Altina Wildlife Park Altina Wildlife Park News 2023

PaddyRickMFZ said:
Is there any indication they will be remaining at Altina, or will they likely be moved around the region? Great to see an endangered species having pups as always
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Good question! Usually, females of this species begin to contest for dominance around 18-24 months, so what often happens within Australasia is females are transferred out. Males however can (usually) remain in the pack for life - unless needed elsewhere.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Good question! Usually, females of this species begin to contest for dominance around 18-24 months, so what often happens within Australasia is females are transferred out. Males however can (usually) remain in the pack for life - unless needed elsewhere.
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Are there any other facilities that might consider holding said females for a breeding operation. I’m not sure on the status at other zoos like WORZ etc.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Are there any other facilities that might consider holding said females for a breeding operation. I’m not sure on the status at other zoos like WORZ etc.
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Hamilton Zoo are the obvious candidate. They have two elderly males that will likely have passed by the time any females in this litter are ready to be transferred out.

The preferred starting ratio of a breeding pack is 1.2, 2.1 or 2.2 dogs - so if Hamilton Zoo plan to breed, I’d expect to see them import one or two females; with an unrelated male/males coming from elsewhere.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Hamilton Zoo are the obvious candidate. They have two elderly males that will likely have passed by the time any females in this litter are ready to be transferred out.

The preferred starting ratio of a breeding pack is 1.2, 2.1 or 2.2 dogs - so if Hamilton Zoo plan to breed, I’d expect to see them import one or two females; with an unrelated male/males coming from elsewhere.
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Do they have the space there? Is suppose that since Wild Dogs normally have cohesive packs they could breed in a comparatively smaller space than other animals. So would Hamilton take 1 or 2 females from Altina and import another male?
@Jambo as I said, I know relatively little about the breeding program in Australia. Do you mean Zoos Vic have explicitly stated they don’t wish to breed them? They seem to have the space.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Do they have the space there? Is suppose that since Wild Dogs normally have cohesive packs they could breed in a comparatively smaller space than other animals. So would Hamilton take 1 or 2 females from Altina and import another male?
@Jambo as I said, I know relatively little about the breeding program in Australia. Do you mean Zoos Vic have explicitly stated they don’t wish to breed them? They seem to have the space.
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Yes, I meant interest in breeding. They have the space, but have been and will be serving as a non breeding facility for the foreseeable future.
 
Full update (from socials):

ALTINA has and done it AGAIN!!! With the Birth of 4 AFRICAN WILD DOG PUPPIES!

This Altina pair are first time “parents”, with the other adults within the pack aiding in rearing the puppies! Rita (our Altina born female) was introduced to her new pack, as an alpha female, just over 1 year ago! She settled quickly, choosing her Alpha male - Adrian as her mate (imported from Czech Republic). She chose 2 other males (Badu & Severus - also imported from the Czech Republic) to be part of the pack that now aid in the rearing of the puppies.

Only 4 Australian Zoos hold breeding packs of the African Cape Hunting Dog with Altina being the only PRIVATELY RUN BREEDING FACILITY (holding 2 breeding packs) currently holding the title of successfully breeding Cape Hunting dogs within Australia!
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Do they have the space there? Is suppose that since Wild Dogs normally have cohesive packs they could breed in a comparatively smaller space than other animals. So would Hamilton take 1 or 2 females from Altina and import another male?
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Yes, Hamilton Zoo have two exhibits - a small one and a large one (though only one exhibit is currently in use). They once held a large breeding pack - founded with 2.1 young dogs from South Africa. This was a winning formula and they’ve never achieved success again as they’ve since attempted to pair older dogs.

One option would be for Hamilton to import two pups from Altina’s litter (gender is unknown) and pair them with an unrelated dog; but to be clear I’m not stating this as fact. I would imagine the female pups from this litter will be going into a breeding situation though given their father is a founder (the pups are genetically valuable).
 
Zoofan15 said:
Full update (from socials):

ALTINA has and done it AGAIN!!! With the Birth of 4 AFRICAN WILD DOG PUPPIES!

This Altina pair are first time “parents”, with the other adults within the pack aiding in rearing the puppies! Rita (our Altina born female) was introduced to her new pack, as an alpha female, just over 1 year ago! She settled quickly, choosing her Alpha male - Adrian as her mate (imported from Czech Republic). She chose 2 other males (Badu & Severus - also imported from the Czech Republic) to be part of the pack that now aid in the rearing of the puppies.

Only 4 Australian Zoos hold breeding packs of the African Cape Hunting Dog with Altina being the only PRIVATELY RUN BREEDING FACILITY (holding 2 breeding packs) currently holding the title of successfully breeding Cape Hunting dogs within Australia!
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Good to see Altina experiencing success with this species. We haven't had a birth of this species in the region for quite some time now.

Perth, Dubbo and Monarto would probably be the other three facilities that breed them too.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
It seems Altina just has a thing for canines
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And ungulates. They’ve found their niche and have excelled in what they do. Their breeding record is testament to their dedication of resources to focus species is beyond what many zoos allocate to that corresponding species beyond the purposive of maintaining them for display. They regularly import new bloodlines, which doesn’t directly increase visitation but has endless benefits to the regional breeding programmes.
 
Zoofan15 said:
And ungulates. They’ve found their niche and have excelled in what they do. Their breeding record is testament to their dedication of resources to focus species is beyond what many zoos allocate to that corresponding species beyond the purposive of maintaining them for display. They regularly import new bloodlines, which doesn’t directly increase visitation but has endless benefits to the regional breeding programmes.
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I wish other zoos with even more funds took a page out of Altina’s book. Imports are so important for regional breeding programs and it’s very disappointing zoos like Melbourne try to avoid it at all costs
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Is there any indication they will be remaining at Altina, or will they likely be moved around the region? Great to see an endangered species having pups as always
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The 4 boys will be staying at Altina to learn the ways of pack life and hopefully witness breeding of future litters to benefit their own knowledge on how to raise their own young in future
 
Bec.Surian said:
Yes they are all boy puppies! Cute really 4 imported boys and first litter is 4 sons!
We are happy the first litter was a success and they are all so healthy and our female Rita is tops! Fingers crossed her sister and the other imported male have success also in future!
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The zoo must be buzzing right now(internally). Sometimes it’s really a shame these wild animals can’t just be given a pet:p
 
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