Monarto Safari Park Monarto Zoo News 2016

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

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starting off with a quick snippet from the email newsletter which just got sent out:

The Monarto Zoo baby boom continues with the birth of four Eland calves and the zoo's first Waterbuck calf! The string of recent animal births follows on from the birth of a White Rhino calf, Chimpanzee infant, and American Bison, Addax and Blackbucks calves.
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The four elands were born at the very end of 2015. Photo of all four together here: https://www.facebook.com/MonartoZoo...558331537038/1023106521082210/?type=3&theater

The waterbuck calf has a photo here: https://www.facebook.com/MonartoZoo...558331537038/1024169684309227/?type=3&theater
 
Jabiru96 said:
In regards to chimp paternity, apparently Sandali is the father of baby Enzi in addition to Zuri.
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Yes, this is what was said at the keeper talk I went to yesterday. Sandali also fathered the late Boon. He's formed something of an alliance with the younger adult female, Galatea, whose contraceptive implant seems to be losing its effectiveness. I would not be surprised if Sandali ends up fathering an infant with her in the next couple of years.
 
Four African Hunting Dogs were born on the 13 January 2016 to Jengo and Kibi. They are the first successful litter since 2006.
Puppy love at Monarto Zoo - Monarto Zoo
Puppy love at Monarto Zoo
By Alyssa-Jane Tucker
Alyssa-Jane is Zoos SA's Communications Coordinator

There’s a new top dog at Monarto Zoo – or rather four!

We are excited to announce the arrival of four adorable African Wild Dog puppies.

Born to mum, Kibi, and dad, Jengo, on 13 January 2016, the perfect puppies are the first successful litter to be born at Monarto Zoo since 2006.

Last week, the puppies received their first health check which included first round vaccinations, a full body examination and microchipping.

The three-month-old puppies were given a clean bill of health by vets, weighed in at around 8kg each and sexed as three girls and a little boy.

This week, keepers have been working to familiarize the puppies with the sights and sounds of Monarto Zoo, moving them to a yard where they could acquaint themselves with their new neighbours – our Hyena clan!

Today the puppies will make their public debut out on exhibit.

Monarto Zoo Carnivore Team Leader Sarah Washford said the adventurous pups would enjoy exploring their new home.

“They are quite feisty and confident so I think they’ll no doubt have a great time checking out their new digs,” Sarah said.

“It’s been ten years since our last successful litter of African Wild Dog puppies so it’s wonderful to see how great they are doing.

“Wild dog numbers have dropped significantly in the wild so these puppies will have a critical role to play later in life as part of breeding programs to secure the future of this endangered species.”

African Wild Dogs roam the savannahs and lightly wooded areas of Africa and are considered to be among the continent’s most endangered species.

They once ranged through 39 countries with a population of more than 500,000 individuals that thrived through the turn of the twentieth century. Today, their numbers are less than 7,000 and their population is quite fragmented.

The African Wild Dog has a unique evolutionary line and can trace its ancestry back some 40 million years.

One of Africa’s most successful predators, almost 80 per cent of all wild dog hunts end in a kill. In comparison, the success rate of lions, often viewed as ultimate predators, is only 30 per cent.

The playful puppies are growing day by day, and with lots of fun activities on offer for the school holidays, there’s no better time to stop by Monarto Zoo and say hello to our wild family!
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I went to Monarto on Monday, and saw the 4 pups. Also happy to note many young hoofstock born in the last 6 months including blackbuck, bison, eland, addax and a waterbuck.
 
Jabiru96 said:
A male addax has been born.
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A female has also been born:

No Cookies | The Courier Mail

THESE shy calves born at Monarto Zoo are the hope of the future of the species, with just three addax believed to be left in the wild in their native Saharan Africa.

Poaching, oil drilling by Chinese interests, habitat loss and a recent proliferation of guns following insurgencies and the collapse of regimes has pushed the migratory species of desert-adapted antelope to virtual extinction in the wild.

Hoofs and horns have proved useless against hunting and habitat loss — an extensive air and land survey in March of vast swathes of prime habitat in Niger found just three ‘very nervous’ addax.

A survey in 2010 found 200.

Acting as a modern day ark for species teetering towards extinction, Monarto has bred 35 addax including the two new arrivals since the species was introduced in 1994.

In the latest birth a young adult female, Chiru, gave birth to her first calf, a male, while a female known simply as Blacktag due to a black tag in her ear, gave birth to her second calf, a female.

Curator Beth Pohl said hoofed animals tend to spend their first few days being hidden by their mothers.

“The male who arrived first is now a bit more confident and is being seen hanging around with its mother while she has a feed,” Ms Pohl said.

