Swanson02
Well-Known Member
That is very out of left field. I was told at Monarto that Thandiwe was moving there
A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one
Australasian Spotted Hyena Population
- Thread starter akasha
- Start date
That is very out of left field. I was told at Monarto that Thandiwe was moving there
A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one
I was surprised too!
With Monarto planning to import hyena also, perhaps Thandiwe and these two hyena will remain in a non breeding group long term:
0.1 Thandiwe (Gamba x Forest) 00/00/2014
0.1 Kanzi (Piltengi x Thandiwe) 13/09/2017
1.0 Mkoko (Gamba x Forest) 00/07/2015
The Kigali line will continue at Altina via Malika and Kigali’s sons and it’s important not to let one bloodline become over represented.
MaxKowalski
Member
I will try to check tomorrow but I am fairly sure it is Thandiwe.
She is still being kept separated from Cheka.
She is still being kept separated from Cheka.
Well, Thandi is short for Thandiwe and the new female is apparently named 'Thundi', which is very close to 'Thandi'.
Thundi is also eight years old, the same age as Thandiwe.
In my opinion, this new female is in fact Thandiwe. It seems Mogo's media have got it wrong stating she was from Africa.
MaxKowalski
Member
I am going off a verbal from over a month ago and my hearing is not the best so good chance I am wrong and media would surely have things written down to go off. Do you know where to find the article / media?
I was also told she came from a SA zoo, and wasn't used to being near people due to the larger and more open nature of her previous enclosure.
I was also told she came from a SA zoo, and wasn't used to being near people due to the larger and more open nature of her previous enclosure.
Since Thandiwe is (was) at Monarto (an open range SA zoo), it indeed appears she's Mogo's new hyena.
A new founder would have been preferable rather than simply pairing the 1.1 imported siblings with Kigali line hyenas, but at least Thandiwe is a proven breeder and will hopefully form a successful pair.
Final confirmation will come via Mogo, Zookeeper Chad's socials, followed by a media release the next day. This has yet to happen.
It looks like she’s from Africa then as Thandiwe is Australian born isn’t even South African born then imported via another zoo as Kigali was.
I’m not sure what facility she came from in South African. I assume Johannesburg Zoo, who have supplied zoos like Wellington with African wild dogs before. They mostly specialise in Striped hyena, but would receive wild hyena from time to time, which they may well be happy to export is unable to be released.
Swanson02
Well-Known Member
I believe it is Thandiwe and Mogo might be confused? Thandiwe's Grandmother and father were originally from Southern Africa (Kruger) so they might be accidentally referring to her lineage rather than herself as an individual. They did come from Africa via a 'zoo' in Singapore as well.
If it is an unrelated African female that's wonderful as it extends the genetic longevity of our regional population even further. It's great and I'll never complain about more hyena imports but I would suggest our zoos maybe now focus on importing some species that are in desperate need of a boost in genetic diversity, ahem* basically every ungulate.
This whole situation though, of multiple Spotted Hyena imports from Altina, Sydney, and now probably Mogo is a great example of the region's zoos identifying a population suffering from a genetic bottleneck and instead of letting them fall into phasition (coining that, Phase out + transition
), picking up the slack and continuing the breeding program. It gives me hope for other species suffering from similar issues like Pygmy hippos and Gorillas.
Last edited:
This whole situation though, of multiple Spotted Hyena imports from Altina, Sydney, and now probably Mogo is a great example of the region's zoos identifying a population suffering from a genetic bottleneck and instead of letting them fall into phasition (coining that Phase out + transition
It is indeed nice to see multiple facilities working on sustaining a regional population through imports - bearing in mind Monarto also plan to import.
Hyena can be easily imported, as can primates, felids and canids, so there’s no excuse for zoos allowing these groups to reach bottleneck point. Some like Cheetah and African wild dog (both with an average lifespan of 10 years) are regularly imported, which is good to see.
Well the female and Thandiwe were both born in 2014, and have similar names (Thundi and Thandi). Monarto is also the largest safari park outside of Africa too. Of course, a wild import would be great, but Monarto have an abundance of females at the moment, so would be keen to move some on.
Zoos can get info wrong at times (i've learnt it first hand with creating species history lists). Most PR communication is done by the zoos PR team who know little about the specific animal ect.
