Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo News 2023

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Hi
I did the elephant and orangutan
The elephant was good as you got to go into the barn you got a really good view of calfs, but the orangutang really stood out as for the value it is the best you get to go on to the top of the roof and scatter the food for them and watch and interact in a training session
being honest the orangutan was really good value the elephant was good but if it was 60-100 dollars cheaper it would be great value( 210 is a bit much:)
 
Zoofan15 said:
White-headed stilts now on display:

From socials:

It's the long-awaited return of our striking White-headed Stilts!

Sometimes known as the 'Pied Stilt', these native birds can be found in Australia, New Zealand and the South-Pacific Islands.

You can also visit these long-legged beauties in their newly renovated aviary at Melbourne Zoo. The wetland-themed habitat features a fresh new pond, lots of sunlight and plenty of greenery for the Stilts to enjoy.
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Jambo said:
They should be in the first aviary in TOTE if i'm correct.
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They are, just past the otters. And there’s a chick as well - extremely small and great to see - with a sign mentioning the clutch of eggs still in progress.

I have a taxonomy question though. These have been referred to as both White-headed and Black-winged stilts, and the signs at the enclosure mentions both, along with the scientific name Himantopus leucocephalus (Latin for white head, right?)… but the last Zoo inventory had them as Himantopus himantopus (I’m disappointed there hasn’t been a new inventory released, by the by).From what I can gather, the taxonomy of the genus is not quite settled, is that why the names are all over the shop?
 
Zoofan15 said:
Thanks for the update.

To my knowledge Melbourne Zoo’s five other male baboons are still at the zoo:

1.0 Jabari (2010) Imported 2012 (USA)
1.0 Azizi (2010) Imported 2012 (USA)
1.0 Melako (2017) Jabari x Macey
1.0 Quimby (2018) Unknown x Qetesh
1.0 Quill (2019) Unknown x Qetesh

Can the next person to go please ask if the zoo have plans to transfer these males out or run them as seperate troop. It’d be difficult to successfully introduce them to the new male (Chad) and in any case, they’ll want to ensure Chad sires any upcoming infants.
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Others may visit before me, but I will certainly be going in April, and I tend to be pretty good at extracting information;)
 
Alby said:
They are, just past the otters. And there’s a chick as well - extremely small and great to see - with a sign mentioning the clutch of eggs still in progress.

I have a taxonomy question though. These have been referred to as both White-headed and Black-winged stilts, and the signs at the enclosure mentions both, along with the scientific name Himantopus leucocephalus (Latin for white head, right?)… but the last Zoo inventory had them as Himantopus himantopus (I’m disappointed there hasn’t been a new inventory released, by the by).From what I can gather, the taxonomy of the genus is not quite settled, is that why the names are all over the shop?
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Yeah, in that aviary before the Tigers. It's a nice little aviary, and they had been doing it up for the past year or so. Good to hear there's a chick too!:)
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Others may visit before me, but I will certainly be going in April, and I tend to be pretty good at extracting information;)
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Probably will go around then too, but unless you can get to the babboon talk (which is quite early), I tend to never see keepers or any volunteers around that area, which makes it difficult.
 
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Josh F said:
Personally, massive fan of this idea. I think ZV does a surprisingly limited job at actually displaying the species that they are directly working with in their conservation programs.
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The Sleepy Hippo said:
Pookilla Mouse breeding program is proving a success.

'Thrilling' success of breeding endangered mouse in captivity, with tiny squeaks heard from nests

If Growing Wild were reimagined as an exhibition of their Priority Species programs I think I could get behind it.
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Would be a big fan of that. It would still allow them to maintain the ‘education’ part of the precinct, yet still add some additional (interesting) species to a a precinct that lacks species at the moment. They have the space to further expand the precinct; but a building for those species could be erected at the end of the loop (where the former Mara enclosure is).
 
Young Snow leopards leaving early April:

Wellington Zoo prepares finishing touches for New Zealand's first snow leopards

Melbourne Zoo’s three year old Snow leopard sisters, Asha and Manju, will be exported to Wellington Zoo in early April.

