Melbourne Zoo Future of Melbourne Zoo 2023 (Speculation / Fantasy)

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Zoofan15 said:
If a demand for Pygmy hippopotamus can be established within the region, there’s no reason Melbourne Zoo couldn’t become a breeding hub for them, with the housing of either 1.2 hippos or 2.2 hippos across three exhibits, with off display yards.

The latter option of two pairs would allow the breeding of unrelated first generation offspring to form pairs at other zoos.
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Let’s hope the Hippo IRA gets more use than the bovid IRA
 
I think de Brazza’s monkeys are a very attractive species, but could potentially show aggression. Their troops cap at about 10 individuals, so would probably suit WORZ more. The colobus is not aggressive at all, and would obviously suit which a walkthrough. That’s essentially my preference, would like to stray away from unnecessary double ups
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Let’s hope the Hippo IRA gets more use than the bovid IRA
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I’ve been equally underwhelmed by the reaction (or lack of reaction) to the Giraffe IRA being completed.

For two years now, New Zealand zoos have been able to import giraffe from outside the region. Not one of our four main zoos has plans to.

Australian zoos can now import giraffe from outside the region using New Zealand as a third party quarantine station (like they did with the bongo from Singapore). To my knowledge, not one Australian zoo is considering this despite zoos like Hamilton having the capacity to facilitate this.
 
The Sleepy Hippo said:
I still think Tree-Top Monkeys could either extend towards the butterfly house, over the Tiger off display enclosure, or expand further along the path that runs between the Tiger and Gorilla enclosures on the way out of GR. This adds to my previous suggestion of Hutan's enclosure being flipped, where the viewing side is from the Gorilla Rainforest, and it could be used to house Bongo and Okapi (though I know we have suggested the Giraffe enclosure would be good for this.

I do not support knocking down the Treetop monkeys. It could be spruced up and extended, but not physically replaced. I would love for a walkthrough Colobus section but only if it is able to be squeased into the space along the exit path.

As for the Platypus House, it is a small enclosure tucked into an area that has (what I think) are BOH for the giant tortoise and Zebras. It may be an enclosure that is not stopped from becoming heritage, although when I last walked through it I am pretty sure that there was only a single Platypus in it, which *may* indicate that MZ are planing to phase them out and consolidate them in the World of the Platypus at Healesville.

I would like to see the Wombat burrows moved, and make the area upon exiting the GFA be like entering a Tasmanian gully, and have it be the start of an immersion to Tasmanian Devil, Pademelon, Potoroo, and maybe a new place for Platypus, this could then emerge into a next section with a different regionally themed (Australia), maybe being the Otways, or something. This is if they keep an Australian section.

Otherwise I think the Growing Wild area should be converted to an Australian Bush and Rainforest area, consolidating all Aussie animals to there, including Little Penguin and Pelicans, a new Australian Aviary, Kangaroo walkthrough, and some dense bush areas, utilising the planted out area. Cassowary here too. Then GFA and Australian Bush area can become a South American precinct.
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The Treetop Monkeys extension has long been considered but I think at this point they’ve now considered it not feasible due to the recent expansion of the BTS big cat facilities behind.

Most of the current enclosures lack size for the primates (which Melbourne is evidently seeing as an issue). The exhibit as a whole has depleted both collection wise and exhibit wise as well. You can tell the exhibits beginning to gain some age to it and the lack of Melbourne restocking the collection and leaving multiple enclosures empty for years now does make me think they’re anticipating or planning for a change. They certainly wouldn’t want it to get to the point where it’s heritage listed and they have to keep it forever.

The Platypus House actually takes up a fair bit of space, and if your counting the former Meerkat enclosure next door; there’s a decent sized area that could be used for other purposes. Another species could certainly slot in there. Again, I don’t see Melbourne maintaining this exhibit any longer. Nobody really goes in there anymore (despite it being right in the middle of the zoo), and the enclosures always held a single male who’s mostly in his BOH area.

I mostly agree about converting Growing Wild into an Australian Bush precinct. Take the Meerkats out. They could have an enclosure somewhere else. Maybe replacing the Platypus right next to the giraffes. Move the tortoises up to the Reptile House with the others where they’ve recently extended the enclosure. Growing Wild could then be used a little bit as was planned and could be themed;
  • the burrows (Wombats, Echidnas and Tassie Devils)
  • the treetops (Tree Kangaroo, Koala)
  • the shores (Little Penguin, Pelicans)
  • the wetlands (Platypus, Aviary with swans, ducks, shoebills)
  • the backyard (Kangaroo and Wallaby walkthrough, Kookaburra and Cockatoo walkthrough aviary)
  • And an insect house designed around an actual house!
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’ve been equally underwhelmed by the reaction (or lack of reaction) to the Giraffe IRA being completed.

For two years now, New Zealand zoos have been able to import giraffe from outside the region. Not one of our four main zoos has plans to.

