According to "Nachttierhäuser in Zoologischen Gärten" Wild Life Sydney kept Mountain Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus cunninghami) somewhere in this decade. The booklet also mentions quite a few rarities in the past collections of the nocturnal houses of Perth and Taronga, most notable Spectacled Hare-Wallaby (P), Leadbeater's Possum (P, T), Mountain Pygmy Possum (T), Western Pygmy Possum (P), Spotted Cuscus (P, T) and Scaly-tailed Possum (P). The trio I mentioned in April for Taronga, aren't listed (but Kowari is for Perth).
Which zoo in Australia would be best to see native species? Not just the typical kangaroos but animals like ghost bats and possums? I’m deciding on traveling to Australia in a few years or Japan.
Perth Zoo and Taronga have probably the largest collection of native mammal species, including rarities like numbat (Perth) and platypus (Taronga), as well as ghost bats, several species of dasyurids, possums, macropods and rodents.
Most likely staying in the Sydney area so Taronga works great! There’s also the aquarium with gentoo penguins and dugongs so that’s a nice plus. Do you (or anyone else) know what’s currently housed in the Australian nightlife house at Taronga zoo? I know about the ghost bats but what other species are housed there?
I haven’t been to either of these places, but the Moonlight Sanctuary and Healesville Sanctuary look to have impressive native collections.
I've visited Taronga and a couple of others Australian zoos earlier this year. See AWP's zoo visits Down Under for mammal species lists and species lists of the nocturnal houses.
Healesville Sanctuary, Moonlight Sanctuary, Kyabram Wildlife Park and Halls Gap Zoo all have great native collections and are all situated in Victoria. All are within a 3 hour drive from Melbourne. Halls Gap is situated near the Grampians National Park and Kyabram is close to the Murray River - both areas have beautiful scenery, great accommodation and plenty of wildlife. Also within easy distance from Melbourne is Phillip Island where you can see Little Blue Penguins as they come ashore every night.
If you're in Sydney then Wildlife Sydney also has a good selection of native species (and is next to the Aquarium), but for Australian native bird species you need to go out to Featherdale. Hix
Does anyone know what the 5-10 places holding ghost bats in Australia are? I know Perth, Taronga, Adelaide, and Wildlife Sydney should hold them but I can't find others.
Adelaide, Alice Springs, Currumbin, Featherdale, Gorge, Taronga, Territory, Perth, and Wildlife Sydney.
On my trip to Territory Wildlife Park in April they no longer kept: 1. Northern Blossom-bat Macroglossus minimus 2. Bare-rumped Sheath-tail Bat Saccolaimus saccolaimus And if you're counting it as a separate species they had: 1. Northern brushtail possum Trichosurus arnhemensis
The Sheathtail Bats were still there a year ago - Najade photographed them in July 2017. Did they definitely no longer keep either species? The Northern Brushtails hadn't been separated in the list because the ZAA keeps them as a subspecies, but I will split them off (I keep the list updated as much as possible, because zooboy28 is a lot busier than I am). The only place with them for certain is the Territory Wildlife Park. The Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in WA and Secret Creek Sanctuary in NSW apparently have one each but I think they are more likely to be mistaken records for the local subspecies of Common Brushtail given that both of them only cater to local wildlife. Peel Zoo claims to have one but that is just the regular golden brushtail which definitely is not an arnhemensis (I've seen photos of that one).
From my discussions with a few keepers there, they no longer had either of those bat species. I sent a follow up email questioning if they still don't have them- and will let you know the response.
Scrolling through the Australian Reptile Park's Facebook page and other sources, they seem to have Red-tailed Phascogales and Dunnarts (I assume Fat-tailed).
Nice. Last time I updated the list properly, they were still only trying to get the phascogales. I have added them in now.
I was also informed today on a visit to Moonlit Sanctuary that there are no longer any eastern bettongs there. They are hoping to get more, but no other holders are willing.
I visited SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast today, and they currently have four species of seal; one Subantarctic Fur Seal (wasn’t on display unfortunately), two New Zealand Fur Seal (two rescued), two Australian Fur Seal and two Australian Sea Lion. The presenter said they currently hold seven individuals
