Osedax
Well-Known Member
It isn't truly "empty"; there would still be the turtles and yabbies!
Taronga Zoo Future of Taronga Zoo (Speculation / Fantasy)
- Thread starter Zoofan15
- Start date
She is apparently very elusive. I too have never seen her, and it would make sense why her sighting was mentioned on socials!
At this point, Taronga really needs to consider efficiency of space. Beyond the Savannah, there’s not much in the way of mixed species exhibits for mammals. Spider monkeys and squirrel monkeys can cohabit with tapir for example; and I’ve even seen small monkeys such as Pygmy marmosets cohabiting with macaws if they wanted to bring birds into the equation.
Auckland have rotational exhibits for their Siamang and Bornean orangutan and Perth are planning a rotational exhibit for their tigers and sun bears. I really hope Taronga are giving thought to something along these lines when they redevelop their elephant exhibit. Orangutans and gibbons would be a great choice for rotating use of an aerial pathway; with orangutans and otters potentially cohabiting.
loganjmuir
Well-Known Member
Other than this, utilising the current exhibits as mixed species exhibits could hugely benefit the zoo. For instance, the capybara exhibit. A climbing frame could easily be implemented for a species like Squirrel Monkey, freeing up the "cage" in the rainforest trail. Or Peccaries, but my knowledge leads me to believe this species is in a phase-out currently. It's a big shout, but a reintroduction of Agouti wouldn't go unnoticed, especially considering the new general theme of smaller species physically speaking, as I outlined briefly in the Taronga Zoo News Thread. Baird's Tapir cohabiting with Capybara or Marmoset/Capuchin with the Squirrel Monkey's would also certainly make a welcome addition.
As you mentioned @Zoofan15 Perth are planning a rotational set of exhibits for Tiger and Sun Bear. This would be interesting to say the least but rather with another species of Bear, as Mary is settled and content at the moment.
Collared peccary are indeed being phased out. The trio at Melbourne Zoo will be the last in the region, so I’d encourage anybody with the opportunity to visit to do while you can. I spent a lot of time at this exhibit last year, despite public interest in them being close to zero (the general public basically regard them as domestic pigs).
Capybara and squirrel monkey are a good mix and potentially, tapir could cohabit; though I’d house the more robust tapir with spider monkeys, which are too aggressive for capybara. These two combinations worked well at Auckland and Hamilton respectively.
I’d be surprised if sun bears weren’t phased out given the demographics of the region. We could potentially source females from Europe (who have a surplus), but it seems pointless when there’s a lack of males. I hope Sloth bears are their replacement. I saw them at London Zoo as a child and they’re a fascinating species. They breed readily (at least compared to the sun bear) and would be a nice compliment to other South Asian species in the region like the Sri Lankan leopard.
The Sleepy Hippo
Well-Known Member
Collared-Peccary would garner far more interest if they were in a mixed and layered enclosure.
ReturnOfPaddyRick
Well-Known Member
And maybe not deserted in the far corner of the zoo with no immediate attraction nearby. In fairness, children are often occupied by them when they do actually see them
Their location at Melbourne certainly doesn't help, but even then I'd still doubt there'd be a lot of interest if they were apart of some sort of trail.
They are also quite aggressive, so not sure how they'd do in a mixed species enclosure. They were in a walkthrough exhibit at Werribee though back in the 90's!
They peccary exhibit has an end of the day vibe about it. On three of my four visits last year, I entered through the rail gate entrance and while they’re close to that entrance, the natural route is to go straight on towards the Carnivore precinct. Many people passed the peccary exhibit on their way out, but by then, people are tired and unwilling to give the exhibit anything more than a passing glance unless the peccaries are in full view.
That is also what I've been doing for as long as I can remember when entering from the Railway Gate. I also used to find Semangka and the peccaries were far more active late in the afternoon too; and if you were lucky, small keeper talks were held there around that time on occasions.
New species for Taronga Zoo:
I think a number of us agree that Taronga would benefit from investing in more species; while bearing in mind they’re a city zoo and large ungulates etc. are better off housed at Dubbo.
The following would greatly enhance the zoo’s collection imo:
Sri Lankan leopard
Clouded leopard
Dhole
Bornean orangutan
Red ruffed lemur
Golden lion tamarin
Cotton-top tamarin
Cape porcupine
Red ruffed lemur, Golden lion tamarin and Cotton-top tamarin wouldn’t require large exhibits. Cape porcupine could have a nocturnal annex to the meerkat exhibit (so we’d actually see it).
The elephants leaving would provide space to build a Bornean orangutan complex; while Dhole could replace the Malayan sun bear in time (or have their own exhibit if bears were to remain in the collection). I would personally look at housing Sloth bears at Dubbo.
Osedax
Well-Known Member
They do have Cotton-top Tamarins actually, but yes I agree those would be very good ideas. I have often thought that if the gorillas leave, their smaller exhibit could be good for GLTs. Dhole in Mary's exhibit sounds good also, although Dubbo would be better to house a large pack. Red Ruffed Lemur could be mixed with the Ring-tailed lemurs. Clouded leopard maybe in either the fishing cat exhibit or the former gibbon exhibit. I struggle to see where a nocturnal porcupine exhibit could go next to the meerkats. Perhaps the old saltwater croc exhibit could work for Sri Lankan Leopards with a lot of renovation. Orangs replacing the elephants is a no brainer really.
