Australia Zoo Australia Zoo News 2023

From when I visited last, the existing freshwater turtles enclosure was completely vacant, and the arrival of Irwin’s Turtle was announced shortly after said visit, so I’d just assumed they’d be taking that space. Is the existing turtle enclosure still vacant?
 
Tricoart said:
From when I visited last, the existing freshwater turtles enclosure was completely vacant, and the arrival of Irwin’s Turtle was announced shortly after said visit, so I’d just assumed they’d be taking that space. Is the existing turtle enclosure still vacant?
Click to expand...
It's possible, but it's also winter, so I wouldn't be surprised if they'd moved their small freshwater turtles off display to where they can be better kept warm. The freshwater turtles are the only outdoor reptiles without access to a heated area, so it'd make sense if they were taken back for winter.
Even if that is the case though, it's possible the Irwini could go on display with them once it warms up. I cannot see them staying off display forever, so fingers crossed.
 
JpY said:
Anyone aware of the next few exotics that are expected into the collection? Would be good to see ongoing expansion.
Click to expand...

Australia Zoo are typically secretive about their plans and haven’t been overly ambitious in their expansion plans as of late. Cheetah are their latest exhibit; and the only upcoming addition mentioned publicly in recent years is a bull Sumatran elephant (though I note this is unconfirmed until it happens).

Australia Zoo’s primate and canid collection is severely lacking. I’d like to see African wild dog and Hamadryas baboon in the future. Both are comparatively inexpensive and would provide the zoo with two low cost, engaging exhibits.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Australia Zoo are typically secretive about their plans and haven’t been overly ambitious in their expansion plans as of late. Cheetah are their latest exhibit; and the only upcoming addition mentioned publicly in recent years is a bull Sumatran elephant (though I note this is unconfirmed until it happens).

Australia Zoo’s primate and canid collection is severely lacking. I’d like to see African wild dog and Hamadryas baboon in the future. Both are comparatively inexpensive and would provide the zoo with two low cost, engaging exhibits.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
The zoo collection is becoming a missed opportunity unfortunately.
 
JpY said:
Anyone aware of the next few exotics that are expected into the collection? Would be good to see ongoing expansion.
Click to expand...

Australia Zoo unfortunately isn't great at keeping the public up to date on the zoo itself, let alone any future plans (so much of their social media presence is centred around the celebrities who inhabit the place, rather than the animals of the zoo)
However, If I had to guess, I'd say the best chance for a new exotic (perhaps outside smaller reptiles in the reptile house) would be a small primate. Cottontop Tamarin or Common Marmoset would be my bets. They breed pretty reliably, and are small enough that an exhibit for them wouldn't need to take up too much space, but are still high-profile enough to be of interest to guests. Always helps that they're species that works for paid guest encounters too.
I certainly wouldn't hold my breath for it, this is just speculation and Australia Zoo hasn't particularly shown interest in gaining new species the past 5 years (at least), with the exception of the elephants and some reptiles. But if I had to put money on a more substation exotic addition in the future, it'd be on Marmosets or Tamarins.
 
RafikiKnowsTheWay said:
Nothing overly 'exciting' but have heard from staff at the zoo that they will be moving to protected contact with their tigers, cheetah & elephants. I was not given a timeline or made aware of any 'formal' announcement for this transition so will keep my ears and eyes out. I found it interesting news given Dreamworld will also be making the transition to PC.
Click to expand...
Super late to this discussion, but I'm really happy to hear this. When I first found out that Australia Zoo practiced free contact with tigers (cheetahs are a bit of a grey area), I was shocked. I know a lot of roadside/low-quality zoos around the world use free contact, but I had no idea that such an internationally recognized zoo still used it with such dangerous animals. As a huge Irwin fan, I was really disappointed and felt it was super irresponsible of them. I'm so relieved to hear this news. On their webpage it still says you can see the Sumatran tigers "cuddling with their keepers", which IMO promotes a view of these animals as pets to visitors rather than the wild animals they really are. Hopefully they go through with this and the webpage is updated soon
 
PantheraLeoMelanochaita said:
Super late to this discussion, but I'm really happy to hear this. When I first found out that Australia Zoo practiced free contact with tigers (cheetahs are a bit of a grey area), I was shocked. I know a lot of roadside/low-quality zoos around the world use free contact, but I had no idea that such an internationally recognized zoo still used it with such dangerous animals. As a huge Irwin fan, I was really disappointed and felt it was super irresponsible of them. I'm so relieved to hear this news. On their webpage it still says you can see the Sumatran tigers "cuddling with their keepers", which IMO promotes a view of these animals as pets to visitors rather than the wild animals they really are. Hopefully they go through with this and the webpage is updated soon
Click to expand...

