Taronga Zoo Recent history of Taronga and developments etc
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I was working at a zoo over here in the UK, and we had a small herd of reindeer by the second entrance. Two lads managed to by-pass the small manned booth and thought they could jump into the deer paddock and gain free entry. What they hadn't realised was that the male was extremely aggressive, and he ruthlessly attacked them. He had previously nailed an unwary keeper quite badly and so we had removed his antlers. Luckily for his intruders... A timely story, reindeer are not all Santa's little helpers.
Can't believe this, apparently Edward Hallstrom in 1955 offered a thousand pound reward to whomever could kill a shark in sydney harbour responsible for two deaths (no evidence it was the same shark responsible for both fatal attacks btw). Im sorry that two young people lost their lives (13 year old boy and 24 year old man) in such a horrific manner, but killing the shark(s) was not going to bring them back to life. I just found it strange that a zoo director would put a bounty on any shark.
MASS HUNT FOR KILLER SHARK - The Central Queensland Herald (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1930 - 1956) - 10 Feb 1955
MASS HUNT FOR KILLER SHARK - The Central Queensland Herald (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1930 - 1956) - 10 Feb 1955
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Hallstrom was not a "normal" director, he was an extremely wealthy and influential figure who enjoyed exotic animals and effectively took over the zoo because of his position. In this regard the reward would not have been form Edward Hallstrom, director, so much as it would have been from Edward Hallstrom, millionaire and public figure.
Thanks MRJ for the info about Hallstrom, i just found an online bio about him getting wealthy for an early refrigrerator prototype or something before he got involved with Taronga. I find it dissapointing that the zoos name got associated with the shark hunt in the article due to Hallstrom's own connection with the zoo. Im recalling now from about five years ago reading someones post on here about Hallstrom essentially running Taronga like a 'fifedom'.
I think it’s important to keep in perspective that people’s attitudes were very different during the 1950’s - compared to today when the conservation message re. sharks invariably triumphs over the irrational fear they once inspired.
Zoos were primarily a place of entertainment and in that decade alone, several chimpanzees were imported by Taronga Zoo via animal dealers, who sourced these animals by sometimes slaughtering entire troops. Another practice now deemed unacceptable by any accredited zoo.
Hallstrom did a lot of good for the zoo. He donated over $4 million of his fortune to philanthropic causes (mostly Taronga Zoo) and funded the purchase of many large and exotic species from overseas. It was once his ambition to exhibit every subspecies of tiger at the zoo and Taronga subsequently had a diversity of taxa we could only dream of seeing in one of Australasia’s mainstream zoos these days.
Zoos were primarily a place of entertainment and in that decade alone, several chimpanzees were imported by Taronga Zoo via animal dealers, who sourced these animals by sometimes slaughtering entire troops. Another practice now deemed unacceptable by any accredited zoo.
Hallstrom did a lot of good for the zoo. He donated over $4 million of his fortune to philanthropic causes (mostly Taronga Zoo) and funded the purchase of many large and exotic species from overseas. It was once his ambition to exhibit every subspecies of tiger at the zoo and Taronga subsequently had a diversity of taxa we could only dream of seeing in one of Australasia’s mainstream zoos these days.
@steveroberts Bear in mind that this was the 1950s. Sharks were just sharks, they were bad, and the idea at the time was that once a shark got the taste for human then it would become a man-eater. There was a very different mind-set towards various animals then which seem "unusual", shall we say, when viewed through today's eyes. As an example, I have a European zoo book from the 50s or 60s which recommends using whale meat for feeding the zoo carnivores because it is so cheap and easily obtainable.
Thanks ZooFan15 for info (and Chlidonias) yeah true it was 1950s. I remember finding out on this site that the arrival of Western Lowland Gorillas (circa 1959), Black Rhinos & African Elephants (circa 1947) happened during the Hallstrom which were cool arrivals (albeit spartan facilities for the species but that was the way it was back then for all zoos pretty much), lol i read somewhere that Hallstrom fed the Black Rhinos scones with vitamins sprinkled into the butter on top. Oh and from reading some chapters in 'Keepers and the Kept' i found out the first Komodo Dragons at Taronga (longelived Keith and his shortlived female companion) arrived at the zoo (1963??) as a result of Hallstrom's donations so all in all some cool species arrived during his era (actually i realise Binturongs and New Guinean Singing Dogs both would have come during his time too along with other species i imagine e.g Tree Kangaroos, Long Beaked Echidnas, Cuscus, Cassowary and probably Platypus). So i would have to say i'd be lying if i didnt admit it was kind of cool to find out the awesome species that found a place at Taronga during his time.
On another note: from reading some of the heritage reports it seems one of the longest consistently utilised exhibits at Taronga has been what is now the Sun Bear canyon. While obviously renovated over the years (i've seen it renovated at least once in the late 90s), its gone from the Tiger and Lion canyons that predated the pits by 20 years to being used for other big cats to being used for Kodiak Bears from the 1970s until 2012 when Beryl died. Just thought it was interesting that technically that exhibit was essentially existed for 105 years almost.
