Melbourne Zoo Future of Melbourne Zoo 2023 (Speculation / Fantasy)

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Jambo said:
Yes, Melbourne initially planned to acquire Komodo's for the second stage of their Carnivores precinct, but that didn't work out. Possibly due to there not being numbers at the time; I'm not sure.

Now that a regional breeding program is taking off though, it would be the right time for Melbourne to acquire them. Easier viewing could be implemented for the Komodos; I'm just suggesting they could take up about half the paddock, but it would require a renovation to that specific area to make it suitable for them.

I've long long floated the idea of Orangutans expanded onto the island opposite. Although it's not entirely *large* in size, that's fine. These are primarily arboreal species of which won't need a whole lot of land space anyways. The ultimate for me would be a pathway stretching across the zoo to the Japanese Island. It's feasible; with the orangutan complex virtually directly opposite the Japanese Garden with only the Kids Play area in between. But that might be a good idea if that area was to be slightly revamped to allow more climbing opportunities for the kids to potentially tie in with the Orangutans crossing above?
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That is path to the garden seems honestly sick. Would likely mean they could acquire more individuals yes?
 
Jambo said:
Yes, Melbourne initially planned to acquire Komodo's for the second stage of their Carnivores precinct, but that didn't work out. Possibly due to there not being numbers at the time; I'm not sure.

Now that a regional breeding program is taking off though, it would be the right time for Melbourne to acquire them. Easier viewing could be implemented for the Komodos; I'm just suggesting they could take up about half the paddock, but it would require a renovation to that specific area to make it suitable for them.

I've long long floated the idea of Orangutans expanded onto the island opposite. Although it's not entirely *large* in size, that's fine. These are primarily arboreal species of which won't need a whole lot of land space anyways. The ultimate for me would be a pathway stretching across the zoo to the Japanese Island. It's feasible; with the orangutan complex virtually directly opposite the Japanese Garden with only the Kids Play area in between. But that might be a good idea if that area was to be slightly revamped to allow more climbing opportunities for the kids to potentially tie in with the Orangutans crossing above?
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That seems amazing. Having the sloth bear exhibits with Sri Lankan leopard is great, and having Himalayan tahr share space with langurs is another great idea. Potentially Indian Rhino would be able to fit then? 1 big exhibit for them with a smaller one for say Nilgai, but the Nilgai have a filter fence in which they can go into the rhino exhibit too would be cool imo. Would love to see gaur or banteng etc. but accept that’s unrealistic. Terraces are such a cool concept after looking into it, and who knows, if we can think of it, so can the staff.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
That is path to the garden seems honestly sick. Would likely mean they could acquire more individuals yes?
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Potentially yes. Once their elderly hybrid female passes on, they’ll have even more space and at a minimum will import a purebred Sumatran female to pair with Malu.

The ethos around orangutans in captivity is very much around acknowledging them as a solitary/semi-social species and providing them with space to seek solitude if they require it. With this in mind, I’d imagine even with expanded facilities, a maximum of one Sumatran female would be brought in - with the long term plan being for her offspring to take the place of the middle aged hybrid female, who will likely pass as they’re reaching adulthood.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
That seems amazing. Having the sloth bear exhibits with Sri Lankan leopard is great, and having Himalayan tahr share space with langurs is another great idea. Potentially Indian Rhino would be able to fit then? 1 big exhibit for them with a smaller one for say Nilgai, but the Nilgai have a filter fence in which they can go into the rhino exhibit too would be cool imo. Would love to see gaur or banteng etc. but accept that’s unrealistic. Terraces are such a cool concept after looking into it, and who knows, if we can think of it, so can the staff.
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You quoted the wrong post, but yes I think there’s real potential for this idea. Under this concept, I would anticipate the Indian rhinoceros would occupy the entire lower terrace, but that depends how much room the zoo can allocate to this project.

I’m of the belief that Nilgai and Indian antelope would be a better option - being herd animals that can be increased or decreased to accomodate changing exhibit standards over time; and Indian rhinoceros housed at Werribee, as we anticipate they would be long term.
 
