Australia Zoo Australia Zoo News 2022

Pertinax said:
I'm one person who won't be hooked by any of this. I'm not really sure who Paris Hilton is anyway..:D. Yuk what twaddle, world's gone mad...;)
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I think Australia Zoo are hoping this giraffe will do for them what Fiona did for Cincinnati.

They can plaster her over as many billboards as they want, but unless the concept of the animal is appealing (including it’s name), it’s not gonna happen.

Would Fiona have been the star she is if her name was 15 letters long and unpronounceable? No. Similarly, a nonsensical name won’t take.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I think Australia Zoo are hoping this giraffe will do for them what Fiona did for Cincinnati.

They can plaster her over as many billboards as they want, but unless the concept of the animal is appealing (including it’s name), it’s not gonna happen.

Would Fiona have been the star she is if her name was 15 letters long and unpronounceable? No. Similarly, a nonsensical name won’t take.
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Even if Fiona did have a long, nonsensical name, she would still be somewhat of a star. She was the first Hippo born at Cincinnati in over 75 years, and she was born 6 weeks prematurely. The fact that she’s even alive is enough to make her an animal superstar.
PLB, though? Australia Zoo is no stranger to baby giraffes, and PLB had a relatively uneventful birth (if anything, Talbert is closer to Fiona due to his hyperextended legs).
 
Corangurilla said:
Even if Fiona did have a long, nonsensical name, she would still be somewhat of a star. She was the first Hippo born at Cincinnati in over 75 years, and she was born 6 weeks prematurely. The fact that she’s even alive is enough to make her an animal superstar.
PLB, though? Australia Zoo is no stranger to baby giraffes, and PLB had a relatively uneventful birth (if anything, Talbert is closer to Fiona due to his hyperextended legs).
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There’s a lot to be said for a name and what the general public like best are human and pop culture names - these are the most enabling and generate the most engagement on social media. Examples include Loki (Loki) and Fiona (Shrek); as well as any human name e.g. Sam (chimpanzee at Wellington Zoo) that gets all their followers tagging lads named Sam etc.

With regards to Tallbert, the smartest thing Australia Zoo could have done is call him Forrest (Jr.) and rammed his story down everyone’s throats. Forrest Gump is a movie either liked or tolerated by many to this day and the appeal of that reference combined with his story of hyperextended legs had the opportunity to take the world by storm.
 
Zoofan15 said:
There’s a lot to be said for a name and what the general public like best are human and pop culture names - these are the most enabling and generate the most engagement on social media. Examples include Loki (Loki) and Fiona (Shrek); as well as any human name e.g. Sam (chimpanzee at Wellington Zoo) that gets all their followers tagging lads named Sam etc.

With regards to Tallbert, the smartest thing Australia Zoo could have done is call him Forrest (Jr.) and rammed his story down everyone’s throats. Forrest Gump is a movie either liked or tolerated by many to this day and the appeal of that reference combined with his story of hyperextended legs had the opportunity to take the world by storm.
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I didn’t know that Fiona was named after the Shrek character. There’s a Capybara at Henry Vilas with the same name (and her previous companion was named “Shrek”). Hippos and Capybaras both live in swamps, so I guess it checks out.
But the main point of my post was that Fiona’s name wasn’t the reason people cared about her. People care so much about Fiona because she beat the odds and brought some much-needed good publicity to Cincinnati following a certain incident with a certain gorilla.
Talbert was born with hyperextended legs, but they corrected themselves fairly quickly. He’s closer to Fiona than PLB is, but only slightly. The only (or at least the main) reason why PLB is getting promoted so heavily is because Paris Hilton named her. She’s got a silly name, but why else should we care so much?
 
Corangurilla said:
I didn’t know that Fiona was named after the Shrek character. There’s a Capybara at Henry Vilas with the same name (and her previous companion was named “Shrek”). Hippos and Capybaras both live in swamps, so I guess it checks out.
But the main point of my post was that Fiona’s name wasn’t the reason people cared about her. People care so much about Fiona because she beat the odds and brought some much-needed good publicity to Cincinnati following a certain incident with a certain gorilla.
Talbert was born with hyperextended legs, but they corrected themselves fairly quickly. He’s closer to Fiona than PLB is, but only slightly. The only (or at least the main) reason why PLB is getting promoted so heavily is because Paris Hilton named her. She’s got a silly name, but why else should we care so much?
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Fiona was named after the Shrek character because of her ears.

