This is a list of all exotic mammals currently found in Australian zoos (and in some cases in private hands and research facilities because these may enter zoos at any point). I have put subspecies only where it is relevant. The localities for some species won't be complete, especially the deer and camelids, so I have made notes to that effect where appropriate.
I have attempted to include origin data for the current stock of all species but this is of course a bit patchy. Some species are well-documented, others are not. The origin data is not intended to be an account of every individual animal except in those cases where only a few unrelated individuals exist - it is instead mostly to do with the origins of the zoo populations as a whole.
However, see also this thread for more specific listings of certain mammal groups in Australasian zoos: Australasian Population List Index
Because adding all the origin data to the list on the original thread made it far too long to be contained within a single post I have had to re-start it as a brand new thread, with the list split into two posts. The third post in the thread is a compilation of "former" exotic mammals in Australian zoos. This is divided into two parts, firstly those which died out post-2000, and secondly those which died out between 1980 and 2000.
The original thread (which is now locked, but in which all posts can still be read) is here: Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos - old version
That original thread had its genesis in a thread by CGSwans, which can be seen here: exotic mammals in each Australian zoo
A discussion thread was also created when I was looking for some of the origin data, and that can be seen here: Australian zoo mammal histories
Corrections are welcomed.
ELEPHANTIDAE
*Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) – Australia Zoo; Monarto; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
The first Asian Elephant in an Australian zoo was a female named Jessie imported from India in 1882 for the zoo at Billy Goat Swamp (the fore-runner to Taronga Zoo, which officially opened in 1916 on a different site); she died in 1939.
Of the elephants currently in the country, Werribee [ex Melbourne] and WPZ [ex Taronga] have breeding herds and have produced numerous calves each.
Australia Zoo currently houses four females (Christina, Megawati, Widya, Rafflesia - all Sumatran Elephants) imported in October 2019 from Indonesia. They previously kept three ex-circus elephants, the last one leaving in 2013 after the deaths of the other two.
Monarto has three elephants: female Burma imported from Auckland Zoo (NZ) in November 2024; and females Pak Boon and Tang Mo, moved from Taronga in April 2025 [Taronga no longer keeps elephants]
Perth houses three elephants: one female (Tricia) imported from Vietnam (via Singapore) in 1963, and a male and female imported from Malaysia in 1992 (male Putra Mas and female Permai).
Sydney Zoo has two young males named Kavi and Ashoka imported from Dublin Zoo (Ireland) in October 2020. An elderly ex-circus female elephant named Saigon which was also kept at Sydney Zoo died in February 2022.
The herd at Werribee was moved there from Melbourne Zoo in early 2025. Melbourne's breeding herd was composed of a female (Mek Kapah) imported from Malaysia in 1978, three females (Dokoon, Kulab, Num-oi) imported from Thailand in 2006, and a male (Bong Su), imported from Malaysia in 1977. Calves were born from this group but the male Bong Su died in October 2017; a young Taronga-bred male, Luk Chai, was obtained in December 2020 with the aim of future breeding.
The herd at Western Plains Zoo originated from Taronga's group (split between Taronga and WPZ) which was started with a 2006 import from Thailand of one male (Gung) and four females (Tang Mo, Porntip, Thong Dee, Pak Boon). WPZ also has a female Sri Lankan elephant (Anjalee) imported from Auckland Zoo (NZ) in 2022; she was captive-bred in 2006 and imported to NZ in 2015 from Sri Lanka's Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.
EQUIDAE
*Common Zebra (Equus quagga) – Altina; Australia Zoo; Darling Downs; Hunter Valley; Mogo; Monarto; National Zoo; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo; Zoodoo
There are about 70 Zebras in Australia, and they can be roughly divided into three groups of stock (although in general all are treated as one population, and individuals are moved around between zoos).
The first group are the hybrid-subspecies descendants of original imports to the major zoos (Taronga, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth). All had kept Zebras since the early 1900s. Probably Taronga's were the dominant founders but I don't know anything much otherwise. This stock forms the basis of the current groups at Taronga, Western Plains, Mogo and National Zoo.
The second group is from 2.6 Chapman's Zebras imported to Werribee from Rotterdam Zoo (Netherlands) in 1980 (and later a male from Singapore Zoo c.1997). Monarto's current animals are derived from Werribee.
The third and most recent group are ten Grant's Zebras imported by DDZ from various zoos in the USA in early 2014. Some of these went to Zoodoo.
The other zoos have odds and ends: Altina (from Werribee), Australia Zoo (from Werribee), Perth (from National Zoo), etc. There have also been a few imports of individual animals from NZ.
*Persian Onager (Equus hemionus onager) – two males at Western Plains Zoo
The remnant animals in Australia (now just two males) are descended from eight animals, these being 2.2 from Rotterdam Zoo (Netherlands) in 1979, and 1.3 from the USA in 1982. [I have seen several different versions of these numbers and dates - the ones I give were from an article released by the zoo itself]. The last female died in 2021.
*Przewalski's Horse (Equus (ferus) przewalskii) – Altina; Monarto; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo; Zambi
The entire world population is descended from just nine founders. The first one in Australia was a male at Adelaide in 1910 (paired with a donkey). The current Australian zoo population is descended from 4.9 animals imported in 1982 to WPZ (via Melbourne Zoo) from the UK (Whipsnade, Marwell, and Midway Manor). First birth was in 1984. Adelaide also imported a pair in 1981 from the UK.
The animals currently at Zambi were privately-held animals at Fernhill Estate in Mulgoa (descended from 1.8 imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell in 1987/88, which later went to Tipperary) which were abandoned to live wild at the property until rehomed at Zambi in early-mid 2025.
There are about 60 in total held in Australia but a large proportion are post-reproductive or castrated. Animals from Australian zoos have been used in reintroduction programmes to Mongolia.
TAPIRIDAE
*Brazilian Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) – 1.1 at Adelaide; 1.0 Melbourne
The two at Adelaide are the last remnant of a good-sized population formerly breeding at Adelaide, Melbourne and WPZ.
The surviving male was bred at WPZ in 2006 and later kept at Melbourne from 2011 to 2019. The surviving female was born at Adelaide in 2002 (the mother was born at Marwell Zoo [UK] in 1987, imported to Adelaide in 2002, and died at Adelaide in 2024).
DDZ had a pair until recently: the male was originally WPZ's breeding male (then kept at Alma Park since 2012, then DDZ since 2013, and died at the end of 2021); and the female was bred at Adelaide in 1998 (kept at Taronga since 2006, then DDZ since 2014, and died in Dec 2022).
The male currently at Melbourne was imported in June 2025 from Zoo Schmiding (Austria).
*Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) – one female at Adelaide
The founder population in Australian zoos was four animals imported in the late 1990s to Taronga and Adelaide. Taronga's pair was a male from Toronto Zoo (Canada) in 1996 [at Hunter Valley Zoo since mid-2015, died August 2018] and a female from Philadelphia Zoo (USA) in 1998 [died 2008]. Adelaide's pair was a male from Singapore Zoo in 1997 [died 2008] and a female from Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) in 1998 [died 2021]. The last remaining animal in the country, a female at Adelaide, was born at that zoo in 2000.
RHINOCEROTIDAE
*Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) – Altina; Australia Zoo; Halls Gap; Mogo; Monarto; National Zoo; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
There are about 35 White Rhinos in Australian zoos (as of January 2020). The first animals imported into Australia were three (1.2) to WPZ via Taronga in 1980 from Longleat and Woburn (UK), followed in 1981 by a pair to WPZ (also via Taronga) and a pair to Werribee, all four coming from Whipsnade (UK). A male was imported to Werribee from Emmen Zoo (Netherlands) in 1997, a female to Monarto from Singapore Zoo in 2000, and groups of wild-caught animals were imported from South Africa in 1999 and 2002 to Werribee, WPZ, Perth and Monarto. A number of additional NZ animals have been imported since 1990, including the original pair at Perth in 1990 from the USA via Orana Park. The first birth in Australia was at WPZ in 1981, and they have since bred at all of the listed holding zoos except National (which has only had three males from NZ in April 2014), Mogo (two males from Australia Zoo in Jan 2015), Altina (one male from Auckland Zoo in Sept 2016, and two females from Australia Zoo and Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen [Germany] in Oct 2016), Halls Gap (one of the National Zoo's males in Oct 2018), and Sydney Zoo (one male as of Jan 2022).
*Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) – Monarto (2.0); Western Plains Zoo (6.3)
Taronga imported several from Kenya and Tanzania between 1947 and 1950, and bred nine at the zoo between 1958 and 1975. Kept at WPZ since 1991 when the last two animals in Australia were sent there from Taronga (two females: one had been bred at Taronga in 1958, and the other had come from Perth in 1981 [imported 1950/51]). In 1992 nine (2.7) wild-caught animals were imported to WPZ from Zimbabwe (2.1 died soon after), followed in 1994 by four males imported from zoos in the USA (one of these males later spent a couple of years at Taronga c.2005/2006). There have been many calves born at WPZ (about a dozen, including those now at Monarto [two males]).
*Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) – one pair at Western Plains Zoo, with one male offspring.
The male Dora was imported to Taronga from Nagoya Zoo (Japan) in 2001 and then moved on to WPZ in 2003. A female named Kua was imported from San Diego Zoo (USA) in 2006 but died at Taronga in 2007 before being moved on. A new female, Amala from Oklahoma City Zoo (USA), was imported in 2009. The first breeding was a male calf born in October 2015, which sadly died from a Tetanus infection in Sept 2017. The only other breeding is a second male, born in October 2021.
HIPPOPOTAMIDAE
*Common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) – Monarto; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
The first Hippo in Australia was at Adelaide in 1900 (died 1901), but the first breeding pair were at Melbourne, imported in 1913. The species has been in the country continuously since then, but there are only eight founders for the entire Australasian population. The current total in Australia is nine animals, all of which are females (0.2 at Monarto [transferred from Werribee in Nov 2023], 0.3 at Werribee; 0.4 at WPZ). The last male in the country died at WPZ in late 2023.
*Pigmy Hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) – Adelaide (1.0); Darling Downs (0.1); Melbourne (1.0); Taronga (0.2)
The first individual in Australia was a wild-caught female imported from Liberia to Perth Zoo in 1937 (died 1980). Of the other three major zoos, Taronga's first was in 1954 (from USA, died 1975), Melbourne's in 1970 (from USA, died 1994), and Adelaide's in 1979 (bred at Melbourne, died 2012). Many calves were bred in Australia in at least five zoos between the 1960s to 2000s. Currently there are just five animals in the country, all of which are related.
There are three female Pigmy Hippos in Australia. Kambiri was born at Taronga in 2010 (to Honolulu-born male Timmy, imported in 1981; and female Petre, who was born at Adelaide in 1984 and died at Melbourne in 2016). The second adult female currently alive in Australia is Kamina, born at Taronga in 2017 and now at Darling Downs (since November 2018). The third female Lololi was born at Taronga in January 2024.