I have confirmed with Monarto that it was Thandiwe who went to Mogo. (I guess southern Africa, and South Australia are basically the same place 
). More than one person at Mogo told me Africa, though considering who is in charge down there, I guess little details like animal names and origins aren't high on the priority list 
Anyway, Monarto currently keep their hyena in 3 clans:
Monarto Safari Park, SA, Australia
0.1 Forest (unk x Kigali) 00/00/2007
1.0 Gamba (unk x unk) 00/00/2003 Imported from Singapore Zoo 2007
0.1 Fahari (Gamba x Forest) 03/11/2020
0.1 Mahali (Gamba x Forest) 03/11/2020
0.1 Kanzi (Piltengi x Thandiwe) 13/09/2017
1.0 Mkoko (Gamba x Forest) 00/07/2015
1.0 Jaali (Piltengi x Thandiwe) 13/09/2017
1.0 Majani (Gamba x Forest) 00/01/2018
). More than one person at Mogo told me Africa, though considering who is in charge down there, I guess little details like animal names and origins aren't high on the priority list Anyway, Monarto currently keep their hyena in 3 clans:
Monarto Safari Park, SA, Australia
0.1 Forest (unk x Kigali) 00/00/2007
1.0 Gamba (unk x unk) 00/00/2003 Imported from Singapore Zoo 2007
0.1 Fahari (Gamba x Forest) 03/11/2020
0.1 Mahali (Gamba x Forest) 03/11/2020
0.1 Kanzi (Piltengi x Thandiwe) 13/09/2017
1.0 Mkoko (Gamba x Forest) 00/07/2015
1.0 Jaali (Piltengi x Thandiwe) 13/09/2017
1.0 Majani (Gamba x Forest) 00/01/2018
I have confirmed with Monarto that it was Thandiwe who went to Mogo. (I guess southern Africa, and South Australia are basically the same place
Anyway, Monarto currently keep their hyena in 3 clans:
Monarto Safari Park, SA, Australia
0.1 Forest (unk x Kigali) 00/00/2007
1.0 Gamba (unk x unk) 00/00/2003 Imported from Singapore Zoo 2007
0.1 Fahari (Gamba x Forest) 03/11/2020
0.1 Mahali (Gamba x Forest) 03/11/2020
0.1 Kanzi (Piltengi x Thandiwe) 13/09/2017
1.0 Mkoko (Gamba x Forest) 00/07/2015
1.0 Jaali (Piltengi x Thandiwe) 13/09/2017
1.0 Majani (Gamba x Forest) 00/01/2018
Thanks for the confirmation. Sometimes employees can be unreliable, as we've seen multiple times this year.
It seems Kanzi and Mkoko are Monarto's next designated breeding pair; with Forest living in a family group with Gamba and their daughters.
Mkoko and Kanzi are closely related (son and grandaughter of Forest), so I assume this is a pairing purely for companionship purpose.
Future breeding may come from Gamba and Forest to increase the numbers in their pack, while I’d anticipate either Jaali/Majani or Mkoko/Kanzi will be the two exchanged with Sydney Zoo.
I have confirmed with Monarto that it was Thandiwe who went to Mogo. (I guess southern Africa, and South Australia are basically the same place
It looks like Mogo Zoo are no less confused when talking to the media about which animals came from Africa versus which were born in Australia.
Roc is the second of the litter of Mogo matriarch Chitwa, who arrived at the zoo from Africa in 2014.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/n...y/news-story/c2786ed4c974cee8565d22f7d1d293ef
As we all know, Chitwa was born at Mogo Zoo in 2014.
MaxKowalski
Member
I am wondering if the people who speak to the media are actually from Featherdale or something. None of the keepers or staff I asked about Thandiwe said anything other than Monarto.
The people speaking to the media would be either the relevant keeper or the director. In this case, it’s possible the media made the mistake (it wouldn’t be the first time something got misreported), but even so you’d think the zoo would either pre-approve any content published on their zoo to prevent misinformation.
If staff on the ground are communicating the wrong information, that’s a different issue altogether and something the zoo need to work on to ensure visitors are being given the correct information.
I’ve always been impressed by Auckland Zoo. Their volunteers are well informed (as are their keepers) and I struggle to recall a single time they’ve given me the wrong information.
Their are media advisors at each zoo that are in charge of PR relations and media releases, news ect; but you would assume they would be provided with the correct info from the keepers so it does seem like it's probably just a mistake made by the mainstream media.
That’s how things are carried at the region’s main zoos - and indeed, many a mistake has been made where details are lost in translation.
At Mogo, the director (Chad Staples) does the majority of the interviews, with the content containing quotes direct from him.