Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo News 2022

[WhistlingKite24]

A $500 000 off-display amphibian breeding centre called the Amphibian Bushfire Recovery Centre has been opened at Melbourne Zoo to breed three species of frogs - Spotted Tree Frog, Watson’s Tree Frog and the Giant Burrowing Frog. Approximately 150 burrowing frogs have already moved into the centre. The Watson's Tree Frogs have not been part of a captive breeding initiative before so wild tadpoles will be collected next year: Melbourne Zoo: Frog-saving push spawns $500k breeding centre

 

[Jambo]

I was interested to learn Azizi passed away in June 2016. The two adult male baboons you saw would have therefore been Jabari (2010) and Melako (2017).

To the best of our knowledge, the next youngest male is Quill (2019) - an adolescent not yet fully caped or capable of holding a harem. You’d probably saw him on the periphery of the harem his mother is in, as a follower male.

That's interesting to hear. So Jabari's sired the vast majority of the baboons born ever since. The main harem of about five were under a shelter with presumably Jabari. The other 10 were then scattered around the rest of the exhibit, and I did notice another adult male (presumably Melako) who was sitting alongside the fence line by himself.

 

[Jambo]

I drove past the zoo today and took some photos of the back of house areas of the carnivore area, I found it interesting to see how much the gardens have grown and try to work out what the structures were for.
View attachment 577769
this would be the tiger enclosure.
View attachment 577770
i cant think what this aviary style structure would be for, it should be behind the snow leopards but looks too small IMO for leopards
View attachment 577771
this looks to be a shaded area for the snow leopards off exhibit area. Has anyone done a tour that could View attachment 577769 View attachment 577770 View attachment 577771 tell us exactly what these areas are?

The first photo is the back of Indrah's enclosure.

The second photo is a back of house cage for the Snow Leopards. It's rather small size wise, but allows for them to reach great heights.

And the third is also an off display Snow Leopard cage. I believe they have at least two (possibly three?) behind there. Of course, both are currently occupied by the two females who are soon heading to Wellington, and Sundah.

 

[Jambo]

A $500 000 off-display amphibian breeding centre called the Amphibian Bushfire Recovery Centre has been opened at Melbourne Zoo to breed three species of frogs - Spotted Tree Frog, Watson’s Tree Frog and the Giant Burrowing Frog. Approximately 150 burrowing frogs have already moved into the centre. The Watson's Tree Frogs have not been part of a captive breeding initiative before so wild tadpoles will be collected next year: Melbourne Zoo: Frog-saving push spawns $500k breeding centre

I'm assuming this is apart of Melbourne's large off display area behind the Cassowaries and beneath the Elephants which is where a lot of their off display enclosures are. Melbourne does have a Frog House, but it's rather small and is adjacent to the Reptile House. Judging from the photos it does not look to be part of it; the photos show a much more expansive breeding centre.

 

[Zoofan15]

Also counted about 15 baboons which seems about right. Saw the two adult males with their seperate harems.

I was interested to learn Azizi passed away in June 2016. The two adult male baboons you saw would have therefore been Jabari (2010) and Melako (2017).

To the best of our knowledge, the next youngest male is Quill (2019) - an adolescent not yet fully caped or capable of holding a harem. You’d probably saw him on the periphery of the harem his mother is in, as a follower male.

That's interesting to hear. So Jabari's sired the vast majority of the baboons born ever since. The main harem of about five were under a shelter with presumably Jabari. The other 10 were then scattered around the rest of the exhibit, and I did notice another adult male (presumably Melako) who was sitting alongside the fence line by himself.

Hamadryas baboons:

I’d expect Jabari to have sired all the infants born from 2015. He was the sire of Juju (2015); and all the infants born from 2017 and 2020 were conceived after Azizi (2010-2016) had passed and before the next eldest male (born 2017) had reached maturity - typically four years of age in this species.

It’s preferable that Jabari sired all these infants, as his mates (Grace, Huddo, Macey and Qetesh) were unrelated to him; whereas his sons would otherwise be siring infants to mostly related females. I imagine this is the part of the reason they’ve ceased breeding.

