id be interested to know what species everyone reckons we should have in australasia. exotic only categories primates ungulates carnivores small mammals birds and elephant, rhino etc
More Rhinos Hi All, I think more Rhinos would be a good move, maybe one of the other large zoos could start a Black Rhino and / or an Indain Rhino breeding group, that would be nice. Maybe one of the other state zoos could start a new Gorilla group instead of only having just the two groups in Vic and NSW, Maybe Perth would be a good zoo for a third group, they do have a good record breeding the great apes.
id'e like to see okapi in melbourne zoo's african rainforest. i would also love to see giant anteaters. they would fit in nicely with maned wolves, capybara, anacondas, caiman and hycinth macaws and rhea in a pantanal wetlands. for birds i really wanna see more exoic softbills, touraco's, scarlet ibis, asiatic hornbills, orange fruit doves, toucans, birds-of-paradise etc.. some of these species are planned for import (see thread on birds) reptiles are pretty well represented here already. maybe just some caiman for the pantanal exhibit (i suppose alligators could be a "stand-in").
I agree with Patrick. I would also like to see more exotic birds. Toucans and hornhills especially. As for mammals, I would like to see some warthogs,red river hogs,barbirusas and more new world monkeys. It would be good if the indian rhino at Dubbo got a mate too.
I would like to see - rhinos - including the javan and sumatran species. More american animals, beaver, racoons, skunk, bobcat, pronghorn and wolves for starters. Sea otters, walrus, panda? would like to see one just once. Jason
Exchange I wish that Australia and NZ can swap more species , but Australian Quarantine standards are quite strict , and ours are EXTREMELY so ! From NZ I wish we can offer you kiwis , morepork , kea , kaka , weka , tui , bellbird , wood pigeon , fantail , pukeko ... . A nocturnal facility is required for the kiwi and morepork ( they are compatible together ) and all the others except the kea would be compatible with humans in a walk through enclosure . Although keas are not aggressive , they are incredibly curious -- and are not afraid of humans . All it will take is for someone to tease one and offer them a finger , and the keas will investigate the finger with their beak ( read amputate ) Just as well that they prefer to live in alpine regions ( yeah , I know -- silly place for a parrot to live ... ) as they would attack other birds . I wish we could also send you giant weta and kauri snail as anthropods A giant weta is an ugly ( though generally harmless ) insect a bit like a bush cricket but the size of a dinner plate and weighs about the size of a rat ...I think it is the second largest insect in the world ( and I will rank it last as far as beauty is concerned ) The kauri snail is almost as large as a saucer and is carnivorous . We could also send you the last of the dinosaur -- the tuatara . It looks like it is covered in steel plate armour , but it really is soft ( and almost squashy ) It looks like a lizard , but it isnt one . It has 2 teeth -- the top jaw and the bottom jaw . Despite that it usually is fairly placid , and a keeper can handle it while giving a talk ( I have been lucky enough to stroke one once ) Apart from the giant weta and kauri snail , the other animals are not that endangered ( unlike the kakapo ) and the birds that I selected are ones that have some sort of unique characteristic or has some "visitor charm " Kaka look just like a drab parrot , but are friendly towards humans . You can all recognise a pigeon , but a large woodpigeon would be almost the size of a turkey In return , you could send us wombats , some of your more colourful parrots tree kangaroos , reptiles ( unfortunately , all snakes found in NZ are destroyed first and identified later )
taronga zoo used to have a pair of brown kiwi but unfortunately they suddenly died of a viral infection. they still have a tuatara in the reptile house (though he spend almost all his time in a cave). there is also a kea at mogo zoo and i believe quite a few other NZ bird species are available in aviculture. the tasmanian government are sending a pair of devils to danish zoo because of the princess mary thing. stupid idea if you ask me. firstly devils have never bred in overseas zoo and the last ex-patriot devil died in an american zoo just a year or so ago. secondly, they only live for about six years, so without a successful breeding program they a a short term investment. thirdly, they are endangered these days thanks to those nastly facial tumors and our mainland zoo's (which are good at breeding them and can do so in an environment free from the disease) are reportedly having enough of a hard time obtaining them! i'm supprised you guys have no koalas in zoo's overthere. we send enough of them away these days.
new zealand fauna hey patrick, you are right about the kiwis. brown kiwis bred at taronga in the late 90s but died of salmonella. i have posted this info before when there was a discussion about palm cockies. although mogo has the only kea in oz, these birds are found in a number of european collections, including private collectors. i love tuataa, so ancient and fortunately established in captivity. at london zoo there are weta, including many babies in their BUGS exhibition. new zealands fauna is so fantastic. and wellington zoo will be getting wombats soon, as well as leopards although i havent seen many of them roaming the aussie bush lately
koalas etc Is it true that koalas are really fussy about their food , and even to the point of selecting certain eucalyptus leaves over others ? Even though there are gum trees in Auckland Zoo , they may not be suitable for koala palate . I knew of some European collections that has kea , and including Bristol zoo , but was unaware of the sole bird in Mogo . Too bad he doesnt have company but I trust that Mogo Zoo gives him alot of toys to demolish ( they often cooperate in groups working on one object to achieve a desired result ) as they need more stimulation than other parrots . I am also pleased to hear that our dinosaur is being displayed overseas -- we had a zoo director at Wellington that came over from a zoo in South Africa , and he was fascinated by the tuatara ( he still is ) Pleased to hear that wombats are coming this way .... I heard that the zoo was seriously considering some more small- medium cat species . Does anyone want any chimpanzees ? They are breeding like rabbits at Wellington Zoo , despite inadequate enclosure ( though this would soon be rectified as soon as $$ are available ) And if you have a camel that thinks it is human , the children would love to have another replacement of Cairo -- but it has to like to show everyone its duulah !!
you know what else i would love. amazonian manatees! when i was in the amazon i visited a rehab and breeding centre for these gentle inquisitive creatures and due to my skills at making new friends, had the pleasure of being taken into a off-limits nursery area and bottle feeding the tiny orphan babies. so cute. amazonian manatees are darker in skin colour than the other species and have large attractive area of pink de-pigmentation on their bodies. they are also quite small and the only exclusively freshwater sirenian in the world. they make a good species for zoos as they do breed okay, yet are endangered in the wild. i would love to see melbourne or another australian zoo support the centre and aquire say 6 manatees for a "amazonian flooded forest" exhibit. there giant aquarium could be comlimented with exhibits of caiman, anaconda and lots of fish. i saw those giant otters too. they are like a small seal in size and they absolutely stink!! but cool nonetheless - could get some of them too!
Giant otters would make for an unreal south American exhibit along with some Jaguars, hope they bring them back sometime.
well, although the jaguar pair at melbourne are too old to breed now - there is an unrelated pair at mogo that the zoo is apparently trying to breed. giant otters are super rare in captivity - i think there is only one or two pairs in the US (other than S american zoos). amazonian manatees i believe are only in a few rescue centers in south america - but the place i visited in manaus where rehabilitating 10 or more animals a year (mostly ophaned babies) and had even started breeding them in captivity. they would do best up in QLD or somewhere where they could be kept in outdoor pools rather than indoors. but they are gorgeous creatures. so friendly.
i have seen now many aquariums not only keep marine animals( generlization), are now alos going with things like hippos in a modern aqaurium etc as well as otters and stuff, i reakon sea world should do an amozonian display how great
yeah sure, but i'm pretty opposed to dolphins in captivity. for me they are a bit like elephants - they need space.
