PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
That bloody sign I swear
Melbourne Zoo Future of Melbourne Zoo 2023 (Speculation / Fantasy)
- Thread starter Jambo
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Just a note with this one ZV has largely moved on from the Beads for Wildlife Campaign so much so that from my experience it hasn't featured in Safari talks for quite some time now.
Edit: Should we may a separate WORZ Spec/Future Thread or perhaps rename these threads to Zoos Victoria Spec/Future?
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
I feel like It doesn’t rly need renaming. It’s primarily MZ based, with side tangents of WORZ. Realistically, most options floated at WORZ are just animals we have decided aren’t fit for MZ, and just send them 20 mins away to the zoo with infinite space
Re Barbary Sheep: I think they would be a great fit for either MZ or WORZ
Re Vervet Monkeys: yes they are being phased out. All have been desexed. Note that none have the bright pink and blue genitals any more. I suspect/assume/think colobus will take their place.
Re Wolves: WORZ very seriously considered them a few years ago but the problem is that packs split up suddenly and often and then you are stuck with heaps of them over multiple enclosures. So the idea was abandoned. (The idea was to feature wolves and bison since WORZ gets very cold and windy in winter).
Re Vervet Monkeys: yes they are being phased out. All have been desexed. Note that none have the bright pink and blue genitals any more. I suspect/assume/think colobus will take their place.
Re Wolves: WORZ very seriously considered them a few years ago but the problem is that packs split up suddenly and often and then you are stuck with heaps of them over multiple enclosures. So the idea was abandoned. (The idea was to feature wolves and bison since WORZ gets very cold and windy in winter).
Werribee certainly doesn’t require it’s own speculation thread. Other ZooChatters not participating in this discussion won’t appreciate having the forum clogged up with multiple speculation threads and in any case, Melbourne and Werribee discussions are very much interwoven.
I have no objection to it being renamed a Zoos Victoria speculation thread, but don’t personally feel it’s necessary as Melbourne Zoo remains the central focus. Healesville and Kyabram are under the Zoos Victoria umbrella but rarely come up in discussion.
That’s a real shame. I feel like they could have imported a single breeding pair and gone from their - retaining offspring to maintain a pack in the single digit, with other facilities on stand by to receive surplus.
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
Very much a shame about the Vervet Monkeys. Might I ask, are wolves still on the table at all, or have they just decided they are no longer in contention. Also, which species of wolf was being discussed?
No - they are definitely out of contention: This was a number of years ago - it wasn't recently.
It was grey wolves (the usual ones found in North America, Russia, Northern Europe etc).
Zillie’s a long term replacement. I don’t think we’d see here moving anytime soon although we’d all support such a move. Replacing them with the Colobus’s seems like the best idea though in 5-10 years once the troop has grown to a considerable size.
Was this back in the 2000’s? If so, I remember seeing something about this.
Barbary Sheep would be a real good fit to Werribee. Especially if they were somehow given access to the cliff side that borders the Lower Savannah.
That’s a shame regarding the Vervet Monkeys. It does make sense to send the Colobus’s there. Since Melbourne has pretty much downgraded them by moving them into a smaller enclosure yet is still electing to breed them makes me think they will hopefully have a place at Werribee going forward (once the troop grows) compared to Melbourne.
I also imagine if Werribee were to go forward with importing Grey Wolves, they would’ve needed regional support to do so - especially surrounding the constant splitting of groups. I imagine that would’ve been a primary issue if Werribee was to be the only or one of the only holders in the region.
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
I definitely think if Werribee wanted to pursue them, other regional zoos would jump at the chance to hold them. An amazing draw card and a centrepiece to North American precinct. I don’t think Zillie is long term term replacement considering the theming is gorilla rainforest
I would assume Zillie is an interim replacement in the absence of anything else to fill an empty exhibit at short notice. Since then we've had Covid, which would have further complicated imports.
Melbourne stated they have no plans to acquire Mandrill but an obvious oppotunity will present itself when Adelaide import. It's surprising there's not more regional interest in Mandrill.
Re. Grey wolves, it seems common place for packs in captive settings to maintain a breeding apir along with their offspring under the age of three years. A litter of pups are born and remain in the pack until at least the age of two, while the next litter is being raised.
Conflict can indeed arise as the offspring mature and a common solution is to split them into male/female sibling packs, which have a greater stability long term.
With this in mind, importing a 1.1 pair would be the best way to go, with two or three additional facilities willing to acquire surplus from the breeding pack as the wolves reach the state where they need to be transferred out.
Australia Zoo are another facility who might consider them since they had plans for a North American precinct.
Conflict can indeed arise as the offspring mature and a common solution is to split them into male/female sibling packs, which have a greater stability long term.
With this in mind, importing a 1.1 pair would be the best way to go, with two or three additional facilities willing to acquire surplus from the breeding pack as the wolves reach the state where they need to be transferred out.
Australia Zoo are another facility who might consider them since they had plans for a North American precinct.
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
Such a shame a species like Grey Wolf was considered, but is now no longer in contention.
Re. Mandrill.
I agree it’s strange that regional interest is so low. They are a very enabling species, especially when kids find out rafiki was never a baboon
I agree. It'd be great to see North American species that were common in our zoos throughout the 20th century return to the region such as American black bear, Grey wolf and Puma. The latter can of course only be imported if desexed, which isn't ideal.
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
Still, even taking excess males from the USA should be considered a viable option, considering their capacity as a draw card and centrepiece to regional precinct
Yes, male and female Puma would be available within the North American population. They’re readily acquired from the wild by US zoos, who rescue cubs that can’t be re-released.
They have a lifespan of up to 20 years (12-15 years is typical), so acquiring individuals around 12 months of age would mean zoos should have them for at least a decade.
Zillie’s a long term replacement. Was told be a keeper.
Mandrills not being an endangered could be one reason. I’m not aware of the current numbers in the European population, but the North American population is on the small side so maybe it’s just an issue with there not being enough animals to be imported for a regional population here?
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
Was your keeper a reliable source? I’m not trying to be overly critical but some members on here stated that they were told Mandrills would be imminent, while you have been told the opposite. I’m just gonna hope your keeper was misinformed, as unlikely as that isZillie’s a long term replacement. Was told be a keeper.
Mandrills not being an endangered could be one reason. I’m not aware of the current numbers in the European population, but the North American population is on the small side so maybe it’s just an issue with there not being enough animals to be imported for a regional population here?
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