Osedax
Well-Known Member
It's not.
Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo News 2024
- Thread starter loganjmuir
- Start date
Not sure exactly what but it's very very disappointing to hear them just echoing the goals from the previous year. How can that be when we've now lost our last viable female!
I'd imagine they do mention 'importing individuals' but the lack of action to actually do so is very frustrating to many.
Interesting to hear. I wonder why the foal was sent to Dubbo immediately after birth - sounds very murky to me. Unless Kioni rejected the offspring, which is a possibility.
Maybe they doubted things wouldn't have worked well in the mixed savannah with the giraffe with potentially more aggressive zebras, but they've been kept seperate in the smaller paddock up until recently anyways.
Such a male has not popped up anywhere within the region. All young males are accounted for, so I'd therefore assume he probably died after being relocated.
I would assume the foal was rejected by the mother and was transferred to Dubbo for hand-raising. Husbandry guidelines recommend foals are integrated with other young zebras (ideally the same age) by four months to avoid imprinting on humans.
It would have been difficult to reintroduce the foal to his sire as he wouldn’t have recognised it as his own and potentially killed him. There were surely better options (socially) at Dubbo.
If the foal was born in late 2020 (at earliest), Dubbo did have Obi. So it's likely he was the intended companion for this foal if that was the case. Ironic if so as he later ended up at Taronga paired up with Kioni!
loganjmuir
Well-Known Member
It wouldn’t make much sense to import a Bongo, as Ekundu turned 18 last November he doesn’t have much time left at Taronga unfortunately. He has been quite a staple animal at Taronga, and long-time guests have long looked forward and expected to see him. The loss of Ekundu will be detrimental to Taronga and the staff so I greatly hope it holds off as long as possible. The only chance of importing Bongo will be the Congo Precinct(in my opinion). It wouldn’t make sense to remain a holder of the species as space and social interaction has been a growing problem at Taronga and many guests are not happy with Ekundu’s, to be frank, sub-par exhibit.
It also wouldn’t make much sense to house Bongo in the old Bull enclosure as it would require a big renovation lasting years, by which point Taronga may not hold Bongo at all. In the time it would take to renovate the exhibit and prep the backstage building, the Congo may already be completed, and so doesn’t make sense both financially and practically.
If a bongo import was undertaken, it’s likely it’d be coordinated by Taronga, with the individual then shipped off to Dubbo. Alternatively, multiple zoos might get involved (Monarto etc.) which is really what needs to happen if we want to establish a sustainable population. Taronga has been valuable as a holder for a bull, though not well equipped to breed them due to limited space.
My preference going forward would be to see the Congo precinct comprised of multiple exhibits for Pygmy hippopotamus and Western lowland gorilla (to breed both species); with a bachelor bull exhibit for Eastern bongo.
loganjmuir
Well-Known Member
I do agree, if we were to remain a holder at Mosman it would be for the surplus bulls but I would prefer to hold more than 1 especially if we ascertain the space required. If we can’t house the species however, this leaves a door wide open for Okapi to fill the space. Best case scenario for me would be a Bongo bull and Okapi surplus bull from NA.
loganjmuir
Well-Known Member
I spoke to a Keeper today and they were able to let me know that as a result of Covid-19, the highly anticipated Congo Precinct will not go ahead. At the very least, there will be a Pygmy Hippo exhibit built as the current one lacks in size. In regards to Ekundu, he will be the end of the line for Bongo at Taronga. The exhibit space is impossibly tiny and would need to be split in half and have an adequate barn built on the existing heritage building, which as we all know, wouldn’t work out too well. Ekundu is alive and healthy fortunately, but in his old age there really isn’t much to be expected of him. As it turns out @Osedax was correct(never doubted you), the Ungulate department have a huge announcement coming up in the next few days, the timing is just up to the Media team.
That’s a real shame. The Congo precinct was one I was particularly looking forward to - not least because it would have supported the breeding of Western lowland gorilla; and potentially given rise to the import of Okapi. It would have no doubt been as asset to Taronga Zoo.
Eastern bongo will similarly be a loss to the zoo, but the Dubbo site is better equipped to manage herds of this species in any case.
In the meantime, I look forward to future developments with regards to Pygmy hippopotamus. It’s good to see the zoo has a strong commitment towards this species.
That's a shame to hear re. the Congo precinct. I wonder what this means for Taronga's gorillas. Obviously the young males will soon transfer out - Orana remains the likely destination imo. The future of breeding though remains up in the air imo. Taronga are left with only one viable female.
I'm starting to think we *may* receive an announcement of Kambiri's pregnancy. Taronga were actively trying to breed her with Fergus last year, so it would make sense. Aside from that, I don't really foresee anything else being likely.
I think Orana are a likely destination considering their two males are now being housed separately. Taronga’s young males are now at an age where all three can transfer out and they’d probably have the best luck integrating them with Fuzu (2007).
From here, Taronga may opt to maintain a troop of 1.3 adults, with Mbeli breeding again in the future. The housing of her and Kibali’s sons in a bachelor troop effectively removes them from the breeding programme, so producing a third infant wouldn’t be overrepresenting this line in that regard. Kibali is a valuable male, so it’d be nice to see his genes continue. Another daughter from him would be ideal, following Fikiri’s passing.
Thank go d for that!
Im not to disappointed that the Congo precinct isn't going ahead. Id rather the zoo develop better pygmy hippo exhibits and develop the gorilla exhibit then create a precinct.
I am dubious that it was covid that shelved it. Was it covid or was it the fact that development of the current reptile house during covid. Brought a huge wave of negative criticism about Taronga becoming a concrete jungle and not about animals. With overdevelopment aimed at humans and making money being the central theme.
