That's unfortunate that he didn't integrate well he probably would of had a good application as a breeding male. I wonder if going forward the zoo will be more alert when trying to introduce new males or will they only stick to introducing new females as a result.
Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo News 2024
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That's unfortunate that he didn't integrate well he probably would of had a good application as a breeding male. I wonder if going forward the zoo will be more alert when trying to introduce new males or will they only stick to introducing new females as a result.
The intention was for Chad to breed, though via his maternal line he was a relative of some of the Melbourne troop via the Emmen line.
I’d imagine they’ll stick to introducing females as is the most successful method of introducing unrelated individuals to an established troop. Introducing unrelated males is extremely difficult in Hamadryas. When Wellington Zoo decided to phase the species out, they easily placed their females in Australian troops, but had no takers for their males.
Hey there!
I will be visiting Australia for the first time in a couple months and will be spending some time in Melbourne. A couple questions:
-Are the New Holland Mice on-exhibit?
-Are the Victorian Grassland Earless Lizards on-exhibit? I've seen some conflicting information.
As many on ZC may know, I'm someone who's interested in pretty much any and all wildlife, so if anyone has any advice on the best times to see certain species or tips on particularly hard to see animals at the zoo, I'm all ears! If anyone has any advice on any good birding/wildlife spots within the city as well, please feel free to PM me.
Thank you in advance!
~Thylo
I will be visiting Australia for the first time in a couple months and will be spending some time in Melbourne. A couple questions:
-Are the New Holland Mice on-exhibit?
-Are the Victorian Grassland Earless Lizards on-exhibit? I've seen some conflicting information.
As many on ZC may know, I'm someone who's interested in pretty much any and all wildlife, so if anyone has any advice on the best times to see certain species or tips on particularly hard to see animals at the zoo, I'm all ears! If anyone has any advice on any good birding/wildlife spots within the city as well, please feel free to PM me.
Thank you in advance!
~Thylo
New Holland Mice aren’t kept on exhibit anywhere in the country, they are vulnerable to diseases meaning they must be kept in bio-secure facilities.
The Victorian Grassland Earless Dragons are on exhibit but are easily missable, they are located within keeper kids which is a small building near the front entrance of the zoo that is targeted for small children. Inside there is the Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon breeding facility which has a display exhibit outside the front of it.
That makes sense re: the mice. Thank you for the explanation.
Appreciate the tip on the dragons!
~Thylo
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Sorry about sending a message in a forum (i have no idea how to pm people on this site), if you want to see unique wildlife near Melbourne I would recommend Yarra bend park. Its like 20 mins away from the CBD and you can see flying foxes up close, I've spotted tawny frogmouths there too. We also have some cool seabirds along the coast in Williamstown and Newport, although they're not the most pretty places. That said I am an amateur so I wouldn't know the best spots. P.S. Don't get too excited about the earless dragons, I've seen their enclosure twice but never spotted one. To be fair I was in a rush both times but I don't think they're super visible. (the canberra ones in the reptile house are easy to spot at least)
I strongly agree re Yarra Bend Park - it's a fantastic colony for sheer quantity of flying foxes, and for how well you can see them. (I visited the colony on Tongatapu in Tonga a couple of months ago, which is listed as one of the top things to do on the island, and it's a fun sighting but nothing compared to Yarra Bend Park.)
With this being @ThylacineAlive's first visit to Melbourne, I'd also recommend our wild marine life which even a lot of Melburnians don't really appreciate. You can do boat tours in the bay which let you swim with the endemic Burrunan dolphin, and with Australian fur seals. (Common dolphins are in the bay too, but much harder to spot.) We also have the Australian little/fairy/blue penguin at the far end of the breakwater in St Kilda, or on Phillip Island which is a very easy 1-night excursion from Melbourne. My bias is mammals (and flightless birds), but both the bay and Phillip Island have great diversity of birdlife too.
With this being @ThylacineAlive's first visit to Melbourne, I'd also recommend our wild marine life which even a lot of Melburnians don't really appreciate. You can do boat tours in the bay which let you swim with the endemic Burrunan dolphin, and with Australian fur seals. (Common dolphins are in the bay too, but much harder to spot.) We also have the Australian little/fairy/blue penguin at the far end of the breakwater in St Kilda, or on Phillip Island which is a very easy 1-night excursion from Melbourne. My bias is mammals (and flightless birds), but both the bay and Phillip Island have great diversity of birdlife too.
Yarra Bend I've had my eye on as something to do after Healesville, so I'll definitely keep that in mind.
I do have reservations for a boat tour of the Bay and for the Penguin Parade
~Thylo
Sounds good. Opinions vary on Penguin Parade. When I'm at Phillip Island, I prefer to wander around the nesting area in the daytime; you can normally spot a couple still in nesting boxes, and see them very close. I find the Penguin Parade show rather too obviously artificial as they all walk up a concrete ramp, but if you want to see lots of penguins then it's definitely the thing to do. (I did the equivalent show at Oamaru in Otago and I liked that, maybe just because it's smaller. Then again if you're in New Zealand, there are dozens of other places to go for penguins too.)
I can see from the posts in various threads that you're travelling quite widely around Australia. Have you got somewhere in mind to try to see platypus in the wild?
I can see from the posts in various threads that you're travelling quite widely around Australia. Have you got somewhere in mind to try to see platypus in the wild?
