Darling Downs Zoo Darling Downs Zoo news
- Thread starter Jabiru96
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I believe they could be coming from Spain sometime in 2020!
Hopefully the breeding pair at DDZ will not be directly related to the breeding pair at the National Zoo.
It would be ideal if at least two generations could be bred from these founders (by the the subsequent pairing of their unrelated first generation offspring), without the need to immediately import mates for their respective offspring.
While Sri Lankan leopards may be managed as one population under the EEP, their is obviously a significant geographical gap.
Its likely the zoos here getting them have looked into how related the animals coming here are also I believe Adelaide were interested in a pair also!
BTW: Singapore Zoo also already participates in the EAZA/EEP Sri Lanka leopard. So distance is not an issue for the EAZA/EEP.
Darling Downs Zoo has welcomed two Maned Wolves (1.1 - a breeding pair) from Altina! The zoo is the second zoo to house the species in Queensland.
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It's exciting to see another new holder for this species. Fane was born at Altina Wildlife Park in mid 2017. He had two littermates (both female) named Dahlia and Eartha. His name is Spanish and means 'Man with a crown.'
Jake
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Dahlia and Eartha are at Wildlife HQ for anyone wondering.
One of the most impressive things about Darling Downs Zoo is that they're one of the zoos leading the way in terms of imports and breeding programmes. The most obvious example is how through their own initiative, they're one of the zoos pioneering the import of Sri Lankan leopards into the region; but they also have a thriving breeding troop of Hamadryas baboon and now have a breeding pair of Maned wolves. It's refreshing to see, compared to the new Sydney Zoo who have simply acquired non breeding animals of ABC species to fill the majority of their exhibits.
The zoo shared an additional video filmed by the local news. It gives a better idea of their enclosure (which looks like the enclosure that housed their tiger).
I'm glad the zoo has every intention of breeding maned wolves.
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I do agree the DDZ are really leaping ahead in the short amount of time they have been around. The huge import of ten Zebra from the USA a few years ago is something I would expect of a major zoo, but I believe this was the largest importation of Zebra ever into this country as far as I can tell, with all the new and badly needed bloodlines that will help out other collections in the region. The two female Baboons imported from Poland unrelated to any others in our region. The importation of two groups of Giant Tortoises the first group of ten and another large group for other zoos within the region.I believe they will become more important over time due to the sheer number of new bloodlines being imported for a number of species held within the region
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I contacted the zoo and their Sumatran tiger is alive and well. The wolves are housed in her enclosure and she is now living in the future leopard enclosure temporarily.
I would not be to surprised if larger Tiger enclosures were built in the future, I had noticed a mention on their facebook page of new Lion enclosures are planned which are six times larger than the current ones on site!
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I visited Darling Downs Zoo today and as always, it was incredible to seen the developments and new acquisitions since my last visit in December 2018 (here I was thinking I only visited only a couple of months ago – where did that time go!
)
My friend and I had the zoo to ourselves as we were the only visitors today. We saw most of the animals out and about despite the rain (which soon cleared). If anyone plans on visiting DDZ in the future I highly recommend attending the keeper talks. They were very informative and explained in detail the zoo’s future intentions and breeding plans for each species covered.
Some notes and observations from my visit:
-The most notable surprise was that the zoo had received 3.0 Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys. The monkeys live in an enclosure which previously housed Red-handed Tamarins and are mixed with Brazilian Agouti. The tamarins (a family of four) now live in an exhibit between the Emperor and Cottontop Tamarins. It was good to see that both the Emperor and Red-handed Tamarins had young juveniles.
-Their baboon group is currently at eleven individuals and two of their females (including a first-time mother) are pregnant. This group will eventually move from their current enclosure to a much larger exhibit up the hill near the cheetahs and giraffes. The zoo is also looking into castrating some of their males to keep them in the current group if suitable homes are not found for them at other facilities.
-A new male lion recently arrived from Sydney (presumably Zambi Wildlife Retreat). The keeper mentioned that both of their lion prides have failed to breed recently and they plan to introduce this new male to most likely the three tawny females. The new arrival brings the zoo’s lion population to 3.5.
-The tiger is currently off-display in the den area of future Sri Lankan leopard enclosure. The enclosure itself is progressing well. Before the leopards arrive (late 2020), the zoo is constructing a new maned wolf enclosure in the South American area so the tiger can move back into her original enclosure. Whilst on the subject of cats, the two hand raised Servals from Hunter Valley Zoo have settled in well and rotate their on-display enclosure with an older female.
-The pair of Maned Wolves are a welcome addition to the zoo and they hope they will breed in the next couple of years. The keeper also mentioned that more zoos are becoming interested in breeding the species.
-It was great to see my first Cape Porcupine. The porcupine is mixed with a large group of meerkats and spends most of her time in the indoor area. The zoo recently discovered that their supposedly all-female group of meerkats had one male. Seeing that Queensland zoos are not allowed to breed meerkats, the zoo castrated the male and he is therefore still able to live with the group of females.
-The zoo currently has 3.2 Rhesus Macaques; an elderly breeding pair, the pair’s daughter who has been partnered with a new male, and a hand raised male (Ronny) who was the last offspring of the original pair. They hope to continue breeding macaques with the young pair.
