Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo in 1978: A Historical Species List

[steveroberts]

@Kifaru Bwana Cant find an estimate number of remaining Syrian Brown Bears anywhere I searched online, know that they're really threatened but they seem to be mainly mentioned in relation to their higher classification with other Brown Bears like their subspecies focus has retracted over the last few years? but extinct in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine-Israel for the last fifty years means whichever individuals surviving in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia? and Iran? would be doing it tough as hell. Would love to know more about Barney and Missy's parents like their names and their longevity etc. I think Missy died at Mareeba around 2007 from cancer? aged about 27 and Barney passed in 2013? (making him one of the longest lived Bears in Aus at 33 or nearly). Do know that they were born at Adelaide in 1980 and went to Perth very young in 1981, and sadly had to live in Perth Zoo's horrendous Bear pens, not the famous original cells but still horrendous concrete monstrosities, for the first seven years at the zoo until 1988 when they got better living conditions but still very crappy by todays standards (current Otter & Binturong exhibit at Perth). Fortunately when they got to Mareeba in late 2003 it was a big big exhibit (1 hectare possibly) that am so glad they got to appreciate at the very least in their older years.

This is a photo of Missy and Barney taken by Newzooboy in 1987 in the worst exhibit they ever lived in (mistakenly referred to as the zoo's Ussuri Hokkaido Brown Bears who had actually died in 1985; mainly because Barney was very brown for a Syrian Brown and the lighting in the photos but it is definitely Barney and Missy).
Ussuri Brown Bear Enclosure - Perth Zoo 1987 - ZooChat

 

[Zoofan15]

What is the status of Syrian brown bear now?

@Kifaru Bwana Cant find an estimate number of remaining Syrian Brown Bears anywhere I searched online, know that they're really threatened but they seem to be mainly mentioned in relation to their higher classification with other Brown Bears like their subspecies focus has retracted over the last few years? but extinct in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine-Israel for the last fifty years means whichever individuals surviving in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia? and Iran? would be doing it tough as hell. Would love to know more about Barney and Missy's parents like their names and their longevity etc. I think Missy died at Mareeba around 2008 from cancer? aged about 28 and Barney passed in 2013? (making him one of the longest lived Bears in Aus at 33 or nearly). Do know that they were born at Adelaide in 1980 and went to Perth very young in 1981.

Missy died at Cairns Wildlife Safari 29/06/2007.

The last Syrian brown bear in the region was a female named Honey who died 07/11/2016 at Melbourne Zoo. Honey was born at Berne Zoo in January 1987 and arrived at Melbourne Zoo in November 1987. She lived with her mate, Roan, who died in 2010.

Roan was born at Adelaide Zoo 09/07/1985 and arrived at Melbourne Zoo as a cub in November 1985 (along with two siblings). He died 18/09/2010.

Roan and Honey produced two cubs together.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

Missy died at Cairns Wildlife Safari 29/06/2007.

The last Syrian brown bear in the region was a female named Honey who died 07/11/2016 at Melbourne Zoo. Honey was born at Berne Zoo in January 1987 and arrived at Melbourne Zoo in November 1987. She lived with her mate, Roan, who died in 2010.

Roan was born at Adelaide Zoo 09/07/1985 and arrived at Melbourne Zoo as a cub in November 1985 (along with two siblings). He died 18/09/2010.

Roan and Honey produced two cubs together.

What happened to those cubs? Out of country or did not survive?


International status on Red List LC, but .... see the supplementary information:
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Particularly view caption MID EAST and it only mentions Turkey, Iran and Iraq and part of that range is the Syrian brown bear.

The nearest populations to Syria\Lebanon\Israel are in Turkish western Anatolia (300-400 (165-220 mature), eastern Toros Dag mountains (less than 250 mature). All of these are relatively very small populations. It would thus be a candidate taxon for ex situ conservation breeding.

Within European continental there are various other subspecies of conservation importance, the Pyrenean (25), the Marsican/Appennine (37-52), Cantabrian (195-210) as well as the Alps (45-50).

