In this thread, i'll be posting complete histories for each zoo that has held/or holds Giraffes in our region. I figured a whole overall thread would be better than making multiple (for each zoo). I plan to also make these kind of threads for other species so stay tuned. First up will be Melbourne Zoo.
Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens - Complete Giraffe History PART 1 - The origins + the eras of Edward and his son, William Due to the post length, this will be over four posts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 1913, Melbourne first imported 1.1 Giraffe from Africa. 1.0 Unknown (1912-1914) 0.1 Nellie (1912-1926) In 1928, Melbourne imported another 1.1 pair from Africa. 1.0 Algernon (1927-1930) 0.1 Pamela (1927-1929) In 1930, Melbourne imported 1.0 Giraffe from Africa. 1.0 Andy (1929-1934) Melbourne was then without Giraffes for three decades. On the 16/12/1964, Melbourne imported 1.1 Giraffe from Taronga. 1.0 Edward (22/06/1963 - 01/10/1969) 0.1 Matilda (20/07/1963 - 28/05/1991) The pair produced the following offspring: 1.0 William (31/12/1967 - 21/01/1983) 0.1 Edwina (06/12/1969 - 09/08/1976) From here, William became the breeding bull, and had the following offspring with his mother: 0.1 Jane (13/07/1971 - 06/03/1974) 1.0 Walter (29/11/1972 - 26/05/1979) 0.1 Lisa (27/05/1974 - 15/07/1974) 1.0 Pepper (28/09/1975) Sent to Dubbo 25/05/1976 0.1 Hayati (08/02/1977 - 13/06/1979) 0.1 Wilma (16/06/1978 - 30/07/1987) 0.1 Rosemaree (20/10/1979 - 19/05/1995) 1.0 Fred (07/04/1981) Sent to Werribee 05/12/1984 1.0 Donald (04/09/1982) Sent to Werribee 18/12/1984 0.1 Miranda (23/03/1984 - 16/04/1993) He also sired the following offspring with his half sister, Edwina: 1.0 Unnamed (25/11/1973-26/11/1973) 1.0 Unnamed (21/03/1975 - 29/03/1975) 0.1 Unnamed (22/07/1976 - 26/07/1976)
PART II - Finnie's era On 29/05/1976, Melbourne imported 1.0 Giraffe from Taronga. 1.0 Finnie (10/04/1975 - 15/09/1994) Finnie bred with Matilda to produce the following offspring: 1.0 Mel (09/08/1985) Sent to Werribee 19/02/1987 0.1 Mandy (27/01/1987) Sent to Orana 28/01/1988 1.0 Mac (11/08/1988) Sent to Werribee 07/05/1990 0.1 Tisa (18/10/1990) Sent to Wellington 25/05/1991 Finnie also bred with Rosemaree to produce the following calves: 0.1 Stillborn (15/05/1987) 1.0 Ketabi (10/06/1989) Sent to Monarto 05/06/1990 0.1 Jana (15/03/1991 - 21/03/1991) 1.0 Unnamed (13/04/1993 - 26/04/1993) 0.1 Malindi (08/02/1995 - 02/04/1995) Finnie also bred with Miranda, and they had the following calves: 1.0 Mandrake (10/07/1988 - 10/03/1990) 1.0 Jamala (03/05/1990) Sent to Werribee 09/04/1991 Melbourne also temporarily imported 0.1 Giraffe on 19/08/1993 from Orana. 0.1 Marama (19/12/1991) Sent to Perth 14/10/1993 Following Rosemaree’s death in May of 1995; Melbourne was without Giraffes.
