EDIT: Just reported in the news. It appears that they have kept the hotwire in the moat and have drained it considerably, so the only real barrier to stop the gorillas from jumping over is tall hotwire.
Does that mean the Gorillas can get down into the moat, as extra space? I wish they would fill in the moat area completely and devise a new confining barrier on the public side- glass? This would greatly enlarge the area available to the Gorillas.
Rumours are that Kibali is getting on famously with his two female companions. Mating in the first week with Mbeli ….
Yes, that is right. Kibali is a bit more closer to Mbeli than Johari who is still slightly wary of him. Mbeli is very fond of Kibali, even sleeping right next to him and always sitting very close to him. In addition, from photos I have seen, they appear to be using all of the exhibit including the cave at the far left, which is completely opposite to what Kibabu's group did.
It also appears that I was wrong with the moat being emptied. The moat has now been filled up once again with water but there is now hotwire running through the middle of it. From reports, Frala will also be introduced once Kibali, Mbeli and Johari are more settled.
Many times one female becomes the male's favourite and No 1 wife- in this case it seems Mbeli has the role. Its likely to stay that way longterm. Will also be interesting to see how Frala fits in(or not) when they get to that part.
You can see their closeness here (and other photos): [ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55369298@N00/10685749675/"]Kibali and Mbeli | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]
Turns out Koko the chimpanzee is not pregnant (as reported on the TV show Wildlife at the Zoo). She did not have a stillbirth so the pregnancy test must have been wrong (as could be the case when you are using a human pregnancy test on a chimp!).
Article on an Australian hobby being found by mechanics in Brrokvale after it flew away during a bird show training session: Homeward Bound: A Hobby?s Tale | Taronga Conservation Society Australia
A male New Zealand fur seal that has not been able to be released back into the wild after a shark attack will stay at Taronga: Seal survivor finds a home at Taronga | Taronga Conservation Society Australia
Yes they are in the same exhibit with a Rufous owl. However, the owl is more visible than the echidnas most of the time. Also, I believe only the male echidna is on display.
Hopefully, is there a definite opening date yet? I can only find mid-December, which is essentially this weekend, but surely they would have announced this on Facebook if it was the case. .
I am not sure. Judging by photos, it is practically finished so the opening should be very soon. EDIT: I just read the "Wild Life" magazine (for zoo members). It had some more details of Lemur Forest Adventure: 4.0 ringtail lemurs came from Auckland who were born there (Andriba, Soalata, Andre, Makili) 4.0 came from Hong Kong originally but came to Taronga from Dubbo (Julian, Casper, Maki, Bamboo) There will be three zones: 1. trail which will take visitors through dense 'forest', which will have 10 'discovery poles' in it clustered into four geographical zones (Australia, South America, Madagascar, South-east Asia) which have details on the forests in these zones. There will also be 'promise trees' which convey conservation messages on environmental topics (e.g. recycling, saving energy, etc.) by introducing a cartoon ambassador called Harry. 2. visitors will then move to the 'Observation Outpost'=pretty much a playground. 3. finally will be the lemur walk through which "replicates typical Southern Madagascan habitat, with spiny scrub in a beautiful stone setting". More importantly, the lemurs will be on view shortly (it says December), however, the walk through will not be open until April 2014. All in all, judging by the theme around it, I don't think it will be a great exhibit, especially since 2/3 of it is not even an animal exhibit., but I will need to see it in my own eyes before passing judgement.
one of the best animals on display in Australia! A brilliant species! Good luck. The Taronga nocturnal house is very good indeed. Oh, you should try for a three-monotreme day with the short-beaked echidnas and platypus too (the latter in two places in the zoo) -- nowhere else in the whole world can you do that. Unbelievably when I was there I could not find those latter two species so had to settle for "just" the long-beaked echidna!
