They must've got the darker ones in recently - last time I went to Mogo they only had the lighter coloured variety.
Mogo Wildlife Park Mogo Zoo News
- Thread starter Jet
- Start date
The calf is a male and has been named ‘Matope’.
I visited Mogo last week (3 times in 3 days) and here are some answers to previous questions and some general observations:
We were up in Bateman's Bay for 5 nights, so we decided to buy memberships for Mogo - partly because we (my partner and I) like visiting the zoo and taking photographs, but also because we like the food at the cafe there. It also helps the zoo.
Anyway, we went three days in a row. On the first day we spent the entire day there, and on the other two days we went in for lunch and then stayed for a few hours in the afternoon before getting coffee and cheesecake to go...
We hadn't been to Mogo for over 2 years and we were quite keen to see how the zoo (and the region in general) were recovering from the 2019-2020 bushfires. The zoo looks good now but of course there are a few changes:
The Cafe:
The food in the cafe is as good as ever. The chicken schnitty burger (Natalie's favourite) and the beef burger (my favourite) are still there and still good. The coffee is still really good and they now have New York Cheesecakes - which are delicious. And all this while you sit and watch the silvery gibbon family. Glad we decided to buy memberships and eat there each day. The tiny little window enclosures that once housed reptiles now house various native Australian mice - I can't recall which species. They were quite active though.
The upper section of the zoo:
Whoever is making the sandwiches and doing the dishes can do so while watching the capuchin monkeys as they do so - a nice touch for anyone working in the kitchen there. Next door to the capuchins are emperor tamarins. Nothing much has changed with the lions and tigers but next to the tigers, the francois langurs are surprisingly no longer there - instead there are ring-tailed lemurs. I'm surprised the langurs are gone as this zoo specialises in primates. The big exciting development there though are that the binturong enclosures are now linked with a walkway across the path. The gate between them was locked but both binturong were actively seeking the attention of one another - in fact I've never seen binturong so active in any zoo ever before. I don't know if they are a male and female, but if so, maybe they are hoping to breed them and maybe they are into each other... Watch this space! There was a 1 metre wide area fenced off around the red panda enclosure too - because it is breeding season. So they are obviously hoping to breed them. The servals were also surprisingly active on the days we were there - which was a nice surprise too.
The middle section of the zoo:
Heading down the hill from the cafe, the elderly snow leopard is still there posing for photos. I will miss it when it's gone. Meerkats and otters are same as before. There are now 2 enclosures with leopard tortoise - one which originally had fennec foxes - I can't recall if this was the case 2 years ago or whether that has changed in the past 2 years though. The squirrel monkeys, pygmy marmosets, cotton top tamarins, golden lion tamarins and emperor tamarins are all still in the same glass fronted enclosures as you go down the hill. To the left though are 3 cheetahs - over 2 enclosures. Not sure when gender they are or if they are looking to breed them.
The bottom, larger section of the zoo:
The large lion enclosure has one male and two females. No big change there. However the deer enclosure has been changed a bit - as was mentioned on this thread earlier: It's been divided in 2 with a group of kangaroos in the left hand side - I presume they are kangaroo island kangaroos, but I didn't take too much notice of them.
I had a chat to a keeper and confirmed that all of the deer are European Fallow Deer. The darker coloured ones are the ones from Hunter Valley Zoo. The lighter coloured ones are the original ones from Mogo. What was really interesting though, is that the original Mogo deer (the lighter coloured ones) all go down the front and let the people feed them - whereas the newer darker coloured ones stay towards the back of the enclosure. They haven't quite got the routine down yet.... A few of the lighter ones socialise with them but there is a bit of a way to go when it comes to this...
There are now 10 giraffe and around 10 zebra. I've recently realised that I really like watching ungulates when they are in large herds - whereas I find them quite boring when there are only one of two of them in an enclosure. This is something I really like about Mogo and always have: They only have 4 enclosures for ungulates, but they display them well: "Less is more".... Both the giraffe and zebra had babies amongst their herds. In with the zebra (as also mentioned here) were 2 camels and a number of ostriches. The camels and ostriches were being fed by the public while the zebras ignored this. We were in the crossfire as a camel spat at some people - but fortunately it didn't really get us.... The final ungulate enclosure has the 2 white rhinos (only one at a time though). It was looking very green after all the rain.
