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Taronga Western Plains Zoo Taronga Western Plains Zoo 2014

Discussion in 'Australia' started by Jabiru96, 9 Jan 2014.

  1. Jabiru96

    Jabiru96 Well-Known Member

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    Although this news is from 2013 (or possibly even very early 2014), it has only been reported recently so I decided to create a new thread.

    Recent births have included 15 blackbuck as well as one of each: zebra, wapiti, addax and eland.
     
  2. Jabiru96

    Jabiru96 Well-Known Member

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    A new male zebra has been introduced to the herd (name or source not said).
     
  3. Jabiru96

    Jabiru96 Well-Known Member

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  4. jay

    jay Well-Known Member 20+ year member

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  5. Jabiru96

    Jabiru96 Well-Known Member

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    However, this was not due to the virus that killed the others but rather a liver problem.
     
  6. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  7. Hix

    Hix Wildlife Enthusiast and Lover of Islands 15+ year member Premium Member

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    I was in Dubbo the other and had the opportunity to do a quick circuit of the zoo (mainly looking for birds) and I noticed the Dromedaries and Aoudad (Barbary Sheep) are not in their normal enclosure - a single black Rhino had the whole enclosure to himself. The camels and Barbary sheep have been reocated to one of the rocky-substrate ungulate exhibits that used to have blackbuck (at the other end of the zoo).

    :p

    Hix
     
  8. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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  9. zooboy28

    zooboy28 Well-Known Member

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    More Galapagos Tortoise breeding success announced on TWPZ's Facebook page:

    Lots of photos there too: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.711620178881866.1073741888.162191930491363&type=1
     
  10. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Congrats on this achievement!

    Any news on to which (sub-)species the breeding Galapagos giants at TWPZ may be assigned to?
     
  11. zooboy28

    zooboy28 Well-Known Member

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    It is a great achievement, and possibly a result of the relatively large group held here - 3.2.1. I have no idea what subspecies they would be, nor whether they would necessarily be a pure subspecies, as I'm not sure the adults are.
     
  12. zooboy28

    zooboy28 Well-Known Member

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    There is also an article on the hatchlings on the zoo's website: https://taronga.org.au/news/2014-04-30/zoos-new-galapagos-breeding-success

     
  13. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Any news on the rhino front (either blacks or Indians)?
     
  14. Coquinguy

    Coquinguy Well-Known Member

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    In March a tender was awarded for the construction of the new 'critical breeding elephant facility'.
     
  15. Hix

    Hix Wildlife Enthusiast and Lover of Islands 15+ year member Premium Member

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    I don't know either - I just looked at some photos I took a couple of years back - one graphic identified them as Geochelone elephantopus, and an enclosure label said Geochelone nigra.

    :p

    Hix
     
  16. Kifaru Bwana

    Kifaru Bwana Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Not even a bit of history or origins from other zoos?
    They claimed the males had just reached maturity (that is not too old …).
     
  17. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    how many adults does Western Plains have? According to the following link, in 1980 Taronga Zoo had 1.2 G. elephantopus guentheri (the information presumably having come from the 1981 IZY).
    Galapagos Islands Guided Tour - The Endangered Galapagos Giant Tortoise
    However I think they have also imported G. e. elephantopus from the Honolulu colony, yes?
     
  18. Hix

    Hix Wildlife Enthusiast and Lover of Islands 15+ year member Premium Member

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    Taronga's annual report lists 1.2 G.e.guntheri every year up until the 1982-1983 report where they were just listed as G. elephantopus. In that same report 3.3 were imported from Honolulu, and all nine were then sent to the new enclosure built for them at Western Plains. The subspecies imported was not identified.

    In the 1984-84 and subsequent Annual Reports (until 1996-97 when they stopped publishing the animal inventory) the 3.3 were marked as being on breeding loan from Honolulu Zoo.

    :p

    Hix
     
  19. zooman

    zooman Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Interesting name, l assumed it would be a bull holding facility.
     
  20. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    huh. That sounds like a way of just avoiding admitting they are mixing different subspecies together (if the original identification of the guentheri was correct and I don't see why it wouldn't have been if they knew where they came from).