Perth Zoo Perth Zoo News 2020

Perth Zoo is preparing to release ten zoo-bred Numbats into Dryandra Woodland.

Article: Zoo Born Numbats Ready for Wild Release
Ten endangered Numbats born at Perth Zoo were fitted with radio collars today in preparation for their release into the wild.

The juvenile Numbats will be released into Dryandra Woodland, a nature reserve two hours from Perth. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) managed site includes a 1000-hectare predator proof fenced area containing an insurance population of Numbats and other endangered species.

Perth Zookeeper, Karen Cavanough, said: “The release of the Numbats to the wild is the culmination of a lot of hard work, but it is our ultimate goal.”

“We are the only zoo in the world which breeds numbats, so it is an incredibly important breeding program and work we are very proud of.”

The Numbat breeding program was established at Perth Zoo in 1987, with zoologists studying and perfecting the species’ reproductive performance and management over the next five years. The first successful breeding was in 1992. Since then, in collaboration with DBCA scientists, more than 268 individuals have been released to the wild which has re-established four populations of Numbats within their former range.

Today the 10 Numbats at the Zoo were fitted with radio collars by DBCA Research Associate Dr Tony Friend.

“The Peel-Harvey Catchment Council provided the funding for the radio collars which allows us to keep track of the progress of the released Numbats,” Dr Friend said.

“Field staff have been able to follow survival and breeding activity, and many of the Numbats released in previous years have gone on to have offspring, so we hope this year’s recruits have the same success.”

The Numbat is Western Australia’s fauna emblem and is listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Approximately 1000 Numbats remain in the wild.

They are one of six native species bred or reared at the Zoo as part of collaborative efforts within DBCA to help save wildlife.
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The rescued Northern Rockhopper Penguin is now moving to a zoo in Singapore (Jurong Bird Park). It's a shame such a unique bird cannot be absorbed into one of the Australian collections but it's good he will be with his own kind.
Perth Zoo is saying Bon Voyage to ‘Pierre’ the Northern Rockhopper Penguin who is moving to Singapore to be with penguins of his own type.

Pierre made news headlines earlier in the year due to him facetiming with other Rockhopper Penguins whilst being treated at Perth Zoo’s wildlife hospital.

Being the only Rockhopper Penguin in Australia, the novel enrichment activity ensured that Pierre could still see and hear other penguins. This resonated with people all over the world who were separated from friends and families or in isolation due to the global health crisis.

Perth Zoo is saying Bon Voyage to ‘Pierre’ the Northern Rockhopper Penguin who is moving to Singapore to be with penguins of his own type.

Pierre made news headlines earlier in the year due to him facetiming with other Rockhopper Penguins whilst being treated at Perth Zoo’s wildlife hospital.

Being the only Rockhopper Penguin in Australia, the novel enrichment activity ensured that Pierre could still see and hear other penguins. This resonated with people all over the world who were separated from friends and families or in isolation due to the global health crisis.

Senior Veterinarian, Alisa Wallace, said: “Pierre came into our care due to issues with his feathers not moulting properly.”

“It is what we call ‘arrested moult’ and means the penguin is not waterproof and unable to swim and fish for themselves.”

“We’ve been fattening him up and giving him all the nutrients and care he needs promote feather growth; however, it is an issue that can take multiple moults and some years to rectify.”

“Knowing that Pierre would need extra TLC for some time, our aim has always been to get him fit enough to be able to travel to another conservation zoo which has Rockhoppers so he could be with other penguins.”

“His welfare is our priority, Pierre is very social, and we know he will thrive being amongst other penguins,” said Alisa.

Pierre will leave Western Australian this week and move to Jurong Bird Park in Singapore which is home to a Rockhopper Penguin colony.

“Their ‘Penguin Coast’ is home to various species of penguin. They are experts at caring for these beautiful marine birds and we have no doubt this is the perfect long-term home for Pierre.”

“He has been such a charismatic patient to have the honour of treating, and will be missed, but we know this is the best outcome for Pierre,” said Alisa.

Northern Rockhopper penguins are endangered. The global population is thought to be less than 240,300 breeding pairs and has declined by 60% in the past four decades. Approximately 85 percent of the species’ population is found in the South Atlantic Ocean and breeds at the Tristan da Cunha archipelago.
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Hi everyone,
I recently visited Perth Zoo for the first time and quite enjoyed it. The definite highlight was the nocturnal house. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me about the slow loris. I had no idea the zoo had one and was quite surprised and excited when I came across its enclosure. Do you know if there are any others in captivity in Australia?
 
