Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo News 2017

Thank you for finding that infromation @Nisha. Do you know if he was handraised or parent raised and what year he came to Adelaide? I know he was there the same time as Kemiri as Adelaide Zoo attempted to breed from them.

So as far as I can tell, Kemiri has set the record for longevity in the Australasian region at 23 years and 7 months.

Not sure if he was parent or handraised sorry. He arrived at Adelaide on 23rd February 2001 - he replaced Lari (Kemiri's brother from a different litter) who departed for Mogo the same week that Tiger-Boy arrived
 
The current oldest Sumatran Tiger in Australia (if still alive) will be Juara at Dubbo - born 26/10/1995
 
Not sure if he was parent or handraised sorry. He arrived at Adelaide on 23rd February 2001 - he replaced Lari (Kemiri's brother from a different litter) who departed for Mogo the same week that Tiger-Boy arrived

That's interesting, so Adelaide Zoo could have essentially imported a male or a female to breed with either Kemiri (1994) or Lari (1995). I guess the studbook keeper correctly assessed Kemiri as a greater priorty to breed, with her turning 7 in 2001 and only having another 5 reproductive years and decided to relegate Lari to a non reproductive situation for the time being, given he was a male and could (and did produce cubs into old age). It's a shame Tiger Boy and Kemiri never bred. The easy assumption to make is that this was because Kemiri was handraised but I believe they got on well and some mating did occur. Kemiri's mother, Selatan, has some reproductive issues (often passed on along matrilineal lines) so maybe Kemiri did too.
 
The current oldest Sumatran Tiger in Australia (if still alive) will be Juara at Dubbo - born 26/10/1995

Have his littermates, Lari and Ramalon, passed away?

I was surprised to learn recently that Lari is an Indonesian name. I'd always assumed it was a version of Larry.
 
Have his littermates, Lari and Ramalon, passed away?

I was surprised to learn recently that Lari is an Indonesian name. I'd always assumed it was a version of Larry.

I believe Ramalon is still alive. Don't know about Lari - it's difficult to get information out of Mogo compared to some zoos. So they'd be joint oldest
 
Health Scare for Lioness Yizi

Lioness sparks panic at Adelaide Zoo after growing a mane

A star attraction at Adelaide Zoo has had an urgent medical check after an unusual physical change sparked concern – ‘Yizi’, the lioness, had grown a mane.

Adelaide Zoo veterinarians gave Yizi a thorough check-up after they noticed more fur on her neck.

“We started to notice that Yizi started to grow a bit more fur around her neck, it was like she was starting to grow a mane, which is obviously not a normal thing for a lioness,” vet David McLelland told 9NEWS.

Zoo staff believe Yizi may be growing a mane due to higher-than-normal testosterone levels, which could potentially indicate a serious health problem.

“The testosterone that is being produced in her body, there’s every chance that is being produced by a tumour,” they said.

The 16-year-old lioness has been examined from tooth to tail and has also had an ultrasound.

“We had a good look at her teeth, her eyes, her ears, all her claws. We’ve got blood samples to look into her hormones, specifically testosterone,” Dr McLelland said.

The results of Yizi’s blood tests will be available in a couple of days and will give the zoo a better insight into her health.

“Depending on what we find there, and based on our findings today, there's every chance we'll get hands back on her to do another procedure to remove any potential mass that could be causing those problem,” Dr McLelland said.




Hopefully this turns out to be nothing of concern after Adelaide Zoo losing so many high profile animals in the last couple of years including Karta, Miss C and Kemiri this year.

Yizi was born May 2001 at Auckland Zoo and was originally named Amali. She gave birth to 2.1 cubs at Adelaide Zoo in 2004. Her mother Kura (Auckland Zoo) and littermates Amira (Auckland Zoo), Kuchami (Hunter Valley Zoo) and Kutaza (Adelaide Zoo) are all still alive and in good health for their age.
 
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Very sad news of Susie the Hippo being put to sleep at the age of 49 a big loss for the zoo
 
Very sad news of Susie the Hippo being put to sleep at the age of 49 a big loss for the zoo

Sad news indeed, further details were provided in the following article on Adelaide Zoo's website: Adelaide Zoo farewells Susie

Adelaide Zoo is celebrating the life of Susie, the oldest female hippo currently on record in the world.

The difficult decision was made to humanely put Susie to sleep on Thursday, 20 July, as she had a number of significant age-related conditions which were limiting her movement and ultimately affecting her quality of life.

Zoos SA Veterinarian Dr David McLelland said at 49 years old, Susie was well at the upper limit of average life expectancy for hippos.

“Over the past few months, Susie had been suffering from a number of age-related conditions which our veterinary team were monitoring closely and treating,” Dr McLelland said.

“Sadly, over the past few weeks, Susie’s condition deteriorated and the veterinary team decided there was no further treatment that would improve her quality of life.

“To reach almost 50 is a good age for a hippo and a testament to the care provided to her over the years.

“Although saying goodbye to Susie was difficult, it was the right thing to do for her.”

Zoos SA Chief Executive Elaine Bensted said Susie had captured the hearts of zoo staff, volunteers and visitors during her 42 years at Adelaide Zoo.

“We were incredibly lucky to have Susie with us for so long,” Ms Bensted said.

“Her remarkably long-life demonstrates the exceptional care she received from Adelaide Zoo’s dedicated keeping and vet teams.

“Susie will be dearly missed by everyone who had the chance to work with her, and of course by the generations of visitors who came to see our iconic friend.”

Ms Bensted said the longevity of so many of Adelaide Zoo’s animals was a true testament to the care provided by our staff.

