I’m hoping Auckland Zoo will import a female at a minimum. Orana really should import a bull, but instead indicated plans for their newborn calf to be the next breeding bull, which is disappointing.
Melbourne Zoo Future of Melbourne Zoo 2023 (Speculation / Fantasy)
- Thread starter Jambo
- Start date
- Status
I’m hoping Auckland Zoo will import a female at a minimum. Orana really should import a bull, but instead indicated plans for their newborn calf to be the next breeding bull, which is disappointing.
Yes. Potentially New Zealand could act as a third party to quarantine giraffe for Australia. Hamilton Zoo have the biggest capacity to do this at the moment.
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
And you said that applies to okapi as well right?
If they have the room and the will and about one year to spare plus the extra money
Yes, which I have no doubt any New Zealand facility would be thrilled to do so. Wellington displayed Dubbo’s Eastern bongo on their Savannah while she quarantined there.
Unfortunately the few zoos that have them are very reluctant to let them go and if it did happen it would be for some special deal they are highly desirable
Kiwi eggs and Platypus all round then! We’ve already sent two of the latter.
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
Well San Diego are yet to fulfill their supposed end of the deal, which should cover Taronga. As a country we have a variety of interesting animals, platypus being one of them and supposedly the exhibit is a hit. Seeing the success at San Diego, that could entice another zoo to do a similar trade
We sent Taronga a non breeding pair, so with their Platypus Centre holding up to 65 of them, we could potentially supply them with breeding animals if we were assured something in return.
San Diego's success only comes from them being the 'only holder in the world outside of Australia'! That very enticing sentence they use will no longer be accurate then.
I also believe the Platypus are on loan too. In this case, if Okapi were to arrive they would be on loan too.
San Diego's success only comes from them being the 'only holder in the world outside of Australia'! That very enticing sentence they use will no longer be accurate then.
I also believe the Platypus are on loan too. In this case, if Okapi were to arrive they would be on loan too.
Australia are wise to loan their Platypus (rather than donate). San Diego benefit immensely from being the owner of their large Koala population, which they in turn loan to other US zoos.
Possible but as you know they still can’t be imported
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
I wasn’t aware that was the case, but as @Zoofan15 said, we could provide them with breeders in exchange for okapi. Alternately we could take a Taronga calf and pair it with a SD Zoo animal in exchange for platypus againSan Diego's success only comes from them being the 'only holder in the world outside of Australia'! That very enticing sentence they use will no longer be accurate then.
I also believe the Platypus are on loan too. In this case, if Okapi were to arrive they would be on loan too.
Platypus to NZ then?
In return, Wellington could temporarily quarantine Okapi prior to transfer to Taronga.
It’d be great to see Taronga and Melbourne both holding (and breeding) the species, even if any calves born had to return to North America. If there was any possibility of collaborating with Europe under a similar scheme to receive a pair from them, it could provide an opportunity to increase the genetic diversity of both regions - which largely operate independently of each other.
Knowing Melbourne's connections to Europe, I wouldn't be surprised if Melbourne could somehow obtain a pair from there. A pair from Europe would be very valuable; both to pair with calves from Taronga, and also to send some calves of a European pair to the US down the line in exchange for some more US individuals. I think that sounds like the right idea imo.
Double handling would be to higher risk for such a valuable species not worth the riskPlatypus to NZ then?
Knowing Melbourne's connections to Europe, I wouldn't be surprised if Melbourne could somehow obtain a pair from there. A pair from Europe would be very valuable; both to pair with calves from Taronga, and also to send some calves of a European pair to the US down the line in exchange for some more US individuals. I think that sounds like the right idea imo.
Another way to do it would be to mix the pairs:
Taronga:
European bull
North American cow
Melbourne:
North American bull
European cow
Ownership of the offspring would be allocated 50:50 between their home regions e.g. first born calf at Taronga goes to Europe; second born calf at Taronga goes to North America; first born calf at Melbourne goes to North America; second born calf at Melbourne goes to Europe etc.
This would benefit all involved.
That I assume would have to be agreed open both by the EEP and the SSP
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
I beg to differ
- Status