Australian zoos can now import giraffe from outside the region using New Zealand as a third party quarantine station (like they did with the bongo from Singapore). To my knowledge, not one Australian zoo is considering this despite zoos like Hamilton having the capacity to facilitate this.
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On the topic of Singapore, can we import any species third party from there? Such as RRH? Or even something like a sloth
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
On the topic of Singapore, can we import any species third party from there? Such as RRH? Or even something like a sloth
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New Zealand and Australia are very similar in what they allow to be imported. Currently the only thing New Zealand will allow that Australia won’t is Giraffes and Okapi.

Anything else can either be equally imported by both (or can’t be imported by either).

Personally, I find it nonsensical birds can’t be exchanged between the two countries.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
In this scenario, what would Zillies exhibit go towards? I stated bonobo as wishful thinking, and would realistically suit the smaller exhibit more. Also, how many Pygmy hippos are we thinking to fill up all 3 exhibits. Maybe a pair in the current enclosures, and the offspring in the aviary?
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I was hoping Mandrill would probably return to Zillie’s exhibit. If not, it could be used as an extension to the current Pygmy Hippo enclosures to give them more land space or even a small walkthrough aviary featuring hornbills and the like.
 
Jambo said:
The Treetop Monkeys extension has long been considered but I think at this point they’ve now considered it not feasible due to the recent expansion of the BTS big cat facilities behind.

Most of the current enclosures lack size for the primates (which Melbourne is evidently seeing as an issue). The exhibit as a whole has depleted both collection wise and exhibit wise as well. You can tell the exhibits beginning to gain some age to it and the lack of Melbourne restocking the collection and leaving multiple enclosures empty for years now does make me think they’re anticipating or planning for a change. They certainly wouldn’t want it to get to the point where it’s heritage listed and they have to keep it forever.

The Platypus House actually takes up a fair bit of space, and if your counting the former Meerkat enclosure next door; there’s a decent sized area that could be used for other purposes. Another species could certainly slot in there. Again, I don’t see Melbourne maintaining this exhibit any longer. Nobody really goes in there anymore (despite it being right in the middle of the zoo), and the enclosures always held a single male who’s mostly in his BOH area.

I mostly agree about converting Growing Wild into an Australian Bush precinct. Take the Meerkats out. They could have an enclosure somewhere else. Maybe replacing the Platypus right next to the giraffes. Move the tortoises up to the Reptile House with the others where they’ve recently extended the enclosure. Growing Wild could then be used a little bit as was planned and could be themed;
  • the burrows (Wombats, Echidnas and Tassie Devils)
  • the treetops (Tree Kangaroo, Koala)
  • the shores (Little Penguin, Pelicans)
  • the wetlands (Platypus, Aviary with swans, ducks, shoebills)
  • the backyard (Kangaroo and Wallaby walkthrough, Kookaburra and Cockatoo walkthrough aviary)
  • And an insect house designed around an actual house!
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Maybe the room where the platypus house is could be used for smaller African species. If we eventually get Aardvark, plus meerkat and fennec fox. Would those species fit in that space? That would also leave the peccary row. I’m not sure what to put there tbh. I’d like to see a bovid such as banteng, but that’s unlikely
 
Jambo said:
The Treetop Monkeys extension has long been considered but I think at this point they’ve now considered it not feasible due to the recent expansion of the BTS big cat facilities behind.

Most of the current enclosures lack size for the primates (which Melbourne is evidently seeing as an issue). The exhibit as a whole has depleted both collection wise and exhibit wise as well. You can tell the exhibits beginning to gain some age to it and the lack of Melbourne restocking the collection and leaving multiple enclosures empty for years now does make me think they’re anticipating or planning for a change. They certainly wouldn’t want it to get to the point where it’s heritage listed and they have to keep it forever.

The Platypus House actually takes up a fair bit of space, and if your counting the former Meerkat enclosure next door; there’s a decent sized area that could be used for other purposes. Another species could certainly slot in there. Again, I don’t see Melbourne maintaining this exhibit any longer. Nobody really goes in there anymore (despite it being right in the middle of the zoo), and the enclosures always held a single male who’s mostly in his BOH area.

I mostly agree about converting Growing Wild into an Australian Bush precinct. Take the Meerkats out. They could have an enclosure somewhere else. Maybe replacing the Platypus right next to the giraffes. Move the tortoises up to the Reptile House with the others where they’ve recently extended the enclosure. Growing Wild could then be used a little bit as was planned and could be themed;
  • the burrows (Wombats, Echidnas and Tassie Devils)
  • the treetops (Tree Kangaroo, Koala)
  • the shores (Little Penguin, Pelicans)
  • the wetlands (Platypus, Aviary with swans, ducks, shoebills)
  • the backyard (Kangaroo and Wallaby walkthrough, Kookaburra and Cockatoo walkthrough aviary)
  • And an insect house designed around an actual house!
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Where would you situate the dingo in this? Phased out or potentially towards the end near the kangaroo walkthrough
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Maybe the room where the platypus house is could be used for smaller African species. If we eventually get Aardvark, plus meerkat and fennec fox. Would those species fit in that space? That would also leave the peccary row. I’m not sure what to put there tbh. I’d like to see a bovid such as banteng, but that’s unlikely
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It could be a bit of stretch as they’d likely want a large exhibit for meerkats and Aardvark and they potentially may wish to breed Fennec fox. These species would be best accommodated in the peccary/tapir row imo.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Maybe the room where the platypus house is could be used for smaller African species. If we eventually get Aardvark, plus meerkat and fennec fox. Would those species fit in that space? That would also leave the peccary row. I’m not sure what to put there tbh. I’d like to see a bovid such as banteng, but that’s unlikely
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Not sure if there would be the space for all three, but I was thinking a small complex along the lines of what they currently have in Growing Wild for the Meerkats. Porcupine could also reside in one enclosure, and I don’t see why a Fennec Fox enclosure couldn’t fit in there as well. There is a fair amount of room extending back behind the Platypus house.
 
