Monarto Safari Park Monarto Safari Park News 2024

[Zoofan15]

I kind of understand the reasoning of wanting African Elephants in Wild Africa, why else name the 4 areas after the national parks most famous for elephants? Amboseli and Chobe especially.
Search up any 4 of these parks and one species will be depicted more than any other. It's like calling an exhibit Kakadu without a Croc or Virunga without a Gorilla. Imo Monarto should not consider African Elephants (if so at a minimum of 25 years down the track). As it would place too much pressure on an already busy and cash-strapped zoo.

In the meantime, some young Asian bulls (offspring of Pak Boon and Putra Mas) could potentially be dispersed throughout Wild Africa as a stand-in for Africans.

Good point. Irregardless of whether Monarto get African elephants, it’s certainly clear the Asian elephants are ambassadors for their African counterparts.

Prior to the announcement Monarto would be acquiring females (and hopefully establishing a matriarchal herd), I had wondered if they’d be a bachelor holding facility. Surplus bulls held on site may be less genetically valuable bulls from within the region as Putra Mas’ son/sons with Pak Boon (unless they have three sons or something) would be in higher demand for breeding themselves - within the region or overseas.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

I do think that a lot of younger [or more recent] posters are not aware of, or have forgotten about, the original White Rhino project. That was for a huge reserve in western Queensland and is when the figure of 80 animals first saw the light of day. It would have been ahead of it's time for Australia in so many ways but the zoo world and, later, the real estate salesman scuttled it.

Interestingly, and quite beside the point, the zoo world's Species Coordinator at the time is now an active anti-zoo campaigner! A long memory can be a curse sometimes.

Given that at least 10 years have passed since the project was first promoted as a rescue operation of white rhino from South Africa where do we stand now?

LINK:
About Ray — Rhino Ray
Australian Rhino Project — Rhino Ray
Australian Rhino Project moving rhinoceros from Africa to protect against poaching - The Australian Rhino Project

The initial plan was for 80 rhinos to be relocated from South Africa to Australia. That vision has since severely watered down and most certainly when ZAA (ARAZPA) came on board. The handling of IRA and other veterinary, CITES and other regulations for import by ZAA have not helped either with expeditious management of the project.

Whereas Ray Dearlove's initiative has been most commendable when he reached out to the ARAZPA/ZAA community to help with importing the rhino to Australia and/or New Zealand that is when the real trouble started. Honestly, for the love of good conservation works had it been a real dire situation for white rhino under threat chances would have been they would be dead and buried by now. Aside, South Africa has a flourishing wildlife trading market and by the current soundings I cannot help but think that "20 rhino" - the number one of our Aussie friends had cited - is a figure that quite corresponds to a regular South African rhino auction operation.

Well BTW: A good number of the rhinos under threat were privately owned by John Hume estate (with close on 2,000+ rhinos on all of his various properties) that had been plagued with insolvency brought on primarily by Government inaction to adequately deal with wildlife conservation challenges in the country and the spiralling poaching issue of rhino and elephant and where the entire ex situ assurance population has all been sold off into the African Parks Foundation (whom actually will redistribute the rhinos over other countries in southern Africa and beyond to restore extinct northern white rhino in north central eastern African nations. At least some organisation did a good job.

The reality on the ground has been that South Africa has witnessen a spiralling out of control rhino poaching crisis that the Ministry of Environment and the South African conservation authorities have failed to stem nor adequately have dealt with. Nay that reduction and the poaching continues unabatted ... the numbers only reducing since it is becoming harder to locate white or black rhinos in Kruger NP, Hluhluwe GR and other protected areas or privately owned fenced reserves with resident rhino groups. Corruption, collusion, mismanagement and incompetence all the way to the top of the Ministry have all been cited as issues that Government administration has chosen to ignore.

 

[Luke899]

The initial plan was for 80 rhinos to be relocated from South Africa to Australia.

Well, technically that'll be a true statement. We already have around 50 rhinos total in the region, import 35 and bam. A total population of 85. If we get them breeding, bam. Total population of over 100.

Its not that bad imo. Both myself and @Zoofan15 agree that importing 80 rhino was very, very ambitious from the start. We should be grateful we're getting some to help diversify the gene pool.

If we imported 80 rhinos that would bring us up to 130 adult animals total when they all arrive. So if we do a theoretical conservative breeding estimate:

Consider 1/3 of Australia's rhino cow population is fertile (since many have already had calves), and consider 2/3 of the import cows are fertile. Thats around roughly 40 to 50 fertile cows out of 130 animals.

Times that by perhaps, 3 calves per cow, and you've got a conservative estimate of 135 calves over the next decade or so.

Not all may survive, but that will bring the population up to around 220-230 rhino, Now of course I haven't factored in many variables that could affect this estimate. But that would be a rough figure of what we could have been holding in the region. Not sustainable for our current facilities. We would have to expand Monarto, TWPZ, Werribee, hope that orana could take some more. Very expensive. Or pray that another zoo overseas would take our surplus rhino.

