Halls Gap Zoo Halls Gap Zoo

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Sunbear12 said:
2 fennec foxes have gone on display at Halls's Gap. Their names are Jeff and Jorja.
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This is great news, fennec foxes are a great species for Halls Gap to acquire, and the recent breeding success is good news for the regional population. The photos show an enclosure that looks similar to the one constructed for Meerkats, does anyone know where this was built?

I assume the pair came from Taronga Zoo, and would be siblings from the litter born at the very end of 2012?
 
Just wanted to let you all know, that Halls Gap Zoo is having a fundraiser day on 23rd March - I just saw the ad on TV.

Gold Coin Donation to get in the gates, and lots of other fundraising activities inside like face painting etc. All proceeds for the day are going to the local CFA, to say thanks to them for helping protect the zoo in the recent bush fires.

So for anyone in Melbourne etc who have been meaning to come visit, but keep putting it off, March 23rd is a great time to visit. :)

Also, not sure if anyone saw it, but the zoo featured on Bondi Vet at the start of the month: Bondi Vet - S6 Ep. 3 - Network Ten
 
So I went to the Fundraising day for the CFA/SES yesterday, and arrived 1hr after open, and it was VERRRRY busy, as you can see. We actually had to park along the road to the zoo (along with many, many others, and had to walk 1km to get to the front gate).

So we arrived at 11am, and didn't get in the gates until 12:30. :D

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Needless to say, I think they would have made a STACK of money for the local CFA & SES. :D
 
Sunbear12 said:
Just found this news from back in October [2012]. Greg Cullel owner of Hall's Gap Zoo had applied for permission to house baboons, golden lion tamarins, black and white ruffed lemurs and white cheeked gibbon but was knocked back over noise concerns. Can sort of understand the baboons and gibbons but knocking back the tamarins and lemurs just seems odd.
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Original post and story here: https://www.zoochat.com/community/posts/714379

The decision was appealed, and the zoo was allowed to keep golden lion tamarins.

Story here: Tribunal rules zoo cannot house baboons, lemurs because of unacceptable noise levels - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The State's planning umpire has ruled against a western Victorian zoo housing new baboons, lemurs or gibbon monkey species because of unacceptable noise levels.

The Halls Gap Zoo wanted to introduce extra monkey enclosures, but the Northern Grampians Shire rejected its plans last year.

It wanted to host a white-cheeked gibbon, a golden lion tamarin, a hamadryas baboon and a black and white ruff lemur.

The zoo launched an appeal at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

VCAT handed down its ruling this week considering the decibel levels of each species, the distance from which the animals can be heard and measures to limit noise beyond the zoo's boundaries.

There are already golden lion tamarins at the zoo, therefore the tribunal has approved up to ten of those monkeys.

But it says the other species are too noisy for nearby residents.

The Northern Grampians Shire Mayor Kevin Erwin says the tamarin is the quietest of the four proposed species.

"We're happy to abide by the umpire's decision," he said.

"Council recognises they are a great business, a great asset not only to the shire but to the Grampians and we'll continue to support them."

The tribunal agreed efforts should be made to increase visitor numbers and tourist stays in the area.

The Northern Grampians suffered from a large bushfire in January this year.

In his ruling the tribunal member James Bennett stated that The Halls Gap Zoo was an important contributor to the wide range of tourist attractions at Halls Gap and hence to the local economy.

"It is also important in the ongoing protection and preservation of endangered and other species, both from within Australia and parts of the world," he said.

"Those significant economic and environmental benefits must not be ignored or downplayed."

He said he had no concerns about odour, which was an issue raised by some nearby residents.

But Mr Bennett did note the proposed baboon enclosure would be located towards the southern end of the Zoo relatively close to a tourist accommodation facility.

During VCAT hearings held earlier this year there was evidence to suggest baboons make loud high-pitched vocalisations like "wahoo" and they can reach 95 decibels.

In comparison the gold lion tamarin has an alarm call when under threat from birds but it is not as noisy.

The zoo's owner Greg Cullel says he is unhappy with what he calls a "bureaucratic decision."
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it would be interesting to know which was at the site first, the zoo or the accommodations.
 
I think that only the gibbons would pose as the biggest problem, from my experience working in zoos - baboons would certainly not be a big issue in this situation.
 
Halls Gap Zoo has welcomed 2 x 19 month old cheetah boy's named Jana & Hizi. I assume from the video on their FB page they have come from Monato Zoo.
 
FriendOfTheZoo said:
Halls Gap Zoo has welcomed 2 x 19 month old cheetah boy's named Jana & Hizi. I assume from the video on their FB page they have come from Monato Zoo.
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New Cheetahs arriving at Halls Gap Zoo | The Stawell Times-News
16 May 2014

Cat sightings in the Grampians will become more common now, once two Cheetah brothers arrive at the Halls Gap Zoo later today.

Zoo owner Greg Culell said the pending arrival of the Cheetah brothers today continued a significant program of introducing new species to the Halls Gap Zoo.

"Our strategic plans include the acquisition of a new iconic zoo animal species every 18 months or so, which we started with the Giraffe, next the Cheetah followed by Rhinoceros," Mr Culell said.

"This will keep us fresh and drive visitation, generating income to support our Australian endangered species breeding programs, which was the reason that Yvonne and myself decided to purchase the business seven years ago.

"We identified Cheetah as the next iconic species that we should add to our collection, not only for the appeal to our many visitors, but more importantly, we would be supporting a worldwide endangered species breeding program with this species."

Halls Gap Zoo entered into an agreement with Zoos South Australia (Adelaide and Monarto Zoos) in May last year, where the Halls Gap Zoo would provide $10,000 for them to import two male Cheetahs from Europe for breeding purposes.

Their previous breeding male had died last year from age related disease and his brother died just last month. Cheetahs generally live for only 10-12 years of age and it is usually renal failure that causes their demise as it was in both these cases.

There were no genetically suitable males available in Australasia for them to use to mate to their females and the international species coordinator recommended the brothers from Denmark as the best available males of the correct age for breeding.

Mr Culell said Halls Gap Zoo's role in the Cheetah breeding program would be to hold animals until they are required for breeding in a breeding institution.

"In Australasia, these are Monarto Zoo, Dubbo Zoo and Orana Zoo in New Zealand, although the animals we hold could end up anywhere worldwide," Mr Culell said.

"This scenario is a typical example of how species breeding programs work in the zoo system with all zoos typically breeding around 20% of the species they display and the other 80% are held as non breeding or single sex groups with all breeding and transfer recommendations being made by the species coordinator yearly as per individual zoo requirements and/or release needs.

"Once we have acquired these Cheetahs, the Australasian species coordinator would make sure that we always had Cheetah on display even if the animals we held were required for breeding elsewhere."

Mr Culell said he, Yvonne and all the staff were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the two Cheetah males later today, following which they will focus their attention on the pending arrival of Rhinoceros.
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Thought I would share a couple of tidbits from the zoo’s facebook page.
- A golden brush tail possum began emerging from the pouch early in December
- The pair of cheetahs will move to another zoo early next year to become breeders and will be replaced by another two young males.
- Some Northern dingo pups arrived towards the end of November.
- An exhibit of animatronic dinosaurs is now at the zoo. It is unclear on the number of dinosaurs or how permanent the display is.
 
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