#Zoo Animals

[spinus-pinus]

Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius

11/11/2023 San Diego Zoo Safari Park, California

truly insane set of photos!!!!!!! how does it look like that!!!!!!!

[justcatposts]

Stray cat breaks into Lynx’s enclosure at zoo

(Source)

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

People never seem to want to hang out at animal habitats. If they can’t see something immediately, they just leave. If you’re patient enough to stay, sometimes incredibly magical experiences happen. Like this one.

Those are California condors. Biggest wingspan in North America, incredibly endangered, and the only species with approval from USDA for emergency use of the poultry avian flu vaccine.

Towards the end of the day, once things got quiet, I sat down near where one was foraging and just hung out. Then… they noticed me.

I can only upload one video so I’m going with the one where I was showing them my glasses, since they kept trying to peck at my shoelaces and fingers and I wondered what else they'd be interested in.

They stayed there with me for at least five minutes, given the duration of video I took. Just chilling, watching me, interacting a little. It was just us - nobody else approached. Until eventually they chose to go do their own thing, and I sat there in awe for a while.

It’s worth it to wait, when you can.

[reasonsforhope]

"In one of Africa’s last great wildernesses, a remarkable thing has happened—the scimitar-horned oryx, once declared extinct in the wild, is now classified only as endangered.

It’s the first time the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest conservation organization, has ever moved a species on its Red List from ‘Extinct in the Wild’ to ‘Endangered.’

The recovery was down to the conservation work of zoos around the world, but also from game breeders in the Texas hill country, who kept the oryx alive while the governments of Abu Dhabi and Chad worked together on a reintroduction program.

Chad... ranks second-lowest on the UN Development Index. Nevertheless, it is within this North African country that can be found the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve, a piece of protected desert and savannah the size of Scotland—around 30,000 square miles, or 10 times the size of Yellowstone.

At a workshop in Chad’s capital of N’Djamena, in 2012, Environment Abu Dhabi, the government of Chad, the Sahara Conservation Fund, and the Zoological Society of London, all secured the support of local landowners and nomadic herders for the reintroduction of the scimitar-horned oryx to the reserve.

Environment Abu Dhabi started the project, assembling captive animals from zoos and private collections the world over to ensure genetic diversity. In March 2016, the first 21 animals from this “world herd” were released over time into a fenced-off part of the reserve where they could acclimatize. Ranging over 30 miles, one female gave birth—the first oryx born into its once-native habitat in over three decades.

In late January 2017, 14 more animals were flown to the reserve in Chad from Abu Dhabi.

In 2022, the rewilded species was officially assessed by the IUCN’s Red List, and determined them to be just ‘Endangered,’ and not ‘Critically Endangered,’ with a population of between 140 and 160 individuals that was increasing, not decreasing.

It’s a tremendous achievement of international scientific and governmental collaboration and a sign that zoological efforts to breed endangered and even extinct animals in captivity can truly work if suitable habitat remains for them to return to."

-via Good News Network, December 13, 2023

[heartwarminganimals]

Tail inspection

Source on twitter

[jadeseadragon]

Repost @pazispallas

Tiina & her minuls

"The minuls were having a hard time figuring out their scratching mat, until mama Tiina stepped in to show them how it’s done. Now, they’re pros just like her!"

[goobersplat]

Have some stickers! I got them from here. I thought they were so cute, please enjoy :) 👍

[chasingrainbowsforever]

~ Black | White | Aqua ~

[thedisablednaturalist]

Apparently zoo visitors are throwing water and other objects at Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo that has become popular recently. If you love something why would you throw things at it?? and now the keepers had to limit visiting days to Saturdays and Sundays with each visitor having 5 minutes each. All because some people can't control themselves. How disgusting and disrespectful to the conservation efforts of the staff and zoo as a whole, not to mention showing complete disregard of the animals welfare as well. Pygmy hippos are ENDANGERED, with only 2,000 remaining in the wild. People should be HONORED for a chance to see this magnificent animal. God it pisses me off so much when people treat animals like god damn disney animatronics rather than living creatures. And usually they do this shit for tiktok views.

[onceknownfriend]

via Sydney Zoo on TikTok

[babyanimalgifs]

A female chimpanzee escaped from the zoo, and walked around the city, until she met a good friend and decided to return. 

(Source)

[spinus-pinus]

Crested Quail-Dove Geotrygon versicolor

11/26/2023 San Diego Zoo, California

[wildlifetracker]

Arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus. 5/8/24.

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

My favorite signage from the NEW Zoo in northern Wisconsin.

[reasonsforhope]

The population of giant pandas in the wild has nearly doubled as China steps up its conservation efforts.

China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration said on Jan 25 there are now around 1,900 pandas in the wild from some 1,100 in the 1980s.

This has been due to China’s efforts to protect the species, considered a national treasure, said Mr Zhang Yue, an official with the administration.

The Giant Panda National Park was established in October 2021, covering a total area of over 22,000 sq km and providing a home to around 72 per cent of the wild giant panda population.

Protected areas for giant pandas have grown from 1.39 million ha to 2.58 million ha since 2012.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has adjusted the status of giant pandas from “endangered” to “vulnerable”.

“This indicates that China’s giant panda conservation efforts have been recognised by the international wildlife conservation community,” Mr Zhang said.

The global captive population of giant pandas, meanwhile, has now reached 728, with 46 pandas successfully bred in captivity in 2023.

The genetic diversity of captive giant pandas has also improved. The current captive population of giant pandas can maintain 90 per cent genetic diversity for up to 200 years.

As for giant pandas living abroad, Mr Zhang said China has organised field inspections and assessments of 23 overseas cooperation institutions in 19 countries since 2023.

“The cooperation institutions generally meet the requirements in terms of venue construction, feeding and nursing, and disease prevention and control measures,” Mr Zhang said, adding that pandas living abroad are generally “in good health”.

He said China will further improve the international cooperation management mechanism for giant pandas, carry out regular daily health monitoring and field inspection and assessment, and continue to strengthen cooperation with international partners for the protection of endangered species and biodiversity.

-via The Straits Times, January 25, 2024

[heartwarminganimals]

Syrup the tiger and her two cubs Earl and Gray at the Izu Animal Kingdom in Japan.