I’m glad Australia Zoo are moving to PC with their tigers for the sake of their staff and promoting natural behaviours in their animals.

The main thing visitors will be missing out on is seeing keepers in their exhibit interacting with them, which is no great loss. Tigers used to participate in the Crocoseum show, but this still continues with Saltwater crocodiles and a range of bird species.

They have four young tigers in a cohesive grouping, which will make for a lively exhibit. There’s countless ways the zoo can provide enrichment such as an overhead pulley system (used at Melbourne to deliver meat); or the many climbing poles used at other zoos to inspire them to climb to reach their food. Visitors would be thrilled to see that!
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’m glad Australia Zoo are moving to PC with their tigers for the sake of their staff and promoting natural behaviours in their animals.

The main thing visitors will be missing out on is seeing keepers in their exhibit interacting with them, which is no great loss. Tigers used to participate in the Crocoseum show, but this still continues with Saltwater crocodiles and a range of bird species.

They have four young tigers in a cohesive grouping, which will make for a lively exhibit. There’s countless ways the zoo can provide enrichment such as an overhead pulley system (used at Melbourne to deliver meat); or the many climbing poles used at other zoos to inspire them to climb to reach their food. Visitors would be thrilled to see that!
Click to expand...
I love pulley system and climbing pole enrichment for big cats!! Super entertaining for both the cats and the visitors. That would be a great way to continue presenting their cats to guests in a dynamic manner but in a more natural and safer way
 
PantheraLeoMelanochaita said:
I love pulley system and climbing pole enrichment for big cats!! Super entertaining for both the cats and the visitors. That would be a great way to continue presenting their cats to guests in a dynamic manner but in a more natural and safer way
Click to expand...

Yeah it really engages the cats and is entertaining for the visitors (without treating the animals as a performer). A number of zoos in the region use it for other species - Wellington Zoo have climbing poles for their Snow leopard; and Orana Wildlife Park use the pulley system (on the ground) to showcase the speed a Cheetah is capable of. It’d be great to see Australia Zoo implement the latter with their Cheetah. It would surely become one of the highlights of the visit.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Yeah it really engages the cats and is entertaining for the visitors (without treating the animals as a performer). A number of zoos in the region use it for other species - Wellington Zoo have climbing poles for their Snow leopard; and Orana Wildlife Park use the pulley system (on the ground) to showcase the speed a Cheetah is capable of. It’d be great to see Australia Zoo implement the latter with their Cheetah. It would surely become one of the highlights of the visit.
Click to expand...
Yeah that would be super cool for the cheetahs as well! As you mentioned, things like that strike the perfect balance in a zoo between entertaining guests without patronizing or demeaning the animals. In my opinion zoos and aquariums should only have shows if they showcase an aspect of the animal's natural behavior, so that guests leave respecting and admiring the species rather than saying "ooh I want one!!"
 
PantheraLeoMelanochaita said:
Yeah that would be super cool for the cheetahs as well! As you mentioned, things like that strike the perfect balance in a zoo between entertaining guests without patronizing or demeaning the animals. In my opinion zoos and aquariums should only have shows if they showcase an aspect of the animal's natural behavior, so that guests leave respecting and admiring the species rather than saying "ooh I want one!!"
Click to expand...

I fully agree. Aside from showcasing natural behaviour e.g. an aerial rope line for orangutans or a large carcass for a pack of African wild dogs, I’m a great believer the greatest visitor engagement comes from observing a large social grouping of animals - a large herd or a troop (as opposed to a pair or a trio).

Some zoos have troops of Hamadryas baboons numbering in the hundreds, while even 10-20 is an improvement on the 3-5 baboons some zoos hold. You get to observe so much more when they have the opportunity to function as a natural group. Obviously solitary species are exempt from this - but even semi-social species like tigers can be kept in small groups (such as the sibling quartet at Australia Zoo).
 
Zoofan15 said:
I fully agree. Aside from showcasing natural behaviour e.g. an aerial rope line for orangutans or a large carcass for a pack of African wild dogs, I’m a great believer the greatest visitor engagement comes from observing a large social grouping of animals - a large herd or a troop (as opposed to a pair or a trio).