Jambo said:
Not sure if there would be the space for all three, but I was thinking a small complex along the lines of what they currently have in Growing Wild for the Meerkats. Porcupine could also reside in one enclosure, and I don’t see why a Fennec Fox enclosure couldn’t fit in there as well. There is a fair amount of room extending back behind the Platypus house.
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I’d agree this is better suited to the peccary row, where it would be easy to walk through. The peccaries and tapir will be around for a decade, so fast tracking this would mean moving both species, the peccaries hopefully to another facility. If we were to create a mini precinct near the platypus house, what would be the closest species in proximity?
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Where would you situate the dingo in this? Phased out or potentially towards the end near the kangaroo walkthrough
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They should remain at Healesville imo but if Melbourne want to keep them I don’t see why a mini precinct of them and Tassie Devils in Peccary row won’t work. Tassie Devils could easily occupy there current Peccary enclosure with the Dingoes getting the current Tapir enclosure which is adequate size for them.

It could potentially be a ‘Tasmanian predators’ precinct with Dingoes representing Tasmanian Tigers. :D
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
I’d agree this is better suited to the peccary row, where it would be easy to walk through. The peccaries and tapir will be around for a decade, so fast tracking this would mean moving both species, the peccaries hopefully to another facility. If we were to create a mini precinct near the platypus house, what would be the closest species in proximity?
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Probably the Giraffes, but the Tortoises are also close just above as are the Seals on the other side of the boardwalk.
 
Jambo said:
They should remain at Healesville imo but if Melbourne want to keep them I don’t see why a mini precinct of them and Tassie Devils in Peccary row won’t work. Tassie Devils could easily occupy there current Peccary enclosure with the Dingoes getting the current Tapir enclosure which is adequate size for them.

It could potentially be a ‘Tasmanian predators’ precinct with Dingoes representations Tasmanian Devils. :D
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In our fantasies let’s try and contain the aussies into their own precinct where I don’t actually have to go. Devils would have a good location already, and dingos would indeed be better at HS. Since the platypus exhibit is next to the giraffe-hopefully-soon-to-be-okapi exhibit, should it be another Central African species? RRH is sorely missed, while zoo fan and I are big fans of the sitatunga, and would add another element to such a precinct, if it was just a marshy exhibit, potentially shared with female waterbuck from WORZ if the breeding program finally starts
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
I’d agree this is better suited to the peccary row, where it would be easy to walk through. The peccaries and tapir will be around for a decade, so fast tracking this would mean moving both species, the peccaries hopefully to another facility. If we were to create a mini precinct near the platypus house, what would be the closest species in proximity?
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I’d be curious to know if Kyabram would have any interest in housing peccaries. It’d certainly give them a point of difference (the only peccaries in Australasia), which is what their zoo really needs.

They don’t appear to be in Werribee’s plans and Melbourne need shot of them to accomodate other species.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
In our fantasies let’s try and contain the aussies into their own precinct where I don’t actually have to go. Devils would have a good location already, and dingos would indeed be better at HS. Since the platypus exhibit is next to the giraffe-hopefully-soon-to-be-okapi exhibit, should it be another Central African species?
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Maybe an indoor enclosure for Dwarf Crocodile?
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
In our fantasies let’s try and contain the aussies into their own precinct where I don’t actually have to go. Devils would have a good location already, and dingos would indeed be better at HS. Since the platypus exhibit is next to the giraffe-hopefully-soon-to-be-okapi exhibit, should it be another Central African species?
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Healesville really need to stock up on high profile natives (Cassowary, Dingo etc). Their current collection would appeal mainly those wanting to see a wider variety of native birds, which is a pretty narrow niche. They should aspire to be a world renowned destination for natives, which is completely achievable with a few additions.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Healesville really need to stock up on high profile natives (Cassowary, Dingo etc). Their current collection would appeal mainly those wanting to see a wider variety of native birds, which is a pretty narrow niche. They should aspire to be a world renowned destination for natives, which is completely achievable with a few additions.
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I agree. I miss seeing the cassowary as soon as I walked in, and it pains me seeing them right next to a Pygmy hippo… More dingos can never do any harm, I know walking them around the park id extremely popular with children, and better suited to HS. I agree on the bird front, most people wanting to see natives won’t even go there because their only point of difference represents a very small percentage of the population. Most international visitors can see the natives at MZ. Taking both species away from MZ and moving them to HS would do wonders
 
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