I have no recollection of seeing them in July. I have noted down three glass-fronted exhibits for Red-handed Tamarins, Cotton-top Tamarins and Emperor Tamarins; and the aviary-style enclosure for the Common Marmoset/Agouti. I will check on my next visit when I make the updated species list though.
Seems ridiculous re: pumas. I expect that govt agencies have bought into the feral big cat idea. While the bat-eared foxes, silvery marmosets and red-bellied tamarins would be good new introductions to the exotic diversity of Australia's zoos, neither has any real conservation value. Hopefully there are further species in the pipeline.
I have to agree why focus on this one species for what real reason?. It appears when enough people say I have seen a mountain lion in the bush then it seems it does, As has been mentioned a few times on other threads feral cats do grow huge far bigger than any house moggy does, but why let any facts get in the way of a good story!
I can only shake my head about the rule, that only desexed pumas are allowed to be imported to OZ. Regarding to the facts that (afaik) breeding of domestic cats (that are much more difficult to control and are AT LEAST as dangerous to the local fauna as pumas when becoming feral cats) is still allowed and that other bigger cats with a similar breeding rate and chance of escaping like tigers and lions can be kept and bred, I really don't understand that measure.
Hunter Valley Zoo received their first ever Giraffe a month ago. They are a 1.1 pair - a male from Dubbo (Shingo) and a female from Australia Zoo (Sophie): Hunter Valley Zoo's new additions are a cut above rest | VIDEO Another piece of exotic mammal news announced today is that Melbourne Zoo just received Luk Chai, an Asian Elephant bull from TWPZ with the intention of breeding: A Massive Welcome for a Huge New Melbourne Zoo reisdent
An end-of-year update with all the remaining exotic mammal information that I haven’t pestered you to update throughout the year. Fortunately, I have no complete losses of mammal species to report back and remnant animals like the last two Lion-tailed Macaques and sole Sulawesi Black Macaque are still hanging on in Australia. The information below was confirmed via email/contacting each zoo: I’m not sure if you were interested in having more information about where the Red-handed Tamarins came from but the three pairs were imported from South Africa specifically. This pair is now deceased – the male died in 2014 and the female died in 2018. The new breeding pair of Javan Gibbons at PZ consists of a female bred at Perth Zoo from the former pair in 2010 and a male imported from Belfast Zoo in November 2018. He was originally wild caught in Java in 1984 and moved to Howletts in 1987. This new pair produced their first offspring in April 2020. The information about the pair at Mogo is still up to date as far as I know. This number has risen to six (2.4) Snow Leopards at Melbourne Zoo which includes their older female, breeding pair and 1.2 triplets born in January 2020. The female born in 2008 from Melbourne's former pair is still alive and well as of this month according to the zoo and lives permanently off-display in her own exhibit. If it’s of any interest, I can confirm the Clouded Leopard cubs are full siblings. They were born on 9th December 2019. Wings Wildlife Park no longer have their Capybara.
Definitely don't consider it as pestering me. I value all of your contributions to these threads, so any corrections and updates of any size are welcome. For cases like the Javan Gibbons at Perth, with the low-numbered animals I'll have generally found the information on the individual animals when first making the thread (which was in July 2015 for this particular thread) and then not looked at them again unless there is a specific news item - which generally only happens for "important" species like Pigmy Hippos. So there also might be some others with outdated pairings.
A couple of mistakes here: Prior to the 2015 import, the community was descended from nine animals (not six); and they were imported from 1949 and 1993 (not 1947 and 1970). They are: 1.0 Sailor (arrived 1949) 0.1 Susie (arrived 1953) 1.0 Bobby (arrived 1954) 0.1 Biddy (arrived 1954) 0.1 Fifi (arrived 1954) 0.1 Mary (arrived 1964) 0.1 Lulu (arrived 1965) 1.0 Snowy (arrived 1986) 0.1 Koko (arrived 1993) Adelaide Zoo last held chimpanzee in 2010 (not 2009) - four females were quarantined at Adelaide from 02/10/2010 to 09/11/2010, before being transferred to Monarto Safari Park.
Just one small error here @Zoofan15. Mary's line died out when her offspring were exported although her line survives in the region through Mike's sons at Hamilton Zoo.
Nope, Mary is a founder of the current Taronga troop. Her son Monte sired Shabani (born 1994 to Shiba). If Shabani never sires any surviving offspring, Mary will no longer have any descendants at Taronga when he dies; but she does indeed have two grandsons and two great granddaughters (through her son, Mike) at Hamilton Zoo.
Capybara is back at Darling Downs Zoo now. I saw one today on my visit to the zoo mixed with the tapirs and mara: Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) - ZooChat
As @Patrick Keegan posted on Taronga Zoo's news page, their male sun bear Mr Hobbs has been put to sleep. There are now only seven (2.5) sun bears left in the Australasian region. Quote from the post he found: "Mr Hobbs was one of the first animals I worked with when I was a casual keeper in 2008. And when I was a Discovery Host on Roar & Snore - he had the most compelling story to explain to guests. He was a dude and lots of us will miss him. Vale Mr Hobbs Sadly, on Friday morning the Carnivore and Vet Teams said goodbye to Taronga’s beloved Malayan Sun Bear, Mr Hobbs. It was a smooth and peaceful farewell for which the teams have been preparing, and a dignified exit befitting such a beautiful animal. While Mr Hobbs enjoyed a rich life here at Taronga Zoo, it sadly could have a been a very different story. Mr Hobbs was wild born in Cambodia but was tragically taken from his mother by poachers and sold into the restaurant trade. Thankfully, a twist of fate saw Mr Hobbs and two other Sun Bear cubs rescued by an expatriate business man, taken to the ‘Free the Bears’ sanctuary in Phonm Penh and then eventually relocated to Australia in 1997."
@akasha brought to my attention that the National Zoo and Aquarium no longer have Maned Wolves. Here is the email response I received from them: “We haven’t had maned wolves for a few years now. Unfortunately one passed away and the other was moved on to another zoo.”
Thanks - the National Zoo is probably the most "difficult" of the major zoos to get info on because they aren't very good at updating information...
Sad news, Altina's young bongo has died due to a long-term illness leaving the park without the species. There are only six bongo left in Australia: "Over the last few months our beautiful Bongo Mshindi has been in intensive care with a condition Vets from all around the world could not diagnose. Countless tests and investigations amounted to no results. Altina Managers and Staff could only keep Mshindi comfortable and follow our vets directions. When our beautiful baby boy departed from this world the autopsy results were also inconsistent. Vets are putting it down to a ‘mechanical abnormality’ knowing our boy had many difficulties. This has been extremely heart breaking for all of the Altina Family as I’m sure many of the public loosing this critically endangered animal that was so special to us and has left a massive hole in our hearts!" Altina Wildlife Park
Tasmania Zoo have acquired a new species - a female Javan Gibbon has been transferred from Mogo: Log into Facebook | Facebook
I remember seeing proboscis monkeys at Melbourne zoo as a kid (maybe later 90’s, early 2000’s?). Did I imagine it or were they there for a little while?
