Halls Gap Zoo Halls Gap Zoo

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kiwimuzz said:
Made my second ever visit to Halls Gap Zoo on Friday. It is well worth the drive from Melbourne.
They have been using the shut down to improve a few enclosures and tidy up the park. The 5 female capuchins have settled in to their new enclosure, which is much larger than their old domed enclosure. The park now has a nice monkey row, capuchin, spider monkey, ring tailed lemur pair (female Asha ex Mogo Zoo, male Dodi - they are hoping to breed soon), Black and White Ruffed Lemur pair (male 8 years, female 4 years), another ringtailed Lemur exhibit (possibly solitary male).
If you want to see Wallabies and parrots there is planty of choice. Several walk through wallaby exhibits of good quality. Lots of parrot aviaries around the park with a good mix of Australian and exotic birds.
Cheetah exhibit is very large and well done, although reflection from afternoon sunshine on viewing window didn't improve my photography skills.
Rhino, bison, ostrich, himalayan thar, red panda, in good sized exhibits. 3 Giraffe have plenty of space, but as has been mentioned before there are really no good vantage points on which to see them clearly.
There are some exhibits that definitely need improving - salt water crocodile and American alligator, and some of the older tamarin exhibits....
Had a great day. Really enjoyed seeing an aviary of small African softbilled finches - such a rarity in Australia zookeeping.
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I’m doing work for a thread on Native birds in Australian zoos so it would be great if you could compile a list that the zoo had on display at the time. (P.S, I’ve also been curious about their exotic bird species)

Thanks in advance
 
Yoshistar888 said:
I’m doing work for a thread on Native birds in Australian zoos so it would be great if you could compile a list that the zoo had on display at the time. (P.S, I’ve also been curious about their exotic bird species)

Thanks in advance
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I posted a species list from my visit in Dec '17 here. Might still be useful even if it's a bit out of date...
 
I have posted in the Native Birds in Australia thread a list of the Native Birds at Halls Gap Zoo as per my visits 26Oct2019 and 05June2020.
The following exotic birds were seen on these visits.
African Firefinch Lagonosticta rubricata
Black-Headed Caique Pionites melanocephalus
Blue-and-Gold Macaw Ara ararauna
Blue-fronted Amazon Amazona aestiva
Crimson-bellied Conure Pyrrhura perlata
Dusky Lory Pseudeos fuscata
Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus
Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus
Green-winged Macaw Ara chloropterus
Indian Peafowl
Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata
Maroon-Bellied Conure Pyrrhura frontalis
Moluccan Red Lory Eos bornea
Mute Swan
Orange-breasted Waxbill Amendava subflava
Ostrich
Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus
Scarlet Macaw Ara macao
St. Helena Waxbill Estrida astrid
Sun Conure Aratinga solstitalis
Timneh Parrot Psittacus timneh
 
Halls Gap Zoo has announced the death of male Giraffe, Pumika. The zoo should still have two other male Giraffes - Zawadi and Msumari. From their Facebook page:
It is with a heavy heart we say a very sad goodbye to 11-year-old Pumika, one of our male giraffes who became suddenly unwell yesterday. Whilst our dedicated team did all they could, it was unfortunately determined that Pumika’s condition had rapidly deteriorated and the kindest action left for him was euthanasia. Post-mortem testing is underway to determine the cause.

Halls Gap Zoo welcomed Pumika from SA in 2012 as part of the ZAA regional breeding program and he was an important part of our zoo family who will be remembered for his outgoing, friendly nature. This is an emotional time for the zoo team, particularly the keepers who loved and cared for him. Zoo members and guests are encouraged to leave a message of condolence and support for the giraffe keeper team below.
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Halls Gap Zoo
 
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kiwimuzz said:
I have posted in the Native Birds in Australia thread a list of the Native Birds at Halls Gap Zoo as per my visits 26Oct2019 and 05June2020.
The following exotic birds were seen on these visits.
African Firefinch Lagonosticta rubricata
Black-Headed Caique Pionites melanocephalus
Blue-and-Gold Macaw Ara ararauna
Blue-fronted Amazon Amazona aestiva
Crimson-bellied Conure Pyrrhura perlata
Dusky Lory Pseudeos fuscata
Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus
Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus
Green-winged Macaw Ara chloropterus
Indian Peafowl
Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata
Maroon-Bellied Conure Pyrrhura frontalis
Moluccan Red Lory Eos bornea
Mute Swan
Orange-breasted Waxbill Amendava subflava
Ostrich
Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus
Scarlet Macaw Ara macao
St. Helena Waxbill Estrida astrid
Sun Conure Aratinga solstitalis
Timneh Parrot Psittacus timneh
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Nice to see an Australian zoo putting some effort into maintaining a decent exotic bird collection. The finches and mute swan must be considered pretty unusual these days.
 
tetrapod said:
Nice to see an Australian zoo putting some effort into maintaining a decent exotic bird collection. The finches and mute swan must be considered pretty unusual these days.
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Melbourne Zoo used to have Mute Swans in the Japanese Garden, but as with most of their birds they left the zoo.
 
