Swanson02
Well-Known Member
Six Bison has to be some sort of record wow!!!
on that how many holders of Bison do we have in the region?
Monarto Safari Park Monarto Safari Park News 2024
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Six Bison has to be some sort of record wow!!!
on that how many holders of Bison do we have in the region?
It certainly seems to be! It's great to hear Monarto having such success with this species; six breeding females is quite exciting.
Currently there holders are Altina, Halls Gap, Hunter Valley, Mansfield, Monarto, Werribee and Wings Wildlife Park. There are also some in private hands.
Monarto and Altina seem to be the regions frequent breeders nowadays.
This move has been long overdue. Sentwali's sire may already be represented in the cow bloodlines, his dam is the only one with representation from cow Dongajumu.
TBH: I would like to see an unrelated bull southern black rhino be introduced from the US (the have an over-supply of males in the North American population!
Further: Whatever happened to the planned import of new unrelated southern black rhinos from Eswatini and/or South Africa?
I would further add .... that it is high time the monopoly on Southern Black Rhino at TWPZ in Dubbo needs to be broken and Monarto Safari deserves at least a small breeding group as well.
Once more, high time for new bloodlines from US zoos (the easiest part would be getting in new unrelated males) and the Eswatini/South Africa imports of new southern black rhinos for both institutions.
Once more, high time for new bloodlines from US zoos (the easiest part would be getting in new unrelated males) and the Eswatini/South Africa imports of new southern black rhinos for both institutions.
There appears to be some reluctance among the some of the major zoos to import much of anything,Importation seems to be almost a last resort option. At this stage most of the imported species appear to be by the smaller regional zoos
Luke899
Well-Known Member
Oh awesome, would love to have a bigger bison herd
I fully agree these black rhinoceros imports are well overdue. Unfortunately the decision to inbreed in recent years implies no intention to import in the next five years; if we consider that breeding at any level is desirable at least every 5-10 years to ensure the cows remain reproductively viable (with birth intervals of more than 10 years running significant risk of the cow becoming sterile).
Both zoos we would hope would be planning imports of black rhinoceros (Dubbo and Monarto) have other major projects in the works. To name a few, both are planning to import Southern white rhinoceros via the Australian Rhino Project and while Monarto are building an elephant complex; Dubbo have renewal projects within their elephant complex (a new cow barn etc) in the works. Presumably all of the above has been earmarked a greater priority and ultimately their respective budgets (especially Zoos SA which has to fundraise on a larger scale) will dictate how much they can do.
It seems like Dubbo got off to a great start with a number of founders to the black rhinoceros population (some of which are significantly better represented in the current population than others). It would be great to have seen this momentum sustained.
Import of southern black rhino ex the US population which do have a big surplus of bulls is no rocket science! The fact that it aint happening ATM in Australia is not exactly sustainable management of a breeding population. The import of unrelated individuals and not just bulls is imperative for the long term health of the population and not in 5-10 years ... It got to be NOW!!!
Correct,It appears management struggle with the concept of importation with a number of species
One could say that the TWPZ/TZ monopoly extends beyond the Southern Black Rhino to include other species like the Indian Rhino,Onager, Francois Langur and more!
Truth be told though, they only have a monopoly due to a lack of majour zoos importing the species.
Monarto had plans to import black rhino. They have since invested in other projects which will set them up in the future going forward.
I have no doubt they maintain the monopoly for pure business reasons, especially now Sydney zoo is what it is. And many people will visit there over taronga.
Asian elephant Burma’s export is scheduled for November 12:
Official announcement by Auckland Zoo:
Update: We can now confirm that Burma is scheduled to depart Auckland Zoo on Tuesday 12 November.
As this will be a complex undertaking and we are aiming to minimise disruption to ensure things go smoothly for Burma, there may be limited access for visitors to Burma’s habitat and the surrounding area on the day.
So, if you’re planning to visit her, you’ll need to do so before then. We’ll be making a further announcement on Wednesday 13 November once Burma has arrived safely, so watch this space.
Official announcement by Auckland Zoo:
Update: We can now confirm that Burma is scheduled to depart Auckland Zoo on Tuesday 12 November.
As this will be a complex undertaking and we are aiming to minimise disruption to ensure things go smoothly for Burma, there may be limited access for visitors to Burma’s habitat and the surrounding area on the day.
So, if you’re planning to visit her, you’ll need to do so before then. We’ll be making a further announcement on Wednesday 13 November once Burma has arrived safely, so watch this space.
Swanson02
Well-Known Member
Fantastic news
Very excited, I wonder if she'll still be visible from the bus tour whilst in quarantine
I'd like to know how completed Monarto's exhibit/enclosure is, hopefully they aren't cutting any corners
Coincidentally, it’ll be almost 33 years to the day that Monarto’s first elephant arrived. Samorn (1950) transferred in from Adelaide Zoo on November 17, 1991 and died October 10, 1994. It’s therefore been 20 years since Monarto last had an elephant on site. A much welcome and long overdue return!
The exhibit/barn looked a way off from the photos shared a month ago. It would arguably be less disruptive to have delayed Burma’s import until a month before the Australian elephants arrive in May 2025; but it’s worth noting that the complex will initially manage the cows separately (until introduced); and Putra Mas separately from the moment he arrives (bar breeding introductions). Therefore it’s not essential the complex be 100% complete by next week, only the area Burma will be using. The rest of the complex can continue construction over the coming months until the others arrive.
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
I am pretty sure the year was 2004 20 years ago - it has been 30 years since they last had an elephant.
Nonetheless, this is indeed a very long overdue return.
I’m sure it won’t come to that
I imagine the barn and an adjoining yard are being prioritised to accomodate Burma during the quarantine period, with access to the paddocks opening up over the coming months. Auckland Zoo’s exhibit was world class when it opened in 1990, but with a capacity of just three cows, it’s dwarfed by Monarto’s complex.I am pretty sure the year was 2004 20 years ago - it has been 30 years since they last had an elephant.
Yep, that was a typo. Good spotting.
It is indeed great to see elephants returning to Monarto; and of course, last year’s acquisition of Common hippopotamus. I continue to be impressed by Monarto’s progress.
From the looks of recent photos from news outlets it does look like the barn and adjoining yard are/were very close to completion so I'd posit your right. Considering she'll also be undergoing a month of quarantine, this set up would also be perfect for this in the meantime before the paddocks can be completed.I’m sure it won’t come to that
There likely won’t be much to see from a public perspective.
Once Burma is on display (which could be as early as next month), I know we’d all appreciate seeing photos of her and the process on the elephant complex. It doesn’t appear the complex is anywhere near being fully complete, so there’ll be lots going over the coming months, leading up to the arrival of the other elephants starting from May 2025:
0.1 Burma (1982) - November 2024
1.0 Putra Mas (1989) - May 2025
0.1 Permai (1989) - May 2025
0.1 Pak Boon (1992) - Mid 2025
0.1 Tang Mo (1999) - Mid 2025
Presumably the first step in the introductions will be to introduce Burma and Permai (before Pak Boon and Tang Mo are transferred over); which aligns with the above dates and makes sense from a social perspective given both cows are amenable and will (hopefully) prove a relatively straightforward introduction. Of course there are no guarantees. Then when the pair from Taronga arrive, Burma and Permai will at least be familiar with each other when meeting their younger herd mates, who I anticipate will quickly become the dominant force within the herd.