Interestingly, the Pyrenean population is being supplemental with extralimital brown bears from Dinaric Alps (Balkan area). Genetically they are not the same subspecies. I would figure the Cantabrian bears are actually the most closely related ones ... (???).

 

[Jambo]

Missy died at Cairns Wildlife Safari 29/06/2007.

The last Syrian brown bear in the region was a female named Honey who died 07/11/2016 at Melbourne Zoo. Honey was born at Berne Zoo in January 1987 and arrived at Melbourne Zoo in November 1987. She lived with her mate, Roan, who died in 2010.

Roan was born at Adelaide Zoo 09/07/1985 and arrived at Melbourne Zoo as a cub in November 1985 (along with two siblings). He died 18/09/2010.

Roan and Honey produced two cubs together.

That's compelling. I never knew Honey and Roan had cubs together. Considering I can find no mention of them ever, it's likely they died young. They would've had to have been born sometime in the 90's.

 

[Zoofan15]

What happened to those cubs? Out of country or did not survive?

That's compelling. I never knew Honey and Roan had cubs together. Considering I can find no mention of them ever, it's likely they died young. They would've had to have been born sometime in the 90's.

According to this thread they were named Spot and Stripe and were born in 1993. They were sent to Mogo Zoo: animals we feel sorry for

Here’s a photo them at Melbourne Zoo: Endangered Syrian Bear Cubs suckling milk from their tired mother Stock Photo - Alamy

 

[steveroberts]

@Zoofan15 Oh so Spot and Stripe were the Syrian pair at Mogo Zoo and were siblings. Had no idea that Honey and Roan had cubs either. Thats a really cute photo of them btw.

@Kifaru Bwana Thanks so much for the info about the Brown Bear populations. Man its dire for them hey. Its not just Syrian subspecies needing conservation focus but the populations in Europe too. The Pyrenean, Marsican/Appennine & Cantabrian subspecies need all the help they can get. Yeah with mixing the Pyrenean individuals with Brown Bears from the Balkans you're so right that the Cantabrian and Pyrenean Brown Bears are actually the most linked in terms of natural proximity.

So with Syrian Browns it seems there's less than 470 mature individuals left in total, could even be less than 400 yikes! and at best 650 individuals left in the wild in total. Thanks heaps again for finding the info, its alarming but deserves to be known.

Thats some dire numbers for the poor Brown Bear subspecies in Italy, Spain and the Alps. Like almost to the point where they might be seen as functionally extinct as subspecies and hence the deliberate introduction of other European Brown subspecies to boost numbers.

 

[Astrobird]

Mogos 2 Syrian bears went on to cairns, Honey/huggy and Pooh they were called up there... theres a discussion abt their names on one of their photos in the cairns gallery

 

[Jambo]

According to this thread they were named Spot and Stripe and were born in 1993. They were sent to Mogo Zoo: animals we feel sorry for

Here’s a photo them at Melbourne Zoo: Endangered Syrian Bear Cubs suckling milk from their tired mother Stock Photo - Alamy

After further reasearch online it appears both were the result of an unplanned pregnancy to Roan and Honey in 1993. They were later sent up to Cairns where they were apparently renamed, Pooh and Huggie.

From a 2011 Cairns thread: 'While Barney has a touch of arthritis in his old age, he occasionally takes dips in the compound's swimming pool with two other bears, Pooh, 18, and his twin sister Huggy, 18'.

It's likely they were sent to a facility in Indonesia soon after the park closed in 2013.

 

[Zoofan15]

After further reasearch online it appears both were the result of an unplanned pregnancy to Roan and Honey in 1993. They were later sent up to Cairns where they were apparently renamed, Pooh and Huggie.

From a 2011 Cairns thread: 'While Barney has a touch of arthritis in his old age, he occasionally takes dips in the compound's swimming pool with two other bears, Pooh, 18, and his twin sister Huggy, 18'.

It's likely they were sent to a facility in Indonesia soon after the park closed in 2013.

