Mystery solved! It must be the pair, Raja and Nika, who have mysteriously disappeared off the Dreamworld website. Raja is a purebred Sumatran tiger; though Nika is not a purebred Siberian. They have produced several hybrid litters at Dreamworld.
Sydney Zoo $36 million zoo with roaming African animals planned for Blacktown
- Thread starter Astrobird
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Mystery solved! It must be the pair, Raja and Nika, who have mysteriously disappeared off the Dreamworld website. Raja is a purebred Sumatran tiger; though Nika is not a purebred Siberian. They have produced several hybrid litters at Dreamworld.
Ired!!!
Incredible in this day and age given the precarious status of both Sumatran (200-300) or Siberian (400-500) and Dreamworld actively breeding hybrids conciously!!!
I just have watched all three videos. On the third one - where a family visited on a "soft opening" - it was specifically mentioned that they do not yet have elephant, giraffe, rhino, red panda, bull shark, tigers, and some others [the tigers have since arrived, of course]. They said that the zoo was "80%" complete (as in which species are/will be there).
At the end of that video the father said "it was smaller than I thought it would be", and the mother replied with something like "yeah... maybe they have plans to expand in the future...?"
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I think this view will be the common one from Zoochatters. Perhaps not from the general public though.
It's probably not fair to judge too harshly based on videos given that the zoo is brand new and the trees and shrubs haven't had time to grow in, etc etc, but especially in the first video the enclosures really did all look the same; and those primate "islands" were ghastly, with the rows of boulders lining the water.
I'm not sure if the "immersion" line was just publicity-speak or if they actually don't know what immersion means. Literally anywhere you look there are fences - in some shots in the third video you could even see other visitors walking along paths beyond the enclosure which was being filmed.
What really stood out for me, though, was how small almost all the enclosures are. The reptile house was the worst by far - those goanna tanks are so tiny in comparison to the size of the goannas themselves!
As I mentioned in the Monarto news thread, a female giraffe (‘Eyelean’, who was hand raised by keepers) from Monarto Safari Park will be moving to Sydney Zoo in the near future. When Eyelean arrives, she will be joined by another giraffe from a different zoo in Australia.
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Have they announced any plans for how they are getting elephants, rhinos, and bull sharks?
@MRJ and Chlidonias: Thank you very much for your replies. Very interesting. But still confusing as well. I did a little research in the same time and figured out, that according to this source: Durchschnittliches Einkommen weltweit Australia is still behind Switzerland ref. average income (Switzerland 5898 Euros per month, 4th place worldwide, versus Australia 3753 Euros, 14th place). However, theese datas are from 2018, so maybe you (@MRJ) may have some that are more accurate.
On the other hand, wikipedia Liste der Länder nach Vermögen pro Kopf – Wikipedia also says that Switzerland is still No 1 regarding average wealth/capital in the world. And this are datas for 2019.
Sorry for being a little off-topic. If a moderator would like to place this conversation in a better fitting thread - just go ahead.
Re Average you need to be careful with which average. I mentioned median. True Switzerland has the highest mean wealth but that is because it has a higher percentage of high wealth individuals (ie billionaires and millionaires) but of course such people do not often work in zoos. Referring back to my comment on minimum wage, that does reflect on general wages of working people.
They would be some of the 'Mexican' type that are kept at Dubbo. Considered part of a hybrid population with the 'Golden' type in Australasia.
The following article gives a few nuggets of information.
Sydney's west gets its own world-class zoo
-Sydney Zoo has 10 capuchin monkeys.
-They plan to allow the chimpanzees to breed and their females are being weaned off their contraceptives.
-A rhino will arrive shortly (quote from article: They'll soon they'll be joined by a white rhino).
-In the facts and figures section of the article, it mentions that Sydney Zoo currently has one bull shark.
-Interestingly, the article also mentions the cost of opening Sydney Zoo was closer to 60 million dollars (rather than the initial 36 million).
Sydney's west gets its own world-class zoo
-Sydney Zoo has 10 capuchin monkeys.
-They plan to allow the chimpanzees to breed and their females are being weaned off their contraceptives.
-A rhino will arrive shortly (quote from article: They'll soon they'll be joined by a white rhino).
-In the facts and figures section of the article, it mentions that Sydney Zoo currently has one bull shark.
