Two (1.1) more giraffe calves have been born to females Asmara and Zane joining the male calf born in August - reported on their FB page.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo Taronga Western Plains Zoo News 2024
- Thread starter Zoofan15
- Start date
Quokka joey emerges from pouch:
From socials:
Quokka Djinda has been carrying a secret.
Eagle-eyed visitors to our Aussie Walkthrough have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Djinda’s joey, who has just started emerging from the pouch to explore his surroundings!
At almost 6 months old, Djinda’s joey is getting more curious and confident by the day!
From socials:
Quokka Djinda has been carrying a secret.
Eagle-eyed visitors to our Aussie Walkthrough have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Djinda’s joey, who has just started emerging from the pouch to explore his surroundings!
At almost 6 months old, Djinda’s joey is getting more curious and confident by the day!
Indian rhinoceros update:
From socials:
Today marks three laps around the sun for Greater One-horned Rhino Hari! The now 1500 kg young bull is one of only three Greater One-horned Rhinos in Australia which all reside in our breeding program at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.
Greater One-horned Rhinos are mainly solitary except for females with calves, and Hari is nearing the age when he would naturally leave his mother Amala in the wild. His dedicated Keepers have started conditioning the duo to spend extended time periods apart, as they prepare Hari for his big migration to Taronga Zoo Sydney in 2025, where he’ll live in a mixed species habitat with Water Buffalo.
From socials:
Today marks three laps around the sun for Greater One-horned Rhino Hari! The now 1500 kg young bull is one of only three Greater One-horned Rhinos in Australia which all reside in our breeding program at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.
Greater One-horned Rhinos are mainly solitary except for females with calves, and Hari is nearing the age when he would naturally leave his mother Amala in the wild. His dedicated Keepers have started conditioning the duo to spend extended time periods apart, as they prepare Hari for his big migration to Taronga Zoo Sydney in 2025, where he’ll live in a mixed species habitat with Water Buffalo.
Two Addax calves have been born:
Addax babies born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo has welcomed two critically-endangered Addax calves, with the most recent born right in front of lucky guests on Monday 21 October.
The births mean there are now three generations of living together on the main Addax habitat, near The Waterhole.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo is home to 14 Addaxes, including 11 on the main Addax habitat, and a bachelor group of three males who lives behind the scenes as part of the Zoo's management of the species.
Addax babies born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo has welcomed two critically-endangered Addax calves, with the most recent born right in front of lucky guests on Monday 21 October.
The births mean there are now three generations of living together on the main Addax habitat, near The Waterhole.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo is home to 14 Addaxes, including 11 on the main Addax habitat, and a bachelor group of three males who lives behind the scenes as part of the Zoo's management of the species.
Male Black rhinoceros arrives from Monarto:
From socials:
Taronga Western Plains Zoo has recently welcomed back a Southern Black Rhinoceros bull, Sentwali, to join its world-leading conservation breeding program for this critically endangered species.
Born at TWPZ in 2004, Sentwali and another Dubbo-born male, Induna made the move to Monarto Safari Park in 2007 to help expand the Australasian program. Sentwali has now returned home to fulfil his breeding potential. His mother was one of the original Southern Black Rhino cows translocated from Zimbabwe in the 1990s to establish the Australasian breeding program, and her genetics are otherwise unrepresented in the region.
Sentwali has settled in “like a gem”, according to his keepers, and will spend a month in quarantine before beginning introductions to some of the Zoo’s proven breeding females. He will not be on display for the foreseeable future as keepers focus on helping him fulfil his potential as a breeding bull behind the scenes.
From socials:
Taronga Western Plains Zoo has recently welcomed back a Southern Black Rhinoceros bull, Sentwali, to join its world-leading conservation breeding program for this critically endangered species.
Born at TWPZ in 2004, Sentwali and another Dubbo-born male, Induna made the move to Monarto Safari Park in 2007 to help expand the Australasian program. Sentwali has now returned home to fulfil his breeding potential. His mother was one of the original Southern Black Rhino cows translocated from Zimbabwe in the 1990s to establish the Australasian breeding program, and her genetics are otherwise unrepresented in the region.
Sentwali has settled in “like a gem”, according to his keepers, and will spend a month in quarantine before beginning introductions to some of the Zoo’s proven breeding females. He will not be on display for the foreseeable future as keepers focus on helping him fulfil his potential as a breeding bull behind the scenes.
