Australasian Porcupine Population

akasha

akasha

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
There are currently two species of porcupine held in Australasia. Seven facilities in the region hold South African Crested Porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustraralis), as well as Orana Park in New Zealand holding two female North African Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata).
In 2017 Monarto Zoo imported a pair of South African Crested Porcupine from Tanganyika Wildlife Park, USA. Oliver and Rita have produced five offspring, three remain at Monarto, one male went to Perth Zoo and another male was exported to Auckland Zoo. The females, Barbara and Cindy, were scheduled to be transferred but are currently still at Monarto.
In 2017 Perth Zoo imported a female from the UK. She was joined by the Monarto male in 2018. The pair have produced four offspring, two males remain at Perth, while two females went to Darling Downs.
Wellington Zoo has imported various porcupine over the years, with Hamilton Zoo, Natureland and Orana holding animals from these imports.
In 2019 Auckland Zoo imported three porcupine, the male from Monarto and two females from Prague Zoo. In January 2020 one of the females, Alika, gave birth to two porcupettes. Another porcupette was born in 2021.
The North African females at Orana were imported from Basle Zoo, Switzerland in 2013.

South African Crested Porcupine (Cape Porcupine)

Auckland Zoo, New Zealand

1.0 Bruce (Oliver x Rita) 13/11/2017 Imported from Monarto 2019
0.1 Alika (unk x unk) 00/00/0000 Imported from Prague Zoo, Czech Republic 2019
0.1 Kali (unk x unk) 00/00/0000 Imported from Prague Zoo, Czech Republic 2019
1.0 Ayanfe (Bruce x Alika) 18/01/2020
0.1 Arewa (Bruce x Alika) 18/01/2020
1.0 (Bruce x Alika) 00/07/2021

Darling Downs Zoo, Qld, Australia

0.1 Morticia (Nzuri x Noko) 30/06/2018 Transferred from Perth 2019
0.1 Ophelia (Nzuri x Noto) 07/01/2019 Transferred from Perth 2020

Hamilton Zoo, New Zealand

0.1 Ingozi (unk x unk) 01/05/2017 Transferred from Wellington 2019 (Imported from USA 2018)

Monarto Zoo, Vic, Australia

1.0 Oliver (unk x unk) 20/09/2015 Imported from Tanganyika Wildlife Park, USA 2017
0.1 Rita (unk x unk) 00/00/2015 Imported from Tanganyika Wildlife Park, USA 2017
0.1 Barbara (Oliver x Rita) 13/11/2017
1.0 Charles (Oliver x Rita) 23/10/2018
0.1 Cindy (Oliver x Rita) 23/10/2018

Natureland, New Zealand

1.0 Diallo (unk x unk) 00/00/2004 Transferred from Wellington 2015
0.1 Akoko (unk x unk) 00/00/2008 Transferred from Orana 2010

Orana Park, New Zealand

1.0 Lawrence (23329623 x Roxie) 09/09/2013 Transferred from Wellington 2020 (Imported from Chester Zoo, UK 2015)
0.1 Snickers (Nusara x Skittles) 19/05/2017 Transferred from Wellington 2020 (Imported from The Living Desert, USA 2018)

Perth Zoo, WA, Australia

0.1 Noko (unk x unk) 01/01/2015 Imported from Northumberland Country Zoo, UK 2017
1.0 Nzuri (Oliver x Rita) 16/05/2017 Transferred from Monarto 2018
1.0 Hasira (Nzuri x Noko) 30/06/2018
1.0 Jasiri (Nzuri x Noko) 13/06/2019

North African Crested Porcupine (Crested Porcupine)

Orana Park, New Zealand

0.1 Hapana (Baba x Fitina) 21/09/2010 Imported from Basle Zoo, Switzerland 2013
0.1 Tuli (Baba x Fatina) 26/04/2011 Imported from Basle Zoo, Switzerland 2013

South African Crested Porcupine Total: 22 (10.12)
North African Crested Porcupine Total: 2 (0.2)
 