Strangely the enclosure opposite the rhinos - which used to hold lions was empty with no sign of anything in it. My two cents: This enclosure would be absolutely perfect for African Wild Dogs - I'd love it if Mogo got some and used this enclosure for them. It fits in with the African theme in that part of the zoo and the enclosure can be viewed from all sides. I didn't ask anyone about it though so I have no idea what they have in store for that. Gorillas are now using both enclosures. I had a chat to another keeper and was told that both orangutans are still at the zoo but not on display. Apparently they don't really like the public so they probably won't go back on display either. Unfortunate but it's in the best interests of them.
The primate islands are basically the same as before (with siamangs, cotton top tamarins, ring-tailed lemurs and ruffed lemurs). The keeper who told me about the orangutans also told me that both of the white handed gibbons are still alive and well at the zoo, but are not on display. Instead they are in retirement behind the scenes. There was food out on their former island but I didn't see any animal on it. I think the keeper said something about one of the silvery gibbons being there but I may remember that wrongly. I certainly didn't see one.
Wild birdlife:
One of the highlights for us this time was that we got so many photos of wild satin bowerbirds in the zoo! We spent a lot of time taking photos of a male, female and chicks down near the primate islands. We also saw a lot of fairy wrens (particularly near the cheetahs) and were able to get good photos of both males and females - not an easy thing to do!
New ownership and its effects:
This is the first time we have been to Mogo since it was sold to new owners, so of course when any business changes hands a few things will change. One thing I find really interesting in this regard is that Mogo is now one of many businesses owned by a listed company called Elanor Investments Group (ASX code: ENN) - meaning that you can buy shares in the zoo (as part of a larger group of businesses). I don't know of any other zoo that has shareholders and I'm curious as to how this may affect future decisions made by the zoo. Obviously any company with shareholders is accountable to their shareholders and will be trying to make money - so it will be interesting to see how this affects Mogo. Camels have been brought in for example - is it something to do with this? Who knows...
One thing I noticed though was that when you leave the zoo now, the driveway takes you through the overnight safari camp area - so of course when anyone leaves they think to themselves "Oh that looks nice, next time we come we should do the overnight safari" etc - so obviously that's a good business decision that will presumably make the zoo more money over time. It definitely made me think more about that option. Another thing I noticed was that the tshirts are cheaper now - and nicer in my opinion!
Another thing worth discussion: should shareholders get a discount on entry prices and memberships? Food for thought...
I don't own shares in ENN and I never have. Maybe one day I will though - it would be kind of cool walking into a zoo and thinking "Hey, I'm a part owner in this place - albeit a very, very, very small part owner". As a zoo fan, it would also be rather cool knowing you had a zoo as part of your share portfolio.... Not sure if anyone else on here thinks like this, but it has certainly crossed my mind!
Other odds and ends:
I really love the new zoo map - not sure why, but it's just fun and nice looking. I also like the fact that when you buy the membership you can choose whether you get Mogo and Featherdale or Mogo and Hunter Valley. I found that really nice that you get the choice.
All in all I really loved our three days at Mogo last week. The zoo seems to have recovered well after the fires and seems to be making some nice changes. Of course I'd love to see them get African Wild Dogs in that big enclosure near the rhinos, but I'm sure they have plans of some sort or another. It's still one of my favourite zoos (definitely my favourite private zoo in Australia) - I think it just has a really nice energy about it which is hard to put into words. It is set in a really nice area with a lot of forest around it and I think this really makes the place what it is. I also find it a nice zoo for people who are only partly interested in zoos. As my partner said to me, at Mogo you seem to interact with the animals a lot more because most of them are closer to you. It's a good point and it's good to hear the view of someone who isn't a zoo nerd but who does love going to zoos. And lastly, when you go next, make sure to get a New York Cheesecake! Best food in any Australian zoo! We can't wait to get back there!
We also went to National Zoo in Canberra before heading to Bateman's Bay - so I will do a report on that when I have time in the next few days.
We were up in Bateman's Bay for 5 nights, so we decided to buy memberships for Mogo - partly because we (my partner and I) like visiting the zoo and taking photographs, but also because we like the food at the cafe there. It also helps the zoo.
Anyway, we went three days in a row. On the first day we spent the entire day there, and on the other two days we went in for lunch and then stayed for a few hours in the afternoon before getting coffee and cheesecake to go...
