Taronga Zoo brazilian tapir @ taronga

gorilla exhibit options...

sounds great!

there was a nice old moreton fig in the barbary sheep exhibit, but it fell over (and stayed alive) last time i went the sheep were all over it, killing it, as it struggled to kick on. i couldn't understand why it wasn't being saved, whilst taronga is lucky to have a plethora of matured ficus trees in particular (invaluable it creating authentic-looking rainforest habitats) it would have been pretty smart if they saved the tree. especially if in the future the area will hold tropical monkeys!!

the fact that the taronga africa section will be a little mixed-up with both savannah and rainforest and madagascan species is a shame, but understandable given the current location of the gorillas and chimps and the money spent on transforming that old panda habitat into a gorillla one. personally whilst i think it is a little boring for a troop of gorillas, i think it could be quite decent for a few orangs, especially if they sustituted the available space with a second mesh exhibit, similar to melbournes. add to this the fact that it is located right next door to the other asian exhibits (and thus can be immersed into the asia precinct) and that since it would be occupied by a similar ape species means that all the money spent on it so far need not be wasted and it could be a pretty viable and logical option. this would give the zoo the opportunity to utilise some of the space near the chimps to develop a multi-viewpoint world class gorilla/colobus habitat, consolidating all of the zoos african rainforest species into one area.
 
hey pat i like that idea,

do you think the current facilities would be good for orangs, plus it would be alright, if my taronga geopgraphy is right, is the current ornag exhibit right above it, or close enough to build another, as u mentioned a mesh exhibit, linking all 3 habitats, not to mention we could add another smaller species into the adjoining small habitat. and not to mention mary the murullers gibon island is right there as well!!!

i also think the new gorrilla thing would be great, espcecially mixed species, would make more sense, and we can add the madrills to this new exhibit as we, not mixed not sure how well tht would go down :).

so why do you think it is bad for gorrillas there current one?

also if this is an orang exhibit, we can ahve a HUGE ONLINE. we can have 1 nest pole in the new ele exhibit, imagine right in front of that big viewing tower! and then link it to the new ele exhibit, and back to the renovated tiger exhibits. stenthening links to all asian areas, and would give the visitor a thing to follow, from current gorrillas to the new new bull facilities, imagine folowing a female and young along the oline, opening up to see Gung playing in a huge water fall!

also, how much did taronga just spend renovating the lion exhibit to represent the serengetti? seemed a little silly when they may be doing a new 1.
 
tropical africa

'careful interpetation and thematic representation will be the key to making this apparent adjunct function'. thats how taronga will be getting around the problem of having rainforest exhibits (chimps and gorillas) at either end of the tropical savannah. im sure they will be able to make it work.
the centrepiece is going to be the new exhibit for giraffe, oryx and zebra. flamingoes were proposed for a waterhole exhibit where the giraffe tower currently stands, but that probably wont eventuate.
the lemur exhibit on the edge of the precinct will sit, just as madagascar does, slightly seperate. by interpreting the drift of madagascar from the continent the lemur exhibit will form a vital educational tool.
the lion exhibit will be very lare, as will the mandrill and hippo enclosures. the kopje exhibit will be around where the sun bears currently are. so, new to taronga will be duiker, mandrill, colobus and flamingo. work it out which species will eventuate. no plans for rhinos...
on the masterplan, although orang-utans remain part of the zoos projected collection plan there is no clear exhibit area for them. an 'ape' exhibit had been proposed for the lower edge of wild asia, on the site of the old sun bear enclosure, but that was later drafted out of the final 'wild asia' design. this exhibit wouldbe better suited to dhole, or as a seal rookery, but if primates were displayed some great tree-top viewing opportunities would be available.
there are no plans for rhino long term...
 
also, sulawesi macaques were supposed to be part of wild asia, but they, like the abirusa and philipine spotted deer and malayan chevrotains, never turned up...
 
i like the leaf monkey, small species, which means thay can have lots of room.

i dont mind the idea of rhino at taronga, as long as enough room, i mean each of dubbos dnt have a heap of room, similar in size to the exhibits at dubbo.

i would love to se all those species listed, but i wouldnt happen, excpet colobus, a new group may be able to be established from canbraas and melbournes groups.

i thinkfor the ornags, just high towers in the old sun bears, would be good, tall towers at eye level to the visiotr pat, no need to have vewing from bottom, though i still think a large oline would be best, maybe a second asian precint, 2nd ele exhibit and orangs.

im not good at english, so what do you mean when u say the lions exhibit will be very LARE.

can u send me a photocopy hehe, i will pay for everything of course, sounds really good, how did you get it?
 