How certain is the North African designation for the two females at Orana? Only reason that I ask is that when I went to a small mammal TAG in the UK some years ago, it came up that both species were incredibly hard to tell apart and that most purported North Africans were in fact South Africans. Not sure whether the situation is the same throughout Europe, but I'd imagine so.
 
tetrapod said:
How certain is the North African designation for the two females at Orana? Only reason that I ask is that when I went to a small mammal TAG in the UK some years ago, it came up that both species were incredibly hard to tell apart and that most purported North Africans were in fact South Africans. Not sure whether the situation is the same throughout Europe, but I'd imagine so.
Click to expand...
I got in touch with Orana and that is what they told me. I didn’t question it any further.
 
tetrapod said:
How certain is the North African designation for the two females at Orana? Only reason that I ask is that when I went to a small mammal TAG in the UK some years ago, it came up that both species were incredibly hard to tell apart and that most purported North Africans were in fact South Africans. Not sure whether the situation is the same throughout Europe, but I'd imagine so.
Click to expand...
I believe the story behind the 2 Northerns is that they were imported under the belief that they were Southerns, but upon further investigation after their arrival were discovered to be Northerns
 
I’m please to hear Diallo is still alive and well at Natureland. He lived at Auckland Zoo in the late 2000’s and shared an exhibit with the Slender-tailed meerkats.

I’d previously assumed the Cape porcupine lifespan was much shorter than the average 20 years, as they never seem to live long across New Zealand’s zoos.

Similarly, Auckland’s North American porcupines never survived more than 10 years.
 
akasha said:
Butterfly Creek have confirmed that they received porcupine from Auckland Zoo, which will go on display in a few weeks time.

0.1 Alika (unk x unk) 00/00/0000 Imported from Prague Zoo, Czech Republic 2019
0.1 Arewa (Bruce x Alika) 18/01/2020
Click to expand...

Alika was born August 2017 (I don’t have the exact day).

Hopefully the other female at Auckland Zoo (Kali) will now breed. She and Bruce have never hit it off, but a match with one of his sons may prove more fruitful.

I’d previously wondered if one of Bruce and Alika’s sons was earmarked for Hamilton Zoo; but given Alika has left, it makes more sense to transfer Bruce.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Alika was born August 2017 (I don’t have the exact day).

Hopefully the other female at Auckland Zoo (Kali) will now breed. She and Bruce have never hit it off, but a match with one of his sons may prove more fruitful.

I’d previously wondered if one of Bruce and Alika’s sons was earmarked for Hamilton Zoo; but given Alika has left, it makes more sense to transfer Bruce.
Click to expand...

I asked a keeper about a month ago if they were still planning to receive a male from Auckland- first mentioned a year or more ago- and she said she hadn't heard anything and didn't think it was happening any time soon. Probably waiting till the animals are near the end of their reproductive life so they can frantically try and breed from them at the last minute.
 
akasha said:
Sisters, Barbara and Cindy, have been transferred from Monarto to Sydney Zoo.

0.1 Barbara (Oliver x Rita) 13/11/2017
0.1 Cindy (Oliver x Rita) 23/10/2018
Click to expand...

Oliver and Rita at Monarto are becoming very over represented:

Auckland Zoo, Butterfly Creek, Perth Zoo, Monarto Zoo, Darling Downs Zoo, Wildlife HQ and Sydney Zoo all hold their descendants which is significant when there’s only ten holders in the region.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Oliver and Rita at Monarto are becoming very over represented:

Auckland Zoo, Butterfly Creek, Perth Zoo, Darling Downs Zoo, Wildlife HQ and Sydney Zoo all hold their descendants.
Click to expand...
They’re a tricky species to manage because while they are obviously cool, they are also ‘boring’ because of their nocturnal habits. I imagine most zoo guests would get sick of them pretty quickly.

Genetically, an obvious move would be for Sydney and Wildlife HQ to trade one each, but I don’t think the region really wants a bigger population than we currently have now. I don’t know who would want to take those offspring.
 
akasha said:
They’re a tricky species to manage because while they are obviously cool, they are also ‘boring’ because of their nocturnal habits. I imagine most zoo guests would get sick of them pretty quickly.

