Australian zoo mammal histories

the brand new version of the exotic mammal list is now online. It can be seen here: Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos

Please feel free to point out any errors, inconsistencies, or things that just don't make sense! This would be a good thread to keep for discussion purposes, so just post anything you think of right here and I'll see what I can do.

I pretty much didn't even bother trying to sort out the lions, and couldn't find anything useful overall for ring-tailed lemurs or cottontop tamarins.

 

Former Species in Australian Zoos, post-2000

I've recently been trying to work up a "former zoo mammals" list for Australia to add to the "current zoo mammal" list. Here's a sample draft for comment. I have restricted this list to species found in Australia post-2000 (I also have a post-1980/pre-2000 list which I'll post later because I'm still trying to find info for it).

If anyone can add any information to what I have here that would be fantastic - i.e. better dates, origins, destinations, additional zoos in which species were found, anything of that nature.

There will still be some species missing, in particular I'm pretty sure that Leopard Cat and Jaguarundi must have still been present after 2000 but I can't find anything.



*Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger)
The last one in the country was a female at Werribee which died in 2012 (she had been there alone since at least 2006).

*Black (Golden-rumped) Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus)
Anything, anybody? I know Adelaide had either one pair or two pairs. They may have bred. Up to 2008 I know they had 2.1 (originally 2.2?), but by 2011 they had none. Did they die, or get exported?

*Red-handed Tamarin (Saguinus midas)
Originally imported to Perth from Skansen Zoo (Sweden) in the 1990s. The last two were sent to Mogo, the last one dying in the early 2000s.

*Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus)
Alma Park had a group of ten ex-lab animals near the start of the 2000s. There were still eight in 2008, but all seem to have died in 2011.

*Ebony (Javan) Langur (Trachypithecus auratus)
Melbourne had a pair in the early-2000s, the male of which died in 2008 and the female in 2010.

*Purple-faced Langur (Trachypithecus vetulus vetulus)
At Perth Zoo; the last animals (one pair) were sent to Edinburgh Zoo (UK) in about 2005 or 2006.

*Tonkean Macaque (Macaca tonkeana)
Perth had one pair (?) which bred at least once. By around 2005 they just had two males left, and these seem to have died around 2010 or so (or they may have been rehomed to a smaller zoo, as many of their other unwanted primates were).

*Muller's (Bornean) Gibbon (Hylobates muelleri)
The last one in the country was the female Mary who came to Taronga from Borneo in 1960 and died in Feb 2015. Her previous mate had died in 1986 and she rejected attempts to pair her with other males. Until 2008 there was also a lone female at Mogo and until 2010 a lone female at the Cairns Wildlife Safari.

*Asian Lion (Panthera leo persica)
A pure male was kept at Taronga in the 1970s. In c.1991 a hybrid pair (Asian X African) was imported to Western Plains Zoo via Taronga from the USA, and these survived until at least 2003. The intention was to later import pure Asian Lions but this never eventuated.

*Tigon (Panthera tigris X Panthera leo)
A sibling pair bred at the Ashton's Circus in 1987, which were sent to National Zoo in Dec 2000. The female died in 2006 and the male in June 2008.

*Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica / saxicolor)
The last three in the country were a female at Crocodylus (died in 2008); a male at Adelaide (died April 2010); and a female at Melbourne (died July 2013).

*Jaguar (Panthera onca)
The last five in the country all died in late 2000s from old age. A female at Darling Downs which came from Monbulk Animal Kingdom, but was originally bred at Adelaide in the late 1970s, died in 2008. The pair at Melbourne both died in 2008. Of the sibling pair at Mogo, which had came from Notre Dame Zoo (Mulgoa) when it was closed down in 1991, the female died in 2007 and the male in either 2009 or 2010.

*Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)
One pair was imported to Taronga in the 1990s. They never bred and the male died at Taronga in 2005, and the female died at Melbourne in 2008.

*Asiatic Golden Cat (Catopuma temminckii)
Kept and bred continuously at Melbourne since 1968 when the first five animals were imported from Europe and the USA. Was also kept at Taronga and Adelaide. Most of the surviving animals post-2000 were exported to New Zealand zoos. The last one in Australia was a female which died at Melbourne in 2009.