-Interestingly, the article also mentions the cost of opening Sydney Zoo was closer to 60 million dollars (rather than the initial 36 million).
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Some of the quotes in the article gave me pause...
"Burgess has professionally inspected "at least" 37 zoos in Australia and overseas since that fateful afternoon in 2012 when he sat down for a quiet beer with his father."
But particularly this one:
"Our enclosures are huge, and as a new zoo we don't have the legacy issues that surround older zoos. We've embraced the modern zoo paradigm: a lower number of species, in larger enclosures, with space and enrichment for visitors."
"Our enclosures are huge"?? Not from what is shown in the videos!
‘At least 37’ is a contradiction in itself. 37 is a very specific number. Either he’s visited 37 or he hasn’t. I’d also like to know which zoos were the source of inspiration. In my opinion, the exhibit designs suggest Planet Zoo ranked highly.
He refers to legacy issues as a bad thing. The most obvious example is a zoo with old exhibits that are in need of an upgrade.
A legacy can have a positive side also. It reflects a zoo with history, where generations of people an association with it; it reflects the decades of experience of the staff; and it reflects a progressive evolution of a collection, which has been built up over the years. The advantage of this, is the zoo ‘earns the right’ for want of a better word to hold breeding groups (if their facilities allow) as oppose to the non breeding/bachelor groups new holders invariably acquire.
toothlessjaws
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In the midst of a mass extinction event, a lower species number is nothing to be proud of embracing in my opinion.
I really wonder what people (and specially Australians) think about the (expected) price-performance-ratio about this new park and if they probably feel disappointed or even cheated/fooled.
- Looking at the species that will be (or already are) presented, I don't see any species that are not (or at least were not recently) exhibited in another park/zoo in Downunder. Many of the animals can even be seen in Taronga Zoo or other zoological institutions in the Greater Sydney area.
- Looking at the pictures and drawings from the exhibits, I couldn't find anything outstanding.
So beside the fact, that it is something new: Why should I pay more money to see the same animals? And more important: What makes this zoo in Blacktown DURABLE so interesting that it can "survive" and compete with the other already existing institutions?
(And did I get it well: They plan to open the park although some/many of the "big sellers" are still not acquired/obtained or are at least still off-show?)
- Looking at the species that will be (or already are) presented, I don't see any species that are not (or at least were not recently) exhibited in another park/zoo in Downunder. Many of the animals can even be seen in Taronga Zoo or other zoological institutions in the Greater Sydney area.
- Looking at the pictures and drawings from the exhibits, I couldn't find anything outstanding.
So beside the fact, that it is something new: Why should I pay more money to see the same animals? And more important: What makes this zoo in Blacktown DURABLE so interesting that it can "survive" and compete with the other already existing institutions?
(And did I get it well: They plan to open the park although some/many of the "big sellers" are still not acquired/obtained or are at least still off-show?)
Basically what they are banking on, I think, is that people from that side of Sydney will give preference to visiting this zoo because it is closer. The international trade is a bit more difficult I think - I guess that will depend on who markets themselves better to the tour companies, and from MRJ's second link above it sounds like that will be Sydney Zoo (the new one)? I think for general tourists (backpackers etc) Taronga will still be the easiest option though.
Sydney Zoo will see a truckload of visitor numbers initially simply because it is new, but I'm not sure it is sustainable to have both zoos in the long run.
Sydney Zoo will see a truckload of visitor numbers initially simply because it is new, but I'm not sure it is sustainable to have both zoos in the long run.
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I've just read these. From the first article, I thought this line was particularly amusing/telling because it was an obvious issue which was identified early on in this thread by several people but apparently not by the designers/owners of the zoo:
"Sydney's new zoo has installed 150 metres of shade cover in the final days before it opens after a recent "test day" identified that lack of shelter from direct sun would be an issue."
They have most of their exotic animals - certainly enough to keep people happy I think:
Orangutan, Chimpanzee, Hamadryas Baboon, Spider and Capuchin Monkeys
Lion, Tiger, Cheetah, Hunting Dog, Spotted Hyaena, Meerkat
Zebra and Ostrich
The main draw-card mammals they are missing are Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino and Gorilla - but they should all be there soon enough.
The Bull Shark will likely be on exhibit when they open.
They have the Australian and Reptile/Nocturnal House already stocked.