Long term, I don’t predict Australia Zoo’s giraffe calf to have an ongoing presence when all she’s famous for is her name. The difference between a viral media sensation and a passing mention is an ongoing storyline to follow. Her story began and ended with a ridiculous name.
 
Australia Zoo have released an interesting video about their history and breeding experience with their poison dart frogs. The first three arrived in June 2018 from Adelaide Zoo - 0.3 Blue Poison Dart Frogs from Adelaide Zoo (including at least one that was originally bred at Cairns Tropical Zoo). The third batch of frogs arrived in October 2019 and they then had 17 frogs at this point in time. The frogs went on show in December 2020 and by March 2022, there were 17 frogs on display including a metamorph. They are now breeding freely in the main enclosure and there is a large off-display set up which is shown in the video.

Source: Australia Zoo's YouTube
 
Some brief notes from my visit to Australia Zoo today:
  • the Boyd’s Forest Dragons are now on-show with the tree frogs in the reptile house. They remained well-camouflaged among the foliage but I eventually managed to spot one right near one of the bases of the vertical branches. A nice addition and a good (perhaps safer) substitute for the Green Tree Python with the frogs. There are now 21 species in the reptile house; the most diverse it’s ever been.
  • a second new species recently arrived at the zoo; a pair of young male Brush-tailed Rock-Wallabies are now in Roo Heaven which is the main walkthrough macropod enclosure. The last Black-footed Rock Wallaby, an elderly female, is still alive and kicking as well giving the zoo three rock-wallabies across the two large rock mounds. The new rock wallabies are a lot more visible as well.
  • the zoo’s new Eastern Whipbird is very showy now and was getting a good amount of attention. I observed a fascinating behaviour today as a wild whipbird was chasing the zoo whipbird along the perimeter of the aviary, back and forth while they both calling from the mesh side by side [Wild and Captive Eastern Whipbirds - ZooChat]. This year’s batch of Pacific Emerald Doves have fledged and the Red-browed Finches were nesting. I also got a current stocklist of the 16 species of birds currently house in the walkthrough aviary for those interested:
Radjah Shelduck – 0.1
Magpie Goose – 0.1
Glossy Ibis – 1.1
Noisy Pitta – 0.1
Bush Stone-Curlew – 2.2
Eclectus Parrot – 2.0
Rainbow Lorikeet – 0.2
Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove – 5.0
White-headed Pigeon – 0.0.8
Torresian Imperial Pigeon – group approx. 22 birds
Bar-shouldered Dove – group approx. 25 birds
Pacific Emerald Dove – group approx. 40 birds
Wonga Pigeon – 1.0.1
Eastern Whipbird – 1.0
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin – group approx. 5-7 birds
Red-browed Finch – group approx. 15 birds
  • the dingo enclosure is currently closed for extensive renovation and the Tasmanian devil enclosures were recently reopened following a lot of construction mainly focussed around mulching and new framing for the glass viewing windows.
  • the Red Panda cubs were very visible with female Mohini. Lots of koala joeys around as well including a very young joey that stretched its little pink claw out of its pouch. Both cassowary chicks have now lost all their stripes. Their future exhibits in the wetlands area are approaching completion.
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Australia Zoo has styled itself too much like SeaWorld in the US and it’s disappointing to see them leaning so far into it.

Like SeaWorld, they do some amazing conservation work, but the general public who aren’t already passionate or interested in conservation will never notice that over the buzz of celebrity, meaningless animal names and “fun”. It doesn’t inspire people to start caring about conservation. The focus is on “haha pet-animal doing tricks” and “how can I get entertainment from this animal?”, not on natural behaviours and context of them in their natural habitats.

The silly names and celebrity make it feel as though they view their animals as circus ponies and allows people to think of them as nothing more than entertainment. Just a matter of time before they install a rollercoaster or two and start selling themed margaritas.
 
JessKimber said:
Australia Zoo has styled itself too much like SeaWorld in the US and it’s disappointing to see them leaning so far into it.

