Darling Downs Zoo Darling Downs Zoo News 2025

Thanks for the updates @Abbey. Glad to hear you had a great visit.
Abbey said:
It was great to see Kamina the female pygmy hippo, especially seeing as I regularly visit her mother, Kamina, and younger sister Lololi at Taronga. It is hoped a mate for Kamina will be able to be imported by the end of the year, although additional facilities will need to be constructed to accommodate him. Eventually the hippos are intended to have access to the dam next door.
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My hope would be that DDZ do end up acquiring a mate for Kamina as it appears there currently isn't any plans for any of the other holders to import any further animals.
Abbey said:
Tulip the giraffe is currently pregnant and due shortly. There is also at least one pregnant zebra mare in the group in the front paddock (the original herd). We had confirmation from Steve of one pregnancy, although a number of the females were looking quite round. We saw two foals, although neither was particularly little, so may have missed the one @WhistlingKite24 mentioned.
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Any idea which of the mares this would be? Zara birthed the most recent (January 2024) so it would make sense if she's the mare that's heavily pregnant and the other two (Zavannah and Angel) both had foals later last year.

Did you manage to see the second group of zebras too?
 
Jambo said:
Thanks for the updates @Abbey. Glad to hear you had a great visit.

My hope would be that DDZ do end up acquiring a mate for Kamina as it appears there currently isn't any plans for any of the other holders to import any further animals.

Any idea which of the mares this would be? Zara birthed the most recent (January 2024) so it would make sense if she's the mare that's heavily pregnant and the other two (Zavannah and Angel) both had foals later last year.

Did you manage to see the second group of zebras too?
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I did see the second group of zebras, albeit from a distance as they are housed in the paddock behind the original group. The pellets sold at the zoo entrance can be fed to the zebras via a shute which leads into the feeding trough. It was a wonderful way to see the zebras up close (only about a metre or so away through the fences).
 
Abbey said:
There is also at least one pregnant zebra mare in the group in the front paddock (the original herd). We had confirmation from Steve of one pregnancy, although a number of the females were looking quite round. We saw two foals, although neither was particularly little, so may have missed the one @WhistlingKite24 mentioned.
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Jambo said:
Any idea which of the mares this would be? Zara birthed the most recent (January 2024) so it would make sense if she's the mare that's heavily pregnant and the other two (Zavannah and Angel) both had foals later last year.
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Re zebras:

Angel gave birth December 2024, so we can rule out her being visibly pregnant (that’s not to say she isn’t in the early stages of pregnancy).

Zavannah gave gave birth September 2024, so could be pregnant with a mid-term foal (due circa October 2025). My guess is this is one of the ‘round’ mares @Abbey saw.

I agree with @Jambo the heavily pregnant mare appears to be Zara.

The new stallion Jafari arrived on site in April 2024, so it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any births in the second herd in the coming months (considering gestation is 12 months).
 
Abbey said:
The coati import has been slightly delayed due to bureaucratic/paperwork issues, but at this stage they are due to arrive within the next couple of weeks. Some of the animals will be then transferred on to another zoo in the country after quarantining at DDZ.
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Have the Coatis that are being imported been identified? If so which zoo are they coming from and how old are they?
 
Jambo said:
They would if they are to arrive in the next few weeks. I'd imagine they would be younger individuals too, although unsure as to which facility they're arriving from.
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The species has a lifespan of just 10-15 years (supported by the fact none of the 2011 offspring bred at Melbourne Zoo are alive today), so it absolutely makes sense to import young coati - perhaps at or just below the age of sexual maturity (which is 2-3 years).

If three trios are to be imported (presumably 1.2 in each group), I’m hopeful there’s some genetic variation amongst the founders so a semi-sustainable population can be established. Not like last time, where the entire first generation were sired by a single male.
 
