Prague Zoo: The Nutcrackers are here, the hardest part is starting
We’ve had it! Two short-tailed legumes – male Guo Bao and female Run Hou Tang – have been at the Prague Zoo since Thursday. We managed to get really exceptional animals. Luskous are the only mammals to have their bodies covered in scales, so at first glance they give the impression of reptiles, and there are a number of other attractions associated with them. However, the works are hunted in huge numbers and for a long time they have taken the unfortunate first position in the list of the most illegally traded mammals. This is also the main reason why we cared so much about them – we want to introduce you to the creatures, we strive for protection in both Central Africa and South Asia. However, it is not at all easy to breed them. Until relatively recently, this was considered impossible, so it is no coincidence that we have now only become the second zoo in Europe to introduce legumes to its visitors.
So what makes legume breeding so complicated and what did we have to prepare for? Above all, we completely rebuilt the night exhibition in the Indonesian jungle for them. It was not only about creating enough space and building artificial burrows, but also about ensuring the right span, very high humidity, possible lighting as possible or such a surface treatment so that the pod does not damage their delicate feet.
However, by far the biggest problem for long-term sustainable legume farming is ensuring a suitable diet. That’s what made her impossible for decades. Like ants, rattlesnakes or egrets, nutcrackers live on ants and termites, but unlike other insectivorous mammals, they have not been able to find suitable replacement feed for a long time. One of the first institutions to successfully solve this problem was the Taipei Zoo, from where Guo Bao and Run Hou Tang have now arrived. According to the Taipei recipe – only slightly adapted to Central European conditions – a Prague legume menu is also being prepared. After their arrival, Guo Bao and Run Hou Tang come to receive a mixture made from frozen bee larvae, which supplement darkling larvae, deactivation clay, chitin, vitamin K and other ingredients.
Yes, obtaining the legumes and all the preparations for their arrival were not easy, but the biggest challenges – their recall for a new environment and subsequently successful breeding – are still ahead of us.
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author: Press Release
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