It’s interesting to note that Melbourne Zoo opened a new Syrian brown bear exhibit in 1986; imported a female from Europe in 1987; and then almost immediately decided not to breed this species. With other zoos in the region like Adelaide phasing out their bears and the regional focus shifting to sun bears, this was likely due to them believing any offspring produced couldn’t be placed. As a starter zoo, Mogo were no doubt elated to receive them however.

Taman Safari was happy to import new species, irregardless of their reproductive potential (Huggy was post reproductive by 2013), so I agree this was their likely destination. According to a post on ZooChat by @Nandito, Taman Safari Prigen held Syrian brown bears in 2020. Given this species can reach 30 years of age, these may have even been the Australaian imports.

 

[Jambo]

It’s interesting to note that Melbourne Zoo opened a new Syrian brown bear exhibit in 1986; imported a female from Europe in 1987; and then almost immediately decided not to breed this species. With other zoos in the region like Adelaide phasing out their bears and the regional focus shifting to sun bears, this was likely due to them believing any offspring produced couldn’t be placed. As a starter zoo, Mogo were no doubt elated to receive them however.

Taman Safari was happy to import new species, irregardless of their reproductive potential (Huggy was post reproductive by 2013), so I agree this was their likely destination. According to a post on ZooChat by @Nandito, Taman Safari Prigen held Syrian brown bears in 2020. Given this species can reach 30 years of age, these may have even been the Australaian imports.

Melbourne never planned to breed their Brown Bear initially, I believe Honey was only imported as a non breeding mate for Roan. This of course proved unsuccessful when they had cubs in 1993. Melbourne, who didn’t have the space for them, quickly offloaded them to Mogo, who took on a lot of surplus animals from both Melbourne and Taronga at the time.

Melbourne decided to take on Sun Bears in favour of their Syrian Brown Bears, but it appears the AZA has since lost interest in them, which is why Melbourne have never imported any. I’d like to see the Australasian region get involved with the Andean Bear breeding program. They’re much easier to breed compared to Sun Bears.

According to @Nandito Taman Safari Prigen have a single Syrian Brown Bear remaining, which lives alongside some Asiatic Black Bears. This could possibly be either Huggie or Pooh (who would be 29 this year, still achievable for them).

 

[tetrapod]

Melbourne never planned to breed their Brown Bear initially, I believe Honey was only imported as a non breeding mate for Roan. This of course proved unsuccessful when they had cubs in 1993. Melbourne, who didn’t have the space for them, quickly offloaded them to Mogo, who took on a lot of surplus animals from both Melbourne and Taronga at the time.

Melbourne decided to take on Sun Bears in favour of their Syrian Brown Bears, but it appears the AZA has since lost interest in them, which is why Melbourne have never imported any. I’d like to see the Australasian region get involved with the Andean Bear breeding program. They’re much easier to breed compared to Sun Bears.

According to @Nandito Taman Safari Prigen have a single Syrian Brown Bear remaining, which lives alongside some Asiatic Black Bears. This could possibly be either Huggie or Pooh (who would be 29 this year, still achievable for them).

While I like spectacled bears it would be nice if Australian zoos just committed to keeping and breeding sun bears. They aren't difficult to keep and breeding just requires the extra enclosure space (which one need for breeding any bear) plus a nesting den well away from noise. If the population can hang on I'd imagine the private zoos will take up the slack in the near future.

 

[Zoofan15]

Melbourne never planned to breed their Brown Bear initially, I believe Honey was only imported as a non breeding mate for Roan. This of course proved unsuccessful when they had cubs in 1993. Melbourne, who didn’t have the space for them, quickly offloaded them to Mogo, who took on a lot of surplus animals from both Melbourne and Taronga at the time.

Melbourne decided to take on Sun Bears in favour of their Syrian Brown Bears, but it appears the AZA has since lost interest in them, which is why Melbourne have never imported any. I’d like to see the Australasian region get involved with the Andean Bear breeding program. They’re much easier to breed compared to Sun Bears.

