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Zoofan15

Zoofan15

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Sumatran Tiger Update

I’ve just learnt that Juma and Ranu passed away last year. They were the eldest male Sumatran tigers in the region. Their littermate, Singha, survives and is the second eldest Sumatran tiger in the region.

With the recent transfer of the 1.2 generic tigers to Sydney Zoo, this reduces Australia Zoo’s tiger population to the following:

0.1 Singha (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu
0.1 Kaitlyn (04/12/2007) Imported 2008
1.0 Hunter (22/08/2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn
1.0 Nelson (03/06/2019) Ranu x Kaitlyn
1.0 Malcolm (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sallie (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sage (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn

It’ll be interesting to see if this reduction in tigers and the transfer of the Cheetah from the tiger complex to their own exhibit is in support of a shift to protected contact (as is occurring at Dreamworld).

Either way, it’s clear the next step in their breeding programme (whether short or long term) will to be acquire a mate for either the sons or daughters of Ranu and Kaitlyn; with Singha and Kaitlyn post reproductive and Hunter removed from the breeding programme (eye condition).
 
Zoofan15 said:
Sumatran Tiger Update

I’ve just learnt that Juma and Ranu passed away last year. They were the eldest male Sumatran tigers in the region. Their littermate, Singha, survives and is the second eldest Sumatran tiger in the region.

With the recent transfer of the 1.2 generic tigers to Sydney Zoo, this reduces Australia Zoo’s tiger population to the following:

0.1 Singha (01/04/2004) Lari x Malu
0.1 Kaitlyn (04/12/2007) Imported 2008
1.0 Hunter (22/08/2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn
1.0 Nelson (03/06/2019) Ranu x Kaitlyn
1.0 Malcolm (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sallie (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn
0.1 Sage (18/02/2020) Ranu x Kaitlyn

It’ll be interesting to see if this reduction in tigers and the transfer of the Cheetah from the tiger complex to their own exhibit is in support of a shift to protected contact (as is occurring at Dreamworld).

Either way, it’s clear the next step in their breeding programme (whether short or long term) will to be acquire a mate for either the sons or daughters of Ranu and Kaitlyn; with Singha and Kaitlyn post reproductive and Hunter removed from the breeding programme (eye condition).
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Acquiring a female would make more sense.

She could be paired with Nelson, allowing the younger trio to be kept together long term.
 
Jambo said:
Acquiring a female would make more sense. She could be paired with Nelson, allowing the younger trio to be kept together long term.
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I’m not 100% sure Nelson is held separately? He’s only eight months older than the triplets and could easily have been merged with them once the younger cubs were around 10-12 months old.

If not housed with them, that implies he’s living in isolation (he’s not housed with Kaitlyn or Singha) and could be socially deficient depending on what exposure he’s had to the adult tigers.

Malcolm (raised with opposite sex siblings) would be a much better choice from a social perspective - but I agree acquiring a tigress is preferable as Sallie/Sage can remain together long term.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’m not 100% sure Nelson is held separately? He’s only eight months older than the triplets and could easily have been merged with them once the younger cubs were around 10-12 months old.

If not housed with them, that implies he’s living in isolation (he’s not housed with Kaitlyn or Singha) and could be socially deficient depending on what exposure he’s had to the adult tigers.

Malcolm (raised with opposite sex siblings) would be a much better choice from a social perspective - but I agree acquiring a tigress is preferable as Sallie/Sage can remain together long term.
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Nelson is sometimes grouped with the younger trio, so he's not entirely kept in isolation.
 
Jambo said:
Nelson is sometimes grouped with the younger trio, so he's not entirely kept in isolation.
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Yes. Nelson met the cubs late February/early March 2021, and is held with them on and off. I briefly stopped by a Keeper talk July of last year and they mentioned he was with them from time to time, but he tended to spend more time alone than with them. That very well could of changed in the 6 months since, but that was the state of it then.
I imagine if they are moving towards protected contact they might start pairing him with the triplets more often (if they haven't already) since he loses quite a bit of that social interaction he got from keepers being in the enclosures with him.
 
