That is a new info to me. Thanks. All imprinted marabous I did know about were useless at creating any working pair, let alone to sire any chicks.
Regarding marabous: I guess the male was an outlier as generally speaking imprinted marabou do not do well breeding with their kinsfolk. I agree that Auckland needs to use every trick of the way to get their birds to double or triple clutch. Greater flamingos really benefit from being in large colonies. I would not suggest a move out from current exclosure (disturbance is major put off for a colony and breeding in next years might be a non-starter).
22 Cobble skinks have been born this year: The cobble skink was discovered in 2007 on a narrow strip of diminishing coastline in Granity, north of Westport on the South Island’s West Coast. In 2016, with frequent storms threatening their habitat, DOC salvaged all remaining individuals (34) to establish a captive population as insurance against extinction. The skinks were sent to Auckland Zoo, which also holds Chesterfield skinks, another critically threatened coastal lizard species. There have been few baby cobble skinks until this year, when 22 were born, bringing the population to 49. Read full article here: Baby boom for rare skinks | Scoop News
Auckland Zoo has officially announced that their new High Canopy Habitat for their orangutans and siamangs is open! From their Facebook page: See more on their website here: Auckland to South East Asia – no passport required! | Auckland Zoo News
I found a nice video by the New Zealand Herald that shows a large portion of the new High Canopy Habitat. At around 4:40 the primate team leader mentions that the zoo will begin the slow introduction process to mix the orangutans and siamangs. Source: NZ Herald
News Update This is a general news update from my visit (12/07/2020): The Cape porcupine babies (born 18/01/2020) have been sexed as 1.1 and named Ayanfe (male) and Arewa (female). The zoo now has just two female American alligators - Tallulah is in the larger exhibit; Dixie is in the smaller exhibit. I don’t know what happened to the other three, though I’m guessing they’ve been dispersed to other collections due to aggression between the females. There have been no further attempts to perform AI on Anjalee the Asian elephant since the two unsuccessful attempts made in 2017-2018. A male Capybara pup was born 03/05/2020. Southern white rhinoceros, Jamila, is due to give birth in the next few weeks. Her pregnancy is progressing well. Plains zebra, Dalila, died early last year aged five years. Layla is pregnant and due in December this year. The Serval pair have been separated to prevent breeding after three unsuccessful litters. The zoo have 1.3 Waterbuck - Roy (2016), Etana (2006), Ina (2007) and Kwacha (2008). They are still not on display. Twin Cotton top tamarins were born 03/12/2019. The Bornean orangutans are settling in well to their new exhibit. Keepers are surprised how well they have taken to the new exhibit - especially considering how Bornean orangutan are less aboreal than Sumatran orangutan. Wanita is still reluctant to climb compared to the others and spends a lot of time on the ground. Kera the female Siamang is on contraception and won’t be breeding in the near future. The old Nepalese red panda exhibit (a remodelled 1922 bear pit) has been removed from the map and I feared it’d been demolished to make way for the South East Asia precinct. It’s actually still there (with a fence around it) and if you’re tall enough, you can still see it - I’ve uploaded photos in the gallery. I will also be updating the gallery with photos and stuff I found out which isn’t necessarily newsworthy but may still be of interest to some people - birthdates of spider monkeys, baboons hierarchies, species in Lizard Lane, names and ages of meerkats, how many tarantulas the zoo has etc.
News I forgot to mention: Three of the flamingo chicks born at the zoo have now been sexed and ‘Chick’ has been renamed ‘Richard.’ The zoo now has 22 flamingo, comprised of 16 founders and six Auckland born chicks: Richard (January 2014) Male Cole (January 2017) Male Otis (January 2017) Female Willoughby (February 2017) Unknown Sullivan (January 2018) Unknown Eleanor (January 2018) Unknown Two male Lowland nyala have been born this year - one was born 12 January; the other 9 March. This brings the herd to 4.9 nyala. As mentioned in the Lizard Lane photo on my media, I couldn’t find out details on the Glass lizard. I’ve contacted the zoo and they have one male and one of unknown gender.
