Initially I had planned to create a thread on some of Melbourne's most well known animals, but then thought, why not just create one for all of Melbourne's animals, with as much knowledge I have on them, to share with you. Keep in mind, I won't have every single detail, but hopefully what I know (with the help of others too) will give us a better understanding of Melbourne's past. Let's dive in.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introduction: This thread will contain historic information on Melbourne's species, past and present; alongside any interesting info on Melbourne's past, present enclosures/precincts ect; with as much photos and maps that I can provide! Hopefully this thread will help many to gain a thorough understanding on Melbourne's past/present collection and the zoo in its entirety (mostly). Not all species will be covered, as I don't know much about some of the smaller bird, reptile and herp species. But anyhow i'll try my best! I'll start off by going through the current species Melbourne holds. Each post will detail the current species Melbourne has, and Melbourne's history holding this species. I hope you all enjoy this thread. Keep tuned.
1. Ring Tailed Lemur Melbourne have had this species for as long as most can remember; dating back to at least the 80's. Back in the 1980's Melbourne founded a breeding group which moved onto the former Lemur islands. I can't find a photo unfortunately but these were pretty much three medium sized islands, that were heavily planted and located opposite the former Big Cat cages. Melbourne initially breed them, with the last of the births taking place in 1991. From here, the group went 21 years without any births, but still maintained a decent sized troop on the some group of islands. Then in 2012, twins were born to first time mum, Kely (five). She had recently arrived from another facility in the region, as had the father, as the rest of the troop were elderly. The following year (2013), a new Lemur complex was built right next to the zoo's main entrance, on the place of the former Great Ape Grottoes. This included a new walkthrough enclosure for Ringtails, and 11 males initially moved in (most of which were from other facilities, alongside some of the younger males including the 2012 twins). The rest of the former troop was kept on display until 2016, when the remainder were either moved off display or sent to another facility. At the present time, Melbourne maintains a bachelor group of eight Ring Tailed Lemur. All of which are between the ages of 10-15. Melbourne plans to maintain a bachelor group into the future, supporting the regional breeding program by providing a bachelor facility.
This is a great thread. It really interesting to see what species Melbourne has had for a long time, this thread will show that Melbourne has had the same animals for many years with a decline collection
Like you say, despite Melbourne’s declining collect size (a trend consistent across most of the main zoos in the region), there’s been some main stays in the collection - species that have been there for decades or even a century or more. Their first Asian elephant arrived in 1883; and they’ve held this species ever since - making their decision to phase out over 141 years later a truly momentous occasion (albeit the right one).
Very true, and of course under the Zoos Victoria umbrella. It’s great to see them working together to make realistic decisions about which facilities are best equipped to meet the needs of their species. An open range sister zoo is a luxury only two other city zoos in the region have.
Thanks. *Technically* it's not a phase out; but more of a move of sites, but still Melbourne Zoo itself will no longer hold elephants after more than 140 long years. That's an interesting point in saying most of Melbourne's species they currently hold have been around for a while. It seems Melbourne haven't found the need to import completely new species.
As mentioned before another smart move now transfer the young male Indian rhino from Dubbo when ready and acquire a unrelated female from overseas perhaps via the IRF. Its a double win, no more cost for a major exhibit and exhibiting a high profile endangered species, a double win I believe!
Historically, being the two most prominent zoos in Australia, Melbourne and Taronga were the first holders of many high profile species which have filtered down to the other main zoos and then the small and regional zoos. Sumatran tiger, Western lowland gorilla and Snow leopard are just three examples.
2. Black and White Ruffed Lemur Melbourne have held this species for a while now. At least dating back to the early 2000's. Unfortunately they've never maintained a breeding pair (At least to my knowledge). A pair of females used to reside in the fifth enclosure within the Treetop monkeys trail, and they arrived sometime in the early 2000's (probably from a breeding facility like Mogo). One of the females was named Ruby, but I can't seem to recall the name of the other, nor find any mention of these girls online. The pair were then moved into the new Lemur complex which opened in 2013, and also featured Ring Tails. The first female died in 2018, followed by the other (Ruby) in 2019. Following this, the exhibit sat empty for a few years before a new pair - (Mari and Setra); arrived from Mogo in 2021. These two girls are Melbourne's two current Black and White Ruffed Lemur residents.
I believe Melbourne Zoo held this species in 1991. Karen Stevenson of Melbourne Zoo was the species coordinator and in the primate report for that year discussed the holdings of Perth, Wellington and Orana as three of the four holders in the region. Melbourne were noted as planning to import from Cincinnati (presumably a mate for their lemur) - implying they were the fourth holder. Historically, the earliest reference I can find of Melbourne Zoo holding ruffed lemur is 1892, when they received a ruffed lemur that year. It’s not mentioned if this is the black and white species or the red species (and indeed a Red ruffed lemur appears in their collection in 1938); but since other zoos in Australia held the black and white species around this time and there’s several mentions of ruffed lemurs in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s at Melbourne Zoo, it’s likely at least one of them was of the black and white species.