lare=large lol

sorry about that
as for the masterplan i got it a while back but its sensitive so i would hesitate to send it, but more than happy to answer questions. i just wouldnt want to get the person who i obtained it through in trouble...
i also like the francois langur, but i feel the real value of their exhibit will be realised with the inclusion of more females to create a true troop scenario. this would lead to a more dramatic display scenario with infants and more interaction, at the moment the pair are a little dull and tend to hide away on the 'limestone ridge' at the back of the exhibit. at london zoo there was a group of about 5 animals and they were fascinating.
id say that if the pygmy hippos at cairns were integrated with the regional population this species may just persist for the life of the zoo 2000 plan. the exhibit lifespan of most enclosures tend to be 20 years, which means if taronga builds a hippo enclosure it could fill it with a young hippo. mandrills and colobus are most likely candidates but the ban on importing aves and artiodactyls would rule out flamingoes and duiker.
black rhinos rotated from dubbo would be ok, too. solitairy and they have a high exhibit value. they also live in forest edge environments so could tie the grassland and rainforest habitats together, but in the long run the place of the rhino will most likely be at dubbo.
 
as for orangs, i would like to see them in the gorilla exhibit, but that wuld mean building a new gorilla exhibit. so if taronga sticks to the plan and keeps gorillas where they are, then the best location for orangs i think would be either in the old sun bear enclosure as you suggested or near the mullers gibbon pond, perhaps as an extension to the bull elephant rainforest
 
yea an extension would be best, and a large oline to other ele exhibit, maybe a trail from asia now, around to murellers, and then to new bull facilites, linking it all to one

the masterplan i have seen still has the old elephant exhibit as a food recretaional precint, so glyn what does your masterplan say about the new exhibit for gung.
 
also, i think the langurs are great, get more females and yes will be great, spec with the orange babies, will contart nicely, i think that exhibit is one of my favourites on the board walk.
 
francois' langurs

dear god!

did i read correctly?, did zooboy actually dare to have a dig at glyn about his spelling!!!!

now thats the binturong calling the panther black.........;)

i have seen lots of langur species, including francois', at the EPRC in vietnam. as a general rule, i would have to say they seem to be a particuarly shy group of monkeys, and all tened to retreat to the far reaches of the exhibit whenever you approached. of course many of these animals were wild born, so that may be a better explaination. cretinaly, they are a facinating group of primates, and whilst i never really understood how we ended up bringing in a new species (francois') only to do so at the expense of the other endangered species (such as javan langurs), i do think the farancois' are an excellent choice for a representative of their species here. not for there look, which whilst definately interesting is not particuarly better than any other species here,
but because of their place of origin.

melbourne (and i think maybe some others in our region) support the EPRC (endangered primate rescue centre) in vietnam, and believe me it is a excellent and worthwhile cause. that particular region of indochina, and vitnam in particular has an unusual and extrodinarily high degree of primate endemism. unfortunately theye are severly under attack. vietnam, has absolutely decimated much of their forest cover (no thanks in great part to a certain stupid war..) and i most of these gorgeous primates are severely endangered. the EPRC confiscates captured primates and forms breeding groups for them in captivity. they have had so much success with those super-difficult of langurs the doucs (red-shanked primarily) that they have started the long process of slowly re-adjusting some of them, including captive borns, to a life in the jungle.

francois' langurs, along with white-cheeked gibbons and (unfortunately my phase-out favorites) the slow loris are all bred at the EPRC and excellent ambassador species for the centre and the excelent work they do there..

i would like to see a "endangered primates of vietnam" sub-exhibit in an asian section highlighting and supporting the EPRC. it literally could be nothing more than two ajoining exhibits for both species and information and donation box at the viewing point...
 
tht would be a very good tool, i still dont understand why we dont have an exhibit like the congo in bronx, where it costs 3.50 to get in, and then u take the trail, and oyu see all the aniamls, leaning about them, and there plight. at the end, you decide which species and conservation project your money goes to, whether gorrilas, okapi, bush meat or elephants.

this could be acheived at melbourne, with such an asian trail, the elephants tigers, and ornags, as well as you said pat, small primates.

the congo project raised over 5 million or so dollars in the first yr alone, and all money went to project the zoos manage.
 