The two males currently in the country are Felix at Melbourne Zoo, born at Mareeba in 2006 (to Melbourne-born male Kumbe and Broome-born female Fluffy); and Obi, now at Adelaide but born at Melbourne in 2015 to Felix and Petre. Taronga's male Fergus (born at Mareeba in 2009; brother to Felix) died in late 2024.
In terms of relatedness, a male named Pi, imported from Washington in 1970, sired the fathers of Petre, Kumbe and Fluffy (and the latter two shared the same father).
CAMELIDAE
*Arabian Camel (Dromedary) (Camelus dromedarius) – Altina; Darling Downs; Gorge Wildlife Park; Hunter Valley; Mansfield; Mogo; Oakvale; Shoalhaven; Sydney Zoo; Taralga; Tasmania Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo; Wings Wildlife Park; Zoodoo. [Also undoubtably held on show in other small collections apart for the ones listed here]
Introduced to the wild (via released domestics) in the mid-1800s.
*Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) – one male at Darling Downs; some hybrids at Taralga.
Apart for the single animal at DDZ and at Taralga, the last Guanacos in an Australian zoo were three pairs at Western Plains Zoo until around 2009/2010. The last three animals (1.3) then went to a private holder in Taralga (later opening as the Taralga Wildlife Park). Taronga had them at least as far back as the 1940s, and were probably the original importers.
See a comment in post #1 of this thread - Taralga Wildlife Park Review - where it says that the females which ended up at Taralga were too old to breed and hence the Guanaco left in Australia are actually hybrids produced from the male Guanaco and female Llamas. However I think the male at DDZ is the pure one originally from TWPZ.
*Llama (Lama glama) – Caversham; Darling Downs; Mansfield; National; Oakvale; Taralga; Zoodoo. [Farmed in Australia so undoubtably held on show in other small collections apart for the ones listed here]
*Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) – Adelaide (still?); Altina; Australian Walkabout Wildlife Park; Ballarat Wildlife Park; Caversham; Green Valley Farm; Gumbuya Park; Halls Gap; National Zoo; Oakvale; Symbio; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Wagga Wagga Zoo; Wings Wildlife Park; Zoodoo. [Farmed in Australia so undoubtably held on show in other small collections apart for the ones listed here]
Llamas and Alpacas have been kept in Australian zoos and farms at various times since the 1800s, but the current stock is largely the result of private imports from NZ (from Chilean imports) in 1988, followed by direct imports from Peru and Bolivia. There are now something like 200,000 Alpacas in Australia and 7000 Llamas.
CERVIDAE
The following are the collections where we know these deer species are being kept. There are many small collections in Australia which undoubtably hold one or more of these on public show as well. All are also held in private hands (e.g. deer farms).
*Rusa (Cervus timorensis) – Altina; Halls Gap; Mansfield
Introduced to the wild in various areas between the late-1800s and mid-1900s, with stock coming from Java and the Moluccas. Now also farmed commercially.
*Sambar (Cervus unicolor) – Mansfield; Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters
Introduced to several parts of the country from the 1860s through to the early 1900s, using stock from India, Sri Lanka and Sumatra. Now also farmed commercially.
*Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) – Altina; Darling Downs; Mansfield; Monarto; Taralga
Introduced widely from the mid-1800s to many parts of the country, with all the stock being English. Now also farmed commercially (in part with imports from NZ after 1985).
*Wapiti (Cervus canadensis) – Altina; Halls Gap; National Zoo
Not found wild in Australia. The species was first imported in numbers from NZ and Canada for commercial deer farming in 1985; however there may have been some in zoos prior to this also (from NZ stock).
*Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) – only on deer farms
Not found wild in Australia. The species was introduced to the wild in the late 1800s but did not establish a permanent population. The current small number on deer farms (in Victoria) originated from embryos and semen imported in the early 2000s, using Red Deer as hosts.
*Fallow Deer (Dama dama) – Adelaide (still?); Altina; Birdland Animal Park; Caversham; Cooberrie; Gorge Wildlife Park; Gumbuya Park; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Mansfield; Mogo; National Zoo; Taralga; Tasmania Zoo; Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ; Zoodoo
First released into the wild in the 1830s in Tasmania, and later elsewhere on the mainland until the early 1900s. Now also farmed commercially.
*Persian Fallow Deer (Dama (dama) mesopotamica) – Monarto
All the farmed stock in Australia is hybrid, derived from imported mesopotamica sperm used to artificially inseminate female dama in the 1980s. Monarto's animals are from this hybrid farm stock.
*Spotted Deer (Chital) (Axis axis) – Bredl's Wild Farm; Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters
The first deer species to be released into the wild in Australia. There were many releases throughout the 1800s in many parts of the country. All were from India. Now also farmed commercially. The zoos previously listed here - most recently Caversham and Hunter Valley, and prior to them also Taronga - do not keep them any longer.
*Hog Deer (Axis porcinus) – Altina; Halls Gap; Mansfield
Introduced to the wild in Victoria in 1866 (12 animals from India) where they became established. Zoo animals derive from the wild stock.
GIRAFFIDAE
*Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) – Adelaide; Altina; Australia Zoo; Darling Downs; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; Monarto; National Zoo; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
Up until the 1980s all the giraffes in Australia were descended from the herd at Taronga. In the 1920s and 30s many were imported to Australia, but the only zoo to sustain breeding was Taronga and their animals supplied the other zoos. The Taronga herd was descended entirely from three animals (a pair imported from Africa in the 1930s and a female from USA in 1950) until the import of a male from Honolulu Zoo (USA) in 1983 (which was related to the 1950 female). Melbourne's current breeding female came from Ouwehands Zoo (Netherlands) 1997. All further animals which have been imported since the 1990s have been from NZ (from Orana's Rothschild's herd and Auckland's hybrid herd [the latter is also partly descended from Honolulu Zoo animals]). There are about 85 Giraffes in Australia.
BOVIDAE
*Banteng (Bos javanicus) – Altina; Crocodylus; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands
The Banteng in Australia are all descended from a group of about 20 domestic animals (“Bali cattle”) released in the Northern Territory in 1849. The current zoo and farm animals derive from the feral population.
*Domestic Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) – Altina; Caversham; Crocodylus; Halls Gap; Mogo; Oakvale; Territory Wildlife Park; Western Plains Zoo; Wings Wildlife Park. [Also probably held in other small collections apart for the ones listed here]
The Australian population is descended from about 80 animals imported from Indonesia to settlements in the Northern Territory between the 1820s and 1850s, which were later released to become feral.
*American Bison (Bison bison) – Altina; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Mansfield; Monarto; Werribee; Wings Wildlife Park. Also in private hands.
As with NZ the founder stock was gift pairs from the Canadian government to various Australian zoos in the early 1900s. The only later additions were from NZ (e.g. at least one import to Adelaide from Auckland around the 1950s, and two animals to Monarto from Auckland in 1983). There are only about 40 Bison in zoos, but they are also held privately (the farmed stock derives from the zoo stock).
*Barbary Sheep (Aoudad) (Ammotragus lervia) – Altina; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Monarto; National Zoo; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands.
About 180 in Australian zoos, all descended from imports to Taronga. Originally from just one pair, imported from Africa in 1929. Later imports were two animals in 1952 from National Zoo (USA) and one male and three pregnant females in 1957 from Honolulu Zoo (USA).
*Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) – Altina; Halls Gap
Descended from one import of three animals from NZ to Taronga in 1932. I don't think there have been any later additions, and there are only about 20 left in zoos here. The group at Taronga were sent to Hunter Valley in 2016 due to developments there (Tiger Trek and the African Savannah), but they do not appear to be at Hunter Valley now.
*Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) – Altina; Darling Downs; D'Aguilar Wildlife; Hunter Valley; Mansfield; Monarto; National Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands
The Australian zoo (and private) population derives mostly or entirely from Taronga which was breeding them in large numbers from an original stock of three pairs in the early 1900s. Ultimately they probably originate from the same stock as the wild population in Western Australia (released c.1898). There are about 350 animals held in Australia zoos, as of January 2020.
*Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) -- only in private hands (still?)
The last on public display appear to have been a pair at Monarto in 2009/2010 (the last of the old Adelaide stock). If there are any Nilgai left in the country in private holdings - there are none left in zoos - they are stock descended from a 1987 import of 1.3 animals from Marwell Zoo (UK) to the Pearl Coast Zoo (closed 1991), which later went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary (closed 2004). Given that most of the species kept at Pearl Coast Zoo / Tipperary have since died out, it is likely that Nilgai have also done so.
*Eland (Taurotragus oryx) – Altina; Monarto; National Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
Bred in large numbers at Taronga since initial births in the 1940s (the animals were imported direct from Africa). At one point Taronga only had one breeding female, so the current animals must be extremely inbred. There are c.130 animals in Australian zoos, as of January 2020.
*Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) – Monarto; Taronga; Western Plains Zoo
There are just five Bongo currently in Australia, only one of which is a female (imported in May 2017 from Wellington Zoo [NZ], originally from Singapore Zoo). All the other Bongos in Australia are descended from three animals (2.1) imported from the USA in 1995. (A second female in that import had died without offspring). Most of the animals are at WPZ, with the other two zoos only holding one male each.
*Nyala (Tragelaphus angasii) - Altina; Melbourne; Monarto; Sydney Zoo; Werribee
Seven animals (3.4) were imported from New Zealand in November 2016. A further eight (2.6) were imported from NZ in June 2018, and two (2.0) in April 2022 [these are probably not a complete total of imports from NZ]. Sydney Zoo obtained their first Nyala in April 2022, Altina in January 2023, and Melbourne in June 2024.
The only other Nyala in Australia in recent decades were two pairs imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell Zoo (UK) in 1988. After the zoo's closure in 1991 they went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary, and later may have gone to the Mary River Station (Tipperary closed in 2004). They had all died at some point between 1991 and the 2000s though.
*Common Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) – Altina; Monarto; Werribee
Less than fifteen left in the country, all descended from a trio (1.2) imported by Werribee from Honolulu Zoo (USA) in 1995.
*Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) – Altina; Darling Downs; Monarto; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands.
The zoo stock (c.80 animals) is mostly descended from 2.5 imported by Werribee from Fossil Rim (USA) in 1994. The stock in private hands is descended from two imports by the Pearl Coast Zoo of one pair (?) from Midway Manor (UK) in 1988, and 12 animals from the USA via NZ in 1991; these later went to Mary River after the zoo's closure. Altina's animals came from Mary River, as do some additional animals at the other zoos.
*Scimitar-horned Oryx (Oryx dammah) – Altina; Monarto; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands.
There are c.130 animals in Australian zoos (and more also kept privately). Mostly descended from 5.4 imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell Zoo (UK) in 1987, and four from the USA via NZ in 1991. Animals bred at Orana Park (NZ) also appear to have been imported to other zoos in the 1980s and 1990s.
