Gorge Wildlife Park Gorge Wildlife Park news

Swanson02 said:
My mate stated that Gorge currently has 9 Spider Monkeys, however, he doesn't work with primates, only marsupials and carnivores.
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It sounds like they’ve transferred in three females then (possibly from Dubbo?). It makes sense as the daughters of the breeding male (Jake) can’t breed with him; and they clearly want to expand their troop.

They may opt to retain Jake and Aruba’s daughters (as non-breeding) for now. They’re a long lived species, breeding well into their 30’s, so there’s plenty of time to bring in an unrelated male. In the meantime, they can learn maternal skills from their mother and other females.
Osedax said:
From those photos, I believe the so-called "Brown Capuchin" are actually the White-fronted.
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That makes more sense as I agree with @Swanson02 theres a difference in those pics, but Tufted capuchin and Brown capuchin are the same (also known as the Black-capped capuchin).
 
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Zoofan15 said:
It sounds like they’ve transferred in three females then (possibly from Dubbo?). It makes sense as the daughters of the breeding male (Jake) can’t breed with him; and they clearly want to expand their troop.

They may opt to retain Jake and Aruba’s daughters (as non-breeding) for now. They’re a long lived species, breeding well into their 30’s, so there’s plenty of time to bring in an unrelated male. In the meantime, they can learn maternal skills from their mother and other females.
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If we assume the previous five are still there, that would mean that there were two females acquired. Dubbo makes the most sense considering the successful breeding they've had in recent years. The only other theoretical options are overseas.
 
Jambo said:
If we assume the previous five are still there, that would mean that there were two females acquired. Dubbo makes the most sense considering the successful breeding they've had in recent years. The only other theoretical options are overseas.
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@Swanson02 mentioned Gorge having a total of nine spider monkeys, so I’m assuming the nine are as follows:

0.1 Aruba (1988)
1.0 Jake (2000)
1.0 Arthur (2012) Jake x Aruba
0.1 Sumara (2015) Jake x Aruba
0.1 Maya (2020) Jake x Aruba
0.1 Kaia (2023) Jake x Aruba
+ 3 additional females (one of which is pregnant)

It seems like spider monkeys are a species that have really struggled in the region since regulated breeding has been brought in. Behavioural non-breeders and females rejecting young have been common; but these issues are now being addressed with an emphasis on forming larger troops that breed regularly.
 
Re. the Spider Monkeys I was told via email they haven't acquired any new spider monkeys, so their troop would stand at six (2.4).

Perhaps there was some miscommunication re. hearing one of the spider monkeys was pregnant as the only other female of reproductive age is Sumara who is the daughter and sister of the two other males in the troop.
 
Jambo said:
Re. the Spider Monkeys I was told via email they haven't acquired any new spider monkeys, so their troop would stand at six (2.4).

Perhaps there was some miscommunication re. hearing one of the spider monkeys was pregnant as the only other female of reproductive age is Sumara who is the daughter and sister of the two other males in the troop.
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I was still told they held 9 spider monkeys? The only other thing I could think of is that 9 is the capacity for their exhibit? I did preface that my mate does not work with the primates, only the carnivores and Aussie wildlife :)
 
Swanson02 said:
I was still told they held 9 spider monkeys? The only other thing I could think of is that 9 is the capacity for their exhibit? I did preface that my mate does not work with the primates, only the carnivores and Aussie wildlife :)
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A capacity of nine makes sense as it explains the small troop size. It’s unusual to see this species held as a monogamous pair with their offspring, but at least the daughters are having the opportunity to observe their mother raising their younger siblings.

The last infants at Hamilton, Wellington and Melbourne were all hand-raised initially (for various reasons), so Gorge’s pair are doing well in that regard, with Aruba proving an excellent mother.
 
Does anyone know what species are currently kept in the Reptile and Nocturnal Houses?

The most recent species list I could find is from 2010, and I can imagine much has changed since then.
 
That Aussie Guy said:
Does anyone know what species are currently kept in the Reptile and Nocturnal Houses?