Their export will reduce the zoo’s Snow leopard population to 1.2 Snow leopards - including their parents, who will hopefully breed again in the coming years.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Elephant calves blessed by Buddhist monk:

Melbourne Zoo’s three baby Asian elephants were blessed by a Buddhist monk | 7NEWS - The Global Herald

Melbourne Zoo’s three elephant calves were blessed by a Buddhist monk, causing some alarm to the herd. Matriarch, Mek Kepah, let out a roar and the herd responded by clustering together until they were assured there was no threat.

The video briefly mentions the transfer of the herd to Werribee next year.
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Did you see that trunk lock? Tapped out in seconds
 
Zoofan15 said:
Elephant calves blessed by Buddhist monk:

Melbourne Zoo’s three baby Asian elephants were blessed by a Buddhist monk | 7NEWS - The Global Herald

Melbourne Zoo’s three elephant calves were blessed by a Buddhist monk, causing some alarm to the herd. Matriarch, Mek Kepah, let out a roar and the herd responded by clustering together until they were assured there was no threat.

The video briefly mentions the transfer of the herd to Werribee next year.
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Interesting to see Dokkoon taking the stance of being matriarch there whilst Mek Kapah, Mali and Num Oi protected the calves.

Also intriguing (but not surprising) to see Kulab just eating away from them when the mayhem was erupting and then going over to check out what the 'threat' actually was! She's a very curious female and definitely not the least cautious about anything. She didn't seem phased at all, which is very much like her. Just summed up her character in one little video.:D
 
Jambo said:
Interesting to see Dokkoon taking the stance of being matriarch there whilst Mek Kapah, Mali and Num Oi protected the calves.

Also intriguing (but not surprising) to see Kulab just eating away from them when the mayhem was erupting and then going over to check out what the 'threat' actually was! She's a very curious female and definitely not the least cautious about anything. She didn't seem phased at all, which is very much like her. Just summed up her character in one little video.:D
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Aside from being her curious personality, I guess she has no responsibility per say within the herd. While rearing of the calves is very much a herd thing, three of the other females each have their own calf to ensure the safety of; while the fourth is the eldest cow in the herd and has additional responsibilities. Kulab can for the most part do as she pleases.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Young Snow leopards leaving early April:

Wellington Zoo prepares finishing touches for New Zealand's first snow leopards

Melbourne Zoo’s three year old Snow leopard sisters, Asha and Manju, will be exported to Wellington Zoo in early April.

Their export will reduce the zoo’s Snow leopard population to 1.2 Snow leopards - including their parents, who will hopefully breed again in the coming years.
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Are you able to inform me of the 3 remaining leopards? I know the cubs parents remain, but I thought they had 3 cubs? Also, someone mentioned to me that there was an older individual still at the facility, so doesn’t that mean they are left with 4 unless I’m missing something
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Are you able to inform me of the 3 remaining leopards? I know the cubs parents remain, but I thought they had 3 cubs? Also, someone mentioned to me that there was an older individual still at the facility, so doesn’t that mean they are left with 4 unless I’m missing something
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The remaining leopards would be:

1.0 Kang Ju (2016) - father of cubs
0.1 Miska (2016) - mother of cubs
0.1 Sundar (2008) Leon x Meo (offspring of former breeding pair, off display)

The two girls (Asha and Manju) are being sent to Wellington. Their littermate and brother, Sikari, was sent to Tasmania Zoo in 2021.
 
PaddyRickMFZ said:
Are you able to inform me of the 3 remaining leopards? I know the cubs parents remain, but I thought they had 3 cubs? Also, someone mentioned to me that there was an older individual still at the facility, so doesn’t that mean they are left with 4 unless I’m missing something
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They currently have 1.4 Snow leopards held in four groups:

1.0 Kang Ju (2015) Breeding male

0.1 Mishka (2016) Breeding female

0.1 Sundar (2008) Non breeding female

0.1 Asha (2020) Departing female
0.1 Manju (2020) Departing female

Asha and Manju were indeed triplets, with their brother now at Tasmania Zoo. The sisters were intended to be sent to Wellington Zoo around this time, but construction of their exhibit has been delayed.

Once they part, I anticipate Melbourne will look at pairing Kang Ju and Mishka for breeding again in the next year or two.
 
Has anyone else noticed that the Zoos Victoria websites seem to be down at the moment? When I try to open them, they don't load anything other than a white screen.
 
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