“We have said goodbye to some iconic Adelaide Zoo residents over the last six months, but with more than 2,500 animals calling Adelaide Zoo home and a number of aged animals who have well and truly exceeded their life expectancy, the death of aged animals is unfortunately to be expected,” Ms Bensted said.

“It’s always sad to say goodbye to one of our loved animals, but there is also lots to look forward to with many births and arrivals on the horizon for both Adelaide and Monarto Zoo.

“As a conservation charity, we’re proud to have celebrated a number of significant breeding milestones over the past year.

“At Adelaide Zoo, we’ve welcomed a critically endangered White-cheeked Gibbon infant, a cheeky baboon baby, and critically endangered Golden-lion Tamarins, and of course we have recently welcomed our adorable giraffe calves and Cheetah cubs at Monarto Zoo.”

Susie was born at Taronga Zoo in 1967 and moved to Adelaide Zoo in 1975 with her mate, Brutus, who is the oldest hippo in Australia and still lives at Adelaide Zoo.

Together, the remarkable pair welcomed six calves, with their three-year-old granddaughter Zawadi keeping Susie’s incredible legacy alive at Werribee Open Range Zoo in Victoria.

After a full post-mortem examination, Susie’s remains will be donated to the University of Adelaide for medical research
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"Together, the remarkable pair welcomed six calves, with their three-year-old granddaughter Zawadi keeping Susie’s incredible legacy alive at Werribee Open Range Zoo in Victoria." which of Werribee's hippos does this refer to? the 2 breeding mothers @ WORZ would be quite old now....
 
"Together, the remarkable pair welcomed six calves, with their three-year-old granddaughter Zawadi keeping Susie’s incredible legacy alive at Werribee Open Range Zoo in Victoria." which of Werribee's hippos does this refer to? the 2 breeding mothers @ WORZ would be quite old now....

I would hope a IRA would be done sooner for Hippos rather than later as most of whats left now in the country are quite aged it would be a big loss to the open range zoos if we were to lose the species!
 
I would hope a IRA would be done sooner for Hippos rather than later as most of whats left now in the country are quite aged it would be a big loss to the open range zoos if we were to lose the species!

Fully agree with you there. It's sad there are no longer any in New Zealand, especially when you consider they were at Auckland Zoo from the 1920s and bred well over the years. It'd be good to see them in the country again, at least at Auckland Zoo, Orana Wildlife Park and possibly Hamilton Zoo. Wellington Zoo arguably doesn't have the space.

How many are in Australia? It seems there's been quite a few calves born in the last few years (at least three or four?) though I'm guessing they're closely related.

Also, they're referring to Susie as having had 6 calves. She actually had 15 calves so I'm guessing the 6 must be either the 6 currently surviving offspring, or the only 6 that survived beyond infancy?
 
Fully agree with you there. It's sad there are no longer any in New Zealand, especially when you consider they were at Auckland Zoo from the 1920s and bred well over the years. It'd be good to see them in the country again, at least at Auckland Zoo, Orana Wildlife Park and possibly Hamilton Zoo. Wellington Zoo arguably doesn't have the space.

How many are in Australia? It seems there's been quite a few calves born in the last few years (at least three or four?) though I'm guessing they're closely related.

Also, they're referring to Susie as having had 6 calves. She actually had 15 calves so I'm guessing the 6 must be either the 6 currently surviving offspring, or the only 6 that survived beyond infancy?

Unsure of the current numbers in the country but Western plains and Werribee are about the last strong hold left as far as I know, The only female I believe which is still breeding at Dubbo would be the female owned by Seaworld which was the only one retained from the group exported to Bali from Mareeba I feel the ZAA should of taken them plus the Pygmys they also had, A big loss I feel!
 
I was just looking at an article from 2011 which listed these females:

Werribee Open Range Zoo:

1) Primrose (now aged 27)
2) Brindabella (now aged 27)
3) Tulip (now aged 14)
4) Lotus (now aged 9)

Taronga Western Plains Zoo:

1) Nile (now aged 18)

Are these five females still in the region?

Does anyone know the names, genders and ages off any calves born in the region since 2011? Lotus (aged 3 years in 2011) was listed as the youngest Common Hippopotamus at the time.

The article said that the oldest dam to reproduce was 45 years so the five females listed above should have a fair few reproductive years ahead of them.
 
the 4 listed at WORZ are still there with another younger daughter of (I think) Primrose - they have 5 females in 2 groups - the 2 older mothers didn't get on with each other, so they're each kept with their own daughters. But yes, all 5 certainly have plenty of breeding potential for a while.... if only a male was available.
 
I was just looking at an article from 2011 which listed these females:

Werribee Open Range Zoo:

1) Primrose (now aged 27)
2) Brindabella (now aged 27)
3) Tulip (now aged 14)
4) Lotus (now aged 9)

Taronga Western Plains Zoo:

1) Nile (now aged 18)

Are these five females still in the region?

Does anyone know the names, genders and ages off any calves born in the region since 2011? Lotus (aged 3 years in 2011) was listed as the youngest Common Hippopotamus at the time.

The article said that the oldest dam to reproduce was 45 years so the five females listed above should have a fair few reproductive years ahead of them.

Primrose, Brindabella, Tulip and Lotus are all still at Werribee, and so is Pansy (Brindabella's daughter) who is now aged approx. 3 years old. I'm a volunteer at WORZ and I can confirm that this is the current state of affairs.
 
the 4 listed at WORZ are still there with another younger daughter of (I think) Primrose - they have 5 females in 2 groups - the 2 older mothers didn't get on with each other, so they're each kept with their own daughters. But yes, all 5 certainly have plenty of breeding potential for a while.... if only a male was available.

The youngest female, Pansy, is Brindabella's daughter. Brindabella and Pansy live together, while Lotus, Primrose and Tulip live together in the other enclosure.
 
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