Rockhampton Zoo Rockhampton Zoo News

zooboy28

zooboy28

Well-Known Member
Rockhampton Zoo was also hit by Tropical Cyclone Marcia, and suffered damage and one animal death - a Blue & Yellow Macaw. They remain closed until further notice.

More information and photos on the Zoo's Facebook page:
Hello FB friends. For those of you affected by Tropical Cyclone Marcia, we here at the zoo wish you a speedy and full recovery.
The zoo has sustained some damage and our staff are working very hard to ensure all the animals are well taken care of during this time while also putting in a huge effort towards cleaning up.
Just a reminder that the Botanic Gardens and the Rockhampton Zoo are closed for the immediate short-term. We will keep you informed of when we will be re-opening.
While we have been very fortunate with regard to the animals, we have not gone completely unscathed. Sadly, Jimmy, our gorgeous male blue and gold macaw died during the cyclone. Many of you will have enjoyed a good chat with Jimmy on your visits here and we know he is going to be missed greatly. His mate, Jeannie, escaped during the cyclone but was spotted by our bird specialist in the Botanic Gardens the next day. As testament to the rapport that our bird specialist has with our birds, she was able to call Jeannie down and she is now safe, back in the zoo and doing very well. Our veterinary team have visited the zoo and given all the animals a good check-up. We currently have one wombat receiving veterinary care. The rest of the animals are doing very well.
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The Rockhampton Zoo has three chimpanzee, a male: Cassie and two females: Holly and Samantha. Does anyone know the DOB for any of these animals?

Do any of them have relatives in Australia/New Zealand?
 
Zoofan15 said:
The Rockhampton Zoo has three chimpanzee, a male: Cassie and two females: Holly and Samantha. Does anyone know the DOB for any of these animals?

Do any of them have relatives in Australia/New Zealand?
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Not sure of exact DOBs, but someone on here probably will. Roughly, Holly was 23 in 2012 and Samantha was 29, so should be 25-26 and 31-32 now, while Cassius was 40 (42-43 now).
 
the male descends from Taronga stock (he came to Rockhampton from Natureland in Queensland with his now-deceased brother). One of the females (Sam) came from Willowbank (in NZ) and her mother was bred at Taronga. The other female is ex-Bullens and is (probably) not related to Taronga stock.
 
Thank you for your replies zooboy28 and Chilidonias, that's interesting to know. I'm guessing it's unlikely Cassie will ever breed with the two females. It's a shame they can't be utilised in the breeding programme, especially if Holly is unprepresented in the region.

Does anybody know the name of Sam's mother (from Taronga) and if she or Cassie still have surviving reletives there?
 
Snippet from Rockhampton Zoo's Facebook page about the effects of Marcia on their wombats:

Alan, one of our southern hairy-nosed wombats was injured the day of cyclone Marcia. A tree fell in his enclosure, taking out the fence between his enclosure and the wombat group next door, resulting in a fight between Alan and Bruce, the neighbouring male. Alan, being older and smaller than Bruce, came off worse in the fight. Alan sustained some wounds and then developed pneumonia. This lead to a 24 day stint at the vet surgery followed by a further 33 days in quarantine back at the zoo. This week we are thrilled to report that Alan is back to full health and back with his girls, Esme and Emma. It has been a long road for Alan, so it is really exciting for our staff to see him doing so well and back with his girls. We would also like to say a big thankyou to the staff at Alma Street Vets that took such excellent care of Alan during his stay, even taking him out for walks.
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Rockhampton Zoo will undergo a major redevelopment, including an interesting concept for a reptile house (see pic in article):

PHOTO GALLERY: Team McMillan's plans to revamp Rocky zoo | CQ News

HATCHING a redevelopment design years ago, councillor candidate Drew Wickerson is finally ready to put his plans into action.

The division 6 candidate and team McMillan member says redeveloping the Rockhampton Zoo has always been a passion and dream of his ever since he worked at the Botanic Gardens.

Today Mr Wickerson was at last able to reveal the Rockhampton Zoo redevelopment master plans.

Plans for the zoo

Local wildlife carer's station
Volunteer resource centre and training facility
Zoo will be transformed from the traditional 'Noah's Ark' model with mating pairs of each species
Open range exhibits to have 'invisible fences' concealed beneath raised boardwalks
Underwater viewing window to see crocodiles
Walk through a gigantic snake structure for reptile exhibits

He said the zoo was already a great facility and a fantastic attraction but Team McMillan wanted to add more elements.

"I think the Rockhampton Zoo can be so much more than what it is," he said.

The plans which include the establishment of a local wildlife carer's station and new exhibits have been announced however the costing has not.

The candidate said the price tag at this stage was unknown as they had only established a concept plan.

"Before we went ahead with more detailed plans I think we need to do a lot more talking with the actual stakeholders of it," he said.

Mr Wickerson explained the redevelopment would somewhat rely on corporate sponsorship.

"Well certainly the council would have to be a player in it because it is our facility but we think we would attract generous funding from other corporations to be on board."

"I think if you offer up a really exciting innovative design that larger corporations and some of the bigger players can actually contribute to that and take ownership of that particular exhibit so it could be the 'x y x reptile enclosure' or another name brand."

With an upgrade on the agenda the question of an entry fee to the local zoo has been brought up as well.

"I don't think it's unrealistic to think there should be a cost involved in it as in like Australia Zoo has a cost to come in," Mr Wickerson said.

"However I think the local ratepayers of the Rockhampton Region have already paid their contribution through the rates."

The team McMillan candidate said the redevelopment was definitely a priority for the region but they had to first focus on the local economy.

"It is a priority because I think the welfare of animals should be everyone's priority however we've got to first focus on getting the economy of the region back up so we can afford all of these great things."

"At the moment we do have other priorities to get our economy back on track again and then that will fund great projects like what we have planned for the Rockhampton Zoo and it will take a number of years to do but it's the first step along a long journey."
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From Rockhampton Zoos Facebook page. Great news.
"We have a baby! We are delighted to announced the safe arrival of our first ever baby chimpanzee. Born yesterday to mum, Leakey and dad, Alon, both mum and baby are doing well. Staff have been closely monitoring a pregnant Leakey for the past few months. Leakey is a first time mum so this journey is just beginning and we are doing all we can to ensure Leakey and the rest of the chimps adjust to the new addition. To give the new mum time to settle the chimp enclosure will be closed to the public until we are certain Leakey is ready. We thank you for your understanding".
Rockhampton Zoo
 
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