Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo 2014

I see, on the second link.

It also says deep burial, which is what usually happens with the large animals. About a year later the skeleton is usually dug up. Although I can't say categorically that was done in this case, I'm fairly certain that is what would have happened - after a lengthy autopsy and samples taken for pathology.

:p

Hix
 
Pertinax said:
A great shame there are now none anywhere for people to see but this is a species that only comes into captivity very rarely and by accident(as with Casey) and that's probably the way it should remain..
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Couldn't agree more - I feel the same way about all pinnipeds and cetaceans
 
When I visited three and a half years years ago there were two Leopard Seals-what happened to the other one? As for Guoras viewpoint on pinnipeds etc - i look forward to the day when the largest zoo animal is a Crowned Pigeon of some form or another, then it will all be over,ZooChat can close down and nasty men like Durrell,Hornaday and Grzimek consigned to chapters alongside Hitler and Stalin in the history books!
 
I am prepared to admit that I have only visited relatively few zoos in my lifetime (about 60-70), not a lot compared to many people on zoochat. My comment is based on the fact that I have never seen pinnipeds or cetaceans displayed in a way that provided them with the opportunity to demonstrate the full range of their natural behaviour or that I considered educational and therefore find it hard to justify keeping these animals in captivity. The same goes for polar bears and I feel quite uncomfortable viewing these animals in zoos. The size of the animals is irrelevant as I've seen a number of excellent proboscid and large ungulate displays.
Admittedly I now have a bit of a 'head in the sand' approach to these exhibits and avoid them when visiting zoos. As for my opinion about people like Durrell and Grzimek, I have nothing but admiration for their pioneering spirit in bringing zoos up to the current (though inconsistent) standard that is currently the norm and attempting to make their managements accountable for the animals in their care.
Ultimately this is just my opinion informed by personal experience and it's quite possible that I may see something in the future that causes me to change my opinion.
 
Goura said:
The same goes for polar bears and I feel quite uncomfortable viewing these animals in zoos.
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Its interesting how the negative publicity about Bears in captivity centres around Polar Bears mostly as they are deemed to travel the greatest distances in the wild. Brown bears don't get this same treatment, yet some subspecies travel quite long distances too e.g. in Kamchatka the bears den or rest up in the hills but often travel several miles daily to the coast to fish at certain times of year. They usually run most or all the way- at a canter and leave long regular trails through the scrub and around obstacles like lakes. On Kodiak island the bears do something similar too.
 
The point im making is that if someone says captivity is wrong for some types of animal,then it is a slippery slope towards zoos becoming little more than farm parks-if displaying a "full range of natural behaviours" is the yardstick then most carnivores are clearly wrong,what about waterfowl lakes where most waterfowl are prevented from flying by wing clipping or pinioning? As I said its a slippery slope...all the more so in Australia where the number of available zoo animal species is curtailed by stupid governmental policies(even state ones i.e.Queensland).
 
Elephas Maximus said:
A damnedest shame for a precious specimen to be incinerated.
Taronga puts down sick leopard seal Casey
"Casey's carcass was disposed of under Taronga's environmental waste procedures."
Bloody human bastards.
99% of vets are enemies of zoology. May they have no grave after death for treating animals as a waste - as well as the law authors.
Didn't they bother to ask a museum?!
Shame on the zoo and on its 'professionals'.
"“We hope that Casey’s interactions with our staff and visitors contributed to an awareness of conservation and appreciation of this amazing Antarctic species,” the zoo’s statement read."
His body is thousand times more useful than all your anthropomorphic thoughts.
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nowhere does it say the leopard seal body was incinerated. It is quite unlikely to have been, given the size of the animal. In Australia, as in many other countries, there are government regulations as to what happens to dead zoo animals, it is not really up to the zoo to decide what to do with them.
 
I spent a few hours roaming the zoo yesterday after a meeting, I must say its looking rather clean and tidy. I still cringe when walking past the big cats though. Enjoyed the new lemur exhibit despite it looking more like a playground. The bull elephant was highly amusing given his efforts to throw a clump of grass at me, much to the amusement of a passing keeper. The reptile house is still a show stopper I love its design and flow. I chatted briefly with a keeper who was in with the large komodo from what I gathered they were doing a few tests on it possibly a periodic assessment (I didn't ask to much I try play dumb when talking with keepers in public). I always love the use of water in exhibits I find it can be used to tie a lot of elements together... however in saying that I didn't enjoy the water feature in the lemur enclosure I really struggle to understand it to be honest. All in all a good few hours in the zoo with most animals on exhibit even though I was sweating due to the humidity and rising heat.
 
