Perth Zoo Things to see.

Electus Parrot

Electus Parrot

Well-Known Member
In about 2 weeks time I am heading to Perth to see some family and I am planning to go to Perth Zoo, and I was wondering if anyone had some recommendations on animals I really should look out for and if anyone wanted me to get some progress of anything that is at the zoo.

Thanks,
Eclectus Parrot.
 
I have to say that Perth zoo has a great layout with a variety of different species. The Asian and African areas of the zoo are must sees. :)
 
I haven't been for a few years but the number one must-see is the numbat. They have a large off-show breeding facility with usually just one animal on exhibit. The best time to see it is at the advertised feeding time which used to be around 10am. I was going to say that Perth is the only zoo to have them but I've just looked on ISIS and there is a solitary female at Cleland Wildlife Park in Stirling SA which is near to you. Perth is a great zoo, can you tell us how the improvements to the orang-utan house and elephant facilities look. Thanks
 
id agree with the numbat suggestion.
you will find Perth Zoo is actually quite a compact little zoo; flat, easy to get around and it wont take you all day. in saying that, if you had a family and wanted to spend a day there then there is more than enough to see, and the path layout makes it really easy to backtrack...
other dont misses IMO...
the nocturnal house and reptile centre. neither are earth shattering in design or particularly modern but they do have a number of rarely seen species, some endemic to WA and the displays themselves are great.
asian elephants
african savannah
silvery gibbons
sumatran orangs
wetland aviary
in fact the whole zoo is good. sumatran tiger, red panda exhibit and a few others arent anything mind-blowing but on the whole Perth Zoo is a great place
 
Thanks, I did see the numbats at Cleland when they had a pair last year but I am very excited to see them again. Just a quick question do they have a large exotic reptile collection or is it very small?
 
Electus Parrot said:
Just a quick question do they have a large exotic reptile collection or is it very small?
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The reptile collection is almost entirely native, and although not huge is quite nicely presented.

Try and catch the numbat keeper talk as the numbat can be quite elusive during the day.
 
MARK said:
Maybe you could ask them what are there plans with the Asian elephants
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Went to Perth zoo yesterday. At the elephant keeper talk they said that they have plans to breed the younger female (whos name escpaes me) and the bull but they havent had much luck of late. They had been having trouble with natural insemination as both the elephants had never seen a breeding before and when the bull went to mount, the female got scarred and he became a bit aggressive. They have tried AI but as there are very few specialisists in the world who do this work and due to the fact that it's very difficult to determine exactally when the female will be in estrus it can be very expensive for them (I think the keeper said about $40,000 per try - They have tried three times the first time there were two follicles and they think that she may have aborted the pregnancy as elephants usually only have one baby, the second time the semen being produced by the elephants in Australia wasn't of good quality and the third they missed her cycle by two weeks). So they are currently trying a new technique where they restrain the bull with a leg chain and introduce the female, allowing the male to mount using positive reinforcement to show them that its not a big deal so that when the time comes hopefully they will have better results.
 
Pygathrix said:
Try and catch the numbat keeper talk as the numbat can be quite elusive during the day.
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I didnt manage to see any numbats in the numbat enclosure however I did see 2 or 3 running around the zoo grounds. Not sure if this is something that was intentional or accidental.
 
I didnt realise before I went to Perth Zoo that there was a ferral palm squirrel population at the zoo so I probably was wrong. But from memory I don't think that they did look like that, at first I thought that they may be squirrels but the stripes were more on their tail and band like rather than the lenghtwise stripes of the palm squirrel - or maybe i was just imagining that. The more I think about it the less I can remember :confused:. Sorry for any confusion I might have caused:p
 
They are five-striped palm squirrels Funambulus pennantii, an Indian species. Perth Zoo is well known (relatively) for the free-ranging population. All animals that have ended up in the pet trade stem originally from PZ, possibly via Taronga or smaller collections. They do well party due to climate but also PZ's extensive palm collection.

Definitely not numbats.
 
I saw many as I walked around the zoo and I think I saw ten where the aviary complex was. They are very fun to watch and they would make a good exhibit, maybe?
 
Electus Parrot said:
I saw many as I walked around the zoo and I think I saw ten where the aviary complex was. They are very fun to watch and they would make a good exhibit, maybe?
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Strangely when PZ had a captive display near the orangs you never saw them! I'm not sure how other Australian collections get on, but I suspect that palm squirrel husbandry is not a million miles away from Siberian chipmunks, which are commonly kept as pets in the UK.
 
Taronga has some on display in the Moore Park aviary, along with Tricolored Mannakins, Mandarin Ducks, Lady Amhearst Pheasants and Bleeding-Heart Pigeons. The squirrells are often seen bunched up in a pile in the sun, but others are usually active, running around the exhibit, climbing over the wire. But not overly popular, probably because the very old aviary has not got the best viewing options.

http://www.zoochat.com/34/moore-park-aviary-84853/
 
Revving up an old thread here, but I saw palm squirrels for sale yesterday in a suburban Sydney pet shop for $1500 each.
 
Ara said:
Revving up an old thread here, but I saw palm squirrels for sale yesterday in a suburban Sydney pet shop for $1500 each.
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Really? I never knew you could get them as pets in Australia. Where abouts in Sydney? (*Snickers*)
 
they are sold in a pet shop not far from me in western sydney. Talking to the owners they breed them but have a licencs to do so and can only sell them if they are desexed. Quite intresting little critters.
 
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