35 is fine bro, lets just hope it doesn't get any smaller

 

[Zoofan15]

Well, technically that'll be a true statement. We already have around 50 rhinos total in the region, import 35 and bam. A total population of 85. If we get them breeding, bam. Total population of over 100.

Its not that bad imo. Both myself and @Zoofan15 agree that importing 80 rhino was very, very ambitious from the start. We should be grateful we're getting some to help diversify the gene pool.

If we imported 80 rhinos that would bring us up to 130 adult animals total when they all arrive. So if we do a theoretical conservative breeding estimate:

Consider 1/3 of Australia's rhino cow population is fertile (since many have already had calves), and consider 2/3 of the import cows are fertile. Thats around roughly 40 to 50 fertile cows out of 130 animals.

Times that by perhaps, 3 calves per cow, and you've got a conservative estimate of 135 calves over the next decade or so.

Not all may survive, but that will bring the population up to around 220-230 rhino, Now of course I haven't factored in many variables that could affect this estimate. But that would be a rough figure of what we could have been holding in the region. Not sustainable for our current facilities. We would have to expand Monarto, TWPZ, Werribee, hope that orana could take some more. Very expensive. Or pray that another zoo overseas would take our surplus rhino.

35 is fine bro, lets just hope it doesn't get any smaller

I would just add that conversations around the original import of 80 rhinos were with regards to managing them in a less intensive setting than the current plan to manage them across ZAA zoos.

There’s countless pros and cons, but my expectation of a ZAA managed programme would be a focus on genetic diversity over numbers, which may or may not have been the intention of the original import.

With this in mind, it would appear 35 rhinoceros (imported in three batches of 15, 10 and 10) will more than suffice the needs of the region’s zoos to sustain a genetically diverse population for decades to come. Inevitably some rhinos will breed better than others and some bloodlines will soon become well represented (as with the Kruger imports before them); but the fact remains 25 years after the Kruger imports, the region would greatly benefit from some fresh genetics.

 

[Luke899]

Unrelated, but I believe Jane Goodall will be visiting Adelaide zoo and Monarto next week as she makes her way around australia and new zealand (excludes brisbane apparently). Visiting all the major zoos. What a legend, how lovely!

 

[Zoofan15]

Unrelated, but I believe Jane Goodall will be visiting Adelaide zoo and Monarto next week as she makes her way around australia and new zealand (excludes brisbane apparently). Visiting all the major zoos. What a legend, how lovely!

Her dedication to her research is extraordinary and it’s great to see she continues to take an active role, no doubt inspiring everyone she meets.

They’ll be no chimpanzee infants for her to name this time around though. We unfortunately haven’t had any surviving births this year, with the last surviving infants in the region being Lemba and Cekiri at Taronga Zoo (born May 2023 and July 2023 respectively).

 

[That Aussie Guy]

Unrelated, but I believe Jane Goodall will be visiting Adelaide zoo and Monarto next week as she makes her way around australia and new zealand (excludes brisbane apparently). Visiting all the major zoos. What a legend, how lovely!

How exciting! I'm going to her "Reasons for Hope" tour tonight, and I must say, I'm rather looking forward to it

 

[Zoofan15]

How exciting! I'm going to her "Reasons for Hope" tour tonight, and I must say, I'm rather looking forward to it

That’s exciting. I understand there’s often an opportunity to ask questions at her talks. If you (or anyone gets chance): and no worries if you don’t as you no doubt have your own questions, I’d love to know who are her favourite individuals in Taronga’s chimpanzee community. Jane Goodall is very familiar with the community and was previously quite fond of the now deceased Lulu and Spitter I believe. I’d love to know who her current favourites are.

 

[Luke899]

Does Australia have any south african Oryx? sorry for bumping the thread but this magnificent animal has just come to my attention and idk what thread is appropriate to talk about it in.

Love the Oryx

 

[Osedax]

Does Australia have any south african Oryx? sorry for bumping the thread but this magnificent animal has just come to my attention and idk what thread is appropriate to talk about it in.

Love the Oryx

No. Scimitars are the only oryx we've got.

 

[Luke899]

No. Scimitars are the only oryx we've got.

They're the extinct in the wild ones aren't they

 

[Tiger91]

Does Australia have any south african Oryx? sorry for bumping the thread but this magnificent animal has just come to my attention and idk what thread is appropriate to talk about it in.

Love the Oryx

We had them at one point, if any from pearl coast zoo managed to make it to Mary river/tipperary stations. There may still be some there, since no one actually really knows what's left there. Sadly apart from that no one else holds them, it would be good to see monarto invest in them.

 

[Zoofan15]

Does Australia have any south african Oryx? sorry for bumping the thread but this magnificent animal has just come to my attention and idk what thread is appropriate to talk about it in.