Some zoos have troops of Hamadryas baboons numbering in the hundreds, while even 10-20 is an improvement on the 3-5 baboons some zoos hold. You get to observe so much more when they have the opportunity to function as a natural group. Obviously solitary species are exempt from this - but even semi-social species like tigers can be kept in small groups (such as the sibling quartet at Australia Zoo).
Click to expand...
That's crazy, I've never heard of a zoo with that many before! That would be amazing to see! And yes, getting to see natural social interactions up close is one of the best parts of watching zoo animals. I was at the Bronx Zoo in July and the entire gorilla troop was on exhibit and I just stood there for so long watching them interact. I wonder what educational benefits for the general public watching things like that has, vs. just learning facts and figures about the species? I love informational zoo signage too, but seeing animals actually in action in a natural manner is what really inspires people to care about wildlife
 
PantheraLeoMelanochaita said:
That's crazy, I've never heard of a zoo with that many before! That would be amazing to see! And yes, getting to see natural social interactions up close is one of the best parts of watching zoo animals. I was at the Bronx Zoo in July and the entire gorilla troop was on exhibit and I just stood there for so long watching them interact. I wonder what educational benefits for the general public watching things like that has, vs. just learning facts and figures about the species? I love informational zoo signage too, but seeing animals actually in action in a natural manner is what really inspires people to care about wildlife
Click to expand...

Yes, Singapore and Emmen hold some of the largest captive colonies of Hamadryas baboons in the world. Melbourne and Sydney Zoo currently have the largest troops of this species in the Australasian region, which both number in the late teens.

The main benefit for the public is a large social grouping makes for an engaging exhibit i.e. there’s always something happening. If a young baboon wants to play, but is the only juvenile in the troop, you might see it playing alone with a leaf or it’s mother’s tail. Compare this to a troop where there’s five or six other young baboons willing to engage in play fighting. Beyond that’s, there’s great scope to observe sexual dimorphism - and compare prime aged males to adolescent males to adulthood females in colouration and appearance.

Signs are all well and good - but really all people want to know is the animals name and perhaps a fact about them e.g. this is our dominant lioness, she has a short fuse and can be identified by her pale coat. Anything else, visitors can search online on their phones if they’re truly interested e.g. weight, diet etc.
 
=
Zoofan15 said:
Yes, Singapore and Emmen hold some of the largest captive colonies of Hamadryas baboons in the world. Melbourne and Sydney Zoo currently have the largest troops of this species in the Australasian region, which both number in the late teens.

The main benefit for the public is a large social grouping makes for an engaging exhibit i.e. there’s always something happening. If a young baboon wants to play, but is the only juvenile in the troop, you might see it playing alone with a leaf or it’s mother’s tail. Compare this to a troop where there’s five or six other young baboons willing to engage in play fighting. Beyond that’s, there’s great scope to observe sexual dimorphism - and compare prime aged males to adolescent males to adulthood females in colouration and appearance.

Signs are all well and good - but really all people want to know is the animals name and perhaps a fact about them e.g. this is our dominant lioness, she has a short fuse and can be identified by her pale coat. Anything else, visitors can search online on their phones if they’re truly interested e.g. weight, diet etc.
Click to expand...
Yes, and always having something going on is a great way to inspire people to visit the zoo again, because every time is different. Plus the closer a zoo can mimic an species' natural social structure the better, and with baboons large, multi-generational troops are how they live in the wild. Another animal this would be great for is lions- my pipe dream is a zoo with a pride of lions numbering in the dozens, with lion mothers, daughters and even granddaughters together and a male coalition of unrelated males- lion exhibits at zoos, at least the ones I've been to, oftentimes will just have one male and a couple females or even brother-sister pairs of lions, which isn't how they'd live in the wild since males disperse from their natal prides. I watched a video on the Zoospensefull YT channel of Kolmarden Zoo with the largest captive pride I've seen, and with lions of varying ages, which I'd love to see at more zoos.
 
