Australia Zoo Australia Zoo news

[Zoofan15]

So According to Australia Zoo's Website The Cheetahs will Be on Display in 2021 Along with The Sumatran Elephants

So the Cheetahs will have their own exhibit then?

Interesting. So they have plans on having two species of exotic mammal go on display next year, I will believe it when I see it. From their website for anyone interested:
Our Animals at Australia Zoo - We Love All Of Our Wildlife!

It was my understanding when the elephants arrived in 2019 that they wouldn’t be on display until 2021. I believe the main reason given was they needed time to settle in (in addition to getting the exhibit ready); though Anjalee at Auckland Zoo went on public display shortly after arrival and thrived on the stimulus of meeting the public and a new exhibit.

Most zoos avoid housing Cheetah near other big cats (especially if they plan to breed) - precisely for the stress the proximity of having lions and tigers nearby can cause them. Having their own exhibit away from the tigers will be ideal for them; and it’ll be good to see them on display.

 

[Thomas]

Also based on the website, it seems I think the black and white ruffed lemurs are now on exhibit with the Ring-tailed Lemurs in Bindi’s Island.

 

[WhistlingKite24]

Also based on the website, it seems I think the black and white ruffed lemurs are now on exhibit with the Ring-tailed Lemurs in Bindi’s Island.

Unless it has been a very recent development, they are off display in an avairy-style enclosure behind the Africa section. They tried putting their three males a few years ago on one of the islands but it was unsuccessful. In any case, I will double check with the zoo.

 

[Riley]

Another 2 Giraffe calves, Tallbert and Hunter. The zoo hasn’t yet announced which giraffe are the mothers but both calves are doing well.

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[WhistlingKite24]

Another 2 Giraffe calves, Tallbert and Hunter. The zoo hasn’t yet announced which giraffe are the mothers but both calves are doing well.

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It’s nice the zoo get to have two Giraffe calves growing up together. Australia Zoo have now welcomed twelve successful giraffe births since 2013. All have been sired by male Forrest (2007).

 

[Zorro]

It’s nice the zoo get to have two Giraffe calves growing up together. Australia Zoo have now welcomed twelve successful giraffe births since 2013. All have been sired by male Forrest (2007).

They have done well with Giraffes I have got to give them credit here!

 

[Zoofan15]

Another 2 Giraffe calves, Tallbert and Hunter. The zoo hasn’t yet announced which giraffe are the mothers but both calves are doing well.

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I'm not one to complain about Australia Zoo's (giraffe calf) names, but Hunter? Seriously? First of all, while it can potentially kill a lion with a single kick; as a herbivorous species, a giraffe doesn't 'hunt' in the traditional sense. Second of all, 'Hunter' is the name of one of their Sumatran tigers and one of the most high profile animals in the zoo.

I know Australia Zoo are all about being eco-warriors and recycling; so perhaps they've extended this to using names on their animals. I look forward to the birth of Scout and Delilah.

 

[WhistlingKite24]

Further information on these two male giraffe calves. The older calf Tallbert was born to female Rosie on the 30th June and other male, Hunter was born to Penny five days ago on 14th August. Rosie has produced four successful calves with this most recent one being the first male she has had - Skye (2013), Scarlett (2017), Sophie (2018) and Tallbert (2020). Penny has also now had fourth successful births to date - Lily (2014), Gigi (2016-2020), Billy (2018) and Hunter (2020).
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I also just received a response back from Australia Zoo about an update on a future on-display cheetah exhibit. The curator that emailed me back said they are currently in the planning stage for a new cheetah display and it will be completed in approximately two years. She did however emphasise that it was difficult to know exactly when this will occur and a set area for the enclosure has not been designated yet. It’s also interesting to note that on the zoo’s website the phrase “on display in 2021” has been edited for the elephants (it now says "intended display date is 2021") and completely removed for the cheetahs...

 

[Zorro]

Further information on these two male giraffe calves. The older calf Tallbert was born to female Rosie on the 30th June and other male, Hunter was born to Penny five days ago on 14th August. Rosie has produced four successful calves with this most recent one being the first male she has had - Skye (2013), Scarlett (2017), Sophie (2018) and Tallbert (2020). Penny has also now had fourth successful births to date - Lily (2014), Gigi (2016-2020), Billy (2018) and Hunter (2020).
Yahoo is now a part of Verizon Media

I also just received a response back from Australia Zoo about an update on a future on-display cheetah exhibit. The curator that emailed me back said they are currently in the planning stage for a new cheetah display and it will be completed in approximately two years. She did however emphasise that it was difficult to know exactly when this will occur and a set area for the enclosure has not been designated yet. It’s also interesting to note that on the zoo’s website the phrase “on display in 2021” has been edited for the elephants (it now says "intended display date is 2021") and completely removed for the cheetahs...

