Melbourne Zoo The Future of Zoos Victoria 2025 (Speculation/Fantasy)

dylan downward said:
I had a feeling that be the case with the trees that they need to grow still
I just feel like there was a lot of empty areas that could be filled with more animals in decent size exhibits on the way to the elephants they currently have zebra and ostriches on the way atm with also views into first drive through area were the bus goes
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The zebras are the geldings from Melbourne Zoo. Even bearing in mind they’ve been phased out of Melbourne Zoo’s collection (a wise move in my opinion to allow a focus on giraffe), I think Zoos Victoria manage breeding well on the whole, with a decent sized breeding herd on the savannah.
dylan downward said:
Is Werribee still at the start of there master plans
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They’re at least half-way through with the Bison and P-horse exhibits completed; and now the elephant complex.

Hyena, Cheetah breeding, lion expansion etc. is still to come; as well as the SkySafari. All of this was put on hold until completion of the elephant complex (which went way over budget).
 
Zoofan15 said:
The zebras are the geldings from Melbourne Zoo. Even bearing in mind they’ve been phased out of Melbourne Zoo’s collection (a wise move in my opinion to allow a focus on giraffe), I think Zoos Victoria manage breeding well on the whole, with a decent sized breeding herd on the savannah.


They’re at least half-way through with the Bison and P-horse exhibits completed; and now the elephant complex.

Hyena, Cheetah breeding, lion expansion etc. is still to come; as well as the SkySafari. All of this was put on hold until completion of the elephant complex (which went way over budget).
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I really hope they look at getting more African wild dog to
 
dylan downward said:
I had a feeling that be the case with the trees that they need to grow still
I just feel like there was a lot of empty areas that could be filled with more animals in decent size exhibits on the way to the elephants they currently have zebra and ostriches on the way atm with also views into first drive through area were the bus goes
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Where Ostriches in with the zebra?
 
dylan downward said:
I really hope they look at getting more African wild dog to
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The plan was to build a new complex (just before the elephants) called the 'Waterhole precinct'. This was going to feature a breeding complex dedicated to Cheetah and African Wild Dogs. So there's potentially the possibility they will look at acquiring more (and breeding) in the long term.
 
dylan downward said:
I really hope they look at getting more African wild dog to
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It’d be nice to see a breeding pack of African wild dog, though if they’re to be housed adjacent to hyena as the masterplan suggests, then a non-breeding pack is more likely. The species breeds poorly when housed adjacent to hyena; or next to another pack of African wild dog.

Altina are to date the only facility in the region to have bred from two packs housed in adjacent exhibits at the same time.
 
Jambo said:
The plan was to build a new complex (just before the elephants) called the 'Waterhole precinct'. This was going to feature a breeding complex dedicated to Cheetah and African Wild Dogs. So there's potentially the possibility they will look at acquiring more (and breeding) in the long term.
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It would definitely be really good to see this happen over the next few years
Do we know why the serval are not on display?
 
dylan downward said:
I personally believe this the best elephant exhibit I ever seen
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Werribee’s elephant complex is arguably the best in the world at this point in time. It’s set a new standard that will undoubtably be matched and even exceeded within the next decade or so (globally); but for now Zoos Victoria should be extremely proud of this complex, which will meet the needs of their herd for decades; if not a century to come.

In 2003, Trail of the Elephants opened and similarly was regarded the best in the region. The fact as soon as 10 years later, Zoos Victoria began planning a new exhibit shows the high regard they have for the welfare of this species.
 
Jambo said:
It's Mek Kapah - calves are a little hard to tell from this angle but I'd agree it's likely Roi and Aiyara who Mek Kapah often babysits.
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In the video I saw last week, it was interesting to see how much Roi-Yim has grown compared to the female calves. The one standing next to him is a fraction smaller, so should be Aiyara.

Long term, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kati overtake Kati in size. Num-Oi is almost half a tonne heavier than Dokkoon.

1.0 Luk Chai (2009) - 4280kg
0.1 Mek Kepah (1973) - 3390kg
0.1 Dokkoon (1993) - 2870kg
0.1 Kulab (2000) - 3840kg
0.1 Num-Oi (2001) - 3310kg
0.1 Mali (2010) - 2350kg
 
Zoofan15 said:
In the video I saw last week, it was interesting to see how much Roi-Yim has grown compared to the female calves. The one standing next to him is a fraction smaller, so should be Aiyara.