*Caracal (Caracal caracal schmitzii)
The last animals in the country were a pair at Adelaide. The female died in 2007, and the male was sent to Melbourne in 2008 where he died in late 2013.

*Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
The last one died at Melbourne in 2008. Also used to be at Taronga and the closed Notre Dame Zoo (Mulgoa).

*Kodiak Bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi)
Three siblings were imported to Adelaide from the Colorado Springs Zoo (USA) in 1978, and then moved on to Taronga in 1985. Male Barney died in c.July 2005 aged 28, female Cynthia died March 2008 aged 31, and female Bethyl died Oct 2012 aged 35.

*Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
One captive-bred pair was imported to Taronga in Feb 2006 from Cambodia. One female pup was born in August 2006 and one male pup in July 2007. The father and daughter went to Singapore Night Safari in 2009, and he has since bred with an unrelated female there (in 2011). Both animals remainaing at Taronga (the mother and son) died around Feb 2015.

*European badger (Meles meles)
Bred at Melbourne for many decades. The last one in the country was a female which died at Melbourne in 2009.

*Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula)
The breeding population at Adelaide declined rapidly from around 15 animals at the start of the 2000s until the final one died in August 2013.

*White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)
Formerly kept in a number of zoos. The last one was a male which died at Melbourne in c.2009/2010. The animals currently in the country are Brown-nosed Coati (Nasua nasua).

*American Beaver (Castor canadensis)
Originally imported to Adelaide in the 1980s; I'm not sure if they ever bred. There were two pairs at the start of the 2000s, from which they dwindled until the last one (a male) died in July 2010.

*Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica)
The last ones in the country were a pair at Melbourne and a female at Taronga. The Melbourne male and the Taronga female both died in 2008, and the Melbourne female in 2009.

*Grey Dorcopsis Wallaby (Dorcopsis luctuosa)
Imported from New Guinea by the Australian Reptile Park in the late 1960s. Animals were distributed to Currumbin, Healesville, Adelaide, Melbourne, Taronga and Perth. The population survived in most of these zoos until at least the late 1990s. I think they may have still been at Currumbin, at least, until the early 2000s.

 

that leopard (named Pussy, but I think a male) died in 2001. I don't actually know anything about the history of Persian leopards in Australia, so I couldn't say for sure, and I haven't been able to find a photo of the Alma Park one so I don't know what he looked like. However given that he was at least twenty when he died that means he was born in 1980-ish which suggests he would have been a regular leopard, probably from one of the mainstream zoos such as Melbourne. The last three Persian leopards I named were all around the twenty year mark too, but that still puts them quite a bit after the Alma Park leopard's birth (e.g. the Adelaide male was probably born c.1993 and the Melbourne female c.1992).

Dholes, but Maned Wolves are even better. A managed species kept and bred in several zoos from a number of unrelated founders, then the ZAA (I think at that time still called ARAZPA) loses interest and wants them phased out via attrition, they are kept going "against recommendations" at one lone zoo, and then when the numbers are big enough suddenly the ZAA decides they want in on them again. It's just a ridiculous circle.

My worst example are De Brazza's Monkeys. Although they were breeding well and would have only needed an import of some fresh blood, it was decided to phase them out and concentrate on Diana Monkeys. No matter that there were no Dianas in Australia - they would be imported later. So the breeding of De Brazza's is stopped until the remaining animals are too old and they really are a lost cause and then.... nothing. Where are the Dianas? Nowhere.

Sigh.

 

the Taronga porcupine arrived there in 2005 - presumably from Melbourne? - and was initially kept in the clouded leopard cage (the cat having recently died).

 

I have spent a bit of time digging around in old annual reports, old online newspapers, etc, and have come up with some more information.

At the time of the Alma Park leopard's death (in 2001) there were only six Persian leopards left in the country - three at Perth (1.2) and three at Adelaide (1.2) - so Pussy must have been a regular zoo-mix leopard.

The three at Perth were a father and his two daughters. The two females were sent to Crocodylus in 2001 and the male followed in 2002. Their enclosure space at Perth was used for Sumatran tigers because there was no longer a regional programme for Persian leopards.

The one at Melbourne which died in 2013 must have been one of the Adelaide females.

