Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Giant Pandas

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Zoo_Boy said:
hopefully, they (being the billionaires etc) pay for it all, in association with the aust govt, so currumbin pay minimal (food, staff), so they can make a profit from it, not a loss
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WHY? currumbin is a private business? why the %$@# should the australian government (and thus every one of us that pays rediculous amounts of tax) pay for a private enterprise.

and anyway if currumbin, a native animal park, is going down the gurgler - i hardly think investing in the most expensive, over-promoted, exaggerated money producer in all the zoo world is going to help...
 
the US panda loan scheme is currently worth over $80 million per annum, a figure american zoos cannot even recoup. as zoo atlanta puts it, one panda costs 5 times as much as an elephant to maintain. and those costs are prohibitive
the more i learn, the more i just think the whole thing is hilarious.
 
absolutely - in the midst of some of the big american zoo trying to re-negotiate their loans (memphis, national, atlanta and san diego zoos), some pissy private native animal park on the gold coast reckon they can do it better...

what a joke. i wonder how the irwins are going at acquiring those sumatran rhino? do you think andalas will be sent to australia zoo?
 
you are joking arent you pat about andalas going to australia zoo?
and on another note, if they did come, why display pandas in a chinese garden immersion experience. thai village for elephants fine, but come on. pandas are from the mountains,not backyards in beijing!
 
probably, but i dont give a **** about the state of origin, so this is the next best thing ;)
:D
and golden monkeys! blah
 
just think about the irwins and getting sumatran rhinos

very powerful ppl in the wildlife world, if they wanted something, they would get it. and think about the cash they would give to a place such as way kembas (?) if they happened to aquire some rhino and send to australia.

as more my statement on govt paying, no they shouldnt, but, yes but, for the austrlian govt to go into such an exchange of national emblems with china, would be more of a political move to form a tiend sign agreements, the animals would be barginning tools. so no they shouldnt but mr howard to get in chinas goodbooks would pay for it!
 
Zoo_Boy???? you lost me there mate.
i dont think it really matters how influential ugly and ugly irwin are in the wildlife world, when zoos are dealing with (if they have to deal with it at all) a critically endangered species like this rhino what should matter is husbandary, research, resources. money isnt everything. australia zoo might have the climate, but they dont have any rhinos, no rhino staff, no facilities, no scientific facilities (like taronga) and no links regionally.
if ex-situ propogation is considered a solution with this species, and lets face it everythings on the table but nothings happening fast, Australia zoo is the last place any rhino should go.
to begin with, there are dozens of US zoos with not only the experience but the budget and facilities to keep this species properly. and as sumatran rhinos are not part of the regional collection plan, theres no compelling reason to base a program here over and above any US zoo.
but if the sumatran rhinos had to come to oz, then id say Perth, Taronga or Melbourne would be the best zoos for them, simply because each institution has had success with the other rhino species.
 
sumatran rhinos have no place in zoos at all right now - least of all a privately-owned one who has just lost their biggest attraction and has no experince with rhino whatsoever.

as for pandas, to be honest i don't much care. they breed well now in chinese breeding centres, there is not really a shortage of them in captivity. what is really needed is expansion of their protected areas in the wild. in any event i wont be bothered going too see them, i've seen them before and they sleep a lot. i just think its hilarious that they actually reckon they can get them and if they do i find it equally rediculous that they reckon they can afford them!!
 
i think flying to see polar bears, in the arctic or the gold coast, is ridiculous ;)
and ironic.
if i lived in qld, id go and see them, but dont know if i could be arsed getting up there all the way from nsw, and i love pandas. id be even less likely to rush up there if they were staying here long term because id put it off until a legit reason to visit qld came up.
of course, im one of a few.
there probably would be a surge in tourists to the gold coast. but after the novelty wore off, who knows.
 
patrick said:
sumatran rhinos have no place in zoos at all right now - least of all a privately-owned one who has just lost their biggest attraction and has no experince with rhino whatsoever.
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I didn't much like the way this debate suddenly swung away from whether Currumbin Sanctuary will get Giant Pandas from China (it does sound a very
unlikely venue for a successful deal of that kind) and into the above discussion. I would hope NO foreign zoo without successfull experience of THIS SPECIES- so that excludes everywhere except Cincinatti,(and possibly L.A.)- would even consider trying to acquire these difficult animals, at least in the present situation..:(
 
well, i am saying they can get the best staff if they wish, austrlia zoo is only going to grow, and it has the money, and defintally the power
 
Currimbin

As a visitor to Australia several times I must say that Currimbin ranked very highly as far as my views of Australia fauna parks .
It had a huge walk through aviary ( second in size only to Hamilton Zoo in the region ) and had an enormous number of native Australia fauna on display
The snake talk was the most informative and relavent that I have ever come across , with alot of emphasis on first aid for bites , and respecting snakes for what they are . There was none of the Irwin hype when they brought out a death adder and a king brown , but we were still informed of the potential that these snake can pack if mishandled or threatened .

But Currimbin is a native Australia fauna sanctuary -- there is no exotic animals at this place . So why do they think they can diversify , and start off with pandas ? If they did this , it will no longer be an Australia Wildlife Park , nor could locals really consider it a zoo just because it wants to get ONE species of exotics .
Do they think that the booming Chinese tourism industry into the region will be wanting to see pandas , or koalas and kangaroos ?

Steve Irwin bought up alot of land before his untimely death . Currimbin cannot really expand too much at its present site .
I personally feel that Currimbin does more work to polish its "Aussie Animal Experience" if it wants to attract more customers , or devote more towards a research and conservation role of endangered species .
Let Australia Zoo build up its reputation and credibility further as a zoo that has potential to house exotics , now that Steve is dead .
As far as QLD establishments are concerned , Australia Zoo would be my first choice to develop a zoo in the same context as zoos are ie have both native and exotic taxa .
 
Agree with everything you said there Nigel. I think this really is just one of those pie in the sky things
 
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