Taronga Zoo Recent history of Taronga and developments etc

[Zoofan15]

I wouldn't be surprised if both Melur and Daya receive recommendations to breed either this year or next year. As you say, it's important Charlie continues to breed asap when you take into consideration his age.

It would be wonderful if Auckland could acquire another group of orangutans to occupy the current Saimang exhibit. Another male and unrelated females would provide the opportunity to mix and match individuals from both troops for breeding long term, not to mention the great benefit such a troop would have considering Auckland is the only facility holding them regionally.

I hope so. Bahmi is three years old now, so Melur should resume cycling again soon; while there’s no reason to delay breeding Daya. Bahmi does harass Daya somewhat. He was beating her with a stick on my last visit until she took it off him. I’m wondering if the plan is to have Melur give birth first to teach him etiquette around an infant (she’ll be stricter than Daya).

Importing an adult male and female to live in the other exhibit would be ideal. They could have an infant and then the male could move across to breed with Daya once Charlie passes to sire her second infant. Otherwise, I can see Bahmi becoming Daya’s mate for her second infant. If she breeds next year, then Bahmi will be eight/nine by the time her first infant is five years old.

 

[Jambo]

I hope so. Bahmi is three years old now, so Melur should resume cycling again soon; while there’s no reason to delay breeding Daya. Bahmi does harass Daya somewhat. He was beating her with a stick on my last visit until she took it off him. I’m wondering if the plan is to have Melur give birth first to teach him etiquette around an infant (she’ll be stricter than Daya).

Importing an adult male and female to live in the other exhibit would be ideal. They could have an infant and then the male could move across to breed with Daya once Charlie passes to sire her second infant. Otherwise, I can see Bahmi becoming Daya’s mate for her second infant. If she breeds next year, then Bahmi will be eight/nine by the time her first infant is five years old.

Acquiring an additional male and female would certainly be something for Taronga to look at long term. Especially once Charlie passes, we've previously suggested there's a chance Bahmi could replace him as the breeding male, and this would be the best option considering Bahmi's genetic value.

Any female offspring born in the meantime to Charlie could also be moved into the second troop long term with Bahmi and Daya being a designated breeding pair in the long term and potentially also receiving females born in the second troop long term.

 

[Zoofan15]

Acquiring an additional male and female would certainly be something for Taronga to look at long term. Especially once Charlie passes, we've previously suggested there's a chance Bahmi could replace him as the breeding male, and this would be the best option considering Bahmi's genetic value.

Any female offspring born in the meantime to Charlie could also be moved into the second troop long term with Bahmi and Daya being a designated breeding pair in the long term and potentially also receiving females born in the second troop long term.

It would have been so interesting to have seen how things would had panned out had Datuk (1989-1996) survived; and Australia Zoo acquired Taronga’s surplus orangutans. Reducing the colony to 1.2 Borneans would have allowed Datuk to be held with one of the females; while the other’s infant was at the neonate stage.

From here, there would have been multiple exchange possibilities with Auckland Zoo - with any offspring produced unrelated to Charlie. It surely would have persuaded Auckland to continue with Borneans throughout the 2000’s and beyond.

 

[Trua]

FYI we were always told Mary always lived on that island. It was a safe haven for her and the funny thing was, she was a nightmare for photographers. She had a habit of hiding whenever she saw a camera.

 

[Zoofan15]

Mary had a very brief hiatus from that little island in early 1990s (I wonder where she was housed during) with the zoo's squirrel monkeys on the island but they kept stripping the figs off it too much so Mary returned to her home.

That’s really interesting. I’m wondering if she was housed in the Great Ape House, which would have had additional room following the passing of Perang and the export of Perak the hybrid orangutans in May 1990.

We can assume Archie and Perang were held separately; and that Perang therefore had a space separate from Archie.

 

[steveroberts]

That’s really interesting. I’m wondering if she was housed in the Great Ape House, which would have had additional room following the passing of Perang and the export of Perak the hybrid orangutans in May 1990.

