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

[Zoofan15]

If they have not started looking already by the time they do and wait (and locate) for everting to be processed any males see currently might be to late for any chance of realistically use for breeding!

Good point. The region holds one non-breeding female
and four bulls aged 20, 13, 6 and 2. It’s unlikely we’d have the two older bulls by the time any females are brought in, so it’d be working with the two brothers are Dubbo in that case, which offers a limited founder base genetically and demographically.

Monarto Safari Park:

1.0 Isaac (20/01/2012) Ndugu x Binti

Taronga Zoo:

1.0 Ekundu (23/11/2005) Marraquie x Shani

Taronga Western Plains Zoo:

0.1 Maisha (00/00/2013) Imported 2016
1.0 Kamau (05/09/2018) Kulungu x Djembe
1.0 Masikio (21/11/2022) Kulungu x Djembe

Total regional population: 4.1 bongo

 

[Zorro]

Good point. The region holds one non-breeding female
and four bulls aged 20, 13, 6 and 2. It’s unlikely we’d have the two older bulls by the time any females are brought in, so it’d be working with the two brothers are Dubbo in that case, which offers a limited founder base genetically and demographically.

Monarto Safari Park:

1.0 Isaac (20/01/2012) Ndugu x Binti

Taronga Zoo:

1.0 Ekundu (23/11/2005) Marraquie x Shani

Taronga Western Plains Zoo:

0.1 Maisha (00/00/2013) Imported 2016
1.0 Kamau (05/09/2018) Kulungu x Djembe
1.0 Masikio (21/11/2022) Kulungu x Djembe

Total regional population: 4.1 bongo

It still amazes me how the biggest and perhaps the number one zoo in the country thought that the one pair which came from the USA was enough to have in the collection. I would of thought that as soon as it knew that they were being gifted the pair from the San Diego zoo that they would of been looking for at least one or two more pairs to proceed into the future, how hard is this to understand?

 

[Zoofan15]

It still amazes me how the biggest and perhaps the number one zoo in the country thought that the one pair which came from the USA was enough to have in the collection. I would of thought that as soon as it knew that they were being gifted the pair from the San Diego zoo that they would of been looking for at least one or two more pairs to proceed into the future, how hard is this to understand?

The original pair of bongo (imported 1996) were:

1.0 Nyeri (23/03/1995)
0.1 Nambala (19/08/1995)

A second pair were imported not long after, but the female died early on without producing young. The male was named Marraquie and was paired with Shani (first generation female born to Nyeri and Nambala).

Sadly the only import since was that of the non-breeding female (Masiha). The region quickly resorted to inbreeding.

 

[Zorro]

The original pair of bongo (imported 1996) were:

1.0 Nyeri (23/03/1995)
0.1 Nambala (19/08/1995)

A second pair were imported not long after, but the female died early on without producing young. The male was named Marraquie and was paired with Shani (first generation female born to Nyeri and Nambala).

Sadly the only import since was that of the non-breeding female (Masiha). The region quickly resorted to inbreeding.

And that seems to have been a major problem all along the importation of a few species of antelopes with a very small founder base that has no real hope of long term success

 

[Zoofan15]

And that seems to have been a major problem all along the importation of a few species of antelopes with a very small founder base that has no real hope of long term success

Sadly, that has indeed been the case for a number of ungulates in the region:

Barbary sheep - 8 founders
Himalayan tahr - 3 founders
Indian antelope - 6 founders
Collared peccary - 2 founders
Waterbuck - 3 founders
Bongo - 4 founders (1 non-breeding)
Giraffe - 9 founders

The Lowland nyala import was a welcome change and hopefully a sign of things to come (consideration given to a larger founder base).

 

[Zorro]

I believe you had mentioned before that Sitatunga antelope were from one pair only!

 

[Zoofan15]

I believe you had mentioned before that Sitatunga antelope were from one pair only!

That’s correct. A pair were imported from the US in the 1950’s and the region’s formerly large population descended entirely from them. Australia’s last Sitatunga died in 2017; and New Zealand’s last Sitatunga died in 2018.

A male was sent to Hamilton Zoo in 2007 to join their females (they had four at that point), but sadly no breeding occurred and they subsequently died out. It’s a real shame as along with Waterbuck, they’re one of the few ‘swamp’ antelopes we’ve held in the region - a nice compliment to the numerous savannah and grasslands antelopes.

 

[ReturnOfPaddyRick]

The original pair of bongo (imported 1996) were:

1.0 Nyeri (23/03/1995)
0.1 Nambala (19/08/1995)

A second pair were imported not long after, but the female died early on without producing young. The male was named Marraquie and was paired with Shani (first generation female born to Nyeri and Nambala).

Sadly the only import since was that of the non-breeding female (Masiha). The region quickly resorted to inbreeding.

Why is Masiha non-breeding?

 

[Zoofan15]

Why is Masiha non-breeding?

A definitive cause has never been identified. They’ve tried pairing her with different males to see if that made a difference, but no pregnancy has ever resulted.

