I am very skeptical. Heini Hediger was totally against it. I think if we need artificial breeding techniques, we make something wrong because our aim should be that species reproduce naturally. And if we can not reach this, it’s something wrong that we have to correct and improve that the… Read More
But he walks through a habitat and may see or may not see animals. Usually he or she hears animals and feels the smell of tropical rainforest and so on. So I think that was a very big step forward. And if you see even a daga torso, it’s a… Read More
For example, I assume about six or seven huge enclosures. Or huge enclosures for African savanna species, like antelopes or zebras. And that’s, of course, another dimension for breeding on a large scale and saving species. So of course, there are difficulties as well. You genetically, can no longer as… Read More
Do you see a realistic role in assisted reproduction techniques in maintaining endangered species, such as semen sexing or artificial insemination?… Read More
And that’s a very important point. And Hagenbeck even went much further. He built so-called panoramas. And the most famous one is the Africa panorama, where in the front, you see flamingos and behind you see, in a savannah enclosure, zebras and ostriches. And even further behind are the lions. Read More
But of course, these enclosures were rather like concrete enclosures so it was mainly more for the visitor than for the animals, these moated enclosures. The second milestone was achieved in the ’30s of last century in St. Louis Zoo, when the first open-fronted aviary was created. And that’s psychologically… Read More
Because combining all the animals of the region in a sensible way, demographically and genetically, we can retain much more genetic variability than before, when usually each zoo just worked for itself and usually sent brother-sisters to another zoo as a new breeding start. So the regional breeding programs, I… Read More
The animal rights group, I mentioned it several times, we should be better than so far, keep the animals better. But very important, I think, is to be, as a zoo, very, very open and honest. Every zoo has a bad exhibit somewhere. And even to label it as our… Read More
What do you consider five of the major highlights of zoo management?… Read More
I think zoo biology has five milestones. The first is, was achieved with the opening of Hagenbeck’s Tierpark in Hamburg. Hagenbeck’s animal park in Hamburg. Hagenbeck has had a circus and trains lions and tigers to reach the distance they can jump. And afterwards, he built his animal park, by… Read More
But sometimes you’ll need for local traditions or so, even a brown bear or something, that you wouldn’t recommend otherwise. You had talked about animal rights groups and you said that if the zoo is a good zoo, that’s a long way of working with them and not having problems. Read More
Could you tell me what are your thoughts on how best to deal with these groups?… Read More
Is it just what you’ve suggested or is there more?… Read More
How can they start to shape there and how should they, their collection?… Read More
I think it depends very much from the local conditions. We, for example, have a really excellent, very well-known zoo in Innsbruck, the Alpine Zoo, that concentrates only on animals from the Alps. And usually the exotic species are considered as much more attractive. But Alpine Zoo shows that even… Read More
And what I always follow this, wherever possible, to exchange common species by endangered species. One very easy example is the lion. The African lion become more and more endangered but the Indian lion, there’s about 300 living in the wild, is much more endangered. And for the visitor, it… Read More
Should it be mostly endangered species?… Read More
Should it be a typical collection of some non endangered species and endangered species?… Read More
What we shouldn’t forget, exhibits that have been, that look bad nowadays, but have been built 60 years or so ago, may have been, at that time, when they were built, some best and most modern exhibits ever built. Everything humans do become old and outdated. And I think the… Read More
Considering the financial resources available to many of the small zoos or medium zoos, what would you think should be the focus for the collection?… Read More