I’d assume the male you saw by himself was Quill. He’s three years old and would be on the periphery of one of the two harems you saw on your previous visit (led by Jabari and Melako). A harem leader wouldn’t be sitting on their own.

 

[Jambo]

Hamadryas baboons:

I’d expect Jabari to have sired all the infants born from 2015. He was the sire of Juju (2015); and all the infants born from 2017 and 2020 were conceived after Azizi (2010-2016) had passed and before the next eldest male (born 2017) had reached maturity - typically four years of age in this species.

It’s preferable that Jabari sired all these infants, as his mates (Grace, Huddo, Macey and Qetesh) were unrelated to him; whereas his sons would otherwise be siring infants to mostly related females. I imagine this is the part of the reason they’ve ceased breeding.

I’d assume the male you saw by himself was Quill. He’s three years old and would be on the periphery of one of the two harems you saw on your previous visit (led by Jabari and Melako). A harem leader wouldn’t be sitting on their own.

Jabari would be heavily represented by now if he was the sire of all of Melbourne's infants. It's probably an additional reason Melbourne have ceased breeding. Bringing in a new male probably seems best, but they could still theoretically bred Melako and Quill with the other adult females, besides their own mothers of course.

The baboon looked very developed for a male. I'm not sure how quickly a male develops, but it could've been Quill. There was one harem of about five under the shelter; alongside the other ten just scattered around the rest of the exhibit. The sole male was the only other adult male I could see (besides Jabari).

 

[Zoofan15]

Jabari would be heavily represented by now if he was the sire of all of Melbourne's infants. It's probably an additional reason Melbourne have ceased breeding. Bringing in a new male probably seems best, but they could still theoretically bred Melako and Quill with the other adult females, besides their own mothers of course.

The baboon looked very developed for a male. I'm not sure how quickly a male develops, but it could've been Quill. There was one harem of about five under the shelter; alongside the other ten just scattered around the rest of the exhibit. The sole male was the only other adult male I could see (besides Jabari).

This is a predicament many zoos find themselves in with this species. Unrelated males can’t be brought in while the incumbent males are still in the troop and it’s extremely difficult to place males for this reason.

The best solution would be to stop breeding so no more males are produced and then look for a facility that will accept Jabari (2010), Melako (2017) and Quill (2019) as a bachelor troop. I’ve come across two such troops in Australia, demonstrating they can work.

The developed male you saw must have been Melako (2017), as Quill (2019) wouldn’t yet be fully caped; though that’s unusual for the females to be so dispersed. Unfortunately there’s no reproductive aged females in the troop that are unrelated to them.

 

[Jambo]

This is a predicament many zoos find themselves in with this species. Unrelated males can’t be brought in while the incumbent males are still in the troop and it’s extremely difficult to place males for this reason.

The best solution would be to stop breeding so no more males are produced and then look for a facility that will accept Jabari (2010), Melako (2017) and Quill (2019) as a bachelor troop. I’ve come across two such troops in Australia, demonstrating they can work.

The developed male you saw must have been Melako (2017), as Quill (2019) wouldn’t be fully caped; though that’s unusual for the females to be so dispersed. Unfortunately there’s no reproductive aged females in the troop that are unrelated to them.

Jabari could live another decade or two, so it'll probably be wise for Melbourne to find another home for him in the meantime.

At the moment the group seemingly consists of:

1.0 Jabari
1.0 Melako
1.0 Quill
1.0 Quilton

0.1 Huddo
0.1 Grace
0.1 Macey
0.1 Qetesh
0.1 Juju
0.1 Baby H
0.1 Gana
0.1 Unnamed

+ 2 or so other young offspring.

It would make sense to send the males to another facility; Perth's troop are ageing, and so may favour some young males apart of a bachelor group for the future.

 

[Zoofan15]

Jabari could live another decade or two, so it'll probably be wise for Melbourne to find another home for him in the meantime.

At the moment the group seemingly consists of:

1.0 Jabari
1.0 Melako
1.0 Quill
1.0 Quilton

0.1 Huddo
0.1 Grace
0.1 Macey
0.1 Qetesh
0.1 Juju
0.1 Baby H
0.1 Gana
0.1 Unnamed

+ 2 or so other young offspring.

