Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo News 2024

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Visited Melbourne Zoo today and have a few updates -

1st - Melbourne Zoo now have Nyala, was confirmed by keeper and signing read - “Welcome Nyala, Help us care for our newest residents by keeping noise low in this area, we are exited for you to meet the herd one they have settled into there habitat. This was in the old Malayan Tapir, which has been slightly modified, with some new foliage, didn’t see nyala was told they are in a backstage area, otherwise exciting news.

2nd - The new Giraffe extended barn is starting construction and will be finished in the summer 2024

3rd - The Cotton Top Tamarin Family ( Only about 2 - 3 ) has moved into the exhibit on the Main Trail which previously house squirrel monkeys, these monkeys have moved into forest harvest in TOTE. Keeper told me that old exhibit in tree top apes was quite oversized and guest were not seeing them.

4th - All vacant exhibits with glass viewing have been covered up with a large wallpaper banner to do with Zoos Victorias campaigns, the cotton top tamarin, cassowary have this marketing.

5th - One of the glass panes in the Gorilla Viewing had been cracked and been covered up with Black Tape

6th - The orang-utan sanctuary is going to be closed for a couple of weeks for maintenance.



Overall a pleasant experience however there are a couple of things that MZ could improve on.

  1. The Tree Top Apes and Monkeys is a disaster, only 5 of 7 exhibits are housing species, the 1st has been boarded Up and houses nothing which was old tamarin exhibit, the 2nd houses the same spider monkey species. 3rd which is a Black and white colobus contains no animals, 4th contains 1 colobus, 5th contains emperor tamarin, 6th white cheeked gibbon, last small is also empty, it is just so disjointed and empty really a saw point.
  2. There are quite a few empty exhibits, I counted 9 - with the marketing can’t seeing any animals in these exhibits for a while.
  3. The giraffe exhibits fell empty without zebra, nyala would be better suited for this exhibit.
 
austrlain zoo gower said:
Visited Melbourne Zoo today and have a few updates -

1st - Melbourne Zoo now have Nyala, was confirmed by keeper and signing read - “Welcome Nyala, Help us care for our newest residents by keeping noise low in this area, we are exited for you to meet the herd one they have settled into there habitat. This was in the old Malayan Tapir, which has been slightly modified, with some new foliage, didn’t see nyala was told they are in a backstage area, otherwise exciting news.

2nd - The new Giraffe extended barn is starting construction and will be finished in the summer 2024

3rd - The Cotton Top Tamarin Family ( Only about 2 - 3 ) has moved into the exhibit on the Main Trail which previously house squirrel monkeys, these monkeys have moved into forest harvest in TOTE. Keeper told me that old exhibit in tree top apes was quite oversized and guest were not seeing them.

4th - All vacant exhibits with glass viewing have been covered up with a large wallpaper banner to do with Zoos Victorias campaigns, the cotton top tamarin, cassowary have this marketing.

5th - One of the glass panes in the Gorilla Viewing had been cracked and been covered up with Black Tape

6th - The orang-utan sanctuary is going to be closed for a couple of weeks for maintenance.



Overall a pleasant experience however there are a couple of things that MZ could improve on.

  1. The Tree Top Apes and Monkeys is a disaster, only 5 of 7 exhibits are housing species, the 1st has been boarded Up and houses nothing which was old tamarin exhibit, the 2nd houses the same spider monkey species. 3rd which is a Black and white colobus contains no animals, 4th contains 1 colobus, 5th contains emperor tamarin, 6th white cheeked gibbon, last small is also empty, it is just so disjointed and empty really a saw point.
  2. There are quite a few empty exhibits, I counted 9 - with the marketing can’t seeing any animals in these exhibits for a while.
  3. The giraffe exhibits fell empty without zebra, nyala would be better suited for this exhibit.
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Thanks for this update. I’m glad Melbourne have at long last brought over some Lowland nyala to fill one of their many empty exhibits. Personally I would have thought the old Eastern bongo exhibit would have been a better fit, but progress is progress.

