ZooDoo Wildlife Park Hobart Zoo & Aquarium [ZooDoo Wildlife Park] news

Are the numbers in private aviculture secure?
In Australia, they are breeding regularly, which they were not 20 years ago. They also seem to be increasingly popular and are attracting a higher price as a result. That would indicate they are secure for the present. More important is what the genetic status of the population is, and that at present is unknown.

I understand that in Europe they are widely bred and quite common, to the extent that several colour mutations are available. However my knowledge is a number of years out of date, so I stand to be corrected on their current status.
 
I understand that in Europe they are widely bred and quite common, to the extent that several colour mutations are available. However my knowledge is a number of years out of date, so I stand to be corrected on their current status.

I can´t speak for whole Europe but in my country, they are kept and bred but they are not commonly seen, not in TOP25 most popular parrot species. They sell on bird markets for around 50 euro per piece. 10 years ago a nice breeding female would go for 80 euro but prices went slightly down since then, it was never a "fashion" species. Mutation I have seen here most often is "misty".
 
I can´t speak for whole Europe but in my country, they are kept and bred but they are not commonly seen, not in TOP25 most popular parrot species. They sell on bird markets for around 50 euro per piece. 10 years ago a nice breeding female would go for 80 euro but prices went slightly down since then, it was never a "fashion" species. Mutation I have seen here most often is "misty".
Thanks for that insight. Currently swift parrots sell for around $1000 per pair in Australia which translates to over 300 euro per bird. That they are available at 50 euro each indicates that European breeders are breeding them freely in reasonable numbers, albeit they are not amongst the most popular birds.
 
A few updates from the zoo's newsletter:
  • the new Cotton-top Tamarins are a young pair - a three-year-old male and a four-year-old female. They came from a zoo in Victoria.
  • a male Plains Zebra was born on 9th February to experienced mother Duchess. This is her fourth foal. Their group of zebras are part of the program for zebras in the region after they were accredited by ZAA in early 2020 according to the newsletter.
 
I'd imagine they were some of the older offspring from Melbourne's current breeding pair.

The new Cotton-top tamarins are named Abu and Alvaro.

Alvaro came from Melbourne Zoo and was mentioned as being one of their seven Cotton-tops in an episode of Mega Zoo. Other tamarins in their troop mentioned by name during that episode were Gomez (father), Arlo and Guapo (youngest infant).

Since @WhistlingKite24 has stated they came from a zoo (singular) in Victoria, we can assume Abu also came from Melbourne Zoo and is a sibling of Alvaro.
 
The new Cotton-top tamarins are named Abu and Alvaro.

Alvaro came from Melbourne Zoo and was mentioned as being one of their seven Cotton-tops in an episode of Mega Zoo. Other tamarins in their troop mentioned by name during that episode were Gomez (father), Arlo and Guapo (youngest infant).

Since @WhistlingKite24 has stated they came from a zoo (singular) in Victoria, we can assume Abu also came from Melbourne Zoo and is a sibling of Alvaro.

Yes, both Abu and Alvaro sound familiar so they most likely both came from Melbourne. Melbourne reached seven Cotton Top's with the birth of one last year, and so would've definitely been looking to send some off to give them further space to breed again.
 
Yes, both Abu and Alvaro sound familiar so they most likely both came from Melbourne. Melbourne reached seven Cotton Top's with the birth of one last year, and so would've definitely been looking to send some off to give them further space to breed again.

This transfer has been timed really well as they’ve had the experience of observing their parents raise younger siblings. The programme for both Cotton-top and Golden-lion tamarins looks to place individuals who have had this experience when making pairings as it reduces the chance they will reject their own young when it’s their turn to breed (a reoccurring issue in tamarins).

While this pair may remain together at ZooDoo as a non breeding pair for life, at least the option is there to place either one of them with an unrelated tamarin down the line.

PS. I found the name of Melbourne’s breeding female - Alaida. Apparently the offspring have been named with their parents initials (not unlike the great apes and baboons) - Abu, Alvaro, Arlo, Guapo etc.
 
A male Plains Zebra was born on 9th February to experienced mother Duchess. This is her fourth foal. Their group of zebras are part of the program for zebras in the region after they were accredited by ZAA in early 2020 according to the newsletter.

It’s nice to see a successful breeding programme for Grant’s zebra at the zoo. These are the four foals born to date:

0.1 Jupiter (19/02/2018)
1.0 Duke (23/03/2019)
1.0 Oreo (00/02/2021)
1.0 Unnamed (09/02/2022)

It’d be good to see the colts dispersed to the zoos breeding generic zebra, with the view of surplus fillies joining them in time (from ZooDoo and DDZ) to create purebred herds.
 
Kiara the lioness has died aged 13 years:

From socials:

It is with great sadness that Zoodoo announces the passing of one of our most loved residents, Kiara the lioness.

Kiara has been under veterinary supervision for some months due to a wound on her leg that would not heal on its own.

She recently underwent surgery on the leg and a biopsy from the wound revealed it to be a form of cancer known as a squamous cell carcinoma. It was also indicated that the cancer was throughout her system and her diagnosis was unfortunately terminal.


We managed Kiara with daily medication to make her feel comfortable, however within a few weeks of the operation she started going downhill. The Zoodoo team and veterinarians agreed that kindest thing to do was to humanely put her to sleep, which was done on 6th December 2022.

Kiara came to Zoodoo at 6 months of age and was 13 years old when she died. She had such a regal presence and has awed hundreds of thousands of visitors during her time at Zoodoo.

Kiara is survived by our lion Bakari and lioness Malika, who are coping well with the loss of their pride mate.
 
Imagine having a spare 3.75 million $

didnt know Nat' and DD were up for sale wow
I don't think National is up for sale in any formal way.

Just the owner said they would consider offers, which pretty much applies to any business anywhere.
 
Back
Top