Hamilton Zoo Hamilton Zoo News 2021

I doubt they would want two breeding herds. Last I heard, the three mares (all daughters of the stallion) were being kept seperate to avoid inbreeding, while awaiting recommendations for transfer. Auckland Zoo (who have retired their stallion and hold two mares and a colt) could potentially hold a sorority herd of five mares?

Malawi has been the zoo’s stallion for close to a decade, so another option could be to retire him to Keystone and bring in a new stallion. Though Marble (the country’s only Grant’s mare) is getting on in her years, it’d be great if Hamilton Zoo could acquire a Grant’s stallion - either from Darling Downs Zoo; or Bakari (if he’s still alive at Keystone).

 

I forgot Ndoki died so there's now Masamba (19), Ndale (17) amd Dume (15).

 

A Brown Capuchin has been born at Hamilton Zoo. The infant was born on February 16 to female Nachos and male Manuel. The zoo will either name it Niña (girl in Spanish) or Niño (boy in Spanish) depending on its sex when determined: Hamilton Zoo

 

This brings the troop to 3.7.1 capuchins:

1.0 Manuel (18/01/2010)
1.0 Churi (19/10/2015)
1.0 Diez (11/11/2018)
0.1 Clarissa (29/12/1994)
0.1 CJ (23/01/2002)
0.1 Diva (13/02/2003)
0.1 Jessie (11/10/2003)
0.1 Nachos (20/02/2009)
0.1 Amani (20/11/2009)
0.1 Garbanzo (26/01/2017)
0.0.1 Unnamed (16/02/2021)

 

Update on the baby Black-handed Spider Monkey, Belize. She has commenced introductions with other members of the group at Hamilton - female Besede and male Salsa. Interesting to note that in the last 12 months or so, three zoos in the region have had to handraise spider monkey infants - Hamilton, Melbourne and Hunter Valley:

"It's been a big couple of weeks for baby Belize and an exciting time for the team hand raising her. She now weighs in at 1kg AND has enjoyed her first re-introduction session with spider monkeys Salsa and Besede. Keep an eye out for next weeks update where the team shares the joys and the challenges of Belize's journey."
Hamilton Zoo

 

Yes with Masamba being a half brother to the other two.

Having built up a bachelor herd of six bulls, with the arrival of Dume in 2007; Hamilton Zoo will soon be at a cross roads where upon the deaths of two of their ageing bulls, they could begin a breeding herd with the arrival of a couple of females.

That said, New Zealand’s other three main zoos have all recently acquired young bulls and by the time Hamilton Zoo reaches these crossroads, a bachelor facility will be invaluable for holding the inevitable surge of male giraffe calves.

There are currently eight reproductively viable giraffe cows across New Zealand - four at Orana; three at Auckland; one at Wellington.

 

Spider Monkey Infant Paternity

Hamilton Zoo have posted another update on their Spider monkey infant:

Hamilton Zoo

It mentions she now spends most of her days with Salsa and Besede and is learning social behaviour from them. She’s almost at the point of living full time with them, having spent an overnight visit.

What’s most interesting is that Salsa is referred to as her ‘uncle.’ Given the gestation of this species (7-8 months) and the transfer of Tostada November 2020, that means the young male, Aranyo, is the sire.

Prior to the birth of Belize 17/09/2020; Aranyo was the last spider monkey born at the zoo, when he was born 11/02/2016.

 

It seems like the new Cheetahs have now officially arrived at Hamilton Zoo. The zoo have given their first clue about a flight that touched down at Auckland International Airport from Sydney last night.

Edit: The species in question was indeed Cheetah - the four males from Dubbo have arrived safely: Log into Facebook | Facebook

Hamilton Zoo

 

A few updates from Hamilton's Fb post [Log into Facebook | Facebook] today:

*the Brown Capuchin born in February has been sexed as male and therefore named Niño. Consequently, Hamilton have 11 (4.7) capuchins currently.

*a bison calf was born five months ago to female Aira. The calf has been confirmed as male and been named Doug.

*the zebra foal born in January has been named Pebbles. The foal (the sex was not mentioned) was born to female Marble.

*a Musk Lorikeet hatched three weeks ago. The zoo's Maroon-bellied Conures also currently have young.

 

According to their website, the zoo’s Slender-tailed meerkat colony has dwindled to two middle aged males. Presumably the zoo will import a female soon; or new founders once these males have passed on.