PART III - Makulu and Twiga's era + the Present Day On 16/12/1996, Melbourne imported 1.0 Giraffe from Monarto. 1.0 Moja (26/11/1995) Sent to Monarto 02/07/1997 On 23/12/1996, Melbourne imported 1.0 Giraffe from Perth. 1.0 Makulu (27/10/1995 - 07/11/2018) On 10/03/1997, Melbourne imported 0.1 Giraffe from Rhenan. 0.1 Twiga (13/04/1996 - 12/02/2020) On 14/08/1997, Melbourne imported 1.0 Giraffe from Perth. 1.0 Jandamarra (14/11/1996) Sent to Werribee 22/10/2000 Makulu bred with Twiga, and they had the following calves together: 1.0 Tambo (21/10/2000) Sent to Monarto 02/11/2002 0.1 Tanzi (22/08/2002) Sent to Mogo 30/10/2012 0.1 Tunu (02/02/2004) Sent to Orana 28/03/2005 0.1 Shani (21/03/2006) Sent to Mogo 04/05/2007 On 06/02/2004, Melbourne imported 1.0 Giraffe from Orana. 1.0 Armani (23/12/2002) Sent to Perth 12/06/2005 On 20/04/2013, Melbourne imported 0.1 Giraffe from Auckland. 0.1 Nakuru (16/01/2012) On 13/02/2020, Melbourne imported 1.0 Giraffe from Altina. 1.0 Klintun (00/11/2018) On 29/04/2022, Melbourne imported 0.1 Giraffe from Darling Downs. 0.1 Iris (02/10/2020)
PART IV - Summary Melbourne has held 44 (24.20) Giraffes over their entire history (discounting the stillborn). They have bred 29 calves; 14 males and 15 females. Of the 29 births; one was stillborn, and seven died within their first year. Matilda mothered a total of 16 calves throughout her lifetime. William sired the most calves (13). Melbourne have made 17 total imports (five coming from Africa). All of Melbourne's 29 calves; besides the most recent four, were inbred (the parents being extremely closely related, and descending from Taronga stock). Matilda is Melbourne's overall eldest giraffe; living to the incredible age of 27 years and 10 months. Makulu was Melbourne's oldest living male, when he passed he was 23 years of age. Currently, Melbourne has 1.2 Giraffe. The plan is for the youngest giraffes, Klintun and Iris to become the zoo's new breeding pair. Hopefully calf #30 is on the way soon!
Thank you for your comprehensive history. I didn't realise until now that Klintun arrived just the day after Twiga died. Having seen both events depicted in Mega Zoo (and figuring that they were probably both within that window of Jan-Mar 2020, just prior to the impact of COVID in Australia), it is interesting to learn that they actually occurred so close together.
The planned arrival of Klintun probably influenced the decision of when to euthanise Twiga within a relatively narrow set of parameters. According to the article below, her condition has deteriorated and indeed the decision was made with her welfare in mind, but it sounds like something which could have been delayed or brought forward by at least a week or two - as opposed to a broken leg or stroke that would require immediate intervention. From a husbandry perspective, having one giraffe less would have made Klintun’s arrival less problematic for all involved. It also spared the Twiga the minor but needless unsettlement of a new herd mate; and gave the ungulate team something positive to focus on (a new giraffe) when their grief would have been at its height. Twiga had after all lived at the zoo for 23 years and was much loved by all who cared for her. Beloved Giraffe Twiga dies aged 23 A dfgf
Klintun was planned for being sent to Melbourne since his birth. Since Twiga’s health was slowly declining, Melbourne alerted Altina; who were already preparing Klintun for transfer, and were able to transfer Klintun the day after Twiga died to ensure Nakuru wasn’t left by herself for too long. There was a story of Nellie (Melbourne’s first female giraffe) who lived alone for most of her time at Melbourne. She was described as ‘longing for a husband’- going days without eating, and just standing still out in her yard, often times ignoring keepers. Just goes to show how much Giraffes need company. Unfortunately she died without ever receiving a companion. Melbourne were trying to obtain one, but didn’t have the money.
