A repository of indigenous wildlife genes at the Emperor Valley Zoo
1992
Brown, R. | Boos, H. | Garcia, G.W.
The Emperor Valley Zoo (EVZ) exhibits a variety of animals mainly those that are indigenous to the tropical world. These are housed at the EVZ, a total of 1895 specimens, which are made up of 175 species. The bird inventory constitutes a major portion of the collection, consisting of 64 species. The reptilian, fish, mammalian, invertebrate and amphibian inventories consist of 37, 35, 34, 3 and 2 species respectively. The management techniques employed by the zoo differ from species to species. The housing and environment are designed to suit each animal from the standpoint of size, population and biological needs of the animal. The climate and topography are also taken into consideration. The animals are fed a mixture of diets to suit their nutritional and physiological needs. The zoo animals rarely display symptoms of nutritional and physical ill-health. They are regularly dewormed and visited by the zoo's veterinarian. Since the zoo tends to modify the enclosure to suit the animals' requirements, these animals adapt easily, and, in this way, they are able to display their normal reproductive patterns. Hence breeding tends to be prolific and therefore in some instances must be controlled. The Emperor Valley Zoo is successful in each management discipline, as a result they possess a healthy, fecund collection of animals. Therefore, this zoo could be viewed as a repository for wildlife genes, which could assist in improvement programmes for domestic livestock in the future.
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