Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo News 2022

Zoofan15 said:
Growing Wild has always seemed like a failure of a precinct imo. An attempt to engage kids, who are happier with a playground, while allocating a sizeable amount of space to somewhere nobody past the age of five is interested in visiting. It's time to admit defeat and scrap it.
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Nobody really goes past the entrance of the precinct (where the many Meerkat enclosures are). The Aldabran Tortoises have a giant enclosure, which isn't necessary in my opinion, as there's another giant one located opposite the Reptile house. Then there's the former Brush Turkey walkthrough aviary (which now holds Kookaburras and is no longer walkthrough), and a former walkthrough for Mara, which has sat empty for more than a decade and is now in disarray.

It's disappointing to see Melbourne have done nothing recently to help improve the area.
 
Patrick Keegan said:
A bit late here but Based on what you said and the adelaide zoo website I take it mia has passed away, would you know when?
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Swanson02 said:
Sorry, I don't know when Mia passed I assumed it had already been announced, Jelita is the only remaining Malayan Tapir (I was told this by Arturo's keeper). Jelita also has a really bad back leg and it was obvious she was struggling to get around so probably won't last long either.
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Mia the Malayan tapir died 21/10/2021.

Thanks to @WhistlingKite24 for contacting the records officer at Adelaide to confirm this.

I will tag @Patrick Keegan, so he can update his tapir population thread.
 
A Nepalese red panda has escaped:

From 9News Adelaide:

A dramatic re-capture is underway after a red panda got out of Adelaide Zoo and fled up a tree in nearby parklands.

It is not yet clear how the creature made its great escape, nor how keepers plan on convincing it to go back.

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Adelaide Zoo has two red pandas:

1.0 Ketan (20/11/2011)
0.1 Mishry (07/12/2018)
 
New Red Panda Escapes and is Recaptured

The Nepalese red panda has been safely recaptured after being tranquillised and caught in a net. It apparently went missing on Friday and was only discovered today (in a tree at the botanic gardens).

Given the unfortunate ending to Badal and Kesari’s escapes, I’m glad this one has a happy ending so to speak.

Red panda escapes Adelaide Zoo, sparks two-day search

What’s interesting is that the red panda wasn’t one of the two we believed Adelaide Zoo to have. It was in fact Ravi, who was transferred to Adelaide from Australia Zoo last week. I will tag @WhistlingKite24 so he can update the red panda thread.
 
Zoofan15 said:
New Red Panda Escapes and is Recaptured

The Nepalese red panda has been safely recaptured after being tranquillised and caught in a net. It apparently went missing on Friday and was only discovered today (in a tree at the botanic gardens).

Given the unfortunate ending to Badal and Kesari’s escapes, I’m glad this one has a happy ending so to speak.

Red panda escapes Adelaide Zoo, sparks two-day search

What’s interesting is that the red panda wasn’t one of the two we believed Adelaide Zoo to have. It was in fact Ravi, who was transferred to Adelaide from Australia Zoo last week. I will tag @WhistlingKite24 so he can update the red panda thread.
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It's good to see he's been found safe and sound. It's always the sneaky Red Pandas isn't it though. :D Melbourne had one escape a while back, and it too was found up a tree in Royal Park (where Melbourne Zoo is located). Apparently a morning walker discovered it as their dog was seemingly barking at it. It'll be interesting to know exactly how Ravi was found.

On another note though; he may have been transferred for breeding with Mishry which is exciting. It's been years now since Adelaide last had a breeding pair.
 
Zoofan15 said:
New Red Panda Escapes and is Recaptured

The Nepalese red panda has been safely recaptured after being tranquillised and caught in a net. It apparently went missing on Friday and was only discovered today (in a tree at the botanic gardens).

Given the unfortunate ending to Badal and Kesari’s escapes, I’m glad this one has a happy ending so to speak.

Red panda escapes Adelaide Zoo, sparks two-day search

What’s interesting is that the red panda wasn’t one of the two we believed Adelaide Zoo to have. It was in fact Ravi, who was transferred to Adelaide from Australia Zoo last week. I will tag @WhistlingKite24 so he can update the red panda thread.
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I mentioned in my Adelaide Zoo visit recap that I overheard that Adelaide had received a new red panda and was receiving another two on top of that :).

Also what happened in Badal and Kesari's escapes?
 
Swanson02 said:
I mentioned in my Adelaide Zoo visit recap that I overheard that Adelaide had received a new red panda and was receiving another two on top of that :).
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That’s exciting! Hopefully some breeding pairing happening in the near future. They’ve just missed the boat on this breeding season though - it runs from June to August in the Southern Hemisphere.
Swanson02 said:
Also what happened in Badal and Kesari's escapes?
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Both escaped and were hit by cars:

Escaped panda found dead - New Zealand News - NZ Herald

Red Panda Kesari Dies After Being Hit by Car - Red Pandazine - News for Red Panda fans
 
Jambo said:
Possibly the two young Perth cubs (1.1) who were born in 2019?
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We can discount the male as he’s a close relative of Mishry and obviously wouldn’t be breeding with his twin sister either, but the female cub remains a possibility - as she could breed with Ravi.
 
Zoofan15 said:
We can discount the male as he’s a close relative of Mishry and obviously wouldn’t be breeding with his twin sister either, but the female cub remains a possibility - as she could breed with Ravi.
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Yep, but he could still arrive and live as a non breeding male. It appears Adelaide have plans to hold a large group of Red Pandas (although not all together of course).

