Yadanabon Zoological Gardens

Coordinates: 22°00′22″N 96°06′00″E / 22.006°N 96.100°E / 22.006; 96.100

Yadanabon Zoo
ရတနာပုံ တိရိစ္ဆာန် ဥယျာဉ်

Date opened	1989[1]
Location	Mandalay Mandalay Division, Myanmar
Land area	55 acres (0.22 km2)[2]
Coordinates	22°00′22″N 96°06′00″E / 22.006°N 96.100°E / 22.006; 96.100
Number of animals	300 (2003)[1]
Major exhibits	Burmese Roofed Turtle, Burmese Star Tortoise

The Yadanabon Zoological Gardens (Burmese: ရတနာပုံ တိရိစ္ဆာန် ဥယျာဉ်, pronounced [jədənàbòuɴ təɹeiʔsʰàɴ ʔṵjɪ̀ɴ]) is a zoo in Mandalay, Myanmar. The zoo has nearly 300 animals, including tigers, leopards and elephants,^[1][3] and houses the only potential captive breeding group of Burmese Roofed Turtles (K. trivittata) in the world.^[4]

According to a March 2011 report by a Yangon-based news magazine, the zoo reportedly is under consideration for privatization.^[2]

History

The zoo is located at the foot of Mandalay Hill and was established in 1989. The zoo is opened on 8th April 1989. In 2003, its facilities were upgraded for K500 million.^[1] Part of the upgrade program included a dedicated K. trivittata enclosure with a larger ground pond, built with emergency funds donated by BTG Studios of Sydney and Allwetterzoo Münster of Germany.^[5]

K. trivittata

Yadanabon Zoo is notable for having the five of these turtles, out of a worldwide known population of eight. These five include one adult male, two adult females, and a juvenile male and female. According to Gerald Kuchling,

Of the world's top 25 most endangered turtles (TCF, 2003), this species is arguably in the top two that most desperately need a captive assurance colony in order to survive.^[5]

The Turtle Survival Alliance is working closely with the zoo to help care for the turtles, as well as a breeding program for Burmese Star Tortoises (G. platynota).^[4]

Photos

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  Yadanabon Zoo

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  Zoo Entrance

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Zin Min (2003-07-07). Upgrade for Mandalay zoo. The Myanmar Times. http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no173/Myanmartimes9-173/019.htm. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Yadanabon Zoo to be privatized" (in Burmese). Bi-Weekly Eleven (Weekly Eleven News). 2011-03-27. http://www.news-eleven.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7782:2011-03-27-17-09-10&catid=44:2009-11-10-07-31-38&Itemid=113. 
3. ^ Phyo Wai Kyaw (2004-06-28). Baby elephant finds new home at zoo. The Myanmar Times. http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no222/MyanmarTimes12-222/008.htm. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Trip Report, Myanmar and Cambodia, 20-31 Aug 2006". 2006-08-20. http://www.turtlesurvival.org/calleburma. Retrieved 2009-01-04. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ ^{a b} Gerald Kuchling (March 2004). Assurance colony for Kachuga trivittata, update March 2004. Asia Turtle Network. http://www.asianturtlenetwork.org/library/reports_papers/reports/assurance_colony_yadanabon_zoo.pdf.