Osedax
Well-Known Member
Almost every time I've been recently, the giraffes, zebras and ostriches have all been mixed. I haven't seen the giraffes and zebras separated for ages.
Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo Review 2025 (20/1/25)
- Thread starter austrlain zoo gower
- Start date
Since the male zebra is gelded, he shouldn’t cause any issues with the giraffes - especially now Ebo is close to adult size.
I’ve known of least two inter-species zebra related incidents in the region that led to a fatality and both involved intact stallions.
Perhaps I'm visiting on the wrong days then
To be fair I only visit a few times a year so perhaps I've been unlucky in that aspect.I'd assume the Giraffe don't have access to the back side of the enclosure still too?
Interesting to know Jaguar were once in that pit. I presume the last Jaguars here left or passed not long after the pits completion in the 80's. Replaced by the Asiatic Lions.
It seems the tigers (including Chester) had access to both these pits for the duration of the 90's until Victoria and Mr Hobbs moved here in 2001. Since Shiva and Seletan were both compatible and lived together there would've been little need for the two exhibits anyhow. Still Juara and Assiqua would've had to have been rotated on/off display with only the single exhibit.
But perhaps more interestingly, it's really cool to see these exhibits too have been retained. I assume they may still be utilised as BTS exhibits for the Tigers.
Osedax
Well-Known Member
I don't think so, but there are some holding yards along the side of the giraffe barn that they usually have access to.
Hey man. Well yeah the Tigers would have when the Asian Lions were absent between Sep '93 and Kutch's final departure in May '99.
What can add though forgive the backstory (was before my time with Taronga the first part, can thank Hix for most of info) was that Ali and Jacunda were the last Jaguars to live in the 'Jaguar Pit' exhibit (and Maya until early '89 and his dam Wendy before she died in '88 but I digress), as to when they (or at least Ali) moved down to the exhibit at 'Dog Row' path (area that became Berani & Denise the Malayan Tapirs exhibits around mid '96, albeit Denise came '98, sorry digress again lol) all I can say with certainty was that Ali was in one of the bar fronted exhibits down there by mid '94 when first visited (think Jacunda's transfer to Melbourne on 11 November '92 is probably when Ali was moved down there** and architectural surveying was done for the renovation preperations for Asian Lions Kandi & Kutch arriving in September following year.
Any BOH stuff unfortunately have zero knowledge of, but the architectural sketches and Hix's and others knowledge of would be the key.
**& if so with Ali the Jaguar's move to exhibit down there in Nov '92 would mean that was the time that Taronga's male bachelor troop of Mandrills were taken off public display as Ali moved into their exhibit, some of them survived b.t.s at the zoo until 2005 apparently.
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I believe Juara transferred back to Dubbo not long after the triplets were born in 2003. The male triplets were then sent to Orana Wildlife Park in 2006.
I was surprised to come across this article that suggests the males were destined for Auckland:
Tiger cubs turn one
The two male cubs, Sendiri and Dumai, were due to move to a zoo in Auckland early next year and the female, Jumilah, would eventually be placed elsewhere, the spokeswoman said.
Lari and Malu (cousins) were paired for breeding, so it’s not beyond the realms to imagine one of them could have been paired with Nisha; with the other perhaps sent on to Hamilton or even Wellington. There was talk of re-pairing Cantic at Wellington; and Hamilton originally intended to import a male (with Jaka leaving).
Satu too would've later rotated that enclosure with Jumilah and her cubs, once they were born. I'd initially thought they'd given the tigers access but it appears Dholes were instead kept here for a few years or so. The tigers then had access to the former Lion pit once they left to Hunter Valley in 2015 but this would've only been for a matter of months before they too were transferred out to Dubbo for the Tiger trek construction.
For those interested, this is a map of Taronga’s Sumatran tiger complex, showing the location of the two off display exhibits available to the tigers (which are housed in four groups):
Source: Taronga Zoo Tiger Trek — lahznimmo architects
Source: Taronga Zoo Tiger Trek — lahznimmo architects
Attachments
Sometime before the tigers transferred to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, there was also a falling out with Sakti having to be separated from his mother and siblings. Jumilah was apparently the driving force in ousting him out, but I’ve heard he’s quite a fiery male (like his sire, Satu). She lived with her other male offspring, Kembali, without issue from that point on.
Satu transferred to Australia Zoo around 2015, prior to the rest of the family leaving for Dubbo (with Sakti leaving ahead of his mother and siblings).
That Aussie Guy
Well-Known Member
Out of curiosity, how big was the enclosure supposedly going to be?
Unfortunately an exact size wasn't mentioned but it was supposed to be designed as an exhibit so guests could watch the meerkats as they were lining up for the safari tour. So take that as you will!
If Werribee’s exhibit was intended to be the largest Slender-tailed meerkat exhibit in the world, we know it’d at least be larger than Dubbo’s exhibit, which is 100m2.
The Dubbo exhibit can be divided to manage multiple social groupings if required, so presumably the design of the Werribee exhibit would have also allowed for that given females in multi male-female colonies are prone to conflict as the offspring reach young adulthood.
I would have assumed it would've been quite large in size considering the queue would've had to be of significant length and would likely loop around the exterior of the exhibit.
Werribee's current safari station has around 75 meters of queuing space so I'd imagine this would be enlarged with the new safari station and therefore an exhibit on a similar scale to Dubbo's (if not larger) would make sense.
austrlain zoo gower
Well-Known Member
Main Trail
The next exhibits in the Main trail are spread out throughout the zoo
Platypus
There is a roofed platypus enclosures/house. It opened in 1980. It is home to one male platypus called Sam. It is quite dark making it hard to view the animals. The enclosure is on the smaller size, however he was making use of every inch of space. There were also many live yabbis that he was hunting. The rest of the area almost looks like it is unfinished with random blue walls. Maybe they should add some potted plants to these areas.