It would make sense to send the males to another facility; Perth's troop are ageing, and so may favour some young males apart of a bachelor group for the future.

Unfortunately Perth Zoo are phasing out this species. It’s a great shame to lose another holder, following on from Wellington’s phase out - but there’s surely several small zoos and wildlife parks who could be happy to acquire them.

Quilton is actually a female. The infant was incorrectly reported to be a male in initial media reports, but the veterinary assessment she underwent along with her mother on Mega Zoo confirmed she was actually a female.

Social Arrangement of Melbourne’s Troop

Young males like Melako typically gain female followers via juvenile and adolescent females from other harems, so based on your observation on the previous page there were two harems, I’d expect the social groupings to look something like this:

Harem One:

1.0 Jabari (2010)
0.1 Huddo (2000)
0.1 Grace (1996)
0.1 Macey (2004)
0.1 Qetesh (2010)
0.1 Juju (2015)
0.1 Gana (2017)
0.1 Quilton (2020)

1.0 Quill (2019) - peripheral follower

Harem Two:

1.0 Melako (2017)
0.1 Baby H (2019) Renamed?
0.1 Makali (2019)

 

[Jambo]

Unfortunately Perth Zoo are phasing out this species. It’s a great shame to lose another holder, following on from Wellington’s phase out - but there’s surely several small zoos and wildlife parks who could be happy to acquire them.

Quilton is actually a female. The infant was incorrectly reported to be a male in initial media reports, but the veterinary assessment she underwent along with her mother on Mega Zoo confirmed she was actually a female.

Social Arrangement of Melbourne’s Troop

Young males like Melako typically gain female followers via juvenile and adolescent females from other harems, so based on your observation on the previous page there were two harems, I’d expect the social groupings to look something like this:

Harem One:

1.0 Jabari (2010)
0.1 Huddo (2000)
0.1 Grace (1996)
0.1 Macey (2004)
0.1 Qetesh (2010)
0.1 Juju (2015)
0.1 Gana (2017)
0.1 Quilton (2020)

1.0 Quill (2019) - peripheral follower

Harem Two:

1.0 Melako (2017)
0.1 Baby H (2019) Renamed?
0.1 Makali (2019)

That's a shame regarding Perth. Obviously a zoo like Dubbo may want to look into Hamadryds Baboons; lacking monkey species besides their Gibbons and Lemurs. There's also smaller zoos such as Altina, Rockhampton, Darling Downs ect. that may be interested. It'd be a big shame if Melbourne just let their troop sit non breeding for the next decade or so. Unfortunately that's what they did prior to the arrival of the American boys and Wellington girls; for more than a decade.

Melako was surrounded by a lot of younger individuals and maybe one or two smaller females. I would say Baby H, Makali, Gana, Quill were all around him alongside possibly Juju and one of the older females.

Then there was Jabari up in the hut with two older females, and two younger infants; I presume the two youngest: Quilton and the little infant born in 2021.

 

[Zoofan15]

That's a shame regarding Perth. Obviously a zoo like Dubbo may want to look into Hamadryds Baboons; lacking monkey species besides their Gibbons and Lemurs. There's also smaller zoos such as Altina, Rockhampton, Darling Downs ect. that may be interested. It'd be a big shame if Melbourne just let their troop sit non breeding for the next decade or so. Unfortunately that's what they did prior to the arrival of the American boys and Wellington girls; for more than a decade.

Melako was surrounded by a lot of younger individuals and maybe one or two smaller females. I would say Baby H, Makali, Gana, Quill were all around him alongside possibly Juju and one of the older females.

Then there was Jabari up in the hut with two older females, and two younger infants; I presume the two youngest: Quilton and the little infant born in 2021.

Darling Downs Zoo already hold this species. In fact, they’re building the region’s largest exhibit for their expanding troop. They’ve recently acquired a new male (so wouldn’t be interested in swapping), but both they and Sydney Zoo could supply Melbourne with unrelated females as an alternative to transferring their males out.

Rockhampton would be a probable candidate for a trio of bachelor males given their interest in primates and lack of space, which would preclude them from holding a large troop.