Long term, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kati overtake Kati in size. Num-Oi is almost half a tonne heavier than Dokkoon.

1.0 Luk Chai (2009) - 4280kg
0.1 Mek Kepah (1973) - 3390kg
0.1 Dokkoon (1993) - 2870kg
0.1 Kulab (2000) - 3840kg
0.1 Num-Oi (2001) - 3310kg
0.1 Mali (2010) - 2350kg
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Yeah Aiyara and Roi are both naturally close due to their mothers being mother/daughter. Those two are usually always together, Kati spends a lot of time with mum, Num Oi who's the most protective out of all three mothers. Roi tends to stay close to Mali by choice, but he's slowly learning how to 'venture off' - accompanied by Aiyara of course.

Dokkoon is a small cow, but she's still reasonably sized height wise. Num Oi's huge; but that's apparently a result of her diet in Thailand. It will be interesting to see which of their daughters will end up being larger - but Kati is a good bet. Mali's surprised me with her size; after all, Bong Su is her father and she's a very small cow (even smaller than her mother).
 
Jambo said:
Yeah Aiyara and Roi are both naturally close due to their mothers being mother/daughter. Those two are usually always together, Kati spends a lot of time with mum, Num Oi who's the most protective out of all three mothers. Roi tends to stay close to Mali by choice, but he's slowly learning how to 'venture off' - accompanied by Aiyara of course.

Dokkoon is a small cow, but she's still reasonably sized height wise. Num Oi's huge; but that's apparently a result of her diet in Thailand. It will be interesting to see which of their daughters will end up being larger - but Kati is a good bet. Mali's surprised me with her size; after all, Bong Su is her father and she's a very small cow (even smaller than her mother).
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Dokkoon, Mali and their calves are a very close social unit as you’d expect; but Aiyara and Kati also have a lot of interactions due to Aiyara’s confidence to wander of from her family unit and find Kati (who’s usually close by either Kulab or Num-Oi). It’ll be interesting to see how their relationships develop over the years as Roi-Yim will transition out of the herd anytime from 6-7 years.

I too am surprised that Mali’s smaller than Dokkoon considering her father’s size. Kulab is a huge female and Ongard got size genes from both parents. He was 2.9 tonnes when he was exported to the US at the age of 7.5 years, so comparable to Dokkoon. I don’t know his current rate, but he was on track to exceed Luk Chai, who hit the 4 tonne mark in December 2023, aged 14.5 years. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ongard was now approaching 5 tonnes.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I too am surprised that Mali’s smaller than Dokkoon considering her father’s size. Kulab is a huge female and Ongard got size genes from both parents. He was 2.9 tonnes when he was exported to the US at the age of 7.5 years, so comparable to Dokkoon. I don’t know his current rate, but he was on track to exceed Luk Chai, who hit the 4 tonne mark in December 2023, aged 14.5 years. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ongard was now approaching 5 tonnes.
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It seems she got her mother's genes when it comes to her size. Ongard is quite a tall bull (much like his parents), and even Pathi Harn is growing to be quite a big bull too. Man Jai in comparison, was also on the smaller side - perhaps Dokkoon just had the stronger genes.

Bong Su was apparently five tonnes, so I wouldn't be surprised if Ongard is indeed nearing his father's size. It would be wonderful if he could hit that mark one day! He was always quite tall and skinny but he's started to round out in recent years which is to be expected.
 
Jambo said:
It seems she got her mother's genes when it comes to her size. Ongard is quite a tall bull (much like his parents), and even Pathi Harn is growing to be quite a big bull too. Man Jai in comparison, was also on the smaller side - perhaps Dokkoon just had the stronger genes.

Bong Su was apparently five tonnes, so I wouldn't be surprised if Ongard is indeed nearing his father's size. It would be wonderful if he could hit that mark one day! He was always quite tall and skinny but he's started to round out in recent years which is to be expected.
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Being a bull elephant calf, you’d expect to see Roi-Yim overtake the cow calves pretty rapidly from this point on. It’ll be an interesting comparison as they’re all born within two months of each other (Aiyara and Roi-Yim within nine days) versus larger age gaps were differences in size could be explained by age alone.

There’s a good chance Luk Chai will reach five tonnes, since he’s still approaching his prime (and has gained nearly 300kg in the last 14 months).
 
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