We hadn't been to Mogo for over 2 years and we were quite keen to see how the zoo (and the region in general) were recovering from the 2019-2020 bushfires. The zoo looks good now but of course there are a few changes:
The Cafe:
The food in the cafe is as good as ever. The chicken schnitty burger (Natalie's favourite) and the beef burger (my favourite) are still there and still good. The coffee is still really good and they now have New York Cheesecakes - which are delicious. And all this while you sit and watch the silvery gibbon family. Glad we decided to buy memberships and eat there each day. The tiny little window enclosures that once housed reptiles now house various native Australian mice - I can't recall which species. They were quite active though.
The upper section of the zoo:
Whoever is making the sandwiches and doing the dishes can do so while watching the capuchin monkeys as they do so - a nice touch for anyone working in the kitchen there. Next door to the capuchins are emperor tamarins. Nothing much has changed with the lions and tigers but next to the tigers, the francois langurs are surprisingly no longer there - instead there are ring-tailed lemurs. I'm surprised the langurs are gone as this zoo specialises in primates. The big exciting development there though are that the binturong enclosures are now linked with a walkway across the path. The gate between them was locked but both binturong were actively seeking the attention of one another - in fact I've never seen binturong so active in any zoo ever before. I don't know if they are a male and female, but if so, maybe they are hoping to breed them and maybe they are into each other... Watch this space! There was a 1 metre wide area fenced off around the red panda enclosure too - because it is breeding season. So they are obviously hoping to breed them. The servals were also surprisingly active on the days we were there - which was a nice surprise too.
The middle section of the zoo:
Heading down the hill from the cafe, the elderly snow leopard is still there posing for photos. I will miss it when it's gone. Meerkats and otters are same as before. There are now 2 enclosures with leopard tortoise - one which originally had fennec foxes - I can't recall if this was the case 2 years ago or whether that has changed in the past 2 years though. The squirrel monkeys, pygmy marmosets, cotton top tamarins, golden lion tamarins and emperor tamarins are all still in the same glass fronted enclosures as you go down the hill. To the left though are 3 cheetahs - over 2 enclosures. Not sure when gender they are or if they are looking to breed them.
The bottom, larger section of the zoo:
The large lion enclosure has one male and two females. No big change there. However the deer enclosure has been changed a bit - as was mentioned on this thread earlier: It's been divided in 2 with a group of kangaroos in the left hand side - I presume they are kangaroo island kangaroos, but I didn't take too much notice of them.
I had a chat to a keeper and confirmed that all of the deer are European Fallow Deer. The darker coloured ones are the ones from Hunter Valley Zoo. The lighter coloured ones are the original ones from Mogo. What was really interesting though, is that the original Mogo deer (the lighter coloured ones) all go down the front and let the people feed them - whereas the newer darker coloured ones stay towards the back of the enclosure. They haven't quite got the routine down yet.... A few of the lighter ones socialise with them but there is a bit of a way to go when it comes to this...
There are now 10 giraffe and around 10 zebra. I've recently realised that I really like watching ungulates when they are in large herds - whereas I find them quite boring when there are only one of two of them in an enclosure. This is something I really like about Mogo and always have: They only have 4 enclosures for ungulates, but they display them well: "Less is more".... Both the giraffe and zebra had babies amongst their herds. In with the zebra (as also mentioned here) were 2 camels and a number of ostriches. The camels and ostriches were being fed by the public while the zebras ignored this. We were in the crossfire as a camel spat at some people - but fortunately it didn't really get us.... The final ungulate enclosure has the 2 white rhinos (only one at a time though). It was looking very green after all the rain.
Strangely the enclosure opposite the rhinos - which used to hold lions was empty with no sign of anything in it. My two cents: This enclosure would be absolutely perfect for African Wild Dogs - I'd love it if Mogo got some and used this enclosure for them. It fits in with the African theme in that part of the zoo and the enclosure can be viewed from all sides. I didn't ask anyone about it though so I have no idea what they have in store for that. Gorillas are now using both enclosures. I had a chat to another keeper and was told that both orangutans are still at the zoo but not on display. Apparently they don't really like the public so they probably won't go back on display either. Unfortunate but it's in the best interests of them.
