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hangryhyax t1_jda2rtb wrote

Reply to comment by jezra in A 90-year-old tortoise named Mr. Pickles just became a father of 3. It's a big 'dill' by Two-in-the-Belfry

I get the criticism of zoos, but it’s worth noting that they’re not all bad. In this instance, the tortoises are critically endangered due to the illegal pet trade, so putting them back out in the wild is most likely a death sentence for them, or they’ll end up in the pet trade where they won’t be able to be a part of reproduction/repopulation efforts.

There’s also this:

> A portion of each Zoo membership and admission goes toward helping the Zoo’s partners in Madagascar replant wildlife habitat to save animals in the wild.

From the zoo’s site.

Having animals in captivity purely for entertainment/profit is objectively bad. Having them in captivity because they’d otherwise be extinct (at the hands of people) is less bad.

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ElementalWheel t1_jdc0deh wrote

A lot of zoos house animals that are being rehabilitated or any be released into the wild too!

The New York aquarium takes in exotic animals found from people either surrendering their animals, animal farm seizures, or just people chucking exotic pets into the ocean off Cony Island and being found/discovered

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Wandering_Scholar6 t1_jddouyv wrote

Also tortoises can generally be kept relatively well in captivity. Simple enrichment and a decent habitat are all they need to thrive.

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hangryhyax t1_jdgb3sl wrote

Yep! While reading about these ones, I saw that their lifespan in the wild is usually 40-50 years; Mr. & Mrs. Pickles have both not only exceeded that, but they’re still procreating!

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Wandering_Scholar6 t1_jdhleio wrote

Is that the average or median or the average of those that live past 1 years or so?

Turtles and tortoises often have low survival rates for the first several years then, if they survive past the cut-off age, they mostly live to be really old. But that can really skew the math on lifespan.

But also yes, if they are thriving past their lifespan in captivity that's a good sign that they can be kept well in captivity.

It can actually become a problem in Zoos because at some point many of your animals are geriatric (because good care and medical attention). Geriatric animals require more care and may not necessarily be the best exhibit animals.

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