Unfortunately one of the Ring-tailed Lemur twins has died. However, the other twin is still doing well. From their Facebook page:
It is with a heavy heart that we let you all know that unfortunately one of the recently born Ring-tailed lemur young has passed away.
We are so proud of our dedicated primate team who ensured that at every stage Asha and her new family had as little stress as possible within a quiet and warm environment during these first few weeks.

This is one of the tough realities of the animal world and nature knowing what is ultimately best even though it is sometimes hard for us to make sense of it all.
We believe that this pup was not as strong and even with Asha's best intentions it was not meant to be.

But we are happy to say that the other lemur baby is doing so well and growing bigger and stronger every day. As you can see in the photos below, it is starting to spend time on its mums back and looking around at its surroundings.
Our little lemur family is on display but they also have access to their back den area at all times, so it might take a little bit longer to see them but it is definitely worth the wait
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A Bilby joey has been born at Halls Gap Zoo:
2021 is off to a great start with a Bilby joey announcement! Check out this cutie! Here at Halls Gap Zoo we are proud to play our role in the National Bilby Breeding program and aid in their crucial recovery. Habitat destruction, introduced species and urban development threatens the survival of the Bilby and other native Australian species. The Bilby plays such an important role in the restoration of soil and the rejuvenation of vegetation in arid Australia. By using their strong front paws they dig deep holes in soil which then enables plant material to fall in and decompose. *An individual Bilby can turn over up to 20 tonnes of topsoil in a year!* This digging behavior also benefits so many other species. When Bilbies aren't living in their complex burrows, which can be up to three metres long and two metres deep, other animals like insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals take up residence. The burrows provide vital shelter from predators and high summer temperatures.* Unfortunately our Bilbies are not currently on display for public viewing, due to covid restrictions our Nocturnal house is temporarily closed. But we love to update you all on what is going on behind the scenes and hope that this area will be open to you all in the future.
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Brilliant news, Halls Gap Zoo have welcomed twin Golden Lion Tamarins to their pair Aurora and Leon:
IT"S TWINS. We are over the moon to announce the birth of endangered Golden lion tamarin twins This new little family is settling in really well, with parents Aurora and Leon sharing the baby carrying duties. Found only in a small lowland portion of Brazil’s Atlantic Coastal Forest with only 2 percent of their original habitat remaining, Golden lion tamarins are a species who were brought back from the brink of extinction. With their wild numbers being as low as 200 in the early 1970s, this led to the development of a comprehensive Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program, which includes habitat protection and restoration, translocation of wild animals to safe forest habitats, a successful cooperative breeding program in zoos, intensive field research, reintroduction of zoo-born Golden Lion Tamarins and environmental education programs inside and outside Brazil. This Conservation Program is one of the best and long-lasting examples of the integration of field and captive conservation efforts on a global scale. Currently there are a total of 2,500 Golden Lion Tamarins in the wild and about one-third of that population originated from Golden Lion Tamarins who were raised in human care. Here at Halls Gap Zoo we are proud to play our role in their amazing conservation success story.
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I was lucky enough to spend the last few months in Victoria for work and during this time had Halls Gap as my local zoo. I have included a few notes from my visits below.

- The zoo is developing an enclosure for small-clawed otters between the perentie/water monitor and primate enclosures. It features viewing from both sides.
- A series of four enclosures have been built on the path between the bird aviaries and serval enclosure. These were close to completion on my last visit and marked as being for quolls.

I was very impressed with Halls Gap and pleased to see the zoo beginning to make improvements again following the pandemic. They also have some of the friendliest keepers of any zoo I've visited in a while.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Halls Gap Zoo recently turned 40. Developments for next year that were announced include a new crocodile facility and wombat tunnel. The aforementioned Asian Small-clawed Otters will be arriving in the first quarter of 2023: Victoria’s Largest Regional Zoo in Halls Gap celebrates 40years of Animal Antics
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They have been promising these for years well before I volunteered there so it’s more of the case I’ll believe it when I see it and honestly priority should be given to the crocodile considering it’s living in such a tiny exhibit
 
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