PantheraLeoMelanochaita said:
=

Yes, and always having something going on is a great way to inspire people to visit the zoo again, because every time is different. Plus the closer a zoo can mimic an species' natural social structure the better, and with baboons large, multi-generational troops are how they live in the wild. Another animal this would be great for is lions- my pipe dream is a zoo with a pride of lions numbering in the dozens, with lion mothers, daughters and even granddaughters together and a male coalition of unrelated males- lion exhibits at zoos, at least the ones I've been to, oftentimes will just have one male and a couple females or even brother-sister pairs of lions, which isn't how they'd live in the wild since males disperse from their natal prides. I watched a video on the Zoospensefull YT channel of Kolmarden Zoo with the largest captive pride I've seen, and with lions of varying ages, which I'd love to see at more zoos.
Click to expand...

The majority of Australasian zoos hold single digit numbers of lions in both breeding and non breeding groups.

The exception to this is Monarto Safari Park, who hold a pride of 12 - with two litters of cubs expected this month. This birth will make their pride the largest the region has seen since the days of the drive through lion parks in the 1970’s and 1980’s (sadly before my time). The only other pride that’s come close in recent decades was Cairns Wildlife Safari in Queensland (now closed), which housed around 15 lionesses with a single vasectomised male.

Monarto’s pride consist of three adult males, three adult lionesses (two of which are pregnant) and the six offspring (aged two to three years) of the dominant lioness. When the males were introduced to the pride, they attempted to form a multigenerational pride (with the mothers/aunts of the breeding females), but the post reproductive lionesses refused to accept the incoming males.

This is the pride in case you were interested:

1.0 Kashka (20/10/2015) Johari x Nilo
1.0 Kito (20/10/2015) Johari x Nilo
1.0 Kubwa (20/10/2015) Johari x Nilo
0.1 Husani (24/04/2013) Leroy x Tiombe
0.1 Nia (24/04/2013) Leroy x Tiombe
0.1 Makena (18/06/2013) Leroy x Kiamba
0.1 Adira (16/02/2020) UNK/MULT x Husani
0.1 Chikondi (16/02/2020) UNK/MULT x Husani
0.1 Zahara (16/02/2020) UNK/MULT x Husani
1.0 Chad (24/01/2021) UNK/MULT x Husani
1.0 Ruka (24/01/2021) UNK/MULT x Husani
0.1 Malika (24/01/2021) UNK/MULT x Husani
Aaaa
 
Zoofan15 said:
The majority of Australasian zoos hold single digit numbers of lions in both breeding and non breeding groups.

The exception to this is Monarto Safari Park, who hold a pride of 12 - with two litters of cubs expected this month. This birth will make their pride the largest the region has seen since the days of the drive through lion parks in the 1970’s and 1980’s (sadly before my time). The only other pride that’s come close in recent decades was Cairns Wildlife Safari in Queensland (now closed), which housed around 15 lionesses with a single vasectomised male.

Monarto’s pride consist of three adult males, three adult lionesses (two of which are pregnant) and the six offspring (aged two to three years) of the dominant lioness. When the males were introduced to the pride, they attempted to form a multigenerational pride (with the mothers/aunts of the breeding females), but the post reproductive lionesses refused to accept the incoming males.

This is the pride in case you were interested:

1.0 Kashka (20/10/2015) Johari x Nilo
1.0 Kito (20/10/2015) Johari x Nilo
1.0 Kubwa (20/10/2015) Johari x Nilo
0.1 Husani (24/04/2013) Leroy x Tiombe
0.1 Nia (24/04/2013) Leroy x Tiombe
0.1 Makena (18/06/2013) Leroy x Kiamba
0.1 Adira (16/02/2020) UNK/MULT x Husani
0.1 Chikondi (16/02/2020) UNK/MULT x Husani
0.1 Zahara (16/02/2020) UNK/MULT x Husani
1.0 Chad (24/01/2021) UNK/MULT x Husani
1.0 Ruka (24/01/2021) UNK/MULT x Husani
0.1 Malika (24/01/2021) UNK/MULT x Husani
Aaaa
Click to expand...
That's super interesting! I'll have to look into that zoo! : )
 
PantheraLeoMelanochaita said:
That's super interesting! I'll have to look into that zoo! : )
Click to expand...

Thanks to @marmolady and @Swanson02, we have some excellent photos of Monarto’s lion exhibit in the gallery:

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/african-lion-exhibit.633179/

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/female-lions.622750/

I run the Australasian population list for African lion (updated each year in January). The latest regional population list is at the bottom of Page 8 (Post #160); with a photo of Monarto’s lionesses and offspring on Page 9 (Post #175) of this thread:

https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/australasian-african-lion-population.481418/page-8
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top