I've written this as an opinion piece about some species I'd like to see added to each collection. I've given each zoo 3 new species and I've tried to make them realistic in that I haven't picked species which would be impossible to get or completely unsuitable to the zoo in question. I've also only included the zoos that I've been to. MELBOURNE ZOO: 1. Okapi: a perfect fit with the African rainforest animals such as gorillas, bongos, mandrills and pygmy hippos - although possibly hard to source. 2. Dusky Leaf Monkey: a nice fit to the Asian rainforest section and probably the most beautiful looking monkey species housed in Australia. 3. Silvery Gibbon: I would've suggested either fennec fox or serval, but the zoo has got rid of both recently, so I will suggest a third pretty gibbon species to add to the siamang and white cheeked gibbons. WERRIBEE ZOO: 1. Fennec Fox: a perfect, easy to find species which suits the African theme. 2. Colobus Monkey: a second monkey species (along with the vervet monkeys) which also fits into the African theme. 3. Spotted Hyena: WORZ has lions, cheetah, wild dogs, so why not the other large African predator - giving the zoo almost a full house of high profile African savannah animals. ADELAIDE ZOO: 1. Snow Leopard: The zoo has giant pandas, red pandas and a number of other Asian species, so how about a large predator to start a possible Himalayan theme. 2. Maned Wolf: Adelaide seems to have a focus on animals not in other Australian zoos, and a bit of a South American theme happening with tapirs, capybaras, Patagonian cavys and small monkeys, so why not put in an unusual and beautiful carnivore too. 3. Himalayan Black Bear: keep the Himalayan theme going with the pandas and snow leopards MONARTO ZOO: 1. Colobus Monkey: It is mind boggling to have a zoo without at least one species of monkey - and this would be the perfect one for Monarto to start with - fitting the African theme well. They have them there behind the scenes, so put them on display! 2. Hippo: Apparently it would be impractical due to the dry nature of Monarto, but if the water issue could be solved, then hippos would be great there! If this proves impossible, then go for Indian Rhinos to start a second Australian population. 3. Fennec Fox OR Serval: Easy to find and suitable to the mix of species. SYDNEY ZOO: 1. Snow Leopard: Why on earth did they go in the first place??? A Himalayan theme with them alongside the Himalayan tahr and red pandas surely works well. 2. Himalayan Black Bear: keep the Asian theme going. 3. Mandrill: Would work well with the African theme and they don't take up too much space. DUBBO ZOO: 1. Vervet Monkey: With so many African species, a monkey species should also be included - and the spider monkeys just don't suit the place. 2. Dusky Leaf Monkey OR Francois Leaf Monkey: create a second population for Australia and add an Asian monkey species to the Indian Rhino, Tiger, Otters, Gibbons section. 3. Hamadrayas Baboon OR Fennec Fox OR Serval: all of these 3 would compliment the larger African species already on display. MOGO ZOO: 1. Cape Hunting Dog: Mogo has a number of cat species such as lions, tigers, snow leopards and servals, so how about a dog species too? 2. Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby: Mogo doesn't have any Australian species, so why not a beautiful looking small wallaby species which is also endangered? 3. Capybara: easy enough to obtain and a perfect fit for the relatively small space - they could even share the enclosure with the tapir. I'm very keen to hear what you lot think and to hear what 3 species you think should be added to your local zoos I'm especially keen to hear opinions on Perth and Altina - as I haven't been to either yet.
I totally forgot about Canberra Zoo! CANBERRA ZOO 1. Blackbuck Antelope OR Spotted (Axis) Deer: Not sure how much space Canberra Zoo has for hoofed animals, but it would be nice to see a few alongside the giraffe and zebra, although an African species may be more suitable. 2. Malayan Tapir OR Pygmy Hippo: This zoo has quite a few primates and small animals such as red pandas, meerkats etc and Australian animals, but I'd like to see something slightly bigger - but which may not need excessive amounts of space. 3. Orang-utan: Canberra lacks a really interesting high profile species and orang-utans might be the most suitable for this purpose.
My suggestions/wishes for Melbourne Zoo would be Chital deer in with or alongside the elephants (dunno why they got ride of them) more pheasants in the SE Asian area, and oryx or addax with the giraffe but that obviously goes against their collection plans. I don't see what benefit a 3rd gibbon would be, but the white cheeked gibbons are very old and might need to be replaced soon, so the Silvery gibbons would be a nice choice. Altina - my most obvious suggestion would be tigers, and then macaws or other large parrots and more primates.
