I see, on the second link. It also says deep burial, which is what usually happens with the large animals. About a year later the skeleton is usually dug up. Although I can't say categorically that was done in this case, I'm fairly certain that is what would have happened - after a lengthy autopsy and samples taken for pathology. Hix
When I visited three and a half years years ago there were two Leopard Seals-what happened to the other one? As for Guoras viewpoint on pinnipeds etc - i look forward to the day when the largest zoo animal is a Crowned Pigeon of some form or another, then it will all be over,ZooChat can close down and nasty men like Durrell,Hornaday and Grzimek consigned to chapters alongside Hitler and Stalin in the history books!
I am prepared to admit that I have only visited relatively few zoos in my lifetime (about 60-70), not a lot compared to many people on zoochat. My comment is based on the fact that I have never seen pinnipeds or cetaceans displayed in a way that provided them with the opportunity to demonstrate the full range of their natural behaviour or that I considered educational and therefore find it hard to justify keeping these animals in captivity. The same goes for polar bears and I feel quite uncomfortable viewing these animals in zoos. The size of the animals is irrelevant as I've seen a number of excellent proboscid and large ungulate displays. Admittedly I now have a bit of a 'head in the sand' approach to these exhibits and avoid them when visiting zoos. As for my opinion about people like Durrell and Grzimek, I have nothing but admiration for their pioneering spirit in bringing zoos up to the current (though inconsistent) standard that is currently the norm and attempting to make their managements accountable for the animals in their care. Ultimately this is just my opinion informed by personal experience and it's quite possible that I may see something in the future that causes me to change my opinion.
Its interesting how the negative publicity about Bears in captivity centres around Polar Bears mostly as they are deemed to travel the greatest distances in the wild. Brown bears don't get this same treatment, yet some subspecies travel quite long distances too e.g. in Kamchatka the bears den or rest up in the hills but often travel several miles daily to the coast to fish at certain times of year. They usually run most or all the way- at a canter and leave long regular trails through the scrub and around obstacles like lakes. On Kodiak island the bears do something similar too.
The point im making is that if someone says captivity is wrong for some types of animal,then it is a slippery slope towards zoos becoming little more than farm parks-if displaying a "full range of natural behaviours" is the yardstick then most carnivores are clearly wrong,what about waterfowl lakes where most waterfowl are prevented from flying by wing clipping or pinioning? As I said its a slippery slope...all the more so in Australia where the number of available zoo animal species is curtailed by stupid governmental policies(even state ones i.e.Queensland).
The walk-through feature of the Lemur Forest Adventure (reviewed here: http://www.zoochat.com/24/new-walk-through-lemur-exhibits-353756/) opens tomorrow according to a Facebook post today.
Birth of 0.0.1 Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo from last September has just been announced. The mother was imported from Belfast in 2013 and this is first birth of this species at Taronga in 20 years Baby tree kangaroo emerges at Taronga Zoo - ABC Sydney - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
nowhere does it say the leopard seal body was incinerated. It is quite unlikely to have been, given the size of the animal. In Australia, as in many other countries, there are government regulations as to what happens to dead zoo animals, it is not really up to the zoo to decide what to do with them.
Article about the Goodfellow's tree kangaroo : Tree Kangaroo is Taronga's First in 20 Years - ZooBorns
0.12 Squirrel Monkeys have been imported to Taronga from a collection in France. A male is due to join them shortly once his quarantine is over Squirrel Monkeys Everywhere | Taronga Conservation Society Australia
I spent a few hours roaming the zoo yesterday after a meeting, I must say its looking rather clean and tidy. I still cringe when walking past the big cats though. Enjoyed the new lemur exhibit despite it looking more like a playground. The bull elephant was highly amusing given his efforts to throw a clump of grass at me, much to the amusement of a passing keeper. The reptile house is still a show stopper I love its design and flow. I chatted briefly with a keeper who was in with the large komodo from what I gathered they were doing a few tests on it possibly a periodic assessment (I didn't ask to much I try play dumb when talking with keepers in public). I always love the use of water in exhibits I find it can be used to tie a lot of elements together... however in saying that I didn't enjoy the water feature in the lemur enclosure I really struggle to understand it to be honest. All in all a good few hours in the zoo with most animals on exhibit even though I was sweating due to the humidity and rising heat.
Taronga Zoo has this notice posted this update on their website (Taronga Zoo Sydney | Taronga Conservation Society Australia Today (Easter Sunday) the zoo was extremely busy, and was closed to further admissions around midday, which caused some consternation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarongazoo?fref=ts The closures, and presumably the high numbers of visitors, was due to certain other visitors - namely Prince William and Princess Kate, and son Prince George, during their tour of Australia. Story & Photo here: When Prince George met Bilby George | Stuff.co.nz
More info, photos and video here: Royal visit: William and Catherine visit Taronga Park Zoo, sign historic Fleet Bible in Sydney - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Fire Guts Building at Taronga Zoo A fire has destroyed a staff building at Taronga Zoo overnight, but was contained and no people or animals were hurt. Its not clear to me exactly where the building is within the zoo, but it was apparently near the gorilla quarantine area, which (again apparently) contained gorillas at the time. Story here: Building gutted in blaze at Taronga Zoo near gorilla quarantine enclosure | News.com.au
Presumably the Gorillas in here are either 1. the two females that came fairly recently from Melbourne, 2. Frala and her two sons or 3. the two sons without Frala. Does anyone know which it is?