I believe Taronga had a strong interest a few years ago in importing some of the rare Philippine deer they are very attractive but it appears they may of lost interest in them unfortunately
November 2024 will be crunch time for Adelaide’s Giant pandas, with a decision expected to be announced by then whether they’ll continue with them. If they do, it’s clear they’re not going to see results with the current breeding pair. The decline of sun bears has been attributed to a lack of availability, with TB apparently rife in South East Asian centres. Europe has had a series of female cubs born in recent years (and has an overall shortage of males), so importing surplus females from Europe could be an option as and when our ageing bears pass. The plan from there would obviously be to source males as and when they become available. If the decision is made to switch bear species, Sloth or Spectacled seem the most likely. Sloth bears in particular breed well in zoos around the world, so would be my preference.
Eurasian/NA Brown bears would do quite well in southern climates, they have an established history too as far as large bear species go. With smaller bears, as much as I love to speculate, I find it incredibly unlikely there would be regional support within the next 10-15 years to import and establish a new regional population of even a smaller bear species. I think it’s likely Sun Bears will phase out as predicted. My gut tells me new plans will only be considered when the last of the current sun bears pass away, and I have heard some zoos consider Binturong as a somewhat suitable (albeit smaller) replacement for some Sun Bear exhibits.
@Zoofan15: Thanks for those infos. Indeed, in this case sloth bears would be/are the better choice (specially because I think that despite the recent breeding successes, European zoos will need their sun bears for theirselves). @baekho100: Agree, but from the view of conservation, it is more important that zoos keep and breed (more) threatened bear species then brown bears.
Would any zoos consider aardvark as a potential new species to replace the copious amounts of meerkat enclosures many of them have? I get they don't have the same activity level, and probably wouldn't be as popular with kids, but they'd make for an exciting and unusual addition to many of their "Been there, Done that" exotic animal species that no longer draw crowds. Also, are we allowed to import exotic pinnipeds, such as Grey Seal, Harbour Seal, and California Sea Lion? Finally, have we kept Beaver in Australia before? Any chance of them making a return if there was enough interest, or are they considered too much of an invasive/disease-harbouring risk? Edit: I just checked, and it appears we did keep beaver in the past
Adelaide’s last beaver died 2010. Check out Post #3 of this thread for more information on historic holdings. California sea lion have been imported by Taronga Zoo as recently as 2015 and remain a common species in zoos and aquariums worldwide. Regionally however, the population has drastically decreased. Auckland Zoo last bred in 1995 and their last California sea lion died in 2016. They’ve held native pinnipeds for the past two decades and are phasing out the exhibit. Other facilities like Marineland Napier (one of the main breeders of this species in the region) have closed. Most Australian holders similarly focus on holding or breeding Australasian pinnipeds such as the Australian sea lion and the New Zealand fur seal.
Cheers. Could we theoretically keep beaver again, or have biosecurity laws changed to prevent them from ever being imported? Makes sense that zoos would focus more on the natives - I can imagine they'd create the same amount of interest from an Australian Sea Lion as they would a Californian. Also, could we import aardvark if there ever was enough interest? I can imagine some zoos (especially those such as Werribee and Monarto) could easily fit them into their theming, not to mention such an unusual-looking animal would definitely draw attention to the zoo for a good while.
Aardvark are in their own family, so would require a separate IRA. Beaver is likely due to lack of interest
No sign of the Sulawesi black macaque at Tasmania Zoo last week. Not sure if the last specimen has passed away or simply off display.
The Hippopotamus IRA draft has been released: Animal Biosecurity Advice 2024-A06: Importation of zoo hippopotamuses and their semen from approved countries - DAFF The region’s last Pygmy hippopotamus import was in 1981; and the region’s last Common hippopotamus import was in 1956.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Pygmy Marmosets may no longer be kept at Adelaide Zoo - in a recent visit I didn't see any, and noticed they no longer feature on their website. Does anyone know what happened or if they are still there?
If they’ve been taken off their website then combined with you not seeing them, I’d say that’s a pretty strong indication they’re no longer at Adelaide. Maybe flick them an email, they’re usually pretty good at responding.
To be fair however, their website does certainly seem to be updated the bare minimum - there are still pictures on the Serval and Brazilian Tapir pages with photos labelled "Talara loves tummy rubs from her keepers" and "Hi, I'm Zuberi!" respectively - both individuals no longer kept at Adelaide Zoo. Not to mention the lack of certain species being listed on the website - I'm yet to see any information on there regarding their African spurred tortoise, or many other animals they seem to consider "insignificant". It would be amazing if they had a publicly available inventory list like Zoos Victoria create - although from what I was told upon a recent visit when I asked, even the internal staff one is only updated once or twice a year
In saying that, they are one of the very few zoos who do seem to regularly update their online animal profiles. I far more prefer getting to know each individual specifically compared to just seeing a holding number (as with Zoos Vic). It's very insightful in fact and would be appealing to most visitors who can then visit the zoos and get to know the animals themselves. The lack of smaller animal species mentioned does make sense. I don't think very many (besides some of us on here) would be interested in getting to know each of Adelaide's Blue Tongued Lizards. It would be nice, but a very difficult task if it was to be undertaken for each and every species Adelaide has.
Regarding Pygmy Marmosets at Adelaide Zoo, I've received a response from them, stating the following from the primate team: “In May 2022 we had a death of a 20 year old male, which is a significant age for the species. The remaining female was moved to Mogo Zoo in NSW, the following October.” As such, the species is no longer kept at Adelaide Zoo.
