Pregnant Chimpanzees Koko and her daughter Kamili are currently both pregnant, and have been separated from the rest of the troop presumably to avoid infanticide from Shiba and her line. Koko and Kamili move to a temporary new home | Taronga Conservation Society Australia
A new tree-top ropes adventure course thing is being developed above the Australian Walkabout. Due to open in November...thoughts?
Where did you hear this? If it's anything like the 'Green Challenge' at Currumbin Sanctuary then I definitely have views/mixed feelings about it. Hix
There has been a major change in plans, which will ease concerns about the boys being separated from their mothers: From TWPZ's Facebook page.
I'm not a fan of building a ropes adventure course inside the grounds of a zoo but these things are major money-makers in North America. I bet that there are now 15-20 American zoos with similarly-themed courses and often ticket prices are very high and thus financially it is no wonder that every few months a zoo builds another "adventure zone". They are everywhere these days and I'm not surprised that Taronga Zoo has jumped on the bandwagon.
I'd feel the same way if my entrance fees were subsidising it's operations (like a roller coaster) but more than likely they'll charge an extra fee for interested parties and it'll pay for itself. Melbourne has a carousel and it's easy to ignore as a casual visitor with no kids.
A few years ago I saw The Green Challenge at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. It was built on top of a hill and was predominantly in a forested part of the park that had no exhibits and no visitors (predominantly - part of the beginning did go past a couple of exhibits and over some roads). There was an extra charge to go on the Challenge, and from what I understand it was drawing people in and making a lot of money. So much so that during the holidays they had to restrict the number of people who wanted to try it. I gave it a go, and really, really enjoyed! I spent the better part of an hour completing the first two parts of the course and decided to stop there as the muscles in my arms and legs were aching. And I was wearing sensible shoes, hiking boots would have been better (or any footwear with a tread). Yes, it will make money for Taronga and will bring people in. Lots of people will want to try it out (mainly guys). So I can see why the zoo would do this, but I don't like the idea of it being in - or over - the Australian Walkabout section, at the top of the zoo. There are still forested parts of the zoo with no exhibits that the public rarely visit which would be ideal for this venture. Just my 2 cents worth. Hix
And Gung will be staying on at Taronga. I guess at some point we always knew the herd would need to be split if more room couldn't be found at Sydney. I guess at least this way the issue of housing the two male calves safely is solved, without undue stress caused by separating them from their mothers.
@glyn, can you elaborate on this for us? Reading parts of the thread I cannot phantom what the set up between the out-station at Dubbo and at Taronga will be for the Asian elephants? Will they split up the breeding herds (along various matriarchal lines) or am I reading it the wrong way up or down?
The animals going to Dubbo will be Thong Dee, Porntip, Luk Chai (Gung x Thong Dee) and Pathi Harn (Bong Su [Melbourne] x Porntip). Staying at Taronga will be Gung, Pak Boon, Tang Mo and Tukta (Gung x Pak Boon). So it appears that yes, they will be splitting the elephants along matriarchal lines. I do not now, however, if they will integrate the two females from Taronga with the two existing females at Dubbo to re-form a 'herd' (breeding and non-breeding females for companionship) at Dubbo rather than just a breeding pair.
Would it not be simpler to just have the breeding group at Dubbo and the non-breeders take their place in Taronga Park? The proposed arrangement could be storing up future problems as it prevents more breeding at Taronga unless the females are sent to Dubbo for mating etc and what happens to the calf in the interim?