TAYASSUIDAE
*Collared Peccary (Pecari tajacu) – Melbourne
The formerly-large Australasian population was derived solely from one pair imported to Wellington Zoo (NZ) from Canada in 1969 (the last peccary in New Zealand died in 2011). In 2005 there was only one non-castrated male left in Australia (at Melbourne), which was then mated with several of the remaining females. The last individual at Adelaide (a male) was sent to Melbourne in 2015. As of January 2020 there were only four (1.3) animals left in Australia (all at Melbourne), which had decreased to 1.2 by the following year.
PRIMATES
*Sunda Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang) – Perth
Two animals, a three-year-old male and a ten-year-old female, were imported from Singapore Zoo in April 2018. The female has since died and the zoo now has only the male.
During the 1970s and 80s many zoos kept lorises of various species (N. coucang, N. bengalensis, N. pygmaeus, and Loris tardigradus - although at the time only two species of lorises were scientifically recognised, the Slow Loris N. coucang and the Slender Loris L. tardigradus). Most of the animals were specifically imported by the zoos but some were the results of confiscations of smuggled animals. Before the current two animals imported by Perth, the last lorises in Australia were a Bengal Slow Loris N. bengalensis at Melbourne Zoo and two Sunda Slow Lorises at Melbourne Zoo and Perth Zoo. The Melbourne Zoo's Sunda Slow Loris died in 2014 and the other two animals died in 2015.
*Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) – Adelaide; Altina; Australia Zoo; Currumbin; Darling Downs Zoo; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; Monarto; National Zoo; Oakvale; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Symbio; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ
Population seems in good shape, with about 130 animals in the country, but I don't have any details otherwise. There have been many imports from Europe and the USA so there are a reasonable number of founders.
*Black And White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata) – Altina; Darling Downs Zoo; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; National Zoo; Perth; Tasmania Zoo; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ
There are about 35 Ruffed Lemurs in Australia but most of the animals in the country were produced from the breeding pairs at Perth and Mogo.
*Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) – Adelaide; Altina; Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Darling Downs; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Mogo; Perth; Shoalhaven; Symbio; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ
This species is managed internationally but the Australian population is in pretty poor shape now. Historically they have bred well here, since the initial main import by Adelaide of five pairs from the National Zoo (USA) in 1980 (descendants of which are still in the country), but now there are only about 35 animals, many of them elderly and few breeding. Currently Adelaide and Mogo are having good results. There are several imported animals from the USA, Europe and Singapore along with the Australian-bred ones.
*Emperor Tamarin (Saguinus imperator) – Adelaide; Altina; Darling Downs; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; Perth; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ
The former mixed-subspecies population in Australian zoos was phased out, and new European imports of pure S. i. subgrisescens were made to Melbourne and Perth in the mid-2000s. In 2013 there were some additional animals imported from Europe and South Africa. The last male in NZ, originally from Germany, also went to Australia in 2013. As of January 2020 there are about 45 animals in Australian zoos.
*Cottontop Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) – Adelaide; Alexandra Park Zoo; Altina; Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Crocodylus; Currumbin; Darling Downs; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hartley's Crocodile Adventures; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; National Zoo; Perth; Symbio; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ; Zoodoo
In Australasia this species is entirely managed by a studbook system and has a number of international founders. I don't know any details about the population but there are about 90 individuals in Australian zoos.
*Red-handed Tamarin (Saguinus midas) – Crocodylus Park; Darling Downs; Hunter Valley; Mogo; Tasmania Zoo
Three pairs were imported by Darling Downs Zoo at the start of 2018. Two pairs remained there and one pair went to Hunter Valley Zoo. They have since bred at both zoos. From these breedings Tasmania Zoo obtained a pair in December 2022, Crocodylus Park in late 2023, and Mogo in July 2025.
Previously this species had also been kept at Perth Zoo and the Pearl Coast Zoo. Perth had imported a breeding pair from Skansen Zoo (Sweden) in 1984 and by 1991 they had 3.4 animals according to a TAG Workshop, although by the following year they were recorded as only having 2.0. Those last two animals were later sent to Mogo Zoo, where they died in the early 2000s.
*Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) – Altina; Banana Cabana; Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Cooberrie; Crocodylus; Darling Downs; D'Aguilar Wildlife; Gorge; Gumbuya World; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park; Mansfield; National Zoo; Paradise Country [Gold Coast]; Perth Zoo; Shoalhaven; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ; Wild Cat Conservation Centre; Wings Wildlife Park; Zoodoo. Also in research facilities.
There are about 120 Common Marmosets in Australian zoos but their ancestries are largely unknown and most are probably related. The species was formerly imported into Australia in large numbers as laboratory animals. The zoo population appears to be largely or entirely derived from lab animals as there have been (as far as I know) no imports since the 1970s and at the start of the 1990s the only ones in any ARAZPA zoo were at Gorge.
*Pigmy Marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) – Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Darling Downs; D'Aguilar Widllife; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Mogo; National Zoo; Perth; Symbio; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Wild Cat Conservation Centre; Wildlife HQ
The three main breeders in the country were Adelaide, Perth and Mogo, which all imported them in the early 2000s (Perth also in the early 1990s); they are currently no longer kept at Adelaide however. There have been several further imports in the later 2000s from Europe and the USA. There are now about 60 animals in Australian zoos.
*Bolivian Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis) – Adelaide; Darling Downs; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; National Zoo; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ; ZooDoo
Composed of remnant older stock from 1970s imports (subspecific-hybrids and mostly post-reproductive) and new stock (pure S. b. boliviensis). The new ones are an import of males from Apenheul (Netherlands) in 2010; an import of two males and twelve females from La Boissierre du Dore (France) in 2014; plus additional animals from NZ (bred from an import of 30 animals to NZ in 2012). When the new imports occurred there were only about a dozen of the older animals left in Australia, of which a few are still alive currently (the older stock was not mixed with the pure subspecies). Total number in Australian zoos is c.55 animals (as of January 2020).
*Black-capped Capuchin (Sapajus (Cebus) apella) – Altina; Banana Cabana; Crocodylus; Darling Downs; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park; Mansfield; Mogo; National Zoo; Shoalhaven; Sydney Zoo; Tasmania Zoo; Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters; Wild Animal Encounters; Wings Wildlife Park; Zoodoo
This species has been kept and bred in zoos and circuses for a very long time, and the population is very inbred. Animals from NZ have been brought in, but I don't know when the last ones from outside the region have been imported. Currently there are about 100 animals in Australian zoos.
*Colombian White-fronted Capuchin (Cebus versicolor) – Gorge; Mansfield
Originally at Perth Zoo (since the 1930s). The last ones (by then just 2.1) from Perth's colony went to Halls Gap in 2010, and from there to Mansfield in 2013. The group at Gorge (six animals) probably also originated at Perth. The White-fronted Capuchins in Australia were of what was once the subspecies Cebus albifrons pleei, later synonymised with C. albifrons versicolor (in 2001), which was later split as a full species (in 2012).
*Geoffroy's (Black-handed) Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) – Banana Cabana; Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Crocodylus; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ
This species has been widely kept in Australian zoos since the early/mid 1900s and the resulting population is a subspecific-hybrid mix. There are about 50 animals in the country, but many are either post-reproductive or are not in effective breeding situations (most are in pairs, trios, or single-sex groups).
*Douroucouli (Aotus sp) – Wildlife HQ; otherwise only in a Brisbane research facility of the ADF
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) imported 46 individuals from the USA in 2007/2008 for research into mosquito-borne diseases. Forty others were similarly imported for research purposes in 1982/1985, and there were a few in zoos also at that time.
Wildlife HQ has animals on display as of early 2025.
The last zoo to keep them previously was Perth, which still had one animal at the start of the 1990s. In the 1980s all Aotus were treated as one species, A. trivirgatus, so it is impossible to be precise as to identities. The more recent ones (2007/2008) were imported as Nancy Ma's Douroucouli A. nancymaae but this may or may not be accurate.
*Black And White Colobus (Colobus guereza) – Adelaide; Melbourne; National Zoo
Formerly in two separate breeding groups dating back to the 1980s, at Melbourne (C. g. guereza from the UK) and Perth (C. g. kikuyuensis from the USA). The two groups were later mixed. The only later additions were a male imported to Monarto in 2006 from the USA, and three females to Adelaide in 2020 from France. There are currently about fifteen animals in the country.
*De Brazza's Monkey (Cercopithecus neglectus) – Tasmania Zoo
One pair was imported in July 2023, currently housed at Tasmania Zoo but ultimately bound for Darling Downs Zoo.
The species was formerly well-established in the major zoos since the late 1970s. The CITES Database lists imports to Australia of seven animals from Spain and USA in 1977; three from Canada in 1978; four from Spain in 1979; one from the UK in 1989; and one from Spain in 2001. A halt to breeding by the ZAA in the early 2000s reduced them to a remnant of post-reproductive "retired" animals. By 2015 there were just five animals left, at Mogo, National and Tasmania Zoos; and the last individual died at National Zoo in May 2019.
*Vervet (Chlorocebus sp.) – Werribee
A group of ten was imported in 1996 from the USA. All the current animals (eleven animals in January 2020, down to nine [6.3] as of January 2022) were bred at Werribee.
The animals were imported as C. aethiops (formerly all Chlorocebus were lumped as C. aethiops), later labelled as C. pygerythrus johnstoni by the ZAA and the zoo itself, and now as C. aethiops johnstoni. In the zoo's 2021 inventory they are back to labelling them as C. pygerythrus. However see this post and those following it (Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos) which discuss why the animals are probably hybrids.
Perth also had a colony of a Chlorocebus species until late 2006 when the remaining four animals (one of which was a baby born that year) were sent to Gorge. These appear to have all since died. These animals were called C. aethiops by the zoo and listed by the ZAA as being C. aethiops johnstoni.
*Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) – Adelaide
Formerly at other zoos also, including Perth until 1994, Taronga until early 2000s (possibly derived from a 1953 import of three animals from Africa) and Melbourne until late 2017 (see below).
Adelaide's troop started in 1964 with 1.2 from Berlin Zoo (Germany), two of which turned out to be hybrids with Drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus). In 1975 they got a pure male from Taronga and paired him with their one pure female (removing all the hybrids, so the troop was thus derived from just two pure animals). In 2008 they replaced their original male with one bred at Melbourne. Currently the zoo keeps just one pair with a male offspring (2.1 animals total).
The retired breeding pair from Adelaide were sent to Tasmania Zoo. The elderly male died in 2015; and in July 2016 an excess male from Adelaide was sent to keep the old female company. In September another old female was sent from Adelaide to Tasmania Zoo as company for this old female. All of these animals have since died.
Melbourne's original troop was from a pair from Berlin Zoo, of which the female was a hybrid (Mandrill X Drill). Their later (pure) troop was established with females from Adelaide in 1996 and a male from Jerusalem Biblical Zoo (Israel) imported in 2000. By 2017 there were only three animals left at Melbourne: the male died in July 2017 and both the females were put down for health reasons in Sept 2017.
