Plains Zebra Foal A Plains zebra foal was born 20/01/2022 to Marble. This birth brings the zoo’s zebra population to eight. Herd One: 1.0 Malawi (12/03/2012) 0.1 Marble (06/10/2003) 0.1 Zalika (30/11/2011) 0.1 Pebbles (10/01/2021) Malawi x Marble 0.0.1 Unnamed (31/10/2021) Malawi x Zalika 0.0.1 Unnamed (20/01/2022) Malawi x Marble Herd Two: 1.0 Okavango (27/12/2019) Malawi x Marble 1.0 Zambia (30/12/2019) Malawi x Zalika
Duvaucel’s Gecko Birth Hamilton Zoo is celebrating the birth of a Duvaucel’s gecko. The father is 13 years old and the mother will be three years old in March. Hamilton Zoo has a long and successful history of breeding this species. Last October, they reported four Duvaucel’s gecko had been born over the last two years. The zoo’s eldest Duvaucel’s gecko is a male named Koro, who was born in 1956.
Hamilton has finished the 'parrot court' revamp. There are now four good sized aviaries themed on Australia, Pacific/Asia, Africa and a large South America aviary (which includes a lonely moluccan). New (or returned) to the zoo are King parrots (I spotted 0.1), a pair of African greys, a pair of Senegals and several masked loverbirds. These species are all commonly available in private aviculture in New Zealand. There is no signage of any pheasant species and the keeper I talked to said he didn't think there were any off-display, so these are likely now gone from Hamilton's collection. Still, along with the pygmy marmosets, cotton tops, leopard turtles and the odd agouti the parrot court is feeling complete and it'll be good to see the zoo move on to revamping other areas.
I assume you meant F Kito as the only breeding cow at Hamilton Zoo? Why wait with the other two cows Moesha (born 1994) or Imani (born 2007): Female Moesha has 2 calves (F Jamila at Auckland and reproducing and M Kifaru at Werribee where Umgana is/was the breeding bull). There is a real chance Moesha will breed with a younger, but different bull. But why does F Imani seem like a non-breeder?
Yes, I was referring to Kito. Kito has had four calves to Kruger (born 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2020); while Moesha has had two calves (born 2009 and 2012) but hasn’t bred for 10 years; and Imami has never bred. Apparently Imami doesn’t like Kruger. There was a similar stagnation with the previous bull (Zambezi). Moesha and Kito never bred with him and both ceased cycling; but when Kruger arrived in 2007, they both resumed cycling and successfully bred. The fertility of bulls declines with age and Kruger is now 33 years old - well past his prime. With Samburu turning six next month, it’ll be interesting to see if he has any influence on the cow’s cycles. Assuming Samburu is still leaving, I think the obvious solution is to bring in a new bull and transfer Kruger to Auckland Zoo (to replace Inkosi).
The situation calls for a 10-12 year old bull to take over the reigns, and this sooner rather than later. Whereas proven dam Moesha has calved previously, there really is no time to waste for the young captive-born female Imani and with 5 more years till her windows goes ... the clock is ticking. NOTA BENE: Please check how things have fared next door at Orana in Christchurch where breeding has been near non-existent with a succession of older bulls. Their current bull Stumpy (born 1983) is fairly aged and their former bull Cyrano was not much better at it either. Only cow Tamu has a surviving calf in male Tino (still residing at Orana) by bull Cyrano. Two other births occured in 1999 Ibutho and 2011 Eco). Meaning: a young compatible young adult breeding bull is vital for breeding success and ideally it should be 2 with a competitor bull of similar standing.
Tamu (2002) should be regarded as Orana’s only viable breeding cow as Utani (1984) hasn’t produced a calf in 23 years and Katala (1997) has never bred. The first generation San Diego cows were notoriously poor breeders, which combined with the bulls Orana has had, has led to less than impressive results. Tamu has given birth to three calves - Eco in 2010; Tino in 2015; and a unnamed female, who died shortly after her birth in 2018. This last calf was sired by Stumpy, who had not previously bred. Sadly a repeat mating has never ensured.
I believe a lot’s waiting on the South African imports, which should happen within the next 12-18 months. Hamilton and Orana would benefit greatly from new breeding bulls; while Orana’s herd would also benefit from a second breeding cow.
Construction began last year. The plan is to import 10 rhinos at a time, with the Orana facility able to quarantine 20. A total of 35 will be joining the Australasian programme: $1.4m centre at Orana Wildlife Park to help save rhinos from extinction
I have followed the project from the start and the original numbers was targeted at 80. I have observed the number has kept dropping over the years to the number that you have quoted now.
Gosh it is amazing how challenging they are finding relatively small fundraising. $1.4m for the total project is a steal, and yet they seem to still be well below target.
New Zealand has an issue with philanthropic donations, particularly from business. I'm not sure if that's because of our tax arrangements or because most large companies have head offices elsewhere. Hamilton recently had to plunder the new Otter enclosure budget to finish the new entrance way and playground area after private donations failed to materialize. I don't know what the solution is, probably more cooperation even amalgamation among zoos to reduce costs if revenues can't be increased.
It’d be really great if Auckland Zoo had agreed to a partnership with Hamilton Zoo. Auckland Zoo has the money, but not the space; while Hamilton Zoo has the space, but not the money. An open range site for Auckland Zoo was first proposed decades ago, but has never materialised. Rather than Hamilton Zoo building exhibits that will always be second rate to Auckland Zoo, they could focus on keeping hoofstock; while Auckland focuses on carnivores and primates.
Zoos in Australia that also plan to collaborate include Taronga Western Plains, Werribee, Monarto and Perth. I'd assume Altina would be looking to gain more individuals as well. Alongside the trio of zoos in NZ, that'd give at least 7-8 zoos, which is a nice, healthy amount.
After quarantine in New Zealand, the rhinos will be distributed between Taronga Western Plains Zoo and Monarto Zoo; with some remaining at Orana Wildlife Park. While there will be some redistribution to some of the other nine regional holders, the main focus will be on holding large herds at those three facilities (who will soon be equipped to hold up to 20 rhinos). It’s exciting to think of them being able to breed on the scale San Diego and Whipsnade were a few decades ago. While I’m hopeful of some commonsense transfers (such as a new bull for Hamilton) from the South Africa import; it will also be an opportunity to change things around based on what’s working and what isn’t - splitting up cows that are exerting estrus suppression on each other for example.
If offspring can be moved on at three years of age, then I’d say a breeding herd of one bull and three cows. This herd size has worked well in the past, with up to two cows reproducing at one time and the exhibit accomodating them, their offspring and a third non breeding cow. The management issues with the current herd are solely caused by the young bull (six years old) still remaining at the zoo; not the size of the exhibit. If the masterplan can offer any sort of expansion on the current exhibit size, I’d look at increasing the number of cows to five with the understanding two will probably be non breeding. One theory is that seperate night houses for the cows reduces estrus suppression.