It was very temporary with the squirrel monkeys (believe sometime in 1993), maybe a month. I only know about it as used to have a taped from live tv copy of the doco 'Orangutans on Stage' about their move from the Great Ape House to the Orangutan Rainforest; and that squirrel monkeys on the island was a short side story (the doco showed a bit of Melbourne Zoo too the fantastic newish gorilla habitat, underwater swimming view of a pygmy hippo, the otters and one of Sumatran tigers seen across a moat). I suppose the squirrel monkeys former exhibit between Ali the jaguar and the meerkats would not of been size suitable for Mary (as in a complete trial swap between her and the squirrel monkeys, and living next to a jaguar might of stressed Mary out, though she was a stoic lady and did live close to saltwater crocodile(s) for considerbale latter decades of her life).

If she was in the Great Ape House she probably would of thought (the heck is this awful jail cell) and made more of a racket than usual though very possible. @Hix might know.

 

[Zoofan15]

It was very temporary with the squirrel monkeys (believe sometime in 1993), maybe a month. I only know about it as used to have a taped from live tv copy of the doco 'Orangutans on Stage' about their move from the Great Ape House to the Orangutan Rainforest; and that squirrel monkeys on the island was a short side story (the doco showed a bit of Melbourne Zoo too the fantastic newish gorilla habitat, underwater swimming view of a pygmy hippo, the otters and one of Sumatran tigers seen across a moat). I suppose the squirrel monkeys former exhibit between Ali the jaguar and the meerkats would not of been size suitable for Mary (as in a complete trial swap between her and the squirrel monkeys, and living next to a jaguar might of stressed Mary out, though she was a stoic lady and did live close to saltwater crocodile(s) for considerbale latter decades of her life).

That sounds like a great documentary. Melbourne’s Pygmy hippopotamus and Mandrill exhibits opened 1992; and the Sumatran Tiger Forest in 1992, so that would have been an exciting time for Melbourne Zoo.

There’s no doubt the zoos took inspiration from each other, with Taronga’s Orangutan Rainforest and Gorilla Rainforest opening later that decade; and the world renowned Chimpanzee Park arguably kicking it all off in 1980.

Although chimpanzees are my favourite primate, there’s no denying they play second fiddle to gorillas (and arguably orangutans). It’s therefore impressive Taronga saw fit to dedicate so much space to build an exhibit for them that remains relevant to this day. Their breeding was record breaking in the 60’s-80’s, so this no doubt served as encouragement.

 

[Zoofan15]

Although chimpanzees are my favourite primate, there’s no denying they play second fiddle to gorillas (and arguably orangutans). It’s therefore impressive Taronga saw fit to dedicate so much space to build an exhibit for them that remains relevant to this day. Their breeding was record breaking in the 60’s-80’s, so this no doubt served as encouragement.

A further note on Taronga’s chimpanzee breeding (with regards to ceasing to breed at natural birth intervals):

Taronga’s chimpanzees bred at natural birth intervals until the 1990’s.

In 1991, they welcomed six infants in a single year with five surviving (Sumu, Chunga, Mali, Kike and Kuma); with Lisa, Shiba, Chiki and Sacha each producing an infant between 1993-1996 at a natural birth interval following their last infant.

From then on, artificial birth intervals have been implemented following the birth of nearly every surviving infant at Taronga. Several females were retired from breeding including Bessie (last infant at 32 years); Spitter (last infant at 27 years); and Lulu (last infant at 29 years), though I will note that like Susie, Bessie was retired for breeding for medical reasons.

The reason no doubt was the lack of demand for Taronga bred chimpanzees. Taronga exported to New Zealand, Taiping, Singapore, Japan and the US throughout the 80’s and 90’s; but as other zoos globally become proficient in breeding the species, demand declined. Europe meanwhile has to an extent focussed on streamlining many of their troop to purebred subspecies, further decreasing the demand for Taronga bred generics.

 

[steveroberts]

..Taronga map

.. February 1977

By Kerilee Hardy (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?)

