediately provide us with one block of indoor accommodation, although this house could not be viewed internally. Although this already existing house was of a decent size, it could at most house one group of lemurs, so more housing would be needed. The second house would need to accommodate the other two species of lemur, as well as allowing the public inside viewing. Our newly chosen site had opened up more possibilities for this exhibit. After further planning and discussion, it was decided that the enclosure should be opened up to the public. A walk- through exhibit. We felt that this would give the public much more of an experience. However, two major considerations needed to be thought through before we could allow visitors into the enclosure: 1. How would the lemurs react? How would the public react? In allowing the public into the enclosure, we did not want to inhibit the lemurs' behaviour too much. Another consideration was that we could not afford the luxury of a member of staff permanently on duty to watch the exhibit all day whilst visitors were in. So a solution was needed which would restrict the area the public had access to within the enclosure. We decided that the best answer to both of these problems was to restrict the public to a single walkway with side railings (see photo, p. The public would have to climb the railings to gain access to the rest of the exhibit. This in theory allowed the lemurs access to the people, but not the people to the lemurs . Group 1 consisted of 7. Lemur catta). All seven of these males were from a successful breeding group, which was housed in the small primate house. The group consisted of the father plus his six sons, whose ages ranged from one to five years. It was felt necessary to separate the group at this stage, as although the father was still the dominant male within the group, there were several daughters reaching sexual maturity. So to prevent any inbreeding, all the males were to be taken out and a new male to be sourced for the nine females who were left in the group. Group 2 consisted of 2. Eulemur m. This was a non- breeding family group. Ages ranged from three to 1. The group consisted of the mother plus two of her daughters and two of her sons. Both males had been vasectomised, as part of the EEP recommendations for this species. Group 3 consisted of 1. Varecia variegata rubra). These were an old non- breeding pair who had been in several zoos before coming to Blackpool several years previously. The male was 1. 5 years old and the female 1. We were, of course, aware that these three species would not share the same territory in the wild. Apart from the usual requirements of indoor accommodation, we did not know at this stage how well the different species would get on together, so a minimum of three separate inside enclosures would be needed. We already had the giant tortoise house (House 2), which would be utilized to house one species of lemur, so at least two more indoor enclosures would be needed. In the end House 1 was designed so that it could be divided into three indoor enclosures (see Figure 1), giving us a total of four separate areas to house the lemurs. The different sections of this house had interconnecting doors and slides, allowing us to open it up and use it as one large enclosure if we so wished. Each individual enclosure has an external wired enclosure of roughly the same measurements attached to it. We felt it was essential that external enclosures were built onto the new house, as this would make introduction of different lemur species easier, and in the event of any problems, it would be beneficial for the lemurs if they had to stay locked in their accommodation for any length of time. In House 1, each inside section measures approximately 2 m . The separate areas are all individually heated and lighted. The enclosure furniture consists of shelving, natural branches and rope. Bark chippings or sawdust is used as the floor substrate, although the house was built with good drainage and sloping floors, making an occasional good wash- out possible. Large cat flaps with different locking combinations are used for access from indoor to outdoor enclosures; this was very useful in the early stages, as it allowed us to lock the lemurs in without a keeper having to be present for a long period of time. A kitchen/storage area is also included in the building, with power points and hot water available. The electric fence is also operated from this area. As already mentioned, House 2 formerly housed the giant tortoises. It is circular in shape and slightly larger than the individual enclosures in House 1. It is furnished in the same way, but does not have an outside enclosure attached, and although it has large windows, due to their position the public cannot view it internally. Outside enclosure. The outside enclosure is approximately one acre . The external barrier consists of an electric fence three- quarters of the way around, with the lake acting as the barrier on the remaining quarter of the perimeter. The electric fence is approximately 2. High- tensile wire strands are spaced every 1. Every second wire above this is an earth wire, finishing with a live wire at the top. Wire mesh was used at the bottom of the fence because research has shown that when an animal touches an electric fence it inevitably has two options, to go backwards or forwards; with mesh along the bottom, it can only realistically go backwards, thus staying within the enclosure. The electric fence is run from a Gallagher `Smartpower' box in the kitchen area of House 1; this has a digital display which indicates any possible problems with the fence. This is a very important feature, as it reduces keeper time by removing the need to check every inch of the fence perimeter every morning. The box display and alarm will tell you if there are any problems. The piece of land that was to become the lemurs' outside enclosure contained approximately one hundred trees and bushes of varying species and sizes.
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