The Debrecen Zoo can report not only the birth and hatching of baby babies week by week, but also the arrival of new residents, including representatives of many species that have never been held before; most recently, the Tropical House prospered with two New Caledonian sailboats, and the Palm House prospered with two Henkel flat-tailed grebes. Exotic newcomers from the Tropicarium in Budapest can already be admired by the general public in their terrariums.
Native to the Pacific archipelago east of Australia, the New Caledonian sailing gecko (Correlophus ciliatus), native to the archipelago, got its common name from a leather sail between its hind legs that helps it jump from tree to tree. Unlike most gecko species, it is omnivorous: it consumes fruit, nectar, pollen and insects. Another curiosity is that there is a tiny skin ridge running from head to mid-back, the section above the eye reminiscent of lashes – hence its other name, the “lash gecko”.
The Henkel flat-tailed gull (Uroplatus henkeli), endemic to Madagascar, is a true master of camouflage because, due to its flattened shape, also flat, leaf-like tail and greenish-brown hide color, it can hardly be distinguished from the trunk or branch it just clings to. He spends much of his life in the safety of trees, where he hunts insects, arachnids, and mollusks, but lays his eggs among the leaves that fall to ground level, uncharacteristically for geckos living on trees.
Due to habitat loss and the emergence of invasive species, both species are listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List, and the Henkel Flat-tailed Gull is listed in Annex II of the Washington Convention (CITES), which provides protection against international trade. also in the Annex. Both species are a rarity among Hungarian zoos, as they can only be found in Debrecen outside the capital.
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