Australia Zoo Rhinos to australia Zoo

[MARK]

I read in an Australian magazine that Brisbane (and the SE corner of Queensland) was arguably the fastest growing area in the country. I think that the death of Steve Irwin will be more than offset by the Madagascan Island, African Savannah, hotel, railway, etc exhibits...and that Australia Zoo has a massive amount of bottled-up potential. The amount of land that they have at their disposal is enormous, and so expanding the collection will definitely occur within a few years.

Snowleopard, If you go to the Australia zoos website and look at the, zoo news Archives "October 2007 zoo-ming to expansion" should give you some of the infomation you have been asking about .

Also on their website they state they want to build the worlds largest Gorilla exhibit.

 

[CZJimmy]

I think it's interesting to note, that Bindi is gradually becoming more and more famous. Possibly taking on her father's role as ambassador and icon?

(I may be wrong, but judging by appearances and the website...)

Some very interesting plans lined up for the future as well.
A 2 acre lemur exhibit!! That's nearly as big as Chester's elephant paddock...

 

[MARK]

I think it's interesting to note, that Bindi is gradually becoming more and more famous. Possibly taking on her father's role as ambassador and icon?

(I may be wrong, but judging by appearances and the website...)

Some very interesting plans lined up for the future as well.
A 2 acre lemur exhibit!! That's nearly as big as Chester's elephant paddock...

Jimmy you are quite right in what you say, they do have some interesting plans, In regards to the Lemur exhibit it should be a big success, at least they have lots of room

 

[snowleopard]

@Mark: thanks once again for the information, and I tracked down the gorilla data on the website. A month or so ago there were some sceptical members of ZooBeat questioning the possibility of gorillas being added to the collection, but Australia Zoo clearly wishes to add them at some point down the road.

How often do you visit Australia Zoo? Are you within an hour or so of the park?

 

[MARK]

Snowleopard, I have not been there for quite some time as I have been snowed under with to many other things, I will go again as soon as the Lemur Island is open. It would take me almost two hours to reach there.

 

[jay]

I too am waiting for some new exhibits to open before I visit again.

 

[Nigel]

but im not about to go all the way up there to see a reptile collection about the size of that of the Gosford Reptile Park, and a few exotics.

quote from Glyn


fair call . NSW has Eric Worrall , whom I respect very much . And easier to take than Steve Irwin . But as QLD doesnt really have a zoo like the other cities ( or towns , in the case of Mogo ) the fact that there are now a steady trickle of exotics arriving at Australia Zoo , and the fact that it is being expanded/upgraded is great news for our QLD folk .
Give it another 10 years and it might start living up to its name as AUSTRALIA zoo ( it sort of gives the idea as if it is the premier zoo in Aust )

But you folk in NSW and VIC have good zoos in your states , with NZ and other states not far behind -- in fact , I will put Auckland Zoo up in the top 5 zoos of the region

 

[MARK]

You would think so Pat, It will be interesting to see where they go with this, they can really offer a new herd a huge land area if they want and even the presant area for the three old girls is claimed to be the largest in Oz.

 

[snowleopard]

The Australia Zoo elephant enclosure appears to be a little barren, but at least it offers an enormous amount of space. Do they have 3 Asian elephants, and if I remember correctly are all 3 rather old? If the zoo were to import some new, young blood then that would not only be yet another boost to tourism, but it would also allow Australia to have a decent variety of elephants between Brisbane and Melbourne.

Also, what is the deal with Bob Irwin being "forced out" of the zoo he helped conceive? Anyone know anything that isn't in the tabloids?

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

The Australia Zoo elephant enclosure appears to be a little barren, but at least it offers an enormous amount of space. Do they have 3 Asian elephants, and if I remember correctly are all 3 rather old? If the zoo were to import some new, young blood then that would not only be yet another boost to tourism, but it would also allow Australia to have a decent variety of elephants between Brisbane and Melbourne.

The suggestion to build up a herd with the elderly females already at Australia Zoo makes no sense. These are old individuals and require a different tack from elephant care staff than new + young boisterous and highly socialised elephants they would envisage to import. It would simply mean having to separate herds for 2 totally different sets of management criteria.

People who are inclined to believe this to be so, simply underestimate the nature of integrating elephant members without any family attachments to oneanother. Besides ... integrating new individuals into an established herd is no mean task either. Most elderly elephants in zoos were kept alone or in unsuitable conditions when younger (and thus are sometimes less social than one might think them to be) and this will also have affected the elderly females at Australia Zoo. A very unwise decision ............. to go through with

 

[Pertinax]

Also, what is the deal with Bob Irwin being "forced out" of the zoo he helped conceive? Anyone know anything that isn't in the tabloids?

Who is he? Father, brother or another relative?

 

[CZJimmy]

He is Steve Irwin's father and if the rumours are true, then I was right with my earlier statement about Bindi becoming a 'star'...

