Melbourne Zoo Developments » Melbourne Zoo

08-06-2007

i agree glyn - flexibilty is something that is becoming increasingly important as zoos strive for better collection management, but i still don't like non-geographical based displays!

08-06-2007

i dont like non-geographic displays much either, but i think in the future if melbourne developed mainly along the lines of asian and african rainforests, australia and marine, asian highlands and some png, south american and madagascan fauna then such a display would be suitable.
there are flaws too in basing whole areas of the zoo around precise geographic themes, as such displays dont account for future changes in priority, etc. it mightnt be one of taronga's premier exhibits, but it is an example of an incredibly adaptable exhibit. it could very neatly be changed into a northern australian or new guinean diplay, or even some gibbons on the background islands with saltwater crocodiles in the front...on the other hand, indian rhinos, sun bears and brazilian tapirs in an african waterhole just look messy. but if the zoo developed a flexible display along these lines and interpreted it well, along the themes of say poaching, then i think it could get away with it...im actually a big fan of san diego's heart of the zoo concept

08-06-2007

yeah - i like additional themes, but wanna see them still based within geographical precincts. for example the asian zone could focus on deforestation for plantations, the african bushmeat and poaching..

i kinda think by splitting things up into geographical themes you have a better opportunity to educate about the specific problems of that particualr region - i think speaking broadly does little to gain understanding of the real issues.

from Rigo the gorilla thread....
28-09-2007

the otter will go nicely in the hippo pool. it will certainly give them a MASSIVE deep pool to swim in so it'll no doubt be fantastic to see them underwater like we have never seen them before. however, they havn't bred them in a while now and are down to just a couple of males. time for some new additions i think.

its a pity they never kept those brazilian tapir. they would have been a perfect choice for the hippo exhibit (though its a bit skimpy on the land space). if they shaded the area better they could always put the otters in one and the malayn tapir in the other.

unfortunately however, suppose thats the end of our "african" rainforest precinct. i so very much hope i see pygmy hippo return to melbourne in a couple of years time.

the clouded leopard is ancient. i think she's about 20 years old. small cats is one of the shittiest, smallest exhibits at melbourne. hopefully she'll have access to her night den during the day so she cat stay off display if she chooses. i'm assuming this is too free up space for the sumatran tiger cubs in the big cats exhibit?

and on a last note...stories by the sea (ugh, what a crappy name!) do you know how big the final precinct will be? i assume since you say the clouded leopard is moving to small cats it will not swallow up this area, something
i'm very supprised about. where abouts will the seals be moved to? or will they construct another pool, move them in and then demolish the old?

28-09-2007

I'm pretty sure melbourne zoo will have first choice of any of Timothy's (hippo) offspring.....a sort of new for old replacement...ha ha. Another problem with his enclosure is that the water filter needs replacing....at the moment it's not suitable for a pygmy hippo but OK for otters - I guess they don't mess up the water as much.

I liked the Brazilian tapir....at least you could see them. The Malayan tapir is gorgeous but I believe her eye problems are pretty chronic. She's let out at night....after every one as gone home.

Nona the clouded leopard is 17 I think but she's pretty healthy and yes, the small cats exhibits are pretty ******. They face the wrong direction...they should be facing north. Part of the problem is that the cats disappear over the top or into the off limits areas to get some sun/warmth.

Stories of the sea will take over the existing seal exhibit and class rooms initially. There's a new entrance being put in at the Eastern end of the zoo/car park for easy access during contruction. The path will be blocked off just before you get to the bistro/food area. So if you're heading to buy a latte you'll have to turn right, past 'small cat alley' which is to remain open. Then you end up on the main drive near platypus again. I'm pretty sure small cats are being revamped at a later stage (but I may have dreamt it).

The South American parrots and agoutis will be placed in other enclosures around the zoo...haven't been told where yet.

One of the trees has been transplanted (the name is on the tip of my tongue...) from in front of the p'pus to the zoo's rail gate entrance. I believe there are more trees being transplanted as well....costs a bomb. There will be new 'temporary' maps issued. Small cats aren't on it b/c no one is sure how they'll react to the construction and they may hide for a few weeks.

The seals are being moved to some temporary pools which have been built next to the new water treatment plant. Again, they're not on the map, because no-one knows how well they'll settle. It's really tiny compared to what they're used to and if there are problems with the seals I think there's a "Plan B" and an alternate location but I don't know where.