At five years of age, Melako would be described as a new leader - it’s about the earliest you’d expect to see a male with a harem. Prime aged males like Jabari would control the majority of the females and Melako would likely have one or two if he was lucky. Wellington were once in a similar situation with a prime aged male holding a harem of seven females; with two seven year old males holding harems consisting of one female each. Their harems expanded as they matured.

 

[Josh F]

I'm assuming this is apart of Melbourne's large off display area behind the Cassowaries and beneath the Elephants which is where a lot of their off display enclosures are. Melbourne does have a Frog House, but it's rather small and is adjacent to the Reptile House. Judging from the photos it does not look to be part of it; the photos show a much more expansive breeding centre.

There has been a large extension to the back of the reptile house which appears to be setup largely biosecurely. This room can be seen from the Tapir/Peccary side of the reptile house. I would assume that this would be the frog centre.

 

[Jambo]

There has been a large extension to the back of the reptile house which appears to be setup largely biosecurely. This room can be seen from the Tapir/Peccary side of the reptile house. I would assume that this would be the frog centre.

Yes, that’s very true. Although I thought it was some sort of stage or something? It’s quite possible, I can’t really remember what it looked like the last time I visited, but I do remember that area being rather open (not an enclosed centre like the photo shows).

 

[Josh F]

Yes, that’s very true. Although I thought it was some sort of stage or something? It’s quite possible, I can’t really remember what it looked like the last time I visited, but I do remember that area being rather open (not an enclosed centre like the photo shows).

From what I can recall it’s like a portable school room with a cover over the top. I can’t really think where else they would put such a facility to be honest. My understanding was always that behind the Tiger was excess big cat enclosures.

 

[Jambo]

From what I can recall it’s like a portable school room with a cover over the top. I can’t really think where else they would put such a facility to be honest. My understanding was always that behind the Tiger was excess big cat enclosures.

Yeah that's what I though too. And from the photos it seems to be an actual centre.

The area behind the tigers is actually relatively small, and mostly consists of two/three off display carnivore enclosures.

I'm thinking it might be in the area below the Elephants; where the zoo's director ect. stay in cottages. There's also multiple education rooms there as well; so it's possible the new frog centre could've been built there.

 

[Josh F]

Yeah that's what I though too. And from the photos it seems to be an actual centre.

The area behind the tigers is actually relatively small, and mostly consists of two/three off display carnivore enclosures.

I'm thinking it might be in the area below the Elephants; where the zoo's director ect. stay in cottages. There's also multiple education rooms there as well; so it's possible the new frog centre could've been built there.

As in behind the Macaws? I guess that would make sense too because as it stands currently there really isn’t anywhere else for it.

 

[Jambo]

Received an email response; Melbourne still do have their two Red Pandas; Roshani (2007) and Seba (2010). Apparently Roshani enjoyed her temporary off display quarters so much, her keepers made the decision to keep her there. Seba's still on display though.

 

[Jambo]

As in behind the Macaws? I guess that would make sense too because as it stands currently there really isn’t anywhere else for it.

I think it's behind the cassowaries and beneath the elephants. In that area there. Behind the Macaws are the off display carnivore cages behind the Snow Leopards.

 

[austrlain zoo gower]

I drove past the zoo today and took some photos of the back of house areas of the carnivore area, I found it interesting to see how much the gardens have grown and try to work out what the structures were for.
View attachment 577769
this would be the tiger enclosure.
View attachment 577770
i cant think what this aviary style structure would be for, it should be behind the snow leopards but looks too small IMO for leopards
View attachment 577771
this looks to be a shaded area for the snow leopards off exhibit area. Has anyone done a tour that could View attachment 577769 View attachment 577770 View attachment 577771 tell us exactly what these areas are?

These areas are here on apple satiliete
There are a couple of big cat cages, tiger off display area and snow leopard of display area

In regards to the frogs there are as jambo said i would say they are behind the cassowary as satiate reveals

 

[Alby]

Sad to see today a sign at the African Wild Dogs enclosure advising that Maana and Duara have been euthanised "due to persistent health complications". It also noted that the species will no longer be held at Melbourne Zoo - I guess Werribee is more suitable for the future. Anyone know what sort of health problems they were having?