 

[Zoofan15]

Thanks for sharing Steve. Taronga Zoo was very typical of its era with regards to having exhibits arranged by taxonomy:

Bears on the lower terrace

Lions and tigers with leopards and puma adjacent (and the bear ‘cat’ thrown in for good measure )

Orangutans and chimpanzees in the Ape House

Common hippopotamus and Pygmy hippopotamus (signed as Hippo on this map) intersected by a wide range of ungulate exhibits

Marsupials near the main entrance (with the Koala House not far off)

 

[Jambo]

It was very temporary with the squirrel monkeys (believe sometime in 1993), maybe a month. I only know about it as used to have a taped from live tv copy of the doco 'Orangutans on Stage' about their move from the Great Ape House to the Orangutan Rainforest; and that squirrel monkeys on the island was a short side story (the doco showed a bit of Melbourne Zoo too the fantastic newish gorilla habitat, underwater swimming view of a pygmy hippo, the otters and one of Sumatran tigers seen across a moat). I suppose the squirrel monkeys former exhibit between Ali the jaguar and the meerkats would not of been size suitable for Mary (as in a complete trial swap between her and the squirrel monkeys, and living next to a jaguar might of stressed Mary out, though she was a stoic lady and did live close to saltwater crocodile(s) for considerbale latter decades of her life).

If she was in the Great Ape House she probably would of thought (the heck is this awful jail cell) and made more of a racket than usual though very possible. @Hix might know.

Yeah it would surprise me if she was moved into the cages. An animal that's lived most of it's life on a decent sized island would surely not react well to living in the cages!

Are you sure it was this island you saw the Squirrel Monkeys? I don't know why they'd move Mary out temporarily - perhaps for closer medical attention, or maybe even a new environment in attempt to introduce another mate (she apparently was an unwilling partner for potential suitors).

 

[steveroberts]

Yeah it would surprise me if she was moved into the cages. An animal that's lived most of it's life on a decent sized island would surely not react well to living in the cages!

Are you sure it was this island you saw the Squirrel Monkeys? I don't know why they'd move Mary out temporarily - perhaps for closer medical attention, or maybe even a new environment in attempt to introduce another mate (she apparently was an unwilling partner for potential suitors).

I never saw them, it was a documentary filmed at the zoo in 1993 and 1994 and released in 1994 on channel nine called ‘Orangutans on Stage’.

The island in the footage was identical looking to the one Mary lived on and the cottontop tamarins do now.

 

[Zoofan15]

I never saw them, it was a documentary filmed at the zoo in 1993 and 1994 and released in 1994 on channel nine called ‘Orangutans on Stage’.

The island in the footage was identical looking to the one Mary lived on and the cottontop tamarins do now.

It sounds like Mary was quite humanised, which aligns with her arriving at two years of age in 1960 (estimated DOB 1958).

In the news article detailing her abandoning her infant, it was mentioned previous infants had not survived; so it appears her hand-raised background stood her in poor stead for rearing offspring (a common occurrence in primates). Had her and Robinson (who were together in 1986) been successful in rearing offspring, they could have become a prolific pair and Muellers gibbon may have become a common species in the region - especially considering they’re endangered.

 

[Zoofan15]

Nepalese Red Panda Import (1994)

Article:

Kathmandu's bachelor days are almost over. Some time next month the red panda will meet his new mate, Conchita, who was chosen after a computer blind dating system scoured the world's zoos for his perfect match.

Conchita, who is six months younger than her two-year-old fiance, is leaving Madrid's Zoo de la Casa de Campoti to lift Taronga Zoo’s red panda population to four - two couples - and to help continue its breeding program.

In an effort to conserve endangered species such as red pandas, the world's zoos are using detailed computer databases to organise breeding programs.

Taronga Zoo's principal curator, Mr Graeme Phipps, said computer dating had been used successfully with red pandas, tigers, fishing cats, Leadbeatcr's possums and the Zoo's Sumatran tigers, Shiva and Selatan.