Next up... PART 1: Taronga Zoo (The beginnings) + the era of JAN SMUT On 19/01/1926, Taronga imported 1.1 Giraffe from the wild. 1.0 Rudolph (1923) Died 28/07/1930 0.1 Unamed (1923) Died 19/01/1926 On 31/08/1927, Taronga imported 0.2 Giraffe from the wild. 0.1 Biddy (1924) Died 05/04/1935 0.1 Mildred (1924) Died 01/06/1931 On 10/10/1932, Taronga imported 1.0 Giraffe from the wild. 1.0 Paddy (1931) Died 17/10/1933 On 30/11/1935, Taronga imported 1.1 Giraffe from the wild. 1.0 High (1932) Died 12/11/1942 0.1 Mighty (1933) Died 11/08/1950 Together they had the following calves: 1.0 Lofty (16/06/1938 - 17/06/1938) 1.0 Taronga (08/11/1939 - 10/12/1941) 0.1 Skye (31/10/1941 - 24/03/1942) On 21/03/1947, Taronga imported 1.0 Giraffe from Johannesburg. 1.0 Jan Smuts (07/09/1943) Died 30/04/1968 He produced the following offspring with Mighty: 0.1 Betty (01/08/1948 - 10/02/1960) Betty produced the following offspring with her father: 1.0 Stillborn (29/11/1951) 0.1 Hazel (27/04/1953 - 20/06/1981) 1.0 Gerry (03/05/1955 - 23/09/1958) 0.1 Jabee (20/02/1957 - 28/07/1964) 0.1 Parramatta (31/08/1958 - 16/10/1973) 0.1 Stillbirth (10/02/1960) On 31/10/1950, Taronga imported 0.1 Dolly from the San Diego Zoo. 0.1 Dolly (05/06/1944 - 11/04/1952) 142 On 11/02/1952, Taronga imported 0.1 Clara from Portland. 0.1 Clara (25/09/1950 - 28/01/1972) 168 From here a LOT of breeding takes place…i’ve tried to make it as simple as possible. Clara produced the following offspring with Jan Smuts: 0.1 Cobalt (16/11/1955) Sent to Goebel G 06/03/1971 0.1 Sydney (08/09/1958 - 05/04/1981) 1.0 Oigle (09/08/1960 - 02/08/1969) 0.1 Honey (24/12/1961) Sent to Brisbane 14/05/1969 0.1 Matilda (20/07/1963) Sent to Melbourne 16/12/1964 0.1 Josie (06/12/1964) Sent to Goebel G 06/03/1971 0.1 Mosman (29/06/1966 - 02/07/1975) 0.1 Marcia (12/11/1967) Sent to Brisbane 12/08/1968 Hazel produced the following offspring with Jan Smuts: 0.1 Willoughby (19/09/1960) Sent to Auckland 19/11/1973 0.1 Adelaide (07/02/1962) Sent to Adelaide 17/12/1962 1.0 Peter (11/07/1963 - 02/07/1977) 0.1 Swinger (30/11/1964 - 03/11/1970) 0.1 Ethel (09/05/1966 - 16/08/1966) 0.1 Helen (01/11/1967) Sent to Brisbane 14/05/1969 Jabee produced the following offspring with Jan Smuts: 0.1 Dawn (19/11/1961) Sent to Goebel G 06/03/1971 0.0.1 Stillbirth (27/07/1964) Cobalt produced the following offspring with Jan Smuts: 1.0 George (19/09/1962) Sent to Perth 05/05/1965 0.1 Unnamed (10/08/1965 - 16/08/1965) 1.0 Rodney (22/07/1967 - 19/05/1976) AS83 Parramatta produced the following offspring with Jan Smuts: 1.0 Edward (22/06/1963) Sent to Melbourne 16/12/1964 1.0 Stillborn (18/10/1964) 1.0 Johnny (09/04/1966) Sent to Adelaide 03/11/1967 1.0 Pete (09/09/1970) Sent to Coolangatta 17/08/1971 Sydney produced the following offspring with Jan Smuts: 0.1 Unnamed (30/09/1964 - 17/10/1964) 0.1 Unnamed (01/03/1966 - 10/03/1966) 1.0 Frankie (17/09/1967) Sent to Goebel G 06/03/1971 0.1 Gay (19/10/1970) Sent to Coolongatta 17/08/1971 Willoughby produced the following offspring with Jan Smuts: 0.1 Unnamed (02/09/1964 - 09/09/1964) 0.1 Unnamed (30/01/1966) Sent to Coolangatta 01/02/1967 Note: There were a lot of births of calves during this time that died very early on (as in a few days) - I haven't mentioned them due to their parents being unconfirmed (most of the time in the case of the dam)
I actually saw the Coolangatta collection in the mid 70s including the 2 Giraffes, I still have a guide book.
They initially imported a single female from Taronga in 1967, followed by a pair from Taronga (Pete and Gay) in 1970. Both Pete and Gay died prior to 1974 (so these must have been the pair you saw). The unnamed female likely died prior to 1970 (although an official death date isn't listed). The fact that she was unnamed too seems to reference an early death.