The most recent species list I could find is from 2010, and I can imagine much has changed since then.
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This is my most recent list from February 15th 2024
Gorge wildlife park reptile & nocturnal house

  • lace monitor
  • Pig nose turtle
  • Green iguana
  • Pink tongued skink
  • White lipped tree frog
  • Some type of python
  • Death adder
  • Boyd’s forest dragons
  • Basilisk
  • Gecko
  • Sugar or squirrel gliders
  • Saw shelled turtle
  • Fiji crested iguana
  • Fresh water crocs
  • Corn snakes
  • Leopard ctenotus
  • Boa constrictor
  • Carpet python
  • Bilby
  • Ghost bats
There is 2 monitors I left off this list as I wasn’t sure on subspecies and possibly a snake or two, but hope this helps :) I plan on posting photos and info soon as I love their reptile house :)
 
SpoonieSafari said:
This is my most recent list from February 15th 2024
Gorge wildlife park reptile & nocturnal house

  • lace monitor
  • Pig nose turtle
  • Green iguana
  • Pink tongued skink
  • White lipped tree frog
  • Some type of python
  • Death adder
  • Boyd’s forest dragons
  • Basilisk
  • Gecko
  • Sugar or squirrel gliders
  • Saw shelled turtle
  • Fiji crested iguana
  • Fresh water crocs
  • Corn snakes
  • Leopard ctenotus
  • Boa constrictor
  • Carpet python
  • Bilby
  • Ghost bats
There is 2 monitors I left off this list as I wasn’t sure on subspecies and possibly a snake or two, but hope this helps :) I plan on posting photos and info soon as I love their reptile house :)
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Thanks for the list and welcome to Zoochat!
 
SpoonieSafari said:
This is my most recent list from February 15th 2024
Gorge wildlife park reptile & nocturnal house

  • lace monitor
  • Pig nose turtle
  • Green iguana
  • Pink tongued skink
  • White lipped tree frog
  • Some type of python
  • Death adder
  • Boyd’s forest dragons
  • Basilisk
  • Gecko
  • Sugar or squirrel gliders
  • Saw shelled turtle
  • Fiji crested iguana
  • Fresh water crocs
  • Corn snakes
  • Leopard ctenotus
  • Boa constrictor
  • Carpet python
  • Bilby
  • Ghost bats
There is 2 monitors I left off this list as I wasn’t sure on subspecies and possibly a snake or two, but hope this helps :) I plan on posting photos and info soon as I love their reptile house :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for providing this list! I look forward to any future media or discussion you upload in the future, and welcome to ZooChat!
 
Some updates/clarifications;

- The coati have died out, in the meantime a quoll is occupying the exhibit.
- Current spider monkey holdings is actually 3.2.1, And no there were no imports, but they are in discussions with the region’s studbook keeper on possible exchanges/imports from within the region.
- They still house 2.1.0 Mara, only one is on display in capybara enclosure. The pair are off display in an attempt to try and breed them, though they are pretty old now.
- Meerkat breeding has been very successful, they have 15 individuals.
- There are still 5 white fronted capuchin, all closely related.
- A few other primate species still held there include: 0.2.0 Japanese macaque; 3.0.0 Lar gibbon, and a heck of a lot of Tufted/brown capuchin in one family.
- New upgraded tamarin and marmoset enclosures currently being built.
- Agouti are still on display (2 animals?)
- Not sure if this was mentioned but they bred a common wombat last year, no details on where he’ll go yet. Gorge has a good track record of breeding wombats (commons and southern hairy nose)
- Plans to build a single island alongside spider monkeys (replacing quoll enclosure) in future for a non breeding ring tailed lemur group (possibly mixed with a second species).
- Bird signage is being upgraded; taking a while given the sheer size of the bird collection.
- Might have been mentioned before but: there are new owl aviaries (barking; grass; barn; boobook) near southern hairy nose wombats.
- No plans to get any new species anytime soon: current focus is on upgrading existing exhibits.
 
Interesting! Do you know which of the spider monkeys (Maya or Sumara) was incorrectly sexed as female?
I'm very excited to see another primate island-- though I'd hoped the white-handed gibbons would be the recipients, it'll be fab to see lemurs out there if it's anything like the great job they did with the spider monkey island.
 
marmolady said:
Interesting! Do you know which of the spider monkeys (Maya or Sumara) was incorrectly sexed as female?
I'm very excited to see another primate island-- though I'd hoped the white-handed gibbons would be the recipients, it'll be fab to see lemurs out there if it's anything like the great job they did with the spider monkey island.
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Maya is male, Sumara is the one who appears pregnant, she’s visibly huge, time will tell with that one. My understanding is that the gibbons were considered for the island but given their athletic abilities there’s a lot more risk of escape compared to lemurs. And they’re a phase-out species; it would be a lot effort and money to spend on a tiny group that won’t be replaceable in future. There’s not enough room to be an island as big as the spider monkeys, but it will still be a good size.

Perhaps once the macaques have phased out they can join up their enclosure with the gibbons so the three boys have one large space via tunnel, like they did with the white front capuchins??
 
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