I agree bongo would have been a good choice for NZ zoos they are attractive and make a good display species
Sydney Zoo Sydney Zoo News 2022
- Thread starter Patrick Keegan
- Start date
It’d be nice to educate guests that African species don’t end with the Savannah.
They could create a Congo sub-precinct at several of the zoos - either linking to gorillas or chimpanzees (depending on what the zoo has); or by importing a small monkey species such as the colobus, which would benefit from more regional holders.
Considering how available they are from overseas collections I am surprised they have not seized on the opportunity to include them they are colourful large and an endangered species its a win win for them
@Zoofan15 @Zorro Agree with you completely (love how you put it too about educating visitors that theres many more environments to Africa than it's Savannahs).
Unfortunately Sydney Zoo has reach the max' limits of its site unless it purchases space from the adjacent public parkland off the government. Unless the two male Asian Elephants went to Dubbo or Beerwah or Werribee when their 50 acre exhibit is complete that area could be used as a Congo Rainforest area.
Unfortunately Sydney Zoo has reach the max' limits of its site unless it purchases space from the adjacent public parkland off the government. Unless the two male Asian Elephants went to Dubbo or Beerwah or Werribee when their 50 acre exhibit is complete that area could be used as a Congo Rainforest area.
Sydney Zoo exceeded my expectations by breaking ground on a project that sounded like Planet Zoo come to life until it actually happened; but has since disappointed on a few species - namely gorillas and hippos.
Like you say, a lot of it comes down to space; so I hope down the line they’re able to expand and acquire more species. Hippos were gonna be a struggle from the start due to lack of availability but hopefully that will change. It’d be exciting to see hippos return to Sydney for the first time in 30 years!
It’s equally baffling that when they undertook the import of a female from Singapore in 2013, more weren’t included in the import. The amount of work would have been minimal and potentially given the region the boost it needed.
The imported female has failed to breed to date and therefore the import has been inconsequential to the regional population.
I believe its a management failure considering how much new bloodlines are needed just another half hearted attempt to hold the species in the region
I think Sydney have mostly met expectations. I wasn't sure how a city zoo could be built from scratch and hold some of the most popular and well known species, yet Sydney has extraordinarily found a way to do this.
Sydney Zoo is only 40 acres in total, a little smaller than Melbourne Zoo. For a zoo that wants to obtain more species into the future, especially large ones; i'd love to see an expansion. There's the space if required.
Honestly, considering Taronga already has elephants, i'd like to see Sydney Zoo maybe get into Hippos instead into the future. This gives them another drawcard against Taronga; the only other main ones being baboons and orangutans.
Sydney Zoo have certainly addressed where Taronga is failing (megafauna). Their comparative lack of Australian native animals is no doubt welcomed by their domestic visitors, who otherwise see them at every point and turn; while additional points of difference included hyena, wild dog and a shark tank.
I think Sydney Zoo will begin to come into its own as it gets breeding recommendations. As a new zoo, they’re bottom of the list for several species with baboons being one of the few species to date to breed. I’m looking forward to some action in the chimpanzee exhibit. They’ve previously stated they’re open to breeding and have a troop of founders (albeit with largely unknown genealogy).
Melbourne’s paper thin commitment to the species was disappointing given there was no reason a breeding pair there couldn’t have been successful as they have been in Sydney.
They would have been a nice compliment to Melbourne’s Congo collection, which also includes Western lowland gorilla, Pygmy hippopotamus and Black-and-white colobus.
Yes I agree they through in the towel rather quickly on that one
Melbourne Zoo have phased out many species, though their reasoning is usually based around a species not being enabling, endangered or the focus of a conservation campaign. Bongo tick at least the first two boxes.
Mandrill, while not endangered, were another strange phase out. They were hugely popular with the public.
They would, but there wasn't any exhibit space for the Bongo in the 'Congo precinct'. The space from the previous Bongo enclosure was used to extend the Giraffe and Zebra habitat, which Melbourne viewed as necessary just in case either species had to be separated.
The mandrill phase out was very unexpected. They were quite a popular species. It's likely that no support from other zoos in the region, and the dwindling population of individuals within the region both contributed to Melbourne's decision.
@Zoofan15 @Zorro @Jambo @Patrick Keegan
Completely agree that it was frustrating to see both Bongos and Mandrills given up on by Melbourne Zoo when both are very admired when seen by the visiting public (and us ZooChatters alike) it's been frustrating to see Mandrills dwindle over the last few decades, though only learning about their decline by being a ZooChatter, having known in the late 90s and 00s that Melbourne and Adelaide were the remaining holders of them with the last individuals kept at Sydney and Perth dying in the 1990s, had really hoped that while some zoos in our region would remain keeping their Hamadryas Baboons some other zoos might opt for keeping Mandrills instead (or both in some cases like Melbourne and possibly Adelaide??) and as the number of zoos we have in the region means hypothetically both species could be kept in decent breeding program numbers if new individuals were sourced from overseas. Same with Bongos (and other species of course) but yeah was disappointing to hear that space could not be found for Bongos to be kept in Melbourne's Congo Rainforest precinct (would have been interesting if perhaps the Pygmy Hippos and Bongos could have shared an exhibit though not sure how realistic this could have been). If I remember correctly weren't the zoo's Mandrills kept in an exhibit in that precinct over the last few decades?