Zoofan15 said:
You quoted the wrong post, but yes I think there’s real potential for this idea. Under this concept, I would anticipate the Indian rhinoceros would occupy the entire lower terrace, but that depends how much room the zoo can allocate to this project.

I’m of the belief that Nilgai and Indian antelope would be a better option - being herd animals that can be increased or decreased to accomodate changing exhibit standards over time; and Indian rhinoceros housed at Werribee, as we anticipate they would be long term.
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Sorry for that:p If Indian rhinos are even an interim replacement for elephants to be moved soon, it might be that bad of an idea. Ideally a variety of smaller Indian ungulates would replace them. I’m not sure on the import of gaur, but is that a possibility. Even the return of banteng considering they’re endangered maybe? There are already some in the region but I believe you indicated to me that they likely won’t return. Not exactly the thread for it but how is dubbo’s herd going, u don’t even know if they are a breeding herd tbh
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Sorry for that:p If Indian rhinos are even an interim replacement for elephants to be moved soon, it might be that bad of an idea. Ideally a variety of smaller Indian ungulates would replace them. I’m not sure on the import of gaur, but is that a possibility. Even the return of banteng considering they’re endangered maybe? There are already some in the region but I believe you indicated to me that they likely won’t return. Not exactly the thread for it but how is dubbo’s herd going, u don’t even know if they are a breeding herd tbh
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No problem. :)

It’s not out of the question, but it makes sense to start as they mean to go on. Indian rhinoceros would require more costly infrastructure than would be needed for Nilgai and Indian antelope, so it’s not a cost effective solution.

The main characters of Sloth Bear Mountain would be Sloth bears and Sri Lankan leopard and an attraction in their own right, so Indian rhinoceros aren’t necessarily needed like they were before in our previous concept designs (which saw Indian rhinoceros take centre stage).

I’d be surprised if they acquired Banteng. They basically look like domestic cattle. It’s possible - as the goal is to find ungulates from India and they fulfil this niche, but Nilgai and Indian antelope are better choices imo.
 
G
Zoofan15 said:
No problem. :)

It’s not out of the question, but it makes sense to start as they mean to go on. Indian rhinoceros would require more costly infrastructure than would be needed for Nilgai and Indian antelope, so it’s not a cost effective solution.

The main characters of Sloth Bear Mountain would be Sloth bears and Sri Lankan leopard and an attraction in their own right, so Indian rhinoceros aren’t necessarily needed like they were before in our previous concept designs (which saw Indian rhinoceros take centre stage).

I’d be surprised if they acquired Banteng. They basically look like domestic cattle. It’s possible - as the goal is to find ungulates from India and they fulfil this niche, but Nilgai and Indian antelope are better choices imo.
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Guess I’ll have to hold out hope for a cow on steroids then. As much as I love antelope, I feel like one ungulate would be needed to differentiate slightly. As far as I could see the last Banteng calf was bred at TWPZ in 2019 I believe, but someone may be able to correct me on that. I’m not sure how many are actually held at the facility
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
G

Guess I’ll have to hold out hope for a cow on steroids then. As much as I love antelope, I feel like one ungulate would be needed to differentiate slightly. As far as I could see the last Banteng calf was bred at TWPZ in 2019 I believe, but someone may be able to correct me on that. I’m not sure how many are actually held at the facility
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I believe Dubbo hold around eight Banteng, but @akasha and @Patrick Keegan have both visited more recently and could provide a more up to date answer.

It’s possible they may hold Banteng, but due to their size, the exhibit may look cramped - something which would be less of an issue with Indian antelope for example.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I believe Dubbo hold around eight Banteng, but @akasha and @Patrick Keegan have both visited more recently and could provide a more up to date answer.

It’s possible they may hold Banteng, but due to their size, the exhibit may look cramped - something which would be less of an issue with Indian antelope for example.
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I’d hope that if Indian antelope were considered then we’d have more diversity than just blackbuck. Nilgai are obviously a good idea, but what would occupy the final exhibit? It’s a shame that Banteng and Gaur would be out of the question because a mixed species exhibit with either one of those would be awesome. On another note, do you know if there are any imports from any zoo on the horizon involving new species?
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
I’d hope that if Indian antelope were considered then we’d have more diversity than just blackbuck. Nilgai are obviously a good idea, but what would occupy the final exhibit? It’s a shame that Banteng and Gaur would be out of the question because a mixed species exhibit with either one of those would be awesome. On another note, do you know if there are any imports from any zoo on the horizon involving new species?
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I'd allocate all three exhibits to those species (I.e. I wouldn't add a third species). Many zoos give their antelope fields to graze, so it'll look crowded enough without adding a third species.