This back play seems normal for Australia zoo the goal posts can and often change from day to day dont expect to much to happen to soon!

 

[Zoofan15]

This back play seems normal for Australia zoo the goal posts can and often change from day to day dont expect to much to happen to soon!

Like gorilla and orangutan island. Instead we got Bindi’s Island - home to a geographical melting pot of lemurs and tortoises from Madagascar; Boa constructor and macaws from South America; and Alligator snapping turtle from North America.

I probably could have put aside my disappointment at the great apes getting canned if they rehashed the island as ‘Fauna of Madagascar.’ It’s an island - and it’s next to the African exhibits; but the substitute is a little too commercialised for my liking.

 

[Zorro]

Like gorilla and orangutan island. Instead we got Bindi’s Island - home to a geographical melting pot of lemurs and tortoises from Madagascar; Boa constructor and macaws from South America; and Alligator snapping turtle from North America.

I probably could have put aside my disappointment at the great apes getting canned if they rehashed the island as ‘Fauna of Madagascar.’ It’s an island - and it’s next to the African exhibits; but the substitute is a little too commercialised for my liking.

I believe the snapper has been removed now.
I had mentioned before that they had on their website a few yeasr ago they were going to build the worlds largest gorllia exhibit but any mention of Gorillas has long since been removed,lol. Orangs were a big species of interest but nothing has been mentioned about them a long time

 

[WhistlingKite24]

Like gorilla and orangutan island. Instead we got Bindi’s Island - home to a geographical melting pot of lemurs and tortoises from Madagascar; Boa constructor and macaws from South America; and Alligator snapping turtle from North America.

I probably could have put aside my disappointment at the great apes getting canned if they rehashed the island as ‘Fauna of Madagascar.’ It’s an island - and it’s next to the African exhibits; but the substitute is a little too commercialised for my liking.

Not to mention the freshwater crocodile, rainbowfish and gudgeons from Australia; the species found on the island have been a bit of a mixed bag. I have always particularly disliked the tiny ‘parrot on a stick’ exhibit for the macaws.

 

[Zorro]

Not to mention the freshwater crocodile, rainbowfish and gudgeons from Australia; the species found on the island have been a bit of a mixed bag. I have always particularly disliked the tiny ‘parrot on a stick’ exhibit for the macaws.

It appears what ever makes a cheap and easy exhibit now I guess they figure most of the public dont know any better!

 

[Zoofan15]

It appears what ever makes a cheap and easy exhibit now I guess they figure most of the public dont know any better!

To be fair they probably don’t. The average visitor doesn’t know the difference between a Cheetah and a leopard; and if you throw Jaguar into the mix, their head really starts spinning.

That said, what better place to educate these people on taxonomy and the geographical origin of species than a zoo? Blackbuck do not belong in an African Savannah exhibit because they’re from India; the white tiger is not endangered; the blue fish is not Dory, it an Indo-Pacific surgeonfish, Tawny frogmouths are not owls....

 

[Zorro]

To be fair they probably don’t. The average visitor doesn’t know the difference between a Cheetah and a leopard; and if you throw Jaguar into the mix, their head really starts spinning.

That said, what better place to educate these people on taxonomy and the geographical origin of species than a zoo? Blackbuck do not belong in an African Savannah exhibit because they’re from India; the white tiger is not endangered; the blue fish is not Dory, it an Indo-Pacific surgeonfish, Tawny frogmouths are not owls....

All true @Zoofan15 but I believe Austzoo do this due to having the lack of species to display so its just "filler" species to make up the numbers they lack

 

[WhistlingKite24]

I visited Australia Zoo today (I was gifted a new annual pass so it looks like I will continue visiting the zoo every so often). There were some changes I noticed around the zoo:

-The highlight of my visit was the walkthrough Rainforest Aviary. I arrived at the aviary at 8:50am (the zoo opened earlier than usual today) and spent a good hour or so looking for birds. I basically had the aviary to myself besides the bird keepers, who were busily doing their daily bird counts and placing out food which was also very interesting to see. Anyone who has visited this aviary knows how thickly-planted it is, but after a while, I managed to see three new species I had never seen in this particular aviary before; Regent Honeyeater, Superb Fairy Wren (the keepers told me they only had one male) and Sacred Kingfisher.

Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia)

• WhistlingKite24
• 27 Sep 2020

-The Reptile House also had some new additions on-display today which was very pleasing to see. There are now some Corn Snakes mixed with their Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (unusual mix but I have seen it at Melbourne Zoo if I recall correctly). The other new additions were some White-lipped Tree Frogs. They lived in the gift shop at the front of the zoo temporarily and have now moved in with the Green Tree Python.

White-lipped Tree Frog (Litoria infrafrenata)

• WhistlingKite24
• 27 Sep 2020

-There was also a pair of new turtles (native species most likely) in the freshwater crocodile/fish tank on Bindi’s Island. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact species as the reflection of the glass was awful, however I emailed the zoo and await a response. The Red-eared Sliders haven’t been on-display for quite a while now.

-The elephant enclosure was occupied briefly today. I saw a Cheetah (male Lawrence) accompanied by his keepers in there. The zoo currently house six Cheetahs according to a keeper.

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

• WhistlingKite24
• 27 Sep 2020

-I saw lots of birdlife today at the zoo; golden whistlers, robins, fairy wrens and scarlet honeyeaters in particular were abundant in the upper part of the zoo. I even saw a Lace Monitor trudging around near the stork enclosure.

Wild Male Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta)

• WhistlingKite24
• 27 Sep 2020

A Wild Lace Monitor!

• WhistlingKite24
• 27 Sep 2020
• 1

For more photos of the animals and their enclosures see here: Australia Zoo - ZooChat

I will also be writing up a species list (exhibit by exhibit) in the coming days.

 

[WhistlingKite24]

Three very good pieces of news from the zoo's magazine publication:

-Australia Zoo recently received a male Red Panda, Nima from the National Zoo and Aquarium, Canberra. According to the studbook he was born at Hamilton Zoo in 2012 and moved to Canberra in 2015. This means there are now two red pandas in Queensland who are called Nima; not confusing at all! The article also mentions that they will receive a female in the near future. I am not sure if the zoo's resident red panda, Ravi is still at the zoo, but I will try and find out on my next visit.

-The Elongated Tortoises (Indotestudo elongata) are already on-display and I completely missed them yesterday! The trio moved into the rhinoceros iguana enclosure at the front of the zoo back in July. I must have not looked hard enough in their enclosure. Australia Zoo also successfully hatched one of these tortoises a few months ago, which is also very good news.

-And now for my favourite piece of news. The zoo have plans to put some of their poison dart frogs on-display; and I quote from the magazine, "recently, we have undertaken a poison dart frog breeding program and we are now building a fantastic, new home for guests to learn about these happy hoppy friends."

 

[WhistlingKite24]

Here are a few bits and pieces from today's visit:

*there was a new species in the Rainforest Aviary - Red-browed Finches (Neochmia temporalis), which are probably my favourite species of Australian estrildid finch. In the same area, I also saw Chestnut-breasted Mannikins (Lonchura castaneothorax) for the first time in the aviary. They have been signed for ages but I have never managed to find them. I also saw a Red-collared Lorikeet (Trichoglossus rubritorquis) which I didn't see on my last visit.

Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)

• WhistlingKite24
• 20 Nov 2020

*one of the enclosures in the reptile house was under construction and fully covered with a screen. Builders were in there all day changing the design of the exhibit. It formerly housed an Eastern Tiger Snake and will presumably be the future home of the poison dart-frogs - very exciting.

*no sign of the Elongated Tortoises in the rhino iguana enclosure unfortunately. They could have been in the dark den area which cannot be seen very well by the public.

*keepers were introducing their male Common Wombat to their females in the hope of more wombat joeys. He usually lives with their sole hairy-nosed wombat in an enclosure situated opposite them.

*lots of wild birds today - my first ever Azure Kingfisher along the walk across from the lemurs, a family of Red-backed Fairy Wrens near the giraffes, a pair of Channel-billed Cuckoos in Roo Heaven and a Nankeen Night Heron with the brolgas were some of the highlights.

Wild Red-backed Fairy Wren (Malurus melanocephalus)

• WhistlingKite24
• 20 Nov 2020

More photos of my visit can be seen here: Australia Zoo - ZooChat

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

Nice bit of bird watching there.

BTW: Chestnut-breasted Mannikins (Lonchura castaneothorax), also famously called the bully bird!

 

[Chlidonias]

BTW: Chestnut-breasted Mannikins (Lonchura castaneothorax), also famously called the bully bird!

Famously? I have never heard that name before.

I googled it and it seems like every website using it is just copying Wikipedia's text.

I wonder if Australians are familiar with the name?