The Future of Zoos Victoria 2024 (Speculation/Fantasy)

The Sleepy Hippo said:
I'd love to see some Gazelle myself.
And Sykes/Blue monkey!
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I’d really like to see Hamadryas baboon at Werribee Open Range Zoo. The gorilla exhibit would make a phenomenal exhibit for them, should Zoos Victoria decide to make Melbourne the gorilla hub and Werribee the baboon hub; but I’d rather see both zoos continue with both species.

It’s clear from Werribee’s masterplan that there’s no intention of holding baboons in the short term future (the next five years); but Monarto’s plans for a large exhibit and the phasing out of baboons from city zoos (gone from Perth and Wellington; going from Auckland and Adelaide) could add weight to the argument they’re better suited to open range zoos, who can accomodate large breeding troops.
 
The Sleepy Hippo said:
A big baboon troop at Werribee would be phenomenal! In February when driving myself through Enduimet Wildlife Conservation Area I got to see the Super Tuskers which was awesome, but also a troop of baboons that would have been pushing towards 100 members. Was SO cool!
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That would be amazing to see in the wild. It was exciting see the large troop at Singapore Zoo and Emmen have a similarly large troop. It’s been widely recognised observing the raising of young is ideal for adolescent females (juveniles and adolescents even practice on infants); so housing large troops will surely be the way of the future within Australasia if the phase outs from city zoos are anything to go by.
 
@Yoshistar888 @Grant Rhino

A breeding hub for Hyenas and Cheetahs still remains the priority and should be apart of the Waterhole precinct that is to follow the elephants (and join up the elephant trail with the Main Zoo).

Re. the Colobus, I too think it would be a nice idea for two or three males to inhabit the Vervet Monkey exhibit. Although in saying that, the Vervet troop aren't that old, so they could still be around for another decade or so.
 
The Sleepy Hippo said:
I believe I watched a clip from Zoos Vic the other day that flagged that the next thing on their agenda is the expansion of the Lion enclosure. I hope it stretches right back to the bus route, and edge of the lake!
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That was the initial plan; to expand their area in that middle area the bus passes through before going over the Werribee River.

The elephants are their priority now - and then the Waterhole precinct, but Lions should surely follow.

There's also the Gondola planned, which will obviously be tied in with a boardwalk around the Lower Savannah, giving visitors viewing of the Rhino Retreat too.
 
The Sleepy Hippo said:
I believe I watched a clip from Zoos Vic the other day that flagged that the next thing on their agenda is the expansion of the Lion enclosure. I hope it stretches right back to the bus route, and edge of the lake!
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That would be great to see. It’s become a trend of late for the city zoos to house non-breeding prides of lions; and the open range zoos to house breeding prides and Zoos Victoria are no exception.

I hope to hear news of Asali producing a litter soon (she was off contraception on my visit in November). It’d be fantastic to see Werribee with a multigenerational pride to rival Monarto’s in size.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’d really like to see Hamadryas baboon at Werribee Open Range Zoo. The gorilla exhibit would make a phenomenal exhibit for them, should Zoos Victoria decide to make Melbourne the gorilla hub and Werribee the baboon hub; but I’d rather see both zoos continue with both species.

It’s clear from Werribee’s masterplan that there’s no intention of holding baboons in the short term future (the next five years); but Monarto’s plans for a large exhibit and the phasing out of baboons from city zoos (gone from Perth and Wellington; going from Auckland and Adelaide) could add weight to the argument they’re better suited to open range zoos, who can accomodate large breeding troops.
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I think this is a wise observation. They require larger groups, and bigger, more complex enclosures than those of other primates which are more suited to city zoos.
 
Cat-Man said:
I think this is a wise observation. They require larger groups, and bigger, more complex enclosures than those of other primates which are more suited to city zoos.
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100%. Hamadryas baboons are unique amongst baboons in that the strongest bonds are between harem leaders and their female followers versus the matrilineal dominance hierarchies seen in Chacma, Olive baboons etc.

Having decent sized troops is beneficial to all baboon species, but particularly the Hamadryas, where adolescent and young adult males can become a disruptive influence when there’s a lack of females. The ideal is for females to outweigh males; but since male infants are inevitable, zoos have explored castration to address the imbalance. Wellington undertook this and reported the males had the physical appearance of large females (brown, drab, no cape) and were less aggressive than their intact counterparts.
 
Very interesting, thanks Zoofan15. I suppose like many species in Australia due to the limited number of zoos and concerns about invasive species (I suspect they would do quite well if left alone in the outback!) there is limited capacity for new holders and as such castration is an inevitable consequence.
 
ReturnOfPaddyRick said:
I was told the Hyenas and Gondola were on the brink of being dropped as of last year
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I was told by a staff member in November that nothing has been dropped (even the gondola), only postponed. We’ll probably have a clearer picture of what’s priority after the elephant complex; though from what I’ve heard the gondola is back of the queue and @The Sleepy Hippo has reported lion expansions are a priority.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I was told by a staff member in November that nothing has been dropped (even the gondola), only postponed. We’ll probably have a clearer picture of what’s priority after the elephant complex; though from what I’ve heard the gondola is back of the queue and @The Sleepy Hippo has reported lion expansions are a priority.
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In the clip it spoke of the lion-cubs, and of Sheru receiving some dentistry work (under general anaesthetic). At the end it spoke of the clip it talked about the elephant enclosures and that the "next thing on the agenda is" expanding the lion enclosure.

But annoyingly I cannot find the clip I watched! It was down a rabbit-hole.
 
The Sleepy Hippo said:
In the clip it spoke of the lion-cubs, and of Sheru receiving some dentistry work (under general anaesthetic). At the end it spoke of the clip it talked about the elephant enclosures and that the "next thing on the agenda is" expanding the lion enclosure.

But annoyingly I cannot find the clip I watched! It was down a rabbit-hole.
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I can’t seem to find it either, but did come across a video of progress on the elephant complex if anyone’s interested:

Elephant complex construction progress:

TikTok - Make Your Day
 
The Sleepy Hippo said:
In the clip it spoke of the lion-cubs, and of Sheru receiving some dentistry work (under general anaesthetic). At the end it spoke of the clip it talked about the elephant enclosures and that the "next thing on the agenda is" expanding the lion enclosure.

But annoyingly I cannot find the clip I watched! It was down a rabbit-hole.
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I actually believe I watched the video you talk about a few days ago too.

There doesn't seem to be any mention of any future expansion plans for the Lions, but I'll link the video below for you all to check it out anyway:

From 1.28:
 
austrlain zoo gower said:
Great to see taronga going down this route, it still does make me wonder what melbourne will be doing as it was speculated that indian rhino were the most lickely replacment
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Unfortunately Indian rhinoceros are no longer on the radar according to reports from here. Everything I’ve heard suggests an orangutan expansion can be expected, likely featuring overhead aerial pathways. These lend themselves to rotation with other apes like Siamang/gibbon, which is a likely outcome.

Melbourne Zoo’s orangutan exhibit has recently had 7 and 12 metre towers installed, which could be a precursor to an expansion.
 
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