All current stock in the country thus appears to be descended from only three founders (two males, one female). As of 2022 there are fewer than five animals in the country, with 2.1 at Adelaide and 0.1 at Tasmania Zoo (down to 1.1 at Adelaide and 0.1 at Tasmania Zoo in 2023).
*Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) – Adelaide; Banana Cabana; Crocodylus; Darling Downs; Melbourne; Sydney Zoo; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ. Also in research facilities.
There are quite a number of Hamadryas Baboons in Australian zoos (about 65 animals as of January 2020), but a large number are related and historically the populations have been poorly managed with castration of males being commonplace.
Melbourne's group is by far the largest and dominates the zoo population. It was initially started with a female imported through Perth in 1948 and a male from the Ceylon Zoo (Sri Lanka) in 1949; there was probably no new blood until a large group (3.14) was imported from Dierenpark Emmen (Netherlands) in 1998, and then a further two males from the USA in 2012 and six females from Wellington Zoo (NZ) in 2015/16.
Adelaide's former troop was established with 1.3 imported from the Berlin Zoo (Germany) in 1972, but their current animals are from Melbourne and Wellington stock.
Sydney Zoo's baboons are a group of thirteen (8.5) imported from Singapore Zoo in August 2019.
The baboons at the smaller zoos are mostly from Melbourne (or descended from that stock) apart for two females at DDZ which were imported from the Warsaw Zoo (Poland) in 2012, and the ones at Tasmania Zoo which came from DDZ.
*Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) – Gorge; Launceston City Park
The enclosure at Launceston in Tasmania held Rhesus Macaques from the late 1800s to 1979, after which the city council imported ten Japanese Macaques from the Japanese Monkey Centre in 1980 (in exchange for Red-necked Wallabies); currently the colony contains about 25 macaques.
Two elderly animals at Gorge (still alive as of late 2024) are the remnants of a former breeding group at Perth, rather than being surplus from Launceston.
*Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) – Banana Cabana; Tasmania Zoo. Also in research facilities.
This species was widely held in zoos and circuses in the past, but as with all the macaques has been greatly diminished over the last few decades due to zoo fears of Herpes B virus. Hundreds have also been imported from Indonesia for research facilities.
*Southern Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina) – currently only in research facilities
Over 300 individuals were imported from Indonesia between 2000 and 2009 for research facilities. Formerly they were also widely held in zoos and circuses.
*Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) – Banana Cabana; Mansfield
This species was widely held in zoos and circuses in the past, but there are only a handful of animals left in zoos now.
*Dusky Langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) – three animals at Adelaide
The group at Adelaide is descended from three founder members: a wild-caught female confiscated by airport Customs as a baby in 1989, a female imported from Singapore Zoo in 2001, and a male from Twycross Zoo (UK) in 2004. A male imported from Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in 1989 died without breeding. There have been a number of babies bred in the group. The 1989 female and 2004 male both died in 2015, the 2001 female died in July 2016, and there are now just three sibling animals left at the zoo.
*Francois' Langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) – National Zoo; Taronga
One pair was imported by Taronga from Nagoya Zoo (Japan) in 2004, a second pair from Beijing Zoo (China) in 2010, and a female from Blijdorp Zoo (Netherlands) in 2012. First bred at Taronga in 2009 and several years since. National Zoo has two surplus males, transferred during 2019 from Mogo which in turn obtained them from Taronga (in late 2016?).
*Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) – Adelaide; Darling Downs; Melbourne; Mogo; National Zoo; Tasmania Zoo; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ
Except for Tasmania Zoo which only has a lone male originally bred at Melbourne, and Western Plains Zoo which has a female animals bred at Canberra, all the other holding zoos have breeding pairs (or at least potential breeding pairs). Adelaide currently [January 2020] has just two males, but previously had two family groups, some individuals of which were bred there and others of which were imported from Edinburgh in 2006, San Francisco in 1997 and Auckland in 2006. Melbourne's pair is a male imported from Germany in 1991 and a female bred at WPZ in 1997. Mogo's pair was imported from Edinburgh in 2006. National's pair were obtained in 2016, with a male from Orana Park (NZ) and a female from Mogo. The pair at DDZ came from Adelaide (with a juvenile), in June 2017. Wildlife HQ obtained a pair in Feb 2022, with a male from DDZ and a female from the National Zoo. [Note: listings for the above pairings may no longer be current].
Western Plains Zoo formerly held a pair which came from Adelaide in 1989, which died in 2023; in June 2025 they received a Canberra-bred female.
*Northern White-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) – Adelaide; Melbourne; Perth; Rockhampton; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ
Adelaide's pair are a male born at Duisburg Zoo (Germany), imported 2006, and a female born at Melbourne. Melbourne's current pair (arrived 2017) is a Perth-bred female and a male imported to Perth from Toledo Zoo (USA) in 2016; Melbourne's previous pair were both wild-born, the male imported in 1978 from Nagoya Zoo (Japan) [still at the zoo] and the female from Brownsville Zoo (USA) in 1981 [died 2017]. Perth's original pair were wild-caught (imported direct in 1974) - the male is still alive and partnered with a Melbourne-bred female. Rockhampton's non-breeding related pair (arriving October 2022) are a male from Perth and a female from Adelaide. Tasmania Zoo's pair came from Adelaide Zoo in December 2018. Wildlife HQ's pair came from Perth Zoo in August 2022, and are a male imported from France in 2010 and an Adelaide-bred female.
*White-handed (Lar) Gibbon (Hylobates lar) – Gorge; Western Plains Zoo
Formerly the commonest of the gibbons in Australia, now just a few elderly animals left. The pair at Western Plains came from Melbourne in 1982, where they had been born. The three males at Gorge are also ex-Melbourne.
*Silvery (Javan) Gibbon (Hylobates moloch) – Mogo; Perth; Tasmania Zoo
The current breeding pair at Perth are a male imported from Belfast Zoo in 2018 and a female bred at Perth in 2010; the former breeding pair here were imported in 1992 - the male was born at Berlin Zoo (Germany) and the female at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) - but these animals died in 2014 and 2018 respectively.
The breeding pair at Mogo are a male bred at Perth and a female from Howletts (UK). Both zoos have bred several young.
Tasmania Zoo's pair is a male imported from USA in 2023, and a female which came from Mogo in March 2021.
Taronga formerly also had a pair, the male from Howletts and the female bred at Perth; after the death of the male in 2009, the female was sent to Howletts.
*Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) – Adelaide; Melbourne; Perth; Sydney Zoo
Adelaide has 1.1 - the male Kluet was born at Jersey Zoo (UK) in 1995, and imported in 2003 to Taronga. The female is Puspa, who was born at Perth in 1975. Female Karta, born at San Diego Zoo (USA) in 1982 and imported to Adelaide in 1992, died in January 2017.
Melbourne currently only holds one male, named Menyaru, born at Melbourne in 2003 (the breeding pair and their other [female] offspring were moved to Sydney Zoo in 2019).
Perth has a large number (usually between ten and fifteen - currently 2.6 as of January 2020), initially established with one pair (male Atjeh and female Puan) imported in 1968 from the private zoo of the Sultan of Johore. They were imported along with two female Bornean Orangutans (named Binte and Mawas); all three females bred at Perth but all the hybrids were exported to Indian zoos. Currently Perth only has Sumatran Orangutans. Atjeh died in 1996 and Puan died in June 2018. The only Orangutan currently at Perth which wasn't born there is Dinar, born at Toronto Zoo (Canada) in 1987 (imported 2004). Male Hsing-Hsing, born at Singapore Zoo in 1975 (imported in 1983), died in December 2017. Animals bred at Perth have been used for reintroductions to the wild in Sumatra.
Sydney Zoo has three animals which came from Melbourne Zoo in July 2019: male Santan born at Toronto Zoo (Canada) in 1977 (imported to Melbourne in 1987) and female Maimunah born at Zurich Zoo (Switzerland) in 1986 (imported to Melbourne in 1992), and one of their offspring (female Dewi , born 2010).
*Hybrid Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus X Pongo abelii) – one at Melbourne; two at Mogo (off display)
Melbourne had two hybrid females, Kiani (aka Suma, born 1978), and her daughter Gabby (aka Kamil, born 1990), both of which were bred at Melbourne. Kiani died in January 2024.
Mogo has a male Jantan (born 1987) and a female Willow (born 1985), both of which were bred at Taronga. They were transferred to Mogo from Taronga in September 2018. They are now kept off-display.
All of these hybrid animals are non-breeding.
*Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) – Monarto; Rockhampton; Sydney Zoo; Taronga
The first Chimpanzee in an Australian zoo was probably a female at Taronga in 1909. Today Taronga's breeding group is one of the most successful in the world. Currently about 20-strong, it is descended from six animals imported between 1947 and 1970; many Taronga-bred animals have been exported worldwide. In late 2015 Taronga imported two new females from Givskud Zoo (Denmark) and one female from Warsaw Zoo (Poland).
Monarto's group was started with four males in 2009 (the two from Adelaide and two imported from Wellington Zoo in NZ) and four females in 2010 (imported from Burgers Zoo in the Netherlands). They currently have 5.7 animals (as of January 2020).
Rockhampton originally had two Taronga-descended brothers from Natureland Zoo in Queensland, obtained in 1986 (one died in 2013), but in 2012 obtained the last two animals (0.2) from Mogo Zoo and in 2015 imported two more (1.1) from Ramat Gan (Israel). They currently have 2.4 animals (as of January 2020). The original Chimps at Mogo were a brother-sister pair from Bullens (ex-circus) obtained in 2006, followed by a father-daughter pair imported from Willowbank (NZ) in 2009; the NZ male died in 2009 and the Bullens male in 2011. The Chimp enclosure at Mogo now houses Gorillas.
Sydney Zoo imported 7.4 Chimpanzees from Schwaben Park (Germany) in mid-2019.
Of the other major zoos, Melbourne last held Chimps in 1993 (the remaining going to Taronga); Perth last held them in 1999 (1.2 from Taronga, exported to Ishikawa Zoo in Japan); and Adelaide last held them in 2009 (2.0, one bred at Adelaide and the other bred at Taronga, which went to the new Chimp exhibit at Monarto).
*Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) – Melbourne; Mogo; Taronga; Werribee
First kept at Melbourne in 1973 when a wild-caught pair arrived from Gabon, with the first baby born to this pair in 1984; further animals have come from Jersey Zoo (UK), Howletts (UK) and Taronga. They currently hold 1.3 animals (as of January 2020).
Mogo holds a family group from Taronga (since 2013), based around animals imported from Apenheul (Netherlands) in 1996, in addition to a male imported from Howletts (UK) in 2019. They currently hold 1.3 animals (as of January 2020).
Taronga's first gorilla was imported from Africa in 1959; they displayed seven individuals through the 1960s and 70s. Their current animals are a mix of animals from Apenheul (Netherlands), La Vallee des Singes (France), and Melbourne, along with ones bred at Taronga. They currently hold 4.4 animals (as of January 2020).
Werribee holds three surplus males from Melbourne (since 2011).
