Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo News 2025
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Re. Brazilian tapir import:
That’s interesting. It appears this female was sourced in place of the female from Cologne, whose import was cancelled.
Press release on Lupo’s arrival (translated):
Tapir Lupo erfolgreich im Melbourne Zoo eingewöhnt – nächster Meilenstein im Artenschutzprojekt – Zoo und Aquazoo Schmiding
Good news from Australia: Lupo, the young tapir born at Schmiding Zoo in October 2022, has arrived safely in Australia and has now settled in well at Melbourne Zoo. He is showing stable feeding habits, actively exploring his surroundings, and will soon be making initial contact with his future mate.
"The initial feedback from Australia is very positive," says zookeeper Can Hasibe happily. "Lupo is showing curiosity, is eating well, according to the Australian Zoo, and is actively exploring his surroundings – exactly as we hoped. As a keeper who has accompanied him since he was a child, this is of course particularly nice to hear."
After months of planning and intensive preparation, a significant milestone in international cooperation for the conservation of endangered species has been achieved. Lupo's journey to Australia is the result of close collaboration between Schmiding Zoo, Melbourne Zoo, international authorities, veterinarians, and specialized transport companies. With his successful acclimatization to Melbourne, a new phase of Lupo's life begins – with an important role in the service of species conservation. In the coming days, Lupo will meet his future mate for the first time at Melbourne Zoo – a young female tapir from Magdeburg Zoo.
Lupo's departure marks the beginning of a long-term conservation project: Together with his partner, he will establish a genetically healthy breeding line of the endangered lowland tapir in Australia. This species is protected as endangered according to the IUCN Red List – its populations in the wild have been declining for years. In Europe, the conservation breeding program is now so successful that many zoos have reached their captive breeding capacity. To ensure continued genetic diversity and species-appropriate husbandry, this new approach has been taken: establishing a population in Australia.
That's interesting - it seems there might be some confusion here.
Magdeburg does not currently have a 'young female' tapir. The only female they have would be a now nine year old female 'Mary', who's their breeding female. However they do have a young male who's approaching two years old - named Hinti.
I found this video about his preparations for transfer to Australia dated from December of last year;
TAPIR WORLD
So not entirely sure here; it makes little sense to group two young males together. Unless Hinti was originally destined for another facility regionally and it's been discovered he was mis-sexed and is in fact, a female (allowing for a pairing with Lupo).
I think there’s two possibilities here:
1. The ‘male’ tapir at Magdeburg (DOB 28/09/2023) has been misexed and is in fact a female.
2. The article says the young female is coming from Magdeburg, but doesn’t say she was born there. Given what an undertaking it is for European zoos to deal with Australia as an export destination, we can’t rule out that Magdeburg isn’t undertaking the export on behalf of another zoo (i.e. Cologne, which is five hours away and was originally reported as the source of Lupo’s mate). Magdeburg have previously functioned as a powerhouse of tapir breeding and if they’re exporting their young male to Australia, they may well have offered to quarantine and export another zoo’s female while they’re at it.
austrlain zoo gower
Well-Known Member
From the socials
"Melbourne Zoo has welcomed a new star, Lupo, a 140kg South American Tapir with a snorkel-like nose and a love for celery.
The two-and-a-half-year-old arrived from Austria and is already charming keepers and guests as he settles into his new enclosure.
In Austria, Lupo bonded with a capybara.
Now at Melbourne Zoo, he's formed an
unlikely friendship with a local possum, who he now sits and eats with.
Lupo's been galloping around his new
habitat, making fast friends and showing off his enthusiastic appetite.
Keepers are hopeful the charismatic
"dumpling" will find a tapir companion soon launching a brand-new breeding program in the Australia region."
Source - https://x.com/10NewsMelb/status/1945326428712788160
"Melbourne Zoo has welcomed a new star, Lupo, a 140kg South American Tapir with a snorkel-like nose and a love for celery.
The two-and-a-half-year-old arrived from Austria and is already charming keepers and guests as he settles into his new enclosure.
In Austria, Lupo bonded with a capybara.
Now at Melbourne Zoo, he's formed an
unlikely friendship with a local possum, who he now sits and eats with.
Lupo's been galloping around his new
habitat, making fast friends and showing off his enthusiastic appetite.
Keepers are hopeful the charismatic
"dumpling" will find a tapir companion soon launching a brand-new breeding program in the Australia region."
Source - https://x.com/10NewsMelb/status/1945326428712788160
Nice to have confirmation he's arrived, and is doing well, already out on display.
It seems it was mis-reporting re. the female as I had suspected. Hopefully Melbourne can manage to acquire a mate for him in the future though - he's young, so there's absolutely time to do so.
So great to hear THAT Lupo has settled in well, and formed a friendship with a wild possum (gather a brushy'), and about his friendship with a capybara previously. Like all of us, wishing him a happy & healthy long life at MZ (and a girlfriend companion sometime in near future).