The original Persian leopards in Australia were 1.2 siblings bred at Cincinnati Zoo (USA) in November 1980 and sent to Adelaide. As far as I can find, no others were imported, which if so means that all the Australian ones were bred from a sibling group.

 

a slightly updated "post-2000" list (I've put in a few extra details, and added a few more species), followed by a "post-1980, pre-2000" list. A lot of the species on the second list I know only from reading mentions of them on Zoochat, so often I don't even know the zoo they were held at. If anyone can give more info that would be great - either zoos, or more species, or whatever.

Steve, Ara, Hix, tetrapod... I'm looking at you guys in particular!


POST-2000

*Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi)
Imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from the UK in 1988, from Marwell Zoo (two males) and Midway Manor (four females). After the zoo's closure in 1991 they went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary, and then when that zoo closed in 2004 they (if they still survived then) were probably sold to the Mary River Station. There are no longer any in the country.

*White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Presumably from New Zealand stock. The last one in the country was a female at Werribee which died in 2007.

*Gemsbok (Oryx gazella)
Imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell Zoo (UK) in 1987 (1.2 animals) and 1988 (0.2 animals). After the zoo's closure in 1991 they went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary, and then when that zoo closed in 2004 they were sold to the Mary River Station. There are no longer any in the country.

*Nyala (Tragelaphus angasii)
Imported to the Pearl Coast Zoo from Marwell Zoo (UK) in 1988 (2.2 animals). After the zoo's closure in 1991 they went to Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary, and then when that zoo closed in 2004 they (if they still survived then) were probably sold to the Mary River Station. There are no longer any in the country.

*Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger)
The last one in the country was a female at Werribee which died in 2012 (she had been there alone since at least 2006).

*Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra)
From New Zealand stock, originally brought in by Taronga. The last one died at Monarto in the early 2000s.

*Black (Golden-rumped) Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus)
info still needed on numbers and so forth

*Red-handed Tamarin (Saguinus midas)
Originally imported to Perth from Skansen Zoo (Sweden) in the 1990s. The last two were sent to Mogo, the last one dying in the early 2000s.

*Common Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus)
Alma Park had a group of ten ex-lab animals near the start of the 2000s. There were still eight in 2008, but all seem to have died in 2011.

*Ebony (Javan) Langur ((Trachypithecus auratus)
Melbourne had a pair in the early-2000s, the male of which died in 2008 and the female in 2010.

*Purple-faced Langur (Trachypithecus vetulus vetulus)
At Perth Zoo; the last animals (one pair) were sent to Edinburgh Zoo (UK) in about 2005 or 2006.

*Tonkean Macaque (Macaca tonkeana)
Perth had one pair (?) which bred at least once. By around 2005 they just had two males left, and these seem to have died around 2010 or so (or they may have been rehomed to a smaller zoo, as many of their other unwanted primates were).

*Muller's (Bornean) Gibbon (Hylobates muelleri)
The last one in the country was the female Mary who came to Taronga from Borneo in 1960 and died in Feb 2015. Her previous mate had died in 1986 and she rejected attempts to pair her with other males. Until 2008 there was also a lone female at Mogo and until 2010 a lone female at the Cairns Wildlife Safari.

*Asian Lion (Panthera leo persica)
A pure male was kept at Taronga in the 1970s. In c.1991 a hybrid pair (Asian X African) was imported to Western Plains Zoo via Taronga from the USA, and these survived until at least 2003. The intention was to later import pure Asian Lions but this never eventuated.

*Tigon (Panthera tigris X Panthera leo)
A sibling pair which were bred at the Ashton's Circus in 1987, and sent to National Zoo in Dec 2000. The female died in 2006 and the male in June 2008.

*Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica / saxicolor)
The last three in the country were a female at Crocodylus (died in 2008); a male at Adelaide (died April 2010); and a female at Melbourne (died July 2013). The original breeding stock in Australia was 1.2 siblings bred at Cincinnati Zoo (USA) in 1980 and imported to Adelaide.

*Jaguar (Panthera onca)
The last five in the country all died in late 2000s from old age. A female at Darling Downs which came from Monbulk Animal Kingdom, but was originally bred at Adelaide in the late 1970s, died in 2008. The pair at Melbourne both died in 2008. Of the sibling pair at Mogo, which had came from Notre Dame Zoo (Mulgoa) when it was closed down in 1991, the female died in 2007 and the male in either 2009 or 2010.

*Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)
One pair was imported to Taronga in the 1990s. They never bred and the male died at Taronga in 2005, and the female died at Melbourne in 2008.

*Asiatic Golden Cat (Catopuma temminckii)
Kept and bred continuously at Melbourne since 1968 when the first five animals were imported from Europe and the USA. Was also kept at Taronga and Adelaide. Most of the surviving animals post-2000 were exported to New Zealand zoos. The last one in Australia was a female which died at Melbourne in 2009.

*Caracal (Caracal caracal schmitzii)
The last animals in the country were a pair at Adelaide. The female died in 2007, and the male was sent to Melbourne in 2008 where he died in late 2013.

*Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
The last one died at Melbourne in 2008. Also used to be at Taronga until at least the 1990s, and the Notre Dame Zoo (Mulgoa) which was closed down in 1991.

*Kodiak Bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi)
Three siblings were imported to Adelaide from the Colorado Springs Zoo (USA) in 1978, and then moved on to Taronga in 1985. Male Barney died in c.July 2005 aged 28, female Cynthia died March 2008 aged 31, and female Bethyl died Oct 2012 aged 35.

*Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
One captive-bred pair was imported to Taronga in Feb 2006 from Cambodia. One female pup was born in August 2006 and one male pup in July 2007. The father and daughter went to Singapore Night Safari in 2009, and he has since bred with an unrelated female there (in 2011). Both animals remaining at Taronga (the mother and son) died around Feb 2015.

*European badger (Meles meles)
Bred at Melbourne for many decades. Formerly also kept at Taronga. The last one in the country was a female which died at Melbourne in 2009.

*Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula)
The breeding population at Adelaide declined rapidly from around 15 animals at the start of the 2000s until the final one died in August 2013.

*White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)
Formerly kept in a number of zoos. The last one was a male which died at Melbourne in c.2009/2010. The animals currently in the country are Brown-nosed Coati (Nasua nasua).

*American Beaver (Castor canadensis)
Originally imported to Adelaide in the 1980s; I'm not sure if they ever bred. There were two pairs at the start of the 2000s, from which they dwindled until the last one (a male) died in July 2010.

*Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica)
The last ones in the country were a pair at Melbourne and a female at Taronga (which had come from Melbourne in 2005). The Melbourne male and the Taronga female both died in 2008, and the Melbourne female in 2009.

*Grey Dorcopsis Wallaby (Dorcopsis luctuosa)
Imported from New Guinea by the Australian Reptile Park in the late 1960s. Animals were distributed to Currumbin, Healesville, Adelaide, Melbourne, Taronga and Perth. The population survived in most of these zoos until at least the late 1990s. I think they may have still been at Currumbin, at least, until the early 2000s.