Taronga Zoo has this notice posted this update on their website (Taronga Zoo Sydney | Taronga Conservation Society Australia

•Nocturnal House will be closed from 3pm on Saturday 19th April.
•Nocturnal House, Tree Kangaroo Exhibit, and the Australian Rainforest Aviary will be closed on Sunday 20th April.
•The QBE Bird Shows have been cancelled on Sunday 20th April.
•Please be aware of signage and information at entrance, relating to pathway closures within the zoo during Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th April weekend.
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Today (Easter Sunday) the zoo was extremely busy, and was closed to further admissions around midday, which caused some consternation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarongazoo?fref=ts

The closures, and presumably the high numbers of visitors, was due to certain other visitors - namely Prince William and Princess Kate, and son Prince George, during their tour of Australia.

Story & Photo here: When Prince George met Bilby George | Stuff.co.nz

Prince George has met Bilby George in a successful first official engagement in Australia for the youngest royal.

George was relatively well-behaved, if a bit nervous at first, but then quite friendly. And so was Prince George.

The two came face-to-face on Sunday at Taronga Zoo's enclosure, where it was officially named the Prince George Bilby Exhibit as part of Australia's gift following the prince's birth on July 22 last year.

It had been anticipated that Prince George would make his only public appearance at the zoo, but it wasn't confirmed until he was filmed being put into the car by his mum Kate.

Kate carried George - dressed in dark blue shorts, a striped lighter blue-coloured shirt, dark blue socks and shoes - as they entered the zoo.

He looked inquisitive, and was chuckling and looking at the cameras.

Kate had changed out the dove-grey Alexander McQueen outfit she wore to church, into a lemon cream broderie anglaise dress by a designer who did not want to be named.

The dress had a fitted bodice and flared out to the knee.

After a quick photo op, the family headed into the enclosure where the meeting took place.

Prince William helped break the ice, when he enticed the bilby - renamed George - over with some food.

Kate held George close to the glass wall dividing the pair, and he started to show a keen interest in the endangered marsupial.

But despite being royal, he proved himself to be a normal baby - eagerly grabbing the stuffed bilby present before throwing it on the ground - and sticking a card straight in his mouth.

This was Prince George's second official function.

During the New Zealand leg of the trip, he "hosted" a play group event with other babies his age at Government House.

After the very short engagement, George returned to Admiralty House, while the duke and duchess continued through the zoo, feeding tree kangaroos, walking past giraffes, enjoying a bird show, and taking in the rhino conservation display.
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Fire Guts Building at Taronga Zoo

A fire has destroyed a staff building at Taronga Zoo overnight, but was contained and no people or animals were hurt. Its not clear to me exactly where the building is within the zoo, but it was apparently near the gorilla quarantine area, which (again apparently) contained gorillas at the time.

Story here: Building gutted in blaze at Taronga Zoo near gorilla quarantine enclosure | News.com.au

FIRE has gutted a building at Taronga Zoo close to an area where gorillas were being quarantined.

The fire broke out in Mosman just after 1.30am and fire crews were alerted by a resident who spotted the flames from across the harbour.

More than a dozen firefighters worked quickly to stop the fire spreading from the large office and staffroom.

A resident on the eastern side of the harbour alerted the fire brigade to a fire at Taronga Zoo.

Mosman Fire and Rescue Station Officer Mark Bradford said the initial call was for a tree on fire but when they arrived they saw the 20m by 30m wide building “fully involved” 150 metres from the wharf.

He said they had trouble accessing the building due to security reasons and when firefighters did get access 10 minutes later the building had been destroyed.

It took crews an hour to put the fire out and a Hazmat unit was called when asbestos was seen burning in the roofing materials.

“The guys did a really great job containing it to the building. Someone spotted the fire with a pair of binoculars,” Mr Bradford said.

The fire was not being treated as suspicious with fire investigators on scene.

Taronga Zoo tweeted that no persons or animals were hurt:

“There’s been a fire in a service building at Taronga overnight. Fire is out with fire brigade in attendance. No people or animals were hurt.

“An investigation into the possible cause of the fire has commenced. No suspicious circumstances have been identified at this time.”
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zooboy28 said:
but it was apparently near the gorilla quarantine area, which (again apparently) contained gorillas at the time.
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Presumably the Gorillas in here are either 1. the two females that came fairly recently from Melbourne, 2. Frala and her two sons or 3. the two sons without Frala.

Does anyone know which it is?
 
Taronga Zoo's oldest chimpanzee has died (from Zoo's Facebook page):

Taronga Zoo keepers were saddened to say goodbye to our oldest and much-loved chimpanzee, Lulu, today. Thought to be 62 years old, Lulu went by many names: Lulu, Lulu Bell, Sweetheart, Darling, the list goes on. She touched the lives of many generations of keepers and visitors at Taronga. We mourn her passing, but she will never be forgotten.
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