Melbourne may also be interested if they do indeed plan to discontinue with their Philippine Crocs.
Taronga Zoo Future of Taronga Zoo (Speculation / Fantasy)
- Thread starter Zoofan15
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Melbourne may also be interested if they do indeed plan to discontinue with their Philippine Crocs.
With the speed at which they gave up with the bongos it would not surprise me if they did the same with these, surely they would have restarted with them by now if they were serious?
I would say so. They stopped breeding prior to Isabella's death anyway, with her being moved into the Carnivores trail. They've now repurposed that same exhibit for boas. It seems like Melbourne may be moving on from this species with Luzon gaining in age now. He has a fair amount of descendants within the worldwide captive population, so it's also likely he may have been retired.
Since Phillipine crocodiles aren’t managed under a ZAA programme, I’m assuming the hatchlings had a designation outside the region; which as you’ve mentioned before, is why other Australian zoos didn’t acquire them. Even if not paying the transfer costs, the paperwork involved with exporting them on Melbourne’s behalf may have outweighed what benefits they thought they got from breeding them.
I’d assume this species is either designated for phase out at Melbourne; or they’re waiting until their male passes before reviewing whether to continue.
Only a selective few zoos worldwide are designated to be apart of the breeding program for this species. So the hatchlings were always going to go to the other facilities part of the breeding program rather than an Australian facility, which is not.
I can't seem to see why Melbourne would phase out this critically endangered species; I think it's just come down to the fact that Melbourne's pair become heavily represented within the captive population, and so were probably retired.
I agree it’d be good to see Taronga import a pair rather than importing a female to pair with the juvenile bull at Dubbo. It’d be advantageous to the establishment of a sustainable breeding to ensure we have multiple unrelated founders, rather than just importing every generation to pair off descendants of Dubbo’s pair.
The infrastructure used to house elephants would only require minor alterations to house Indian rhinoceros with one possibility being to house the female (and eventual calf) in the main elephant exhibit within a multi species exhibit of Indian antelope etc. and house the bull (outside of breeding) in the bull elephant exhibit (in keeping with the temple theme).
The zoo have trailers previously used transport to transport elephants between the exhibits for breeding and could easily implement the same for Indian rhinoceros.
Emailed Taronga re. Their Congo precinct:
The hope is Okapi will still be apart of this precinct. Things are still being worked out though.
Other species included will be Gorilla and Colobus Monkey. The Gorillas will have multiple enclosures (more than two i'm assuming), which will allow for multiple groups to rotate enclosures and different groupings to mixed and kept together - i'm assuming this refers to the bachelor group/s.
It's awesome to see regional dedication to Colobus monkeys; with Melbourne recently importing a new male and now Taronga apparently importing them for their new precinct, joining Adelaide and the National Zoo in breeding this species.
Pygmy Hippo and Bongo were unfortunately not mentioned; i'm assuming they'll remain in the current Rainforest precinct. It's a shame as the Pygmy Hippo enclosures are rather small, and they could do with more space.
The hope is Okapi will still be apart of this precinct. Things are still being worked out though.
Other species included will be Gorilla and Colobus Monkey. The Gorillas will have multiple enclosures (more than two i'm assuming), which will allow for multiple groups to rotate enclosures and different groupings to mixed and kept together - i'm assuming this refers to the bachelor group/s.
It's awesome to see regional dedication to Colobus monkeys; with Melbourne recently importing a new male and now Taronga apparently importing them for their new precinct, joining Adelaide and the National Zoo in breeding this species.
Pygmy Hippo and Bongo were unfortunately not mentioned; i'm assuming they'll remain in the current Rainforest precinct. It's a shame as the Pygmy Hippo enclosures are rather small, and they could do with more space.
The Okapi import will depend as much on availability of individuals overseas as to whether the Giraffe and Okapi IRA can finally be completed. It’d be preferable to import the Okapi directly into Australia versus using New Zealand as a back door.
Gorillas aren’t a fission-fusion species, so I’d assume it was more a comment regarding holding a bachelor troop alongside a breeding troop. This will allow the young males in the current troop to transfer out in the not too distant (with Kibali possibly going with them).
The Black and white colobus would be a nice compliment to the Western lowland gorilla. I hope Taronga import from overseas given the number of related individuals we have in the region.
I am a little surprised that a few new Giraffe are not coming into NZ for the regional population?
Same here. The IRA for New Zealand was only finalised last year, so hopefully some imports are in the works. Orana Wildlife Park need a new bull; and I’m hopeful Auckland choosing to only breed with one of their two young cows indicates plans to import a cow from outside the region.
The new male Colobus from Adelaide zoo to Melbourne is hardly importing?
Well, for Melbourne simply acquiring a male colobus (albeit from within the region) is almost as good as an import to their standards!
Anyhow, Taronga also acquiring colobus will also be a great help to the regional breeding program for this species. Especially as Adelaide and the National Zoo haven't breed their individuals well in recent years; Taronga can hopefully provide new individuals to help reboot the program from overseas.
May I suggest if one is referring to moving an animal between zoos within the country that transfer would be less confusing, thanks
I once made the mistake of saying imported when referring to a giraffe moving between two US states and greatly confused everyone. I too was advised of the following:
Imported = from another country
Transferred = from within the same country
Is the Congo Precinct being built in the same space that was initially proposed? And what is the timetable for this project?
Yes, still in the centre of the zoo. A projected timeframe hasn't been given (or at least updated in recent years), but I assume they'll start in 2024/25 following the completion of the Iyora Australia precinct. It should only take 12-18 months to complete the complex.
I am going to Taronga on Friday, so if I see or hear anything about whether/the extent to which the route is changing, I'll let you know.
A key aspect of the redevelopment is to make the cabins wheelchair accessible, or more wheelchair-accessible than they currently are (I'm not sure which one is accurate), so that is a good development.
The reopening of the Lower Entrance, which was announced as part of the Sky Safari temporary closure, is something I'm looking forward to - especially watching Charlie through the viewing window into Seal Cove.
I have a personal hunch that a third terminal could be added over near the wildlife retreat, but I have no evidence that is planned or whether that would be even possible with the space available.
A key aspect of the redevelopment is to make the cabins wheelchair accessible, or more wheelchair-accessible than they currently are (I'm not sure which one is accurate), so that is a good development.
The reopening of the Lower Entrance, which was announced as part of the Sky Safari temporary closure, is something I'm looking forward to - especially watching Charlie through the viewing window into Seal Cove.
I have a personal hunch that a third terminal could be added over near the wildlife retreat, but I have no evidence that is planned or whether that would be even possible with the space available.
I’m excited to see what they come up with, but I’m hopeful orangutans will make a return to Taronga. They were originally in the masterplan and are a critically endangered species that is the face of the palm oil campaign. They’d be the perfect compliment to the Sumatran tigers and make Taronga Zoo the only zoo in the region to exhibit three great ape species.
With the SkySafari rerouted, there’d be scope to add in overhead aerial pathways on the site of the elephant exhibit.
With promises of a new SkySafari in 2025, I’d say it’s likely we’ll see the transfer of the two female elephants to Dubbo within this timeframe.
I was thinking the same thing re. a third terminal. The space is there for a third terminal near the wildlife retreat.
I'm assuming it'll definitely still run down to the water, but this time may run down right next to the lower entrance.
PaddyRickMFZ
Well-Known Member
I also saw the okapi at Ueno and the conditions were very cramped, so a Taronga and Melbourne group import would be great. I know I’m late but still