I have attempted to include origin data for the current stock of all species but this is of course a bit patchy. Some species are well-documented, others are not. The origin data is not intended to be an account of every individual animal except in those cases where only a few unrelated individuals exist - it is instead mostly to do with the origins of the zoo populations as a whole.
However, see also this thread for more specific listings of certain mammal groups in Australasian zoos: Australasian Population List Index
Because adding all the origin data to the list on the original thread made it far too long to be contained within a single post I have had to re-start it as a brand new thread, with the list split into two posts. The third post in the thread is a compilation of "former" exotic mammals in Australian zoos. This is divided into two parts, firstly those which died out post-2000, and secondly those which died out between 1980 and 2000.
The original thread (which is now locked, but in which all posts can still be read) is here: Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos - old version
That original thread had its genesis in a thread by CGSwans, which can be seen here: exotic mammals in each Australian zoo
A discussion thread was also created when I was looking for some of the origin data, and that can be seen here: Australian zoo mammal histories
Corrections are welcomed.
ELEPHANTIDAE
*Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) – Australia Zoo; Monarto; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
The first Asian Elephant in an Australian zoo was a female named Jessie imported from India in 1882 for the zoo at Billy Goat Swamp (the fore-runner to Taronga Zoo, which officially opened in 1916 on a different site); she died in 1939.
Of the elephants currently in the country, Werribee [ex Melbourne] and WPZ [ex Taronga] have breeding herds and have produced numerous calves each.
Australia Zoo currently houses four females (Christina, Megawati, Widya, Rafflesia - all Sumatran Elephants) imported in October 2019 from Indonesia. They previously kept three ex-circus elephants, the last one leaving in 2013 after the deaths of the other two.
Monarto has three elephants: female Burma imported from Auckland Zoo (NZ) in November 2024; and females Pak Boon and Tang Mo, moved from Taronga in April 2025 [Taronga no longer keeps elephants]
Perth houses three elephants: one female (Tricia) imported from Vietnam (via Singapore) in 1963, and a male and female imported from Malaysia in 1992 (male Putra Mas and female Permai).
Sydney Zoo has two young males named Kavi and Ashoka imported from Dublin Zoo (Ireland) in October 2020. An elderly ex-circus female elephant named Saigon which was also kept at Sydney Zoo died in February 2022.
The herd at Werribee was moved there from Melbourne Zoo in early 2025. Melbourne's breeding herd was composed of a female (Mek Kapah) imported from Malaysia in 1978, three females (Dokoon, Kulab, Num-oi) imported from Thailand in 2006, and a male (Bong Su), imported from Malaysia in 1977. Calves were born from this group but the male Bong Su died in October 2017; a young Taronga-bred male, Luk Chai, was obtained in December 2020 with the aim of future breeding.
The herd at Western Plains Zoo originated from Taronga's group (split between Taronga and WPZ) which was started with a 2006 import from Thailand of one male (Gung) and four females (Tang Mo, Porntip, Thong Dee, Pak Boon). WPZ also has a female Sri Lankan elephant (Anjalee) imported from Auckland Zoo (NZ) in 2022; she was captive-bred in 2006 and imported to NZ in 2015 from Sri Lanka's Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.
EQUIDAE
*Common Zebra (Equus quagga) – Altina; Australia Zoo; Darling Downs; Hunter Valley; Mogo; Monarto; National Zoo; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo; Zoodoo
There are about 70 Zebras in Australia, and they can be roughly divided into three groups of stock (although in general all are treated as one population, and individuals are moved around between zoos).
The first group are the hybrid-subspecies descendants of original imports to the major zoos (Taronga, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth). All had kept Zebras since the early 1900s. Probably Taronga's were the dominant founders but I don't know anything much otherwise. This stock forms the basis of the current groups at Taronga, Western Plains, Mogo and National Zoo.
The second group is from 2.6 Chapman's Zebras imported to Werribee from Rotterdam Zoo (Netherlands) in 1980 (and later a male from Singapore Zoo c.1997). Monarto's current animals are derived from Werribee.
The third and most recent group are ten Grant's Zebras imported by DDZ from various zoos in the USA in early 2014. Some of these went to Zoodoo.
The other zoos have odds and ends: Altina (from Werribee), Australia Zoo (from Werribee), Perth (from National Zoo), etc. There have also been a few imports of individual animals from NZ.
*Persian Onager (Equus hemionus onager) – two males at Western Plains Zoo
The remnant animals in Australia (now just two males) are descended from eight animals, these being 2.2 from Rotterdam Zoo (Netherlands) in 1979, and 1.3 from the USA in 1982. [I have seen several different versions of these numbers and dates - the ones I give were from an article released by the zoo itself]. The last female died in 2021.
*Przewalski's Horse (Equus (ferus) przewalskii) – Altina; Monarto; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo; Zambi
The entire world population is descended from just nine founders. The first one in Australia was a male at Adelaide in 1910 (paired with a donkey). The current Australian zoo population is descended from 4.9 animals imported in 1982 to WPZ (via Melbourne Zoo) from the UK (Whipsnade, Marwell, and Midway Manor). First birth was in 1984. Adelaide also imported a pair in 1981 from the UK.
The animals currently at Zambi were privately-held animals at Fernhill Estate in Mulgoa (descended from 1.8 imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell in 1987/88, which later went to Tipperary) which were abandoned to live wild at the property until rehomed at Zambi in early-mid 2025.
There are about 60 in total held in Australia but a large proportion are post-reproductive or castrated. Animals from Australian zoos have been used in reintroduction programmes to Mongolia.
TAPIRIDAE
*Brazilian Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) – 1.1 at Adelaide; 1.0 Melbourne
The two at Adelaide are the last remnant of a good-sized population formerly breeding at Adelaide, Melbourne and WPZ.
The surviving male was bred at WPZ in 2006 and later kept at Melbourne from 2011 to 2019. The surviving female was born at Adelaide in 2002 (the mother was born at Marwell Zoo [UK] in 1987, imported to Adelaide in 2002, and died at Adelaide in 2024).
DDZ had a pair until recently: the male was originally WPZ's breeding male (then kept at Alma Park since 2012, then DDZ since 2013, and died at the end of 2021); and the female was bred at Adelaide in 1998 (kept at Taronga since 2006, then DDZ since 2014, and died in Dec 2022).
The male currently at Melbourne was imported in June 2025 from Zoo Schmiding (Austria).
*Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) – one female at Adelaide
The founder population in Australian zoos was four animals imported in the late 1990s to Taronga and Adelaide. Taronga's pair was a male from Toronto Zoo (Canada) in 1996 [at Hunter Valley Zoo since mid-2015, died August 2018] and a female from Philadelphia Zoo (USA) in 1998 [died 2008]. Adelaide's pair was a male from Singapore Zoo in 1997 [died 2008] and a female from Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) in 1998 [died 2021]. The last remaining animal in the country, a female at Adelaide, was born at that zoo in 2000.
RHINOCEROTIDAE
*Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) – Altina; Australia Zoo; Halls Gap; Mogo; Monarto; National Zoo; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
There are about 35 White Rhinos in Australian zoos (as of January 2020). The first animals imported into Australia were three (1.2) to WPZ via Taronga in 1980 from Longleat and Woburn (UK), followed in 1981 by a pair to WPZ (also via Taronga) and a pair to Werribee, all four coming from Whipsnade (UK). A male was imported to Werribee from Emmen Zoo (Netherlands) in 1997, a female to Monarto from Singapore Zoo in 2000, and groups of wild-caught animals were imported from South Africa in 1999 and 2002 to Werribee, WPZ, Perth and Monarto. A number of additional NZ animals have been imported since 1990, including the original pair at Perth in 1990 from the USA via Orana Park. The first birth in Australia was at WPZ in 1981, and they have since bred at all of the listed holding zoos except National (which has only had three males from NZ in April 2014), Mogo (two males from Australia Zoo in Jan 2015), Altina (one male from Auckland Zoo in Sept 2016, and two females from Australia Zoo and Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen [Germany] in Oct 2016), Halls Gap (one of the National Zoo's males in Oct 2018), and Sydney Zoo (one male as of Jan 2022).
*Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) – Monarto (2.0); Western Plains Zoo (6.3)
Taronga imported several from Kenya and Tanzania between 1947 and 1950, and bred nine at the zoo between 1958 and 1975. Kept at WPZ since 1991 when the last two animals in Australia were sent there from Taronga (two females: one had been bred at Taronga in 1958, and the other had come from Perth in 1981 [imported 1950/51]). In 1992 nine (2.7) wild-caught animals were imported to WPZ from Zimbabwe (2.1 died soon after), followed in 1994 by four males imported from zoos in the USA (one of these males later spent a couple of years at Taronga c.2005/2006). There have been many calves born at WPZ (about a dozen, including those now at Monarto [two males]).
*Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) – one pair at Western Plains Zoo, with one male offspring.
The male Dora was imported to Taronga from Nagoya Zoo (Japan) in 2001 and then moved on to WPZ in 2003. A female named Kua was imported from San Diego Zoo (USA) in 2006 but died at Taronga in 2007 before being moved on. A new female, Amala from Oklahoma City Zoo (USA), was imported in 2009. The first breeding was a male calf born in October 2015, which sadly died from a Tetanus infection in Sept 2017. The only other breeding is a second male, born in October 2021.
HIPPOPOTAMIDAE
*Common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) – Monarto; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
The first Hippo in Australia was at Adelaide in 1900 (died 1901), but the first breeding pair were at Melbourne, imported in 1913. The species has been in the country continuously since then, but there are only eight founders for the entire Australasian population. The current total in Australia is nine animals, all of which are females (0.2 at Monarto [transferred from Werribee in Nov 2023], 0.3 at Werribee; 0.4 at WPZ). The last male in the country died at WPZ in late 2023.
*Pigmy Hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) – Adelaide (1.0); Darling Downs (0.1); Melbourne (1.0); Taronga (0.2)
The first individual in Australia was a wild-caught female imported from Liberia to Perth Zoo in 1937 (died 1980). Of the other three major zoos, Taronga's first was in 1954 (from USA, died 1975), Melbourne's in 1970 (from USA, died 1994), and Adelaide's in 1979 (bred at Melbourne, died 2012). Many calves were bred in Australia in at least five zoos between the 1960s to 2000s. Currently there are just five animals in the country, all of which are related.
There are three female Pigmy Hippos in Australia. Kambiri was born at Taronga in 2010 (to Honolulu-born male Timmy, imported in 1981; and female Petre, who was born at Adelaide in 1984 and died at Melbourne in 2016). The second adult female currently alive in Australia is Kamina, born at Taronga in 2017 and now at Darling Downs (since November 2018). The third female Lololi was born at Taronga in January 2024.
The two males currently in the country are Felix at Melbourne Zoo, born at Mareeba in 2006 (to Melbourne-born male Kumbe and Broome-born female Fluffy); and Obi, now at Adelaide but born at Melbourne in 2015 to Felix and Petre. Taronga's male Fergus (born at Mareeba in 2009; brother to Felix) died in late 2024.