The primate islands are basically the same as before (with siamangs, cotton top tamarins, ring-tailed lemurs and ruffed lemurs). The keeper who told me about the orangutans also told me that both of the white handed gibbons are still alive and well at the zoo, but are not on display. Instead they are in retirement behind the scenes. There was food out on their former island but I didn't see any animal on it. I think the keeper said something about one of the silvery gibbons being there but I may remember that wrongly. I certainly didn't see one.
Wild birdlife:
One of the highlights for us this time was that we got so many photos of wild satin bowerbirds in the zoo! We spent a lot of time taking photos of a male, female and chicks down near the primate islands. We also saw a lot of fairy wrens (particularly near the cheetahs) and were able to get good photos of both males and females - not an easy thing to do!
New ownership and its effects:
This is the first time we have been to Mogo since it was sold to new owners, so of course when any business changes hands a few things will change. One thing I find really interesting in this regard is that Mogo is now one of many businesses owned by a listed company called Elanor Investments Group (ASX code: ENN) - meaning that you can buy shares in the zoo (as part of a larger group of businesses). I don't know of any other zoo that has shareholders and I'm curious as to how this may affect future decisions made by the zoo. Obviously any company with shareholders is accountable to their shareholders and will be trying to make money - so it will be interesting to see how this affects Mogo. Camels have been brought in for example - is it something to do with this? Who knows...
One thing I noticed though was that when you leave the zoo now, the driveway takes you through the overnight safari camp area - so of course when anyone leaves they think to themselves "Oh that looks nice, next time we come we should do the overnight safari" etc - so obviously that's a good business decision that will presumably make the zoo more money over time. It definitely made me think more about that option. Another thing I noticed was that the tshirts are cheaper now - and nicer in my opinion!
Another thing worth discussion: should shareholders get a discount on entry prices and memberships? Food for thought...
I don't own shares in ENN and I never have. Maybe one day I will though - it would be kind of cool walking into a zoo and thinking "Hey, I'm a part owner in this place - albeit a very, very, very small part owner". As a zoo fan, it would also be rather cool knowing you had a zoo as part of your share portfolio.... Not sure if anyone else on here thinks like this, but it has certainly crossed my mind!
Other odds and ends:
I really love the new zoo map - not sure why, but it's just fun and nice looking. I also like the fact that when you buy the membership you can choose whether you get Mogo and Featherdale or Mogo and Hunter Valley. I found that really nice that you get the choice.
All in all I really loved our three days at Mogo last week. The zoo seems to have recovered well after the fires and seems to be making some nice changes. Of course I'd love to see them get African Wild Dogs in that big enclosure near the rhinos, but I'm sure they have plans of some sort or another. It's still one of my favourite zoos (definitely my favourite private zoo in Australia) - I think it just has a really nice energy about it which is hard to put into words. It is set in a really nice area with a lot of forest around it and I think this really makes the place what it is. I also find it a nice zoo for people who are only partly interested in zoos. As my partner said to me, at Mogo you seem to interact with the animals a lot more because most of them are closer to you. It's a good point and it's good to hear the view of someone who isn't a zoo nerd but who does love going to zoos. And lastly, when you go next, make sure to get a New York Cheesecake! Best food in any Australian zoo! We can't wait to get back there!
We also went to National Zoo in Canberra before heading to Bateman's Bay - so I will do a report on that when I have time in the next few days.
Were they in two different groups or was it just the whole group that had access to both enclosures?
I'm not sure because the indoor area (night quarters?) is between the two enclosures. So I have no idea if they had access to one or both. The silverback was in the right hand one with at least one of the females, whereas there was another gorilla (not sure the gender) in the left hand side enclosure alone. On the third day I didn't see any in the left hand enclosure but at least 2 were in the right hand one.
That’s interesting. I heard a while back that G-Anne was being kept seperate as she wasn’t acclimating well with the new silverback, Kisane. I wasn’t sure if this has changed but with your information above it appears it hasn’t.
Thanks for the comprehensive review @Grant Rhino. It was really interesting to read.
I’m glad you got to see the elderly female Snow leopard. Mogo Zoo have held this species for three decades, but apparently have no plans to continue with them. My guess is they’ll exhibit Sri Lankan leopard in their place.
@Riley spoke to a keeper and was told the reason G-Anne was separated was due to a medical issue that required treatment. I too assumed her inadequate social background was to blame for her not integrating with the silverback, but apparently they got on well as a troop prior to her separation.