 

[patrick]

The suggestion to build up a herd with the elderly females already at Australia Zoo makes no sense......................
.........Most elderly elephants in zoos were kept alone or in unsuitable conditions when younger (and thus are sometimes less social than one might think them to be) and this will also have affected the elderly females at Australia Zoo. A very unwise decision ............. to go through with

geeze that was a bit abrupt jelle! it also seems a little unprompted, since nobody mentioned "elephant integration"....

anyhow, id'e just like to say that i know of soooooo many examples to the contrary. and i think its (forgive me) rather naive, attitudes like this that sees elephants kept in solitary environments.

heres some hitch-free introductions, that have happened in australia just recently involving the sort of elephants your talking about...

mek kapah, melbourne zoo. lived with only one bull for almost 30 years. integrated successfully with 3 young elephants within just over 24hrs. she is now the protective matriarch of the group and behaves very much like an elephant matriarch should.

gigi, ashtons circus. lost both companions within a very short period of time. integrated with arna, who was living solitary at stardust circus for years.

these two elephants were in turn introduced to burma, dubbo zoo, just recently. so far as i can tell all's so good so far.

often circus elephants are actually quite used to change and meeting other (circus) elephants. i have little doubt that they can often be integrated with other elephants like any other animal.

 

[zooworker]

Little dissapointed by certain comments

Can i just say having come on to this web site i'm a little shocked i guess you could say at the main points of discussion on these forums. That being zoo's animal collections and the priorities of zoo's. I have seen many comments in respect to certain parks and how they don't deserve certain status or are second level zoo's as they do not contain large collections of the typical megafauna, i think that if zoo's have a hope of surviving into the future i think we need to all understand that there are reasons certain species are priorities in a region and so must be focused on, this is not because our region are tight ass's it's because they understand what a zoo's role should be, places of education and of CONSERVATION not of drawing crowds or becoming a major attraction in an area. Having worked in the zoo industry in australia for half a decade now i admire our region for doing what it does and not becoming the typical "megazoo" area. I also think that attitudes towards the zoo's that aren't listed is quite disgusting, the damn zoo in mareeba hasn't had an easy time, and i admire the current owner for stepping in and doing what she's done, it's not that easy to get a zoo on it's feet after going through what that place has gone through. But saying that it would have been so much better to have the animals in regionally listed zoo is i think a very snobbish way of looking at the zoo system. And people who make such comments obviously have lost the whole point of zoo's being in place. I hope i have not offended anyone but people need to think before they walk around "knowing" everything about zoo's.

 

[Ara]

Welcome to the forum, zooworker.

No, you don't offend me and I'm sure you don't offend most people on this site. (We've been offending each other for years!) Your views are quite valid.

I hope I don't offend you, however, when I point out that there are three legitimate functions of a zoo, not just two.

These are Conservation, Education and RECREATION ( that is, the provision of a recreation facility, somewhere that ordinary people can go to actually see animals "in the flesh", not just in books and on T.V.) As far as I am concerned that is just as important a function as conservation and education. I'm aware that many people wouldn't agree with that, but I would regard them as being idealistic rather than realistic.

In the U.S.A. for instance more people go to zoos each year than attend all the football and baseball games put together. They go, basically, for recreation. In doing so they are contributing financially. If they learn something along the way, so much the better.

Some zoo keepers are so unrealistic that they would prefer that the public were kept out of zoos altogether. They are kidding themselves!

 

[patrick]

Can i just say having come on to this web site i'm a little shocked i guess you could say at the main points of discussion on these forums....

zooworker - firstly, i'm struggling to make clear sense of your post. i'de be interested to hear your point of view so please look are rewording it a bit more cohesively.

secondly, i dare say it seems you have your head in the clouds. i'm not sure what zoo you work for, but most of the big government funded zoos have or still do have CEO's that very much have an obsession with being not only "a major attraction in the area" but in fact "the biggest attraction in the area".
i agree very much that zoos should either manage a population sustainably or give up on that species. i'd have to wholeheartedly disagree with you that zoos are all about education and conservation. they should be, they are supposed to be, i want them to be, but they are not.

and i'm more than happy to point out a actions taken on the various zoos part, that illustrates this.

 

[Steve Robinson]

Welcome to the forum, zooworker.



I hope I don't offend you, however, when I point out that there are three legitimate functions of a zoo, not just two.

These are Conservation, Education and RECREATION ( that is, the provision of a recreation facility, somewhere that ordinary people can go to actually see animals "in the flesh", not just in books and on T.V.) As far as I am concerned that is just as important a function as conservation and education. I'm aware that many people wouldn't agree with that, but I would regard them as being idealistic rather than realistic.

I strongly agree Ara that RECREATION is an important reason for a zoo's existence - and people subliminally can be educated while enjoying their recreation.