All going well, the zoo were hoping to have had a giraffe calf running around by now. Nakuru is hopefully pregnant again and with Iris also breeding in the future, the giraffe exhibit will soon be looking more lively.

It’s interesting to hear the female colobus is back on display. I had wondered if they planned to transfer her to SA to join their troop to avoid keeping her alone until a mate can be sourced (ideally imported).
 
austrlain zoo gower said:
Melbourne Zoo now have Nyala, was confirmed by keeper and signing read - “Welcome Nyala, Help us care for our newest residents by keeping noise low in this area, we are exited for you to meet the herd one they have settled into there habitat. This was in the old Malayan Tapir, which has been slightly modified, with some new foliage, didn’t see nyala was told they are in a backstage area, otherwise exciting news.
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Interesting they have chosen this enclosure for the Nyala. The former Bongo enclosure (which sets empty) is far more sizeable, and mixing them with the giraffes could've worked as well.
austrlain zoo gower said:
3rd - The Cotton Top Tamarin Family ( Only about 2 - 3 ) has moved into the exhibit on the Main Trail which previously house squirrel monkeys, these monkeys have moved into forest harvest in TOTE. Keeper told me that old exhibit in tree top apes was quite oversized and guest were not seeing them.
Click to expand...
The Tamarins in the former Squirrel Monkey enclosure were offspring of the previous pair; as far as I was aware the pair were still in the Treetops exhibit but if the exhibit has been boarded up as you say, one or both may have passed.
austrlain zoo gower said:
The orang-utan sanctuary is going to be closed for a couple of weeks for maintenance.
Click to expand...
Did you manage to see the Saimangs? I'm keen as to what happened to Kemala's pregnancy; she was apparently due sometime earlier this year.
 
Yes totally agree, the former Bongo and even giraffe/Zebra would have been much better

There are most defined no Tamarins in the tree tops, all signage has been removed and both glass windows boarded up, also asked keeper and said they have been move to main trail

I saw both pairs of Siamangs, as far as I’m aware Kemala’s pregnancy was never confirmed, as least when I spoke to the Keeper about breeding plans for the new pair, so not really sure, who told you she was pregnant?
 
austrlain zoo gower said:
I saw both pairs of Siamangs, as far as I’m aware Kemala’s pregnancy was never confirmed, as least when I spoke to the Keeper about breeding plans for the new pair, so not really sure, who told you she was pregnant?
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Kemala has a very prominent stomach (compared to the male), which had a flat stomach. I suspected she was pregnant on my visit and asked a volunteer, who said she was. It’s possible the volunteer was mistaken; or perhaps the infant didn’t survive.

Had the infant survived, it would have been born by now so we can assume there will be no Siamang infant regardless.

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austrlain zoo gower said:
Yes totally agree, the former Bongo and even giraffe/Zebra would have been much better

There are most defined no Tamarins in the tree tops, all signage has been removed and both glass windows boarded up, also asked keeper and said they have been move to main trail

I saw both pairs of Siamangs, as far as I’m aware Kemala’s pregnancy was never confirmed, as least when I spoke to the Keeper about breeding plans for the new pair, so not really sure, who told you she was pregnant?
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Yeah I recall seeing a Youtube video a few weeks back showing the Tamarin enclosure empty as well; with a 'We are Calling for You' banner across both windows. Hopefully this is only temporary and there is a designated species in mind as a replacement. Or, with the number of species reducing there as years go on, it is finally time to renovate/replace it.
 