POST-1980 / PRE-2000

*Pere David's Deer (Elaphurus davidianus) - two pairs were given to Taronga by the Duke of Bedford in 1949 and they bred well - by 1956 there were fourteen at the zoo. The deer were sent out to WPZ after it opened in 1977. They seem to have all died out during the 1980s.
*Lowland Anoa (Bubalus depressicornis) - Taronga
*Hanuman Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) - at Perth
*Silvered Langur (Trachypithecus cristatus)
*Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus patas) - at Perth and Taronga.The last in the country were those at Taronga, which were sent to the Noumea Zoo in New Caledonia in the late 1990s.
*Talapoin (Miopithecus sp.) - at Perth Zoo, mid-1980s to early/mid-1990s. At least two of them came from New Zealand.
*Gelada (Theropithecus gelada)
*Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock)
*Stump-tailed Macaque (Macaca arctoides)
*Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus)
*Olive Baboon (Papio anubis)
*Senegal Bushbaby (Galago senegalensis) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Thick-tailed Bushbaby (Otolemur crassicaudatus)
*Slender Loris (Loris sp.) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Black Lemur (Eulemur macaco) - at Perth, the last pair exported to Pouakai Zoo (NZ) in 1995.
*Jungle Cat (Felis chaus)
*Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) - at Melbourne at least in the 1990s.
*Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) - at Taronga and Melbourne in mid-1980s
*Pallas' Cat (Otocolobus manul) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s. One was there in 1984. In Dec 1986 an Adelaide-bred Polar Bear was sent to Chicago's Brookfield Zoo (USA) in exchange for a Pallas' Cat - this may have been for the cat already at Adelaide or it may have been for a second cat.
*American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) - at Taronga 1980s
*Striped Hyaena?
*Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) - at Taronga in mid-1980s
*Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas) - at Melbourne, Taronga and Adelaide in the early 1980s. Taronga imported jackals directly from Africa in the 1940s which may have been the origin of the 1980s animals.
*Coyote (Canis latrans) - still in the early 1980s at Melbourne at least, but otherwise I know nothing.
*Arctic Wolf (Canis lupus hudsonicus) - at Adelaide, the final members of the pack were exported to Wellington Zoo (NZ) in 1987 and 1992.
*New Guinea Singing Dog (Canis familiaris hallstromi) - at Taronga in mid-1980s
*Chinese Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens styani) - six animals were imported in the 1980s but none bred. At the end of the 1980s the zoos switched to the currently-held subspecies A. f. fulgens.
*Tayra (Eira barbara) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) - at Taronga and Melbourne until late 1970s. Several at Adelaide in the 1980s: in 1987 they had 1.2 (one being a female from Melbourne); in 1988 they had 0.2; in 1989 a new male was imported from San Diego (USA) to make 1.2 again; in 1989 it seems both females died; and the male died in Sept 1990.
*Armadillo sp. - at Melbourne until at least late 1970s, possibly early 1980s.
*Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) - one pair imported to Melbourne from Canada in 1976; the female died in 1981 and the male perhaps in the late 1980s.
*Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) - at Melbourne until late 1980s. Probably the stock originated at Taronga which had them from at least the 1930s.
*Springhaas (Pedetes capensis) - at Adelaide in mid-1980s
*Ground Cuscus (Phalanger gymnotis) - imported from New Guinea to the Australian Reptile Park in 1969 and initially bred there. There subsequently appears to have been a reasonably large number in several zoos. Individuals or groups were present at Healesville until at least 1985, at Adelaide until at least 1990, at the Australian Reptile Park until at least 1995, and at Taronga until at least 1997.
*Spotted Cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus) - imported from New Guinea in the 1950s to 1970s to (at least) Healesville, Australian Reptile Park and Taronga. They were still present at Taronga until the late 1980s and at Perth until the late 1990s.

 

thanks tetrapod. Some comments on some of your additions:

"*Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica / saxicolor)
.... Perth's original animals were a pair (female killed by male after two females born). Surely they were not siblings (suggesting at least another import)?"
The only original animals I could find reference to were the sibling trio from 1980, but I don't know if any others were imported. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if the Perth pair were direct siblings. However trying to find specific details of past breeding programmes is almost always nigh-on impossible.

"*Hanuman Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) - Are these the animals that ended up at Adelaide and Dubbo ? If so they had left Perth a long time ago, during the 80s?"
no idea. I didn't even know Adelaide and Dubbo had them.

"*Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus patas) - Don't remember them being at Perth, but Taronga animals ended up at Dubbo before Noumea."
I may have misinterpreted something said on the forum about them being at Perth. I didn't know the Taronga ones went to Dubbo prior to Noumea, either.

"*Black Lemur (Eulemur macaco) - at Perth, the last pair exported to Pouakai Zoo (NZ) in 1995. Incorrect entry - white-fronted lemurs"
Pouakai imported a sibling pair of White-fronted Lemurs in 1995, but they also imported a pair of Black Lemurs at the same time. I thought they came from Perth also? Did Perth have Black Lemurs at that time? This was (I'm guessing) when Perth was busy dismantling its primate collection and brushing them all of onto small zoos.

"*Spotted Cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus) - Perth individual only lasted until mid 90s"
I have a date of 1998. I may phrase it as "mid/late 1990s" to err on the side of caution.

 

the leopard was in one of the Big Cat cages (the area where the snow leopards etc were). I'm fairly sure she was in there right up to her death, but I wouldn't guarantee it. The cage remained empty for quite a while afterwards.

 

I found that Perth Zoo published a pamphlet on the Lesser Primates exhibit in June 1986, so presumably that would be the opening year?