There'll be another map issued in a few months once construction has started and animals have been rehoused and settled.

An additional tiger exhibit is planned on the other side of the wooden bridge where the tigers are at the moment. There's a lake there at the moment but the plan is to fill it in. The pelicans and cormorants are going to the new 'stories of the sea' (LUUURRVV that name) exhibit along with the penguins. I've heard whispers about a Dholl (is this spelt correctly) being put here also....but again I may have dreamt it.

Yes, the otters are old. That group will probably be replaced with another one eventually. I'm not aware of any plans to phase out the otter so I'm pretty sure they'll be replaced with a new group.....like the cape hunting dogs, I guess. (They WERE replaced by a new group when the original group got too old.)

There's also a young male snow leopard on it's way for the young female. The other two are well into their teens and the old female is almost blind and Melbourne Zoo is part of a regional breeding program. Not sure where the male is coming from.

.....I thinks that's it for now.....

ooooh, just remembered, the two adolescent mandrills (Lara the female and her younger brother) have gone to Adelaide. Young Leroy is still at Melbourne with the adults.

28-09-2007

sheez, big movements!!!

otters arn't going anywhere i can assure you. the region has a program in place for the species. if they move them to the hippo exhibits for a few years they could probably afford to get another pair and breed them as they would have space for two groups, in fact overseas zoos have mixed binturong and otter together, so theres an option there for housing for even a third group potentially.

i was hoping the pelicans and cormorants would move to the new coastal area. however, the idea of filling in th elake for another tiger exhibit doesn't impress me much. not in the slightest. moreso, i think it'd be best to get the birds out, let the water unfoul and just do a bit of gardening on the islands to house white-cheeked gibbons and javan langurs (to be replaced by francois' long-term as to plan). that would be much cheaper and would also allow the primates to be viewed from both the tiger bridge and the raised platforms at the orangs. zoos victoria does need more tiger exhibit space, but they may as well either add that next door to the current exhibit (where there is just a very small holding enclosure for ramalon and undeveloped space) or build another at werribee, which has to get over its african safari obsession and get on board with programs for other species i say!

dhole, or asian wild dogs ARE planned for melbourne long-trem. taronga imported a pair from cambodia recently that have since had a pup. i wasn't so excited about tis addition to the region. would have liked to see the maned wolf secured first (theres another one that should move to werribee!) so far only melbourne and dubbo keep them and both zoos have filled all available space...

28-09-2007

Melbourne zoo only has one maned wolf at the moment.

I think there's a whole lot going on already. Australia is kinda limited I guess as we're so far from everyone/where else. The collections are definitely getting smaller and everyone is being a lot more selective. There are no plans to bring in extra jaguars or leopards....fantastic animals....which is a great loss to the region.

I would love to see more bird species as well as more ungulates. We all know it's highly unlikely.

28-09-2007

I wouldn't like to see the pelican lake filled in either. It provides a nice backdrop to the whol asian region as well as being a centre for the three component parts. I like Patricks idea of the gibbons and languars.

28-09-2007

or heres an idea, just leave the lake as is. yeh the water is foul, but pelicans range throughout australasia which means that at least melbourne has this precinct correct.
its nice to hear the otters have a bigger exhibit, but disheartening at the same time. im normally pro zoo, pro ARAZPA, but given current and future investment in the species(pygmy hippo) in terms of exhibitory (melbourne's exhibit is amazing and im sure taronga and adelaide will catch up soon) i cant help but feel the few years wasted housing animals in single sex groups was unjustified.
i only hope the program at taronga works, and that mareeba get involved. also what happened to the melbourne offspring? where were the calves sent?
and whilst i can live with, and accept, the phase out of congo buffalo, the sad situation of bongo, and sitatunga, and envy okapi, the loss of pygmy hippo would be a big blow which would leave me resigned to more generic 'primate forests' exhibits of mandrill, gorilla and colobus.

29-09-2007

glyn,

I feel for you Ozzie zoo fans that so few species can be accomodated in ARAZPA zoos. It seems a fact of life with so few zoos to do the merry rounds.

I have recently joined ARAZPA as an associate member and look forward to getting more in at the deep end of discussions on which species would best suit ARAZPA's an Ozzie zoo fans long term plans .......

