Taronga Zoo Taronga Visit 24/12/09

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hix
  • Start date Start date
k. thanx. but i think they should still fix up the tahr exhibit and replace the porcupine in the big cat area with a small south american cat

The porcupine died a number of years ago and the exhibit currently holds a binturong. Tahr mountain has had two new garden beds installed inside the exhibit and holds quite a sucessful breedinggroup
 
As far as I'm aware, clouded leopards have never been bred in Australia, and I don't think that there has ever been an attempt to do so.

Taronga tried, but the male attacked the female so badly that she became permanently terrified of him and would stress when near him. And that put an end to any breeding plans they had.

:p

Hix
 
Thanks and sorry. I'm a little confused:

I saw some picture here in the forum named "Work/Renovation Cats of Asia".
Isn't the "old cats of Asia" or "Big Cats" not the same exhibit where the sumatran tigers have been (or are) = the exhibit with windows in the left, lower part of the zoo, above of the (old?) dhole exhibit?

No, the Cats of Asia/Big Cats complex is over the other side of the zoo just above Backyard to Bush. The path leading down from the Function Centre past the Tree Kangaroos, Kangaroos, and Regent Honeyeater Aviaries leads to this complex.

During the 90's it was renovated to Cats of Asia - half of the complex were converted into two well-planted glass-fronted enclosures, with a smaller wire-fronted cage for squirrels or tree shrews. Before then it was four or five large concrete cages with wire and bars for viewing. It housed, at various times, tigers, leopards and black panthers. It was known as the Big Cats, as opposed to the present lion and tiger exhibits which, until they too were renovated in the 90's, were just large pits (and were known as the Lion Pit and the Tiger Pit).

:p

Hix
 
Thanks for that info. about Taronga's clouded leopards, Hix, it's a shame that they weren't compatible.

Breeding cats successfully can be tricky - most success with clouded leopards has occurred when they are paired up while immature. On the other hand, pairing snow leopards too young has resulted in failure to breed because a sibling relationship has developed.

Many years ago before dholes arrived that enclosure was a spotted hyena enclosure. Maybe Taronga should get some hyenas again, or some Sth. Americans, like maned wolves or bushdogs (now I'm really dreaming!)

Himalayan tahrs are supposed to be a phase-out species, but no-one's told the tahrs that, and so they keep on successfully breeding. Despite being extremely inbred, they don't seem to be going downhill at all. It's the same with the barbary sheep.
 
LOU said:
Being a South American species didn't do them any favours.
are you talking about the clouded leopards? They are from southeast Asia not South America
 
clouded leopards are spectacular - a favorite of all amateur zoologists.

they are however not really suited to the usual arrangement in urban zoos. they are particularly shy and make poor display animals. in addition they are notoriously hard to breed and currently the most successful method involves the unorthodox conditioning unrelated cubs to one another. in addition their enclosures need to be far away from other large predators to remove the effect stress has on limiting successful breeding behaviour.


its certainly not a species that should not be persued in overseas zoos, however i wonder how australias zoos, given all the difficulties they have getting a breeding program together for any species, would ever manage to live up to the obligations required for a successful clouded leopard program.

a beautiful cat, no doubt about it. just not one our zoos are really up to the task of catering for.
 
aslo i think they should move the sun bears from the african waterhole to wild asia!!!

wouldnt it make sense?
 
Wild Asia is fairly full, from memory. Wouldn't think there's room for sun bears or Himalayan tahrs, and a new exhibit has just been built for red pandas, so the chances of them being moved again is remote.
 
dear, your mum's a goat.

to answer your questions. the alley that contains among other things the tahr, red panda, tiger, lion, brown bear and snow leopard exhibits - are all eventually going to be refurbished into an asian theme so as to integrate that section of the zoo into the whole "wild asia" area. the sun bears will move into the brown bear exhibit when the elderly brown bear dies - which is probably not far off. thus they too will become part of the asia area.

so rest assured.
 
dear, your mum's a goat.

to answer your questions. the alley that contains among other things the tahr, red panda, tiger, lion, brown bear and snow leopard exhibits - are all eventually going to be refurbished into an asian theme so as to integrate that section of the zoo into the whole "wild asia" area. the sun bears will move into the brown bear exhibit when the elderly brown bear dies - which is probably not far off. thus they too will become part of the asia area.

so rest assured.


cool. thanks for that. so what wll go in the sun bear exhibit?
 
Urmumzagoat,
Mate, what alot of questions!!
While I am not an expert on Taronga I will try to answer some of your questions about Taronga. Other members like Sim, Ara, Hix, Torie and zoopro will correct me if I get it wrong.
Taronga is currently heading towards the end of a 12 year master plan in which they have gone on a major construction blitz rebuilding more than half the zoo. There is hardly an area that has not been affected by this. As you would already know the following list of exhibits have been built, renovated or touched up. They include the platypus pools, B2B, wild asia, southern seas, a new bull elephant area, red pandas and cassawories to name just a few. They have added a new carpark and are currently redeveloping the entrance precinct and chimp enclosure.
You ask what will go into the current sun bears enclosure once the sun bears move. While I can't give you a defiant answer, I believe that the cuurent water hole area is going to be redeveloped into a new African area and I would guess that the sun bear area would be changed to suit these plans.
The tahr mountain is one of the oldest existing exhibits and I think it will remain unchanged. (It may be heritage listed??)
Taronga also planned to change Amazonia into a New Guinea exhibit. This was mentioned a long time ago and I haven't heard if this is still going ahead.
The area that once was the seal theater and little penguin pool is eventually going to be part of an extended gorilla exhibit.
I hope this has helped you out with some of your queries about Taronga, Urmumzagoat.
Like I said I am not an expert on taronga but this is some of the info I have heard or read over the years. ( either here on Zoochat, the zoo friends news letter or talking to keepers and volunteers.)
If I have got anything wrong I am sorry.
Sim, Hix, Ara, Torie and Zoopro ( and Glyn if you are still out there) please correct me if I have got anything wrong. If you guys know of any other plans please add them.
 
Last edited:
Nope, you're spot on as far as I know boof - full marks!

You mention Glyn - he hasn't posted for about 6 months. Anyone know why? (Gone bush with zoo_boy?)
 
I think they were both scared off by the Zoo "powers' that be

glyn had second thoughts about some assistance that he was going to give the DDZ. The rumour at the time was that he had been warned off. Has he now been warned off ZooChat?

Zoo_boy is on his way to better things and I have confidence that he will make his mark in the industry one day. Especially if he learns to spell better!!! LOL
 
Back
Top