In terms of relatedness, a male named Pi, imported from Washington in 1970, sired the fathers of Petre, Kumbe and Fluffy (and the latter two shared the same father).
CAMELIDAE
*Arabian Camel (Dromedary) (Camelus dromedarius) – Altina; Darling Downs; Gorge Wildlife Park; Hunter Valley; Mansfield; Mogo; Oakvale; Shoalhaven; Sydney Zoo; Taralga; Tasmania Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo; Wings Wildlife Park; Zoodoo. [Also undoubtably held on show in other small collections apart for the ones listed here]
Introduced to the wild (via released domestics) in the mid-1800s.
*Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) – one male at Darling Downs; some hybrids at Taralga.
Apart for the single animal at DDZ and at Taralga, the last Guanacos in an Australian zoo were three pairs at Western Plains Zoo until around 2009/2010. The last three animals (1.3) then went to a private holder in Taralga (later opening as the Taralga Wildlife Park). Taronga had them at least as far back as the 1940s, and were probably the original importers.
See a comment in post #1 of this thread - Taralga Wildlife Park Review - where it says that the females which ended up at Taralga were too old to breed and hence the Guanaco left in Australia are actually hybrids produced from the male Guanaco and female Llamas. However I think the male at DDZ is the pure one originally from TWPZ.
*Llama (Lama glama) – Caversham; Darling Downs; Mansfield; National; Oakvale; Taralga; Zoodoo. [Farmed in Australia so undoubtably held on show in other small collections apart for the ones listed here]
*Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) – Adelaide (still?); Altina; Australian Walkabout Wildlife Park; Ballarat Wildlife Park; Caversham; Green Valley Farm; Gumbuya Park; Halls Gap; National Zoo; Oakvale; Symbio; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Wagga Wagga Zoo; Wings Wildlife Park; Zoodoo. [Farmed in Australia so undoubtably held on show in other small collections apart for the ones listed here]
Llamas and Alpacas have been kept in Australian zoos and farms at various times since the 1800s, but the current stock is largely the result of private imports from NZ (from Chilean imports) in 1988, followed by direct imports from Peru and Bolivia. There are now something like 200,000 Alpacas in Australia and 7000 Llamas.
CERVIDAE
The following are the collections where we know these deer species are being kept. There are many small collections in Australia which undoubtably hold one or more of these on public show as well. All are also held in private hands (e.g. deer farms).
*Rusa (Cervus timorensis) – Altina; Halls Gap; Mansfield
Introduced to the wild in various areas between the late-1800s and mid-1900s, with stock coming from Java and the Moluccas. Now also farmed commercially.
*Sambar (Cervus unicolor) – Mansfield; Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters
Introduced to several parts of the country from the 1860s through to the early 1900s, using stock from India, Sri Lanka and Sumatra. Now also farmed commercially.
*Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) – Altina; Darling Downs; Mansfield; Monarto; Taralga
Introduced widely from the mid-1800s to many parts of the country, with all the stock being English. Now also farmed commercially (in part with imports from NZ after 1985).
*Wapiti (Cervus canadensis) – Altina; Halls Gap; National Zoo
Not found wild in Australia. The species was first imported in numbers from NZ and Canada for commercial deer farming in 1985; however there may have been some in zoos prior to this also (from NZ stock).
*Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) – only on deer farms
Not found wild in Australia. The species was introduced to the wild in the late 1800s but did not establish a permanent population. The current small number on deer farms (in Victoria) originated from embryos and semen imported in the early 2000s, using Red Deer as hosts.
*Fallow Deer (Dama dama) – Adelaide (still?); Altina; Birdland Animal Park; Caversham; Cooberrie; Gorge Wildlife Park; Gumbuya Park; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Mansfield; Mogo; National Zoo; Taralga; Tasmania Zoo; Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ; Zoodoo
First released into the wild in the 1830s in Tasmania, and later elsewhere on the mainland until the early 1900s. Now also farmed commercially.
*Persian Fallow Deer (Dama (dama) mesopotamica) – Monarto
All the farmed stock in Australia is hybrid, derived from imported mesopotamica sperm used to artificially inseminate female dama in the 1980s. Monarto's animals are from this hybrid farm stock.
*Spotted Deer (Chital) (Axis axis) – Bredl's Wild Farm; Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters
The first deer species to be released into the wild in Australia. There were many releases throughout the 1800s in many parts of the country. All were from India. Now also farmed commercially. The zoos previously listed here - most recently Caversham and Hunter Valley, and prior to them also Taronga - do not keep them any longer.
*Hog Deer (Axis porcinus) – Altina; Halls Gap; Mansfield
Introduced to the wild in Victoria in 1866 (12 animals from India) where they became established. Zoo animals derive from the wild stock.
GIRAFFIDAE
*Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) – Adelaide; Altina; Australia Zoo; Darling Downs; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; Monarto; National Zoo; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
Up until the 1980s all the giraffes in Australia were descended from the herd at Taronga. In the 1920s and 30s many were imported to Australia, but the only zoo to sustain breeding was Taronga and their animals supplied the other zoos. The Taronga herd was descended entirely from three animals (a pair imported from Africa in the 1930s and a female from USA in 1950) until the import of a male from Honolulu Zoo (USA) in 1983 (which was related to the 1950 female). Melbourne's current breeding female came from Ouwehands Zoo (Netherlands) 1997. All further animals which have been imported since the 1990s have been from NZ (from Orana's Rothschild's herd and Auckland's hybrid herd [the latter is also partly descended from Honolulu Zoo animals]). There are about 85 Giraffes in Australia.
BOVIDAE
*Banteng (Bos javanicus) – Altina; Crocodylus; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands
The Banteng in Australia are all descended from a group of about 20 domestic animals (“Bali cattle”) released in the Northern Territory in 1849. The current zoo and farm animals derive from the feral population.
*Domestic Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) – Altina; Caversham; Crocodylus; Halls Gap; Mogo; Oakvale; Territory Wildlife Park; Western Plains Zoo; Wings Wildlife Park. [Also probably held in other small collections apart for the ones listed here]
The Australian population is descended from about 80 animals imported from Indonesia to settlements in the Northern Territory between the 1820s and 1850s, which were later released to become feral.
*American Bison (Bison bison) – Altina; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Mansfield; Monarto; Werribee; Wings Wildlife Park. Also in private hands.
As with NZ the founder stock was gift pairs from the Canadian government to various Australian zoos in the early 1900s. The only later additions were from NZ (e.g. at least one import to Adelaide from Auckland around the 1950s, and two animals to Monarto from Auckland in 1983). There are only about 40 Bison in zoos, but they are also held privately (the farmed stock derives from the zoo stock).
*Barbary Sheep (Aoudad) (Ammotragus lervia) – Altina; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Monarto; National Zoo; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands.
About 180 in Australian zoos, all descended from imports to Taronga. Originally from just one pair, imported from Africa in 1929. Later imports were two animals in 1952 from National Zoo (USA) and one male and three pregnant females in 1957 from Honolulu Zoo (USA).
*Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) – Altina; Halls Gap
Descended from one import of three animals from NZ to Taronga in 1932. I don't think there have been any later additions, and there are only about 20 left in zoos here. The group at Taronga were sent to Hunter Valley in 2016 due to developments there (Tiger Trek and the African Savannah), but they do not appear to be at Hunter Valley now.
*Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) – Altina; Darling Downs; D'Aguilar Wildlife; Hunter Valley; Mansfield; Monarto; National Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands
The Australian zoo (and private) population derives mostly or entirely from Taronga which was breeding them in large numbers from an original stock of three pairs in the early 1900s. Ultimately they probably originate from the same stock as the wild population in Western Australia (released c.1898). There are about 350 animals held in Australia zoos, as of January 2020.
*Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) -- only in private hands (still?)
The last on public display appear to have been a pair at Monarto in 2009/2010 (the last of the old Adelaide stock). If there are any Nilgai left in the country in private holdings - there are none left in zoos - they are stock descended from a 1987 import of 1.3 animals from Marwell Zoo (UK) to the Pearl Coast Zoo (closed 1991), which later went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary (closed 2004). Given that most of the species kept at Pearl Coast Zoo / Tipperary have since died out, it is likely that Nilgai have also done so.
*Eland (Taurotragus oryx) – Altina; Monarto; National Zoo; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo
Bred in large numbers at Taronga since initial births in the 1940s (the animals were imported direct from Africa). At one point Taronga only had one breeding female, so the current animals must be extremely inbred. There are c.130 animals in Australian zoos, as of January 2020.
*Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) – Monarto; Taronga; Western Plains Zoo
There are just five Bongo currently in Australia, only one of which is a female (imported in May 2017 from Wellington Zoo [NZ], originally from Singapore Zoo). All the other Bongos in Australia are descended from three animals (2.1) imported from the USA in 1995. (A second female in that import had died without offspring). Most of the animals are at WPZ, with the other two zoos only holding one male each.
*Nyala (Tragelaphus angasii) - Altina; Melbourne; Monarto; Sydney Zoo; Werribee
Seven animals (3.4) were imported from New Zealand in November 2016. A further eight (2.6) were imported from NZ in June 2018, and two (2.0) in April 2022 [these are probably not a complete total of imports from NZ]. Sydney Zoo obtained their first Nyala in April 2022, Altina in January 2023, and Melbourne in June 2024.
The only other Nyala in Australia in recent decades were two pairs imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell Zoo (UK) in 1988. After the zoo's closure in 1991 they went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary, and later may have gone to the Mary River Station (Tipperary closed in 2004). They had all died at some point between 1991 and the 2000s though.
*Common Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) – Altina; Monarto; Werribee
Less than fifteen left in the country, all descended from a trio (1.2) imported by Werribee from Honolulu Zoo (USA) in 1995.
*Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) – Altina; Darling Downs; Monarto; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands.
The zoo stock (c.80 animals) is mostly descended from 2.5 imported by Werribee from Fossil Rim (USA) in 1994. The stock in private hands is descended from two imports by the Pearl Coast Zoo of one pair (?) from Midway Manor (UK) in 1988, and 12 animals from the USA via NZ in 1991; these later went to Mary River after the zoo's closure. Altina's animals came from Mary River, as do some additional animals at the other zoos.
*Scimitar-horned Oryx (Oryx dammah) – Altina; Monarto; Werribee; Western Plains Zoo. Also in private hands.
There are c.130 animals in Australian zoos (and more also kept privately). Mostly descended from 5.4 imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell Zoo (UK) in 1987, and four from the USA via NZ in 1991. Animals bred at Orana Park (NZ) also appear to have been imported to other zoos in the 1980s and 1990s.
TAYASSUIDAE
*Collared Peccary (Pecari tajacu) – Melbourne
The formerly-large Australasian population was derived solely from one pair imported to Wellington Zoo (NZ) from Canada in 1969 (the last peccary in New Zealand died in 2011). In 2005 there was only one non-castrated male left in Australia (at Melbourne), which was then mated with several of the remaining females. The last individual at Adelaide (a male) was sent to Melbourne in 2015. As of January 2020 there were only four (1.3) animals left in Australia (all at Melbourne), which had decreased to 1.2 by the following year.