30-09-2007

yes glyn i totally agree.

i am actually very suprised that melbourne invested all this money in a marvellous pygmy hippo exhibit, with breeding facilties attached, only to never attempt to repeat past success' by breeding their hippo. instead, despite their being animals in the region unrelated to eachother, the population was allowed to age, by all zoos, and now its dubious it will be able to secure another generation of animals for display.

which is terribly sad. pygmy hippo are an excellent species, ideal for city zoos. they are charismatic, interesting and hugely popular when displayed in with underwater viewing (and yet strangely the only zoo that did this is now the only zoo without!!).

and as you say glyn, its a pretty big blow losing yet another african rainforest species that isnt a primate! our future exhbits of this nature are looking increasingly boring!!!

eventually, i am confident that australiasian zoos will have new import standards passed for artiodactyls. i only hope when that does happen, that this time not only do zoos work closer together in prioritising and establishing a common collection, but also take a little more responsibility for themselves and stop importing pairs and trios of animals. its this "import the bare minimum" and rely on our counterparts attitude that has the zoos in such a dilemma.

02-10-2007

I'm pretty sure that Melbourne's pygmy hippo went to Tarongo because they have a breeding facility and Melbourne didn't. Otherwise they would have left him where he was and brought in the female from Adelaide.

I've been in the off limits pygmy hippo enclosure and all they have are night dens (one for each animal/enclosure.

The other hippo enclosure (that's been empty since the female died) has been filled with water. The water has carp in it. Sounds boring but they look pretty good.

02-10-2007

it doesn't look like this?

Picture 13

02-10-2007

i was also of the opinion that MZ has superior breeding facilities too.
i still reckon the p. hippo program could have been, should have been, based out of MZ, rather than TZ, but at the end of the day, and for whatever reason, if this transfer results in just one, two or even three baby hippos, then id be over the moon. pairing with the Mareeba animal's offspring may just be enough to see this species through the next couple of decades in Australian zoos.
realistically the zoos in this country will only ever hold small numbers of this species but if Taronga Zoo, Adelaide, Melbourne and Mareeba collectively hold up to 12-15 things could be OK.
The Pygmy Hippo is one of sveral exotic species that, for whatever reason, seemed to fall through the cracks in the ARAZPA floor during the 1990s.
Had this program been initiated in the early 90 to mid 90s the future of this species may have been more secure. the death of Taronga's male imported from Honolulu Zoo and Merlbourne's female tipped the species perilously close to regional collapse. and when Taronga's female eventually dies another bloodline will become regionally extinct. BTW, does anyone know where the Mareeba animals were sourced from, and where, for that matter, did the Pearl Coast Zoo source its animals from?
the P Hippo situation mirrors that of several other species which, with better, more aggressive management, could have been sustained. even African Lions were, up until recently, in bad straights in Australian Zoo circles, although its obviously easier to boost the population of an 'easy to import animal kept in numerous institutions than it is to rapidly increase the populations of an already not so common animal with longer generation times.
Brazillian Tapir, Maned Wolf, River Hippo, Collared Peccary....the outcomes for these species are all different but they share some things in common. Lack of regional cooperation, unfortunate deaths, the fact that they did exist in Australian zoos and the fact that they now have a very small gene base upon which to recover populations from. this is particularly true for the tapir and wolf, which are now the subject of renewed regional priority (wolf-Wellington Zoo, Tapir, to replace Malayan). However, zoos really did put all their eggs in one basket when they opted to ditch our only exotic pig species for Babirusa. this decision was made way before at least 2001-6 years ago Im sure the Peccary population could have been rebuilt. now, were watching it vanish rapidly. TZ no longer has this species on display???? its only a matter of time before it vanished completely. alas
im sure ARAZPA policy has gotten better, and Govt funding has caught up in the nick of time to give all our major zoos the sorts of facilities theyll need to build up more sustainable populations long term.

03-10-2007

Patrick,

There are two areas with off limits yards and pools but I don't recall that many dens (or the the hay storage area.)

As far i know MZ pygmy went to TZ because they had a breeding facility and MZ didn't....otherwise why would they go to the trouble of moving our pygmy hippo?

Look, I'm not part of the decision making process so I really don't how they come up with these decisions.

Glyn, I think we'll be seeing less and less variety of species in Australia and the region in general. A lot of the animals at MZ won't be replaced when they go (ie. jaguars, syrian bears, puma....ocelot has already gone).