The Taronga founders included the following subspecies: 1.0 Jan Smuts (born 1943 at Johannesburg Zoo) - South African giraffe (G. c. giraffe). 0.1 Clara (born 1950 at the Smithsonian National Zoo) - Nubian Giraffe (G. c. camelopardalis). 0.1 Mighty (born 1933 in Tanzania) - Masai Giraffe (G. c. tippelskirchi). It’s interesting to see how diverse our population was right from the beginning, with Retic/Rothschild’s founders later entering the population as well.
Yes, a Honolulu male entered Taronga's population later on, and he was Rothschilds sub species afaik.
That was Charity and he wasn’t a Rothschild’s. He was born at Honolulu Zoo in 1983 and transferred to Taronga the same year. Charity was a half brother (same mother) as Tsavo (1980-1993), who was sent to Auckland Zoo in 1981. Charity sired nine calves between 1988 and 1992 (including Nyota). He died at Taronga Zoo in 2006.
Really, i've always thought the Honolulu herd were Rothschilds but I've probably confused it. Yes, Charity was their fourth breeding bull (following Jan Smuts, Jamie and Peter). I only had six calves being sired by Charity: Gerry (later sent to Dubbo), Ngare (sent to Jakarta), Manyara (sent to Tipperary), Mawenzi (Sent to Tipperary), Nyota and an unnamed male. Also, Charity actually died in 2004, not 2006.
Nope. They were hybrids and Honolulu later phased out that herd and acquired an unrelated pair. Auckland Zoo acquired 2.2 from that herd in the 1980’s and bred several calves, most of which died young. The females were sisters and related to both males (one of which died before breeding). Had he been Rothschild’s I imagine he would have entered the breeding programme of what were called Rothschild’s giraffe at Perth, Melbourne etc. but I’ve been told on here were actually Retic/Rothschild’s hybrids.
Yes, the studbook says those 'rothschilds' at Perth were in fact Retic/Roths hybrids. I'll hopefully do some further research on Perth (which I think i'll do after Taronga), and find out who exactly was Reticulated/Rothschilds ect.
PART II - Taronga: The Foundations After Jan Smuts death, Oigle was temporarily the zoos’ breeding male. Josie produced the following offspring with Oigle: 1.0 Stillborn (22/02/1969) Willoughby produced the following offspring with Oigle: 1.0 Unnamed (20/05/1970 - 08/06/1970) Hazel produced the following offspring with Oigle: 0.1 Benezee (19/03/1969) Sent to Goebel G 06/03/1971 Clara produced the following offspring with Oigle: 1.0 Unnamed (05/08/1969) Dawn produced the following offspring with Oigle: 1.0 Unnamed (29/08/1970 - 02/09/1970) From here, Peter became the zoo’s breeding bull; replacing Oigle. Josie produced the following offspring with Peter: 0.1 Joanne II (03/12/1970) Sent to Dubbo 17/11/1976 Clara produced the following offspring with Peter: 1.0 Jamie (25/12/1970) Sent to Dubbo 12/05/1987 Hazel produced the following offspring with Peter: 1.0 Unnamed (16/08/1971 - 17/08/1971) 1.0 Unnamed (13/12/1972 - 15/12/1972) 1.0 Cody (16/05/1974) Sent to Dubbo 19/05/1976 0.1 Faye (28/09/1975) Sent to Dubbo 17/11/1976 1.0 Hooray (24/11/1978) Sent to Dubbo 08/06/1983 Willoughby produced the following offspring with Peter: 1.0 Unnamed (16/09/1971 - 17/09/1971) 0.1 Unnamed (15/01/1973 - 16/01/1973) Sydney produced the following offspring with Peter: 1.0 Mcguire (10/07/1972 - 19/05/1976) 1.0 Unnamed (17/11/1973 - 19/11/1973) 1.0 Finnie (10/04/1975) Sent to Melbourne 29/06/1976 0.1 Unnamed (06/10/1976 - 07/10/1976) 0.1 Anzac (23/04/1978) Sent to Dubbo 01/03/1979 Parramatta produced the following offspring with Peter: 1.0 Cannon (25/08/1972 - 17/06/1987) Mosman produced the following offspring with Peter: 1.0 Whitey (28/08/1972) Sent to Dubbo 09/03/1985 0.1 Fiona (21/05/1974 - 09/08/2000)
