Why risk moving the only breeding bull in the region I believe werribee have 5 or 6 females and TWPZ can handle more animals
Werribee can’t send all of their girls. I think moving Mana to WORZ would be the more suitable option.
Since Werribee has no males and unlikey to get any in the short term. Werribees Hippos will all pass away in time with out ever producing any young there is always a risk in moving animals it can be done!
Hippos are rather long-lived and the oldest of the latest generation (I think her name is Tulip?) would still just be under twenty I would have thought. Given that a female pygmy was sent to Darling Downs instead of Melbourne, where the only potential mate resided, it would be fair to assume that the industry thinks and IRA for hippos isn't that far off. So I wouldn't be surprised if they don't send this new calf to WORZ at all instead holding out for some new blood for both zoos. As far as I'm aware they still have the original two hippo lakes also. The safari tour bypasses them now, but they should still be there.
Werribee have five Common hippopotamus: 0.1 Brindabella (1990) 0.1 Primrose (1990) 0.1 Tulip (2003) Primrose 0.1 Lotus (2008) Primrose 0.1 Pansy (2013) Brindabella I believe females can reliably breed into their early 40s, so there should still be at least a decade of breeding ahead for Brindabella and Primrose. Their may be more urgency to breed from the younger cows if they face the issues of sterility associated with delays in not breeding elephants, rhinos etc. for the first time. I agree the lack of action suggests an IRA is imminent; however I also feel like we've all been making this assumption for years - going to back to at least when we were all questioning why TWPZ held two bulls (Happy and Mana) and weren't loaning one to Werribee. If transporation is too risky, then sending a surplus cow (of which there are more of) from Werribee would appear ideal - especially since there have been a number of deaths (vacancies created at TWPZ). I believe the reason this hasn't occurred (in addition to theories of imminent IRAs) is that it would disrupt the otherwise harmonious bonds between the two female groups at Werribee, if one is out for any extended period of time on breeding loan. According to @Jambo:
@Zoofan15 No, the original hippo lakes where on the eastern side of the zoo and are no longer part of the tour, although looking at Google maps it appears they have since dried out.
Yes, there were originally two Hippo lakes that were previously part of the Safari Bus tour, according to @Simon Hampel . Was this one of the original Hippo lakes @toothlessjaws ? The Kubu Hippo River (the current enclosures they are in) were completed in 2005, and opened in early 2006, so any of the current exhibits couldn’t be any of the original exhibits. Current Exhibits There are three current exhibits part of the Kubu Hippo River. Here’s a satellite image of all three exhibits: Exhibit 1 (the largest one), is viewable from the walking trail. Primrose and her two daughters, Tulip and Lotus live here. Here’s a photo from the walking trail: taken by @Hix And, here’s a view from the other end of the enclosure (from the Kubu Boat): Exhibit 2 is the middle exhibit, in between the exhibit next to the walking trail, and the exhibit that can be seen from the Safari bus. This exhibit is currently empty, though Brindabella used to live here before Harry’s death in 2014. Here’s a photo of Brindabella in the exhibit from 2009: Exhibit 3 is the final exhibit in Kubu Hippo River. It is viewable by the Safari bus. Mother and daughter, Brindabella and Pansy currently live here. This photo was taken in 2007 by @Hix , and shows Harry (who lived there up until his death):
@ Jambo If you look at WORZ on Google Maps in the regular map view, you will see two large lakes to the northeast of the entrance. These were the original hippo lakes.
The Kubu Hippo exhibit looks like a stand out among Hippo exhibits perhaps one of the best any where lets hope we see more babies there in the future!
Continuing the string of otter births at Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, Taronga Western Plains Zoo has welcomed a litter of five Asian Small-clawed Otter pups to parents Harry and Jafar on 28th April. This is the pair's second litter. From the zoo's Facebook page: Taronga Western Plains Zoo
The Plains Wanderer chicks have been sexed as two females and have been separated from their parents. The zoo are hoping to pair the females in spring and continue the zoo's breeding success. Source: Taronga Western Plains Zoo's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=609815403220426 Security Check
Naming options for the male calf: Makena (happy one in Kikyu) Kgosi (king/chief in Tswana) Obi (heart in Igbo) Kubu (rebellion in Tswana) Kani (strength/energy in Swahili) Voting closes at 5pm tomorrow (May 19), and the calf’s name will be announced on Thursday, May 21. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=237198371055895 We already have a Pygmy Hippo in the region named Obi so I didn’t vote for that name; though it is a great name. It would be cool to see the continuation of the ‘K name tradition’ with Cuddles calves (Kibibi and Kendi), so that narrowed it down to Kubu, Kani and Kgosi for me. In the end, I voted for Kani, as he definitely seems like he has a lot of energy!
Taronga Western Plains Zoo is reopening on the 1st June. From their Facebook page: Taronga Western Plains Zoo
I don't think this has been mentioned previously, but it was announced on the Taronga TV series tonight [filmed only a couple of months ago] that one of the zoo's Black Rhino is pregnant! No other details were provided but I hope the pregnancy is progressing well.
A simple calculation might give you an answer on which breeding female might be the most likely candidate. Indeed, that might yet be somewhat speculative, but it has as yet not failed me personally too many times. Link: Keepers hoping love is in the air This is not taking away to the fact that the TWPZ black rhino program is functioning well. And I am happy about the news.
