Australian Reptile Park Australian Reptile Park News

J

Jabiru96

Well-Known Member
I have started this thread as there seems to be no permanent thread about arrivals/hatchings, etc.

0.0.22 Burmese Python hatched
0.0.2 Pignosed Turtle have arrived
0.1 Eastern Quoll born
 
22 Burmese Python? There must be some demand from the smaller wildlife parks.

:p

Hix
 
I suspect what Hix was getting at is, without the ability to disperse Burmese hatchlings to private keepers and it being uneconomic to export them, that many eggs would not have been incubated if there isn't interest in buying them from other parks.
 
CGSwans said:
I suspect what Hix was getting at is, without the ability to disperse Burmese hatchlings to private keepers and it being uneconomic to export them, that many eggs would not have been incubated if there isn't interest in buying them from other parks.
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My post wasn't intended to relate to Hix's at all, I was curious as to if this is a large number for this species.
 
I read somewhere that Burmese can lay 40 or 50 eggs at a time.

Is anyone in Australia trying to breed Retics?
 
Ara said:
Is anyone in Australia trying to breed Retics?
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I suspect not, for the reasons CGSwans mentioned above. Then again, I didn't think anyone was trying to breed Burmese .....

:p

Hix
 
There hasn't been any recent newsy items for the Australian Reptile Park, but today they sent out a newsletter detailing a new precinct: Eric’s Central Coast Nature Walk, their first new exhibit for some time.

I'm not 100% sure where this is, but suspect it is a redevelopment of "Eric's Mintbush Walk", and possibly the nearby aviaries. A park map is available here: Park Map, although it doesn't yet feature the new walk.

As well as an aviary, there is a new frog exhibit, and a newly-built "Noctarium", which sounds very cool and features a number of new species, most excitingly Mountain Pygmy Possums.

The Australian Reptile Park is delighted to announce the opening of a new precinct; Eric’s Central Coast Nature Walk. The walk is named after the beloved crocodile, Eric, who was the Park’s main attraction between 1989 and 2007. Eric’s Central Coast Nature Walk is set in a beautiful bushland setting and features loads of new animals, most found locally in the Somersby area.

A brand new Noctarium has just been completed and is filled with some exciting new species. There are Mountain pygmy possums, a critically endangered marsupial from Alpine Australia, tiny feather tail gliders, the endangered Brush tail bettong and, often mistaken for an owl, the majestic tawny frog mouth. Our first reptile will arrive this week, the Southern leaf-tail gecko, which is native to the Central Coast. The first Noctarium in the Southern Hemisphere was actually built at the Wyoming Australian Reptile Park in the early 1970’s by Eric Worrell. It’s a fitting tribute to this great naturalist and founder of the Australian Reptile Park.

Eric’s Central Coast Nature Walk also features some beautiful native plants, including the spectacular local species of waratah. There’s a magnificent tree hollow that includes animatronic animals including a goanna, possum, python, king parrot and laughing kookaburra. Don’t forget to look up as there are nine animal statues in the trees – most are native to the area, all except one!

Our beautiful aviary is also complete and features the scarlet honeyeater, regent bower bird, bush stone curlew (locally endangered), regent honeyeater (endangered) bower bird and turquoise parrot, which used to be prolific on the Central Coast but is now considered rare. The aviary features world class interpretative displays, including bird calls.

There’s a spectacularly landscaped Somersby plateau frog habitat, with local frog species the stripped marsh, dwarf green tree and Persons tree frog. It also features interpretative display, including frog calls.
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I think there is a web-copy of the e-newsletter available here: http://reptilepark.createsend1.com/...EF23F30FEDED/F6C72360AAE8B2A8CE63909E3969C05F and you can subscribe to the e-newsletter here: Mailing List Subscribe/Unsubscribe - Australia Reptile Park
 
ooh mountain pigmy possum is good!!

This is this one of the places that got Komodo dragon recently too, isn't it?
 
Chlidonias said:
ooh mountain pigmy possum is good!!

This is this one of the places that got Komodo dragon recently too, isn't it?
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Yes, they have a pair, but I'm not sure if they are on display yet - I suspect they would make a news item out of it, or at least list them on their website.

There is a news section on their website (What's New - Australia Reptile Park), which mentions the annual weighing of their largest Reticulated Python (139kg), the very regular painting of their dinosaur, various encounters, programmes, etc, and collecting eggs from the alligator exhibit, which I've copied below:

27th December 2012

It’s summer-time action at the Australian Reptile Park and our female American alligators have just started laying eggs. Our experienced keepers will start “raiding” the nests tomorrow as the female ‘gators will lay up to 500 eggs. We house the largest collection of American alligators in Australia, with around 40 alligators in our giant lagoon.

