by the end of next year taronga will have finalised its bull elephant facility, doubling the space available to the elephants to more than 4000 square metres.
there is a section of the zoo earmarked for an asian highlands precinct to be built in the next few years-it sits adjacent to wild asia and could be connected to the elephant barn. if taronga decided to expand into this part of the zoo it would again enlarge the exhibit space, and its a feasible idea considering most of the species earmarked for the asian highland zone are now going to be phased out of ARAZPA institutions. exhibits for snow leopards and tahr are already in place, so this area i am thinking of is essentially freed up.
on the grass comment......i dont think anyone expected the grass to hold up to the impact of 5 elephants, but i dont think it makes it a bad exhibit, just not as pretty as it was before the animals moved in. i dont think grass is 'needed' for breeding, look at chester zoo for example. the elephants have fresh browse every day and are surrounded by lush vegetation, and of the 2000 metres of exhibit, the whole thing is terraced, essentially creating 2 seperate exhibits, increasing the level of visual interest for the animals. what the elephants recquire is a largish exhibit which they have, exercise and enrichment opportunities, stimulation from the surrounding exhibits and a stable herd structure. the fact that our climate in Australia is so mild does not negate the animals need for space, but it does mean that the animals dont have to have as much space indoors to compensate for the winter months when they cant really go outside.
your point about the animals temperment is a valid one.....no one knows what will happen. but taronga spent a hell of a long time selecting the animals on the basis of temperment and ability to forge a herd, and the animals have a strong connection with a stable and highly skilled keeping team who are employing cutting edge management/husbandary techniques. i am confident that the animals will continue to be able to walked out of their exhibit in the future, with the obvious exception of the bull.
if Taronga's elephant team can foster and nurture this bond with their animals than there is no reason to suspect that walking the cows down to the bulls paddock every day couldnt happen wiell into the future.
personally, my vision for taronga zoo does not include animals like giraffes and rhino. when it comes down to megavertebrates id only keep elephant, river hippo, big cats, bears and great apes. with species like giraffe, rhino, zebra and antelope being relocated permanently to Western Plains Zoo, giving the fewer species more room. id spread the asian elephant across the entire middle section of the zoo, and change the current african waterhole exhibit into an immersion exhibit for gorilla, hippo and small primate. once again, as with elephants, exciting maxi exhibits could be centred around one or two large, charismatic species.
there is a section of the zoo earmarked for an asian highlands precinct to be built in the next few years-it sits adjacent to wild asia and could be connected to the elephant barn. if taronga decided to expand into this part of the zoo it would again enlarge the exhibit space, and its a feasible idea considering most of the species earmarked for the asian highland zone are now going to be phased out of ARAZPA institutions. exhibits for snow leopards and tahr are already in place, so this area i am thinking of is essentially freed up.
on the grass comment......i dont think anyone expected the grass to hold up to the impact of 5 elephants, but i dont think it makes it a bad exhibit, just not as pretty as it was before the animals moved in. i dont think grass is 'needed' for breeding, look at chester zoo for example. the elephants have fresh browse every day and are surrounded by lush vegetation, and of the 2000 metres of exhibit, the whole thing is terraced, essentially creating 2 seperate exhibits, increasing the level of visual interest for the animals. what the elephants recquire is a largish exhibit which they have, exercise and enrichment opportunities, stimulation from the surrounding exhibits and a stable herd structure. the fact that our climate in Australia is so mild does not negate the animals need for space, but it does mean that the animals dont have to have as much space indoors to compensate for the winter months when they cant really go outside.
your point about the animals temperment is a valid one.....no one knows what will happen. but taronga spent a hell of a long time selecting the animals on the basis of temperment and ability to forge a herd, and the animals have a strong connection with a stable and highly skilled keeping team who are employing cutting edge management/husbandary techniques. i am confident that the animals will continue to be able to walked out of their exhibit in the future, with the obvious exception of the bull.
if Taronga's elephant team can foster and nurture this bond with their animals than there is no reason to suspect that walking the cows down to the bulls paddock every day couldnt happen wiell into the future.
personally, my vision for taronga zoo does not include animals like giraffes and rhino. when it comes down to megavertebrates id only keep elephant, river hippo, big cats, bears and great apes. with species like giraffe, rhino, zebra and antelope being relocated permanently to Western Plains Zoo, giving the fewer species more room. id spread the asian elephant across the entire middle section of the zoo, and change the current african waterhole exhibit into an immersion exhibit for gorilla, hippo and small primate. once again, as with elephants, exciting maxi exhibits could be centred around one or two large, charismatic species.
Dont know whats happening to the Diana Monkeys . But will try and find out! I am a student at Newquay college in Zoological Conservation , and we are always i the zoo as its next door.
