Taronga and Western Plains in the news » Taronga Zoo

06-09-2007

Isn't it funny the way all threads, sooner or later, turn to elephant discussions?
(Blame Zoo Boy and me for this one!)

Maybe this forum should be renamed elephantbeat.

07-09-2007

i'm to blame here as well....

does the taronga moat/pool have live plants in it? melbournes is certainly never clear but in never looks "dirty" in my opinion. the elephants have a pool in all three yards but they only use the deep one. the others are always clear. despite the deep pools square shape, which doesn't seem as appealing at tarongas pool, the protected plants (behind a submerged concrete barrier) add a nice effect i think, making it look more natural though its a shame they never had luck with the water lillys....

07-09-2007

the area that the elephants use doesnt have any plants in it but the side between the moat and the exhibit fence does have reeds growing on it that are out of the reach of the elephants.

i suppose your right in that the moat dosnt really look 'dirty' as such its just no where near as clean as it was pre elephants

07-09-2007

yep. that was always gonna happen. you should have seen the pretty grassy hillocks mek kapah and bong su first inherited....

is it true there was a seal in tarongas pre-elephant exhibit at one stage?!!

07-09-2007

YEp,
the seals didnt live in the exhibit but of the ones that are trained to ride in the back of a modified car, mainly the show seals, one was taked for a swim in the moat each day. so over the summer holidays when it was really hot the seals all got some time in the huge pool. it was cool to see it being used instead of left empty, the seals had a ball and so did the marine keepers who got to cool of in the pool!

07-09-2007

i thought that during the wintery weather the moat might have cleared up a bit but obviously the eles are still using it frequently.
unfortunately, most of tarongas block buster exhibits come undone through simple design flaws. however, im quite sure taronga isnt alone here insofar that despite millions of dollars being spent things never turn out quite right; mistakes that even zoobeaters can see coming.
obviously, the live animal element is an uncertain consideration...when dealing with animals things can always go wrong, ie alligators getting loose in the Amazonia display (which started with a gravel path which was later ripped up and left me wondering why the hell didnt they do that in the first place)? or dora' feet problems out at dubbo because of incorrect substrate....or the last minute landscaping of the gorilla rainforest which pretty soon looked backyard blitzed pre reno as the gorillas sauntered through pulling the plants out roots and all.
but you'd think the planners behind wild asia wouldnt have cocked up the water filter system in the moats.....in less than a year the exhibit has, not suprisingly, went from hamilton island'esque to a giant mud pool. does anyone else think the zoo should have landscaped the exhibit a little bit more functionally? i probably would never have even bothered with grass in the first place, or live palms. instead, stacks of deadfall timber, upright dead trees planted and a sand base throughout....guess it mightnt have swayed the judges quite as easily as a grassy grove and turquoise moat but i can see expensive elephant proof changes coming to fix it all up

10-09-2007

oh you know, its all trial and error. did the zoo ever expect that the moat would stay clean? maybe not. should they have pre muddied the moat befor e the elephants arrived just to avoid public dissapointment? is it really a big deal? (seriously) does it look that bad?

how are the live palms holding up? melbourne had to remove one very large tree soon after their exhibit opened but i don't think it had anything to with elephant damage, moreso, at a guess, too much root-loss during construction of the neighbouring pool.

melbourne has few live trees in their exhibits, but those that they do have a doing well. fortunately the entire area is surrounded by live trees, so teh animals have no issues with lack of shade etc..

the substrate at melbourne is also largely sandy. i still imagine it turns pretty muddy in teh rain however. but unfortunately it never rains these days.....

10-09-2007

I personally prefer the moat the way it is now because it proves that the elephants are using it andd are making the most of the space that they have. The most in it scurrent size and depth wasnt even factered in in the original plans and the very early drafts just had a small pool. So the fact that the moat is being used just proves to the planners that its inclusion was a good idea.

the palm trees are doing alright, they still have some leaves but becasue the grass has all come up and the ground is being a bit degraded through all the recent rain the roots of the trees have started to show so maybe their days are numbered before some elephant decides to rub that little bit too hard

I have some very recient photos of the top and main veiwing paddock i can upload if anyone wonts but their not the best quality

10-09-2007

yes please...

10-09-2007

ok i just uploaded them (i think!) i didnt have any of the moat but you can see the grass has all been ripped up and the beginings of the roots around the trees showing

10-09-2007

Soil compaction is always a problem especially with large animal exhibits. The live plants start dying and erosion may occur.

We had this problem with the gaur exhibit at Night Safari. The exhibit had to be terraced as it was slightly sloping and new substrate dumped in.

Taronga's ele exhibit may require terracing in the near future as it too is built on a slope.

10-09-2007

its actually not really sloping at all, only about two thirds of the lower paddock is sloping, and the lower paddock is smaller than the top one.
would a **** load of forest mulch do the job?

11-09-2007

way back, five pages there was talk about the seal enclosure being too small. The draft standards for pinnipeds has been released by DPI and in a letter from them today they have said they hope to have these finalised by the end of 2007. So Taronga can't have an exhibit that is too small as there are no standards in place yet. However I'd imagine the designers would have gone over the draft standards thoroughly before finalising plans. If they didn't and Taronga builds a multi million dollar exhibit that doesn't meet them they will have to spend millions more over the next five years to rebuild the exhibit. On a circus note it is currently legal for circuses in NSW to hold pinnipeds.

12-09-2007

has anyone given any thought to what wild asia might look like in the future, as in what species will substitute or replace animal species currently in pretty dire situations, such as the malayan tapir.....
has anyone heard if the zoo plans to introduce the malayan tapirs in with the spotted deer in the future? this could be done, with animal races connecting the tapir exhibit via the binturong pen underneath the boardwalk.....interestingly, the very early (circa 2000) conceptual plans showed tapirs and elephants being in together, linked by faux palm barriers...te tapirs are one species id like to see given a bit more room. although they have enough as it is, they obviously dont get, or cant get the lvel of enrichment the elephants currently receive so i would like to see them with a bit more room to roam. also, does anyone know.....
1-are the tapirs rotated between the two dislplays
2-are the otters introduced with the tapirs
3-has the brazillian tapir been relocated to WPZ yet
4-are the cassowary on display yet
5-has construction of the bull elephant facility started yet....even preliminary works
6-how many bongo does taronga currently have
7-which species is in the old rhino exhibit

leopard seal
13-09-2007

A second leopard seal has washed up on sydneys beaches. this time a female. Since both seals cannot be released, could this be the start of a breeding program for leopard seals at taronga? with the GSO precinct being prepared, this could get exciting.