Part III: The end of breeding at Taronga + the present day Update: As 0f 01/01/1980 Taronga had 4.3 Giraffe: 0.1 Hazel - died 1981 0.1 Sydney - died 1981 1.0 Jamie - Sent to Dubbo 1987 1.0 Cannon - Died 1987 1.0 Whitey - Sent to Dubbo 1985 0.1 Fiona - died 2000 1.0 Hooray - Sent to Dubbo 1983 As of 1980, Jamie became Taronga’s breeding bull. Hazel had the following calves with Jamie: 1.0 Harry (30/09/1980 - 03/10/1980) Fiona had the following calves with Jamie: 0.1 Foo (02/11/1980 - 10/11/1980) 0.1 Faith (09/04/1983 - 13/05/1983) 0.1 Jessica (26/08/1984 - 07/05/1985) 1.0 Mandela (01/07/1986 - 04/07/1986) 1.0 Ricky (19/09/1987) Sent to Wellington 04/11/1988 On 09/06/1983, 0.1 Giraffe arrived from Dubbo: 0.1 Faye (28/09/1975 - 06/08/2004) She gave birth to a calf 03/11/1983 (sired at Dubbo by AS141): 0.1 Hope (03/11/1983 - 17/12/2007) AS176 Faye also had the following calves with Jamie: 0.1 Twiga (09/11/1985) Sent to Dubbo 27/10/1994 AS185 0.1 Felicity (04/05/1988 - 13/08/1988) On 20/11/1983, 1.0 Giraffe arrived from Honolulu: 1.0 Charity (14/03/1983 -08/06/2004) On 06/05/1986, 1.1 Giraffe arrived from Honolulu: 1.0 Hiram (15/09/1985) Sent to Adelaide 18/06/1986 0.1 Andria (19/10/1985) Sent to Dubbo 17/06/1986 From 1988, Charity became the zoo’s breeding bull: Hope had the following calves with Charity: 1.0 Gerry (23/10/1988) Sent to Dubbo 21/11/1989 1.0 Ngare (24/08/1990) Sent to Jakarta 16/03/1991 0.1 Nyota (05/01/1992 - 01/02/2020) Fiona had the following calves with Charity: 1.0 Manyara (10/12/1989) Sent to Tipperary 12/11/1992 AS210 Faye had the following calves with Charity: 1.0 Mawenzi (26/10/1990) Sent to Tipperary 12/11/1992 Twiga had the following calves with Charity: 1.0 Unnamed (19/06/1992 - 22/06/1992) From here, breeding was halted (with the breeding program shifted to Dubbo). On 15/09/1999 0.1 Giraffe arrived from Dubbo: 0.1 Andara (28/05/1998 - 00/00/2011) On 19/05/2005 0.1 Giraffe arrived from Dubbo: 0.1 Zafara (06/07/2003) On 22/08/2007 1.0 Giraffe arrived from Dubbo: 1.0 Jimiyu (06/02/2006) On 00/05/2020, 1.1 Giraffe arrived from Dubbo: 0.1 Kito (01/02/2016) 1.0 Ebo (17/12/2019)
PART IV : Summary Taronga have held a total of 89 Giraffes since their first pair were imported in 1926 (discounting the five stillborns). Taronga have bred 76 calves in total; five of which were stillborn. 23 died within their first year, meaning 48 calves survived past the age of one. Hazel produced the most offspring as a dam (13). Jan Smuts sired the most offspring (36). Taronga have made 13 imports for 18 Giraffe (in total). 11 of these were overseas imports; with an original eight arrived from Africa in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Followed by a pair of females from the US in the early 50’s; and then 1.2 Giraffe from Honolulu in the 80’s. Taronga’s oldest living giraffe was Hazel (28 years and 1 month). Nyota (who died in 2020) was just weeks short of her record. Their oldest bull was Jan Smuts (who lived to be 24 years and 7 months). Currently, Taronga have 2.2 Giraffe. Although no breeding is on the horizon at Taronga, they did recently import a young baby calf and his mother from Dubbo. I’d imagine that’s the only way you’d be able to see a baby giraffe at Taronga in the future.
