In the habitat animals section, our needs are very clear and limited:
- African crocodile
- Australian monitor
- African spurred tortoise
- Large freshwater turtle
In terms of exhibit animals, we need a dedicated exhibit pack to get even close.
Though I definitely agree that there is still need for more habitat reptiles in PZ, things aren’t as “clear” as the list you provided. In most AZA-accredited zoos, there are at least two or three medium sized tortoise species (none of which are currently in PZ). Not only are they large enough in size, but often many of these tortoise species are kept in non-enclosed or even open-air, mixed species habitats. Meaning that numerous tortoise species could easily and realistically function as habitat options in PZ.
And as far as unfilled niches go for habitat reptiles, it’s hard to define what would align as “bare minimum” categories. Yes, we don’t have an African crocodilian. But we also don’t have any New World, Asian, or Australian large terrestrial lizards. Does this mean we “need” a habitat lizard from each of these regions?
And we don’t have any continental-based habitat tortoises or turtles, what’s to be done about this?
I totally agree that we need more habitat reptiles, but it’s hard to define what areas are clearly needed the most of all. It quickly becomes more a matter of opinion.
And it becomes even more-so opinion-based when we all start to debate what species Frontier should put in an exhibit box and what would exist as fully-functioning habitat species. Because in truth, the line between these two options is pretty unclear. We can now tell from Frontier’s previous decisions that an animal’s size and how its held in real-world zoos isn’t always what guides them on their final decisions for the “exhibit vs. habitat” devisions.