Cotton-top tamarins: The twins born 03/12/2019 have been sexed as two females and have been named Nomi and Sofia. They are the third litter for their parents, bring the troop to 1.7 Cotton-top tamarins: 1.0 Nuri (07/08/2013) 0.1 Mrs Nuri (15/12/2013) 0.1 Tito (01/06/2018) Nuri x Mrs Nuri 0.1 Monito (01/06/2018) Nuri x Mrs Nuri 0.1 Yara (07/05/2019) Nuri x Mrs Nuri 0.1 Cali (07/05/2019) Nuri x Mrs Nuri 0.1 Nomi (03/12/2019) Nuri x Mrs Nuri 0.1 Sofia (03/12/2019) Nuri x Mrs Nuri It’s great to see a decent sized troop forming, with all offspring produced to date being female. Their new exhibit is a vast improvement on the typical hothouse style exhibit I usually see this species housed in: Cotton-top Tamarin Exhibit by Zoofan15 posted 16 Jul 2020 at 8:59 PM
Copied over from the Zoo Usti (Czech Republic) news thread: Zoo Usti nad Labem General News [ZOO Ústí nad Labem] They are Bornean Orangutans.
Auckland Zoo have welcomed a female Southern White Rhinoceros calf to female Jamila! The calf was born on 14th August. This is the second Southern White Rhinoceros calf to be born in Auckland Zoo's history and the first in two decades. The Australasian population have been producing lots of female rhino calves recently (Taronga Western Plains, Australia Zoo, Hamilton Zoo, Monarto). From their Facebook page: Security Check https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=761170108016003
That's fantastic news. Of the 15 Southern white rhinoceros calves conceived in New Zealand zoos (seven of which survived and are now of breeding age), Jamila is the first to breed. While it's clearly possible for females to conceive in 1.1 herds, I'm under the impression better breeding success comes from herds of at least 1.2 (despite the effects of estrus suppression); so this is an achievement in itself. The birth of this calf brings Auckland Zoo's population to 2.2. The last time they held this number of rhinos was when they held four bulls in July 2007. While it's great to see Auckland Zoo hold a breeding herd for the first time since the early 2000's, their recent success really cements the decision not to replace their hippos (whose exhibit was remodelled to expand the rhino exhibit). We all knew this would be the case, but still...
Though not mentioned, this is the first successful birth/rearing of this species in New Zealand. It’s great to see Auckland Zoo experience success, after decades of holding this species. To my knowledge, this is the zoo’s second breeding pair. They previously held a pair named Janeiro and Gabrielle - and prior to that held elderly surplus animals including Teresina (born 1988 at Adelaide Zoo). Let’s hope Wellington Zoo, who have held a succession of pairs in recent years, will also experience success soon.
Do you know happened to their last pair (Janeiro and Gabrielle)? I seem to a keeper talking about them when I visited at least three years ago.
Janeiro and Gabrielle would be long deceased. Gabrielle was born at Adelaide Zoo in 1997 and arrived at Auckland Zoo in 2002. Janeiro was born 1997/1998 and arrived 2010. Given that the life expectancy of this species is 15 years, Gabrielle would have been well past prime breeding age by then, so my assumption is Janeiro was only intended as a companion in her old age. Prior to this, Auckland Zoo had housed only surplus elderly females. Their current breeding pair, Frida (aged ten) and Alonzo (aged six), arrived in 2014 and 2017 respectively.
New Female Emu Auckland Zoo have imported a new female Emu, named Ellie-May. She has been introduced to their male, Elvis, who is 23 years of age. Ellie-May is the third mate of Elvis, who was previously paired with Priscilla (deceased); and Matilda - with whom he sired a clutch of chicks in 2017. Their has been courtship behaviour already, so fingers crossed for more chicks.
The female rhino calf has been named Nyah (Swahili for purpose or goal). Security Check https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1494643847394647
It looks like Auckland Zoo are going to be taking a break from breeding Nepalese red panda this year: In a Facebook post, they’ve announced they’re now living in single sex groups - Bo (2009), Khela (2014) and Dalha (2019) can be seen in the upper exhibit; while the males, Ramesh (2015) and Tashi (2018), are in this off display exhibit: Nepalese Red Panda Exhibit (Off Display) by Zoofan15 posted 16 Jul 2020 at 3:14 PM
Auckland Zoo have welcomed five Brown Teal (pāteke) ducklings. From their Facebook page: Security Check
A small update on Southern Whit Rhino calf, Nyah. A couple of days ago, she was introduced to dad Zambezi for the first time. Apparently they will continue to have Nyah, Jamila and Zambezi on display together from now on, but only for short periods of time as Nyah is still young. Log into Facebook | Facebook