I plan on spending at least some of the afternoon on Phillip Island and will check out the nesting area during the day as well.
I have not looked much into trying to see a Platypus wild.
~Thylo
I rate #3 on the first list (Bombala) really highly. The town is about equidistant between Melbourne and Sydney, but in the middle of nowhere and a long way from the highway. It doesn't have much to recommend it, except platypus sightings. I'm 4 from 4 there, and going again this December. Coincidentally I'm visiting #5 from that same article in 3 weeks' time, so I'll let you know how I go.
Thanks for the update. While it appears the documentary will focus primarily on the herd and their transfer to Werribee, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any reference to the future plans for the area following their departure as a way to acknowledge the huge gap in Melbourne Zoo’s collection they will leave.
Upcoming elephant transfer to Werribee:
Melbourne have posted the following on their socials:
Visit the Zoos Victoria website to pre-book your tickets to see the Elephant herd at Melbourne Zoo before they relocate to Werribee Open Range Zoo in late 2024 / early 2025.
It therefore appears the transfer could potentially now be in early 2025; as the above comment is in the context of seeing them at Melbourne Zoo (not them transferring to Melbourne in December; being on display at Werribee in January as originally planned).
The keepers have done an amazing job crate training the elephants; and updates indicate the Werribee complex is nearing completion, so it shouldn’t be too much longer now. Exciting times ahead!
Melbourne have posted the following on their socials:
Visit the Zoos Victoria website to pre-book your tickets to see the Elephant herd at Melbourne Zoo before they relocate to Werribee Open Range Zoo in late 2024 / early 2025.
It therefore appears the transfer could potentially now be in early 2025; as the above comment is in the context of seeing them at Melbourne Zoo (not them transferring to Melbourne in December; being on display at Werribee in January as originally planned).
The keepers have done an amazing job crate training the elephants; and updates indicate the Werribee complex is nearing completion, so it shouldn’t be too much longer now. Exciting times ahead!
Construction is nearing completion and from the looks of it, the finishing touches are being put in place at the moment.
I'd imagine they'd also be wanting to give the current exhibits at least a few more months to re-vegetate on top of what they've already had prior to the elephants arrival. It was still primarily dirt as of a few months back.
On the time of the move itself, I'm still told the aim is for December and the elephants will hopefully be moved the same day; which summer daylight hours will permit due to them needing pretty much the whole day for the three trips there and back.
It’d be great if the elephants could all move on the same day; though it wouldn’t surprise me to see them move over two days so they can take advantage of going early morning when the roads are clear and to avoid the midday/afternoon heat. It would also then give the elephants the full day to adjust to their new surroundings before nightfall.
I was told the elephants will travel in the following groups:
Mek Kepah
Dokkoon (and Aiyara)
Mali (and Roi Yim)
Kulab
Num Oi (and Kati)
It was undecided whether Luk Chai would travel in the same convoy with Kulab/Num Oi (and Kati). Since he’s to be accommodated in his own barn, it would appear the benefits of the staff being able to devote their full attention to settling him in would outweigh the benefits of him being left alone/making the first trip without the cows in proximity. He is after all independent of the matriarchal herd as you’d expect of a bull his age. Man Jai is missed on so many levels; but on a practical aspect, he and Luk Chai were intended to have been invaluable source of support to each other in this transaction - to the extent it was originally considered having the bulls move over weeks ahead of the cows, which were then to have the full run of the Melbourne complex, following their departure.
Mek Kepah’s arriving first will support her position as matriarch; though I don’t think anybody would be surprised if Kulab assumed the position early on. Navigating a new and comparatively complex environment will be a test on Mek Kepah’s leadership and she may be happy to relinquish the role.
I wouldn't be surprised if that was to occur too. Although as far I'm aware, Melbourne only have two crates. Both crates are designed so the calves can travel with their mothers, but aside from that only one adult can be accommodated per crate.
With that being the case, it would make sense to send Luk Chai and Mek Kapah over first; if they want Mek Kapah to establish herself first. It would also make it easier for keepers to focus on just two adults initially; with calves not arriving yet.
Unless they believe Mek Kapah can be kept by herself overnight, Dokkoon, Aiyara, Mali and Roi Yim will have to follow on the same day. It's do able if the initial pair leave earlier in the morning; Werribee is only a 30 min drive from Melbourne.
There’s actually four crates! There’s the two cow/calf crates; in addition to another two which are designated for use by Luk Chai and Mek Kepah.
The cow/calf crates were custom made for this purpose (to allow the cows/calves to travel together); while Luk Chai’s is larger to accomodate a full grown bull. I’m not sure if these crates were also custom made; or left over from the transfer of Bong Su and Mek Kepah to the current exhibit in 2003. Bong Su, being in protected contact, couldn’t have been walked across after all.
That would make more sense, the other two must've only arrived recently then. I presume since both Mek Kapah and Luk Chai have previously travelled they wouldn't need as much training as the mothers and calves, especially.
There's actually a crate outside the old elephant house, which I presumed was in fact the old crate to transfer Bong Su and Mek Kapah across to the new facility in 2003.
I do wonder if the crates being utilised by Luk Chai and Mek Kapah now will later be sent over to Perth to transfer their pair over to Monarto next year. I believe both individuals at Perth are already being crate trained, so that would rule out the initial idea from occurring if the crates are still there.
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