PRIMATES
*Sunda Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang) – Perth
Two animals, a three-year-old male and a ten-year-old female, were imported from Singapore Zoo in April 2018. The female has since died and the zoo now has only the male.
During the 1970s and 80s many zoos kept lorises of various species (N. coucang, N. bengalensis, N. pygmaeus, and Loris tardigradus - although at the time only two species of lorises were scientifically recognised, the Slow Loris N. coucang and the Slender Loris L. tardigradus). Most of the animals were specifically imported by the zoos but some were the results of confiscations of smuggled animals. Before the current two animals imported by Perth, the last lorises in Australia were a Bengal Slow Loris N. bengalensis at Melbourne Zoo and two Sunda Slow Lorises at Melbourne Zoo and Perth Zoo. The Melbourne Zoo's Sunda Slow Loris died in 2014 and the other two animals died in 2015.
*Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) – Adelaide; Altina; Australia Zoo; Currumbin; Darling Downs Zoo; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; Monarto; National Zoo; Oakvale; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Symbio; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ
Population seems in good shape, with about 130 animals in the country, but I don't have any details otherwise. There have been many imports from Europe and the USA so there are a reasonable number of founders.
*Black And White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata) – Altina; Darling Downs Zoo; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; National Zoo; Perth; Tasmania Zoo; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ
There are about 35 Ruffed Lemurs in Australia but most of the animals in the country were produced from the breeding pairs at Perth and Mogo.
*Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) – Adelaide; Altina; Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Darling Downs; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Mogo; Perth; Shoalhaven; Symbio; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ
This species is managed internationally but the Australian population is in pretty poor shape now. Historically they have bred well here, since the initial main import by Adelaide of five pairs from the National Zoo (USA) in 1980 (descendants of which are still in the country), but now there are only about 35 animals, many of them elderly and few breeding. Currently Adelaide and Mogo are having good results. There are several imported animals from the USA, Europe and Singapore along with the Australian-bred ones.
*Emperor Tamarin (Saguinus imperator) – Adelaide; Altina; Darling Downs; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; Perth; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ
The former mixed-subspecies population in Australian zoos was phased out, and new European imports of pure S. i. subgrisescens were made to Melbourne and Perth in the mid-2000s. In 2013 there were some additional animals imported from Europe and South Africa. The last male in NZ, originally from Germany, also went to Australia in 2013. As of January 2020 there are about 45 animals in Australian zoos.
*Cottontop Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) – Adelaide; Alexandra Park Zoo; Altina; Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Crocodylus; Currumbin; Darling Downs; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hartley's Crocodile Adventures; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; National Zoo; Perth; Symbio; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ; Zoodoo
In Australasia this species is entirely managed by a studbook system and has a number of international founders. I don't know any details about the population but there are about 90 individuals in Australian zoos.
*Red-handed Tamarin (Saguinus midas) – Crocodylus Park; Darling Downs; Hunter Valley; Mogo; Tasmania Zoo
Three pairs were imported by Darling Downs Zoo at the start of 2018. Two pairs remained there and one pair went to Hunter Valley Zoo. They have since bred at both zoos. From these breedings Tasmania Zoo obtained a pair in December 2022, Crocodylus Park in late 2023, and Mogo in July 2025.
Previously this species had also been kept at Perth Zoo and the Pearl Coast Zoo. Perth had imported a breeding pair from Skansen Zoo (Sweden) in 1984 and by 1991 they had 3.4 animals according to a TAG Workshop, although by the following year they were recorded as only having 2.0. Those last two animals were later sent to Mogo Zoo, where they died in the early 2000s.
*Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) – Altina; Banana Cabana; Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Cooberrie; Crocodylus; Darling Downs; D'Aguilar Wildlife; Gorge; Gumbuya World; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park; Mansfield; National Zoo; Paradise Country [Gold Coast]; Perth Zoo; Shoalhaven; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ; Wild Cat Conservation Centre; Wings Wildlife Park; Zoodoo. Also in research facilities.
There are about 120 Common Marmosets in Australian zoos but their ancestries are largely unknown and most are probably related. The species was formerly imported into Australia in large numbers as laboratory animals. The zoo population appears to be largely or entirely derived from lab animals as there have been (as far as I know) no imports since the 1970s and at the start of the 1990s the only ones in any ARAZPA zoo were at Gorge.
*Pigmy Marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) – Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Darling Downs; D'Aguilar Widllife; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Mogo; National Zoo; Perth; Symbio; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Wild Cat Conservation Centre; Wildlife HQ
The three main breeders in the country were Adelaide, Perth and Mogo, which all imported them in the early 2000s (Perth also in the early 1990s); they are currently no longer kept at Adelaide however. There have been several further imports in the later 2000s from Europe and the USA. There are now about 60 animals in Australian zoos.
*Bolivian Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis) – Adelaide; Darling Downs; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; National Zoo; Perth; Sydney Zoo; Taronga; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ; ZooDoo
Composed of remnant older stock from 1970s imports (subspecific-hybrids and mostly post-reproductive) and new stock (pure S. b. boliviensis). The new ones are an import of males from Apenheul (Netherlands) in 2010; an import of two males and twelve females from La Boissierre du Dore (France) in 2014; plus additional animals from NZ (bred from an import of 30 animals to NZ in 2012). When the new imports occurred there were only about a dozen of the older animals left in Australia, of which a few are still alive currently (the older stock was not mixed with the pure subspecies). Total number in Australian zoos is c.55 animals (as of January 2020).
*Black-capped Capuchin (Sapajus (Cebus) apella) – Altina; Banana Cabana; Crocodylus; Darling Downs; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park; Mansfield; Mogo; National Zoo; Shoalhaven; Sydney Zoo; Tasmania Zoo; Warrnambool Wildlife Encounters; Wild Animal Encounters; Wings Wildlife Park; Zoodoo
This species has been kept and bred in zoos and circuses for a very long time, and the population is very inbred. Animals from NZ have been brought in, but I don't know when the last ones from outside the region have been imported. Currently there are about 100 animals in Australian zoos.
*Colombian White-fronted Capuchin (Cebus versicolor) – Gorge; Mansfield
Originally at Perth Zoo (since the 1930s). The last ones (by then just 2.1) from Perth's colony went to Halls Gap in 2010, and from there to Mansfield in 2013. The group at Gorge (six animals) probably also originated at Perth. The White-fronted Capuchins in Australia were of what was once the subspecies Cebus albifrons pleei, later synonymised with C. albifrons versicolor (in 2001), which was later split as a full species (in 2012).
*Geoffroy's (Black-handed) Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) – Banana Cabana; Billabong Koala and Wildlife Park; Crocodylus; Gorge; Halls Gap; Hunter Valley; Melbourne; Mogo; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ
This species has been widely kept in Australian zoos since the early/mid 1900s and the resulting population is a subspecific-hybrid mix. There are about 50 animals in the country, but many are either post-reproductive or are not in effective breeding situations (most are in pairs, trios, or single-sex groups).
*Douroucouli (Aotus sp) – Wildlife HQ; otherwise only in a Brisbane research facility of the ADF
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) imported 46 individuals from the USA in 2007/2008 for research into mosquito-borne diseases. Forty others were similarly imported for research purposes in 1982/1985, and there were a few in zoos also at that time.
Wildlife HQ has animals on display as of early 2025.
The last zoo to keep them previously was Perth, which still had one animal at the start of the 1990s. In the 1980s all Aotus were treated as one species, A. trivirgatus, so it is impossible to be precise as to identities. The more recent ones (2007/2008) were imported as Nancy Ma's Douroucouli A. nancymaae but this may or may not be accurate.
*Black And White Colobus (Colobus guereza) – Adelaide; Melbourne; National Zoo
Formerly in two separate breeding groups dating back to the 1980s, at Melbourne (C. g. guereza from the UK) and Perth (C. g. kikuyuensis from the USA). The two groups were later mixed. The only later additions were a male imported to Monarto in 2006 from the USA, and three females to Adelaide in 2020 from France. There are currently about fifteen animals in the country.
*De Brazza's Monkey (Cercopithecus neglectus) – Tasmania Zoo
One pair was imported in July 2023, currently housed at Tasmania Zoo but ultimately bound for Darling Downs Zoo.
The species was formerly well-established in the major zoos since the late 1970s. The CITES Database lists imports to Australia of seven animals from Spain and USA in 1977; three from Canada in 1978; four from Spain in 1979; one from the UK in 1989; and one from Spain in 2001. A halt to breeding by the ZAA in the early 2000s reduced them to a remnant of post-reproductive "retired" animals. By 2015 there were just five animals left, at Mogo, National and Tasmania Zoos; and the last individual died at National Zoo in May 2019.
*Vervet (Chlorocebus sp.) – Werribee
A group of ten was imported in 1996 from the USA. All the current animals (eleven animals in January 2020, down to nine [6.3] as of January 2022) were bred at Werribee.
The animals were imported as C. aethiops (formerly all Chlorocebus were lumped as C. aethiops), later labelled as C. pygerythrus johnstoni by the ZAA and the zoo itself, and now as C. aethiops johnstoni. In the zoo's 2021 inventory they are back to labelling them as C. pygerythrus. However see this post and those following it (Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos) which discuss why the animals are probably hybrids.
Perth also had a colony of a Chlorocebus species until late 2006 when the remaining four animals (one of which was a baby born that year) were sent to Gorge. These appear to have all since died. These animals were called C. aethiops by the zoo and listed by the ZAA as being C. aethiops johnstoni.
*Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) – Adelaide
Formerly at other zoos also, including Perth until 1994, Taronga until early 2000s (possibly derived from a 1953 import of three animals from Africa) and Melbourne until late 2017 (see below).
Adelaide's troop started in 1964 with 1.2 from Berlin Zoo (Germany), two of which turned out to be hybrids with Drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus). In 1975 they got a pure male from Taronga and paired him with their one pure female (removing all the hybrids, so the troop was thus derived from just two pure animals). In 2008 they replaced their original male with one bred at Melbourne. Currently the zoo keeps just one pair with a male offspring (2.1 animals total).
The retired breeding pair from Adelaide were sent to Tasmania Zoo. The elderly male died in 2015; and in July 2016 an excess male from Adelaide was sent to keep the old female company. In September another old female was sent from Adelaide to Tasmania Zoo as company for this old female. All of these animals have since died.
Melbourne's original troop was from a pair from Berlin Zoo, of which the female was a hybrid (Mandrill X Drill). Their later (pure) troop was established with females from Adelaide in 1996 and a male from Jerusalem Biblical Zoo (Israel) imported in 2000. By 2017 there were only three animals left at Melbourne: the male died in July 2017 and both the females were put down for health reasons in Sept 2017.
All current stock in the country thus appears to be descended from only three founders (two males, one female). As of 2022 there are fewer than five animals in the country, with 2.1 at Adelaide and 0.1 at Tasmania Zoo (down to 1.1 at Adelaide and 0.1 at Tasmania Zoo in 2023).
*Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) – Adelaide; Banana Cabana; Crocodylus; Darling Downs; Melbourne; Sydney Zoo; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ. Also in research facilities.
There are quite a number of Hamadryas Baboons in Australian zoos (about 65 animals as of January 2020), but a large number are related and historically the populations have been poorly managed with castration of males being commonplace.
Melbourne's group is by far the largest and dominates the zoo population. It was initially started with a female imported through Perth in 1948 and a male from the Ceylon Zoo (Sri Lanka) in 1949; there was probably no new blood until a large group (3.14) was imported from Dierenpark Emmen (Netherlands) in 1998, and then a further two males from the USA in 2012 and six females from Wellington Zoo (NZ) in 2015/16.
Adelaide's former troop was established with 1.3 imported from the Berlin Zoo (Germany) in 1972, but their current animals are from Melbourne and Wellington stock.
Sydney Zoo's baboons are a group of thirteen (8.5) imported from Singapore Zoo in August 2019.
The baboons at the smaller zoos are mostly from Melbourne (or descended from that stock) apart for two females at DDZ which were imported from the Warsaw Zoo (Poland) in 2012, and the ones at Tasmania Zoo which came from DDZ.
*Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) – Gorge; Launceston City Park
The enclosure at Launceston in Tasmania held Rhesus Macaques from the late 1800s to 1979, after which the city council imported ten Japanese Macaques from the Japanese Monkey Centre in 1980 (in exchange for Red-necked Wallabies); currently the colony contains about 25 macaques.
Two elderly animals at Gorge (still alive as of late 2024) are the remnants of a former breeding group at Perth, rather than being surplus from Launceston.
*Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) – Banana Cabana; Tasmania Zoo. Also in research facilities.
This species was widely held in zoos and circuses in the past, but as with all the macaques has been greatly diminished over the last few decades due to zoo fears of Herpes B virus. Hundreds have also been imported from Indonesia for research facilities.
*Southern Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina) – currently only in research facilities
Over 300 individuals were imported from Indonesia between 2000 and 2009 for research facilities. Formerly they were also widely held in zoos and circuses.
*Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) – Banana Cabana; Mansfield
This species was widely held in zoos and circuses in the past, but there are only a handful of animals left in zoos now.
*Dusky Langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) – three animals at Adelaide
The group at Adelaide is descended from three founder members: a wild-caught female confiscated by airport Customs as a baby in 1989, a female imported from Singapore Zoo in 2001, and a male from Twycross Zoo (UK) in 2004. A male imported from Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in 1989 died without breeding. There have been a number of babies bred in the group. The 1989 female and 2004 male both died in 2015, the 2001 female died in July 2016, and there are now just three sibling animals left at the zoo.
*Francois' Langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) – National Zoo; Taronga
One pair was imported by Taronga from Nagoya Zoo (Japan) in 2004, a second pair from Beijing Zoo (China) in 2010, and a female from Blijdorp Zoo (Netherlands) in 2012. First bred at Taronga in 2009 and several years since. National Zoo has two surplus males, transferred during 2019 from Mogo which in turn obtained them from Taronga (in late 2016?).
*Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) – Adelaide; Darling Downs; Melbourne; Mogo; National Zoo; Tasmania Zoo; Western Plains Zoo; Wildlife HQ
Except for Tasmania Zoo which only has a lone male originally bred at Melbourne, and Western Plains Zoo which has a female animals bred at Canberra, all the other holding zoos have breeding pairs (or at least potential breeding pairs). Adelaide currently [January 2020] has just two males, but previously had two family groups, some individuals of which were bred there and others of which were imported from Edinburgh in 2006, San Francisco in 1997 and Auckland in 2006. Melbourne's pair is a male imported from Germany in 1991 and a female bred at WPZ in 1997. Mogo's pair was imported from Edinburgh in 2006. National's pair were obtained in 2016, with a male from Orana Park (NZ) and a female from Mogo. The pair at DDZ came from Adelaide (with a juvenile), in June 2017. Wildlife HQ obtained a pair in Feb 2022, with a male from DDZ and a female from the National Zoo. [Note: listings for the above pairings may no longer be current].
Western Plains Zoo formerly held a pair which came from Adelaide in 1989, which died in 2023; in June 2025 they received a Canberra-bred female.
*Northern White-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) – Adelaide; Melbourne; Perth; Rockhampton; Tasmania Zoo; Wildlife HQ
Adelaide's pair are a male born at Duisburg Zoo (Germany), imported 2006, and a female born at Melbourne. Melbourne's current pair (arrived 2017) is a Perth-bred female and a male imported to Perth from Toledo Zoo (USA) in 2016; Melbourne's previous pair were both wild-born, the male imported in 1978 from Nagoya Zoo (Japan) [still at the zoo] and the female from Brownsville Zoo (USA) in 1981 [died 2017]. Perth's original pair were wild-caught (imported direct in 1974) - the male is still alive and partnered with a Melbourne-bred female. Rockhampton's non-breeding related pair (arriving October 2022) are a male from Perth and a female from Adelaide. Tasmania Zoo's pair came from Adelaide Zoo in December 2018. Wildlife HQ's pair came from Perth Zoo in August 2022, and are a male imported from France in 2010 and an Adelaide-bred female.
*White-handed (Lar) Gibbon (Hylobates lar) – Gorge; Western Plains Zoo
Formerly the commonest of the gibbons in Australia, now just a few elderly animals left. The pair at Western Plains came from Melbourne in 1982, where they had been born. The three males at Gorge are also ex-Melbourne.
*Silvery (Javan) Gibbon (Hylobates moloch) – Mogo; Perth; Tasmania Zoo
The current breeding pair at Perth are a male imported from Belfast Zoo in 2018 and a female bred at Perth in 2010; the former breeding pair here were imported in 1992 - the male was born at Berlin Zoo (Germany) and the female at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) - but these animals died in 2014 and 2018 respectively.
The breeding pair at Mogo are a male bred at Perth and a female from Howletts (UK). Both zoos have bred several young.
Tasmania Zoo's pair is a male imported from USA in 2023, and a female which came from Mogo in March 2021.
Taronga formerly also had a pair, the male from Howletts and the female bred at Perth; after the death of the male in 2009, the female was sent to Howletts.
*Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) – Adelaide; Melbourne; Perth; Sydney Zoo
Adelaide has 1.1 - the male Kluet was born at Jersey Zoo (UK) in 1995, and imported in 2003 to Taronga. The female is Puspa, who was born at Perth in 1975. Female Karta, born at San Diego Zoo (USA) in 1982 and imported to Adelaide in 1992, died in January 2017.
Melbourne currently only holds one male, named Menyaru, born at Melbourne in 2003 (the breeding pair and their other [female] offspring were moved to Sydney Zoo in 2019).
Perth has a large number (usually between ten and fifteen - currently 2.6 as of January 2020), initially established with one pair (male Atjeh and female Puan) imported in 1968 from the private zoo of the Sultan of Johore. They were imported along with two female Bornean Orangutans (named Binte and Mawas); all three females bred at Perth but all the hybrids were exported to Indian zoos. Currently Perth only has Sumatran Orangutans. Atjeh died in 1996 and Puan died in June 2018. The only Orangutan currently at Perth which wasn't born there is Dinar, born at Toronto Zoo (Canada) in 1987 (imported 2004). Male Hsing-Hsing, born at Singapore Zoo in 1975 (imported in 1983), died in December 2017. Animals bred at Perth have been used for reintroductions to the wild in Sumatra.
Sydney Zoo has three animals which came from Melbourne Zoo in July 2019: male Santan born at Toronto Zoo (Canada) in 1977 (imported to Melbourne in 1987) and female Maimunah born at Zurich Zoo (Switzerland) in 1986 (imported to Melbourne in 1992), and one of their offspring (female Dewi , born 2010).
*Hybrid Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus X Pongo abelii) – one at Melbourne; two at Mogo (off display)
Melbourne had two hybrid females, Kiani (aka Suma, born 1978), and her daughter Gabby (aka Kamil, born 1990), both of which were bred at Melbourne. Kiani died in January 2024.
Mogo has a male Jantan (born 1987) and a female Willow (born 1985), both of which were bred at Taronga. They were transferred to Mogo from Taronga in September 2018. They are now kept off-display.
All of these hybrid animals are non-breeding.
*Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) – Monarto; Rockhampton; Sydney Zoo; Taronga
The first Chimpanzee in an Australian zoo was probably a female at Taronga in 1909. Today Taronga's breeding group is one of the most successful in the world. Currently about 20-strong, it is descended from six animals imported between 1947 and 1970; many Taronga-bred animals have been exported worldwide. In late 2015 Taronga imported two new females from Givskud Zoo (Denmark) and one female from Warsaw Zoo (Poland).
Monarto's group was started with four males in 2009 (the two from Adelaide and two imported from Wellington Zoo in NZ) and four females in 2010 (imported from Burgers Zoo in the Netherlands). They currently have 5.7 animals (as of January 2020).
Rockhampton originally had two Taronga-descended brothers from Natureland Zoo in Queensland, obtained in 1986 (one died in 2013), but in 2012 obtained the last two animals (0.2) from Mogo Zoo and in 2015 imported two more (1.1) from Ramat Gan (Israel). They currently have 2.4 animals (as of January 2020). The original Chimps at Mogo were a brother-sister pair from Bullens (ex-circus) obtained in 2006, followed by a father-daughter pair imported from Willowbank (NZ) in 2009; the NZ male died in 2009 and the Bullens male in 2011. The Chimp enclosure at Mogo now houses Gorillas.
Sydney Zoo imported 7.4 Chimpanzees from Schwaben Park (Germany) in mid-2019.
Of the other major zoos, Melbourne last held Chimps in 1993 (the remaining going to Taronga); Perth last held them in 1999 (1.2 from Taronga, exported to Ishikawa Zoo in Japan); and Adelaide last held them in 2009 (2.0, one bred at Adelaide and the other bred at Taronga, which went to the new Chimp exhibit at Monarto).
*Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) – Melbourne; Mogo; Taronga; Werribee
First kept at Melbourne in 1973 when a wild-caught pair arrived from Gabon, with the first baby born to this pair in 1984; further animals have come from Jersey Zoo (UK), Howletts (UK) and Taronga. They currently hold 1.3 animals (as of January 2020).
Mogo holds a family group from Taronga (since 2013), based around animals imported from Apenheul (Netherlands) in 1996, in addition to a male imported from Howletts (UK) in 2019. They currently hold 1.3 animals (as of January 2020).
Taronga's first gorilla was imported from Africa in 1959; they displayed seven individuals through the 1960s and 70s. Their current animals are a mix of animals from Apenheul (Netherlands), La Vallee des Singes (France), and Melbourne, along with ones bred at Taronga. They currently hold 4.4 animals (as of January 2020).
Werribee holds three surplus males from Melbourne (since 2011).
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