Would be awesome to see the private zoos in the region gain some interest in Bongos which would hopefully reinforce Taronga's hopefully continued commitment to them. Would be awesome to Sydney Zoo import individuals (agree about the zoo being impressive how it opened as a full zoo to the public albeit without the River Hippos and Lowland Gorillas it had said it wanted). Having had a look at the map of the zoo, had wondered if perhaps the area where the Dromedary Camels and Capybaras are (and the second Meerkat troop) might be better suited for using those areas for these other potential species we've talked about, though no diss on Camels and Capybaras do like them both, but could see them equally well off at another zoo like say Shoalhaven and the space at Sydney Zoo used to create exhibits for importing Bongo, Mandrills and someday soon hopefully River Hippos and WL Gorillas (and possibly reconsider relinquishing holding the two young male Asian Elephants to Dubbo or the Irwins as it would assist the regions Elephant breeding program).
RE: Expansion - looking at the Bungarribee park surrounding the zoo the other option (or dual option) would be to obtain more neighbouring land like mentioned.
Completely agree that it was frustrating to see both Bongos and Mandrills given up on by Melbourne Zoo when both are very admired when seen by the visiting public (and us ZooChatters alike) it's been frustrating to see Mandrills dwindle over the last few decades, though only learning about their decline by being a ZooChatter, having known in the late 90s and 00s that Melbourne and Adelaide were the remaining holders of them with the last individuals kept at Sydney and Perth dying in the 1990s, had really hoped that while some zoos in our region would remain keeping their Hamadryas Baboons some other zoos might opt for keeping Mandrills instead (or both in some cases like Melbourne and possibly Adelaide??) and as the number of zoos we have in the region means hypothetically both species could be kept in decent breeding program numbers if new individuals were sourced from overseas. Same with Bongos (and other species of course) but yeah was disappointing to hear that space could not be found for Bongos to be kept in Melbourne's Congo Rainforest precinct (would have been interesting if perhaps the Pygmy Hippos and Bongos could have shared an exhibit though not sure how realistic this could have been). If I remember correctly weren't the zoo's Mandrills kept in an exhibit in that precinct over the last few decades?
Would be awesome to see the private zoos in the region gain some interest in Bongos which would hopefully reinforce Taronga's hopefully continued commitment to them. Would be awesome to Sydney Zoo import individuals (agree about the zoo being impressive how it opened as a full zoo to the public albeit without the River Hippos and Lowland Gorillas it had said it wanted). Having had a look at the map of the zoo, had wondered if perhaps the area where the Dromedary Camels and Capybaras are (and the second Meerkat troop) might be better suited for using those areas for these other potential species we've talked about, though no diss on Camels and Capybaras do like them both, but could see them equally well off at another zoo like say Shoalhaven and the space at Sydney Zoo used to create exhibits for importing Bongo, Mandrills and someday soon hopefully River Hippos and WL Gorillas (and possibly reconsider relinquishing holding the two young male Asian Elephants to Dubbo or the Irwins as it would assist the regions Elephant breeding program).
RE: Expansion - looking at the Bungarribee park surrounding the zoo the other option (or dual option) would be to obtain more neighbouring land like mentioned.
Swanson02
Well-Known Member
I agree I feel too many city zoos are increasingly gearing themselves towards international tourists rather than their exotic species and thus are investing more in their native collections (which they receive more gov funding for). Don't get me wrong I enjoy native species but why bother seeing a wombat in a zoo when I can see a wild one on our family property. Mandrill on the other hand will likely never be seen in the wild by 99.9% of Aussies/Kiwis and international tourists.
Sydney Zoo is out in the western suburbs, not exactly a tourist hotbed, so has to gear itself towards the domestic demographic and it does that by displaying megafauna. Which I ultimately think is a good thing
Yes, Adelaide is the only zoo in the region to hold Hamadryas baboon and Mandrill; and hopefully Melbourne will soon be the second. Excitingly both species are in the zoo’s masterplan and Adelaide have recently confirmed their commitment to Hamadryas baboon by receiving females from Melbourne Zoo to address the gender imbalance of their troop.
The Mandrill at Melbourne were housed on the same loop as Pygmy hippopotamus, Western lowland gorilla and tree top apes (gibbons) and monkeys.
I know Sydney Zoo has been subject to some restrictions (e.g. they can't allow guests to hold Koala), so as not to compete with wildlife parks in the area that depend on this to draw in visitors; but this has ultimately worked in the favour of Sydney Zoo as they've focused on the species that Australians want to see.
I feel Sydney Zoo could do a lot more engage with visitors. Births e.g. Hamadryas baboons are rarely publicised and the zoo makes little effort to update visitors on their animals or share details on them. The value of this cannot be underestimated. Many people know the names of their favorite animals at Auckland and Wellington Zoo and engage with social media mentioning them etc. as well as visiting. The TV series Auckland Zoo had put them on the world stage with animals (and keepers) becoming celebrities overnight.
I emailed the zoo directly; the male Nyala arrived from Werribee Open Range Zoo specifically.
Another new species for Sydney Zoo. Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys have arrived: Sydney Zoo - Squirrel Monkey Encounter
When I visited in April 2022, I was reasonably confident I saw a squirrel monkey in an off-display cage, behind the capuchin/capybara exhibit (I was on the Australian trail at the time), so I presume that the zoo has had these animals since at least then. I didn't post anything at the time as so not to make presumptions.
By the sounds of things they aren't on public display, although I'd need to visit the zoo again in order to confirm. Now that COVID restrictions have lessened and case numbers have dropped, the zoo might have felt more comfortable starting up these encounters (also, school holidays start in NSW next week).