Nest-raiding requires four very brave Reptile Keepers. Three keepers will restrain the female alligator while the other keeper raids the nest, removing up to 60 eggs. The mother is in a high maternal state and aggressively guards her eggs, so extreme care must be taken. This year, we have an additional obstacle. A young male rogue ‘gator has been charging keepers and is quite hostile. “We’re not yet sure whether he is the boss, or thinks he’s the boss of the other male alligators. But he definitely presents a danger”, says Executive Manager, Tim Faulkner. American alligators have one of the strongest jaw pressures of any animal and one bite can be limb or even life-threatening.

Alligator mothers are excellent protectors and defend their young extremely well. In the wild, she’ll guard the eggs until they hatch, then gently dig the hatchlings out, take them in her mouth to the water and protect them while they grow and learn survival skills. The biggest threat to a baby alligator is another alligator, as the species are cannibals.

All alligator eggs that are laid will be removed. They won’t hatch here in Australia, because the climate’s too hot. Amazingly, you can regulate the sex of a crocodilian by incubating the temperature at 29 degrees for female or 32 degrees for male. Baby alligators will then hatch in around 70 days. The Australian Reptile Park is the only zoo in Australia that breeds American alligators and we supply zoos both here and internationally.
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Does anyone know howmany mountain pygmy possums they have and how their changes on breeding them are ?
 
I always like it when zoos/animal parks promote local animals and plants so this Central Coast Nature Walk is a great idea.

I understand the current plan for mountain pygmy possums is to build up the captive populations for release in the wild at various sites, including in the mountains of the Hunter region, so I suppose the Reptile Park is part of all that?
 
vogelcommando said:
Does anyone know howmany mountain pygmy possums they have and how their changes on breeding them are ?
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They don't actually have any listed on the ZAA regional census yet, so I'm not sure how many they have. As Jet said, if they want to build up the captive population they will presumably be obtianing a pair or more, and as this species is being bred in captivity there should be a reasonably good chance of success.
 
The Park has announced, on facebook, their first breeding of Veiled Chameleons - 44 eggs have been laid.
 
cute picture on the link
Forklift needed for tortoise health check - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
10 July 2013

A giant of the reptile world will step onto the scales today as part of his first-ever health check.

The Australian Reptile Park's 45-year-old Galapagos tortoise known as 'Dippy', will need a forklift and industrial scales for his weigh-in at Somersby on the Central Coast this morning.

The Park's senior curator, Liz Vella says the best way to gauge their health during winter is by weighing them.

"We're guessing he's going to be over 100 kilos," she said.

"Possibly even about 150 kilos, but it's really difficult to tell because they've got that shell and everything in their body, so we're thinking about 150 kilos."

"It's not such an easy task, so we're taking him down the road, putting him on big stand-on scales and getting an accurate weight on him.

"Dippy has actually never been weighed before, we've just judged his body condition, but he's starting to mature so it's a really good time to start noting down his weight and keeping on top of it."

"We'll probably do this as an annual check, just to ensure that he hasn't lost weight or put on too much."

"Winter is always a time that they can drop in health, just because it's so cool and they're used to a really warm climate."
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Bad news from the Park's facebook page:

It is with great sadness that we confirm there was a break-in last night at our Park resulting in the theft of a number of various reptiles. All remaining animals are accounted for and safe. A police investigation is currently underway, however if you have any information, please contact CRIMESTOPPERS on 1800 333 000. We would also like to thank everyone for their concern and well wishes. We all hope to see the safe return of our beloved animals.
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from news.com -


THIEVES stole 23 animals including an alligator from the Australian Reptile Park overnight.

Police were called to the facility on the Pacific Highway, Somersby, following reports of a break and enter about 11am.

Staff told police approximately 23 various reptiles were allegedly stolen from the park including dragons, lizards and a baby alligator 20cm long.

Earlier reports that Elvis, a five-metre saltwater croc, who featured in the Daily Telegraph's GI Journo section on Saturday, had been stolen, are not true.

There are concerns for the reptiles as some are sensitive and require high maintenance, and without proper care there is a significant risk of them not surviving.

Australian Reptile Park senior curator Liz Vella said they were unsure exactly which animals and how many were missing.

``We haven't been able to get into the park to do an animal count because the police are still taking fingerprints and investigating,'' she said.

She said the animals stolen were all part of the park's educational collection.

``These are the ones we take out to show our visitors,'' she said.

``They are very rare and specialised - they aren't dangerous but they need our care. A lot of them are also used in our regional breeding programs with other zoos.''

Ms Vella said the animals taken were a mix between exotic and native and included geckos, lizards and a baby alligator.

``We're devastated. We love these animals like they are our own,'' she said.

``They all have their own personalities and we are really worried about them.

Staff were alerted to the security breach after their surveillance cameras detected the intruders between 11pm and 12am.

Police are appealing to any witnesses to the incident, or anyone who may have any information about the reptiles to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.
 
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