Zoo Tour Australia said:
Have the Coatis that are being imported been identified? If so which zoo are they coming from and how old are they?
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Yes, as @Jambo said, it's inevitable the animals would have been identified as they would have already been in the country if not for bureaucratic/paperwork delays. They are coming from the US, although I am not sure how old they are.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Also, the aviary (Budgerigars, Cockatiels, Crimson-winged Parrots) near the leopards was empty
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That is a shame, I have always liked this aviary. Despite having seen all the native species housed countless times in both captivity and the wild, I always found it's inhabitants very lively and enjoyable to watch.
Zoofan15 said:
Thanks for this comprehensive update @Abbey.I’m very excited about the Pygmy hippopotamus and Brown-nosed coati imports!
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Does anyone know where in the zoo coatis are likely to be housed if successfully imported?
 
animal_expert01 said:
That is a shame, I have always liked this aviary. Despite having seen all the native species housed countless times in both captivity and the wild, I always found it's inhabitants very lively and enjoyable to watch.

Does anyone know where in the zoo coatis are likely to be housed if successfully imported?
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The zoo’s exhibits are loosely arranged by taxonomy and/or geography, so my guess would be somewhere along the central row of carnivores (though coati are technically omnivores); or perhaps near the South American monkeys.

Coati are unphased by being housed adjacent to apex predators (in contrast to small felids), which presents numerous possibilities.
 
Coatis return to Australia!

They said it couldn't be done but 2 male and 4 females arrived in Australia last night and are in quarantine at Darling Downs zoo.
Another male and 2 females will be here at the end of the year.
These three trios will be distributed between 3 zoos in an effort to restore this charismatic species to Australia!
 
Zorro said:
Coatis return to Australia!

They said it couldn't be done but 2 male and 4 females arrived in Australia last night and are in quarantine at Darling Downs zoo.
Another male and 2 females will be here at the end of the year.
These three trios will be distributed between 3 zoos in an effort to restore this charismatic species to Australia!
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Very welcome news! Congratulations to @Steve Robinson and his team on what surely would have been a monumental effort to import these.

Though it’s not been long since the last coati died, the writing had been on the wall for a long time that the previous population was going to die out; and I know many of us had lost any hope for a future for this species in Australia.
 
I'm very pleased to hear that six of the coatis have arrived in Queensland and I hope the future import of a trio will run smoothly. It is wonderful to know this species has a hopeful future in this country and I echo the sentiments of others that it is a welcome culmination of years of effort to make this import.
 
animal_expert01 said:
That is a shame, I have always liked this aviary. Despite having seen all the native species housed countless times in both captivity and the wild, I always found it's inhabitants very lively and enjoyable to watch.
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This aviary will be restocked soon - it's inhabitants are currently off display while it is being refreshed and refurbished.
 
Just a few questions
Where in the zoo will the enclosure go?
What other zoos will the coatis be going to?
What zoos did the coatis come from?
 
Some sad news from the Darling Downs Zoo, Their first white lioness has recently died.
Sheni was born in South Africa in 2009 and imported by DDZ along with an unrelated male - Shaka.
She had two litters of cubs at the zoo. Cause of death was heart failure.
She is sorely missed by the DDZ family.
The zoo still has her first cub, Kwanza, as well as Mschiana from her second litter.
 
Zorro said:
Some sad news from the Darling Downs Zoo, Their first white lioness has recently died.
Sheni was born in South Africa in 2009 and imported by DDZ along with an unrelated male - Shaka.
She had two litters of cubs at the zoo. Cause of death was heart failure.
She is sorely missed by the DDZ family.
The zoo still has her first cub, Kwanza, as well as Mschiana from her second litter.
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Thanks for sharing @Zorro. Sad news, but she would have turned 16 years old in August, so not a bad innings.

Fingers crossed her daughter Mschiana (paired with Mal); or her son Kwanza (paired with Buffy, Sassy and Sahara) can continue her line in the future.
 
Zorro said:
Coatis return to Australia!

They said it couldn't be done but 2 male and 4 females arrived in Australia last night and are in quarantine at Darling Downs zoo.
Another male and 2 females will be here at the end of the year.
These three trios will be distributed between 3 zoos in an effort to restore this charismatic species to Australia!
Click to expand...

According to my notes, with this arrival DDZ becomes the zoo with the most species of exotic mammals in Australia (34).
 
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