The Sleepy Hippo
Well-Known Member
Yeah - lights on means people see less.
Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo News 2024
- Thread starter loganjmuir
- Start date
loganjmuir
Well-Known Member
The lights are supposed to stay off, unless there is an emergency. That entire corridor is strategically dark to create a sense of immersion. Like @Osedax said, leaving the lights on defeats the whole purpose of the theme.
Osedax
Well-Known Member
Actually, you can see more with the lights on, because you can actually see the animals! In my 4 visits when the lights were off, I didn't find the animals to be any more active just because they were in nocturnal exhibits. In fact, I have only seen the Monocled Cobra, Reticulated Python and Pygmy Python now that the lights are on! (Still haven't seen the Tuatara or Corn Snake).
I think it's more in reference to the animals not actually being out and about if it is light. Being nocturnal, they'll find a place to hide away and spend their time; which would obviously be out of view. Keeping an exhibit with the lights off would allow them to be more comfortable utilising the entirety of their enclosure.
It could also be possible that being reptiles and not the most active animals at times, people are seeing more during the lights on period so they have decided to keep them on. A large snake curled up and viewable will be more than likely more popular than a not well viewed but active species.
Osedax
Well-Known Member
As a far as I saw, the animals actually weren't any more active with the lights off.
Really depends on the species and individual I guess. Auckland's kiwis are incredibly active with the lights off, and Sam the Platypus at Melbourne is the same.
Coming from the old reptile house, most of the species will have adapted to the light anyhow so maybe Taronga have just decided to keep it that way.
The New Zealand facilities I’ve visited keep their Tuatara in naturally lit exhibits and the light has no affect on their activity. If anything they enjoy the sun, being ectotherms.
Some Tuatara have been more active/visible than others, but that’s more attributable to the design of the exhibit.
FelixFS
Member
I've never seen it, not even at the old reptile house
Does Taronga advertise a feeding time? As I noted previously, Hamilton’s Tuatara are somewhat elusive, but feeding time has been a great opportunity to see them.
Fingers crossed you all get to see Taronga’s Tuatara soon!
Osedax
Well-Known Member
No, they don't.
Osedax
Well-Known Member
One has been on exhibit in there since about a week after opening!
49 Regent honeyeaters have been released:
Release of zoo-bred birds boosts critically endangered Regent Honeyeater numbers
In a significant step towards the conservation of one of Australia’s most critically endangered birds, 49 zoo-bred Regent Honeyeaters have been released into the wild on Wonnarua country in the lower Hunter Valley.
Release of zoo-bred birds boosts critically endangered Regent Honeyeater numbers
In a significant step towards the conservation of one of Australia’s most critically endangered birds, 49 zoo-bred Regent Honeyeaters have been released into the wild on Wonnarua country in the lower Hunter Valley.
I made a relatively brief visit on Sunday, and as usual my main focus was to see JR (long-beaked echidna), who was very active feeding (around 12pm) and even spent some time rolling around on his back.
The platypus was also extremely active at the same time, specifically focussing on a particular frond of the foliage that had been placed in the enclosure, seeming as if it was trying to detch it from the branch or forcefully rub itself against it. That wasn't a behaviour I'd seen before. Potentially a scent had been placed on the leaf for enrichment?
I'm not sure if these updates are already well-known, but a single capybara seemed to be enclosed on its own (adjacent to the binturong), and the pygmy hippo calf was very visible but again enclosed on its own without a parent.
The platypus was also extremely active at the same time, specifically focussing on a particular frond of the foliage that had been placed in the enclosure, seeming as if it was trying to detch it from the branch or forcefully rub itself against it. That wasn't a behaviour I'd seen before. Potentially a scent had been placed on the leaf for enrichment?
I'm not sure if these updates are already well-known, but a single capybara seemed to be enclosed on its own (adjacent to the binturong), and the pygmy hippo calf was very visible but again enclosed on its own without a parent.
Was this individual in the first Pygmy Hippo enclosure?
Weaning age for Pygmy hippopotamus is six to eight months; and the calf (Lololi) is eight months old, so this separation is presumably to assist with the weaning process.
It’ll be interesting to see how long Lololi remains at Taronga; but unrelated matches will become available in the not too distant future for the bulls at Melbourne and Adelaide via the Hippopotamus IRA, which is nearing completion.
Yes that's right
Does that mean that the separation would now be permanent - ie unlikely to see Lololi with her mother on future visits?
Not necessarily. Dependent on the time spent apart, it may be possible to reintegrate them. The zoo might even be separating them for a few hours per day to allow them time to adjust to this change.
Although I don’t know for sure, I’d be surprised if the zoo were planning to breed again given the Hippopotamus IRA is now on the horizon.