I'd assume so, Melbourne have a lot of wild Brush Tailed Possums on site, and they recently built a makeshift house for wild possums in their Australian trail.
I'd assume so, Melbourne have a lot of wild Brush Tailed Possums on site, and they recently built a makeshift house for wild possums in their Australian trail.
Oh nice, that's really cool they set that up for them. In terms of getting inside some of the exhibits: besides hopefully avoiding the carnivores, they should just should avoid going into Gabby & Malu's exhibit, in case they end up like the couple of their conspecifics who have met their end at PZ because the orangutans have flung them.
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Great to have public confirmation of a planned breeding program! The video mentions Lupo quarantined at Adelaide Zoo, before transferring to Melbourne last week.
I have done the tiger experience before and the keepers did see they occasionally find the fur of possums in the enclosure. It’s fascinating to see how high the claw marks are on some of those trees, so having spots for them is a great idea.
Yeah absolutely.
NathanTheAsian
Well-Known Member
I recall the roar and snore keepers telling me quite a few years ago that the possums also get into Zuberi and Ndidi's enclosure, but none of them are yet to make it out alive after.
Yeah they seem to be all over the zoo. A keeper also told me recently that they had begun to attempt to train Malu (Sumatran Orangutan) to give them any Possums he had caught.
Malu seems to have grown a habit of catching any that enter his exhibit. The keeper acknowledged that it wasn't a measure taken to ensure the Possums survival - instead, so that the gruesome scene of Malu tearing apart a possum wouldn't be seen by unsuspecting visitors!
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The Sleepy Hippo
Well-Known Member
And Lupo is on display and having a ball!
From insta:
Check out that adorable wriggly snout!
It's our absolute pleasure to introduce you to two-and-a-half-year-old South American Tapir, Lupo, who has excitingly joined the Melbourne Zoo family after making the trek from Austria this week.
Lupo loves his crunchy vegetables and galloping around his new habitat, located beside the peccaries at the Zoo's railgate entrance.
And if this wasn't already cute enough, he's also affectionately nicknamed 'knödel', which translates to 'dumpling'.
Zoos Victoria on Instagram: "Check out that wriggly snout! It's our absolute pleasure to introduce you to two-and-a-half-year-old South American Tapir, Lupo, who has excitingly joined the Melbourne Zoo family after making the trek from Austria this week. Lupo loves his crunchy vegetables and galloping around his new habitat, located beside the peccaries at the Zoo's railgate entrance. And if this wasn't already cute enough, he's also affectionately nicknamed 'knödel', which translates to ‘dumpling’. "
From insta:
Check out that adorable wriggly snout!
It's our absolute pleasure to introduce you to two-and-a-half-year-old South American Tapir, Lupo, who has excitingly joined the Melbourne Zoo family after making the trek from Austria this week.
Lupo loves his crunchy vegetables and galloping around his new habitat, located beside the peccaries at the Zoo's railgate entrance.
And if this wasn't already cute enough, he's also affectionately nicknamed 'knödel', which translates to 'dumpling'.
Zoos Victoria on Instagram: "Check out that wriggly snout! It's our absolute pleasure to introduce you to two-and-a-half-year-old South American Tapir, Lupo, who has excitingly joined the Melbourne Zoo family after making the trek from Austria this week. Lupo loves his crunchy vegetables and galloping around his new habitat, located beside the peccaries at the Zoo's railgate entrance. And if this wasn't already cute enough, he's also affectionately nicknamed 'knödel', which translates to ‘dumpling’. "
It’s very exciting to finally have him here and on display. Brazilian tapir can potentially live 25-30 years, so hopefully he can enjoy a long life at Melbourne Zoo and sire many offspring once his mate eventually arrives.
Welcome to Australia, Lupo!
Release of Spotted tree frogs:
From socials:
Intrepid conservationists have released 265 Critically Endangered Spotted Tree Frogs to the breathtaking high-elevation slopes near Mt Beauty in Victoria’s northeast. These frogs, bred at Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary, are bringing their precious genetics to support dwindling wild populations. Hop well, little ones!
From socials:
Intrepid conservationists have released 265 Critically Endangered Spotted Tree Frogs to the breathtaking high-elevation slopes near Mt Beauty in Victoria’s northeast. These frogs, bred at Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary, are bringing their precious genetics to support dwindling wild populations. Hop well, little ones!
Unless Melbourne Zoo reconsider coati (with the species set to take off in Australia), I’d be surprised at any new additions to Melbourne’s exotic mammals collection until the Xenarthra IRA is processed (which is realistically at least 2-3 years away).
That’s not to say Melbourne will stagnate in the meantime. They’ll be upgrades and extensions of existing exhibits; and presumably a new Komodo dragon exhibit.
JM01
Well-Known Member
I'm very interested to see what exotic animals Melbourne Zoo brings in after the IRA is processed. If they do decide to bring in new animals. I'm also curious if capybaras will ever be allowed in Victoria