toothlessjaws
Well-Known Member
three years?!! thats positive. it took over twenty to see those nyala come in!!!
Common Hippopotami in Australasian Zoos – News, History and Discussion
- Thread starter Zoofan15
- Start date
From what I heard, it could be a lot quicker than that.
Yes, Tulip, Lotus and Pansy are all a result of father-daughter matings. This isn't uncommon in the region, see my notes on the Auckland Zoo Hippopotami (link is at the start of this thread).
Hopefully some new imports will happen soon. Maybe this is why Werribee hasn't received one of the bulls from Taronga Western Plains Zoo (aside from the fact they are related to the females at Werribee).
Sorry, can't add anything more.
toothlessjaws
Well-Known Member
I did notice an application was made recently for pygmy's to go back on the live import list - indicating there is definitely an intention....
Common Hippopotami at Taronga Western Plains Zoo
The founder of the Taronga Western Plains Zoo herd is a female named Suzie:
Suzie (F)
Born at Taronga Zoo 26/03/1970
Arrived at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 08/04/1976
Died at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 28/06/2016
Suzie bred with a male named Toby (Studbook Number 1121) to produce three calves that survived to adulthood:
Harold (M)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 07/03/1978
Sent to Werribee Open Range Zoo 30/10/1984
Daisy (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 12/03/1982
Sent to Tipperary Station 13/10/1989
Happy (M)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 24/12/1985
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Suzie bred with a male named Ollie (Studbook Number 1080) to produce two calves that survived to adulthood:
Mana (M)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 31/03/1996
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Nile (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 15/05/1999
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Taronga Western Plains Zoo imported a female named Rumbin to breed with Happy:
Rumbin (F)
Born at Adelaide Zoo 22/02/1986
Arrived at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 20/10/1989
Died at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 04/10/2011
Happy and Rumbin produced one calf that survived to adulthood:
Mafuta (F)
Born 18/03/1991 at Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Fate Unknown (Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in 2007)
Taronga Western Plains Zoo imported a female named Cuddles to breed with Mana:
Cuddles (F)
Born at Tipperary Station 00/09/2002
Arrived at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 00/03/2013
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Mana and Cuddles have two surviving calves:
Kibibi (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/09/2014
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Kendi (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 25/05/2017
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Additional notes/info:
Common Hippopotamus have been held at Taronga Western Plains Zoo since 1976. The first three hippos came from Taronga Zoo and were a male named Toby and two females named Suzie and Mumsy.
In 1979, another male arrived from Taronga Zoo. This was either Billy or Ollie (most likely Ollie).
In 1992, a male and a female arrived from Taronga Zoo. The female was called Lindy and the male was either Billy or Ollie (most likely Billy).
Suzie is not to be confused with her older sister, Susie (born 1967), who died at the Adelaide Zoo in 2017.
In addition to Harold, Daisy, Happy, Mana and Nile, Suzie had four non surviving calves. She bred with Toby to produce a calf that was stillborn in February 1990 after Suzie had a fight with another female, Rumbin; and then bred with Ollie to produce a calf in September 1993, that was killed the next day by Happy and a calf born in August 1998, that was killed two days later by Rumbin. Does anyone know details on her other calf that died or the dates of birth and death for Toby and Ollie?
In addition to Mafuta, Rumbin had three non surviving calves. They are a calf who was born in November 1996 and died two days later, a calf who was born in August 1998 and was killed by an exhibit mate 18 days later and a calf that was born in May 1999 and died two days later. Does anyone know what happened to Mafuta? An article from 2007 mentions her as being at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, but a post on Zoochat concerning hippos at this facility in 2013 no longer lists her.
In addition to Kibibi and Kendi, Cuddles has had one non surviving calf (born 2013 or 2014). Does anyone know details on this calf?
Cuddles and her two daughters are the only living descendents of the female Nada, who lived at Auckland Zoo. Nada (1937-1965) > Snorkle (1959-2010) > Solucky (1987) > Cuddles (2002) > Kendi (2014) and Kibibi (2017).
Taronga Western Plains Zoo currently hold two of the regions three bulls, Happy and Mana.
The founder of the Taronga Western Plains Zoo herd is a female named Suzie:
Suzie (F)
Born at Taronga Zoo 26/03/1970
Arrived at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 08/04/1976
Died at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 28/06/2016
Suzie bred with a male named Toby (Studbook Number 1121) to produce three calves that survived to adulthood:
Harold (M)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 07/03/1978
Sent to Werribee Open Range Zoo 30/10/1984
Daisy (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 12/03/1982
Sent to Tipperary Station 13/10/1989
Happy (M)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 24/12/1985
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Suzie bred with a male named Ollie (Studbook Number 1080) to produce two calves that survived to adulthood:
Mana (M)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 31/03/1996
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Nile (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 15/05/1999
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Taronga Western Plains Zoo imported a female named Rumbin to breed with Happy:
Rumbin (F)
Born at Adelaide Zoo 22/02/1986
Arrived at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 20/10/1989
Died at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 04/10/2011
Happy and Rumbin produced one calf that survived to adulthood:
Mafuta (F)
Born 18/03/1991 at Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Fate Unknown (Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in 2007)
Taronga Western Plains Zoo imported a female named Cuddles to breed with Mana:
Cuddles (F)
Born at Tipperary Station 00/09/2002
Arrived at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 00/03/2013
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Mana and Cuddles have two surviving calves:
Kibibi (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/09/2014
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Kendi (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 25/05/2017
Still at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 11/05/2018
Additional notes/info:
Common Hippopotamus have been held at Taronga Western Plains Zoo since 1976. The first three hippos came from Taronga Zoo and were a male named Toby and two females named Suzie and Mumsy.