According to @Nandito Taman Safari Prigen have a single Syrian Brown Bear remaining, which lives alongside some Asiatic Black Bears. This could possibly be either Huggie or Pooh (who would be 29 this year, still achievable for them).

The early 1990’s were a time of great upheaval for Melbourne Zoo - especially within the primate and carnivore sections. Melbourne Zoo opened new exhibits for the gorillas and tigers in 1990 and 1992 respectively and phase outs were made including chimpanzee and Chacma baboon. The tigers which had remained a non breeding pair for a decade after their arrival were finally bred for the first time in 1990.

While Melbourne Zoo were clearly happy to maintain species in their collection such as the Persian leopard and Syrian bear - breeding them was obviously not a priority (either with a long term view of phasing them out; or more likely due to being unable to place their offspring). Interestingly, the write up for the Zoos Victoria doco even asked if the Syrian bear cubs should have been allowed to live - suggesting euthanasia was at least considered.

 

[Zoofan15]

While I like spectacled bears it would be nice if Australian zoos just committed to keeping and breeding sun bears. They aren't difficult to keep and breeding just requires the extra enclosure space (which one need for breeding any bear) plus a nesting den well away from noise. If the population can hang on I'd imagine the private zoos will take up the slack in the near future.

It’d be nice to see the Malayan sun bear breeding programme revived within the region. They’re well suited to the Australian climate and three zoos experienced breeding success at the height of the programme - with Wellington Zoo breeding several litters (two of which survived). As stated, success was only achieved once the female was given the privacy of an off display maternity annex.

The region’s population of this species is 2.5 sun bears and consist of three middle aged females housed alone; and two breeding pairs where proven males are held with females they haven’t bred with in over a decade (one of which is now post reproductive; one of which is almost post reproductive).

At a minimum, I’d have recommended re-pairing the males; but given the age of all bears involved, what the region really needs is fresh imports. Hopefully the small zoos can save the day. Again…

 

[SugarPlumLucy]

Does anyone know when the 1972 Galapagos tortoises either moved or died?
I've only been able to find the arrival date

 

[Zoofan15]

Does anyone know when the 1972 Galapagos tortoises either moved or died?
I've only been able to find the arrival date

Adelaide Zoo received an 11 year old female Aldabra giant tortoise from Taronga Zoo in 1987, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the Galapagos giant tortoise were gone by then.

The two Galapagos giant tortoise imported in 1972 hatched circa 1960 and 1965 respectively. From this, we can conclude they’re no longer alive in the region as the only tortoise close in age to these two is Cerro (hatched 1966); and Cerro wasn’t imported into Australia until 1988, later transferred to the Perth Zoo in 2005.

 

[steveroberts]

Interesting brief article by W.E Lancaster published 1975 (submitted in April 1974( about Asian small-clawed otters at Adelaide Zoo from August 1967 and into the 1970s, including mentioning some who were sent on to Melbourne.

excerpt from:

'The Adelaide Zoo first exhibited an otter in 1890 and thereafter at infrequent intervals. Knowing what a high exhibition value otters have, it was decided to obtain a number and build a series of enclosures specially for them.

In August 1967, four (3. 1) Asian small-clawed otters (Amblonyx cinerea) were received from Singapore and in April 1969, 11 more from Bangkok. Some were quite young and four died within two months of arrival. A pair was sold to Melbourne Zoo, leaving us with a group of nine animals (5.4); we divided them into three pairs and a trio. The otters are housed in six relatively small enclosures, the smallest measuring approximately 16 m2 in area and the largest 75 m2, and built adjacent to each other but at different levels on a sloping bank so that the otters can be viewed at eye level or from above. Each enclosure has walls of local rock faced inside with epoxy-painted smooth cement. The minimum inside height of a wall is 1.25m over which the public can see easily. Only one 0.1 otter succeeded in gaining the top of a wall but she always returned home...'

other interesting papers too Library Genesis • Adelaide Zoo zoological scientific articles