The citizens of Panama are ready to use a hard fist when it comes to defending their country's endangered species. The Dallas World Aquarium (DWA) is well aware of this, and at its own expense, which, with all the necessary permits, wanted to capture and export eight pygmy sloths for captivity.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
The citizens of Panama are ready to use a hard fist when it comes to defending their country's endangered species. The Dallas World Aquarium (DWA) is well aware of this and at its own expense. wanted to capture and export eight pygmy sloths for captivity.
When the employees showed up last September 09 in Bocas del Toro to return to the USA, with their private plane and lots of boxes full in hand, they were greeted by loud protests and stone throwing. The situation quickly escalated and a crowd of 100 protesters blocked the van, until they managed to get the sloths back to their island immediately.
The fight was successful and so it went. "We were all a little scared", said Daryl Richardson, chief executive of the Dwa. The next day, however, i captured sloths have been released into their habitat, after spending the night under the watchful gaze of some demonstrators, who wanted to make sure they could actually return to their home.
Conservation experts at the facility reiterate that their intent was to create a population of pygmy sloths for ensure the survival of the species. The problem, the Panamanians argue, is that no one has ever successfully bred this species in captivity. A successful captive breeding program, then, should be conducted under the auspices of a species management plan, which does not yet exist for the pygmy sloth.
And why, they ask, has the DWA not bothered to consult with other scientists who are currently studying this species on Escudo de Veraguas Island, where the approximately 100 specimens of this species live?
“I can't understand why the Dallas World Aquarium didn't consult with experienced researchers before exporting these animals. Furthermore, it escapes me how it is possible that ANAM has approved the export of about 10 percent of the wild population if this species has never been kept in captivity ", concludes Mariella Superina, President of the IUCN / SC Anteater, Sloth and Armadillo Specialist Group.
Roberta Ragni
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