Tapir12 said:
Hi everyone,
I recently visited Perth Zoo for the first time and quite enjoyed it. The definite highlight was the nocturnal house. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me about the slow loris. I had no idea the zoo had one and was quite surprised and excited when I came across its enclosure. Do you know if there are any others in captivity in Australia?
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Perth Zoo only has one male and he is the only one of his kind in the Australasian region. He was imported along with a female (who is now deceased) from Singapore Zoo in 2018 after being taken into care. Here is more about them when they arrived: Slow Lorises at Perth Zoo
 
Melbourne has also kept Slow lorises on/off again. I think most individuals have been rescued from smuggled in the country. Would be nice for the region to show some actual interest in a nocturnal prosimian. Good PR value given the pet trade angle.
 
tetrapod said:
Melbourne has also kept Slow lorises on/off again. I think most individuals have been rescued from smuggled in the country. Would be nice for the region to show some actual interest in a nocturnal prosimian. Good PR value given the pet trade angle.
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Not with the current trend to downsize collections! ;)
 
Zorro said:
Not with the current trend to downsize collections! ;)
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Well I agree it isn't likely. However several zoos have noc houses so they need to fill them with something! Slow lorises don't take up that much space, aren't difficult to look after and as I mentioned have good PR value. Adelaide have got/getting galagos so it's not impossible, but I suspect there is no will. Need one of the private zoos to get on board.
 
tetrapod said:
Well I agree it isn't likely. However several zoos have noc houses so they need to fill them with something! Slow lorises don't take up that much space, aren't difficult to look after and as I mentioned have good PR value. Adelaide have got/getting galagos so it's not impossible, but I suspect there is no will. Need one of the private zoos to get on board.
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I agree with you 100%. But as been mentioned by another member the other week as Melbourne has phased out species that space is replaced with more of the same species of animals they are already showing.
As for the smaller private zoos they are already punching up and above their weight class, One can only expect the smaller zoos to do so much on a much smaller budget than the state run government zoos.
 
Zorro said:
I agree with you 100%. But as been mentioned by another member the other week as Melbourne has phased out species that space is replaced with more of the same species of animals they are already showing.
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Here's the thing about zoo phase-outs in Australia: The ZAA members flip flopping on commitments actually goes both ways. They phase out, only to bring them or a very similar species back. The truth is the zoos are absolutely atrocious at managing species and for all we know might actually be doing more harm than good half the time by "dead-ending" genetic lineages.

So don't be surprised if you see loris come and go.

BTW, Melbournes two slow loris where two different species (though at the time classified as subspecies) one was a Bengal (mainland) loris, the other a Sunda. Neither where ever on display (much to my disappointment) instead used for school groups I believe.
 
toothlessjaws said:
I probably should have written:

The STATE FUNDED zoos are are absolutely atrocious at managing NON-PROGRAM species.
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Probably. I think you are talking about personality issues as much as anything, ie there is a new Board/Director/Curator who has a different vision to the last Board/Director/Curator. Then there is the issue that one or two animals does not a program make. Animals may be brought in with the hope that others will take them up, and when nobody does are allowed to die out. I have to say though, that it rarely matters from a genetics/conservation point of view. I do understand it is disappointing from the point of view of the zoo goer interested in seeing a large and diverse collection.
 
MRJ said:
Probably. I think you are talking about personality issues as much as anything, ie there is a new Board/Director/Curator who has a different vision to the last Board/Director/Curator.
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I have to say the greatest issue this causes is the start-stop mentality on what species are in versus what are out. It’d be nice to see some zoos commit to certain species long term with they enthusiasm with which they acquired them; by showing the initiative to replenish the population with new imports as and when they’re required.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I have to say the greatest issue this causes is the start-stop mentality on what species are in versus what are out. It’d be nice to see some zoos commit to certain species long term with they enthusiasm with which they acquired them; by showing the initiative to replenish the population with new imports as and when they’re required.
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I agree they should be better committed to certain species than they are thats been one of the problems plaguing the zoos in our region. To many stop starts with too many species sounds like bad management and theres a whole list of species that would fit into this category!
 
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MRJ said:
Probably. I think you are talking about personality issues as much as anything, ie there is a new Board/Director/Curator who has a different vision to the last Board/Director/Curator. Then there is the issue that one or two animals does not a program make. Animals may be brought in with the hope that others will take them up, and when nobody does are allowed to die out. I have to say though, that it rarely matters from a genetics/conservation point of view. I do understand it is disappointing from the point of view of the zoo goer interested in seeing a large and diverse collection.
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@MRJ, I would look forward to that.

In the past though, I can think of a few examples where decisions to cut off a program seemed rather haphazard and what other Australian ZC-ers have described rings true. Most of these species did have a more robust presence in Australian zoos and with determination both from center and ZAA participating zoos f.i. Malayan tapir, sun bear, pygmy hippo and bongo might have fared differently.

I think that as a priority ZAA should build better relations with the authorities on importation procedures and that these do not take as long as we have seen with some species. If the bureaucracy takes hold what ensues is a lack of impetus and stagnancy in development of a program to a good level.

Further, I do feel the ZAA needs to focus more clearly on some overseas regions over others and the closeness of both S.E. Asia and the already existing links with Southern Africa could and should be strengthened and this will benefit the Australian zoo collections as well as ex situ conservation breeding coupled with in situ conservation programs.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I have to say the greatest issue this causes is the start-stop mentality on what species are in versus what are out. It’d be nice to see some zoos commit to certain species long term with they enthusiasm with which they acquired them; by showing the initiative to replenish the population with new imports as and when they’re required.
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At the end of the day like any government type job people get paid whether they have more or less attractions for the zoo visitors to see and whether its well run or not. But for any private zoo who has to rely on visitor income is a different story and will strive harder to please the public.
 
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