o and sorry, i didnt think it was an error, and why carnt i be a panther, we need some more in australia, though im pretty kool being a bintorong! they are mad, typical teen, eat all day and smells. hmm better live it up before i get to your age pat, jeez 23 your life is over ;)
 
i think it might be with the francois a confidence thing. as i said, london had an etremely confident and well adjusted troop in an enclosure with a much smaller 'flight distance' and these animals were a huge drawcard. i was lucky enough to see two babies born to the group, especialy satisfying considering that londons animals are extremely genetically valuable.
originally, the old elephant exhibit was to form part of the zoos 'heart of the zoo' precinct. to begin with, visitors arriving at taronga in the future will no longer be able to cross the wetlands. instead, all visitors will be directed through or just past amazonia, (or cape york,) to minimise the level of confusion people have (virgin taronga visitors are always lost ;) )
from there they will pass either into australia, south america or walk down the hill towards serpenteria and the tropical savannah.
alternatively, the heritage listed floral clock will be restored to a new location around near where the tassie devils currently live. it will mark the start of the 'heart of the zoo' precinct.
from here people will follow a series of cascading pools which will wind down through the site of the old seal pools, re-landscaped as parkland, past the heritage aviaries towards the elephant temple. originally, the elephant temple was to be a 'zoo museum' which would explore the roles of zoos through time amidst this historic zoo setting. the old elephant paddock would be an extension of the concert lawns and parkland, anchored by an invertebrate interp centre and with overlooks over the gibbon waterfall area. in this area there would be restaurant facilites and the tram would terminate here too. how pretty does it sound???
and then gung got rejected by auckland...my most recent correspondence from the zoo indicates that the elephant exhibit will return to its original purpose, and will be transformed with a new barn and introduction yards into a facility of equal standard to the wild asia area. i suppose construction will start after the southern oceans exhibit opens, to give gung time to mature and the funds to recoup.
hope the above helps out.
and just a bit more info, the aldabran tortoise exhibit is earmarked for an asian aviary but the condors will stay where they are. the red pandas will go between the tahr and snow leopards. and bongo and duiker were also supposed to be mized on the site of the current barbary sheep exhibit.
so, with tropical africa, the exhiit sequence would go (starting at the current giraffe exhibit) meerkats, flamingoes, giraffe, zebra, oryx. then chimps. then colbus, duiker and bongo, followed by lemurs. back to giraffe, zebra and oryx. then lions, kopje exhibits, hippo, mandrill and gorilla.
have fun working out the above info guys, and merry christmas
 
thankyou very much mate tht rocks.

they carnt move the floral clock, tht would be crap, it needs to saty there, next to the spider monkeys, it just seems so right there, always has, and should always.
 
taronga has just put a new map up, its great, with heaps of detail, lust like a photo from above. check it out, may help this thread when we are talking where exhibist are etc. and also help us plan our perfect taronga.

maybe glyn if you are good with computers, you could do a rough edit, and overlay where some ear marked ares are for exhibtis.

for example, i see now that there is a fare distance between the ornags and gorrillas, making a new exhibit in between difficult, to link as a threesome
 
also seeing now, there will be alot of room for development, once the penguins and seal thetre are moved to the new precint, glyn wwhat is earmarked for here, maybe this can be a new orangs area.

aslo glyn in a post above, you said tram to depart from heart of zoo, yarda yarda, whats this tram?
 
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no thats the new heart of the zoo area. the seal pools will be redevloped as a series of cascading waterfalls and pools. you see when taronga began thats what was there, so in many ways they are wanting to restore that historic fabric to the zoo.see my post earlier.
the spider monkey exhibit might be remodelled as a tasmanian devil enclosure. that would be a great idea, particualrly when you consider the age and value of the structure. the small garden area could be planted out with ferns and tree ferns and moat filled with rocks and sedges to give the animals more room, with some shrubs planted to add height and structure to the exhibit.
the maps are great arent they? i got one back in november, and it has all the details, righ down to the jungle ruins in the palm aviary.
if taronga was, which they arent, to rehouse the gorillas elsewhere and put orangs into their exhibit, then this is what i think should happen...
1-the current orangutan exhibit would be used for spider monekys, with the behind-the-scenes facilities utilised as a primate breeding and holding centre.
2-a new night den complex for orangutans be built behind the gorilla rainforest and linked to the exhibit by an 'o-line'.
3-the current bachelor gorilla exhibit would be utilised as a flexible holding facility to display any surplus great-ape species.
 
so just to finish off THERE IS NO NEW ORANGUTAN ENCLOSURE BEING BUILT at this stage.
THE SEAL POOLS WILL BECOME A PARK AREA
THE FLORAL CLOCK IS BEING MOVED BECAUSE OF ALL THE REASONS I SAID EARLIER AND BECAUSE THE ZOO WANTS IT RESTORED TO A MORE 'PROMINENT LOCATION'.
 
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