brazilian tapir @ taronga » Taronga Zoo

brazilian tapir @ taronga
15-12-2006

has anybody seen the brazilian tapirn held at taronga yet? all i know is that its a girl...hoping to see her tuesday

16-12-2006

zuki has, but she isnt to well at the moment so i will have to do!

the tapir is from adleaide i beleive, female, and is housed in one of the old hippo exhibits in the africa zone- the 2 exhibits jst before existing and just before the sun bears, who are in the old, old , old lion exhibit.

its the upper exhibit
18-12-2006

the tapir is in the hippo exhibit on the left-hand side as you head from the rhino exhibit, or down hill. last time i visited the area was being landscaped with turf and new plants-tomorrow im going to taronga so will check it out.

18-12-2006

kool get heaps of pics and place them on Webshots - Photo Sharing, Free Wallpaper and Free Screensavers , myself mark, ben and zuki all use this and its brilliant, together we would have over 1000 pics!

18-12-2006

zoo boy
out of the thousands of photos of zoos how we do we find yours?

18-12-2006

I've also uploaded some photos. Look for those by dobhron

18-12-2006

cheers will add u as a friend now, any1 else on webshots

19-12-2006

she came from adelaide right? anyone heard if there are any plans for her to get a mate there or did taronga just want something to fill an empty exhibit? brazilian tapir desperately need fresh genes. there are now no tapir left in the region that can be bred other than the dubbo pair.

taronga's tapirs
20-12-2006

the brazillian tapir was out on exhibit yesterday and not shy at all. the exhibit, albeit a temporary one im sure, has just been returfed and some screening vegetation planted at the front, but she seems very settled and was actively exploring the exhibit.
fnnily enough, the african waterhole now contains sun bears, indian rhinos and brazilian tapirs. geographically confused....?????
as for the malayan tapirs, neither had fly veils on and whats more remarkable, they didnt appear to have 'cloudy eyes'...could it be the zoo has discovered a cure.
finally got to fully appreciate the malayan tapir swimming in its exhibit yesterday through the glass-amazing. the silvery gibbons were off display yesterday-im hoping its because they have a baby and they were bonding with it, but it was more likely a medical.
no baby francois langur yet, 2 peccaries on exhibit. the renovations to the tahr mountain are coming on nicely and the southern oceans project is progrssing fast. i overheard a keeper saying it will be ready sooner than expected as there has been no weather delays. already, boardwalks, rock work and immersion features including a timber 'jetty' are in place, and the seal theatre which will have the most amazing view is having a cover intalled over it.
the final bit of taronga news is a third firodland penguin. there used to be four, then 2, so im not sure where the third one has come from but two have now been seperated off into one of the old heritage aviaries. maybe to encourage breeding?
and the elephants were great

20-12-2006

from what i here, is tht a south american precint is next, they have been aquiring many species, like tapir and peccaries, and there are plenty of bird species, i carnt remeber, is there alot of room around the alligators for an expansion there of large species.

lol the african savannah sounds more like noahs savannah!!!!

did u get any pics?

20-12-2006

i did but not on my digital camera. the african trpoical savannah comes before the south american precinct, and i dont think the tapir and peccary are part of any long-term collection plan for taronga.
in the master plan, which bases the south american precinct on opposite serpenteria and around where bush-birds are there is no mention at all of tapir or peccary exhibits. migh i suggest that these animals are 'floor filler's and in the case of the tapir particualrly will go west like cheetahs, indian rhinos and many others before her.
the amazonia exhibit will be a 'cape york' exhibit with fruit bats, crocodiles and tre kanagaroos. and that reminds me of my next point. in the wetland aviary in wild asia there are now fruit bats. i always wanted to see fruit bats in a walk-through aviary and thought that they couldnt be displayed this way because of the risk of disease transmission from wild bats. either way, they look great and tie in really well to the mosaic outside which tells how only bats and rodents reached australia through asia.

20-12-2006

wow tht is so kool mate, bats, was tht in the last aivary close to coastal precint, tht wasnt open the day i was there.

so what else did u notice, and in the masterplan does it say anything interesting? like what new species etc, especially africa!

tarongas plans..
20-12-2006

from what i saw of the taronga masterplan, the south america section was were the orangutans now are. i think its pretty safe to assume that spider monkeys will go in here whenever the zoo finally gets around to doing a new orang exhibit (wonder were they will fit that?). i think the new coastal section at taronga is gonna be fantastic. seaside views, all that sandstone, new theatre and an amazing collection of pinnepeds and penguins. lets hope (but not for the poor seal) the zoo manages to get a male leopard seal. no other zoos have them and they can't catch one, so it'll be up to wether or not one gets stranded and needs rehabilitating.

as glyn said, tarongas "amazonia" with american alligators, will become cape york. no doubt the gator exhibit will stay the same and some crocodiles will move in. australian tree-kangaroos? i hope so. supprisingly we have no bennet's or lumholt'z here in zoos!!!! originally there was to be a new guinea section, but that area is to be a bull elephant exhibit as we know...

what species were the bats glyn? i'm guessing they were grey-headed? unfortunately these guys don't live in asia, but many of our other species such as the black and i think spectacled do. they are rarer in zoos but would be great if taronga started up a small colony...

i think your right about the tapirs and peccaries being fillers. but when that masterplan was drawn up i believe (?) brazilian tapir were to be phased out along with jaguars and the like so there were no large mammal exhibits needed. since the malayans have not fared so well, i think priorities have changed so you never know.

flying foxes
20-12-2006

the bats were grey-headed flying foxes which the zoo gave some nice information about how many bats there are in australasia and how succesful this group of animals has been at spreading throughout the region.
spider monkeys have been nominated for the orangs, as too have squirrel monkeys. the south american precinct is actually going to be quite big, bu the papua new guinea exhibit you refer to could still be on the table. the new bull exhibit doesnt actually sit where its going, PNG is supposed to start near the present crocodile exhibit and, through a canopy walkway, wind along the hillside and rejoin the main roadway near the concert lawns.
the devlopment of the second bull exhibit wont compromise anythingbut planned open space and an invertebrate interpretive centre, which im sure could be located elsewhere.
so far developments have not deviated far from the masterplan, so im sure if thats anything to go by there wont be any large mammals in south america.
as the coastal exhibit takes shape, anyone visiting will see the new lift that connects the lower entrance to the mid-way retail complex and food market. along the main boulevard will be a rocky seal holding pool, that will link to the theatre. the theatre is being built on the old condor aviary site, or next to the moore park aviary and stair case and might be entered through the old aquarium entrance.
on the second terrace will be the aviaries, leopard seal, marine mammal research centre and penguins. apparently the front of the penguin exhibit will be 80 metres of glass. how spectacular.

20-12-2006

its something like 70 million dollars, and if some decent research takes place, well worth it.

what does the masterplans say about the area now with thar, lions tigers, bears meerkats etc, will this cahnge to a himilayan section, and what is happening with tropical africa, is this saying midly no giraffe?