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

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Jambo said:
Yes, wrote the wrong thing after reading Zoofan’s post above on the Tiger exhibits at Auckland. :rolleyes:

Hutan’s exhibit is around roughly 1000m2, with Indrah’s exhibit being slightly smaller (I’d say around 700-800m2).
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Is that more than Hutan would need? Otherwise I see it fit that tigers stay where they are
 
Zoofan15 said:
Gorillas don’t brachiate, so the the aerial pathway concept is more suited to orangutans and gibbons; but it’s a good idea to utilise this area for a bachelor troop. The bachelor troop would be reasonably fixed (i.e. there wouldn’t be fission-fusion between the troops), so males could transfer out of the breeding troop upon adolescence.
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Isn’t the bachelor group fine at WORZ? Seems a bit odd to me to build another exhibit if there will already be many aerial pathways and a notable lack of gorillas to breed. I believe it’s better serves to have the bachelor group at WORZ where they are unique within the zoo’s roster, the only primate when vervets die out of nothing changes(which I hope it does)
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Is that more than Hutan would need? Otherwise I see it fit that tigers stay where they are
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I’ve yet to see a tiger exhibit in a zoo that’s too large; but in terms of what he needs, yes they could afford to have a smaller exhibit.

Larger exhibits are preferable if no exhibit rotation is offered, but this seems to be a concept we’ll see utilised increasingly more.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Gorillas don’t brachiate, so the the aerial pathway concept is more suited to orangutans and gibbons; but it’s a good idea to utilise this area for a bachelor troop. The bachelor troop would be reasonably fixed (i.e. there wouldn’t be fission-fusion between the troops), so males could transfer out of the breeding troop upon adolescence.
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I was meaning like an enclosed bridge, like the gorillas at Philadelphia Zoo have, and like the proposed Tiger/ Big cat bridges.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’ve yet to see a tiger exhibit in a zoo that’s too large; but in terms of what he needs, yes they could afford to have a smaller exhibit.

Larger exhibits are preferable if no exhibit rotation is offered, but this seems to be a concept we’ll see utilised increasingly more.
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If that’s the case I don’t see the need to make 3 extra big cat exhibits opposed to 2, In which the two would provide more space and allow for more species. Realistically, I’m not sure what zoo goer would rather see 3 exhibits of tigers as opposed to 2 and a bear.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
If that’s the case I don’t see the need to make 3 extra big cat exhibits opposed to 2, In which the two would provide more space and allow for more species. Realistically, I’m not sure what zoo goer would rather see 3 exhibits of tigers as opposed to 2 and a bear.
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The general public would 100% prefer to see a bear in the mix, but there’s no reason they can’t have three or four exhibits displaying four or five groups of carnivores on rotation e.g. male bear, male tiger, female bear (and cubs) and female tiger (and cubs).

Not all of these groupings would be on exhibit, with off display dens holding them for 12 hours, to rotate with a different group as the zoo opens/closes.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Isn’t the bachelor group fine at WORZ? Seems a bit odd to me to build another exhibit if there will already be many aerial pathways and a notable lack of gorillas to breed. I believe it’s better serves to have the bachelor group at WORZ where they are unique within the zoo’s roster, the only primate when vervets die out of nothing changes(which I hope it does)
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They could potentially have both. It would certainly support the breeding of infants, which has been highly restricted in recent years.

I agree a bachelor troop is the best fit for Werribee as it allows energetic young males to blow off steam. I’m of the opinion it’s under-utilised by Werribee’s males, which are all getting on in age. When Taronga build their bachelor exhibit, I’d advocate a swap between their three young males (2014-2017) for Werribee’s males.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Isn’t the bachelor group fine at WORZ? Seems a bit odd to me to build another exhibit if there will already be many aerial pathways and a notable lack of gorillas to breed. I believe it’s better serves to have the bachelor group at WORZ where they are unique within the zoo’s roster, the only primate when vervets die out of nothing changes(which I hope it does)
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I feel it would be better if Werribee were to obtain Chimps (or even Baboons) instead of their current bachelor males. The exhibits large enough to support quite a large group of Chimps and an even larger troop of Baboons. Both would also make the exhibit 100 times more active and interesting. I often see visitors complaining due to the lack of activity from the trio of males who have such a large exhibit and never really make use of most of it. Not to mention, Chimps and/or baboons would also be far more suitable to Werribee’s overarching theme.

