Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo News 2024

Other 2024 News Worth Mentioning:
On January 11th, the zoo announced they bred Booroolong frogs, Northern Corroboree frogs, and Southern Corroboree frogs to be released into the wild in the first half of 2025.

A big boost for some little frogs The future of three critically endangered frog species is looking a little brighter with the patter of teeny tiny... | By Taronga Zoo SydneyFacebook

On April 28th, the zoo announced they rehabilitated and released 2 wedge-tailed shearwaters and a white-necked petrel back into the wild.

Sea ya later Join us as three Seabirds receive a final check up, a leg band for post-release monitoring, and take wing once more at sea! Following... | By Taronga Zoo SydneyFacebook

On July 5th, the zoo announced that a (1.0) Australian White sheep named Simon was born on July 3rd which is on exhibit.

Taronga Zoo Sydney

On May 15th, the zoo announced they acquired a (0.1) short-beaked echidna named Snorky after it was hit by a car and deemed non releasable, and now lives in the Wildlife Retreat Sanctuary area.

Taronga Zoo Sydney

On July 10th, the zoo announced that a tammar wallaby was born which is on display in the Wildlife Retreat Sanctuary area.

Hello little one We have been waiting a while for this little addition to the Wildlife Retreat Sanctuary! Did you know? Female Tamar Wallabies have a gestation period of around 28 days, but they can pause their pregnancy for up to 11 months! When conditions are just right to raise their young, they resume their pregnancy. This fascinating process is called embryonic diapause. Keeper Chloe Wildlife Retreat at Taronga | Taronga Zoo Sydney | Daniela Mlčúchová · Little Things (Fairy Version)
 
I’m currently on the train coming back from Taronga. Here are today’s updates.

- There are now 3 unsigned Elongated Tortoises in the first exhibit in the ARC, mixed with the two Boa Constrictors.
- Over three visits to the ARC today, I managed to see four of Friday’s no-shows: Boyd’s Forest Dragon, White-lipped Tree Frog, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (it was Eastern, I was right the first time), and Tiger Snake.
- I didn’t realise last time, but when you are walking next to the ARC at ground level, (next to CT Tamarins), there are windows where you can view (through the blinds) into the ground floor of the building, including a room with 36 vivariums (yes, I counted!). As I was looking through a blind, I couldn’t see much, but I did see the Goldfields Crevice-skink from the old reptile house and, very excitingly, an Emerald Tree Monitor!!!
- The Coastal Taipan exhibit is currently empty and unsigned. This should be where the Emerald Tree Monitor goes on display now that it has arrived.
- The Cotton-top Tamarins are currently off display.
- There are now Torresian Imperial Pigeons in the Australian Rainforest Aviary, 3 Pied Stilts in the Finch Aviary, and Mulga Parrots in the Semi-Arid Aviary!
- A second Rainbow Bee-eater is now in the Semi-Arid Aviary, and at least 6 King Quails are now in the Palm Aviary (the most I had ever previously seen was two)
- Saw the sheep in BTB, including Simon the future lion food - er, I mean lamb…
- The door from the main farm area to the sheep viewing area is held open with a rock, meaning the chickens can also access the sheep exhibit,
- The Australian Barking Tarantula in the Wombat Burrow has been replaced by several unsigned large snails, I assume Hadra webbi as that species is on display elsewhere in Backyard to Bush.
- The Red-bellied Black Snake in BTB has been replaced by an Eastern Blue-tongue.
- There appears to be only one budgie left in the Pat a Pet aviary.
- Erkundu (bongo) is still alive and well.
- There is still at least one red panda in Moore Park / Circular Aviary
- Tengah and Pemanah (tigers) are still on display, so they haven’t left yet.
 
Osedax said:
I’m currently on the train coming back from Taronga. Here are today’s updates.

- There are now 3 unsigned Elongated Tortoises in the first exhibit in the ARC, mixed with the two Boa Constrictors.
- Over three visits to the ARC today, I managed to see four of Friday’s no-shows: Boyd’s Forest Dragon, White-lipped Tree Frog, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (it was Eastern, I was right the first time), and Tiger Snake.
- I didn’t realise last time, but when you are walking next to the ARC at ground level, (next to CT Tamarins), there are windows where you can view (through the blinds) into the ground floor of the building, including a room with 36 vivariums (yes, I counted!). As I was looking through a blind, I couldn’t see much, but I did see the Goldfields Crevice-skink from the old reptile house and, very excitingly, an Emerald Tree Monitor!!!
- The Coastal Taipan exhibit is currently empty and unsigned. This should be where the Emerald Tree Monitor goes on display now that it has arrived.
- The Cotton-top Tamarins are currently off display.
- There are now Torresian Imperial Pigeons in the Australian Rainforest Aviary, 3 Pied Stilts in the Finch Aviary, and Mulga Parrots in the Semi-Arid Aviary!
- A second Rainbow Bee-eater is now in the Semi-Arid Aviary, and at least 6 King Quails are now in the Palm Aviary (the most I had ever previously seen was two)
- Saw the sheep in BTB, including Simon the future lion food - er, I mean lamb…
- The door from the main farm area to the sheep viewing area is held open with a rock, meaning the chickens can also access the sheep exhibit,
- The Australian Barking Tarantula in the Wombat Burrow has been replaced by several unsigned large snails, I assume Hadra webbi as that species is on display elsewhere in Backyard to Bush.
- The Red-bellied Black Snake in BTB has been replaced by an Eastern Blue-tongue.
- There appears to be only one budgie left in the Pat a Pet aviary.
- Erkundu (bongo) is still alive and well.
- There is still at least one red panda in Moore Park / Circular Aviary
- Tengah and Pemanah (tigers) are still on display, so they haven’t left yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this update and confirmation the tigers are yet to leave the building! Exports take time, so I would have been surprised if they’d gone already. Tengah is remaining at Taronga however; Mawar is the young female accompanying their brother Penmanah to the US. Tengah was originally planned to go; but Mawar is now taking her place.
 
