OSAKA -- Shinichiro Maki, the director at Osaka Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, has been "downsizing" animals at the zoo to cut costs.
"Animals also have to be subject to 'concentration and selection' as we consider how to spend limited budget and use limited land," said Maki.
Meanwhile, growing awareness of animal conservation makes it difficult to introduce new species to the zoo, and securing a stable supply of animals has become a major issue.
Koalas were the most popular animal among the victims of downsizing. In 2014, the zoo had three koalas, however, feeding costs were high, with spending at about 64 million yen, or 40-50% of the total feeding cost for all animals, a year. This placed pressure on the business operations of the zoo. In October 2019, the last one was loaned to an overseas zoo for free.
Initially, the zoo was planning to shed about 22 of its 212 species. However, the figure had been reduced to 184 by the end of 2019, with more animals having disappeared from the park in unexpected incidents. A zebra that was to be bred died last year in a fight with a herbivore living in the same zone. An elephant estimated to be 48 years old died in 2018. Both animals were the last ones of their species at the zoo, and successors have yet to be introduced.
"Elephants represent zoos, so to speak. We've been gathering information [on the animal], but we have no prospect" of securing one, said a deputy director of the zoo.
This is due to the fact that securing animals, in general, has become extremely hard due to an increasing awareness of conservation.
In 1980, Japan ratified the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention, which regulates the international trade of animals. If permission to get an animal for the conservation of the species or for academic purposes is obtained in countries of exports and imports, animals subject to regulations can be procured. In recent years, however, wild animals such as elephants, which are in danger of extinction, are rarely traded. As a result, the zoo has no choice but to breed its own animals or acquire them from other zoos.
Osaka Tennoji Zoo is particularly working hard to secure rare animals such as polar bears and black rhinoceroses.
"We've confirmed mating behaviors of polar bears this spring, and we may have a baby by the end of this year, if everything goes well," the deputy director said.
However, a baby giraffe born this spring died seven days after its birth, indicating it is never a simple matter as they are living things.
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