EAZA Tiger Campaign extended to 2004 Contents - European ...

ZÜRICH - SWITZERLAND
A female two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) that arrived
in Zürich in 1989 from Guyana gave birth to her eighth
young on 12 May 2003. Five previous young were successfully
reared, one died shortly after birth and one was stillborn.
The female was examined twice using x-rays and ultrasound
during this last pregnancy. This was the fourteenth two-toed
sloth birth at our zoo.
A new Mongolian wolf (Canis lupus chanco) exhibit opened
in February 2002. The male and female were imported as
young animals directly from Mongolia in Autumn 2001.
Reproduction has already occurred, after a gestation period
of 64 days three pups were born on 18 April 2003.
Following the opening of the new Amur tiger exhibit, the
former tiger indoor enclosure and part of the outdoor enclosure
was transformed into a hornbill exhibit. We received a
pair of Malayan hornbills (Anthracoceros malayanus) in
November 2001. The female came from Avifauna, Alphen
a/d Rijn, and the male from the Dutch Hornbill Foundation.
Both birds were hatched in 1999. The pair mated and
showed increased interest in a nest hole at the end of
January 2003, and by 5 February the female had entered
the cavity and sealed the entrance. A changed feeding behaviour
of the male on 17 March and parts of eggshells found
on 28 March gave us the hope that chick(s) may have
hatched. Three chicks finally left the nest cavity together
with the female in mid-May.
It had been observed that our female spangled cotinga
(Cotinga cayana) was only sporadically visible in the free-flight
hall of the Exotarium. Nevertheless it was a great surprise
when on 11 March 2003 the female was discovered accompanied
by a newly fledged chick. This is the first successful
reproduction of this species at Zoo Zürich. In the meantime
the female again is sitting in her well-hidden nest.
The first Galapagos tortoise (Geochelone nigra) hatched at
our zoo in 1989, and 14 years later we note the hatching of
number 48! Eight hatchlings from a clutch of ten eggs laid
on 29 December 2002 emerged in the incubator between
4 and 22 May 2003. All offspring to date have been
produced by the same pair.
Source: Robert Zingg
Births and Hatchings
Photo: Sam Furrer/Zoo Zürich
CHESTER - UNITED KINGDOM
Red birds of paradise occur only on several small islands off
the coast of Papua (the Indonesian governed western half of
New Guinea; formerly Irian Jaya) where they are considered
near-threatened in the wild. The birds have a very restricted
distribution and threats include habitat destruction and trapping
for skins.
Very few birds of paradise are kept in zoos and the Studbook
for Red Birds of Paradise and world centre for breeding these
is based at the Bronx Zoo, New York. Chester Zoo received a
pair of red birds of paradise (Paradisea rubra) on breeding
loan from the Bronx Zoo in May 1999. Both birds had been
bred in New York, the male hatched in February 1998 and the
female in May 1998. Two of our bird staff went to New York
and gained experience
by working together with
the bird staff at the Bronx
Zoo before accompanying
the birds of paradise
on their return to
Chester. Special offshow
facilities were built
at Chester Zoo to house
these birds and later in
the Islands In Danger
exhibit where these
birds were transferred
in April 2000.
Birds of paradise take many years to attain full breeding
plumage and the male at Chester, which is now just over five
years old, only recently acquired tail streamers but otherwise
remains in an immature plumage. The male and female which
up until recently had been living together were separated at
the beginning of March this year as it is known that males
may interfere with breeding attempts by destroying any nests
built by hens. Once the hen was observed nest building she
was allowed short daily visits on 10 -14 April to join the
male in his quarters, returning to her own breeding aviary
afterwards. The hen laid two eggs, the first on 15 April
and the second two days later. Notwithstanding his lack of
breeding plumage our male proved his fertility when the first
chick hatched on 1 May 2003 and the second chick hatched
one to two days later.
The hen reared the chicks on a diet of insects (mainly wax
moth larvae and locusts) and fruit, being especially partial to
blueberries. Both chicks fledged on 18 May and although now
Photo: Chester Zoo
EAZA News 43 – 2003
17
July - August - September