It would also be easier logistically for Melbourne to have a second gorilla exhibit nearby going forward to help manage their breeding troop.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Isn’t the bachelor group fine at WORZ? Seems a bit odd to me to build another exhibit if there will already be many aerial pathways and a notable lack of gorillas to breed. I believe it’s better serves to have the bachelor group at WORZ where they are unique within the zoo’s roster, the only primate when vervets die out of nothing changes(which I hope it does)
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I'm talking an additional space. None of these concepts would be off the ground in a short period of time, and I could see imports for breeding occuring prior to any new enclosures. It future proofs, and allows for more stimulation for the gorillas. Plus Gorillas have long been the face of MZ and I think this would give more prominence. Or even as Jambo says, if the bachelors return to MZ and something new is introduced to WORZ.
 
The Sleepy Hippo said:
I'm talking an additional space. None of these concepts would be off the ground in a short period of time, and I could see imports for breeding occuring prior to any new enclosures. It future proofs, and allows for more stimulation for the gorillas. Plus Gorillas have long been the face of MZ and I think this would give more prominence.
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Wouldn’t you agree it would be better to see young males transferred to WORZ to make use of the large space? Meanwhile the space used for a redundant gorilla exhibit could be used for potentially multiple species, such as capybara and other fan favourites, or even something more abstract like a bongo or okapi. Just saw the previous comment, glad to see you agree. Not necessarily a bad idea by any means, but there could be better utilisation
 
Jambo said:
I feel it would be better if Werribee were to obtain Chimps (or even Baboons) instead of their current bachelor males. The exhibits large enough to support quite a large group of Chimps and an even larger troop of Baboons. Both would also make the exhibit 100 times more active and interesting. I often see visitors complaining due to the lack of activity from the trio of males who have such a large exhibit and never really make use of most of it. Not to mention, Chimps and/or baboons would also be far more suitable to Werribee’s overarching theme.

It would also be easier logistically for Melbourne to have a second gorilla exhibit nearby going forward to help manage their breeding troop.
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I think the exhibit would be perfect for chimpanzees (baboons would be better suited to a rock face exhibit).

Like you say, chimpanzees make for an active exhibit and it’d support the thriving breeding programme we already have for them. They’re not (generally) subject to the limitations of gorillas (one male to multiple females) or orangutans (social groupings of 1-2).
 
Zoofan15 said:
I think the exhibit would be perfect for chimpanzees (baboons would be better suited to a rock face exhibit).

Like you say, chimpanzees make for an active exhibit and it’d support the thriving breeding programme we already have for them. They’re not (generally) subject to the limitations of gorillas (one male to multiple females) or orangutans (social groupings of 1-2).
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I’d love to see all 3 species held, and I certainly believe that’s a possibility. I refuse to believe WORZ aren’t even considering chimps for their new precincts, and Melbourne did just get some more baboons, when there are too many, where are they gonna go?
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
@Zoofan15 i may have asked you this before, but what is the status of Syrian brown bear in captivity? If we showed interest as a region it could be good for the international breeding program
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They’re held by 20 European facilities but the majority of these are pretty abstract zoos nobody’s ever heard of. Armenia alone has three holders. They’re held by the Heidelberg Zoo and Lisbon Zoo as well as Ramat Gan Zoo and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo - all of which we’ve participated in exchanges with as a region over the past two decades.
 
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Zoofan15 said:
The general public would 100% prefer to see a bear in the mix, but there’s no reason they can’t have three or four exhibits displaying four or five groups of carnivores on rotation e.g. male bear, male tiger, female bear (and cubs) and female tiger (and cubs).

Not all of these groupings would be on exhibit, with off display dens holding them for 12 hours, to rotate with a different group as the zoo opens/closes.
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That was the exact mix I was suggesting, albeit with the addition of asiatic lions and Leopards
 
Zoofan15 said:
They’re held by 20 European facilities but the majority of these are pretty abstract zoos nobody’s ever heard of. Armenia alone has three holders. They’re held by the Heidelberg Zoo and Lisbon Zoo as well as Ramat Gan Zoo and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo - all of which we’ve participated in exchanges with as a region over the past two decades.
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Is this population still breeding?
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
I’d love to see all 3 species held, and I certainly believe that’s a possibility. I refuse to believe WORZ aren’t even considering chimps for their new precincts, and Melbourne did just get some more baboons, when there are too many, where are they gonna go?
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The current exhibit can hold up to 40, so considering they’re only around halfway there at the present time there shouldn’t be space issues anytime soon.
 
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