"Fiordland penguins Edward and Kim were rescued from different beaches on the Mornington Peninsula in July after suffering trauma in the ocean." "They were both quickly brought back to the veterinary department at Melbourne Zoo for life-saving treatment." "As a result of the nature of their injuries, keepers decided it was best for the duo to stay at Melbourne Zoo and they have been on display since mid-December." One would hope that the birds would be sent to Taronga instead of staying at Melbourne!
I'm openly going to admit that I'm always a little excited when a Fiordland washes up on our shore. Yet I wonder if these animals will be staying at Melbourne? Surely a consolidation with the Taronga birds would be in the interest of starting a colony?
Fiordland Crested Penguins aren't colonial birds - they nest as individual pairs within forest - but I certainly agree that they should be sent to Taronga. The more birds in one spot to choose their own mates the better for actually getting them to breed properly.
I was at Melbourne a few weeks ago and there was already signage for Fiorland Crested Penguin, though I haven’t actually seen them yet. I’m guessing that because they’ve put signage up for them they will be staying though I do agree it would be great to have them be sent to Taronga.
Melbourne Zoo has created the worlds first reptile water gym aimed at exercising their snakes, lizards, and turtles:Zoo Creates World's First Reptile Swim-Gym To Fight Snake Obesity
One of Melbourne Zoo’s African Wild Dogs (‘Saba’) has been euthanised. Vets were unable to repair his leg, due to serious injury and infection. Zoos Victoria
Little John, a male Aldabra Giant tortoise, was recently transferred to a new home in the Growing Wild precinct with a female, Jean in the hope of breeding them this season. Little John’s old enclosure, near the Reptile house is still occupied by another male, Wilbur. No giant feat when moving a tortoise | Zoos Victoria
Was at the zoo for a twilight concert last night and managed to duck in to see the new Fiordland penguins. The pair seemed to have settled in very nicely and have formed quite a bond with each other. They were very active, and despite the males "crossed" bill looked healthy and in good weight. Their activities in unison were certainly captivating the visitors. I'd really love to see a colony of these birds formed here.
Malu the Orangutan Escapes (Again) Melbourne Zoo in lockdown after orang-utan escapes A Melbourne Zoo spokeswoman said in a statement, “Melbourne Zoo can confirm that at approximately 3.15pm today, Malu, a 15-year-old Sumatran orang-utan, got out of his exhibit.” She said a review was “currently underway to ascertain all the details, however the situation was contained after a very limited period of time, and was fully resolved within an hour”. Malu previously forced the zoo into lockdown in 2015 after he escaped from his enclosure using a blanket. He was on the loose for an hour before being recaptured. It was not immediately clear how he achieved Friday’s jailbreak.
Interesting article on Floppy, the zoo’s sole male coati, who has sired an impressive 24 offspring. He currently lives with two of his daughters, Japura and Bahia in the Snow leopard ridge precinct. A full bill of health for Melbourne Zoo's star breeder Floppy | Zoos Victoria
Hamadryas Baboon Births Two Hamadryas baboon infants were born in May: a female born to Qetesh; and a male born to Macey. Keepers have drawn up a shortlist of two female and two male names, all of Swahili origin: the male will be called either Makali (fierce) or Matuko (elegant), while the female will be either Quill, meaning “small one”, or Jabali (strong as a rock). The latest births bring the number of infants and juveniles in the troop to nine. Category: | Herald Sun Macey (born 13/03/2004 at Wellington Zoo) has had five offspring previously, including two at Melbourne Zoo: 1.0 Melako (born 20/05/2017) 0.1 Mahali (born 11/02/2018)
That’s awesome news! Melbourne are doing well with their Hamadryads Baboon breeding program, as they have produced 8 in the last 2 years! The troop now stands at around 30, and I wouldn’t be suprised if they are looking to export a few soon. Zoos such as Adelaide, and Auckland could definitely benefit from some new genetics. I prefer the names Makali for the male, and Jabali for the female. Though, Jabali may not be chosen and Quill favoured for the female infant, as her dad (or uncle)’s name is Jabari.
That’s a huge troop! Not even Wellington’s troop got that large. It must be a fascinating group to watch. I don’t see much of a future for Adelaide’s troop of 3.1 baboons all the time Tomkay is in it. He apparently made it impossible for the 0.3 from Wellington to be introduced; with one dying at Adelaide and two relocated to Melbourne, where they settled in without issue. Although now he’s approaching adulthood, he might be more receptive to new females. Auckland Zoo have a troop of 4.5 (including three young females aged 4-8 years old) so they could arguably benefit from new males (with the current males exported). I doubt this will happen though as Wellington Zoo (were presumably) unable to relocate four males a few months ago. A few extra females would allow each male to maintain a harem, so an import of 0.2 or 0.3 might be a possibility.
Posted on Facebook: Melbourne Zoo's oldest and youngest elephants have both had trips to the dentist over the past few weeks. But for animals that weigh several tonnes, it's not quite as simple as sitting in the dental chair and saying "aaahhhh". Well done to the keepers, vets and specialist staff involved in these procedures - thank you for taking such special care of our elephants!
It’s a shame Man Jai has lost one of his tusks, though of course it was necessary for his health and well being. Luk Chai at Taronga Zoo had both his tusks removed when he was five years old, due to having brittle tusks. It’s very noticeable when you compare him to the other adolescent bull, Pathi Harn: Security Check
Thats Ongard, Man Jai and Luck Chai who have all lost one or more tusks in adolescence. Thats most of the bulls born in Australia. I'd say this is likely due to their captivity where they are surrounded by hard surfaces and objects like steel and concrete.