Genetically, an obvious move would be for Sydney and Wildlife HQ to trade one each, but I don’t think the region really wants a bigger population than we currently have now. I don’t know who would want to take those offspring.
Click to expand...

They’re best displayed in nocturnal houses - otherwise they’re that thing in the meerkat exhibit you never see. Some zoos have put a viewing window up against their burrow, but all you see is a bunch of quills pressed up against the glass.

Sydney’s females are the aunts of Wildlife HQ’s males, so there’s no match there at this point in time. Personally I’d look at a transferring a surplus male from Auckland Zoo (they have three males from the Oliver-Rita line) to Hamilton Zoo and transferring their unrepresented founder female to Orana to pair with their unrepresented founder male.

The ageing pair at Natureland could be replaced by Orana bred offspring from the 1.2 grouping I propose (all founders); as well as any new holders that emerge.
 
akasha said:
They’re a tricky species to manage because while they are obviously cool, they are also ‘boring’ because of their nocturnal habits. I imagine most zoo guests would get sick of them pretty quickly.

Genetically, an obvious move would be for Sydney and Wildlife HQ to trade one each, but I don’t think the region really wants a bigger population than we currently have now. I don’t know who would want to take those offspring.
Click to expand...

I visit Monarto every six months and have never once seen them. Most people stop at their exhibit for a minute or two don't see them and then move on to the chimps. I imagine they wouldn't be an expensive species to keep requiring little space and food. At Monarto their quills in the visitor center are more popular than themselves.
 
Porcupine 2023

Porcupine numbers remained the same in the region this year. (I confirmed with Natureland that they still hold 2 as of November 2022.) A few transfers took place, with Butterfly Creek, Wildlife HQ, and Sydney Zoo, all receiving single sex, related pairs. This has increased the number of holders of South African Crested Porcupine in the region to 10.

@steveroberts will now be taking over this list to complete the yearly updates. Everyone please feel free to post porcupine related news here to help him out. Thanks very much, Steve!

South African Crested Porcupine (Cape Porcupine)

Auckland Zoo, New Zealand

1.0 Bruce (Oliver x Rita) 13/11/2017 Imported from Monarto 2019
0.1 Kali (unk x unk) 00/00/0000 Imported from Prague Zoo, Czech Republic 2019
1.0 Ayanfe (Bruce x Alika) 18/01/2020
1.0 (Bruce x Alika) 00/07/2021

Butterfly Creek, New Zealand

0.1 Alika (unk x unk) 00/08/2017 Transferred from Auckland 2022 (Imported from Prague Zoo, Czech Republic 2019)
0.1 Arewa (Bruce x Alika) 18/01/2020 Transferred from Auckland 2022

Darling Downs Zoo, Qld, Australia

0.1 Morticia (Nzuri x Noko) 30/06/2018 Transferred from Perth 2019
0.1 Ophelia (Nzuri x Noto) 07/01/2019 Transferred from Perth 2020

Hamilton Zoo, New Zealand

0.1 Ingozi (unk x unk) 01/05/2017 Transferred from Wellington 2019 (Imported from USA 2018)

Monarto Zoo, SA, Australia

1.0 Oliver (unk x unk) 20/09/2015 Imported from Tanganyika Wildlife Park, USA 2017
0.1 Rita (unk x unk) 00/00/2015 Imported from Tanganyika Wildlife Park, USA 2017
1.0 Charles (Oliver x Rita) 23/10/2018

Natureland, New Zealand

1.0 Diallo (unk x unk) 00/00/2004 Transferred from Wellington 2015
0.1 Akoko (unk x unk) 00/00/2008 Transferred from Orana 2010

Orana Park, New Zealand

1.0 Lawrence (23329623 x Roxie) 09/09/2013 Transferred from Wellington 2020 (Imported from Chester Zoo, UK 2015)
0.1 Snickers (Nusara x Skittles) 19/05/2017 Transferred from Wellington 2020 (Imported from The Living Desert, USA 2018)

