Monarto Safari Park Monarto Safari Park News 2025

Zorro said:
After following the cows move from the zoos in Auckland,Taronga and Perth its good to see that the final peace moving Putra Mas has reached its conclusion, Its was truly a Mammoth task and undertaking with a adult bull that had a real crate problem for a long time, The team deserve a big congratulations in completing this task
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Absolutely agree. With the arrival of Putra Mas at Monarto Safari Park (12 months on from the import of Burma from Auckland Zoo), that marks the phase out of elephants from four city zoos within the space of a year; and the emergence of two new holders within the same timeframe.

No other population of exotic megafauna has undergone such a dynamic change in holding facilities within the region; not to mention the Australasian elephant population has become the Australian elephant population.
 
A few updates from the Zoos SA Annual Report 2024-2025:
  • All five pairs of Mallee Emu-Wren bred at Monarto for a second breeding success which produced the aforementioned population of 25.
  • Other native births - two Tasmanian Devils, five Greater Bilbies, two Brush-tailed Bettongs, three Yellow-footed Rock-Wallabies and twelve Greater Stick-nest Rats
  • Breeding success included three Mesopotamian Fallow Deer, six American Bison, a Nyala, 20 Ostrich, four Plains Zebra, two giraffe, 18 Eland, 13 Barbary Sheep and two Waterbuck.
  • Four Cheetah were transferred to other zoos; three hyena cubs born to female Kanzi didn’t survive.
  • Over 160+ animals were moved to the Wild Africa area in preparation for the opening of the resort earlier in the year. Among them is trialling a group of five female cheetah in their 51-acre habitat.
  • Native fish were added to the waterholes of Wild Africa.
  • Boodie Bettongia lesueur (p. 51) is now listed as part of the Zoo SA collection. It wasn’t specified if this species is housed at Monarto or Adelaide.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
A few updates from the Zoos SA Annual Report 2024-2025:
  • All five pairs of Mallee Emu-Wren bred at Monarto for a second breeding success which produced the aforementioned population of 25.
  • Other native births - two Tasmanian Devils, five Greater Bilbies, two Brush-tailed Bettongs, three Yellow-footed Rock-Wallabies and twelve Greater Stick-nest Rats
  • Breeding success included three Mesopotamian Fallow Deer, six American Bison, a Nyala, 20 Ostrich, four Plains Zebra, two giraffe, 18 Eland, 13 Barbary Sheep and two Waterbuck.
  • Four Cheetah were transferred to other zoos; three hyena cubs born to female Kanzi didn’t survive.
  • Over 160+ animals were moved to the Wild Africa area in preparation for the opening of the resort earlier in the year. Among them is trialling a group of five female cheetah in their 51-acre habitat.
  • Native fish were added to the waterholes of Wild Africa.
  • Boodie Bettongia lesueur (p. 51) is now listed as part of the Zoo SA collection. It wasn’t specified if this species is housed at Monarto or Adelaide.
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They probably don't even report Blackbuck and Scimitar Horned Oryx births anymore :)
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Boodie Bettongia lesueur (p. 51) is now listed as part of the Zoo SA collection. It wasn’t specified if this species is housed at Monarto or Adelaide.
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Nibblet the Boodie lives out at Monarto, in an off-display enclosure where he lives alone. I got to explore his enclosure during the Keeper for a Day experience a few months ago (although I didn't see him which was a real shame), which included a tour of some of their native species facilities.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
A few updates from the Zoos SA Annual Report 2024-2025:
  • All five pairs of Mallee Emu-Wren bred at Monarto for a second breeding success which produced the aforementioned population of 25.
  • Other native births - two Tasmanian Devils, five Greater Bilbies, two Brush-tailed Bettongs, three Yellow-footed Rock-Wallabies and twelve Greater Stick-nest Rats
  • Breeding success included three Mesopotamian Fallow Deer, six American Bison, a Nyala, 20 Ostrich, four Plains Zebra, two giraffe, 18 Eland, 13 Barbary Sheep and two Waterbuck.
  • Four Cheetah were transferred to other zoos; three hyena cubs born to female Kanzi didn’t survive.
  • Over 160+ animals were moved to the Wild Africa area in preparation for the opening of the resort earlier in the year. Among them is trialling a group of five female cheetah in their 51-acre habitat.
  • Native fish were added to the waterholes of Wild Africa.
  • Boodie Bettongia lesueur (p. 51) is now listed as part of the Zoo SA collection. It wasn’t specified if this species is housed at Monarto or Adelaide.
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18 eland seems like they must be expanding the herd for wild Africa. Thats a rather large increase.

It will be interesting to see how the female cheetah go, if they are able to form their own home ranges and live together. Interesting that they didn't try and form a male coalition and put them in. Hopefully they will try and keep the white rhino in a similar manner.
 
Zorro said:
A new video of Putra Mas put out one hour ago on the Monarto zoos Facebook page shows him outside the barn eating while watching one of the cows on the next yard! @Zoofan15
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Here’s the video of him sleeping overnight:


And the text from the latest update:

From Zoos SA’s socials:

Putra Mas has been resting and settling in with support from our elephant care team and keepers from Perth Zoo who know him well. Their knowledge, familiarity and gentle cues are helping ensure a smooth transition as he becomes accustomed to his new routine.

Today, he spent a little time outside his barn. These early steps are all about giving him the space and freedom to adjust at a pace that feels right for him. There are no timelines or expectations — just steady, thoughtful care guided by what he’s comfortable with.