Ranking -
7/10
What I like -
Platypus displaying natural hunting techniques
He was very active
What could be improved -
Adding some plants and painting the walls
Near the platypus enclosures is a small enclosures that used to house meerkat's. it now houses Caroline box turtles
Red Pandas
The next enclosure is situated next to the lakeside bistro. There are 2 red pandas at the zoo, called Roshani and Seba
They spend most of the time they are up high in the trees. The enclosures has not much appeal and feels old and cramped when compared to Adelaide and Taronga's. They could have put red pandas in the current binturong enclosure, they would have accompanied the Snow Leopard well.
Ranking -
6/10
What I love -
Showing how well the pandas can climb
Good animals for a break up species
What could be improved -
Possibly expanding the enclosure with an overhead passage to the other side of the left of the enclosure
A more description about the animals
Siamang
The last habitat is for another pair of Siamang. It is an island enclosure that is inside the Japanese garden and lakeside bistro. Overall I LOVE this enclosure. it suits its residents perfectly with a number of denser foliage along will tall trees the animals were singing and swining in. It offers many viewing areas and compliments the Japanese Garden and Koi fish well. It is home to Isador and Sampit, the zoos previous breeding pair and parents to kemala who lives at the Orangutan Sancuatry.
Ranking -
10/10
What I love -
Perfect species for the enclosure
Great size for the animals with loads of different climbing opportunities and heights
Match the Japanese garden well.
Good viewing experiences
What could be improved -
Nothing
Near the lakeside bistro is an aviary called the amazon aviary. It is a beautiful and historic structure!. It houses parrots and Macaws
Next up is the last part of the Main Drive the Reptiles and Reptile house!
The next exhibits in the Main trail are spread out throughout the zoo
Platypus
There is a roofed platypus enclosures/house. It opened in 1980. It is home to one male platypus called Sam. It is quite dark making it hard to view the animals. The enclosure is on the smaller size, however he was making use of every inch of space. There were also many live yabbis that he was hunting. The rest of the area almost looks like it is unfinished with random blue walls. Maybe they should add some potted plants to these areas.
Ranking -
7/10
What I like -
Platypus displaying natural hunting techniques
He was very active
What could be improved -
Adding some plants and painting the walls
Near the platypus enclosures is a small enclosures that used to house meerkat's. it now houses Caroline box turtles
Red Pandas
The next enclosure is situated next to the lakeside bistro. There are 2 red pandas at the zoo, called Roshani and Seba
They spend most of the time they are up high in the trees. The enclosures has not much appeal and feels old and cramped when compared to Adelaide and Taronga's. They could have put red pandas in the current binturong enclosure, they would have accompanied the Snow Leopard well.
Ranking -
6/10
What I love -
Showing how well the pandas can climb
Good animals for a break up species
What could be improved -
Possibly expanding the enclosure with an overhead passage to the other side of the left of the enclosure
A more description about the animals
Siamang
The last habitat is for another pair of Siamang. It is an island enclosure that is inside the Japanese garden and lakeside bistro. Overall I LOVE this enclosure. it suits its residents perfectly with a number of denser foliage along will tall trees the animals were singing and swining in. It offers many viewing areas and compliments the Japanese Garden and Koi fish well. It is home to Isador and Sampit, the zoos previous breeding pair and parents to kemala who lives at the Orangutan Sancuatry.
Ranking -
10/10
What I love -
Perfect species for the enclosure
Great size for the animals with loads of different climbing opportunities and heights
Match the Japanese garden well.
Good viewing experiences
What could be improved -
Nothing
Near the lakeside bistro is an aviary called the amazon aviary. It is a beautiful and historic structure!. It houses parrots and Macaws
Next up is the last part of the Main Drive the Reptiles and Reptile house!
Attachments
Roshani passed away a few years back. Melbourne have since acquired a young female from Australia Zoo, Scarlett.
It's surprising that these enclosures are only a little more than a decade old. They seem relatively rushed design wise and quite small. An expansion of this current setup utilising an overhead pathway might be more fitting.
The Sleepy Hippo
Well-Known Member
I think they should redesign their enclosure for Tanuki (links with Japanese Garden) and follow the @austrlain zoo gower suggestion of moving the Red Panda to the Binturong enclosure, and move them to the Forest of Wonder precinct.
I've always been of the belief the Red Pandas would be better suited for the enclosure right next to the Snow Leopards, in fact I long believed they would eventually move in there. Lo and behold, that never happened and they decided Binturongs would be more suitable.
Even the climbing frame playground that's next to the exhibit would tie in with Red Pandas nicely. The writings on the wall!
I too had assumed the red panda exhibits were much older. They remind me a little of Wellington’s in that they’re small, but effective in managing multiple groupings in one space. Auckland Zoo has two exhibits (plus one off display) and Wellington has two exhibits side by side; but Hamilton has one large exhibit, which has never been much use in managing multiple pandas.
Adelaide have the best set up I’ve seen so far, with multiple exhibits and overhead pathways.
They used to be housed in a few circular mini pit set ups (similar to the off display ones at Auckland that you'd be familiar with). There was three of these were Growing Wild currently is, two for the Red Panda and another for Tree Kangaroo.
They weren't the biggest, but certainly provided the Red Pandas with more floor space than they do now; even if that meant compromising their arboreal space.
On Melbourne, a third exhibit could be placed across the pathway next to the old elephant house. This area was recently utilised apart of the 'Dino animatronic' trail and could do with a species living there. This could be connected back to the main complex via overhead pathways and could even allow the current exhibits to be combined into one to provide more space.