Australian Reptile Park Australian Reptile Park News

The Australian Reptile Park have announced the unfortunate death of their King Cobra, Raja. He was Australia’s oldest King Cobra and had to be euthanised at the impressive age of 26 due to life-threatening tumours. He fathered all the other King Cobras that remain in Australia (which can’t be that many considering only the reptile park and Australia Zoo have them):
Here at the Australian Reptile Park we are devastated to announce the passing of our oldest, beloved King Cobra - Raja. Raja was the oldest living King Cobra in Australia and the father of every single other King Cobra that currently resides in the country. Raja was 26 years old and was a star of the Australian Reptile Park, impressing visitors by his sheer size and was one of the most photographed animals at the park. King Cobras are native to India and face numerous threats, the biggest being deforestation and the lost of their habitat. Raja was an incredible ambassador for his species and sparked many visitors to fall in love with King Cobras. Alongside this, Raja has a long history with our reptiles and venom departments, all keepers past and present adored him and his history. Sadly, it was revealed after x-rays that Raja held a number of life threatening tumours and the difficult decision was made to euthanise him to prevent any suffering. We invite you to share your photos and memories of Raja and help us remember an amazing, well-loved member of the Australian Reptile Park family. We love you Raja!
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WhistlingKite24 said:
The Australian Reptile Park have announced the unfortunate death of their King Cobra, Raja. He was Australia’s oldest King Cobra and had to be euthanised at the impressive age of 26 due to life-threatening tumours. He fathered all the other King Cobras that remain in Australia (which can’t be that many considering only the reptile park and Australia Zoo have them):

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Peter Mirtschin probably has some.

:p

Hix
 
A world record was announced today from the reptile park. The most raw venom extracted from a Coastal Taipan in a single yield - 4.54 grams: Australian reptile venom program sees Coastal Taipan break world record - Australasian Leisure Management
The extraction of venom from a Coastal Taipan at the Australian Reptile Park has broken the world record for extracting the most raw venom from a single yield.

The Australian Reptile Park is renowned for its incredibly dangerous and deadly venom program, in which keepers take on the dangerous task of milking venomous snakes to save thousands of lives across the country - up to 50,000 lives have been saved since the introduction of the program.

Venom Supervisor, Zac Bower was extremely surprised to have found Whiplash the Coastal Taipan had his record absolutely decimated by fellow Coastal Taipan, Cyclone.

The previous amount recorded by Whiplash was 3.32 grams which is enough to kill over 300 humans and well above the average yield of 1.8 grams per milking. However, Cyclone produced a massive 4.54 grams thus beating the previous record.

Bower shares “I knew immediately the vial of venom felt much heavier than usual. A small, excited part of me thought we might have broken the record slightly, but not to the extent that we did.

“I would like to say I’m shocked Cyclone has managed to break Whiplash's undefeated record, but he just keeps giving us more and more venom each time. He is the most amazing snake I’ve ever worked with and keeps me on my toes! But it’s worth it knowing he is saving so many lives.”

The Australian Reptile Park’s venom program extracts venom from five groups of Australia’s deadliest snakes including Taipans, Brown Snakes, Tiger Snakes, Death Adders and Black Snakes. Every year there are 2,000 reported snake bites in Australia, with over 300 receiving antivenom and having their lives saved by the program. Once the venom has been milked at the Australian Reptile Park, the raw venom is then sent to Seqirus in Melbourne where the venom is made into antivenom and distributed throughout Australia.