Always_Amity said:
Yes. Nelson met the cubs late February/early March 2021, and is held with them on and off. I briefly stopped by a Keeper talk July of last year and they mentioned he was with them from time to time, but he tended to spend more time alone than with them. That very well could of changed in the 6 months since, but that was the state of it then.
I imagine if they are moving towards protected contact they might start pairing him with the triplets more often (if they haven't already) since he loses quite a bit of that social interaction he got from keepers being in the enclosures with him.
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Thanks for the update. As the triplets approach sexual maturity, contraception will need to be administered to the females if they’re to remain together - so their goal may well be to house Nelson (2019) with the male, Malcolm (2020); and exhibit their two sisters separately.

This would still represent five groupings - with the three adults living independently, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see the either the young males or the young females transferred out, depending on what gender they want to breed with long term.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Thanks for the update. As the triplets approach sexual maturity, contraception will need to be administered to the females if they’re to remain together - so their goal may well be to house Nelson (2019) with the male, Malcolm (2020); and exhibit their two sisters separately.

This would still represent five groupings - with the three adults living independently, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see the either the young males or the young females transferred out, depending on what gender they want to breed with long term.
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Since they shipped out 3 tigers and the Cheetahs are due to be moved into a new exhibit they should be able to keep females separate as required with the extra room
 
Rhino, the 42-year-old Rhinoceros Iguana has died at Australia Zoo - reported on social media. He was claimed to be the oldest rhino iguana on record. This particular individual was born at Taronga in 1980 and moved to the zoo in 1993 where he later bred successfully. It will admittedly be strange to walk past his exhibit right near the entrance without him it in as such a long-standing member of the zoo.

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Rhino - 1980-2023​
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Rhino, the 42-year-old Rhinoceros Iguana has died at Australia Zoo - reported on social media. He was claimed to be the oldest rhino iguana on record. This particular individual was born at Taronga in 1980 and moved to the zoo in 1993 where he later bred successfully. It will admittedly be strange to walk past his exhibit right near the entrance without him it in as such a long-standing member of the zoo.

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Rhino - 1980-2023​
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Just 3 weeks out from his 43rd birthday too. He was truly an icon of the zoo, one of those animals who was so often overlooked, but that'd been a constant presence at the zoo for decades.
I also wasn't aware he sired hatchlings, are any still alive?
 
Always_Amity said:
Just 3 weeks out from his 43rd birthday too. He was truly an icon of the zoo, one of those animals who was so often overlooked, but that'd been a constant presence at the zoo for decades.
I also wasn't aware he sired hatchlings, are any still alive?
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The zoo have multiple Rhinoceros iguanas according to this page, so I’d say it’s likely some are his offspring: Rhinoceros Iguana - Australia Zoo
 
I visited Australia Zoo today as it starts to cool down and becomes excellent weather to visit the local zoos again. Some news and general observations are below:
  • the two cassowaries bred at the zoo have been moved into wetlands area, opposite the emus. One of the subadult cassowaries was able to be seen but the second one was still settling in and its exhibit was fenced off to the public. It was great to see the cassowary starting to come into its adult colouration.
  • seven giraffe were on show today indicating there have been at least two further calves born. Nearby there were just the three female rhino on show following the recent transfers of their offspring to Monarto and Halls Gap respectively. A wild Forest Kingfisher [Forest Kingfisher (wild) in rhino enclosure - ZooChat] hunting for insects in their exhibit from a fake termite mound sent the rhinos into high alert. Rather amusing to watch.
  • all of the species were present and accounted for across the reptile house and walkthrough aviary. The Sacred Kingfishers are settling in and becoming much more visible as the use the small clearing as their main vantage point. The pitta was hunting for worms as well and I enjoyed good views of the new Boyd’s Forest Dragon.
  • a new koala enclosure has been opened within the walkthrough exhibit for the Red Kangaroos, taking up about a quarter of the space. That’s four exhibits for koalas now.
  • the roving animals are back with keepers walking around with a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Olive Python, Corn Snake and Shingleback around the zoo. I hadn’t seen them around since pre-Covid.
  • a few Galahs and two male Eclectus Parrots took the usual place of the lorikeets in today’s free-flight show.
Highlights from today [for more photos see here: Australia Zoo - ZooChat]:
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full


full


full
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
I visited Australia Zoo today as it starts to cool down and becomes excellent weather to visit the local zoos again. Some news and general observations are below:
  • the two cassowaries bred at the zoo have been moved into wetlands area, opposite the emus. One of the subadult cassowaries was able to be seen but the second one was still settling in and its exhibit was fenced off to the public. It was great to see the cassowary starting to come into its adult colouration.
  • seven giraffe were on show today indicating there have been at least two further calves born. Nearby there were just the three female rhino on show following the recent transfers of their offspring to Monarto and Halls Gap respectively. A wild Forest Kingfisher [Forest Kingfisher (wild) in rhino enclosure - ZooChat] hunting for insects in their exhibit from a fake termite mound sent the rhinos into high alert. Rather amusing to watch.
  • all of the species were present and accounted for across the reptile house and walkthrough aviary. The Sacred Kingfishers are settling in and becoming much more visible as the use the small clearing as their main vantage point. The pitta was hunting for worms as well and I enjoyed good views of the new Boyd’s Forest Dragon.
  • a new koala enclosure has been opened within the walkthrough exhibit for the Red Kangaroos, taking up about a quarter of the space. That’s four exhibits for koalas now.
  • the roving animals are back with keepers walking around with a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Olive Python, Corn Snake and Shingleback around the zoo. I hadn’t seen them around since pre-Covid.
  • a few Galahs and two male Eclectus Parrots took the usual place of the lorikeets in today’s free-flight show.
Highlights from today [for more photos see here: Australia Zoo - ZooChat]:
full


full


full


full
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It’s nice to see an animal centric development from the zoo in the form of the Cheetah complex. They will surely feel much more comfortable housed away from the tiger complex and will add some variety to the on display African collection that is very ungulates heavy. A primate species such as Hamadryas baboon would really round out the collection nicely.
 
A few updates from the zoo's magazine publications:
  • a female Perentie has moved into an exhibit in the Crocodile Hunter Lodge close to the restaurant. An adult male Red Kangaroo has also been moved into the lodge's mixed species exhibit with the koalas, emus and other kangaroos after living off-display behind the African savanna with the bachelor mob.
  • the expansion of the on-display elephant enclosure continues. Renovations for the rapidly ageing Crocoseum and Aldabra Tortoises are in the works as well.
  • a new Barking Owl arrived from Moonlit Sanctuary, Victoria in November 2022. Named Maverick, he is now making appearances in the zoo's afternoon birds of prey show. A new Rhinoceros Iguana named Chaos has also arrived at the zoo recently as well.
 
RafikiKnowsTheWay said:
Nothing overly 'exciting' but have heard from staff at the zoo that they will be moving to protected contact with their tigers, cheetah & elephants. I was not given a timeline or made aware of any 'formal' announcement for this transition so will keep my ears and eyes out. I found it interesting news given Dreamworld will also be making the transition to PC.
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This is huge news!

I’ve long suspected they would be moving to PC with their tigers in line with Dreamworld making the same change; and Australia Zoo freeing up space by transferring out the hybrid tigers to Sydney Zoo.

Australia Zoo have also allowed their Sumatran tiger population to dwindle with the loss of four tigers between 2020-2022 that were not replaced. They currently hold 3.4 Sumatran tigers, which includes two aged 15 and 19 years.

Changes to legislation and Health and Safety will be the driving force behind this decision and given the risk to staff, I don’t consider it a bad move. I have no doubt they will continue to engage visitors through the exhibits they have - including the new Cheetah exhibit
 
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