With regards to imports, I'm only aware of Melbourne's interest in Eastern bongo, but this has yet yo be publicly confirmed and has only come from visitors speaking to staff etc.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I'd allocate all three exhibits to those species (I.e. I wouldn't add a third species). Many zoos give their antelope fields to graze, so it'll look crowded enough without adding a third species.

With regards to imports, I'm only aware of Melbourne's interest in Eastern bongo, but this has yet yo be publicly confirmed and has only come from visitors speaking to staff etc.
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Just thinking about this makes ma mad about the sheep ban. No markhor, takin, ibex or anything that would be great side by side the tahr or down with the antelope
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Just thinking about this makes ma mad about the sheep ban. No markhor, takin, ibex or anything that would be great side by side the tahr or down with the antelope
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I agree. It’d also be of great assistance to our chronically inbred Barbary sheep population.

With regards to the Sloth Bear Mountain precinct, I’m of the belief Himalayan tahr and langurs will be sufficient to populate the mountain peaks (upper terrace), though fully agree some more options would have been good.

Tahr are a game sport animal in New Zealand, so having them as a zoo exhibit is a minor step up from domestics imo but beggars can’t be choosers,
 
Zoofan15 said:
I agree. It’d also be of great assistance to our chronically inbred Barbary sheep population.

With regards to the Sloth Bear Mountain precinct, I’m of the belief Himalayan tahr and langurs will be sufficient to populate the mountain peaks (upper terrace), though fully agree some more options would have been good.

Tahr are a game sport animal in New Zealand, so having them as a zoo exhibit is a minor step up from domestics imo but beggars can’t be choosers,
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I suppose in New Zealand it would be like housing red deer. As far as I’m aware of they’re a rarity in Australia. Also, have you heard the theory that there are a couple of moose in the New Zealand Wilderness:p
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
I suppose in New Zealand it would be like housing red deer. As far as I’m aware of they’re a rarity in Australia. Also, have you heard the theory that there are a couple of moose in the New Zealand Wilderness:p
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Correct, I looked them up and apparently they’ve only established feral populations (outside Asia) in New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina. Tasmania even carried out a risk assessment and recommended their import into Tasmania be prohibited due to the high risk of them establishing as a pest species.

That damn Moose! Every year someone sees it. I say pics or it didn’t happen. :p
 
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dylan downward said:
I actually think capybara would be a good replacement for the Malayan tapir till a plan is worked out on what to build there then they could be moved to South America area if they do decide to build that
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It’s difficult to say. I imagine it’ll depend on when the Malayan tapir passes. The peccaries are getting on in years and if the tapir lives another two or three years, they may decide to leave it empty - which will make it simpler to renovate the entire area when the peccaries pass on.

If they don’t want an empty exhibit for a year or more, they may find a stop-gap species, but I imagine it’d be one that could be taken out at a moment’s notice to allow for the remodelling of the exhibits.

Alternatively, they may choose to relocate the peccaries to Werribee or Kyabram when the tapir passes. This would allow immediate renovations to take place - with the simultaneous phase out of both species.
 
dylan downward said:
I actually think capybara would be a good replacement for the Malayan tapir till a plan is worked out on what to build there then they could be moved to South America area if they do decide to build that
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Capybara would be a nice replacement for the Malayan Tapirs. They fit the enclosure without any need for it to be renovated.
Zoofan15 said:
If they don’t want an empty exhibit for a year or more, they may find a stop-gap species, but I imagine it’d be one that could be taken out at a moment’s notice to allow for the remodelling of the exhibits.
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I suggested Tasmanian Devil, which would also fit the current Peccary enclosure without the need for it be changed in any way. It would also connect nicely to the near by Australian precinct, but would require a native species to occupy the next door enclosure that currently houses Semangka.
 
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