Like SeaWorld, they do some amazing conservation work, but the general public who aren’t already passionate or interested in conservation will never notice that over the buzz of celebrity, meaningless animal names and “fun”. It doesn’t inspire people to start caring about conservation. The focus is on “haha pet-animal doing tricks” and “how can I get entertainment from this animal?”, not on natural behaviours and context of them in their natural habitats.

The silly names and celebrity make it feel as though they view their animals as circus ponies and allows people to think of them as nothing more than entertainment. Just a matter of time before they install a rollercoaster or two and start selling themed margaritas.
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I would agree but its the road they have chosen and could haunt them in the future. :rolleyes:
 
JessKimber said:
Australia Zoo has styled itself too much like SeaWorld in the US and it’s disappointing to see them leaning so far into it.

Like SeaWorld, they do some amazing conservation work, but the general public who aren’t already passionate or interested in conservation will never notice that over the buzz of celebrity, meaningless animal names and “fun”. It doesn’t inspire people to start caring about conservation. The focus is on “haha pet-animal doing tricks” and “how can I get entertainment from this animal?”, not on natural behaviours and context of them in their natural habitats.

The silly names and celebrity make it feel as though they view their animals as circus ponies and allows people to think of them as nothing more than entertainment. Just a matter of time before they install a rollercoaster or two and start selling themed margaritas.
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That's actually a pretty good comparison. Lots of upgrades to guest-related things, but very few animal related updates.
In just the past few years they've done the whole water park area and lolly/ice cream shop, and the ridiculously expensive lodge.

And they don't have themed margaritas, but they do have merch lines for every single member of their family - including their damn dog

Honestly I feel the only reason they're staying afloat is their celebrity owners. Without the Irwins and their fame I doubt they'd be getting any sort of substantial guest numbers (or even still open)
 
Always_Amity said:
That's actually a pretty good comparison. Lots of upgrades to guest-related things, but very few animal related updates.
In just the past few years they've done the whole water park area and lolly/ice cream shop, and the ridiculously expensive lodge.

And they don't have themed margaritas, but they do have merch lines for every single member of their family - including their damn dog

Honestly I feel the only reason they're staying afloat is their celebrity owners. Without the Irwins and their fame I doubt they'd be getting any sort of substantial guest numbers (or even still open)
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I’ve replied in this thread to prevent us getting too off track from mainstream news: australia zoo growing pains [Australia Zoo]
 
Jambo said:
A baby Koala has recently emerged from the pouch of it's mother, Snow (2017). Just like it's mother, the joey is an albino!

Australia Zoo on Instagram: "Crikey check this out! Snow was a white koala joey we welcomed into our family in 2017. Snow eventually gained her natural colour as she grew. This year she had a joey of her own who looks exactly like she did. First photo is our new joey, second photo is Snow from 2017"
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Just a note these aren't true albinos. The zoo stated that Snow gained normal colouration as she aged, despite being born a pale colour. It was noted at the time of her birth that she inherited a recessive allele via her mother.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Just a note these aren't true albinos. The zoo stated that Snow gained normal colouration as she aged, despite being born a pale colour. It was noted at the time of her birth that she inherited a recessive allele via her mother.
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The only place I have ever seen a real Albino Koala was at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and their animals came from the Toowoomba area west of Brisbane where Albinos have been seen in the wild there.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Just a note these aren't true albinos. The zoo stated that Snow gained normal colouration as she aged, despite being born a pale colour. It was noted at the time of her birth that she inherited a recessive allele via her mother.
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Yes, that’s correct, you can see she’s now sort of normal coloured in the photos.

Zorro said:
The only place I have ever seen a real Albino Koala was at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and their animals came from the Toowoomba area west of Brisbane where Albinos have been seen in the wild there.
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I believe San Diego had an albino too at one point. It would be quite wonderful to see one; they’re extremely rare.
 
Jambo said:
Yes, that’s correct, you can see she’s now sort of normal coloured in the photos.



I believe San Diego had an albino too at one point. It would be quite wonderful to see one; they’re extremely rare.
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Correct with San Diego animals coming from Lone Pine
 
Zorro said:
Correct with San Diego animals coming from Lone Pine
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Lone Pine had an albino male named Kalba, who born in 1977. In 1985, he sired a male named Goolara at San Diego Zoo, whose mother (Matilda) was a normal coloured Koala, that carried the albino gene. Goolara died in 1992.
 
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