5 Asian Small Clawed Otter pups born! Takumi and Kanan produced this litter 4 weeks ago and with the births of two sets of triplets last year, the current raft at the zoo is of 13 individuals!
Wow, that's a decent sized litter! When I visited in August, they were a highly active and engaging exhibit; so with 13 otters, this will soon be a hive of activity. Auckland Zoo's Asian small-clawed otters: 1.0 Kanan (2009) 0.1 Takumi (2014) 1.0 Arif (May 2019) Kanan x Takumi 1.0 Ketut (May 2019) Kanan x Takumi 0.1 Indah (May 2019) Kanan x Takumi 1.0 Panuta (Dec 2019) Kanan x Takumi 1.0 Budi (Dec 2019) Kanan x Takumi 0.1 Dewi (Dec 2019) Kanan x Takumi 0.0.1 Unnamed (Sep 2020) Kanan x Takumi 0.0.1 Unnamed (Sep 2020) Kanan x Takumi 0.0.1 Unnamed (Sep 2020) Kanan x Takumi 0.0.1 Unnamed (Sep 2020) Kanan x Takumi 0.0.1 Unnamed (Sep 2020) Kanan x Takumi
Auckland Zoo have announced the birth of a 0.1 Hamadryas Baboon to female Mali. The zoo now have a group of ten (4.6) baboons. From their Facebook page: Log into Facebook | Facebook
This is highly exciting news as it confirms Auckland Zoo are not allowing the troop to collectively age/phase out as Perth’s current troop appear to be doing. This also suggests they have no plans to phase this species out from their collection. This is Auckland Zoo’s first baboon birth since Mali was born in 2015; who was proceeded by Zara, born 2013. It’s interesting to hear that Yafeu is the sire; which means Mali has changed one male units/harems since the start of the year when she was in Wasaro’s. Mali would have started in Wasaro’s OMU by default as her mother was; but the emigration to Yafeu’s probably reflects that at eleven, he’s in his social prime versus the aging Wasaro.
I recently found an update on the twin Golden Lion Tamarins that the zoo are currently hand-raising. An interview in September mentions that the male has been named Rufino and the female, Aurora [not sure on spelling, the recording quality isn't the best]. The zoo have also been giving the parents protected contact with their offspring in the hopes of reintroducing back into the group. On the topic of callitrichids, I recently noticed that Auckland Zoo doesn't have Pygmy Marmoset on their new map [https://rfacdn.nz/zoo/assets/media/azoo-visitors-map-covid-2020-sept-online.pdf] in their usual mixed exhibit with the Emperor Tamarins. I messaged the zoo and found out they are down to only one Pygmy Marmoset called Piccolo. He is currently unwell and is off-display for the time being.
Appropriate names - Rufino means red in Spanish; and Aurora is the Roman goddess of the dawn/sunrise - the perfect name for the first successful Golden lion tamarin birth at Auckland Zoo; and hopefully the beginning of a long and successful breeding programme.
I noticed that too and wondered the same thing. That's very sad, hopefully they don't disappear altogether
They’ve only had one (Piccolo) since at least May this year, meaning the female (June) died sometime ago. Hamilton and Wellington have both had success in breeding this species, so a companion for Piccolo could likely be obtained within New Zealand.
Natureland have also been having notable success with their Pygmy Marmosets with their most recent set of twins being born in June of this year. Australian zoos also have a growing population of the species so hopefully the zoo chooses to continue housing them.
A detailed update about the new lowlands habitat for tigers and otters. Auckland will be acquiring a younger pair (1.1) of Sumatran tigers in the future with the intention of breeding. Auckland Zoo
Auckland Zoo have announced that the Golden Lion Tamarin twins have been successfully introduced to their parents. Visitors can now seen the group of four on-display. A fantastic and heartening result for them and below is a 10 minute video showing the whole process over the past three months.
Auckland Zoo have announced the birth of two Nyala calves. They have been named Anubis and Bahati. The nyala herd at Auckland is currently at 16 individuals including (potentially) three pregnant females. Log into Facebook | Facebook
Auckland Zoo successfully hatched five Orange-fronted Kakarikis recently. This is their first clutch for the season. Source: Auckland Zoo's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=399402747894832
Auckland’s recent litter of Asian Small-clawed Otter pups have been sexed as 3.2. Their group of otters now consists of 13 individuals. Auckland Zoo
Good news indeed but I cant help wondering why they want to hold on to that many I would be quite sure there are other zoos that would take a few off their hands!
It's great Auckland Zoo has continued their successful rearing of otter pups, with this litter of five surviving the critical first weeks. I can't help but feel the recent breeding was planned on the assumption their new exhibit as part of the South East Asian precinct would be complete by now. Their current (otherwise excellent) exhibit isn't huge compared to previous otter exhibits used at Auckland Zoo and will soon be looking cramped. With eleven successful pups, Auckland Zoo now has seven young males and four young females that could potentially form single sex groups down the line; either for export or housing elsewhere in the zoo. Asian Small-clawed Otter Exhibit by Zoofan15 posted 16 Jul 2020 at 7:16 PM
Three Brown Teal (pāteke) ducklings have hatched to the zoo’s other breeding pair. Like the five ducklings born earlier in the year, they will eventually be released. Log into Facebook | Facebook
When I visited in July, there was 13 in the herd. Their founder male had apparently died/moved zoos as the herd consisted of six founder females; 2.3 born at Auckland Zoo 2018-2019; and 2.0 born 12/01/2020 and 09/03/2020. There has been one birth (gender unknown) between then and the birth of the two males in October 2020. Males attain sexual maturity at around 18 months, so one of their first generation males must be the zoo’s new breeding male. Personally I’m glad large numbers of Nyala were imported as it’s given the region a decent founder base that will sustain for several generations. Both Auckland and Wellington have transferred surplus males to Hamilton and Keystone; as well as females exported by Wellington Zoo to Werribee Open Range Zoo.
