Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo news 2016

Nothing too noteworthy in my visit today, probably the most exciting is that the male long-beaked echidna is on display in front of the platypus house that was previously occupied by (common?) wombat (although I did not get to see him :(). Other notes from my visit:

-the Asian elephant exhibit is "undergoing improvements". One female was with Gung (pretty sure it was Tang Mo), while the other two (Pak Boon and Tukta) were locked in the barn.
-there are now New Zealand fur seals in the bottom seal pool (that up until recently had rehabilitating green sea turtles).
-tiger quoll is off display in the nocturnal house (for exhibit renovation).
-lastly, the Nothern nail-tail wallabies have been removed from the walk-in as they were too skittish, and are instead on display right next to it in an exhibit with koala and short-beaked echidna.
 
Jabiru96 said:
Nothing too noteworthy in my visit today, probably the most exciting is that the male long-beaked echidna is on display in front of the platypus house that was previously occupied by (common?) wombat (although I did not get to see him :().
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this is just an outside enclosure? I'm not sure anyone else will see him either in that case.

Is this enclosure the one which the pair were in previously, for years before they were placed in the nocturnal house?
 
Chlidonias said:
this is just an outside enclosure? I'm not sure anyone else will see him either in that case.

Is this enclosure the one which the pair were in previously, for years before they were placed in the nocturnal house?
Click to expand...

Well, they will have a better chance of spotting him than when he was off-display!!!! :D

I don't think this is the same exhibit, wasn't that a largely hidden well-vegetated yard? This one is right in the middle of the Australian area and has had Wombats for a while. It's all outside, and rather un-vegetated I think/
 
As zooboy said, this the rather long, open enclosure with grasses as vegetation cover (EDIT: this is then in fact their original exhibit! :D). There is also a small, indoor burrow with glass viewing in the platypus house (although he wasn't in there). I saw a pile of sand right next to a clump of grass and so I assume he had neatly dug himself into a good hiding spot, which unfortunately for me made him impossible to see!
 
zooboy28 said:
Well, they will have a better chance of spotting him than when he was off-display!!!! :D

I don't think this is the same exhibit, wasn't that a largely hidden well-vegetated yard? This one is right in the middle of the Australian area and has had Wombats for a while. It's all outside, and rather un-vegetated I think/
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It's the same one, although it's changed a bit since the long-beakeds were in it last (at the time, as you recall, it was basically just a well-planted yard). All the same, you'd have to be very, very lucky to see the echidna. I remember when they were in there previously, I never ever caught sight of them.

Although now I think about it - didn't that exhibit have a viewing area inside the platypus house where you could see the wombat sleeping (next to the hopping mice)? Is that still there for the echidna? (EDIT: Jabiru96 beat me to it! I would think that maybe raises the chances of seeing him a little bit.)
 
Best time to see him out and about is the end of the day when the sun has just gone down but it's not yet dark. And you have to approach quietly, if there is anyone else around you won't see him, and as soon as he knows you're there he will disappear again.

:p

Hix
 
Two scheltopusik have hatched, the first in Australia in 25 years!

From Facebook:

Our reptile keepers were thrilled to see the head of this tiny limbless lizard poking out of its egg one morning. This is one of two Scheltopusik recently hatched at Taronga, the first of their species to be bred in Australia in over 25 years! Known for hiding underground or in leaf litter, they can be just as hard to find as their name is to pronounce. Photo by Stu Kozlowski.
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Jabiru96 said:
Asian elephant Pak Boon is pregnant and due in 2017!: https://taronga.org.au/media/media-release/2016-04-13/taronga-expects-elephant-calf-2017
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Fantastic news! If she's due in April 2017, she must be 10 months pregnant, which is a later announcement that their usual 5 month announcements. I'm glad though, whenever they announce an elephant pregnancy, it always seems an eternity away when it's still two calendar years away.

I understand zoos have encountered difficulty in breeding elephants that have not bred for a long time so considering Pak Boon's last calf was born in 2010, it's good to finally see a second calf from her. Tukta will be almost 7 years old when her sibling is born and at a perfect age to learn from the experience.

I don't hold out much hope of Tang Mo ever falling pregnant. She's 17 now and edging closer and closer to 24 :(
 
While not strictly Taronga Zoo news, this article may be of interest to those who have followed Taronga Zoo's Sumatran tigers over the years:

Oldest tiger in captivity turns 25 - Honolulu, Hawaii News and Weather - KITV Channel 4

Djelita is the granddaughter of Nico and Meta, Taronga Zoo's original pair of tiger, from which most of the tigers in the region are descended. Nico and Meta's daughter, Kali (1985) was sent to San Diego Zoo and produced several cubs, including Djelita in 1991. She is now the oldest tiger in the world. Could be something in the genes as Australasia could be looking to breaks some records of it's own. Nico and Meta's son, Shiva (1988) produced four cubs, all of which are alive today:

Kemiri (1994)
Juara (1995)
Ramalon (1995)
Dougall (1995)

If Kemiri lives until her 22nd birthday in November, she will surpass the current Australasian record of 21 years set by her own mother, Selatan, when she died in 2012.

Other tigers entering their 20s this year include Rokan (1996) at Wellington Zoo and his sister Malu (1996) at Mogo Zoo.
 
Male lyrebirds name is echo. I was talking to a keeper on Tuesday about him. He is being chased around the Blue Mountains walk through by the female. He is a lovely boy.
 
Interesting... shows 5 chimps all up... and damned if the one focused on doesn't look a lot like Lisa, and with the same habits... lol!

T.
 
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