Here are some of my ideas for Orana Wildlife Park:
1. Return the Siamangs to their former island exhibit
2. Bring back Orangutans to the Great Ape Centre
3. Redevelop the 3 exhibits opposite the Ape Centre into 1 Sahara themed exhibit, home to Addax, Scimitar-horned Oryx and Dromedary Camel
4. Introduce new hoofed animals for example Common Eland, Spotted Deer, Blackbuck, Pronghorn and Przewalski's horse
5. Have mixed species exhibits, for example Nyala and Springbok in with the Rhinos, Giraffe and Ostrich together, Zebra and Eland together, Bison and Pronghorn together, and Water Buffalo, Blackbuck and Spotted Deer together
6. Return the Ring-tailed Lemurs to their old island exhibit
7. Redevelop the old lion exhibit into either a small cat exhibit for Serval or Caracal or an overnight lodge
8. Build an Australia walk-thru exhibit where the current Springbok, Wallaby and Emu exhibits are. This walk-thru exhibit could be home to emu, kangaroos, and wallabies, plus a lace monitor exhibit next the entrance or exit to the walk-thru
9. Say goodbye to the farmyard and redevelop the land into the NZ native centre that has been confirmed by Orana
10. The unused land between the otter exhibit and the NZ/Spider Monkey exhibits should become a Hamadryas Baboon exhibit
Solid ideas throughout to use the space well
Several good ideas. Funding will ultimately limit any aspirations Orana have, but the following would greatly enhance the park in my opinion:
Acquire a female Sumatran tiger. Orana have a genetically valuable male and have three decent sized exhibits, which would be more than sufficient to breed and retain any cubs born into adulthood. Regional recommendations will dictate this, but I would consider either Zayana or Cahya at Auckland Zoo good genetic matches.
Import either a breeding troop of gorillas or a bachelor troop of chimpanzees. There’s a number of male chimpanzees in the region (nine at Taronga alone), so this would serve the region well. The bachelor gorilla troop (two brothers) are impressive animals, but a larger troop size (i.e. a breeding troop); or chimpanzees would take engagement levels of this complex to the next level. Clearly this is not an easy fix. The park has aspired to import breeding gorillas on the past, but has understandably been limited by finances.
Cheetah breeding has slumped (no births in a decade after more than 20 Cheetah cubs raised to adulthood between 1993 and 2014). Historically, Orana have been very protective at importing from South Africa, which has afforded the females a choice of multiple males to breed with. Nia (the last female of her family line) was reportedly unimpressed by the current males and it appears the Australian imported females are also!
The Lion Reserve is arguably the park’s biggest attraction - even with the prides reduced to five ageing/elderly animals. The park has three large exhibits (two on display, one off). In the early 2000’s, they managed four groupings of lions: breeding male; two breeding females and their respective cubs; and elderly/non-breeding lions. With this in mind (and the subsequent upgrade of the Lion Reserve in 2008), they could easily replicate this again with new lions brought in for breeding once the existing population has dwindled to a single grouping.
The old lion exhibit (currently vacant) that adjoins the old lion house (also vacant) would be perfect for Serval or Caracal; thought housing them in close proximity to the apex predators (lions) could be stressful. The exhibits past use has been for hand-raised Cheetah cubs, but no births have eventuated in the past decade.
The African wild dog exhibit is one of my favourites. I’m hopeful the park will continue with this species. They have a second exhibit (off display), so could theoretically manage a breeding pack, with the second pack accomodating the conflicts that often arise as the pups mature. The exhibit would require significant modifications for Spotted hyena, so I think we can rule out a phase out of wild dogs for hyena as Hamilton Zoo is planning.