-The zoo now has at least two Whiptail Wallabies on-display in a large paddock enclosure. I am glad Walkabout Creek is not the only place that has this striking species on-display.
-DDZ no longer has Capybara; but their elderly pair of Brazilian Tapir (Alf, their male recently turned 28) and the Patagonian Mara are still at the zoo. The Yellow Anaconda is also still alive.
-I saw a few bird species that I hadn’t seen at zoo before, either because they were hiding on previous visits or they are new arrivals. These species included Nankeen Night Heron, Eastern Whipbird, Ring-necked Pheasant and Spinifex Pigeon. A few bird species (Scarlet Macaws and Pied Stilts) were sitting on eggs.
-A Perentie is also now on-display near the Squirrel Monkey/Agouti enclosure.
For more photos see here:
Darling Downs Zoo - ZooChat
)My friend and I had the zoo to ourselves as we were the only visitors today. We saw most of the animals out and about despite the rain (which soon cleared). If anyone plans on visiting DDZ in the future I highly recommend attending the keeper talks. They were very informative and explained in detail the zoo’s future intentions and breeding plans for each species covered.
Some notes and observations from my visit:
-The most notable surprise was that the zoo had received 3.0 Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys. The monkeys live in an enclosure which previously housed Red-handed Tamarins and are mixed with Brazilian Agouti. The tamarins (a family of four) now live in an exhibit between the Emperor and Cottontop Tamarins. It was good to see that both the Emperor and Red-handed Tamarins had young juveniles.
-Their baboon group is currently at eleven individuals and two of their females (including a first-time mother) are pregnant. This group will eventually move from their current enclosure to a much larger exhibit up the hill near the cheetahs and giraffes. The zoo is also looking into castrating some of their males to keep them in the current group if suitable homes are not found for them at other facilities.
-A new male lion recently arrived from Sydney (presumably Zambi Wildlife Retreat). The keeper mentioned that both of their lion prides have failed to breed recently and they plan to introduce this new male to most likely the three tawny females. The new arrival brings the zoo’s lion population to 3.5.
-The tiger is currently off-display in the den area of future Sri Lankan leopard enclosure. The enclosure itself is progressing well. Before the leopards arrive (late 2020), the zoo is constructing a new maned wolf enclosure in the South American area so the tiger can move back into her original enclosure. Whilst on the subject of cats, the two hand raised Servals from Hunter Valley Zoo have settled in well and rotate their on-display enclosure with an older female.
-The pair of Maned Wolves are a welcome addition to the zoo and they hope they will breed in the next couple of years. The keeper also mentioned that more zoos are becoming interested in breeding the species.
-It was great to see my first Cape Porcupine. The porcupine is mixed with a large group of meerkats and spends most of her time in the indoor area. The zoo recently discovered that their supposedly all-female group of meerkats had one male. Seeing that Queensland zoos are not allowed to breed meerkats, the zoo castrated the male and he is therefore still able to live with the group of females.
-The zoo currently has 3.2 Rhesus Macaques; an elderly breeding pair, the pair’s daughter who has been partnered with a new male, and a hand raised male (Ronny) who was the last offspring of the original pair. They hope to continue breeding macaques with the young pair.
-The zoo now has at least two Whiptail Wallabies on-display in a large paddock enclosure. I am glad Walkabout Creek is not the only place that has this striking species on-display.
-DDZ no longer has Capybara; but their elderly pair of Brazilian Tapir (Alf, their male recently turned 28) and the Patagonian Mara are still at the zoo. The Yellow Anaconda is also still alive.
-I saw a few bird species that I hadn’t seen at zoo before, either because they were hiding on previous visits or they are new arrivals. These species included Nankeen Night Heron, Eastern Whipbird, Ring-necked Pheasant and Spinifex Pigeon. A few bird species (Scarlet Macaws and Pied Stilts) were sitting on eggs.
-A Perentie is also now on-display near the Squirrel Monkey/Agouti enclosure.
For more photos see here:
Darling Downs Zoo - ZooChat
A nice review, The Leopard enclosure looks huge in that pic?. Glad to hear they now have Squirrel monkeys they are a really nice species. Also glad to know they have a pair of Whiptail wallaby. Good to see some green grass in the pics I hope the zoo is greening up a lot since my visit! The zoo is powering ahead a non stop work in progress!
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Some of the recent births in the European region include 0.2 at Banham Zoo 12/09/2017; and 1.1 at Burgers Zoo 26/05/2018, so they are possibilities. The two females born at Banham Zoo (Yala and Nimala) were transferred to Parc des Félins in France (I assume with the intention of being introduced to a male); so maybe the first of the sisters to successfully breed will stay (and the other will be exported). There will be many other options, but it seems common sense to import young animals (and as distantly unrelated to the National Zoo’s pair as possible).
It’s exciting to see a breeding programme start up in the region from the beginning; with the first holders all receiving breeding pairs. Kind of like the Sumatran tiger breeding programme (which officially began in the region 1990), where the current holders - Taronga and Melbourne; and the next three - Perth, Wellington and Adelaide, all received breeding pairs.