 

Hamilton Zoo have taken in a rescued White-faced Heron who is now living in the main walkthrough aviary: Log into Facebook | Facebook

 

A male Siamang has arrived from Taronga Western Plains Zoo. There are currently no plans to breed from him at this stage and he will go on-display this week in a separate part of the zoo away from the current pair:

 

My thoughts go out to Hamilton Zoo and the keepers. Sally, their 50-year-old chimp has died due to an underlying heart condition. From their Facebook page:

"It is with the heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of our beautiful girl Sally, our much-loved chimpanzee. Due to an underlying heart condition, the primate and vet team have always kept an eye on this precious girl and regularly allowed her trusted caregivers to get images of her heart. At the weekend Sally stopped weight bearing on her right leg, for reasons unknown. On Monday she showed signs of further decline. This led to a health check under general anaesthetic (GA) on Tuesday where it became clear something had arisen that was complicating her already fragile health and the difficult, but ultimately kindest, decision to euthanise was made.

These decisions are never easy, but with animal welfare always the number one priority at Hamilton Zoo, it was important our team step in to prevent any suffering for Sally. This special girl has been a popular member of the Hamilton Zoo whaanau since her arrival from Auckland Zoo in 2004. Rejected at birth by her mother, a former ‘tea-party chimp’, Sally spent her first two years being hand-raised by Auckland Zoo head primate keeper at the time Richard Seccombe and his wife Georgie alongside their own children. While Sally returned to Auckland Zoo, then moved to Hamilton Zoo where she solidified her place in the chimp troop, she always had a special affinity with people – with a soft spot for children and older men, particularly those with facial hair! She loved engaging with visitors from her favourite spot at the bottom viewer by the window, always with a blanket (preferably pink) in hand. We plan to honour Sally and her beautiful spirit by renaming the spot where she made so many memorable connections, ‘Sallys’ Window’.

Absolutely adored by her primate keepers, the wider zoo team and all our visitors, her sweet nature, happy dances, and beautiful vocalisations which she greeted her keepers with each morning and evening, would be so terribly missed but always remembered. Thank you Sally, it has been an absolute privilege. We know many of you will also be feeling the loss deeply. If you have special memories, photos, or videos of Sally, please share these below. We would love to see them. Later today we will share some of our keepers’ fondest memories of her too."
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The zoo’s breeding pair of African wild dog, Romeo (2012) and Itanya (2016), have been observed mating over the past few weeks and the zoo are hopeful for pups. If successful, these will be the first pups since Hasani and Zuri welcomed their fourth and final litter in 2008. Intanya is a descendent of Zuri, who was exported to Taronga Western Plains Zoo in late 2008.

Romeo and Itanya occupy the larger exhibit near the tigers; while Romeo’s brother, Kudu, shares an exhibit with the elderly female, Msaka, in the savannah precinct.

 

Brown capuchin birth:

A second Brown capuchin was born earlier this year. The female infant has been named Kahlo (presumably after the artist Frida Kahlo) and was sired by Manuel, who sired a male infant named Niño in February this year.

Kahlo’s birth takes the troop to 4.8 capuchins.

 

Several animal exhibit renovations are currently happening at Hamilton Zoo. The zoo is constructing a new house for the porcupine to improve visibility. A former pig/goat enclosure is also currently being transformed for their Nyala to go on public show. New chimp signage and the entrance development are also progressing well: Log into Facebook | Facebook

 

Ordinarily I would have preferred the Lowland nyala to be integrated with the other African ungulates in the savannah exhibit and the Indian antelope to be given their own exhibit; however it’ll be nice to see the nyala up close and I commend Hamilton Zoo on getting shot of one of their many crowd displeasing farmyard exhibits.

 

Recent news:

Two Ring-tailed lemur infants were born overnight. They were sired by Chaos.

Charlie the Kea has apparently died, having been removed from their website. The zoo now has three Kea: two males named Tane (1993) and Ariki (2009); and a female named Ahi (1997).

Charlie was well known to visitors. He was the first Kea to hatch at Hamilton Zoo (in 1986) and the subject of a children’s book published in 2012. He was very human oriented and would often come to the mesh to interact.

Kea (Nestor notabilis) by Zoofan15 posted 26 Nov 2020 at 10:17 AM

 

Unfortunately Charlie passed I think back in February. They have moved several kākāriki into the kea enclosure and done some replanting but it is a little bit flat without his personality.
The nearby eel pool is still under development. Apparently it was built as a pond rather than tank and they are having major water quality issues due to a lack filtration.
There are renovated aviaries and amphibian enclosures around the weka walk/ eel pool, so it should be an interesting area once opened.