I'd also like to offer another word - PRESERVATION. As we at DDZ struggle with the mountain of paperwork involved in our ARAZPA application we are continually having doubts as to the true worth of our zoo to conservation. We have no wish to return endangered species of animals to the wild, given that the conditions that caused them to become endangered in the first place still exist. We don't see that our little zoo will ever be able to raise enough funds for any worthwhile in-situ programs. We are never going to be a huge urban zoo with tens of thousands of people participating in our education programs. What CAN we do?

PRESERVATION seems to us to be the reason for our existence. We can be a repository for species that have no hope of ever being returned to the wild - house and display bachelor groups etc, individuals surplus to breeding programs for whatever reason, take part in breeding programs that are within our means - all that sort of thing.

 

[patrick]

ahhh... the big discussion again "what is the function of a zoo?"

i see it like this. its okay for zoos to be concerned with RECREATION on account of the fact that if the zoo isn't fun, nobody is going to go and thus there goes the EDUCATION part. they also can play an important role in PRESERVATION like you said, which is essentially they they are a "living bank" or the worlds species. big zoos in particular also i feel have a responsibility to support CONSERVATION initiatives and to me, this is even more important that EDUCATION. this is because education comes in two categories: EDUCATION about wildlife and EDUCATION about conservation of wildlife. the latter is really only worthwhile if it sparks action, and for majority of exotic animals in the zoo, their conservation is not relevant to us. the animals live on the other side of the world. if zoos told us relevant information, like don't buy indonesian timber, maybe we could expect the australian public to make a contribution. but sadly, zoos usually play switzerland on political issues, and thus the message is usually dumbed down along the lines of "these animals are endangered due to poaching and deforestation" which means nothing. if you don't believe me, ask yourself why, after decades of hearing "poaching" and "deforestation" more species are endangered due to this than ever before. no, zoos are not too effective at EDUCATION about conservation. so in my mind its important that they better contribute by simply supporting CONSERVATION. by raising funds for NGO's conservation projects zoos can make a contribution to the conservation of the large range of exotic species they hold. zoos talk conservation so much that unless they actively support it, they are only lulling people into a false sense of security. thus, i think its important for those large zoos to be upfront and honest about their activities and what they support and in what way.

of course there is also always the PRESERVATION argument.

PRESERVATION in captivity isn't enough if we can't try to do the same for those animals in the wild. however, captive PRESERVATION of a species is important for a few reasons. firstly, its an insurance population if need be called apon for later reintroduction or genetic invigoration of the wild population. that in itself is a contribution to CONSERVATION, however not the most important aspect. secondly, its important for zoos simply to be self-sufficient with maintaining stocks otherwise they need to take animals from the wild and they become part of the very problem. in order to continue to lure visitors that can contribute to CONSERVATION they need their animals as attractions.

its not enough for zoos to be just about RECREATION anymore. they have to be about practical CONSERVATION to justify holding all those animals. they know this already. but captive breeding programs are not going to save the worlds wild places, just the animals that live in them.

so essentially, i feel that if zoos are going to keep a species they have a responsibility to help that species. that can be in either the support of its CONSERVATION in the wild and or its PRESERVATION in captivity. but what i see as irresponsible is keeping an endangered species and neither contributing to its survival in captivity or the wild.

steve, if darling downs zoo actively participates in regional programs, even as a holding institution, then it is effectively playing a role in the captive PRESERVATION element in some species CONSERVATION. like you said. it
also indirectly supports practical CONSERVATION at the bigger by freeing up money, if that larger zoo has balanced priorities.

so thats a good thing. the important part is your supporting zoos that support real CONSERVATION. and in time, hopefully you might be able to take on a more active role in raising CONSERVATION funds in your community.

oh you know what? now iv'e gone confused myself. just don't breed hybrid tigers and harp on about preserving rare cats and your probably doing okay!!!

 

[Ara]

Steve, unlike most of us on this forum, you're a realist.(I guess you have to be!)
I imagine the "red tape" involved is a real pain.

I see your point,too, about the impracticality of returning animals to the wild when "the wild" is still shrinking. Things are sure going to have to turn around a lot. I wonder if they ever will?

The true value of a zoo like yours (Darling Downs) is that it does provide a home for "bachelor" and other surplus but still precious animals, as well as making possible that all-important connection with animals that people seem to need.

(Do you need to be in ARAZPA to receive such animals, or would you be "cut loose" without ARAZPA membership?)

 

[Zoo_Boy]

now to steer this thread totally abck in the direction it's meant to be in, the transaction of subject has taken place, with the first rhino born in south australia havinf a tree change to the glass house mountains.

Adelaide and Monarto Zoos

he is en-route to werribee, to be meet by to otehr rhino, to then be flown to brisbane- no trucks for terri's rhino- the best all the way.