Healesville Sanctuary Healesville Sanctuary News 2014

zooboy28

zooboy28

Well-Known Member
Is there no news from Healesville this year?

I visited today. It was very good :D But there was some bad news too.

I can't remember if I have mentioned this before or not, I saw these changes earlier this year. A new exhibit has been built in the entry area, so it can be seen before you buy tickets, for koalas. There is now a cassowary on display in the first exhibit within the zoo, which has been empty for a while.

Newer are a number of cultural exhibits - a statue and various Aboriginal displays; huts, etc. These are mostly around the Dingo exhibit.

The Lyrebird and Woodland aviaries are closed for renovation, so a number of birds have moved around a bit.

While I was in the Parrot walk-through, with the lorikeets, cockatiels and budgies, a wedge-tailed eagle from the bird show landed on the mesh roof - which freaked out the parrots greatly!

The Nocturnal House has changed a little, the line up is now as follows:
-Mountain Pygmy Possum
-Feathertail Glider
-Brown Antechinus
-Spinifex Hopping Mouse
-Eastern Quoll
-Red-tailed Phascogale + Greater Bilby
-Eastern Barred Bandicoot + Leadbeater's Possum
-Brush-tailed Bettong + Squirrel Glider
-Mountain Pygmy Possum

This has changed from:

Renovated Nocturnal House
-Mountain Pygmy Possum
-Feathertail Glider
-Brown Antechinus
-Spinifex Hopping Mouse
-Northern Quoll
-Red-tailed Phascogale + Greater Bilby
-Eastern Barred Bandicoot + Sugar Glider
-Long-nosed Potoroo + Squirrel Glider
-Numbat
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So the Numbat has gone. I don't know where :(

Eastern Barred Bandicoots are "on display" in the Lace Monitor enclosure, which I imagine is just a winter thing.

Following the death of the Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo, the exhibit by the restaurant now holds a koala. This means the Sanctuary now only holds native species.

There were two Bush Stone-curlew chicks with their parents in the Conservation aviary.

Otherwise all the same, and generally looking tidy and good. Will be interesting to see what the renovated aviaries are like when they re-open.
 
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Too bad the Goodfellow's tree kangaroo died!!!

Perhaps Healesville could accommodate some Lumholtz's tree kangaroos?
It is a local very endangered taxon and several rehabs need a captive space!
 
It would be good if the Sanctuary could develop a tropical rainforest zone, to display some northern species - the cassowary, tree kangaroos, pigeons, etc. There is very little geographical theming in the park.

Would Lumholtz's cope with the cold temperatures (<0C) experienced by Healesville during winter?
 
I have to ask this. Every time you post the Healesville nocturnal house list (must be three or four times now) you have put "feathertail gecko". I always assume this is a typo for feathertail glider but it is so consistent I am wondering if it is an actual gecko which I have never heard of?
 
I'm thinking that Zooboy means leaf tailed gecko. It's been a couple of years now since I went to Healesville (despite having returned home to Melbourne) but I vaguely recall them being exhibited in the noc house.
 
zooboy28 said:
So the Numbat has gone. I don't know where :(
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I had a bit of a google to see if I could find anything (and couldn't) but I did find out about the life-span of numbats -- usually about four years, rarely more than five, although I did find a reference to one at Taronga living into her sixth year. The one which was at Healesville was six years old when she arrived there, which may explain why they didn't make a big announcement about her being there in the first place.

If she has died of old age, which seems most likely, I hope they can continue to display excess post-breeders (or even better, if they can get into breeding numbats themselves).
 
zooboy28 said:
So the Numbat has gone. I don't know where :(
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I visited with a friend about a month ago and didn't see it then. I had made such a massive deal about this being the first time I'd see one but we didn't. It was a bit of a let down.
 
CGSwans said:
I'm thinking that Zooboy means leaf tailed gecko. It's been a couple of years now since I went to Healesville (despite having returned home to Melbourne) but I vaguely recall them being exhibited in the noc house.
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Aarrrh! Stuffed it up again. I do mean Feathertail Glider. Just copying and pasting without thinking. There are no reptiles on show at all in the nocturnal house, which is a shame. There appears to be an exhibit there that could display something fairly small, but it is empty.
 
PAT said:
I visited with a friend about a month ago and didn't see it then. I had made such a massive deal about this being the first time I'd see one but we didn't. It was a bit of a let down.
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That sucks. Hopefully they can set up a decent outdoor exhibit for them if they do get some more in. Their exhibit has been renovated a bit to now hold more Mountain Pygmy Possums (yawn), which is a fairly large space for such a small species.
 
Here is an article on the passing of Healesville's Tree Kangaroo, from June 2014:

Story & Photos here: Vale Tapini | Zoos Victoria

Healesville Sanctuary’s Veterinarians and Keepers made the sad decision today to euthanise Tapini, our Tree-kangaroo. Tapini was 18 years old, and was diagnosed with arthritis in January 2012. She had been receiving medications to manage her comfort and mobility.

However, arthritis is a degenerative and progressive condition and this was impacting Tapini’s quality of life.