Love the Oryx

No. Scimitars are the only oryx we've got.

We had them at one point, if any from pearl coast zoo managed to make it to Mary river/tipperary stations. There may still be some there, since no one actually really knows what's left there. Sadly apart from that no one else holds them, it would be good to see monarto invest in them.

According to the Exotic Mammals thread, there are no more Gemsbok in Australia. A total of 1.5 Gemsbok was imported from Marwell Zoo in 1987-1988, which went on to Tipperary and then Mary River Station in 2004.

They're the extinct in the wild ones aren't they

They were! It’s been recently announced the Scimitar-horned oryx has been downlisted to Endangered following reintroductions over several years. There’s a great article about it here:

Scimitar-horned Oryx: A Story of Global Conservation Success

 

[Tiger91]

According to the Exotic Mammals thread, there are no more Gemsbok in Australia. A total of 1.5 Gemsbok was imported from Marwell Zoo in 1987-1988, which went on to Tipperary and then Mary River Station in 2004.

While id think there are any we also can't 100% rule out that they could still be there at tipperary. A non itemised list of up to 300 animals were sent and released and left to breed at Mary river station. It's also quite possible that they did die out. It's interesting to think that there could be undisclosed exotics left up there.

Isn't that where monarto got its last import of scimitar oryx from, the large heard they released into the first phase of there new African area?.

 

[Zoofan15]

While id think there are any we also can't 100% rule out that they could still be there at tipperary. A non itemised list of up to 300 animals were sent and released and left to breed at Mary river station. It's also quite possible that they did die out. It's interesting to think that there could be undisclosed exotics left up there.

Isn't that where monarto got its last import of scimitar oryx from, the large heard they released into the first phase of there new African area?.

I can’t find any reference to Pearl Coast breeding Gemsbok. That’s not to say with certainty they didn’t; but had the sole male they imported died early on, it’s possible only females went on to Tipperary and then Mary River. The species can live up to 20-22 years in captivity, so it’s a possibility some of the original females were still alive in 2004.

Monarto have indeed received Scimitar-horned oryx from Mary River Station and are confident of their purebred status. This suggests the Scimitar-horned oryx and Gemsbok herds were never mixed/hybridised at any point.

Mary River Station reportedly hold Scimitar-horned oryx, Addax, Indian antelope and Banteng.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

Has anyone ever visited Mary River Station and seen the collection in recent times?

(I find it both odd and shocking that the ZAA nor Govt. or Federal States administrations really do not have a clue about Tipperary and Mary River Station ....!???

Where did Australian zoos orginally acquired their scimitar-horned oryx from overseas, including Tipperary and Mary River Station????

 

[Zoofan15]

Has anyone ever visited Mary River Station and seen the collection in recent times?

(I find it both odd and shocking that the ZAA nor Govt. or Federal States administrations really do not have a clue about Tipperary and Mary River Station ....!???

Where did Australian zoos orginally acquired their scimitar-horned oryx from overseas, including Tipperary and Mary River Station????

There was unreported breeding at Tipperary, which led to inconsistencies with known data. For example, Tipperary received 2.2 Common hippopotamus in the 1980’s, so when 1.2 were transferred to Cairns Wildlife Safari, it was revealed at least two births had taken place in that timeframe. Only one of the original adults (a female named Solucky) was alive and the other 1.1 were her offspring (born in 2002 and 2004).

Australian zoos have imported Scimitar-horned oryx from overseas, including Orana Wildlife Park and Marwell.

 

[Tiger91]

I can’t find any reference to Pearl Coast breeding Gemsbok. That’s not to say with certainty they didn’t; but had the sole male they imported died early on, it’s possible only females went on to Tipperary and then Mary River. The species can live up to 20-22 years in captivity, so it’s a possibility some of the original females were still alive in 2004.

Monarto have indeed received Scimitar-horned oryx from Mary River Station and are confident of their purebred status. This suggests the Scimitar-horned oryx and Gemsbok herds were never mixed/hybridised at any point.

Mary River Station reportedly hold Scimitar-horned oryx, Addax, Indian antelope and Banteng.

I wonder if they are even able to hybridise. I never thought about that lol.
Im not saying there still there but we dont fully know what's up at Mary river. 99.99% chance there gone 0.01% their could still be the odd one up there. It's an interesting thought that we have these highly endangered animals just walking around a station in the top end. I mean there was pygmy hippo there living its best life no one knew about.

 

[Jambo]

Monarto will soon receive Adelaide's young bull giraffe, Matumi, who's returning after he initially had to be separated from mum at birth. He'll join their bachelor herd.

Big news for Adelaide Zoo’s littlest giraffe on World Giraffe Day - Adelaide Zoo

 

[Luke899]

Sneak peak of the progress of the new elephant enclosure