Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo News 2024

[Tigergal]

Certainly looks like they're doing media for their socials. Wouldn't be surprised if we get an announcement very very soon.

Does look like there's only a single cub too.

There was definitely only one cub being handled while I was there, but I guess we’ll have to wait on whether it’s a single litter or if I just missed the others

 

[Zoofan15]

Certainly looks like they're doing media for their socials. Wouldn't be surprised if we get an announcement very very soon.

Does look like there's only a single cub too.

There was definitely only one cub being handled while I was there, but I guess we’ll have to wait on whether it’s a single litter or if I just missed the others

It’s not standard practice to supplementary feed a single cub that’s being reared by the mother, so my guess would be for multiples. The alternative could be there was a multiple cub litter and only one has survived to date. Either way, looks like they’ll be an announcement soon.

 

[Zoofan15]

Nepalese red panda twins have been born:

From socials:

We are delighted to announce the birth of two endangered Red Panda cubs, 2-month-old Lololi the pygmy hippo calf is learning to deep dive, 2x chimp babies are learning the ropes and our little Christmas Eve seal pup arrival is soon to make her public debut!

 

[ReturnOfPaddyRick]

Nepalese red panda twins have been born:

From socials:

We are delighted to announce the birth of two endangered Red Panda cubs, 2-month-old Lololi the pygmy hippo calf is learning to deep dive, 2x chimp babies are learning the ropes and our little Christmas Eve seal pup arrival is soon to make her public debut!

You called it

 

[Zoofan15]

You called it

Yep, as soon I saw that syringe of milk, my mind jumped to multiple cubs (either twins or triplets).

The literature I’ve read on red panda triplets suggests supplementary feeding is essential to the survival of all three cubs; and I’m aware of several cases it’s been undertaken with twins.

If left to their own devices, it’s not uncommon for the lightest cub in the litter to die as a neonate; but thanks to early intervention (supplementary feeding), both stand a better chance. These two are clearly thriving!

 

[Jambo]

Nepalese red panda twins have been born:

From socials:

We are delighted to announce the birth of two endangered Red Panda cubs, 2-month-old Lololi the pygmy hippo calf is learning to deep dive, 2x chimp babies are learning the ropes and our little Christmas Eve seal pup arrival is soon to make her public debut!

Mother is Daiyu (2021), which is interesting. She is fairly young - only two.

It appears a male has been transferred in from elsewhere of whom she has been paired up with.

Taronga presumably have seven Red Pandas now (assuming there have been no transfers out).

 

[Zoofan15]

Mother is Daiyu (2021), which is interesting. She is fairly young - only two.

It appears a male has been transferred in from elsewhere of whom she has been paired up with.

Taronga presumably have seven Red Pandas now (assuming there have been no transfers out).

The only other possibility is a contraception failure if Daiyu was housed with her father at the time on conception. This happened at Auckland Zoo with a female of the same age in the late 1990’s. Maya (born January 1997) was impregnated by her sire (Mario) and gave birth to twins in December 1998.

If this was the case, I imagine the cubs will not be used for future breeding pairings; as was the outcome for the aforementioned Auckland twins. Their mother went on to have two more litters with an unrelated male.

 

[Jambo]

The only other possibility is a contraception failure if Daiyu was housed with her father at the time on conception. This happened at Auckland Zoo with a female of the same age in the late 1990’s. Maya (born January 1997) was impregnated by her sire (Mario) and gave birth to twins in December 1998.

If this was the case, I imagine the cubs will not be used for future breeding pairings; as was the outcome for the aforementioned Auckland twins. Their mother went on to have two more litters with an unrelated male.

It's a possibility although Taronga do have two separate enclosures and usually keep Pabu and Amala apart.

The girls may have been grouped with Pabu for a period of time as we do know they were in the Moore Park Aviary a few months ago, indicating they were separated from Amala. Obviously their quick departure back to the main Red Panda exhibits leans towards Daiyu's pregnancy being unplanned.

 

[Zoofan15]

It's a possibility although Taronga do have two separate enclosures and usually keep Pabu and Amala apart.

The girls may have been grouped with Pabu for a period of time as we do know they were in the Moore Park Aviary a few months ago, indicating they were separated from Amala. Obviously their quick departure back to the main Red Panda exhibits may also indicate that the pregnancy was unplanned.

I know in Auckland’s case, they undertook a variety of combinations in housing their last breeding pair (and 1.1 adult offspring), with the aim of not breeding from any of those groupings.

I don’t know what specific groupings Taronga held their pandas in during last year’s breeding season (June to August in the Southern Hemisphere); though housing a male with two reproductive age females would typically induce fighting, so Pabu and Amala in one grouping is a possible combination.

 

[Zoofan15]

115 Northern corroboree frogs released:

From socials:

In ribbeting news for conservation we are proud to announce the successful release of 115 Northern Corroboree Frogs to Brindabella Mountains.

Taking place on the 29th of February members of the Taronga team departed on their nine-hour return journey to release a combination of female and male one-year-old Northern Corroboree Frogs to help bolster wild population.

With less than 1,200 wild adults remaining this marks a significant program milestone.

 

[JessKimber]

Man the bird show has lost its sparkle. The presenters are still brilliant, but does anyone know why the show itself is so bland and brief now?

Today’s 3pm was a black kite (great, but over in five throws), then Slammer who’s always great, then just a rooster, cockatoos and galahs. The hell? What gives? This show used to be so much fun, with falcons and owls and the condor and brolgas… now it’s just the same experience of being in the food court. Except the food court also has bin chickens.

Is there a reason why we couldn’t have more species in these shows? Every other zoo I’ve been to does a much better show than Taronga!