I must admit, Melbourne was the hardest of the zoos to do in this piece, but I love the idea of chital deer in alongside the elephants! Maybe even with jungle fowl or blackbuck too. The space factor is probably what goes against oryx or addax in with the giraffes. The idea as far as I'm aware is that all of the larger, hoofed animals will eventually be at Werribee in the long term - that was another reason I thought fennec foxes or servals might be a nice fit originally.
Mansfield Zoo - Zebras - they already have a quite well rounded out collection for a small zoo, but Zebra and possibly some African primates such as baboons would be a great addition. Last time I was there, the owners mentioned getting meerkats and more birds. Birds are quite lacking there. Healesville - I wish they would do a far north Qld area with cassowary, tree kangaroo and BIG salt water crocs and associated birds etc. I love the way Caversham Park in WA have done this, they have a similar sized collection of aussie native animals displayed in regions. Canberra Zoo - we were there at Xmas time and really enjoyed it. They do have 2 fallow deer with some alpacas in an overnight stay area, so they could only be seen in the distance, but further deer or antelope would be nice. as would more birds.
I think Melbourne Zoos only real weak point is ungulates. Barbary sheep would fit in nicely between the baboons and the savannah (I'd still like to have bongos but maybe closer to the gorillas). It would also be nice to have some more small carnivores back at the zoo. Perhaps clouded leopard in the Asian rainforest and fossa near the lemurs. Werribee Zoo is a bit easier because there are so many species that I would love to add, I'll try and keep it to just three though. Hyaenas (as Grant Rhino mentioned) seem an obvious choice. Large, charismatic, and recognisable to the general public (mostly thanks to the Lion King). Black rhino would fit in perfectly with the theming of the zoo and convey a strong message about conservation. Ideally they'd be located along the walking trail and the white rhinos can stay on the main savannah. And lastly, if import restrictions were not an issue, I would love to see some large African birds at Werribee. Flamingos, cranes, storks etc. If I were pressed to choose one than it would be either of the crowned crane species.
I actually considered Barbary Sheep when I was writing my piece - they would actually be a good fit, because they could create a large, mock-rock mountain for them which would mean that the space restrictions of the zoo wouldn't be a problem. Great idea in any case!
I don't have any inside info, and I haven't heard anything to suggest this, but surely black rhinos must be a possibility for Werribee with the Australian Rhino Project (where 100 rhinos are to be imported from South Africa) becoming established. Dubbo and Monarto are the first two ports of call for the rhinos coming in, but surely as more come over, Werribee would have to be considered as a place to house them.
OK. This is always a fun type of thread. My turn. TWPZ; chimps. in a massive outdoor enclosure red river hogs and bongos in a mixed exhibit hyenas. . Taronga Zoo; extension to the gorilla exhibit with a mandrill exhibit attached a leopard species birds birds and more birds. exotics!!!!!!
I'd love to see Mandrills at Taronga - it's just the perfect setting for them - give them a big Morton bay fig tree and you have a great setting
Going by the new 'Centenary Master Plan' released last year, a new 'Congo Rainforest' exhibit will be constructed featuring gorillas, pygmy hippo and bongo (sadly no mandrill, but that could change in the future?).
they will have siamang on display soon enough - I'm not sure if that is an acceptable equivalent for you or not. I'm not sure what qualifies as "a really interesting high profile species" for you, given that the zoo has tigers, lions, bears, hyaenas, hunting dogs, a range of monkeys and lemurs, etc etc.
Featherdale- 1.Superb Lyrebird. Could be a crown jewel for one of the most impressive bird collections in the country. 2. Platypus. Would be great to see an exhibit like their Bilby exhibit, dedicated to platys. 3. A Tree Kangaroo species. They have so many other macropods, would be great to see them display a macropod that fills a different niche.
To me, a really interesting high profile species is something that is 1. high profile, and 2. a species that most zoos in the region don't have on display. Only Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth have orang-utans on display, whereas virtually every large zoo in Australia has lions, tigers, bears, siamangs, monkeys, lemurs etc. My feeling towards Canberra Zoo, is that it's a good zoo with a nice range of animals, but they are all animals which most other Australian zoos also have. I'd love to see Canberra Zoo get something really, really high profile such as orang-utans, gorillas, giant pandas, okapi, elephants or something seriously unusual.