Tapini was born at Melbourne Zoo in 1996, and came to Healesville Sanctuary in 2011. She was put on display just outside Sanctuary Harvest, and delighted everyone who popped in for lunch or coffee.

“She also provided many moments of joy to our visitors through Magic Moments,” Mr Glen Holland, Healesville Sanctuary’s Director said.

Mr Holland said Sanctuary staff and especially the dedicated Wild Encounters Keepers are extremely saddened by the loss of Tapini, and we expect that Zoo Members and other regular visitors will also feel the loss.

‘In these difficult circumstances, the welfare of the individual animal is always the priority, and our Veterinarians only take this option after the most careful consideration.”
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zooboy28 said:
The Lyrebird and Woodland aviaries are closed for renovation, so a number of birds have moved around a bit.
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So here's why the Woodland aviary was closed:

For the safety of animals, visitors and staff, Healesville Sanctuary was forced to close last week as wild and destructive winds caused trees to fall and extensive damage to the Woodlands Aviary.

A large Manna gum branch fell onto the aviary roof overnight, causing major structural damage. A four metre puncture hole in the perimeter wire meant, while horticulture and works staff mopped up branches and debris ready for reopening, keepers were busy collecting birds.

Portable bird traps, mist nets and hand nets were used to coax the birds home.

The Woodlands Aviary will be closed to visitors until repair work is complete. However, visitors can still enjoy many of the birds which would have been on display there in other aviaries around the Sanctuary. The Flooded Forest and Fighting Extinction aviaries and Land of Parrots are a must-visit for any bird twitcher.
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Story & Photos here: Wild winds cause damage at Healesville Sanctuary | Zoos Victoria
 
Healesville Sanctuary has undertaken monitoring of Critically Endangered Leadbeater's Possum, and added two males to its captive population. Two articles on this work from May/June 2014 are below.

Story and photos here: Leadbeater?s Possum Monitoring | Zoos Victoria

19 May 2014

For the next fortnight, Dan Harley Threatened Species Biologist at Healesville Sanctuary will be part of a team monitoring the last lowland population of Leadbeater’s Possum at Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve in conjunction with Parks Victoria as part of the annual population monitoring which has taken place since 1996.

Every year at this time, births, deaths and marriages (or romantic partnerships) that have occurred over the past year are recorded. The monitoring is also an opportunity to record the condition of the population, including total population size, territory stability/abandonment, adult breeding rates, and reproductive success.

Leadbeater’s Possums live in small families a lot like us with an adult male, adult female and some young. It is the adult female that is socially dominant and rules the house. Each family occupies its own exclusive territory that doesn’t overlap with that of the neighbours.

Each day for the next fortnight, the team will be in the field working their way through each possum territory with each possum given a unique tattoo number combination in its ears so each individual can be distinguished from other possums.

During the past 10 years, 15 possum families have disappeared, their territories abandoned, and now only 10 remain.

Our goal is to work with partners such as Parks Victoria to restore suitable habitat conditions in the wild at Yellingbo and new wild sites beyond Yellingbo where captive-bred individuals can be released in the future.

Our vision is that 20 years from now there will be several hundred lowland Leadbeater’s Possums spread across a number of sites.

Healesville Sanctuary currently holds the only Leadbeater’s Possums in captivity anywhere in the world (including two on display in the nocturnal house).

Want to keep up to date with Dan and the team’s progress? Check out Dan’s Zoo Feeds on the Zoos Victoria Act Wild.
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Story and photos here: Update on Leadbeater's Possum monitoring | Zoos Victoria

4 June 2014

As part of the annual monitoring of the last lowland population of Leadbeater’s Possums, Dr Dan Harley, Threatened Species Biologist spent two weeks at Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve with our friends at Parks Victoria to record the population’s condition and monitor breeding success.

Motivated by the dramatic population decline recorded in past years and with the support of the species Recovery Team, in mid- May, Dan and the team brought into Healesville Sanctuary’s care, three possums; two males and one female, to supplement the captive breeding program, currently made up of 11 Leadbeater's Possums.

Unfortunately the female possum’s condition quickly deteriorated and she passed away yesterday.

Healesville Sanctuary’s Dr Rupert Baker said “The veterinary team found some abnormalities in her reproductive tract. We are doing further tests to determine the exact cause of her death,” he said.

This event has saddened staff particular the team of keepers, vets and ecologists that work so closely with the species.

The two male possums continue to feed well and are behaving normally but will be closely monitored by the Sanctuary’s expert team.

The future of the Leadbeater’s Possum is closely intertwined with the Helmeted Honeyeater, another key species Zoos Victoria works with, as they both rely on the same territory.

The quality of the habitat has declined significantly for both species but we believe by having a strong captive breeding population in conjunction with restoring the habitat we can have a real chance at saving the Leadbeater’s Possum and Helmeted Honeyeater from extinction.

Zoos Victoria would also like to thank the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Friends of the Leadbeater’s Possum and Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater for their tireless work in helping to fight the extinction of both species.
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Those are good numbers of some endangered flagship species.

:p

Hix
 
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