In 1979, another male arrived from Taronga Zoo. This was either Billy or Ollie (most likely Ollie).
In 1992, a male and a female arrived from Taronga Zoo. The female was called Lindy and the male was either Billy or Ollie (most likely Billy).
Suzie is not to be confused with her older sister, Susie (born 1967), who died at the Adelaide Zoo in 2017.
In addition to Harold, Daisy, Happy, Mana and Nile, Suzie had four non surviving calves. She bred with Toby to produce a calf that was stillborn in February 1990 after Suzie had a fight with another female, Rumbin; and then bred with Ollie to produce a calf in September 1993, that was killed the next day by Happy and a calf born in August 1998, that was killed two days later by Rumbin. Does anyone know details on her other calf that died or the dates of birth and death for Toby and Ollie?
In addition to Mafuta, Rumbin had three non surviving calves. They are a calf who was born in November 1996 and died two days later, a calf who was born in August 1998 and was killed by an exhibit mate 18 days later and a calf that was born in May 1999 and died two days later. Does anyone know what happened to Mafuta? An article from 2007 mentions her as being at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, but a post on Zoochat concerning hippos at this facility in 2013 no longer lists her.
In addition to Kibibi and Kendi, Cuddles has had one non surviving calf (born 2013 or 2014). Does anyone know details on this calf?
Cuddles and her two daughters are the only living descendents of the female Nada, who lived at Auckland Zoo. Nada (1937-1965) > Snorkle (1959-2010) > Solucky (1987) > Cuddles (2002) > Kendi (2014) and Kibibi (2017).
Taronga Western Plains Zoo currently hold two of the regions three bulls, Happy and Mana.
In relation to sending a current bull from Dubbo to Werribee, it would seem Mana would be the best match as Happy is a full brother to Harry. (Harold)
Perhaps the plan is to try Mana again with Cuddles for a male, prior to transferring Mana to Werribee to be paired with Tulip or Lotus who are of now of breeding age?
Perhaps the plan is to try Mana again with Cuddles for a male, prior to transferring Mana to Werribee to be paired with Tulip or Lotus who are of now of breeding age?
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Why would you name a Hippo Cuddles? Like SERIOUSLY THEY KILL MORE PEOPLE IN AFRICA THAN ANY OTHER ANIMAL!
The only exception should be Fiona she's pretty cute. 
That's actually a really good idea. I'm guessing the eventual plan (assuming no imports take place any time soon) is to breed Happy with Kibibi and Kendi. This will obviously be several years away but when it happens, Cuddles could also be bred with Happy. I think they should loan Mana to Werrribee Open Range Zoo for breeding and then introduce Cuddles, Kibibi and Kendi to Happy for breeding in 4-5 years time (when Kendi is 5/6 years old).
The mother and two daughters trio at TWPZ is valuable in the long term:
1) They are all relatively close in age (15 years, 4 years and 1 year) considering females can breed into their late 30s/early 40s.
2) They are well bonded as a family group and can be kept together as the females mature (as oppose to unrelated females who commonly fight when housed together).
3) All 3 females can be bred with the other male Happy, without the need to separate any of them (if Cuddles was being bred with Mana again, steps would need to be taken to prevent him from breeding with Kibibi or Kendi etc.)
4) If any of these females produced a calf, the risk of infaticde by it's sibling (Kibibi or Kendi), aunt (Kibibi or Kendi) or grandmother (Cuddles) would be significantly lower than the risk presented by an unrelated female (where infanticide would be almost guaranteed).
5) As a consequence of reasons 2) and 4), TWPZ can exhibit a larger herd of hippos which would: a) make management easier (1 herd is easier to manage than the same number of hippos split between 3 herds; and b) make for a more exciting exhibit for the visitors (a large or even medium group of hippos is an uncommon sight in any zoo).
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Why would you name a Hippo Cuddles? Like SERIOUSLY THEY KILL MORE PEOPLE IN AFRICA THAN ANY OTHER ANIMAL!
I'm not sure if she was given that name by her birthplace, Tipperary Station, or the wildlife park in Cairns that she lived at prior to her export to Taronga Western Plains Zoo. Either way, I fully agree that something along the lines of Gnasher or Crusher would have been more accurate, though not as tasteful as the African/Swahili names of her daughters, Kibibi and Kendi.