P.S I have to say I thought it was really interesting about Hallstrom's ambition to want to house all subspecies of Tiger at the zoo. Would have been interesting to have had seen South China, Siberian and Indochinese along with Sumatran and Bengals (Malayan having not been acknowledged until 2004). Interestingly enough in the 50s and 60s the Javan Tiger was still considered a critically endagered species right? (i know now that Sumatran, Javan and Balinese have all been merged by taxonomy since 2017 into one subspecies but in Hallstrom's day that was far from the case right?)
Yes, the Sunda tiger was classified as Sumatran, Balinese and Javan tiger back then. Tbh I’ve yet to see a zoo today refer to their Sumatran tigers as Sunda tigers.
One of the tigers that came to Taronga Zoo in 1963 (on an expedition funded by Hallstrom) was described as the zoo’s first ‘Nepalese tiger.’ I assume this was a mis classification of the Bengal tiger subspecies (already held at the zoo).
In 1951, the zoo received a pair of Sumatran tigers from Indonesia. This interested me as I’d always believed Nico and Meta were the first pair of Sumatran tigers at the zoo. While future articles from the 70’s etc detail litters of Sumatran tigers being born, I’m under the impression these were later identified to be hybrids as one of the ‘Sumatran’ tigers mentioned during the 70’s is detailed in Postcards from the Zoo, which states it was in fact a hybrid. This would also explain the need to import a new (purebred) pair from Germany in 1979.
Yes he designed and manufactured a kerosene-powered fridge. Given that most of rural Australia did not have mains electricity then they were immensely popular. He owned farms in Papua New Guinea and regually imported animals from there. In particular he brought large numbers of birds-of-paradise in. He would go down to the wharves to inspect new shipments, choosing some to go to his home in Sydney (a large property with extensive aviaries) and send the remainder to Taronga. I remember seeing what must have been the last of these when visiting Taronga in the '80's.
@Zoofan15 @MRJ @Pertinax
Thanks guys for the info its really interesting. Wow Hallstrom owned farmland in Papua thats does explain how he got so many interesting species from there brought to Australia. I thought it was cool that overseas zoos especially London Zoo had housed Long Beaked Echidnas, Tree Kangaroos, Cuscus(s) and Singing Dogs at times in the past which with the latter species making sense that Hallstrom was the donator; doesnt the Singing Dog have hallstromi as part of its Latin Zoological classification.
Its really interesting too (thanks heaps ZooFan15) about the Sumatran Tigers that went to Taronga as far back as 1951. I wonder if perhaps once that pairs offspring that remained at TZ were sexually mature if they were then mated with other Tiger subspecies individuals as especially until 40 years ago it seems even major zoos werent concerned with Tiger subspecies interbreeding (i wont go on a rant here about the many hybrids still privately bred especially in the U.S by the likes of Joe Exotic and Kevin Antle). But its interesting that the '63 caught Bengal Tiger from Nepal was incorrectly classified at Taronga by its country of origin rather than subspecies. I shouldnt be so surprised though i guess having learned from correspondence on this site over the years how common that sort of thing was until recently.
Yeah most of the time Taronga is mentioned in relation to their Sumatran Tiger keeping history it begins with Meta and Nico in '79 but they were not Taronga's first STs, i gather because they were the founding pair of a continued bloodline at Taronga still in existence and they were the pair with which Taronga decided to focus on breeding the subspecies for conservation purpouses. It seems like Taronga and Melbourne Zoo may have decided together in 1978 to both team up in focusing on STs breeding programme considering the practically simultaneous imports from Germany & Netherlands that included Frank and Poetry to MZ .
Thanks guys for the info its really interesting. Wow Hallstrom owned farmland in Papua thats does explain how he got so many interesting species from there brought to Australia. I thought it was cool that overseas zoos especially London Zoo had housed Long Beaked Echidnas, Tree Kangaroos, Cuscus(s) and Singing Dogs at times in the past which with the latter species making sense that Hallstrom was the donator; doesnt the Singing Dog have hallstromi as part of its Latin Zoological classification.
Its really interesting too (thanks heaps ZooFan15) about the Sumatran Tigers that went to Taronga as far back as 1951. I wonder if perhaps once that pairs offspring that remained at TZ were sexually mature if they were then mated with other Tiger subspecies individuals as especially until 40 years ago it seems even major zoos werent concerned with Tiger subspecies interbreeding (i wont go on a rant here about the many hybrids still privately bred especially in the U.S by the likes of Joe Exotic and Kevin Antle). But its interesting that the '63 caught Bengal Tiger from Nepal was incorrectly classified at Taronga by its country of origin rather than subspecies. I shouldnt be so surprised though i guess having learned from correspondence on this site over the years how common that sort of thing was until recently.
Yeah most of the time Taronga is mentioned in relation to their Sumatran Tiger keeping history it begins with Meta and Nico in '79 but they were not Taronga's first STs, i gather because they were the founding pair of a continued bloodline at Taronga still in existence and they were the pair with which Taronga decided to focus on breeding the subspecies for conservation purpouses. It seems like Taronga and Melbourne Zoo may have decided together in 1978 to both team up in focusing on STs breeding programme considering the practically simultaneous imports from Germany & Netherlands that included Frank and Poetry to MZ .