Yes, the exhibit was renovated for the tamarins when the white cheeked gibbon previous pair passed, in honesty the whole tree top apes could do with an overhaul, it is starting to look dated compared to other sections of the zoo. Not only it is nearly impossible to view the Gibbons and Colobus with the privacy mesh glass. Whilst this is to to with privacy it makes the viewing experience poor

Also Kemala new mate was brought in around the start of June, Siamangs can take a while to form a connection and mate, there gestation period is around 7 and a half month so she still could be near birth today perhaps if she mated in November
 
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austrlain zoo gower said:
Yes, the exhibit was renovated for the tamarins when the white cheeked gibbon previous pair passed, in honesty the whole tree top apes could do with an overhaul, it is starting to look dated compared to other sections of the zoo. Not only it is nearly impossible to view the Gibbons and Colobus with the privacy mesh glass. Whilst this is to to with privacy it makes the viewing experience poor
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I agree, I thought the Tree Tops exhibits were looking very dated compared to the rest of the zoo; or even the 34 year old Gorilla Rainforest, which has held up remarkably well.

I think it’s reasonable to assume though that only remedial renovations will be carried out all the time there’s the greater priority of redeveloping TOTE. Budgets aside, it’s not ideal to have closures of multiple precincts.
 
Correct, Melbourne really need to be careful as they already have a large number of vacant exhibits and exhibits that need a renovation. Now they are losing there star attraction, they are going to need to get replacements in quickly and that can hopefully match the callable and exited ment that elephants provide to visitors
 
NathanTheAsian said:
Roi Yim has been introduced to his father Luk Chai for the first time - reported on socials

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8wLMVIvHZC/
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That’s good to hear!

Aiyara was the first of the three calves to meet Luk Chai, which happened as far back as last November; but she’s certainly a lot more advanced than Roi-Yim and an exceptionally confident young female.

From a young age, Luk Chai was gentle with his younger herd mates at Taronga (Pathi Harn and Tukta); and then went on to prove himself an excellent mentor to Sabai and Man Jai. I have no doubt Roi-Yim will benefit immensely from their relationship.
 
A few cold-blooded updates for Melbourne Zoo confirmed via email:
  • Eight Mexican Cantils have been born. Melbourne is the only regional holder so pretty significant.
  • New species alert: two Eastern Pilbara Spiny-tailed Skinks have arrived from Taronga.
  • an additional import of eight Veiled Chameleons arrived from Europe. They are gradually pairing them up to develop the regional population.
  • 15 Frill-necked Lizards have hatched this season.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
A few cold-blooded updates for Melbourne Zoo confirmed via email:
  • Eight Mexican Cantils have been born. Melbourne is the only regional holder so pretty significant.
  • New species alert: two Eastern Pilbara Spiny-tailed Skinks have arrived from Taronga.
  • an additional import of eight Veiled Chameleons arrived from Europe. They are gradually pairing them up to develop the regional population.
  • 15 Frill-necked Lizards have hatched this season.
Click to expand...

Melbourne Zoo’s reptile department have been busy in the last eight months or so. Exciting to see another new species at the zoo and a commitment to maintaining a population of Veiled Chameleons. Cantil also very significant, I wonder if other zoos have plans to acquire this species in the near future.
 
Luke899 said:
Finally, been looking forward to this :D
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In 1999, Melbourne Zoo began planning for what would open in 2003 as the largest elephant exhibit in the region. Two decades on and it remains an impressive complex, albeit a little crowded.

However, when you consider the Werribee complex will comprise the same footprint as the entirety of Melbourne Zoo, it sets a standard that will likely remain unbeaten regionally for all of time; and will be regarded as one of the best internationally for decades.
 
Zoofan15 said:
In 1999, Melbourne Zoo began planning for what would open in 2003 as the largest elephant exhibit in the region. Two decades on and it remains an impressive complex, albeit a little crowded.

However, when you consider the Werribee complex will comprise the same footprint as the entirety of Melbourne Zoo, it sets a standard that will likely remain unbeaten regionally for all of time; and will be regarded as one of the best internationally for decades.
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I guess when your planning for 40 elephants its gotta be big. I don't think it'll ever be beaten. No one else in the region is willing to spend over 70 million dollars (realistically probably 80 million or more) for a new elephant habitat LOL.

Werribee: 70+ million
Taronga: 45 million
Monarto: 6 million
 
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