It would be nice to see Taronga create nice exhibits for species without precincts that utilises what they already have. If you minus the wasted space of the airplane, village and market. The tiger exhibits are great. Taronga would be better served redeveloping the gorilla exhibit and extending into surrounding areas, building new hippo exhibits out of the rainforest trail and building a new colobus exhibit. Gorillas and colobus are species that can have exhibits built that utilise the steep terrain around the gorillas current exhibit.
No one is going to complain if they knock out some gardens but build nice expanded exhibits for animals. Which they have the space to do.
Speaking of the primates, Taronga has always maintained that the Mossman site has been difficult to develop due to the steep terrain. But has a ever decreasing primate collection. It would serve the zoo far better to incorporate the zoos hilly terrain into primate exhibits. It would help then leave the flatter parts of the zoo for species that are not suited to hilly terrain.
There could be many factors at play here. Taronga were investigating the possibility of importing Okapi to exhibit in this precinct. That was always going to be a challenge and may have ultimately been identified as a dead-end. The interest Taronga has in continuing with gorillas has also been discussed on here, which were set to be the other headlining species.
I would like to see more emphasis on multiple exhibits at Taronga to support breeding. The tiger complex is a good example of this (with a total of five exhibits). It’d be nice to see this approach to Pygmy hippopotamus and in the future, orangutans.
With elephants being phased out, its almost a given that Taronga will continue with there gorilla in some capacity. Out side of the elephants, the tigers and gorillas are arguably the next most popular species. Orangs and chimps are popular but don't have the size that the gorillas have.
More disappointing news from Taronga. I think the future of the zoo will be to continue to lose species until they are left with a bare minimum. We're watching them dwindle down to one or two animals housed in an exhibit built for a large group (look at the otters), or losing them entirely (too many to name). The only species that I see them actually maintaining are:
* Australian sea lions / New Zealand fur seals
* Sumatran tigers
* Lions
* Chimps
* Gorillas
* Red pandas
* Little penguins
* Kangaroo
* Koalas
* Dingos
* Nocturnal house (which seems to have lost 90% of the species that it housed prior to renovation?)
* Reptile house (which will surely go the same way as the nocturnal house)
* Maybe pygmy hippos
* Maaaaybe fennec foxes - the only pleasant surprise at Taronga for years was to hear that they were actively pursuing a new breeding program with them!
While that leaves the zoo with some very important breeding programs, it's disappointing to see them choose to turn what used to be a diverse and exciting collection into a concrete jungle full of props and empty shells, with occasional exhibits scattered between them. I don't think it's likely that they'll import animals to replace those that pass away as they get older, they'll just concrete over the exhibits and build another playground or cafe that only opens on school holidays. They don't even maintain their birds species. I don't understand the choices they're making, surely they aren't that low on funding?
I don't see why they couldn't at least develop some walkthrough aviaries and utilise the hilly terrain to build enclosures for small-medium primates that you can actually see without a scope.
It's so sad to see Taronga lose its vibrance, but it's no longer surprising. Other zoos around Australia are growing but Taronga is going backwards.
* Australian sea lions / New Zealand fur seals
* Sumatran tigers
* Lions
* Chimps
* Gorillas
* Red pandas
* Little penguins
* Kangaroo
* Koalas
* Dingos
* Nocturnal house (which seems to have lost 90% of the species that it housed prior to renovation?)
* Reptile house (which will surely go the same way as the nocturnal house)
* Maybe pygmy hippos
* Maaaaybe fennec foxes - the only pleasant surprise at Taronga for years was to hear that they were actively pursuing a new breeding program with them!
While that leaves the zoo with some very important breeding programs, it's disappointing to see them choose to turn what used to be a diverse and exciting collection into a concrete jungle full of props and empty shells, with occasional exhibits scattered between them. I don't think it's likely that they'll import animals to replace those that pass away as they get older, they'll just concrete over the exhibits and build another playground or cafe that only opens on school holidays. They don't even maintain their birds species. I don't understand the choices they're making, surely they aren't that low on funding?
I don't see why they couldn't at least develop some walkthrough aviaries and utilise the hilly terrain to build enclosures for small-medium primates that you can actually see without a scope.
It's so sad to see Taronga lose its vibrance, but it's no longer surprising. Other zoos around Australia are growing but Taronga is going backwards.
Pygmy hippopotamus were confirmed to have a future at Taronga Zoo as recently as this week as per confirmation of a new exhibit for them. Similarly, the import a male Fennec fox indicates an intention to continue with this species long term.
The African precinct is one of Taronga’s more recent developments and combined with their popularity of African Savannah exhibits across the region, we can assume giraffe, zebra and ostrich will remain at the zoo well into the future.
While their otter population has dwindled to two pairs, that’s circumstantial and no reason to believe they’re be phased out. They’re essentially aquatic meerkats (popular with the public and cost effective to keep).
According to an update last year, the redevelopment of the elephant paddock will allow construction of an ape exhibit. We all assumed this would be orangutans on the basis gorillas would be accomodated in the Congo precinct; but now that’s been scrapped, it could indicate gorillas will move here long term. Alternatively, we’ll see their phase out and orangutans could make a return to Taronga.
Female Long-nosed fur seal pup born:
Experienced mother Keke gave birth to her third offspring, a daughter, on Christmas Eve (24/12/2023).
The zoo is currently holding a naming competition and the options are:
Reported on socials.
Experienced mother Keke gave birth to her third offspring, a daughter, on Christmas Eve (24/12/2023).
The zoo is currently holding a naming competition and the options are:
- Eve - the little pup was born on Christmas Eve in 2023
- Ruby - ruby saltbush is a native Australian plant
- Eden - a NSW coastal town where the species is found
Reported on socials.