Osedax
Well-Known Member
I was there on Wednesday and Thursday and have some updates.
- There is a new Black Rhino statue at the entrance.
- The smaller Black Rhino yards are still closed off. The main paddock is still viewable as normal.
- Cuddles (hippo) didn't want to leave the water at all, even for food. She was also showing some possibly worrying behaviours, such as opening her mouth and rolling over in the water. The keepers thought maybe it was just because it was a hot day, but they called the vets anyway just to be safe. Hope everything goes well for Cuddles.
- A third Addax calf has been born!
- The second Addax paddock currently houses European Fallow Deer.
- Hondo the second male Ostrich is no longer in the Savannah Safari exhibit, leaving Namib as the only Ostrich in the exhibit. Hondo may be off display, he may have died or he may have left the zoo. Another possibility is that he is the male in the Ostrich paddock next to the Persian Onagers, and the previous male is either off display or has died or left the zoo.
- The gibbons are currently off display.
- Red Kangaroo and Red-necked Wallaby have returned to the zoo! Two young roos and a single wallaby are now in the non-walkthrough side of the Koala boardwalk. This brings the zoo's macropod collection back up to 4 species (as well as one extra species - Eastern Grey Kangaroo - wild), still a shadow of its former glory but much better than only having Swamp Wallaby and Quokka! (The red roos are also the first captive kangaroos at the zoo since the last Western Greys left in late 2021).
- The Wildlife Hospital Aviary is closed for maintenance, so I didn't get a look at the Malleefowl unfortunately.
- There is a new Black Rhino statue at the entrance.
- The smaller Black Rhino yards are still closed off. The main paddock is still viewable as normal.
- Cuddles (hippo) didn't want to leave the water at all, even for food. She was also showing some possibly worrying behaviours, such as opening her mouth and rolling over in the water. The keepers thought maybe it was just because it was a hot day, but they called the vets anyway just to be safe. Hope everything goes well for Cuddles.
- A third Addax calf has been born!
- The second Addax paddock currently houses European Fallow Deer.
- Hondo the second male Ostrich is no longer in the Savannah Safari exhibit, leaving Namib as the only Ostrich in the exhibit. Hondo may be off display, he may have died or he may have left the zoo. Another possibility is that he is the male in the Ostrich paddock next to the Persian Onagers, and the previous male is either off display or has died or left the zoo.
- The gibbons are currently off display.
- Red Kangaroo and Red-necked Wallaby have returned to the zoo! Two young roos and a single wallaby are now in the non-walkthrough side of the Koala boardwalk. This brings the zoo's macropod collection back up to 4 species (as well as one extra species - Eastern Grey Kangaroo - wild), still a shadow of its former glory but much better than only having Swamp Wallaby and Quokka! (The red roos are also the first captive kangaroos at the zoo since the last Western Greys left in late 2021).
- The Wildlife Hospital Aviary is closed for maintenance, so I didn't get a look at the Malleefowl unfortunately.
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As reported in the population thread, Giraffe Ntombi gave birth to a male calf on the 4th of October.
The calf is being named with the following options;
Chacha - 'strong man' in Swahili
Lamai – an area in the northern Serengeti
Upepo – 'breeze/wind' in Swahili
Zuma – a rock formation in Nigeria
The calf is being named with the following options;
Chacha - 'strong man' in Swahili
Lamai – an area in the northern Serengeti
Upepo – 'breeze/wind' in Swahili
Zuma – a rock formation in Nigeria
Appreciate the updates!
The gibbons have been off display for a while now afaik, hopefully all is well with them.
Also brilliant news regarding the Addax, Dubbo seems to be one of the only facilities regionally breeding them quite well as of late.
It's worrying to hear that about Cuddles, fingers crossed it was just a one off event. I can acknowledge this can sometimes happen when the animal is stressed by something (perhaps health wise). Let's hope they didn't determine anything too bad. It would be tragic to lose yet another hippo there.
When Cuddles’ great-grandmother Bonnie was imported by Auckland Zoo in 1966, she exhibited the same behaviour. She remained in the pool and refused to come out to eat. The problem resolved itself after about a week; and was clearly due to the stress of the transit.
Cuddles’ daughters are both full grown cows now of seven and ten years. With them reaching maturity and possibly challenging Cuddles for dominance, it’s a possibility she’s feeling stressed. Surely the vets can get to the bottom of it and she’ll be back eating in no time.