Hunter Valley Zoo Hunter Valley Zoo News
- Thread starter tdierikx
- Start date
Mum is Kebibi and it is a male. He has been named 'Gotti'.
Reported on socials.
Two Blue and Gold Macaws have fledged at Hunter Valley - reported on their FB page.
Osedax
Well-Known Member
I visited on Monday and noticed the following changes from my visit in January 2023.
- I only saw two Ring-tailed Lemurs; there were 4 last time.
- There is a baby Black-handed Slider Monkey.
- The callitrichid exhibits are as follows:
Golden Lion Tamarin
Cotton-top Tamarin (+ Chestnut Rail)
Red-handed Tamarin
Bearded Emperor Tamarin
I did not see any Pygmy Marmosets, though it is possible they were unsigned and mixed with one of the tamarins.
- The former Black-necked Stork exhibit now holds Quokka. The storks have been moved to a new exhibit near the lions, where they are mixed with a Great Egret.
- The signage on the aviary for leucistic birds (and frogmouths) has been updated. The “Silver Crow” sign has luckily been replaced with a now correct sign for Torresian Crow. The “Simon the Kookaburra” sign has been replaced with a more general “White Birds” sign, with information about leucism as well as both the leucistic crow and kookaburra.
- There are no more Spectacled Flying Foxes on display, however there has been an exciting bird addition to their former aviary - a Beach Stone Curlew! Another bird addition to that aviary is a pair of Red-collared Lorikeets, reducing the number of this species in the Lorikeet Walkthrough Aviary to one.
- There are no more Pied Herons in the former flying fox aviary, and only one Great Bowerbird.
- There is only one Capybara at the zoo currently.
- There are now European Fallow Deer mixed with the Dromedary Camels, Blackbuck, Barbary Sheep and Ostriches.
- The groupings of lions were as follows:
1.1 Tawny
1.1 Tawny, 0.1 White
- The Dingoes have moved to the former Maned Wolf exhibit, and the Maned Wolves have moved to the former Cheetah exhibits. The former Dingo exhibit is currently empty, and there are no Cheetah on display.
- The aviaries near the koalas currently house:
Varied Lorikeet, Bourke’s Parrot, Diamond Dove, Forest Kingfisher
Noisy Pitta, Pacific Emerald Dove, Regent Bowerbird (male), Eastern Spinebill, Crescent Honeyeater (new and rare species!)
- The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat was not on display on my visit.
- The aviaries near the former Dingo exhibit currently house:
Rainbow Bee-eater (signed but not seen), Spotted Bowerbird, White-breasted Woodswallow, Inland Dotterel (singed but not seen), Splendid Fairy Wren (signed but not seen), Star Finch, Purple-crowned Lorikeet, White-fronted Chat (signed but not seen), Chiming Wedgebill (signed but not seen), Gouldian Finch (signed but not seen), Long-tailed Finch, Crested Bellbird (unsigned)
Pheasant Coucal (unsigned), Bush Stone Curlew, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Dusky Woodswallow (signed but not seen), Great Bowerbird (signed but not seen)
Black-fronted Doterrel (signed but not seen), Pied Stilt, Dusky Woodswallow (unsigned), Regent Bowerbird (female), Eastern Yellow Robin, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin (signed but not seen), Bush Stone Curlew (signed but not seen)
- The sign for African Spurred Tortoise has been removed and I did not see the tortoise.
- There are no more Tree Skinks on display.
- I only saw two Ring-tailed Lemurs; there were 4 last time.
- There is a baby Black-handed Slider Monkey.
- The callitrichid exhibits are as follows:
Golden Lion Tamarin
Cotton-top Tamarin (+ Chestnut Rail)
Red-handed Tamarin
Bearded Emperor Tamarin
I did not see any Pygmy Marmosets, though it is possible they were unsigned and mixed with one of the tamarins.
- The former Black-necked Stork exhibit now holds Quokka. The storks have been moved to a new exhibit near the lions, where they are mixed with a Great Egret.
- The signage on the aviary for leucistic birds (and frogmouths) has been updated. The “Silver Crow” sign has luckily been replaced with a now correct sign for Torresian Crow. The “Simon the Kookaburra” sign has been replaced with a more general “White Birds” sign, with information about leucism as well as both the leucistic crow and kookaburra.
- There are no more Spectacled Flying Foxes on display, however there has been an exciting bird addition to their former aviary - a Beach Stone Curlew! Another bird addition to that aviary is a pair of Red-collared Lorikeets, reducing the number of this species in the Lorikeet Walkthrough Aviary to one.
- There are no more Pied Herons in the former flying fox aviary, and only one Great Bowerbird.
- There is only one Capybara at the zoo currently.
- There are now European Fallow Deer mixed with the Dromedary Camels, Blackbuck, Barbary Sheep and Ostriches.
- The groupings of lions were as follows:
1.1 Tawny
1.1 Tawny, 0.1 White
- The Dingoes have moved to the former Maned Wolf exhibit, and the Maned Wolves have moved to the former Cheetah exhibits. The former Dingo exhibit is currently empty, and there are no Cheetah on display.
- The aviaries near the koalas currently house:
Varied Lorikeet, Bourke’s Parrot, Diamond Dove, Forest Kingfisher
Noisy Pitta, Pacific Emerald Dove, Regent Bowerbird (male), Eastern Spinebill, Crescent Honeyeater (new and rare species!)
- The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat was not on display on my visit.