It’s unfortunate as factoring in the birth interval being as short as 15 months and she could theoretically have produced 5-6 calves by now.

 

[Astrobird]

A definitive cause has never been identified. They’ve tried pairing her with different males to see if that made a difference, but no pregnancy has ever resulted.

It’s unfortunate as factoring in the birth interval being as short as 15 months and she could theoretically have produced 5-6 calves by now.

Didn't she eat a plastic bag or something that required major surgery to remove and save her life? Maybe they messed up her reproductive parts in doing so

 

[Zoofan15]

Didn't she eat a plastic bag or something that required major surgery to remove and save her life? Maybe they messed up her reproductive parts in doing so

Re. Maisha (female Eastern bongo):

There was a story going around on here many years ago about her eating a piece of metal; but since the zoo trialled pairing her with a different male in the hope that would result in pregnancy gives me the impression they had no reason to believe she was physiologically incapable of conceiving.

 

[Zorro]

Re. Maisha (female Eastern bongo):

There was a story going around on here many years ago about her eating a piece of metal; but since the zoo trialled pairing her with a different male in the hope that would result in pregnancy gives me the impression they had no reason to believe she was physiologically incapable of conceiving.

I believe this may of been the case of them having nothing to lose in trying!

 

[Zoofan15]

I believe this may of been the case of them having nothing to lose in trying!

Yes, some animals are simply incompatible; so when she failed to breed with a proven breeding bull, it was certainly worth a shot.

Imani (female Southern white rhinoceros) at Hamilton Zoo is an example of this. Despite the zoo’s intentions to breed with her in her younger years, she never allowed the bull (Kruger) to mate with her. I asked the keepers if she was a behavioural non-breeder and they said that she simply didn’t like Kruger.

 

[Jambo]

I’m having doubts as to the orangutan expansion considering there’s no plan to acquire a female Sumatran orangutan to pair with Malu. Even though they’d likely wait until the expansion was completed to bring one in, that would be within the next 1-3 years and the keeper you spoke would have at least had an awareness of future plans to bring in a female.

I agree Komodo dragons will be in the plans for redeveloping FOW, possibly even the stars of the precinct. I also consider it likely the precinct will take its name from the headlining species (as did TOTE, Gorilla Rainforest and Lion Gorge).

Worst case they still have the island opposite that they could utilise for an expansion if they desired - but it would really be great to see a large complex on a similar scale to Auckland's with expansive aerial lines.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the species replacing the elephants were a random mix rather than from a specific geographic location (ie. South East Asian species). My hope would be to see a species of Leopard, like Sri Lankan or even Clouded which have both been breeding regionally as of late. Komodo Dragons and Tapirs would be good bets at the present time - perhaps even Anteaters with the Xenarthra IRA now passed.

 

[Zoofan15]

Worst case they still have the island opposite that they could utilise for an expansion if they desired - but it would really be great to see a large complex on a similar scale to Auckland's with expansive aerial lines.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the species replacing the elephants were a random mix rather than from a specific geographic location (ie. South East Asian species). My hope would be to see a species of Leopard, like Sri Lankan or even Clouded which have both been breeding regionally as of late. Komodo Dragons and Tapirs would be good bets at the present time - perhaps even Anteaters with the Xenarthra IRA now passed.

Sri Lankan leopard would be a great addition to the precinct. The region has nine leopards across five holders and at least one of the male holders is intended to acquire a female and breed, so I have no doubt a sibling pair could be bred for Melbourne if they didn’t wish to import a breeding pair from overseas.

I could see Clouded leopard coming to Melbourne Zoo in the future, but their exhibit would ideally be located a fair distance from any big cats species (including the tiger in TOTE).

It’ll be interesting to see if Melbourne Zoo upgrade their 1992 Sumatran tiger exhibit when Hutan passes; or redevelop the exhibit for something else and remain a non-breeding holder with one exhibit in the Carnivores precinct.

 

[ReturnOfPaddyRick]

Worst case they still have the island opposite that they could utilise for an expansion if they desired - but it would really be great to see a large complex on a similar scale to Auckland's with expansive aerial lines.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the species replacing the elephants were a random mix rather than from a specific geographic location (ie. South East Asian species). My hope would be to see a species of Leopard, like Sri Lankan or even Clouded which have both been breeding regionally as of late. Komodo Dragons and Tapirs would be good bets at the present time - perhaps even Anteaters with the Xenarthra IRA now passed.

When did the Xenarthra IRA pass?

 

[Zoofan15]

When did the Xenarthra IRA pass?

It hasn’t yet. It’s the IRA currently in progress and is in the early stages. Assuming a similar timeline for the Bovid IRA and Hippopotamus IRA, we could optimistically hope for completion around 2028 (best case scenario).

 

[Jambo]

Sri Lankan leopard would be a great addition to the precinct. The region has nine leopards across five holders and at least one of the male holders is intended to acquire a female and breed, so I have no doubt a sibling pair could be bred for Melbourne if they didn’t wish to import a breeding pair from overseas.