Golden lion tamarin would be a good choice for Taronga’s smaller gorilla exhibit. Auckland Zoo display a large family troop (parents and multiple young) in this relatively large exhibit, which they clearly find enriching:
The nocturnal annex need not be anything elaborate. Hamilton Zoo has a small shed with a viewing window that adjoins the meerkat exhibit. It provides a view of the porcupines which rarely wander out into the exhibit during daylight hours.
Clouded leopard would be a good fit for the Rainforest trail due to the absence of apex predators. I suspect Fishing cat will be phased out, but haven’t heard confirmation either way. An off-display breeding set-up (and multiple pairs) would be advantageous if they want to get serious about breeding. A single paired housed on display is unlikely to yield results.
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loganjmuir
Well-Known Member
Potentially Dholes could inhabit Mary's current enclosure, with Mary taking one of the Tiger exhibits on a rotational basis, seeing as Pemanah and Marwah(?) are leaving for Point Defiance in the coming months. As @Osedax mentioned, Orangutans in the Elephant paddock is the obvious move. It has more than enough space to display multiple species too, one arboreal and one boreal. The tamarin's are easily accounted for, with Cotton-Top already at the zoo, the Golden's could cohabit the current Tamarin exhibit, next to the RACC. Unless Taronga plan to breed Gorillas long-term, after the adolescent males have moved on, it would be optimal to see the smaller exhibit utilised for a primate species. But rather than Tamarin, I would prefer to see a larger species like the previously held Guenons, or Diana Monkeys, or even used to hold Sri Lankan Leopards, as the Fishing Cat exhibit is lacking in space, especially if Taronga wish to breed.
That’s correct. Pemanah is going to Memphis Zoo; Mawar is going to Point Defiance Zoo. This will leave Taronga with four tigers:
1.0 Kembali (2011) Satu x Jumilah
0.1 Kartika (2011) Satu x Jumilah
1.0 Clarence (2013) Ramalon x Kaitlyn
0.1 Tengah Malam (2019) Clarence x Kartika
In the interests of retaining Assiqua’s genes within the region, I imagine a male will be imported to breed with Tengah Malam in time. Prior to his death, Auckland’s male cub appeared the obvious choice. Now, perhaps Ramah will be sent to Taronga following the birth of a second surviving litter at Auckland.
Assuming a male arrives for breeding within the next three years, it would be necessary to transfer one or more of the older tigers out (perhaps to Dubbo) if Mary was to rotate within them; but overall, I think it’s a great idea and would really enhance the tiger complex.
Regarding gorillas, Taronga essentially have a 1.1 pair in the main troop (with two additional non-breeding females). They could maintain this troop as it is, breeding with Mbeli every seven years or so; but it also wouldn’t surprise me to see Taronga phase gorillas out. I’ve heard mention the three adolescent males could be going to Sydney. That will be an interesting development as to phase gorillas out, Taronga would be conceding another notable point of difference to Sydney (especially with elephants going).
Ironically taronga used to have dhole, then passed them out. They bred them for a few years.
What would be ideal instead of taking up a tiger exhibit. Would be to redevelop the plane/fake village area and sun bear exhibits. They are right next to each other. The tiger exhibits are great, if they designed exhibits that are the same standard look. They would easily accomodate an exhibit for Sri Lankan leopard In there as well. They have already made good use of the mesh covering for the tiger exhibits. So a fully covered leopard exhibit with bear exhibits done up the same way the tiger ones are would be great. It would create a nice little precinct. And the mesh and use of glass allows you to get up close to the animals. It would also modernise the bear enclosure, which still has a dry moat. Giving it a more modern look/feel and move away from the old school bear pits/enclosures with dry moats. Allowing people to get up close to the them.
That’s correct. Three Dhole were imported from China in the 1980’s. The last descendants from these imports died out circa 2000.
A new pair were imported from Cambodia in 2006. They bred twice, producing a female pup in 2006 and a male pup in 2007. The father and daughter were exported to Singapore in 2009; and the mother (Tunlay) and son (Jangala) remained at Taronga until their deaths in 2015.
There’s a photo of Jangala and Tunlay here:
Photo taken by @Osedax in 2012
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loganjmuir
Well-Known Member
I wonder where the Alligator Snapping Turtle will come from. I assume Sydney Zoo but I don't know whether they will be willing to let theirs go. It'll be good to see Corroboree Frogs in an official setup as opposed to their 'temporary' boxes though. I also hope the Red-Bellied Black's inhabit the same exhibit as they are currently. I saw them sleeping together on my latest visit, looking quite comfortable with each others company.
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Felids and ursids are two the biggest drawcards for any zoo and as Taronga’s sun bear ages, they’ll need to give consideration as to what the future holds for bears at Taronga.
Taronga’s bear facilities are indeed dated and the lack of mention for renewal in the masterplan suggests they may be intending to phase out long term. I think we can all agree continuing with sun bears isn’t a viable option at this point in time; but as has been discussed previously, sloth bears would make a good replacement.
It’s important to bear in mind that bears have the potential to attract negative PR due to their pacing behaviours and those that house them are obliged to dedicate increasing amounts of space to exhibiting them. As a city zoo, Taronga’s ability to do so will be limited; so the future of bears at Taronga (if any) could ultimately take the form of a large exhibit at Dubbo.