Darling Downs Zoo Darling Downs Zoo news

Jabiru96 said:
Article on Alf the male Brazilian tapir (from Alma Park): Alf the tapir fits in at Darling Downs Zoo | Gatton Star

Darling Downs is also soon to receive a female from Taronga (mentioned in the Taronga thread already).
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I'm so hoping that the person who wrote this comment was doing so tongue in cheek.
- Cattle Creek 15 days ago 1 reply

?I don't think this creature should be anywhere near the Darling Downs. What happens if or when he gets loose and starts breeding with domesticated or Feral pigs. It'll be the cane toad issue all over again.

Imagine a herd of these things stampeding through your rose garden. You can kiss the Carnival of Flowers goodbye. Send him back from where he came from. The Trail Boss
"
 
Construction is underway on a climate controlled facility for Emperor Tamarins. Once completed a pair will be imported from Europe as part of the breeding program, Quote from Facebook:

Our first building project for 2015 is a very significant one. The Darling Downs Zoo has been accepted into the European management program for Emperor Tamarins as well as the Australian Species Management Program for this species. Wild populations of Emperor Tamarins are in decline due to deforestation, human encroachment and the subsequent forest fragmentation. Captive breeding could be vital for the long term preservation of this charismatic species.
Here in Australia only 4 zoos currently keep this species so we are importing a male and a female from different zoos in Europe to ensure new bloodlines in the Aussie population.
Because this is a species that comes from the Amazon we are building a climate controlled facility for them right next door to our Cotton-top Tamarins and Pygmy Marmosets
 
Again, I woul like to applaud the increasing inter-regional cooperation in individual conservation breeding programmes. Something that needs far more attention, also at both the WAZA and the regional associations / regions themselves!!!
 
Climate-controlled facility? Why? Darling Downs isn't the coldest nor hottest place to keep tamarins.
 
An update from Facebook on the lion cubs and some of the zoo's future plans.

The Darling Downs Zoo welcomed three beautiful White Lion cubs last month. This is the second litter for proud parents Shaka and Shenzi who were imported from South Africa by the zoo back in 2010. Their first cub, Kwanza, still lives at the zoo with three tawny females in a non-breeding pride. Shenzi’s milk supply ran out when he was ten days old resulting in him having to be hand raised. This time she is raising the cubs perfectly and they are gaining weight rapidly. She is a very calm, patient mother.

Because she is such a good mum; and tolerates us removing the cubs for weighing, health checks and today’s photo call for Nine News and the Sunday Mail; we have decided to offer our visitors limited photo encounters with them. At 11am each day the cubs will be available for a unique encounter. This will be conducted in an off-exhibit area of the zoo and will be conducted by our most experienced keepers. Only a very few visitors will be able to take part in this fabulous experience. The cost will be $150 per person and bookings by phone or by email will be essential to secure your participation. Visitors who have not paid for the encounter will not be able to access the encounter area. All of the money raised by this encounter will be used to support and increase the zoo’s captive conservation ambitions.

Our involvement with the Emperor Tamarin species management program is well under way and there are a number of other high profile [and high cost] projects that we are committed to. These include the housing of a breeding group of Giraffe at Darling Downs, our involvement in the global program for the captive conservation breeding of Sri Lankan Leopard, the acquisition of a breeding group of Addax and participation in The Australian Rhino Project. All of these endeavours are involving us in huge financial outlays and so the money raised by your participation in our White Lion encounter will help us enormously.
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the emperor tamarins should be arriving around Easter, says their Facebook page which is good news. Also great news (again, from their Facebook), bilbies and mahogany gliders:

Some very important new arrivals have just gone into quarantine at the Darling Downs Zoo!!!

The zoo has been admitted into the Species Management Program for Queensland Bilbies and Patty and Jett, a young male and female, have now arrived from Dreamworld and Charleville. They are both just over a year old and we have high hopes that they will breed once they have settled down here. Bilbies bred at our zoo from this pair will be placed into other breeding situations and suitable animals will be returned to safe havens in the wild. You don’t have to own a zoo to do your bit to help this fascinating species. Visit Save The Bilby Fund - Help us save the bilby to learn how you can help. Our Bilbies will be on show to our visitors just in time for the Easter holidays!

The zoo is also participating in a managed program for Mahogany Gliders. These Gliders were presumed to be extinct for over 100 years – in fact they hadn’t been seen for so long that people began to doubt that they had ever existed. They were rediscovered in 1989 near Tully in North Queensland. They live in open forest in a stretch of coastline only 140 kilometres long and 40 kilometres wide. Within that area they are vulnerable to introduced threats such as barbed wire, cats, motor vehicles, land clearing etc as well as native threats such as predatory birds. Tropical Cyclone Yasi also caused havoc to the population, and their habitat, in 2011. Our role is to house animals not currently needed in the breeding program and so two females, Meunga and Tully, have now made their tree change move from the Gold Coast to the beautiful Darling Downs.
They should also have completed their quarantine in time to be on public view in time for the Easter holidays.
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from their Facebook:

MEERKATS IT IS!!

The first ever to be seen in Queensland and only at the Darling Downs Zoo.

..........

The first Meerkats will arrive later next week – just in time for the school holidays. More will arrive over the next few weeks. Our zoo will initially hold a single sex group with breeding animals to be added later after our government is confident that Queensland zoos can safely keep this species.
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