Selatan was born in Melbourne Zoo and brought to Sydney in 1992 to be Shiva's mate. While she is yet to become pregnant, the tigers appear to get on very well, according to the zoo's registrar, Ms Carol Bach.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Wednesday, February 23, 1994)

Discussion:

Note the six month age gap between Kathmandu and Conchita. Red panda are born in December/January in the Southern Hemisphere and June/July in the Northern Hemisphere. Kathmandu would have therefore been born during the Australian summer of 1992; and Conchita in mid-1992 during the European summer.

It’s interesting to note Conchita was imported from the Madrid Zoo in 1994. That same year, Auckland Zoo imported a male red panda from Madrid Zoo named Mario (DOB 15/06/1993). It’s likely Mario was a younger sibling to Conchita, who born 12 months prior. What’s even more interesting is the female Mario was paired with at Auckland Zoo was Tashi, who was born at Taronga Zoo 10/12/1991. It therefore seems likely that Kathmandu and Tashi were littermates. Taronga was mentioned to have had another pair, which I presume were the parents of Kathmandu and Tashi.

This bloodline remains well established in the region to this day. Mario and Tashi’s grandson Chito (DOB 18/12/2002) sired eight surviving cubs at Hamilton Zoo, many of which have gone on to breed across the region.

 

[Jambo]

Nepalese Red Panda Import (1994)

Article:

Kathmandu's bachelor days are almost over. Some time next month the red panda will meet his new mate, Conchita, who was chosen after a computer blind dating system scoured the world's zoos for his perfect match.

Conchita, who is six months younger than her two-year-old fiance, is leaving Madrid's Zoo de la Casa de Campoti to lift Taronga Zoo’s red panda population to four - two couples - and to help continue its breeding program.

In an effort to conserve endangered species such as red pandas, the world's zoos are using detailed computer databases to organise breeding programs.

Taronga Zoo's principal curator, Mr Graeme Phipps, said computer dating had been used successfully with red pandas, tigers, fishing cats, Leadbeatcr's possums and the Zoo's Sumatran tigers, Shiva and Selatan.

Selatan was born in Melbourne Zoo and brought to Sydney in 1992 to be Shiva's mate. While she is yet to become pregnant, the tigers appear to get on very well, according to the zoo's registrar, Ms Carol Bach.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Wednesday, February 23, 1994)

Discussion:

Note the six month age gap between Kathmandu and Conchita. Red panda are born in December/January in the Southern Hemisphere and June/July in the Northern Hemisphere. Kathmandu would have therefore been born during the Australian summer of 1992; and Conchita in mid-1992 during the European summer.

It’s interesting to note Conchita was imported from the Madrid Zoo in 1994. That same year, Auckland Zoo imported a male red panda from Madrid Zoo named Mario (DOB 15/06/1993). It’s likely Mario was a younger sibling to Conchita, who born 12 months prior. What’s even more interesting is the female Mario was paired with at Auckland Zoo was Tashi, who was born at Taronga Zoo 10/12/1991. It therefore seems likely that Kathmandu and Tashi were littermates. Taronga was mentioned to have had another pair, which I presume were the parents of Kathmandu and Tashi.

This bloodline remains well established in the region to this day. Mario and Tashi’s grandson Chito (DOB 18/12/2002) sired eight surviving cubs at Hamilton Zoo, many of which have gone on to breed across the region.

Interesting! It would appear this pair may have also been the parents of Mayhem and Sathi (who were breeding males at both Taronga and Perth) and were both born at Taronga new years day 2000. If they were, this would indicate further representation of the bloodlines of the previous pair (parents of Mario/Conchita).

 

[Zoofan15]

Interesting! It would appear this pair may have also been the parents of Mayhem and Sathi (who were breeding males at both Taronga and Perth) and were both born at Taronga new years day 2000. If they were, this would indicate further representation of the bloodlines of the previous pair (parents of Mario/Conchita).

That sounds likely given the timeframe. Taronga has been breeding red pandas since 1977 and used to hold the studbook for this species, which may explain the lengthy dynasty of Kathmandu > Mayhem > Mayhem’s offspring etc. which may have even extended from Kathmandu’s sire/dam back to the first birth in 1977.

Taronga used to hold the Sumatran tiger studbook also and were exceptionally proud of their Sumatran tiger dynasty.

