Taronga Zoo firodland breeding program

C

Coquinguy

Well-Known Member
taronga's firoldand crested penguin breeding program might be getting off to a good start with a clutch of eggs already laid and more expected soon. confirmation that the ggs are fertile will come soon, but the very fact that the birds are displaying, courting and laying augers well for the research component of this program.
good luck taronga, alot of this info could have a direct application to conserving this species in the wild
 
Thats pretty exciting.
Are they still in with the fairy penguins?
Will they be displayed with them in GSO exhibit or will each species have their own enclosure?
 
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boof said:
Thats pretty exciting.
Are they still in with the fairy penguins?
Will they be displayed with them in GSO exhibit or will each species have their own enclosure?
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thier still in with the fairy penguins but i dont know about where they are going to live at GSO.



this is awsome news for the zoo especaily given all the recent bad press they have recieved. if any of those eggs are fertile it would be a huge boost for the zoo and the species.
 
they will be living is GSO and last i heard a very big enclousre, meters long (10 or more maybe) and a full under water viewing, far enough for the great dive action and swim!

ill find more detail from send out and zoo booklets (zoonooz, promotional)
 
i imagine they will stay together - they looked great comparitively in the footage i have seen. this is great news. if they get a good fertile clutch they can multiply their numbers dramatically in one season.

did all the fiordlands at taronga end up there via rehabilitation? in other words are all three "wash-ups" on australian beaches? if so, theres every chance they will get more fresh blood this way over the coming years and thus a very genetically healthy and valuable captive colony could become established here in australia.

they obviously co-habitate very well with the little penguins, which is a big plus, so i'm veeery excited to see them eventually become the second species of penguin managed in the region by all our zoos. (i.e - when there is enough i hope melbourne get some!!) :)
 
to answer my own question (which was probably asked by meyself earlier in the thread anyway): both females washed up on the australian beach within a month of eachother over ten years ago. thus the likihood of another arriving anytime soon are, whilst not at all unprobable, quite slim nonetheless.

no doubt eventually another much welcomed bird or two will wash up on our shores again but could be any legnth of time. THUS it's very important these animals breed, especially since these three are the only members of their endangered species in captivity anywhere in the world.

fortunately it seems they are long-lived animals, so should taronga have some initial success with this trio, it may be the beginnings of what is potentially a slow, yet promising breeding program.

good luck to them..
 
kelvin said:
so has mr munro paired up with both chalky and milford?
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their not even sure if they have sucesfully breed yet so its probably too early to say who he has chosen (if any) to breed with.

the girls have been laying infertile eggs for years now so fingers crossed mr Munro will help create some little penguins soon!
 
i have some hope that more birds will become available, after all chalky and milford were two of 4 at one point. both chalky and milford washed up in 1994, followed or preceded by another 2 which have subsequently died and now Mr Munro.
this firoldland penguin program has given taronga, as torie said, some good news. the original article was a massive page 3 spread in the daily telegraph, so its good to see the zoo painted in the right light.
 
Penguins

has there been any news about the penguin's eggs. are they fertile?
 
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