I could see Clouded leopard coming to Melbourne Zoo in the future, but their exhibit would ideally be located a fair distance from any big cats species (including the tiger in TOTE).

It’ll be interesting to see if Melbourne Zoo upgrade their 1992 Sumatran tiger exhibit when Hutan passes; or redevelop the exhibit for something else and remain a non-breeding holder with one exhibit in the Carnivores precinct.

The bull paddock could be a great location for a leopard species (either Sri Lankan or Clouded). The exhibit is at least a good 100 meters away from the Tiger exhibit.

It would obviously require a fair amount of renovation, but the current design of the exhibit would provide interesting viewing - with only a perimeter fence required for implementation, and obviously the exhibit to be heavily replanted. I imagine Melbourne will be allowing all of the enclosures to have the grass grown back - it's already looking like it's coming back quite quickly after a few months.

I don't see why Melbourne would elect to redevelop the 1992 exhibit for another species - it's beautifully suited to Tigers and isn't really in a state where renovations are required. Although if Leopards don't end up in the Elephant Redevelopment and Melbourne wishes to remain as a non breeding holder for Tigers (which would be a huge shame); it could serve as a nice Leopard exhibit.

 

[Jambo]

Great ideas and think would be the way to go with those species or at least some of them if possible



Think the way was worded, made it sound like the IRA for had just been passed and PaddyRick thought same thing that I did (got excited too and thought maybe the practice of the other recent ones had fast-tracked the ability to process new ones. Glad you had such an awesome visite the other day.

Imagine they will keep Hutan's exhibit for Sumatran tigers being that it's a great exhibit with the moat front (was probably the best Sumatran tiger exhibit in the country in it's prime). The thing with it being a good setup for say Sri Lankan leopards is very true - the only thing with that is believe the law for housing leopards in Australia is they have to be surrounded by fencing on all four sides because of their climbing abilities.

Agree that island should become a part of the orangutan's area asap with aerial o-lines between there and their other exhibits.

Yeah had a brain fog moment there. I seemed to have confused the Xenarthra IRA with the recently completed Hippo IRA which of course we have frequently discussed here too.

The TOTE enclosure unlike the Carnivores precinct enclosure is indeed surrounded by fencing on all sides, but it does have a portion of glass across the front of the swimming pond; unsure as to whether that would be suitable for the Leopards (although I'm assuming so).

 

[Zoofan15]

Yeah had a brain fog moment there. I seemed to have confused the Xenarthra IRA with the recently completed Hippo IRA which of course we have frequently discussed here too.

The TOTE enclosure unlike the Carnivores precinct enclosure is indeed surrounded by fencing on all sides, but it does have a portion of glass across the front of the swimming pond; unsure as to whether that would be suitable for the Leopards (although I'm assuming so).

Yeah fair enough man, sorry wasnt my intention to sound critiquey in pointing it out (tonality hard to convey in words sometimes hey) - would of been exciting if it was completed too. It's just I ran away with the possibility that somehow had been passed quite quickly fsr when catching up on all the discussions you guys were having (would love it if Zoos Vic drew inspiration from this thread what you all are suggesting is really viable and would be popular with visitors majorly and good for the species including ones in region not yet at or back at MZ but would be great candidates for coming or returning to in addition to Brazilian tapirs).

Yeah I think it would be suitable for a leopard. I only know about the exhibited animals law with leopards needing to be surrounded by fencing because looked up the carnivorous mammals paperwork online a few years ago and noticed that leopards and some of the other very tree living based cats were the ones who's exhibit barriers required complete fencing on all sides because of their ability to escape easier due to their climbing abilities (know lions and tigers can be great climbers too but imagine its to do with leopards slightly smaller body frame and ability to leap, snow leopards were also required to have complete fencing as were pumas and jaguars {not that applicable anymore for those two, though some returning pumas would be great, the having to be desexed seems over-the-top leaning into the feral puma myth}.

Glass is allowable too as barriers believe, as is the low obstruction but strong piano fire fencing like the snow leopards had at Taronga had.

Yes, @steveroberts is correct that leopards must be held in fully covered exhibits as per state rules (i.e. no open air exhibits). Historically, they’ve proved notorious escape artists across the world’s zoos.

Sri Lankan leopard are unphased by living in proximity to other big cats, so they could retain the 1992 tiger exhibit for Sumatran tigers; and build additional leopard exhibits around it. Importing a breeding pair of leopard unrelated to the pairs imported by Darling Downs Zoo and the National Zoo would enable them to supply other holders with unrelated males for their offspring; but ultimately it’d depend on availability through the EEP.

Depending on their level of commitment to Sumatran tigers, another idea which can’t be ruled out is Melbourne Zoo building an additional Sumatran tiger exhibit. Combined with their extensive BOH facilities in, this would see them well placed to import a breeding pair and establish themselves as a breeding hub.