Ocean Park Hong Kong koalas coming to Hong Kong

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Chlidonias

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Cutesy-furry diplomacy: Koalas coming to Hong Kong | CNNGo.com
10 February 2010

The Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, announced today that the South Australian government will be giving Hong Kong two koala bears as a sign of friendship between the two governments. The news confirms the elevated status of furry beasts such as koalas and pandas as political instruments despite their lack of ability to do anything other than eat, sleep, and look incredibly cute.

The koalas will be delivered within the next two years and will be kept at Ocean Park. Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang said that Ocean Park would be able to provide a healthy habitat and suitable care for the koalas, with its extensive experience and expertise in handling both marine and land animals.

He seems to have forgotten about what happened to the Chinese sturgeons. At any rate, the koalas won't feel lonely at Ocean Park with the hundreds of visitors flocking to see them, cameras at the ready.
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the reference to sturgeons in the last paragraph of the quoted article above is from an incident in 2008:
No one at fault in sturgeon death says Ocean Park - The Standard
Ocean Park plans to release the four surviving Chinese sturgeons back into the main tank of its aquarium in early July despite the death of a fifth fish bitten by a barracuda.

The park's executives, veterinarians and oceanologists insisted yesterday the attack was an accident.

The necropsy on the sturgeon indicated the bite was not aggressive but a reflex action induced by contact between the fish.

"No one is at fault, and no one is getting fired," executive director of zoological operations and education Suzanne Gendron said.

She said it is the first time in the world for both species to be kept in the same saltwater environment and that the two species do co-exist in the South China Sea.

Director of the National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association Li Yanliang said sturgeons should be able to get along with other fish, but barracudas may have attacked the sturgeons because they were newcomers.

Sturgeons are separately kept in the Beijing Aquarium, but experts from the Ministry of Agriculture said barracudas are not particularly fierce species and interpreted the attack as an accident.

Chinese sturgeons are an endangered species native to China.

Five were presented to the park last month and went on display at Ocean Park's Atoll Reef main tank last Thursday. Gendron said the eight barracudas have been with the park for almost 10 years and never showed any signs of aggression.

They will be relocated to another holding facility in the
next few days until a new aquarium opens.

Chief veterinarian Paolo Martelli said the sturgeon was bitten two days after it went on display. A 16-centimeter-long wound along with two smaller wounds were found on the fish's right flank. The fish showed signs of recovery after an operation but its condition deteriorated. It died Monday.

Ocean Park chairman Allan Zeman said the incident showed Chinese sturgeons and barracudas should not have been kept together, but it was impossible for the park to know when the barracudas would attack.

The NAWCA has promised to send the park another Chinese sturgeon, but arrangements are on hold until one is selected.

The five sturgeons represent the five Olympic rings. The central government will replace the dead fish with a new one to complete the five rings.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen cautioned against rushing to blame Ocean Park, saying it was the first time for the park to handle the fish.

He added the park must ensure the sturgeons will be well protected in the future.

He also thanked the central government for the replacement.
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also referred to by kiang in this thread http://www.zoochat.com/248/hong-kong-ocean-park-16/
 
a further news release on the koalas (the number now up to eight and the date set for 2014):
Koalas make a trip to Hong Kong | Courier Mail
30 March 2011

EIGHT koalas will be sent from South Australia to Hong Kong to become a key feature at an animal park, Premier Mike Rann says.

The koalas will make the trip in 2014, after feed becomes available from a eucalyptus plantation being established on the Chinese mainland.

Mr Rann will travel to Hong Kong and China later this year and will help launch construction of an enclosure for the Australian marsupials.

The program follows the successful loan of two pandas from China to the Adelaide Zoo, with the bears prompting a spike in visitor numbers, particularly among overseas tourists.

"The koalas have been getting the type of publicity in China that we've seen for the pandas here," Mr Rann told a business lunch in Adelaide yesterday.

"I'm sure that it will be a great way of raising South Australia's profile in Hong Kong, particularly as a tourism destination."
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Well we know what the Chinese charge for the "loan" of their Giant Pandas - I wonder what us astute Aussies are charging for our Koala "Bears"?
 
The plan is moving forward, with four Koalas to leave Cleland Wildlife Park for Hong Kong, and another four to follow later.

Story here: Cleland koalas getting ready for their new home -Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR)

South Australia will soon be bidding bon voyage to four of the State’s newest environmental and tourism mascots.

Four koalas from the Cleland Wildlife Park are this week being placed into quarantine before heading to their new homes in a $5 million purpose built exhibition centre at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park.

Minister for Environment and Sustainability Ian Hunter said the transfer of the four koalas to Hong Kong would help enhance South Australia’s reputation as a clean, green tourist destination.

“This is an amazing coup for South Australia and will provide the State with exceptional tourism and cultural benefits,” Minister Hunter said.

He said the transfer has been three years in the making – and was the result of extensive planning undertaken by the Department for Environment, Water and Natural Resources; Cleland Wildlife Park staff; Ocean Park Hong Kong; State and Federal Governments; and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

“For all intents and purposes, the Cleland National Park environment has been recreated at Ocean Park,” he said.

“Eucalyptus trees have been planted there and every effort has been made to ensure the koalas will be comfortable in their new home.

“With more than seven-million people visiting Ocean Park each year, this is an exciting new opportunity to promote South Australia to the Hong Kong and Chinese markets.”

The four koalas – 1 male and three females – will remain in quarantine for 45 days before being taken to Hong Kong.

A second group of koalas is also expected to be sent to Hong Kong in the next two years.

Minister Hunter said the transfer of the koalas would further enhance Cleland’s reputation internationally, and support growth in visitor numbers to the popular attraction.

“Last financial year, Cleland recorded a ten per cent increase in visitor numbers – from 106,250 people to 117,412 in 2013-14,” he said.

“Around a quarter of those visitors have come from overseas.

“Cleland remains popular locally as well - with nearly two thirds of visitors coming from South Australia.

“That’s a fantastic result for the Cleland Wildlife Park and I look forward to seeing our newest ambassadors – these four koalas – generate even more interest in the Park.”
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Also see here: http://www.zoochat.com/24/koalas-heading-hong-kong-372545/#post790043
 
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