Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary News

WhistlingKite24

WhistlingKite24

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10+ year member
Lone Pine now have a Saltwater Crocodile on-display which is a new species for the on-show collection at least in recent times. A unique aspect of the exhibit is an underwater viewing dome allowing some interesting views of the croc.

Source: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary's YouTube channel
 
I visited Lone Pine today for the morning for my annual visit and noted a few changes in the past year or so. I couldn’t see any evidence of construction for their expansion but the place was packed with international visitors once more; not as many as pre-covid times but still an increase. Lone Pine just has not warmed to me and I don’t think I’ll be visiting again anytime soon unless their future developments reveal something very major, really worthy of a future visit. I must say however there was a lot of birdlife at Lone Pine today – wild White-headed Pigeons (pleasant surprise), Australian King Parrots and Lewin’s Honeyeaters in particular. Pretty impressive for a location that is only 20 minutes from the city centre on the Brisbane River. My notes are below and for photos of the newer exhibits and animals see here [Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary - ZooChat]:
  • a pair of Princess Parrots and a flock of wild-type Zebra Finches have been added to one of the old aviaries which is a lively little mix. There was no sign anymore of the Blue-winged Kookaburra which has been replaced with a Laughing Kookaburra.
  • I couldn’t find the Southern Angle-headed Dragon that was mixed with the tree frogs. The Hosmer’s Skinks continue to be the main personal highlight in the reptile house. A wonderfully photogenic group of active Magnificent Tree-Frogs kept my attention for a good few minutes as well. While there are some great critters in there, I feel like the reptile house is only half completed; one side has the designated rainforest and desert terrariums whilst the other half of the room is essentially empty without exhibits, almost demanding a bushland-themed set of terrariums to complement the rest of the main habitats.
  • the netting has been taken off the outdoor water monitor enclosure improving visibility significantly. The Perentie was sunning high on a rock ledge in full view allowing for its patterning to be appreciated in the sunlight while the pair of Lace Monitors are still housed nearby.
  • the new cassowary enclosure looks excellent but the cassowary was in its original exhibit due to construction noises. It sort of reminded me of Chester Zoo’s cassowary enclosure when it first opened at Islands - a very open atmosphere with low viewing areas in some parts and young plantings that are spaced out.
  • the Saltwater Crocodile was putting on a great show for visitors and as a relatively young croc would swim right up to the underwater viewing dome near visitors. I also realised today that there is a portion of the dingo exhibit that allows them to sit on a tunnel-like structure and visitors can walk under the dingoes. One individual was sitting on said tunnel, making for an interesting viewing experience.
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Lone Pine's $3.2 million expansion officially opens on 1st November. Visitors will be able to tour the zoo at night with guided tours and thermal imaging with a whole new area of the zoo now accessible. The articles/information from the website doesn't explicitly mention if this space is accessible to day visitors (listed on map but I will confirm with the zoo directly before I visit) but there is a sunset and night tour three days a week. 10 species are now housed here with new species including the male Lumholtz's Tree-Kangaroo, Long-nosed Potoroo, Rufous Bettong, bandicoots and pademelons: Lone Pine’s secret nightlife of marsupials.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Lone Pine's $3.2 million expansion officially opens on 1st November. Visitors will be able to tour the zoo at night with guided tours and thermal imaging with a whole new area of the zoo now accessible. The articles/information from the website doesn't explicitly mention if this space is accessible to day visitors (listed on map but I will confirm with the zoo directly before I visit) but there is a sunset and night tour three days a week. 10 species are now housed here with new species including the male Lumholtz's Tree-Kangaroo, Long-nosed Potoroo, Rufous Bettong, bandicoots and pademelons: Lone Pine’s secret nightlife of marsupials.
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Wonderful news over due for an upgrade, I believe they have 7 new exhibits!
 
I visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and noted the following developments:
  • Boyd’s Forest Dragons are now mixed with the White-lipped Tree-Frogs. There used to be Southern Angle-headed Dragons in this particular enclosure. Coastal Taipan is a recent addition as well. The Spiny-tailed Monitor and Woma have swapped exhibits.
  • Spectacled Flying Foxes have joined the other flying-foxes. The two Little Red Flying Foxes – apparently the only ones in an Australian zoo - are still there along with the Grey-headed Flying Foxes.
  • two tanks filled with Spiny Leaf Insects are now in the reptile house.
  • a new very interactive Galah has arrived while there is only a single male Gang-gang Cockatoo remaining with no female seen. The Zebra Finches have some chicks. Both Platypus are still present and very active.
  • the flightless Wedge-tailed Eagle has moved into the old cassowary enclosure.
  • the old devil and wombat exhibits are currently empty or under construction. One of the former Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat enclosure is now signed with Northern Brown Bandicoot. It was unseen but there was some food out.
See here for a full review of the new development at Lone Pine as well – in short, generously-sized and flexible exhibit spaces with pleasing new species. The tree-roo was the highlight and the walkthrough exhibit as well: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Expansion [Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary]
 
According to a keeper on Instagram, a Platypus at the facility named Barak is now the oldest male Platypus ever known, at 25 years old. I'm not sure on the validity of this, since I haven't seen it reported elsewhere (particularly in the recent news articles about the 24 year old male Platypus found in the wild, which I presume prompted this confirmation of his apparent record) but it's an impressive age for a Platypus regardless!
 
Always_Amity said:
According to a keeper on Instagram, a Platypus at the facility named Barak is now the oldest male Platypus ever known, at 25 years old. I'm not sure on the validity of this, since I haven't seen it reported elsewhere (particularly in the recent news articles about the 24 year old male Platypus found in the wild, which I presume prompted this confirmation of his apparent record) but it's an impressive age for a Platypus regardless!
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Barak was bred at Healesville so his age is definitely valid.
 
Always_Amity said:
According to a keeper on Instagram, a Platypus at the facility named Barak is now the oldest male Platypus ever known, at 25 years old. I'm not sure on the validity of this, since I haven't seen it reported elsewhere (particularly in the recent news articles about the 24 year old male Platypus found in the wild, which I presume prompted this confirmation of his apparent record) but it's an impressive age for a Platypus regardless!
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MattyP said:
Barak was bred at Healesville so his age is definitely valid.
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He was born back in late 1998 at Healesville and was the first born there in over five decades. He was a breeding male there for a while before being retired to Lone Pine back in 2010.

It's nice to hear he's still alive and doing well!
 
A few minor updates from my visit to Lone Pine yesterday:
  • Frilled Dragon (new species) is now on-display mixed with Shingleback, Hosmer’s Skink and Central Bearded Dragon. Hosmer’s Skink seems to no longer be housed in a second enclosure with the Pygmy Mulga Monitor.
  • Coastal Carpet Python is now housed in the separate tank that used to have a Spiny-tailed Monitor. Red-bellied Black Snake is also now on-display.
  • Children’s Stick Insect and Goliath Stick Insect (unseen) are now housed in a tank underneath the Spiny Leaf Insect.
  • a Black-shouldered Lapwing is now housed with the Tawny Frogmouth.
  • the Bush Stone-Curlews have bred producing two chicks that are almost the size of the adults now. This pairing includes some direct wild-born genetics notably.
  • the old Common Wombat enclosures are currently under construction for something new; the old Tasmanian Devil enclosures at the front of the zoo are sitting empty; and the old Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats in the macropod walkthrough are signed for Rufous Bettong.
  • the often-elusive Mary River Turtles were present both in the turtle enclosure and mixed with Freshwater Crocodiles.
  • some of their old animals are still kicking; their 31-year-old White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Illuka, still performs in the bird show and their 26-year-old male Platypus, Barak, is breaking records as the oldest male platypus on record currently. Notably he is a captive-bred platypus.
 
Lone Pine have acquired a three-year-old female Lumholtz's Tree-Kangaroo. She was captive bred at Oakvale Wildlife Park in New South Wales - reported on their FB page.
 
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