chrisjpl said:
Any sign of how JR is going in nguwing nura? I've only been able to make it up to Sydney once since he moved back on show.
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He’s great! Really active. I was working with keepers in Nguwing Nura this morning and he was getting in the way of equipment quite often! You’d never guess that he’s that old!
(JR is the Barton’s Long-beaked Echidna for anyone reading this, before they ask)
 
Osedax said:
I’m currently on the train coming back from Taronga. Here are today’s updates.

- There are now 3 unsigned Elongated Tortoises in the first exhibit in the ARC, mixed with the two Boa Constrictors.
- Over three visits to the ARC today, I managed to see four of Friday’s no-shows: Boyd’s Forest Dragon, White-lipped Tree Frog, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (it was Eastern, I was right the first time), and Tiger Snake.
- I didn’t realise last time, but when you are walking next to the ARC at ground level, (next to CT Tamarins), there are windows where you can view (through the blinds) into the ground floor of the building, including a room with 36 vivariums (yes, I counted!). As I was looking through a blind, I couldn’t see much, but I did see the Goldfields Crevice-skink from the old reptile house and, very excitingly, an Emerald Tree Monitor!!!
- The Coastal Taipan exhibit is currently empty and unsigned. This should be where the Emerald Tree Monitor goes on display now that it has arrived.
- The Cotton-top Tamarins are currently off display.
- There are now Torresian Imperial Pigeons in the Australian Rainforest Aviary, 3 Pied Stilts in the Finch Aviary, and Mulga Parrots in the Semi-Arid Aviary!
- A second Rainbow Bee-eater is now in the Semi-Arid Aviary, and at least 6 King Quails are now in the Palm Aviary (the most I had ever previously seen was two)
- Saw the sheep in BTB, including Simon the future lion food - er, I mean lamb…
- The door from the main farm area to the sheep viewing area is held open with a rock, meaning the chickens can also access the sheep exhibit,
- The Australian Barking Tarantula in the Wombat Burrow has been replaced by several unsigned large snails, I assume Hadra webbi as that species is on display elsewhere in Backyard to Bush.
- The Red-bellied Black Snake in BTB has been replaced by an Eastern Blue-tongue.
- There appears to be only one budgie left in the Pat a Pet aviary.
- Erkundu (bongo) is still alive and well.
- There is still at least one red panda in Moore Park / Circular Aviary
- Tengah and Pemanah (tigers) are still on display, so they haven’t left yet.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the updates.

It seems Taronga is building quite the collection in the new ARC; Emerald Tree Monitors are certainly something to be excited about once they do go on display.

It would also be nice to have an update on the Red Pandas following the recent cubs. The father still hasn't been confirmed.
 
Osedax said:
I’m 99.9% sure it’s Pabu. He is the only adult male they’ve got.
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It sounds like a contraception failure, which is by no means uncommon. Auckland Zoo similarly had a father/daughter mating in the 1990’s with Mario siring a litter to his daughter Maya in her second year. Her intended mate was Shimla and she went on to produce two litters with him.
 
Osedax said:
He’s great! Really active. I was working with keepers in Nguwing Nura this morning and he was getting in the way of equipment quite often! You’d never guess that he’s that old!
(JR is the Barton’s Long-beaked Echidna for anyone reading this, before they ask)
Click to expand...

That's really great to hear. Thanks for the update! I managed to get a conversation with one of the keepers a few visits ago, because I was concerned that JR might pass away before he ever got back on show (especially since we're now almost a decade since Sheila's death). But she was saying that they don't necessarily assume he's nearing end-of-life, given his general activity levels and external markers - but also that it's hard to tell given such limited data on long-beaked echidnas in general.
 
Osedax said:
I’m 99.9% sure it’s Pabu. He is the only adult male they’ve got.
Click to expand...

