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NATURAL HISTORY
Golden Agoutis, Prevost's Tree Squirrels, raccoons and pumas. Their enclosures, designed to encourage breeding, are attractively laid out within a botanical setting. Notable additions to the mammal collection during 1977 were a pair of young jaguars acquired from the Netherlands.
The bird collection is among the best in the Far East, having some 700 specimens representing about 300 species from most parts of the world. The zoo specialises in breeding Peacock Pheasants, especially the now seriously-endangered Palawan Peacock Pheasant. More than 150 have been bred in the gardens during the past 12 years, and many of them distributed to zoos and bird collections throughout the world. There was an exchange of rare birds with the Peking Zoo in 1977, and, during the summer, the flock of flamingos produced two chicks that were reared successfully. This was a happy sequel to the hatching in 1976 of the first flamingo chick, only to be lost through an apparent act of vandalism. Security arrangements in the gardens were tightened during 1977 through the employment of extra park keepers and guards, and the start of work on strengthening the perimeter fence. In addition, an effective publicity campaign was mounted to get public co-operation in combating vandalism that has damaged or threatened plant and animal life.
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