Mayhem and his brother (originally named Chaos) were born January 2000. Mayhem’s offspring inkcuded:

1.0 Tenzin (January 2007)
1.0 Jishnu (January 2007)
1.0 Pemba (November 2008) 44th red panda birth
1.0 Seba (December 2010) 45th red panda birth

Taronga’s last breeding male (Pabu) was a grandson of Chaos/Sathi via his daughter, Bo.

 

[Jambo]

That sounds likely given the timeframe. Taronga has been breeding red pandas since 1977 and used to hold the studbook for this species, which may explain the lengthy dynasty of Kathmandu > Mayhem > Mayhem’s offspring etc. which may have even extended from Kathmandu’s sire/dam back to the first birth in 1977.

Taronga used to hold the Sumatran tiger studbook also and were exceptionally proud of their Sumatran tiger dynasty.

Mayhem and his brother (originally named Chaos) were born January 2000. Mayhem’s offspring inkcuded:

1.0 Tenzin (January 2007)
1.0 Jishnu (January 2007)
1.0 Pemba (November 2008) 44th red panda birth
1.0 Seba (December 2010) 45th red panda birth

Taronga’s last breeding male (Pabu) was a grandson of Chaos/Sathi via his daughter, Bo.

Since the first birth occurred in 1977 it's possible Kathmandu may have been born to Taronga's initial breeding pair. In saying that, it's equally likely that Kathmandu could've been a grandchild of that pair when you consider the average Red Panda lifespan is around fifteen years in captivity.

Interestingly enough Bo and Sathi were sent to Melbourne in 2008, with Bo later sent to Auckland and Seba (Sathi's nephew) coming down from Taronga to breed.

 

[Zoofan15]

Since the first birth occurred in 1977 it's possible Kathmandu may have been born to Taronga's initial breeding pair. In saying that, it's equally likely that Kathmandu could've been a grandchild of that pair when you consider the average Red Panda lifespan is around fifteen years in captivity.

Interestingly enough Bo and Sathi were sent to Melbourne in 2008, with Bo later sent to Auckland and Seba (Sathi's nephew) coming down from Taronga to breed.

If Kathmandu was born December 1991, then the 1977 litter was born at least 14 years prior (possibly close to 15 years, if January 1977). Based on that we can rule of the possibility of him being born to the founder pair (the female would have been at least two years old upon the birth of the 1977 litter and wouldn’t still be breeding at 16-17 years old); but it’s more than possible Kathmandu was a grandson.

The article gave the impression the previous pair (I’m assuming Kathmandu’s parents) had been retired; with Kathmandu and Conchita taking over.

 

[Jambo]

If Kathmandu was born December 1991, then the 1977 litter was born at least 14 years prior (possibly close to 15 years, if January 1977). Based on that we can rule of the possibility of him being born to the founder pair (the female would have been at least two years old upon the birth of the 1977 litter and wouldn’t still be breeding at 16-17 years old); but it’s more than possible Kathmandu was a grandson.

The article gave the impression the previous pair (I’m assuming Kathmandu’s parents) had been retired; with Kathmandu and Conchita taking over.

I came across an article from 1980 which shows a photo of the first cub born at the zoo (a male, born in 1977). At this point he still appeared to be at the zoo and it was mentioned his mother came from the wild. No mention on his father - but he presumably was captive born.

Additionally, a separate article from 1986 also mentioned Adelaide's success with breeding the species - at the time they had 11 Red Pandas!

 

[Zoofan15]

I came across an article from 1980 which shows a photo of the first cub born at the zoo (a male, born in 1977). At this point he still appeared to be at the zoo and it was mentioned his mother came from the wild. No mention on his father - but he presumably was captive born.

Additionally, a separate article from 1986 also mentioned Adelaide's success with breeding the species - at the time they had 11 Red Pandas!

It’s clear the advantage initial holders had in breeding species that were yet to become established in the region.

Taronga supplied numerous zoos in the region with giraffes, red pandas, hippopotamus, chimpanzees and tigers; while Adelaide Zoo bred red pandas and otters in large numbers.