@Swanson02 how many Red Panda enclosures do they have?
 
Jambo said:
Yep, but he could still arrive and live as a non breeding male. It appears Adelaide have plans to hold a large group of Red Pandas (although not all together of course).

@Swanson02 how many Red Panda enclosures do they have?
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Swanson02 said:
They have 3 red panda enclosures (2 connected by runway) and obviously a few off display den areas.
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Assuming Ketut is still alive, it seems likely they will hold him in one exhibit, the breeding pair in another exhibit and a non reproductive pair in a third exhibit.

The sibling pair at Perth are a possibility then for the non reproductive pair as a female-female pair in the vicinity of a male would still require contraception to avoid them cycling and coming into conflict with each other, so it’s no less hassle to hold a male-female pair. Another possibility is an established pair that are set for retirement.
 
Patrick Keegan said:
The bamboo forest is now closed as the annual Giant panda Breeding season is commencing soon. this time they'll be attempting to artificially inseminate fu-ni again. Fingers crossed but I ain't holding my breath.

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This represents the zoo’s sixth attempt at artificial insemination with this species. Due to Covid-19, it wasn’t attempted in 2020 or 2021.

In addition to the six years of AI attempts (some of which also saw them mate naturally), the pandas have had a further five years of natural only mating attempts - also unsuccessful (in most cases they didn’t even mate).

I think it’s time to admit defeat - at least with this pair.

Wang Wang and Funi - Reproductive Timeline

2009: Wang Wang and Funi arrive
2011: Natural only (fails)
2012: Natural only (fails)
2013: Artificial insemination (fails)
2014: Natural only (fails)
2015: Artificial insemination (fails)
2016: Artificial insemination (fails)
2017: Artificial insemination (fails)
2018: Artificial insemination (fails)
2019: No breeding due to contract negotiations
2020: Natural only (fails)
2021: Natural only (fails)
2022: Artificial insemination (results tbc)
 
steveroberts said:
@Zoofan15

Notoriously difficult to reproduce in captivity hey with Giant Pandas, I even remember a standup comedian once quipping ''Its like they want to go extinct or something'', all joking aside am crossing my fingers and front toes for Funi & Wang-Wang
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Very much so.

From what I’ve observed from pairs held at other zoos outside China is that they’re generally either very successful or they’re not i.e. they produce several cubs or they never breed. There’s no inbetween. All the pairs in the US and the UK have followed this trend.

Funi is now 16 years old, so well well past her reproductive prime given females start reproducing at five years and cease to reproduce by around 20-22 years.
 
Zoofan15 said:
This represents the zoo’s sixth attempt at artificial insemination with this species. Due to Covid-19, it wasn’t attempted in 2020 or 2021.

In addition to the six years of AI attempts (some of which also saw them mate naturally), the pandas have had a further five years of natural only mating attempts - also unsuccessful (in most cases they didn’t even mate).

I think it’s time to admit defeat - at least with this pair.

Wang Wang and Funi - Reproductive Timeline

2009: Wang Wang and Funi arrive
2011: Natural only (fails)
2012: Natural only (fails)
2013: Artificial insemination (fails)
2014: Natural only (fails)
2015: Artificial insemination (fails)
2016: Artificial insemination (fails)
2017: Artificial insemination (fails)
2018: Artificial insemination (fails)
2019: No breeding due to contract negotiations
2020: Natural only (fails)
2021: Natural only (fails)
2022: Artificial insemination (results tbc)
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I was wondering how many of the vets involved in the AI were reproductive vets from overseas who have had success before?
 
Zorro said:
I was wondering how many of the vets involved in the AI were reproductive vets from overseas who have had success before?
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The AI procedures were led by reproductive specialists from China, who have extensive experience, so they had the best chance possible.

Adelaide’s staff assisted in the procedure via their husbandry training with the pandas in order to take Funi’s temperature and daily blood samples, but the procedures were dependent on the staff from China, which is why AI wasn’t carried out in 2020 and 2021 (their team couldn’t travel to Australia).
 
Zoofan15 said:
From what I’ve observed from pairs held at other zoos outside China is that they’re generally either very successful or they’re not i.e. they produce several cubs or they never breed. There’s no inbetween. All the pairs in the US and the UK have followed this trend.

Funi is now 16 years old, so well well past her reproductive prime given females start reproducing at five years and cease to reproduce by around 20-22 years.
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Interesting that the 'natural only- fail ' actually means 'no mating at all'(!) This Adelaide pair represent another depressing catalogue of failure, so similar to some other zoos. You are correct, a few pairs 'click',are obviously compatabile, mate normally and breed repeatedly. Or else- as in the majority of pairs, there is no breeding at all. Still nowhere seems to take into account the 'lek' behaviour in the wild in this species, allowing both stimulation/rivalry between males and the female to choose from several males which one she will actually mate with. Such a choice is completely denied in captivity, at least outside China. Not surprising the failure rate is so high. Why are they all so slow to recognise this and try to adjust breeding attemps to better mirror the wild behaviour? Presumably because the zoos are all tied by China only allowing pairs at a time to be loaned, and never more than that. But while that continues, so will the the problem of achieving a more successful breeding rate.
 
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