Actually, come to think of it, why has Taronga’s bird collection dropped so dramatically? No jabirus, no wetland aviaries, no owls in the nocturnal house… I thought Nura Diya was going to have new aviaries but nothing. Aren’t birds relatively cheap and easy to display?

 

[Zorro]

Man the bird show has lost its sparkle. The presenters are still brilliant, but does anyone know why the show itself is so bland and brief now?

Today’s 3pm was a black kite (great, but over in five throws), then Slammer who’s always great, then just a rooster, cockatoos and galahs. The hell? What gives? This show used to be so much fun, with falcons and owls and the condor and brolgas… now it’s just the same experience of being in the food court. Except the food court also has bin chickens.

Is there a reason why we couldn’t have more species in these shows? Every other zoo I’ve been to does a much better show than Taronga!

Actually, come to think of it, why has Taronga’s bird collection dropped so dramatically? No jabirus, no wetland aviaries, no owls in the nocturnal house… I thought Nura Diya was going to have new aviaries but nothing. Aren’t birds relatively cheap and easy to display?

You may find the animal collection is dropping across the board!

 

[Zoofan15]

Man the bird show has lost its sparkle. The presenters are still brilliant, but does anyone know why the show itself is so bland and brief now?

Today’s 3pm was a black kite (great, but over in five throws), then Slammer who’s always great, then just a rooster, cockatoos and galahs. The hell? What gives? This show used to be so much fun, with falcons and owls and the condor and brolgas… now it’s just the same experience of being in the food court. Except the food court also has bin chickens.

Is there a reason why we couldn’t have more species in these shows? Every other zoo I’ve been to does a much better show than Taronga!

Actually, come to think of it, why has Taronga’s bird collection dropped so dramatically? No jabirus, no wetland aviaries, no owls in the nocturnal house… I thought Nura Diya was going to have new aviaries but nothing. Aren’t birds relatively cheap and easy to display?

Taronga’s entire collection has been down-sized drastically over the past two decades. Birds in general are less enabling, when it comes to the general public and I imagine anything that’s not communal dwelling (efficiency of space) has to have significant justification of why it should remain in the collection.

I find watching Auckland Zoo’s flamingo flock fascinating; and Taronga’s Andean condors are magnificent birds, but it’s a sad reality many other avian species just don’t interest the public.

 

[JessKimber]

The aviaries were all completely packed all day, you couldn’t even stand in one spot because people had to try and get around with prams and big groups and stuff. I think birds draw more attention than people realise. Plenty of people stuck around to watch them longer than they watched sleeping lions or even playful tigers!

I understand that they don’t draw crowds to the zoo, but they do keep people interested once they’re there. And us mad bird people will travel internationally to see particular birds, and pay memberships and come back every weekend for the perfect shot.

It’s sad to see them so undervalued when there are so many opportunities to just throw together a frame and mesh, or use existing moats and stock some feathered friends. Do we even have a second South American species anymore?

 

[Jambo]

Do we even have a second South American species anymore?

Alongside the Andean Condor there are some other South American bird species still at Taronga - Red lord amazon parrots come to mind.

 

[Zoofan15]

The aviaries were all completely packed all day, you couldn’t even stand in one spot because people had to try and get around with prams and big groups and stuff. I think birds draw more attention than people realise. Plenty of people stuck around to watch them longer than they watched sleeping lions or even playful tigers!

I understand that they don’t draw crowds to the zoo, but they do keep people interested once they’re there. And us mad bird people will travel internationally to see particular birds, and pay memberships and come back every weekend for the perfect shot.

It’s sad to see them so undervalued when there are so many opportunities to just throw together a frame and mesh, or use existing moats and stock some feathered friends. Do we even have a second South American species anymore?

Alongside the Andean Condor there are some other South American bird species still at Taronga - Red lord amazon parrots come to mind.

This on display species list by @OskarGC lists only two South American bird species:

Taronga Zoo Species List (27.6.23) [Taronga Zoo]

Andean condor
Red-lored Amazon

Taronga’s bird collection is heavily native based; with a handful of Asian species.

 

[Osedax]

This on display species list by @OskarGC lists only two South American bird species:

Taronga Zoo Species List (27.6.23) [Taronga Zoo]

Andean condor
Red-lored Amazon

Taronga’s bird collection is heavily native based; with a handful of Asian species.

I believe those are the only two South American bird species on display, yes. There were Sun Conures a few years ago; not sure if they are still there off-display somewhere.

 

[JessKimber]

Taronga’s bird collection is heavily native based; with a handful of Asian species.

I’d love to see them hold even more natives, honestly. Exotics would be wonderful but Taronga seems to be heavily prioritising native species now, so it is what it is.

It would be great to see some rescued native raptors on display. Even some kookaburras, bring back jabiru and brolgas, the bird of paradise. Owls in the nocturnal house. What happened to all of the aviary species that used to be where the koalas are now (near the entrance ticket scanners)? What happened to all of the birds that used to be where the ropes course is? Where did they all actually go? They opened Nura Diya and we lost so many animals. It’s really sad.

I hate to always complain on here, but going to Taronga now just makes me feel really depressed about everything we used to have and have lost. Are they going bankrupt? Is that possible for a government funded zoo? Where is the money going?

 

[Osedax]

I’d love to see them hold even more natives, honestly.

They are! In the last couple of years they have acquired several native species that are rare in captivity e.g. Eastern Yellow Robin, Stubble Quail, Purple-backed Fairy Wren.

 

[JessKimber]

They are! In the last couple of years they have acquired several native species that are rare in captivity e.g. Eastern Yellow Robin, Stubble Quail, Purple-backed Fairy Wren.

Oh that’s great to hear! I’ll have to have a closer look for those next time. Hopefully they keep that momentum up and keep expanding the Aussie bird collection.