- The aviaries near the former Dingo exhibit currently house:
Rainbow Bee-eater (signed but not seen), Spotted Bowerbird, White-breasted Woodswallow, Inland Dotterel (singed but not seen), Splendid Fairy Wren (signed but not seen), Star Finch, Purple-crowned Lorikeet, White-fronted Chat (signed but not seen), Chiming Wedgebill (signed but not seen), Gouldian Finch (signed but not seen), Long-tailed Finch, Crested Bellbird (unsigned)
Pheasant Coucal (unsigned), Bush Stone Curlew, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Dusky Woodswallow (signed but not seen), Great Bowerbird (signed but not seen)
Black-fronted Doterrel (signed but not seen), Pied Stilt, Dusky Woodswallow (unsigned), Regent Bowerbird (female), Eastern Yellow Robin, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin (signed but not seen), Bush Stone Curlew (signed but not seen)
- The sign for African Spurred Tortoise has been removed and I did not see the tortoise.
- There are no more Tree Skinks on display.
Thanks for the update.
The groupings of lions you saw would have been:
1.0 Phoenix (23/12/2019) Baako x Chitwa
0.1 Maji (11/12/2020) Baako x Zuri
0.1 Snow (00/00/2004) Imported 2004 (South Africa)
0.1 Chitwa (10/08/2014) Mac x Snow
1.0 Roc (00/04/2022) Baako x Chitwa
They had another 1.1 white lions, which may have transferred to Mogo Wildlife Park as a few of us speculated last year:
1.0 Kovu (13/01/2015) Shaka x Shenzi
0.1 Nala (13/01/2015) Shaka x Shenzi
I will follow up with Mogo to see if that’s the case; and if so, whether their 1.1 elderly white lions have passed (with Kovu/Nala replacing them).
Mauta and Mnandi, the 1.1 white lions at Mogo Zoo were posted on socials on the 18th of April, so it appears they are still around!
Thanks for confirming.
Altina Wildlife Park reportedly received a white lioness last year. Not sure if we ever got confirmation who she was or where she’s from; but if Kovu died, that would have left Nala a free agent and she’s one of the only white lionesses in the region of reproductive age (which would make introducing her to a new male easier than a lioness who was no longer cycling). I might follow up with them as well.
Thanks for updates Osedax, really interesting.
Hey are the dingos at the zoo still referred to as alpine dingos?
Osedax
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure, I didn't really pay attention to the signage.
Osedax
Well-Known Member
Signed and seen
Apostlebird
Australian bustards
Cape Barren geese
Channel-billed cuckoos
Cockatiels
Egyptian geese
Galahs
Glossy ibis
Indian peafowl/Blue peafowls
Little corellas
Major Mitchell's cockatoo
Nankeen kestrel
Radjah shelducks
Rainbow lorikeets
Red-tailed black cockatoos
Scaly-breasted lorikeets
Wonga pigeon
Unsigned and seen
Red junglefowls
Signed but not seen
Black swans
Plumed whistling ducks
Tawny frogmouths
Wandering whistling ducks
Yellow-crowned amazons
Not signed nor seen
Australian figbirds
Black-throated finch
Green pygmy geese
Painted finch
Red-whiskered bulbul
Sun conures
White-cheeked honeyeaters
White-winged fairywrens
That would be Isobel. I believe she's one of the offspring of the previous breeding pair. She was living with her brother a few years back but not sure where he went.
Here's a rough list I have of Hunter Valley's (although it's a few years out of date so take it with a grain of salt as there may have been recent transfers/deaths);
1.0 Mike (1985) Dubbo
0.1 Hannah (1983) Taronga
1.0 Shane (1998) Taronga
1.0 Barda (?) formerly Mogo, and Franklin Park
0.1 Cara (?) formerly Mogo, and Franklin Park
0.1 Betty (?) NZ
0.1 Jan (?) NZ
1.0 Mono (00/10/2018) ? x Betty or Jan
1.0 Tito (29/04/2020) ? x Cara
0.1 Coco (2022) ? x Cara
I'm assuming the mother would be Cara yet again.
African lion update:
@Osedax visited in April 2025 and reported that Kovu and Nala (white lion siblings) were not on exhibit. I can confirm Kovu has passed away and Nala has transferred to Altina Wildlife Park.
Hunter Valley’s lion holdings are therefore as follows:
1.0 Phoenix (23/12/2019) Baako x Chitwa
0.1 Maji (11/12/2020) Baako x Zuri
0.1 Snow (00/00/2004) Imported 2004 (South Africa)
0.1 Chitwa (10/08/2014) Mac x Snow
1.0 Roc (00/04/2022) Baako x Chitwa
Snow has certainly reached an impressive age!
@Osedax visited in April 2025 and reported that Kovu and Nala (white lion siblings) were not on exhibit. I can confirm Kovu has passed away and Nala has transferred to Altina Wildlife Park.
Hunter Valley’s lion holdings are therefore as follows:
1.0 Phoenix (23/12/2019) Baako x Chitwa
0.1 Maji (11/12/2020) Baako x Zuri
0.1 Snow (00/00/2004) Imported 2004 (South Africa)
0.1 Chitwa (10/08/2014) Mac x Snow
1.0 Roc (00/04/2022) Baako x Chitwa
Snow has certainly reached an impressive age!
Common Marmoset Twins born
From Instagram:
Peek a boo
Have you spotted our adorable marmoset twins on your last visit ?
The pair who just turned 2 months old have just started climbing around independently, and it's just the cutest thing you'll ever see
The picture posted alongside the above caption shows common marmosets
From Instagram:
Peek a boo
Have you spotted our adorable marmoset twins on your last visit ?
The pair who just turned 2 months old have just started climbing around independently, and it's just the cutest thing you'll ever see
The picture posted alongside the above caption shows common marmosets