Taronga Western Plains Zoo Taronga Western Plains Zoo 2014

J

Jabiru96

Well-Known Member
Although this news is from 2013 (or possibly even very early 2014), it has only been reported recently so I decided to create a new thread.

Recent births have included 15 blackbuck as well as one of each: zebra, wapiti, addax and eland.
 
I was in Dubbo the other and had the opportunity to do a quick circuit of the zoo (mainly looking for birds) and I noticed the Dromedaries and Aoudad (Barbary Sheep) are not in their normal enclosure - a single black Rhino had the whole enclosure to himself. The camels and Barbary sheep have been reocated to one of the rocky-substrate ungulate exhibits that used to have blackbuck (at the other end of the zoo).

:p

Hix
 
More Galapagos Tortoise breeding success announced on TWPZ's Facebook page:

We’re delighted to announce further success in our Galapagos Tortoise breeding program, with two tiny tortoises hatching on 24 and 26 January. These hatchlings follow our breakthrough breeding achievement in 2011 when we became the first Zoo in Australasia to successfully breed Galapagos Tortoise. NJ is now three years old and weighs in at 1100 grams.
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Lots of photos there too: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.711620178881866.1073741888.162191930491363&type=1
 
Congrats on this achievement!

Any news on to which (sub-)species the breeding Galapagos giants at TWPZ may be assigned to?
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Congrats on this achievement!

Any news on to which (sub-)species the breeding Galapagos giants at TWPZ may be assigned to?
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It is a great achievement, and possibly a result of the relatively large group held here - 3.2.1. I have no idea what subspecies they would be, nor whether they would necessarily be a pure subspecies, as I'm not sure the adults are.
 
There is also an article on the hatchlings on the zoo's website: https://taronga.org.au/news/2014-04-30/zoos-new-galapagos-breeding-success

Taronga Western Plains Zoo is thrilled to announce further success in its Galapagos Tortoise breeding program, with two hatchlings born on 24 and 26 January 2014.

These hatchlings follow the Zoo’s breakthrough breeding achievement in 2011, being the first Zoo in Australasia to successfully breed Galapagos Tortoise.

The two new hatchlings are both doing well under the watchful eye of their keepers and are gradually gaining weight. They now weigh approximately 30 grams more than when they hatched.

“Like adult Galapagos Tortoise, the hatchlings respond to bright coloured foods such as hibiscus and rose petals, but they also enjoy small amounts of green vegetables and browse,” said Supervisor, Jennifer Conaghan.

“At present the hatchlings are being kept in an off-display area that is temperature controlled to ensure optimum conditions for them, and they spend some time out in the sun with their keepers each day. They are currently too small to join the three year old hatchling, NJ, born in 2011, which now weighs 1100grams,” said Jennifer.

The continued breeding success of this species is testament to the dedication and expertise of the team at the Zoo, who are working tirelessly to perfect incubation techniques and monitoring of the females when in oestrus.

“The hatchlings will take 20 – 25 years before they reach their full size and can live up to 150 years. We will be able to determine if these two hatchlings are male or female once they reach five years of age,” said Jennifer.

“We are hopeful we can continue to build on this success again later this year, as the 2014 breeding season has already commenced with lots of early interest from the males in the females.”

Galapagos Tortoise are classified as vulnerable in the wild, the population could be as low as 10,000 remaining on the Galapagos Archipelago, where feral animals are the main threat to the species.
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Kifaru Bwana said:
Congrats on this achievement!

Any news on to which (sub-)species the breeding Galapagos giants at TWPZ may be assigned to?
Click to expand...

I don't know either - I just looked at some photos I took a couple of years back - one graphic identified them as Geochelone elephantopus, and an enclosure label said Geochelone nigra.

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
I don't know either - I just looked at some photos I took a couple of years back - one graphic identified them as Geochelone elephantopus, and an enclosure label said Geochelone nigra.

:p

Hix
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Not even a bit of history or origins from other zoos?
They claimed the males had just reached maturity (that is not too old …).
 
how many adults does Western Plains have? According to the following link, in 1980 Taronga Zoo had 1.2 G. elephantopus guentheri (the information presumably having come from the 1981 IZY).
Galapagos Islands Guided Tour - The Endangered Galapagos Giant Tortoise
.....one male and two females of G. e. guentheri were held at Sydney....
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However I think they have also imported G. e. elephantopus from the Honolulu colony, yes?
 
Chlidonias said:
how many adults does Western Plains have? According to the following link, in 1980 Taronga Zoo had 1.2 G. elephantopus guentheri (the information presumably having come from the 1981 IZY).
Galapagos Islands Guided Tour - The Endangered Galapagos Giant Tortoise


However I think they have also imported G. e. elephantopus from the Honolulu colony, yes?
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Taronga's annual report lists 1.2 G.e.guntheri every year up until the 1982-1983 report where they were just listed as G. elephantopus. In that same report 3.3 were imported from Honolulu, and all nine were then sent to the new enclosure built for them at Western Plains. The subspecies imported was not identified.

In the 1984-84 and subsequent Annual Reports (until 1996-97 when they stopped publishing the animal inventory) the 3.3 were marked as being on breeding loan from Honolulu Zoo.

:p

Hix
 
glyn said:
In March a tender was awarded for the construction of the new 'critical breeding elephant facility'.
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Interesting name, l assumed it would be a bull holding facility.
 
Hix said:
Taronga's annual report lists 1.2 G.e.guntheri every year up until the 1982-1983 report where they were just listed as G. elephantopus. In that same report 3.3 were imported from Honolulu, and all nine were then sent to the new enclosure built for them at Western Plains. The subspecies imported was not identified.

In the 1984-84 and subsequent Annual Reports (until 1996-97 when they stopped publishing the animal inventory) the 3.3 were marked as being on breeding loan from Honolulu Zoo.
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huh. That sounds like a way of just avoiding admitting they are mixing different subspecies together (if the original identification of the guentheri was correct and I don't see why it wouldn't have been if they knew where they came from).
 
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