austrlain zoo gower
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Question can proboscis monkey be imported and what behind the scenes encounter should I do
Melbourne Zoo Future of Melbourne Zoo 2023 (Speculation / Fantasy)
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Yes, though they’re not likely to be. They’re not common in zoos and Western zoos have struggled to maintain them compared to zoos like Singapore, which can provide them with a more naturalistic diet.
Re. Encounters, nobody can answer that but you. If it was me, I’d be doing the elephant encounter on the basis they have newborn calves in the herd, the encounter gives you an insight into preparations for their move to Werribee and they’re leaving in just over a year’s time - every other species will likely be there in five years time and some like the gorilla troop may have grown in numbers (it’s currently the smallest it’s been in years).
Will say this *loosely* but I wouldn't be surprised if Melbourne continued with Coati. I think we've all jumped the gun in saying they'll be phased out. I was suprised to discover Melbourne actually breed them as recently as a few years ago, but sadly the mother (and offspring) perished during the birth.
Trees would be great additions to the outdoor Orangutan exhibit. I'd love to see them have access to the opposite island long term. It's an idea I've had in mind for many years now, and with an expansion now very likely I think that's absolutely the way to go.
Re. Encounters, I would definitely recommend the Orangutan BTS encounter. I did one a few years ago, and it was absolutely amazing. I got to tour the BTS facilities (including their night areas), 'train' Dewi and feed Santan. Wonderful overall experience. I also had a friend who did the Tigers, and they had great feedback from that too.
I don't think Elephants are currently running though with the babies, so I think that's something to consider.
Europe (where we previously sourced coati) have had a breeding ban in place since 2016 and are phasing them out as a region. We may be able to source them from North America, but how strict biosecurity is in Australia, it wouldn’t surprise me if the ban came into effect in Australia. Tasmania already has restrictions on them.
According to the website, the elephant encounters resume Friday. I assume this was to allow the herd time to adjust following the birth of the calves, but am open to correction. If Luk Chai was in musth, then it may not have been an option to run an encounter with him either.
Wonder what the restrictive issue(s) might be with Coatis?
This article details it here:
South American Coati (Nasua nasua) | Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania
The TAP assessed South American coati as being moderately dangerous to humans, having a moderate (verging on high) risk of establishment and high consequence (risk that an established population would cause harm) if they established in Tasmania. Consequently, the TAP assessment concluded that the risk posed by importing South American coati into Tasmania is serious.
It notes only castrated males will be allowed into Tasmania.
To my knowledge, there’s no such restrictions on other Australian states (yet); but they will surely come if Europe has taken a similar stance.
PaddyRickMFZ
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I agree with you on the coati front. I personally didn’t think coatis were overly likely to be phased out, just given the effort they’ve put into them in the past. I was just banking on the fact that they would get moved. I was quite a big fan of their old enclosure and it’s location, and with a lot of unused area, they could be a good start to a South American precinct if they go in that direction. Realistically, they do not fit in at all in the carnivore precinct, and get overshadowed and often skipped due to the animals that are in close proximity to them. I believe I remember there being a large amount only a few years ago, can somebody correct me on that?
Agreed. They’re only 4kg! A search reveals a handful of aggressive encounters with humans, but usually within a pet scenario (US).
That’s correct. In May 2011, Melbourne Zoo imported 1.4 Brown-nosed coati from Leipzig Zoo in Germany. By the end of 2011 all four females had bred, producing a total of 26 kits. Most were distributed to other zoos, but Melbourne retained four. They also imported three non reproductive coati from Singapore Zoo in 2018.
Their old enclosure is no longer there I believe. It's been used to house surplus Red Pandas in the past (so that's where my thinking of Red Pandas as potential replacements came from). Both species are very similar, housing and exhibit wise.
Yes, Melbourne had quite a few Coati. They lost five females at once back in 2015 I believe, and have since lost their breeding male and breeding female (and most recently two of their other females); leaving them with just two females. So back in 2015, we can reasonably assume they had a group consisting of at least nine females plus a male, but I find it highly likely they may have had a little more than that. So quite a large group, thanks to their successful breeding efforts in 2012/2013.
austrlain zoo gower
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Thanks for the info, I think I'll do the elphant and orangutan behind the scences, coati are an unlikely phaseout imo
If you do the orangutans it would be great if you could enquire about any future imports and also a potential expansion of their current complex.
PaddyRickMFZ
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I’m not sure if the enclosure is still there or not but the general area they were in was very suited to them due to how forested it was. It was actually quite an attraction with children not long ago, and the enclosure(/s?) was quite big if I’m not wrong. Would be great to see what they could do with that
PaddyRickMFZ
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Are you able to do multiple? Given you are the creator of this great thread I assume you want to find out the future of MZ more than anyone, and those 2 seem the most important.
I don't think it is unfortunately. Last time I went to check it out, it was gone but I may be wrong. I'll have to check during my next visit.
I always found that area extremely empty, and don't think I ever saw children there so that's interesting to hear! The enclosure was relatively small and was at the end of a small dead-end path. The Tamarin cages were along the path before the Coatis, and housed both Cotton Tops and Emperors, and later bird species too, like Grey Parrots.
PaddyRickMFZ
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I believe it became quieter as they got closer to moving out, but I remember the coatis being far more popular than they are now. Visiting MZ only about 2 weeks ago there was no one paying attention to the coatis at all. One was eating centimetres away from the fence and was really cool to watch, and I watched it for several minutes, as I believe they are wonderful animals. Sad but also relieving that no one chose to observe them. People didn’t even bother looking in the viewing window after seeing the sign. The accompanying playground was quite popular, though I’m not sure anyone there knew it was based off coatis
I guess as is the case with all animals, the larger the group, the more interesting they are to observe. Wellington’s meerkats (which number around 15 and always seem to have babies) attract more interest than Hamilton and Auckland’s combined on my visits.
If they’re still able to import coati from North America, I hope Zoos Victoria do so in time before a ban comes in. Those in the industry would surely get a heads up to know when it’s about to come in and what action they’d need to take as a result.
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
I agree, if they’re gonna import, it’s almost now or never. I do hope they move enclosure though
The good news is if they import them and breed them, they’ll probably fly off the shelves as everyone else will want to acquire them before a ban comes in as well. Several facilities received sibling pairs from Melbourne last time and saw how popular they’ve been as a species.
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