Zoofan15 said:
It sounds like a contraception failure, which is by no means uncommon. Auckland Zoo similarly had a father/daughter mating in the 1990’s with Mario siring a litter to his daughter Maya.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm starting to think the same, I've emailed them multiple times and they won't confirm the cubs father which is unusual. he is Zeya's father. It's also interesting as Pabu wasn't kept with the cubs; he was in the Moore Park Aviary for a while following their birth.
 
Jambo said:
Yeah I'm starting to think the same, I've emailed them multiple times and they won't confirm the cubs father which is unusual. he is Zeya's father. It's also interesting as Pabu wasn't kept with the cubs; he was in the Moore Park Aviary for a while following their birth.
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It’s really the only possibility as there’s been sufficient time now for a newly acquired male to have been announced; and with so many regular Taronga visitors, somebody would have heard of a new male.

It’s pretty standard to seperate the father following the birth since they play no role in raising the cubs. Many zoos have reintroduced the offspring to their father as juveniles; though some have found it causes conflict between adult females and their adolescent/adult daughters if you then introduce a male.
 
I was at Taronga again today and have a few updates.

- The signage for Tammar Wallabies and Red-necked Pademelons in Buru Nura has been removed, and replaced with additional informative signage about kangaroos and emus, so we can safely assume the introduction of those two species into the exhibit was unsuccessful. I always thought it rather ambitious to try to mix pademelons with Emus and Red Kangaroos.
Emu - 0.2
Swamp Wallaby - 0.9
Red-necked Wallaby - 0.5
Red Kangaroo - 0.4
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo - 0.3
- I had great luck in the ARC today; with the Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle and the Slater's Skink finally showing themselves, and getting better views of the three Eastern Tiger Snakes than ever before.
- The lights were turned on in the nocturnal section of the ARC, so I was able to get a much better view of the inhabitants. I saw the Monocled Cobra and Rachel the Reticulated Python for the first time in the new building today.
- All in all, a great visit to the ARC, although I still didn't manage to find the Corn Snake, Tuatara, Pygmy Python, Southern Corroboree Frogs or Eastern Pilbara Spiny-tailed Skink.
- I was incorrect in my thinking that the Coastal Taipan had gone; it was still there today, only the signage has gone.
- In the lower windows into the off-display section of the ARC, I saw the Scheltopusik, the Goldfields Crevice-skink, and some sort of small arboreal dragon of which there were two individuals.
 
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Zoo-Lover-1-2-3 said:
Does the zoo need to start considering sending out some of their males as to stop inbreeding? Last time I went they already had decent manes. And what zoo did the tigers get sent to in the USA? Sorry if someone put the answer somewhere but I can’t find it.
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The African lion offspring (2.5) are well into young adulthood and could breed now if off contraception. The females are all on contraception, which has allowed the pride to remain together in various combinations for an extended period.

The Sumatran tigers haven’t been exported yet:

Pemanah is going to Memphis Zoo
Mawar is going to Point Defiance Zoo.

Both will go to Memphis originally as reported by @Elena
 
Leaving Taronga now. I have a few things to report, almost entirely to do with the ARC.

- Got a great view of the Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle moving around fully submerged in its pool.
- The nocturnal area of the ARC had the lights on again, so I’m guessing that is the way it will remain.
- Finally saw the Pygmy Python.
- In the lower window of the ARC with the terrariums, the blinds were up! I was able to get a much better view of the Scheltopusik, the Goldfields Crevice-skink, the small dragons (6 individuals), and TWO Emerald Tree Monitors!!! As well as a baby Frilled Lizard that was having a go at the Scheltopusik through the glass, a Red-barred Dragon, Boyd’s Forest Dragon and two Central Netted Dragons.
- There is now a Northern / Kuhli Galah in the Free Flight Birds presentation!!! It comes out in the parrot part of the presentation, with three Eastern Galahs as well as the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. Although I have seen this subspecies in the wild on several occasions, it was a very pleasant surprise to see one at my home zoo!
 
Osedax said:
Leaving Taronga now. I have a few things to report, almost entirely to do with the ARC.

- Got a great view of the Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle moving around fully submerged in its pool.
- The nocturnal area of the ARC had the lights on again, so I’m guessing that is the way it will remain.
- Finally saw the Pygmy Python.
- In the lower window of the ARC with the terrariums, the blinds were up! I was able to get a much better view of the Scheltopusik, the Goldfields Crevice-skink, the small dragons (6 individuals), and TWO Emerald Tree Monitors!!! As well as a baby Frilled Lizard that was having a go at the Scheltopusik through the glass, a Red-barred Dragon, Boyd’s Forest Dragon and two Central Netted Dragons.
- There is now a Northern / Kuhli Galah in the Free Flight Birds presentation!!! It comes out in the parrot part of the presentation, with three Eastern Galahs as well as the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. Although I have seen this subspecies in the wild on several occasions, it was a very pleasant surprise to see one at my home zoo!
Click to expand...
It would make sense for the lights to stay on as the main pull for ARC is in the nocturnal section and they'd want as many people seeing it as possible
 
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