Sydney Zoo Sydney Zoo News 2022

steveroberts said:
@Zoofan15

Agree completely (really good development trajectory outlining).

Am wondering where exactly they intended to accommodate for their desired Gorillas and River Hippos'? (not saying was impossible, actually just curious).
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Common hippopotamus were initially supposed to go on the current site of the Dromedary camel exhibit. Initially the hippos were canned in favour of Capybara and Bison exhibits as per this 2018 map:

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I don’t believe the space is adequate for a species as large as Common hippopotamus in this day and age, but it would be nice to see them source Pygmy hippopotamus as a replacement for the camel in the future. They wouldn’t have had the option to source them when the zoo was first built.
 

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@Zoofan15

Thanks for the details and also sharing the map. Do have to say there is some stuff about Syd' Zoo that am really impressed by (feel like should balance the plate a bit after my nitpicking earlier). Yeah I think you're totes' right about spatial issues for a species as big as Common Hippos'. That exhibit allocation space would of applied in the 1990s..but as captive animal husbandry practices gets more humane (irony of using the expression 'humane' not lost on me lol) as time flows on it would increasingly become an issue as being the most recently constructed Common Hippo' exhibit in Australia..but somehow the smallest still when compared to WP/Dubbo and Werribee (even Mareeba/Shambala had a decent sized lake for their Hippos').

Agree with you that their best way forward would be to try source how to acquire Pygmy Hippos' somehow.
 
steveroberts said:
@Zoofan15

Thanks for the details and also sharing the map. Do have to say there is some stuff about Syd' Zoo that am really impressed by (feel like should balance the plate a bit after my nitpicking earlier). Yeah I think you're totes' right about spatial issues for a species as big as Common Hippos'. That exhibit allocation space would of applied in the 1990s..but as captive animal husbandry practices gets more humane (irony of using the expression 'humane' not lost on me lol) as time flows on it would increasingly become an issue as being the most recently constructed Common Hippo' exhibit in Australia..but somehow the smallest still when compared to WP/Dubbo and Werribee (even Mareeba/Shambala had a decent sized lake for their Hippos').

Agree with you that their best way forward would be to try source how to acquire Pygmy Hippos' somehow.
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There’s nothing wrong with thinking critically. Sydney Zoo has done well, but as with any facility, there’s always room for improvement and I hope to see them continue to develop over time.

The city zoos have now all phased Common hippopotamus out after decades of housing the speices. Elephants are following bar Sydney Zoo - who will soon have the only elephants in Sydney.
 
Gorillas were actually intended for Sydney but Chimps ended up being imported in their place. I imagine the fact that there just wasn’t the gorillas to import was behind the reason they ended up with chimps instead. Sydney could hold a bachelor group; which would benefit the region, but atm there’s no males that need to be in a bachelor group within the region.
 
Jambo said:
Gorillas were actually intended for Sydney but Chimps ended up being imported in their place. I imagine the fact that there just wasn’t the gorillas to import was behind the reason they ended up with chimps instead. Sydney could hold a bachelor group; which would benefit the region, but atm there’s no males that need to be in a bachelor group within the region.
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It was widely speculated they’d be receiving Orana Wildlife Park’s bachelor males. This would have also allowed Orana to import a breeding troop. Unfortunately it wasn’t viable for Orana to import the gorillas from overseas, which surely influenced their decision to retain the bachelor males.

I’m glad Sydney were able to import the chimpanzees at least, though I had hoped they’d breed them.
 
steveroberts said:
Just like the kids running to the tree Christmas morning | By Sydney Zoo | Facebook
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It’s interesting seeing the difference in colour of the manes in the three brothers. The male in the centre (by the tree) has a fuller and darker colour mane than his two brothers, which have lighter manes.

Dark manes are associated with higher levels of testosterone (and dominance), so I would assume he’s the alpha male of this pride. Males with darker manes are also the most attractive to lionesses.
 
Sydney Zoo Bangel Tigers:

Charlie (Male)
Mika (female)
Sunita (female)
Aged 15 years old
Parents Lari (male) and Louise (Female)
Sydney Zoo Post:
Introducing our NEW arrivals, Bengal tiger siblings Charlie, Mika and Sunita!
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The renowned apex predators were carefully transported in custom-built crates and join us after traveling 1,000km from Queensland
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