I was just trying to find out about this but all I got was that this brolga (Delilah) is still alive and now at Werribee. She was hatched (wild) in 1965 so is now about 50 years old. I couldn't find out if she ever bred at the zoo (I have a feeling the Auckland pair was bred at Healesville rather than the zoo, but I don't know for sure).
Good point, I had a look and saw a few references (but not from any reputable sources) that said one of the tortoises was 75 (in 2007), so that certainly suggests the brolga is not the oldest! Possibly I misread the source (can't find it now to check), and it actually said she was the oldest at Werribee, but I'm not sure.
the three Aldabra tortoises (one female, two males) were a gift from the Seychelles Prime Minister in 1975 (i.e. 40 years ago). So I guess c.50 years would be a minimum age. Regarding the brolga, the Zoos Victoria site does say "Delilah is the oldest animal at Werribee Open Range Zoo".
I'm not sure if this is particularly noteworthy, but in an episode of Purina Pound Pups to Dog Stars that aired a while ago, there was a pair of trained rooks that were seemingly being kept under private ownership. Would they have been kept under permit?
I couldn't say what those specific people were doing obviously, but yes you need a permit to keep rooks.
also worth noting is that in the Auckland Zoo news thread it was mentioned that the zoo now holds Orange-fronted Kakariki on display.
I have never heard of capicola being in NZ before. Where did you hear about them? I had a quick google and some sites list them for Australia, but I wonder if there is confusion with roseogrisea (i.e. the domestic Barbary Dove form risoria) and senegalensis. Some Australian government sites list Eurasian Collared Dove S. decaocto (by which they actually refer to risoria) and capicola (perhaps through confusion with the common name Ringneck Dove). But I don't really know.
The species is included in the 1999-2004 Atlas of Bird Distribution in New Zealand, and it is mentioned in the 2011 Fitter & Merton guide to birds of New Zealand. Both sources give the Latin name for the species.
Fitter got his information from the Atlas. I suspect the Atlas records are actually Barbary Doves (i.e. Ringneck Doves) S. roseogrisea/risoria where the common name has caused confusion for those reporting them (sort of similar to that Redpoll thread on the BirdingNZ forum). There may be S. capicola in NZ but I'm not aware of them.
sadly, the last pelican in a NZ zoo has died at Wellington Zoo: Lanky the pelican, Wellington Zoo's longest resident, dies | Stuff.co.nz
quite a number came over from Australia in 2012. At least a couple were reported to have been shot, the rest have since disappeared. None have been reliably seen in at least a year. They may still be around the area (in Northland) but they aren't being seen any more.
Am I right to assume that the finches on the list in the OP that are not included here either are extremely rare or no longer exist in NZ? Gallery - New Zealand Finch Breeders Association
not really. That gallery just has a selection of species - it isn't intended to be comprehensive. Basically, most of the species on the list with one star are common to uncommon; probably about a quarter of them could be considered rare to very rare. The ones with two stars probably are either not in NZ [or never occurred here in the first place] or are as good as gone.
Auckland Zoo now has North Island Saddlebacks (Philesturnus carunculatus rufusater), the first on display in a zoo since Orana Park last had them in 2010. See here: The sweet sound of conservation success No numbers are given here, but another article (against the transfer of the birds to the zoo) says there are ten of them.
Just a question. You say that some native duck species are kept privately. Would these be the paradise shelduck and grey duck which are apparently huntable (and therefore non or only partially protected)?
I think there are Brown Teal in private hands, but not sure if they are owned, or part of a breeding programme.