I don’t forsee any reason they shouldn’t be able to be reintroduced. The only thing that could complicate this is if an infant is conceived, but with only Kriba off contraception, there’s no fear of that.
Not sure if there are breeding plans for the Mogo gorilla troupe. Have not heard anything EEP-wise to that effect. The move of male Nasibu from Rotterdam to New Zealand is definitely off now also.
The snow leopard alas seem on phase out. I guess @Zoofan15 is right that a change for Sri Lankan leopard is most likely. I would personally favour snow leopards to be a New Zealand/Tasmania speciality and Sri Lankan leopards more at tune with the Australian continental climate (save perhaps for the SE corner of the country).
Last I heard the plan was for Kisane to breed with Kriba (1979), so that Kipenzi (2011) could observe her mother raising an infant prior to giving birth herself. This seems completely illogical given Kriba’s age.
The eldest gorilla dam in the region was Frala, who gave birth at 38 years in 2019 - but she was still actively cycling and had last given birth four years prior in 2015.
Especially now at 11, I’d consider Kipenzi past the critical learning period for observing maternal care. It’d be nice if she’d had the opportunity; but she didn’t, so the only way forward is to allow her to breed and hope for the best imo. Plenty of females in her situation have succeeded.
This seems likely - especially since there are some younger Sri Lankan leopards in Canberra.
My only apprehension though is that the enclosure seems a bit small for a young leopard. It was probably all right for an elderly big cat but I feel it's a bit small for a younger one in this day and age. The enclosure is back to back with the serval enclosure, so they could knock down the wall dividing the two enclosures to make one larger enclosure - which would be a better size. That would mean moving the servals to another enclosure though, so I'm not sure how practical that is... Perhaps they could extend the snow leopard / future leopard enclosure in the other direction where there is some more space. In any case it will be interesting to see what happens with this...
It sounds like the best of course of action would be to remove the dividing wall (once the Snow leopard has passed) and renovate it to become a decent sized Serval exhibit.
Darling Downs Zoo have a great Sri Lankan leopard exhibit - simple, yet effective. Mogo Zoo could easily follow suit and construct one to accomodate this species. It’d be nice to see the efforts in starting this breeding programme by DDZ and Canberra supported by other facilities.
I think there is some quality assurance baseline criteria for Sri Lankan leopards that would deal with enclosure specs et cetera.
A Red Panda has been born at Mogo Wildlife Park to their newly formed pair; a male from Taronga and a female from Perth: Log into Facebook | Facebook
I got an email notification about a new post in this thread but it doesn't seem to be here now. There was also something about being blocked from the thread - no idea why. Can an Admin please look into this? Thanks.
There have been three posts between your previous post and this one, if that helps.
A single lion cub has been born to parents, Baako and Chitwah. Sex is yet to be determined.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CczrZOfAK5n/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CczrZOfAK5n/
I always think way too much importance is given to the 'observing mother-raising/tuition thing. I know many females who have reared their first baby with no prior examples from other gorillas. Some of them were handraised and/or socially deprived too. If they have good maternal instinct it just comes naturally.
Australasian zoos have held gorillas from an extensive variety of backgrounds ranging from hand raised to peer raised to mother raised (or even a combination of two or more of these). Several females have struggled with infants (especially at the neonate stage), but not one of those females was 100% mother raised by a socially competent mother like Kipenzi was.
Her matrilineal line contains several exceptional mothers, including her own, and I have full confidence she will take well to motherhood.
There is a lot of variation. In the UK, at London Zoo in the 1980's both Salome and Zaire reared their first offspring well- yet both had been handraised and then kept only with similar age conspecifics- though Salome may have learnt by example from Zaire who gave birth first. At Howletts the very first baby(1975) was born to the youngest female -Juju, who herself arrived as a small infant and had never seen mother-rearing since, but nevertheless raised him well. The other three older females all gave birth later during the same year, but they did not imitate Juju's model example however, and their first babies were all handraised initially- they did finally all get the hang of it with subsequent babies. One of them, Mouila, was never a very attentive mother though,(very casual) and nor was her own daughter. Those two continued to have some of their babies removed I think.
But Bristol's Romina was another remarkable example. The only offspring of her mother, she was partially handraised, then lived many years with just a single male at Rome Zoo. She reared her only baby Namoki, perfectly though, despite never having seen or had contact with any baby gorilla at any time.
Last edited: