Red Deer seem to be used more often.
Do they use stags/males for this- given they can be quite aggressive if tamed? Otherwise probably more suitable than Fallow Deer- being bigger, less nervous etc.
Red Deer seem to be used more often.
a slightly updated "post-2000" list (I've put in a few extra details, and added a few more species), followed by a "post-1980, pre-2000" list. A lot of the species on the second list I know only from reading mentions of them on Zoochat, so often I don't even know the zoo they were held at. If anyone can give more info that would be great - either zoos, or more species, or whatever.
Steve, Ara, Hix, tetrapod... I'm looking at you guys in particular!
POST-2000
*Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi)
Imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from the UK in 1988, from Marwell Zoo (two males) and Midway Manor (four females). After the zoo's closure in 1991 they went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary, and then when that zoo closed in 2004 they (if they still survived then) were probably sold to the Mary River Station. There are no longer any in the country.
*White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Presumably from New Zealand stock. The last one in the country was a female at Werribee which died in 2007.
*Gemsbok (Oryx gazella)
Imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell Zoo (UK) in 1987 (1.2 animals) and 1988 (0.2 animals). After the zoo's closure in 1991 they went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary, and then when that zoo closed in 2004 they were sold to the Mary River Station. There are no longer any in the country.
*Nyala (Tragelaphus angasii)
Imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell Zoo (UK) in 1988 (2.2 animals). After the zoo's closure in 1991 they went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary, and then when that zoo closed in 2004 they (if they still survived then) were probably sold to the Mary River Station. There are no longer any in the country.
*Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger)
The last one in the country was a female at Werribee which died in 2012 (she had been there alone since at least 2006).
*Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra)
From New Zealand stock, originally brought in by Taronga. The last one died at Monarto in the early 2000s.
*Black (Golden-rumped) Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus)
info still needed on numbers and so forth
*Red-handed Tamarin (Saguinus midas)
Originally imported to Perth from Skansen Zoo (Sweden) in the 1990s. The last two were sent to Mogo, the last one dying in the early 2000s.
*Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus)
Alma Park had a group of ten ex-lab animals near the start of the 2000s. There were still eight in 2008, but all seem to have died in 2011.
*Ebony (Javan) Langur ((Trachypithecus auratus)
Melbourne had a pair in the early-2000s, the male of which died in 2008 and the female in 2010.
*Purple-faced Langur (Trachypithecus vetulus vetulus)
At Perth Zoo; the last animals (one pair) were sent to Edinburgh Zoo (UK) in about 2005 or 2006.
*Tonkean Macaque (Macaca tonkeana)
Perth had one pair (?) which bred at least once. By around 2005 they just had two males left, and these seem to have died around 2010 or so (or they may have been rehomed to a smaller zoo, as many of their other unwanted primates were).
*Muller's (Bornean) Gibbon (Hylobates muelleri)
The last one in the country was the female Mary who came to Taronga from Borneo in 1960 and died in Feb 2015. Her previous mate had died in 1986 and she rejected attempts to pair her with other males. Until 2008 there was also a lone female at Mogo and until 2010 a lone female at the Cairns Wildlife Safari.
*Asian Lion (Panthera leo persica)
A pure male was kept at Taronga in the 1970s. In c.1991 a hybrid pair (Asian X African) was imported to Western Plains Zoo via Taronga from the USA, and these survived until at least 2003. The intention was to later import pure Asian Lions but this never eventuated.
*Tigon (Panthera tigris X Panthera leo)
A sibling pair which were bred at the Ashton's Circus in 1987, and sent to National Zoo in Dec 2000. The female died in 2006 and the male in June 2008.
*Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica / saxicolor)
The last three in the country were a female at Crocodylus (died in 2008); a male at Adelaide (died April 2010); and a female at Melbourne (died July 2013). The original breeding stock in Australia was 1.2 siblings bred at Cincinnati Zoo (USA) in 1980 and imported to Adelaide.
*Jaguar (Panthera onca)
The last five in the country all died in late 2000s from old age. A female at Darling Downs which came from Monbulk Animal Kingdom, but was originally bred at Adelaide in the late 1970s, died in 2008. The pair at Melbourne both died in 2008. Of the sibling pair at Mogo, which had came from Notre Dame Zoo (Mulgoa) when it was closed down in 1991, the female died in 2007 and the male in either 2009 or 2010.
*Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)
One pair was imported to Taronga in the 1990s. They never bred and the male died at Taronga in 2005, and the female died at Melbourne in 2008.
*Asiatic Golden Cat (Catopuma temminckii)
Kept and bred continuously at Melbourne since 1968 when the first five animals were imported from Europe and the USA. Was also kept at Taronga and Adelaide. Most of the surviving animals post-2000 were exported to New Zealand zoos. The last one in Australia was a female which died at Melbourne in 2009.
*Caracal (Caracal caracal schmitzii)
The last animals in the country were a pair at Adelaide. The female died in 2007, and the male was sent to Melbourne in 2008 where he died in late 2013.
*Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
The last one died at Melbourne in 2008. Also used to be at Taronga until at least the 1990s, and the Notre Dame Zoo (Mulgoa) which was closed down in 1991.
*Kodiak Bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi)
Three siblings were imported to Adelaide from the Colorado Springs Zoo (USA) in 1978, and then moved on to Taronga in 1985. Male Barney died in c.July 2005 aged 28, female Cynthia died March 2008 aged 31, and female Bethyl died Oct 2012 aged 35.
*Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
One captive-bred pair was imported to Taronga in Feb 2006 from Cambodia. One female pup was born in August 2006 and one male pup in July 2007. The father and daughter went to Singapore Night Safari in 2009, and he has since bred with an unrelated female there (in 2011). Both animals remaining at Taronga (the mother and son) died around Feb 2015.
*European badger (Meles meles)
Bred at Melbourne for many decades. Formerly also kept at Taronga. The last one in the country was a female which died at Melbourne in 2009.
*Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula)
The breeding population at Adelaide declined rapidly from around 15 animals at the start of the 2000s until the final one died in August 2013.
*White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)
Formerly kept in a number of zoos. The last one was a male which died at Melbourne in c.2009/2010. The animals currently in the country are Brown-nosed Coati (Nasua nasua).
*American Beaver (Castor canadensis)
Originally imported to Adelaide in the 1980s; I'm not sure if they ever bred. There were two pairs at the start of the 2000s, from which they dwindled until the last one (a male) died in July 2010.
*Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica)
The last ones in the country were a pair at Melbourne and a female at Taronga (which had come from Melbourne in 2005). The Melbourne male and the Taronga female both died in 2008, and the Melbourne female in 2009.
*Grey Dorcopsis Wallaby (Dorcopsis luctuosa)
Imported from New Guinea by the Australian Reptile Park in the late 1960s. Animals were distributed to Currumbin, Healesville, Adelaide, Melbourne, Taronga and Perth. The population survived in most of these zoos until at least the late 1990s. I think they may have still been at Currumbin, at least, until the early 2000s.
POST-1980 / PRE-2000
*Pere David's Deer (Elaphurus davidianus) - two pairs were given to Taronga by the Duke of Bedford in 1949 and they bred well - by 1956 there were fourteen at the zoo. The deer were sent out to WPZ after it opened in 1977. They seem to have all died out during the 1980s.
*Lowland Anoa (Bubalus depressicornis) - Taronga
*Hanuman Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) - at Perth
*Silvered Langur (Trachypithecus cristatus)
*Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus patas) - at Perth and Taronga.The last in the country were those at Taronga, which were sent to the Noumea Zoo in New Caledonia in the late 1990s.
*Talapoin (Miopithecus sp.) - at Perth Zoo, mid-1980s to early/mid-1990s. At least two of them came from New Zealand.
*Gelada (Theropithecus gelada)
*Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock)
*Stump-tailed Macaque (Macaca arctoides)
*Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus)
*Olive Baboon (Papio anubis)
*Senegal Bushbaby (Galago senegalensis) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Thick-tailed Bushbaby (Otolemur crassicaudatus)
*Slender Loris (Loris sp.) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Black Lemur (Eulemur macaco) - at Perth, the last pair exported to Pouakai Zoo (NZ) in 1995.
*Jungle Cat (Felis chaus)
*Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) - at Melbourne at least in the 1990s.
*Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) - at Taronga and Melbourne in mid-1980s
*Pallas' Cat (Otocolobus manul) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s. One was there in 1984. In Dec 1986 an Adelaide-bred Polar Bear was sent to Chicago's Brookfield Zoo (USA) in exchange for a Pallas' Cat - this may have been for the cat already at Adelaide or it may have been for a second cat.
*American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) - at Taronga 1980s
*Striped Hyaena?
*Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) - at Taronga in mid-1980s
*Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas) - at Melbourne, Taronga and Adelaide in the early 1980s. Taronga imported jackals directly from Africa in the 1940s which may have been the origin of the 1980s animals.
*Coyote (Canis latrans) - still in the early 1980s at Melbourne at least, but otherwise I know nothing.
*Arctic Wolf (Canis lupus hudsonicus) - at Adelaide, the final members of the pack were exported to Wellington Zoo (NZ) in 1987 and 1992.
*New Guinea Singing Dog (Canis familiaris hallstromi) - at Taronga in mid-1980s
*Chinese Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens styani) - six animals were imported in the 1980s but none bred. At the end of the 1980s the zoos switched to the currently-held subspecies A. f. fulgens.
*Tayra (Eira barbara) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) - at Taronga and Melbourne until late 1970s. Several at Adelaide in the 1980s: in 1987 they had 1.2 (one being a female from Melbourne); in 1988 they had 0.2; in 1989 a new male was imported from San Diego (USA) to make 1.2 again; in 1989 it seems both females died; and the male died in Sept 1990.
*Armadillo sp. - at Melbourne until at least late 1970s, possibly early 1980s.
*Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) - one pair imported to Melbourne from Canada in 1976; the female died in 1981 and the male perhaps in the late 1980s.
*Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) - at Melbourne until late 1980s. Probably the stock originated at Taronga which had them from at least the 1930s.
*Springhaas (Pedetes capensis) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Ground Cuscus (Phalanger gymnotis) - imported from New Guinea to the Australian Reptile Park in 1969 and initially bred there. There subsequently appears to have been a reasonably large number in several zoos. Individuals or groups were present at Healesville until at least 1985, at Adelaide until at least 1990, at the Australian Reptile Park until at least 1995, and at Taronga until at least 1997.
*Spotted Cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus) - imported from New Guinea in the 1950s to 1970s to (at least) Healesville, Australian Reptile Park and Taronga. They were still present at Taronga until the late 1980s and at Perth until the late 1990s.
There were two individuals, I believe a pair. Second one died during mid-90s, not sure when the first died.Hey any info on the Hairy Armadillo that was in the Perth Zoo nocturnal house early-mid 90s?
a species which hasn't come up in this thread previously for being in Australian zoos - rock hyrax!
Perth Zoo imported wild-caught Cape rock hyrax from South Africa via the UK. I came across it in a 1994 article in a veterinarian journal (abstract only: Tuberculosis in imported hyrax (Procavia capensis) caused by an unusual variant belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. - PubMed - NCBI) where it mentions "Tuberculosis was diagnosed in an adult female hyrax (Procavia capensis) imported from South Africa and held in a captive colony at the Perth Zoo."
I can't find anything else on the import but it was presumably early 1990s (there would be a time period between the event and the publication of the paper).
There's a little more information here: Isolation of a Mycobacterium microti-like organism from a rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) in a Canadian zoo
"...more recently in 1994 in a zoo collection in Perth, Australia ... [T]he animals originated from South Africa and were captured from the wild. The animals imported to form the colony at the Perth zoo were held in quarantine in the UK for a period of months prior to arrival in Australia..."
Reindeer used for draught purposes are usually castrated bulls, which I have seen referred to as 'reindeer oxen'. Fallow bucks or Red stags would presumably have to be gelded as well. Entire males would be just too dangerous. Anyone got any experience of this?Do they use stags/males for this- given they can be quite aggressive if tamed? Otherwise probably more suitable than Fallow Deer- being bigger, less nervous etc.
*Smooth-coated Otters - has anyone known these to be in Australia? I found CITES import records for live zoo animals to Australia in 1984 (one animal from the Netherlands), 1985 (two from Indonesia), and 1986 (one from Malaysia). The possibilities are accurate data, or mistaken input for Small-clawed Otters, or mistaken input of importing country (Austria, for example, is right next to Australia on a drop-bar and similar enough to not notice as a mistake).
oh nice. Thanks for that.Smooth coated otters were at Melbourne Zoo in the '80's. They were kept in the smaller part of the divided seal pool. I am not sure if this was before or after the harbour seals. American beavers had been kept in this space earlier.
oh nice. Thanks for that.
Melbourne Zoo had harbour seals?!
I've never heard of Blue monkeys, Saddlebacks, Red-bellied or Moustached Tamarins ever being imported into Australia. I wonder if there is some confusion of Red-bellied with the Red-handeds, and Moustached with the Emperors??? I would be guessing that Perth was the first to import both (at least in the modern system of records) for the Lesser Primate area. As far as guenons go, I can only recall seeing the Lesser Spot-nosed guenons at Melbourne and Talapoins (which we have discussed before), along with the De Brazzas and vervets still in the region. NZ had the Dianas but I've never heard of any in Australia. 1991 seems too recent for people to have not noticed their presence/absence.while tinkering with the "former zoo mammals" and looking at CITES records, I came up with a few new questions for the likes of @Hix and @tetrapod.
*Three Blue Monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) exported to Indonesia in 1991. This one has to be an error, right?
Then there's these ones for @tetrapod because if they are legitimate entries then they would most likely be at Perth:
*Andean Saddleback Tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) - one imported in 1980 from the USA
*Red-bellied Tamarin (Saguinus labiatus) - four imported from the USA in 1980
*Moustached Tamarin (Saguinus mystax) - four imported from the USA in 1980
I remember seeing the otters in the smaller seal pool; didn't realise they weren't short-claws. As I recall the harbour seals were a bit of a non-display... Were the beavers moved on to Adelaide?Smooth coated otters were at Melbourne Zoo in the '80's. They were kept in the smaller part of the divided seal pool. I am not sure if this was before or after the harbour seals. American beavers had been kept in this space earlier.
The CITES records are by year and by scientific name (not common name, so it would be difficult to confuse Red-bellied with Red-handed, for example), and the Red-handed are in any case also listed for 1984 from Sweden. The three species I listed all seem to have been part of one export from the USA.I've never heard of Blue monkeys, Saddlebacks, Red-bellied or Moustached Tamarins ever being imported into Australia. I wonder if there is some confusion of Red-bellied with the Red-handeds, and Moustached with the Emperors??? I would be guessing that Perth was the first to import both (at least in the modern system of records) for the Lesser Primate area. As far as guenons go, I can only recall seeing the Lesser Spot-nosed guenons at Melbourne and Talapoins (which we have discussed before), along with the De Brazzas and vervets still in the region. NZ had the Dianas but I've never heard of any in Australia. 1991 seems too recent for people to have not noticed their presence/absence.
I don't think the enclosure was suitable for any of these three species, it placed what are fairly small animals a long way away from visitors in a stark environment. Regarding the beavers, they were there when I was a child, i remember specifically seeing them on a school excursion. So that would place them there in the late 1960's or early 1970's. I don't know where they went, but would that be too early for Adelaide's animals?I remember seeing the otters in the smaller seal pool; didn't realise they weren't short-claws. As I recall the harbour seals were a bit of a non-display... Were the beavers moved on to Adelaide?
Adelaide imported their beavers (two pairs) in the 1980s, I guess from America.Regarding the beavers, they were there when I was a child, i remember specifically seeing them on a school excursion. So that would place them there in the late 1960's or early 1970's. I don't know where they went, but would that be too early for Adelaide's animals?
Then there's these ones for @tetrapod because if they are legitimate entries then they would most likely be at Perth:
*Andean Saddleback Tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) - one imported in 1980 from the USA
*Red-bellied Tamarin (Saguinus labiatus) - four imported from the USA in 1980
*Moustached Tamarin (Saguinus mystax) - four imported from the USA in 1980
I've never heard of Blue monkeys, Saddlebacks, Red-bellied or Moustached Tamarins ever being imported into Australia.
That could be possible. Not 100% knowldgeable about Taronga's collection. Traditionally they haven't had a decent small primate collection (lemurs + callitrichids).I came across a mention (without date) of a Saguinus fuscicollis specimen as having been deposited at the Australian Museum from Taronga Zoo, so potentially the above import could have been to Taronga.