Perth Zoo, WA, Australia

1.0 Nzuri (Oliver x Rita) 16/05/2017 Transferred from Monarto 2018
0.1 Noko (unk x unk) 01/01/2015 Imported from Northumberland Country Zoo, UK 2017

Sydney Zoo, NSW, Australia

0.1 Barbara (Oliver x Rita) 13/11/2017 Transferred from Monarto 2022
0.1 Cindy (Oliver x Rita) 23/10/2018 Transferred from Monarto 2022

Wildlife HQ, Qld, Australia

1.0 Hasira (Nzuri x Noko) 30/06/2018 Transferred from Perth 2022
1.0 Jasiri (Nzuri x Noko) 13/06/2019 Transferred from Perth 2022

North African Crested Porcupine (Crested Porcupine)

Orana Park, New Zealand

0.1 Hapana (Baba x Fitina) 21/09/2010 Imported from Basle Zoo, Switzerland 2013
0.1 Tuli (Baba x Fatina) 26/04/2011 Imported from Basle Zoo, Switzerland 2013

South African Crested Porcupine Total: 22 (10.12)
North African Crested Porcupine Total: 2 (0.2)
 
Thanks to @Zoofan15 have just found out of the birth of baby Louie the Cape Porcupine at Monarto:

(link: Little Louie to bring about a spike in visitor numbers - Monarto Safari Park)

exerpt: ''Little Louie, who is two-months-old, was born in late January to mum Rita and dad Oliver. The porcupette will be sexed at their six-month health check (as it’s difficult to sex them visually)..''

parents Rita & Oliver are 7 years old currently (Oliver may have turned 8 already)
 
steveroberts said:
Thanks to @Zoofan15 have just found out of the birth of baby Louie the Cape Porcupine at Monarto:

(link: Little Louie to bring about a spike in visitor numbers - Monarto Safari Park)

exerpt: ''Little Louie, who is two-months-old, was born in late January to mum Rita and dad Oliver. The porcupette will be sexed at their six-month health check (as it’s difficult to sex them visually)..''

parents Rita & Oliver are 7 years old currently (Oliver may have turned 8 already)
Click to expand...

Oliver is seven years old and will turn eight in September 2023; Rita’s DOB is recorded in the original list by @akasha as 00/00/2015, so she’ll turn eight sometime this year.

They came to the region as genetically valuable founders (imported from Tanganyika Wildlife Park), but are basically the Nico and Meta of the region as most facilities hold their descendants. Their son, Bruce, sired several offspring at Auckland Zoo and Hamilton’s new male is also from their line.
 
Zoofan15 said:
They came to the region as genetically valuable founders (imported from Tanganyika Wildlife Park), but are basically the Nico and Meta of the region as most facilities hold their descendants. Their son, Bruce, sired several offspring at Auckland Zoo and Hamilton’s new male is also from their line.
Click to expand...

Further information:

Ayanfe (born January 2020) is Hamilton Zoo’s breeding male. Hamilton Zoo now have 1.1 porcupine: Ayanfe and Ingozi.

Auckland Zoo’s youngest male porcupine (born July 2021) has been named Mwiba. Auckland Zoo now have 2.1 porcupine: Bruce, Kali and Mwiba.

Though Bruce is a proven breeder, I’d assume Ayanfe was transferred to Hamilton for the sake of passing on his mother’s genes (imported founder). Fingers crossed Hamilton will welcome their first litter in the near future - with mating already imported.
 
Got a really kind and sweet reply from Monarto saying that little Louie (who is still waiting to have gender determined) was born on January 23 this year.

@Zoofan15 Thanks for the updates and news amigo. Realised now with it being five days into April (wishing everyone a nice Easter weekend btw) that it has arrived at the time that planned to do our region's population list again with all the info thanks to you, @akasha and everyone and post Akasha's population list again with the new individuals (thought April, July, early October and new years day would be the rough times of the year to put the population list up again with the new updates on).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top