“They herd has been inspecting him, and so have the Barbary sheep which share their exhibit.

“It is absolutely exciting for us all to have these calves born, not many people can say they are helping breed something that is virtually extinct in the wild.”

With their long spiral horns, the slow moving addax move in small herds led by a matriarch and live to about 20, with mature females breeding once a year.

In the recent past, more than a million Scimitar-horned oryx ranged across North Africa but the species had disappeared from the wild by the 1990s because of hunting and habitat loss.

Monarto Zoo has successfully bred 27 of the oryx.

Now its close relative the addax is perilously close to sharing that fate, with Monarto a lifeline for the future of both species.
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I got an email from Zoos SA today, asking for money. I don't understand what the money is for however (conservation of wild lions, or management of Monarto's lions), the email is very unclear....?

Request repeated here: Levi and Leroy?s Legacy - Zoos SA

Our magnificent African Lions call either Adelaide Zoo or Monarto Zoo home. Over the last 21 years, the lion population in the wild is believed to have been reduced by 43% – the equivalent of 3 generations. With approximately 16,000 – 30,000 African Lions left in the wild, the African Lion is now classified as Vulnerable to extinction.

Monarto Zoo is home to one of Australia’s largest lion prides. Housing 11 lions (five adult females, one adult male and five juveniles), the habitat is always a hive of activity.

In 2003, Monarto Zoo received its first ever lions, two brothers called Levi & Leroy. Two years later, our first females arrived. This was the start of Monarto’s lion pride.

We have successfully bred 4 litters of cubs from Levi & Leroy before their passing. Zoos SA is committed to further breeding programs at Monarto Zoo of this amazing species.

Time is of the essence as our adult females are now heading into their latter years. It is vital that we start planning to ensure the sustainability of the pride. We also have a very small number of current male lions, so potential breeding options are limited in the long term unless we act now.

Please give what you can to help protect African Lions now and in the future by supporting Levi & Leroy’s Legacy today.
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Jabiru96 said:
The money is to start a new lion breeding program (although what the money is to be used for i'm not sure): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRkHlNnM2rs
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The video was good (nice shots), but the information still vague - surely the only thing they need is a new male lion, which is probably relatively easy to obtain. If they are after more housing for subgroups or the new viewing areas in the Master Plan they should say that.
 
I was wondering recently where Monarto Zoo were headed with their lion pride, because, as mentioned above, they need a new breeding male since the males they have are the offspring of four related lionesses.

I'm not sure what the current pride set up is, but last time I checked it was the five adult lionesses and five cubs in one group, and Inkosi in another. Assuming this is still the case, or the male cubs have since been merged with Inkosi to form a coalition, then maybe they require an additional enclosure to fascilitate introductions of a new male to the female pride.

The four founder lionesses are born in 2004, so unless a male is imported in the next few months, I'd say it's likely breeding will be focussed on Kiamba's two daughters born in 2011 and 2013, and Tiombe's two daughters born in 2013.

Of the four original lioness, Tiombe was chosen to breed as she had the most placid nature, and Kiamba as the other three lioness were half-sisters, and as the cousin who came from a different zoo, she was on the outside socially.
 
Some updates from a visit to Monarto today

- An exhibit is under construction across from the meerkats to house African porcupines. Completion date was not yet known. Also part of this development will be a playground.
- Red deer are now mixed in with the fallow deer and blackbuck. They arrived in April.
- Monarto now houses only one bongo following the death of the other.
- Lion fundraiser was in aid of new developments which are required to allow breeding and management of the 3 males and 8 females due to their social dynamic. At present the 8 females are managed as one group. 2 males as another with a single male on his own.

Information from the annual report

- 5 bilbies were born over the past year.
- Visitation last year was 133,699 people an increase of 8% of the previous year.
 
Which bongo died? Neither were old, and the younger of the two only just recently arrived at the zoo. Very sad. I am very excited about the porcupine development.
 
Sunbear12 said:
Some updates from a visit to Monarto today

- An exhibit is under construction across from the meerkats to house African porcupines. Completion date was not yet known.
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people interested in exotic mammals in the country may note that there are currently no porcupines in Australia, so this is good news. (Until a few years ago only capybara and mara were able to be imported, then Brazilian agouti were added, and then South African porcupines).
 
Chlidonias said:
people interested in exotic mammals in the country may note that there are currently no porcupines in Australia, so this is good news. (Until a few years ago only capybara and mara were able to be imported, then Brazilian agouti were added, and then South African porcupines).
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Have any other zoos in the region shown an interest in crested porkies? Would work well for most savannah exhibits, and breed like crazy.
 
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