Very rapid developments among the Taronga/Melbourne groups at present. Sending these females together, rather than just one, to Taronga might be to allow them a more balanced introduction to the other gorillas.
Taronga Zoo Gorilla Troop
- Thread starter Axl
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Very rapid developments among the Taronga/Melbourne groups at present. Sending these females together, rather than just one, to Taronga might be to allow them a more balanced introduction to the other gorillas.
I have now read a newspaper article about their(Melbourne's) new male Otana's introduction to the Melbourne enclosure. It says he will join three females while 'a fourth will come from Taronga Zoo and he will be bred with that one first'. Does this mean either Johari or Mbeli will be returned to Melbourne again?
I have now read a newspaper article about their(Melbourne's) new male Otana's introduction to the Melbourne enclosure. It says he will join three females while 'a fourth will come from Taronga Zoo and he will be bred with that one first'. Does this mean either Johari or Mbeli will be returned to Melbourne again?
I think will be Kimya (b. 2005, Kibabu x Kriba). She was staying with Kibali for a while but I didn't see her with him on my last visit so she is probably going to Melbourne.
I found it(i think) in their Gorilla blog. The most recent update(September) refers to Kimya as his 'former house-mate' though it sort of implies they are still together.
It definately says the other two females from Melbourne will be introduced to Kibali so it must be Kimya who will leave.In an earlier (July) post in the blog however it says that Kibali & Kimya represent the start of the next generation of Taronga gorillas- so I think there may have been some changes of plan since then....
It seems the display at Taronga,when it opens again, will be just the trio of Kibali, Mbeli and Johari?
Is it possible that Frala could be moved to Melbourne for breeding? The Melbourne group would then contain all the older females in the region and the Taronga group would contain the younger females. However even though Kimya, Mbeli and Johari are mother raised, group reared females, Taronga may want Frala in their new group as an experienced, proven and reliable mother.
Perhaps because Kimya has been mother-reared and his grown up in a natural group setting she is the one to be moved as model mother to be ..
Johari was handraised, though reintroduced into the Melbourne group at a comparatively young age.
The older females at Melbourne (discounting Yuska)- G.Anne and Julia, have only ever had one baby each and both were handraised. At their age I rather doubt they will 'learn' mother-raising by example from another female (particularly G.Anne who has a very humanised/desocialised early background) but having no females in the current group that have mother-raised babies, that is probably what is in their minds regarding the new female that goes there, as the article I read said the new female to go to Melbourne would be bred from first.
I would expect it to be 'Kimya' as she would adapt better to a new group, being subordinate to the older females. Moving the older 'Frala' could be more problematic- she might fight with the other older ladies there. If introduced again to the Taronga group she would no doubt assume the role of senior female as she's on her home turf. If she's staying they could assimilate her right away as the sons would still have each other for company.
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No.
Otana's parents are (father) Koulliou x (mother) Tamba. Koulliou was wildborn, Tamba's parents were (father) Bitam x (mother)Shamba, both wildborn.
Kibabu's parents were (father) Kisoro x (mother) Baby Doll, both wildborn.
So Otana and Kimya are not related in any way.
Fuzu, Fataki and Mahale will be moving to Orana next year:
Three new gorillas for Orana Park | Stuff.co.nz
Three new gorillas for Orana Park | Stuff.co.nz
well the orangutans is a bit out of the blue. As I've said before, I'll believe it when it happens.
More on Orana's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...934689.1073741828.109829354688&type=1&theater
Presumably as new holders they'll take whatever is available- Taronga's are (I think) hybrids so gettig rid of them to NZ may allow them to focus on purebreds-probably Sumatran.
yes Taronga has a male and female hybrid pair and no others.Melbourne also has two hybrids (females) as well as pure Sumatrans. Auckland also has one female hybrid (from Taronga) along with their pure Borneans.
If this Great Ape facility would become a reality at Orana it might perhaps be a good idea to have all hybrid orangs in one location only. In the name of good conservation breeding practice and to have a dedicated facility where the orangs can live out their natural lifespan!
Incidentally, why is there no good dedicated thread for Orana (since the major part of this discussion is really on what is going down or going to be down … at this facility)?
It would seem a distinct possibility that could happen in the future.