Cuddles was still a juvenile when she arrived at Cairns Wildlife Park so maybe she was relatively docile and 'cuddly' in comparison to an adult hippopotamus.
Coincidentally, Snorkle (Cuddles' grandmother) was known for her docile nature while she lived at Auckland Zoo. A keeper there once described how you could pat her and hand feed her, while their was no doubt in his mind Faith and Fudge would kill him given the chance.
Cuddles' mother, Solucky, was also renamed to Morsey for unknown reasons by either Tipperary Station, who imported her or Cairns Wildlife Safari. She was called Solucky because her mother was Snorkle. Auckland Zoo had a tradition in the 1980s and 1990s of naming offspring names starting with the same initial as their mother's first name. This was done with many species including hippopotami, giraffe, sea lions, chimpanzee and orangutan.
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Common Hippopotami at Tipperary Station (Private Facility)
The founders of the Tipperary Station herd were two males and two females:
Unknown (M)
Born at Werribee Open Range Zoo between 1985-1988
Arrived at Tipperary Station 00/00/1989
Died at Tipperary Station <2004
Fonzee (M)
Born at Auckland Zoo 26/04/1987
Arrived at Tipperary Station 10/03/1988
Died at Tipperary Station <2004
Daisy (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 12/03/1982
Arrived at Tipperary Station 13/10/1989
Died at Tipperary Station <2003
Solucky (F)
Born at Auckland Zoo 13/03/1987
Arrived at Tipperary Station 10/03/1988
Sent to Cairns Wildlife Safari 28/09/2004
Solucky produced two calves sired by either the unknown male or Fonzee:
Cuddles (F)
Born at Tipperary Station 00/09/2002
Sent to Cairns Wildlife Safari 28/09/2004
Tippi (M)
Born at Tipperary Station 00/02/2004
Sent to Cairns Wildlife Safari 28/09/2004
Additional notes/info:
The unknown male was a son of Werribee Open Range Zoo’s breeding male, Harold, and was likely a full sibling to either Primrose or Brindabella (and a half sibling to the other).
The unknown male and Fonzee had both died by 2004, however one was still alive in 2003 and is the sire of Cuddles and Tippi.
Daisy died sometime prior to 2003.
Solucky and her two offspring were transferred to Cairns Wildlife Safari in Queensland. Solucky then produced a non surviving calf that was sired by her son, Tippi. All three hippos were then exported in 2013, Cuddles was sent to Taronga Western Plains Zoo; and Solucky and Tippi were sent to a safari park in Indonesia.
The founders of the Tipperary Station herd were two males and two females:
Unknown (M)
Born at Werribee Open Range Zoo between 1985-1988
Arrived at Tipperary Station 00/00/1989
Died at Tipperary Station <2004
Fonzee (M)
Born at Auckland Zoo 26/04/1987
Arrived at Tipperary Station 10/03/1988
Died at Tipperary Station <2004
Daisy (F)
Born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo 12/03/1982
Arrived at Tipperary Station 13/10/1989
Died at Tipperary Station <2003
Solucky (F)
Born at Auckland Zoo 13/03/1987
Arrived at Tipperary Station 10/03/1988
Sent to Cairns Wildlife Safari 28/09/2004
Solucky produced two calves sired by either the unknown male or Fonzee:
Cuddles (F)
Born at Tipperary Station 00/09/2002
Sent to Cairns Wildlife Safari 28/09/2004
Tippi (M)
Born at Tipperary Station 00/02/2004
Sent to Cairns Wildlife Safari 28/09/2004
Additional notes/info:
The unknown male was a son of Werribee Open Range Zoo’s breeding male, Harold, and was likely a full sibling to either Primrose or Brindabella (and a half sibling to the other).
The unknown male and Fonzee had both died by 2004, however one was still alive in 2003 and is the sire of Cuddles and Tippi.
Daisy died sometime prior to 2003.
Solucky and her two offspring were transferred to Cairns Wildlife Safari in Queensland. Solucky then produced a non surviving calf that was sired by her son, Tippi. All three hippos were then exported in 2013, Cuddles was sent to Taronga Western Plains Zoo; and Solucky and Tippi were sent to a safari park in Indonesia.
The safari park in Indonesia is Taman Safari Bogor.
Thanks to @Nisha for finding this article:
What happened to the exotic African animals that once roamed an outback cattle station? - Curious Darwin - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
"But after the death of two hippos during and shortly after the 4,000-kilometre journey from a zoo in Dubbo trouble was brewing."
We now know that two hippos sent to Tipperary Station from Dubbo died during transit to, and shortly after arriving at Tipperary Station.
I'm guessing that the hippo that died on route was the unnamed male mentioned above (as details on him are vague) and that the one who died shortly after was Daisy; as 'Solucky' was identified as the mother of 'Cuddles' and 'Tippi', suggesting Daisy had died long before 2002 (Cuddles' year of birth) i.e. shortly after her arrival in 1989.
toothlessjaws
Well-Known Member
This was a requirement of their IRA. They were not stationed there awaiting one.