Indian Gharial photo; taken as I and co-workers were re-locating; 7 were in collection; they maintained Pakistan seasonal schedule even after 14 years in US; sadly, they did not fare all that well. http://bitly.com/RjUBAK
Working with Gharial (fish eating croc) photo
- Thread starter findi
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Did not fare well?.?.?. As in thriving and reproducing in captivity or surviving their relocation?
Hi,
They were housed in a 77,000 gallon "river" within a 1/2 acre exhibit. We were able to warm the water as needed. Unfortunately, there was no way to heat the air in their exhibit without super-hearing the entire public area as well. In the old days, this would have been done - steamy reptile houses were typical. But management felt that today's visitors would not be so accepting of this. They grew well for 14-15 yrs, then began having health problems that were linked in part to poorly functioning immune systems; inappropriate temps long term seemed implicated. There were some losses, and the decision was made to transfer the survivors to institutions where they could be housed outdoors, or heated properly indoors.
Gharials have been captive bred in India, mainly due to the work of Rhom Whittaker, who supplied the Bx Zoo animals (and with whom I've had the pleasure of snake hunting!). I don;t believe they have reproduced in any US zoos, but have not checked recently,
Best, Frank
They were housed in a 77,000 gallon "river" within a 1/2 acre exhibit. We were able to warm the water as needed. Unfortunately, there was no way to heat the air in their exhibit without super-hearing the entire public area as well. In the old days, this would have been done - steamy reptile houses were typical. But management felt that today's visitors would not be so accepting of this. They grew well for 14-15 yrs, then began having health problems that were linked in part to poorly functioning immune systems; inappropriate temps long term seemed implicated. There were some losses, and the decision was made to transfer the survivors to institutions where they could be housed outdoors, or heated properly indoors.
Gharials have been captive bred in India, mainly due to the work of Rhom Whittaker, who supplied the Bx Zoo animals (and with whom I've had the pleasure of snake hunting!). I don;t believe they have reproduced in any US zoos, but have not checked recently,
Best, Frank
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I remember the old days...
Hm. Today's visitors need to get over their arrogant selves.
So they started failing to thrive not long past normal age/size of sexual maturity? Do you know how their growth rate compared to wild counterparts?
I would love your job.
I've indeed been very lucky, thanks. They hadn't shown external signs of sexual maturity yet, despite their size, which was odd. I've not looked into their growth rate in the wild; research back then was scanty (they arrived in 1985), but there should be more available now. They fasted for appx 4 months each year, but lost little weight and remained active. Diet was mainly live trout, trucked in from a hatchery at $500/week (one of the reasons zoo mgt tries to keep visitors happy....)/ They would grab a tilapia (established in exhibit) on occssion but generally lined up at door when hungry rather than take a stab at hunting. One did swallow a black arawana, illegal and valued at appx $1,000 then that had been donated by a family who had it behind scenes for years in theor restaurant (there were only mammal keepers present that day, and they tend to be, how shall I put this - "not all that knowledgeable" about or interested in un-furred creatures!). Best, FrankI remember the old days...
Hm. Today's visitors need to get over their arrogant selves.
So they started failing to thrive not long past normal age/size of sexual maturity? Do you know how their growth rate compared to wild counterparts?
I would love your job.
They seemed to be of