Visitors can see Coastal Taipan’s alongside many other venomous snakes at the Australian Reptile Park in its famous Lost World of Reptiles exhibit. For those who want an up-close look at the snake milking process, they can join a daily Behind the Scenes tour where they can witness the important work the keepers undertake first hand.
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A Galápagos Tortoise import:

The Australian Reptile Park have confirmed that a female Galápagos Tortoise will soon be arriving at the park in the coming weeks. Female Estrella is being imported from Zoo Rostock, Germany. She will be paired with male Hugo (who has been a resident of the park since 1963 after he arrived from Switzerland): Log into Facebook | Facebook
 
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WhistlingKite24 said:
A Galápagos Tortoise import:

The Australian Reptile Park have confirmed that a female Galápagos Tortoise will soon be arriving at the park in the coming weeks. Female Estrella is being imported from Zoo Rostock, Germany. She will be paired with male Hugo (who has been a resident of the park since 1963 after he arrived from Switzerland): Log into Facebook | Facebook
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Such welcome news. :) @Kifaru Bwana
 
The Rostock Zoo female is a hybrid / crossbreed (Chelonoidis becki x Chelonoidis nigrita) and thus has no conservation value for a true captive-breeding venture.

In the knowledge also that male Hugo is purportedly a true Chelonoidis becki and that representatives of his species exist in US and Ecuador's zoo community.
 
Interesting bit of writing by John Weigel from October 1991 (published '92)

https://ur.booksc.org/ireader/14880651

Its a pretty straightforward article but I found it interesting to read; having read Snake Bitten in 2018 and from reading it felt a bit closer to the story of the Aus Reptile Park and wish the best for its development and continuation. Eric Worrell had a bittersweet lifetime in his work with establishing, running, developing the park and the antivenom work and other herp' research he and his colleagues, friends, wife were involved with. Was interesting to read a bit of perspective by John Weigel in the early years following his taking over the reigns of the reptile park (well I guess Robyn Weigel-Worrell was present for the transition too). Theres also two videos I found on youtube a few years ago and just realised writing this post it was probably pretty selfish of me not to link them here to anyone interested, theyre both from the early 1980s and have Eric and Robyn Worrell in both of them.
P.S thats awesome about the female Galapagos (even if she is a hybrid, some company for Hugo), Alligators, Quokka and Scheltopusik from Taronga. Hope the Park can import another King Cobra someday.

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also just saw this there too:

 
WhistlingKite24 said:
The pair of Komodo Dragons at the Australian Reptile Park have successfully mated; a first for an Australian zoo. The zoo now hope for eggs and subsequent offspring if it was successful. A video of the introductions and process has all been captured on camera and shared on their social media: Log into Facebook | Facebook
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This is excellent news indeed. Lets hope a breeding program can be formed within our region. :)
 
Promising news from the Australian Reptile Park. Like Symbio Wildlife Park, they too also received government funding to support threatened herptiles. The newly-built facility is called Conservation Ark and now houses Manning River Turtle, Stuttering Frog and Giant Barred Frog. What's nice about this project at the reptile park is that visitors will be able to view the animals via glass windows looking into the new facility.

Source: Australian Reptile Park's Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=625826072109680
 
Significant news! Komodo Dragon eggs have been laid at the Australian Reptile Park; a first for an Australian zoo. The eggs were laid on the 5th September. Several of the eggs are believed to be confirmed as fertile and are due to hatch in April 2022. Fingers crossed everything goes well: Log into Facebook | Facebook

Edit - video from their social media:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=623033022373637
 
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@WhistlingKite24 Omg they are so beautiful, wishing those three little cuties all the very best for their futures and can't wait to drive up to Somersby to see them. Congratulations Aus' Reptile Park staff, you guys with your tireless work have achieved another first in Australia. Though he departed this life some 35 years ago, Eric Worrell would be very proud of you all and thrilled.
 
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WhistlingKite24 said:
A first for any Australian zoo - three Komodo Dragons have hatched! They will eventually go on show in their main reptile house: Log into Facebook | Facebook

Edit - additional video of this incredible achievement.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1018841802376357
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I was alerted to unusual activity in this thread (or should that be any activity given this is the first post of the year), but for good reason - the first hatching of this species in Australasia! What an achievement!

I hope the husbandry techniques have been well documented (this being a regional first) with other Australian zoos hopefully experiencing the same success one day.
 
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