Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos

Jambo said:
I'm thinking Mogo is the best option for a third facility. Adelaide are still years away from building a Sri Lankan Leopard enclosure, and Melbourne's stance on the situation is unclear. Melbourne could plan to import Sri Lankan Leopards as part of a replacement for their Elephants; but this all depends on whether they're wanting to fully replace the entirety of the elephant complex or not.

It's exciting to see a new species becoming established within our region.
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I imagine Mogo's facility will be quite small, so I imagine them taking on a single leopard; or possibly the two brothers at Canberra with the view of transferring one to Adelaide when their exhibit is constructed. Similarly, I could see Melbourne Zoo becoming a non breeding holder with a sibling pair held as ambassador animals.

I hope this interest spreads to New Zealand. They'd be exciting additions to Auckland and Hamilton Zoo. Wellington Zoo have no interest in acquiring them given their efforts are going towards importing Snow leopard in the next year and that their climate isn't ideal.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I imagine Mogo's facility will be quite small, so I imagine them taking on a single leopard; or possibly the two brothers at Canberra with the view of transferring one to Adelaide when their exhibit is constructed. Similarly, I could see Melbourne Zoo becoming a non breeding holder with a sibling pair held as ambassador animals.

I hope this interest spreads to New Zealand. They'd be exciting additions to Auckland and Hamilton Zoo. Wellington Zoo have no interest in acquiring them given their efforts are going towards importing Snow leopard in the next year and that their climate isn't ideal.
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I would hope that any interested parties join the EEP for them sooner rather than later or they won’t be holding any of them
 
Zorro said:
I would hope that any interested parties join the EEP for them sooner rather than later or they won’t be holding any of them
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True. Both zoos that have bred have a limited holding capacity and will ideally need to shift their cubs on as they reach maturity. The demand will dictate how quickly they'll breed the next litter, but there's a good chance a number of new holders will arise to take advantage of the opportunity they're being offered here.
 
Jambo said:
Is the application process very lengthy? I would've imagine Adelaide would've applied already as they seem so keen to import them once an enclosure for them is built.
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Zorro said:
I not sure long it takes the two zoos who are both members would know for sure
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I believe its a relatively simple application process that would likely take few weeks to be processed once the criteria has been satisfied. Plans outlining accommodation and containment facilities would need to be submitted, but these are apparently sufficient over physically building said facilities as DDZ didn't commence construction until after they had approval.
 
Jambo said:
With Werribee soon to hold a breeding group too, Spotted Hyena appear to have a bright future in our region. Mogo is the sixth holder of this species joining Perth, Monarto, Altina, Sydney and the National Zoo.
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That’s good to hear this is what our zoos should be doing so we don’t end up in the same old situation of having species fading away after a few years.
 
Zorro said:
That’s good to hear this is what our zoos should be doing so we don’t end up in the same old situation of having species fading away after a few years.
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Considering a decade ago, Monarto and Perth were the only regional holders of this species, it's great to see the region dedicated to a specific species. With new genetics introduced via the Sydney and Altina imports, hopefully this regional program will continue to grow in the years to come.
 
Zorro said:
That’s good to hear this is what our zoos should be doing so we don’t end up in the same old situation of having species fading away after a few years.
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Jambo said:
Considering a decade ago, Monarto and Perth were the only regional holders of this species, it's great to see the region dedicated to a specific species. With new genetics introduced via the Sydney and Altina imports, hopefully this regional program will continue to grow in the years to come.
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It was especially important to import a new female line given all the females otherwise descended from Kigali prior to the import of Malika. They’re a long lived species and she will hopefully have a long and successful reproductive life ahead of her.
 
Jambo said:
Considering a decade ago, Monarto and Perth were the only regional holders of this species, it's great to see the region dedicated to a specific species. With new genetics introduced via the Sydney and Altina imports, hopefully this regional program will continue to grow in the years to come.
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Also there’s a lot more of the smaller regional zoos have appeared since then
 
Zorro said:
Also there’s a lot more of the smaller regional zoos have appeared since then
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It’s been thrilling to see a revival of this species within the region. A decade or two ago, hyenas were largely something consigned to the history books of our region’s zoos. This week, I was reading about Auckland Zoo’s hyena in the 1950’s and have previously read stories about the old cages at Wellington and Taronga.

Perth and Monarto have sustained an interest in them within the region and now several other zoos have joined them. I look forward to hearing of breeding success and new holders in the years to come.
 
Zoofan15 said:
It’s been thrilling to see a revival of this species within the region. A decade or two ago, hyenas were largely something consigned to the history books of our region’s zoos. This week, I was reading about Auckland Zoo’s hyena in the 1950’s and have previously read stories about the old cages at Wellington and Taronga.

Perth and Monarto have sustained an interest in them within the region and now several other zoos have joined them. I look forward to hearing of breeding success and new holders in the years to come.
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One could also include the Maned Wolfs with the same situation
 
Zorro said:
One could also include the Maned Wolfs with the same situation
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I was more meaning in a historical context i.e. species you’d see in a 1920’s zoo that you don’t see now (like wolves and coyote); but there’s been some great revivals like the Maned wolf you listed (thank you Altina); and the Grant’s zebra (thank you Darling Downs Zoo). My next letter of thanks will be to Melbourne Zoo, who will soon beguile us with Mandrill.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I was more meaning in a historical context i.e. species you’d see in a 1920’s zoo that you don’t see now (like wolves and coyote); but there’s been some great revivals like the Maned wolf you listed (thank you Altina); and the Grant’s zebra (thank you Darling Downs Zoo). My next letter of thanks will be to Melbourne Zoo, who will soon beguile us with Mandrill.
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Are you sure the Mandrill importation is happening?
 
Zorro said:
Are you sure the Mandrill importation is happening?
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As they say in the zoo world, no import is certain until it happens.

@austrlain zoo gower was advised by staff it would happen in the next year, so I’d say it’s unlikely they’d be disclosing the import to visitors unless they were confident of it happening.

At a minimum, we can regard this as Zoos Victoria having a serious intention of importing Mandrill that goes beyond the consideration phase e.g. Taronga Zoo are considering Okapi; Perth Zoo are considering Indian rhinoceros.
 
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