@MRJ
Hallstrom's personal menagerie must have been something to behold, being able to choose right at the boat which individual specimens he would send to Taronga and which he would keep for himself. You mentioning the Birds of Paradise species from PNG and you seeing the last individuals at TZ in the '80s got me realising ive never seen one with my own eyes not even when i was little and birds at the zoos were pretty much a blur. I've only seen them on David Attenborough documentaries but i think its a massive loss to not have them more often in collections.
Hallstrom's personal menagerie must have been something to behold, being able to choose right at the boat which individual specimens he would send to Taronga and which he would keep for himself. You mentioning the Birds of Paradise species from PNG and you seeing the last individuals at TZ in the '80s got me realising ive never seen one with my own eyes not even when i was little and birds at the zoos were pretty much a blur. I've only seen them on David Attenborough documentaries but i think its a massive loss to not have them more often in collections.
You’re welcome!
Yes, I’d imagine either one half of the Sumatran tiger pair imported 1951 died before they bred and the remaining tiger was bred with another subspecies; or that they bred and then their offspring or subsequent generations bred with a different subspecies to hybridise the line.
The zoo claimed in 1981 to have a 13 year old male Sumatran tiger named Quintus, who was a mascot to the military. In Postcards from the Zoo however, he’s referred to as coming from a long line of hybrids (likely descended from the Sumatran pair mentioned above).
Yes, it looks that way re. a collaboration amongst the zoos. On the same ship that brought Nico and Meta to Australia, were two Jaguar cubs - one (Ali) went to Taronga; the other (Branco) to Adelaide Zoo. I’m open to correction, but I believe they were the first melanistic Jaguar in the region (media releases prior only detailed golden cubs born at zoos).
The Australasian Sumatran tiger breeding programme was only established in 1992. Interestingly, Melbourne Zoo imported a young pair - Frank (1980) and Poetry (1978) and then sat on them for over a decade; only breeding at the eleventh hour in 1990.
I’d say the rate of breeding is comparable to that of the decades prior to 2006/2007 (when there began a huge cohort of births ending in 2011). As illustrated by this graph, there’s a huge number of middle aged tigers (around 10-12 years of age), many of which have been surplus to the breeding programme. Any lack of breeding is surely a response to the fall out of the decision to breed so many litters during those years.
Some fresh imports would be valuable indeed. Auckland is looking to import from overseas and will hopefully do so this year. I’d imagine the next cubs will be born there; as Adelaide and Wellington’s pairs don’t seem to be working.
Most of the recent cubs (2013 to present) have been born at Australia Zoo; but with Kaitlyn now 13 years of age, we’ll likely see other facilities welcome litters.
My woodworks teacher at high school told me about this incident when he overheard i had a big interest in animals and Taronga Zoo. His version was that the man made it to the ferry terminal and when he opened his coat his intestines were partially hanging out, and then he collapsed right there at the terminal and was either driven to the closest hospital from there or the ambulance rushed to get him from there. But 30 puncture wounds is an intense injury and he was lucky to survive considering Southern Cassowaries have caused fatalities in Nth Qld and PNG. Bottom line do not try steal Cassowary eggs lol.He picked the wrong species didn't he...?- no doubt unaware of their reputation.
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[QUOTE="Zoofan15, post: GALLERY=media, 507241]Sumatran Tigers in Australasian Zoos by Zoofan15 posted 20 Oct 2020 at 6:36 PM[/GALLERY][/QUOTE]
Nice graph and cheers for info about '92 beginning to regional breeding program and wow Frank and Poetry were elderly parents for Tigers but I know so were Meta and Nico still having later cubs like Jambi etc quite old too. Interesting about Quintus and TZ's desire to describe him officially as a Sumatran Tiger when he had a mixed subspecies origin.
Nice graph and cheers for info about '92 beginning to regional breeding program and wow Frank and Poetry were elderly parents for Tigers but I know so were Meta and Nico still having later cubs like Jambi etc quite old too. Interesting about Quintus and TZ's desire to describe him officially as a Sumatran Tiger when he had a mixed subspecies origin.
Nice graph and cheers for info about '92 beginning to regional breeding program and wow Frank and Poetry were elderly parents for Tigers but I know so were Meta and Nico still having later cubs like Jambi etc quite old too. Interesting about Quintus and TZ's desire to describe him officially as a Sumatran Tiger when he had a mixed subspecies origin. Tetrapod told me back in late 2016 that a lot of zoos back in the day had Tigers signed as being Bengal when they were sometimes of mixed origins. I think Perth Zoo just displayed their mixed origin Tigers as 'Tiger pantherus tigris' right up to '92 when Calang arrived from MZ (as far as my memory goes back which is about '92 I've only seen Tigers displayed at zoos under their subspecies including the last Bengals at Mogo Zoo in early 2000s and last Bengals at Western Plain in mid-late 90s just before Seletan and Shiva's cubs went there, but until Tetrapod told me about Calangs arrival year I wrongly assumed Perth Zoo was already keeping Sumatrans back in the 1980s).
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