We’ll continue to take things slowly and let Putra Mas — and all of our elephants — set the pace, in their time and on their terms.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Here’s the video of him sleeping overnight:


And the text from the latest update:

From Zoos SA’s socials:

Putra Mas has been resting and settling in with support from our elephant care team and keepers from Perth Zoo who know him well. Their knowledge, familiarity and gentle cues are helping ensure a smooth transition as he becomes accustomed to his new routine.

Today, he spent a little time outside his barn. These early steps are all about giving him the space and freedom to adjust at a pace that feels right for him. There are no timelines or expectations — just steady, thoughtful care guided by what he’s comfortable with.

We’ll continue to take things slowly and let Putra Mas — and all of our elephants — set the pace, in their time and on their terms.
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Thank you @Zoofan15
 
First American bison calf of the season:

From socials:

Earlier in the week we welcomed the first American Bison calf of the season and we’re hopeful we might see a few more arrivals in the coming weeks.

Bison hold a special place in Monarto Safari Park’s history, being the very first species to call the park home back in 1983.

During the 19th century, commercial hunting, habitat loss and bovine diseases pushed this mighty species to the brink of extinction. Thanks to conservation efforts, American Bison have made a partial recovery, with around 15,000 individuals now living in the wild, alongside many more cared for in reserves, national parks and zoos around the world.
 
Zorro said:
A new video of some of the elephants just gone up on the zoos FB page
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Here’s the link:

8.9K views · 495 reactions | How quickly a year goes! It was twelve months ago today that we welcomed Burma from Auckland Zoo , as the first arrival of the new Monarto Safari Park elephant herd. Seeing the South Australian community lining the streets to welcome her is something we’ll always remember, as we saw just how excited people were to welcome elephants back to our state after 30 years. Since then, the rest of the herd has joined her: Permai from Perth Zoo in January; Tang Mo and Pak Boon from Taronga Zoo Sydney arrived in April; and bull elephant Putra Mas completing his trip across the Nullarbor just last week and now settling in well. We’re so grateful to all the people, schools, and businesses who supported our community fundraising campaign in August 2023, without whom this wouldn’t have been possible. And of course, it’s been an immense collaboration with zoos across Australasia to bring these elephants to Monarto Safari Park. All five elephants continue to settle into their new home. Keepers continue to take their cues from each elephant and provide them with the time and opportunity to build confidence, explore connections, and discover what works best for them – both individually and as a cohesive herd. What a journey it’s been this past year – we’re so excited to see where it takes us in the many years to come as we provide a forever home for Burma, Permai, Pak Boon, Tang Mo, and Putra Mas. If you’d love to be part of their story and visit them all year round, there’s never been a better time — Life Memberships are on sale now, link in comments. | Monarto Safari Park
 
A Common Eland was recently born in the mixed giraffe enclosure, attracting some attention from the giraffe - reported on their FB page.

Photo credit: Geoff Brooks
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Zorro said:
The new video of Putra Mas playing in the waterhole is absolutely wonderful to see he looks so happy there full credit to his keeper team! :) @Zoofan15
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Here’s the link:

129K views · 6.6K reactions | Putra Mas is still settling in well at Monarto Safari Park and is showing all the signs of a healthy young bull. He has now entered his natural musth period, a normal hormonal cycle for mature male Asian Elephants. During musth, testosterone levels can rise up to 60 times higher than usual, which can lead to more active, restless behaviour. While he is in musth, Putra Mas will spend time in a separate habitat from the female elephants. Visitors will still be able to see him, and the cows will continue getting used to his presence nearby. Interactions between them will resume once this musth period naturally ends in the coming months. You can still expect to see any or all of the five elephants out on habitat during your visit, but this varies throughout the day as they choose to move between their indoor and outdoor spaces. Putra Mas is doing exactly what a healthy bull entering musth should be doing, and our team is keeping a close eye on his progress as he continues settling into his new home. | Monarto Safari Park

I agree he’s making the most of his new facilities, especially the pools.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Here’s the link:

129K views · 6.6K reactions | Putra Mas is still settling in well at Monarto Safari Park and is showing all the signs of a healthy young bull. He has now entered his natural musth period, a normal hormonal cycle for mature male Asian Elephants. During musth, testosterone levels can rise up to 60 times higher than usual, which can lead to more active, restless behaviour. While he is in musth, Putra Mas will spend time in a separate habitat from the female elephants. Visitors will still be able to see him, and the cows will continue getting used to his presence nearby. Interactions between them will resume once this musth period naturally ends in the coming months. You can still expect to see any or all of the five elephants out on habitat during your visit, but this varies throughout the day as they choose to move between their indoor and outdoor spaces. Putra Mas is doing exactly what a healthy bull entering musth should be doing, and our team is keeping a close eye on his progress as he continues settling into his new home. | Monarto Safari Park

I agree he’s making the most of his new facilities, especially the pools.
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Thank you @Zoofan15 yes he is enjoying that mud pool to the max I guess it would have to be about two metres deep the way he submerges almost looking like a hippo :D
 
Zorro said:
Agreed he looks so happy and content it's amazing how quickly he has settled into his new home. Next step the introductions to the females this will be very interesting to follow
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I’m really excited for this to begin. His December/January musth cycles used to conclude April/May; so assuming a similar length, then his current musth cycle should wrap up circa March 2026, enabling introductions to start.

The coverage from Zoos SA has been fantastic, though I’d love to see more content around the cows reactions to him being on site and the variances in their interest towards him.
 
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