I'm super excited, really hoping to see the long-beaked, plus a couple of other favourites - Fiordland Penguin, Crowned Pigeon, etc. Will let you know how I go with the three monotremes.
do they still have the crowned pigeon?! That must be old by now! I didn't see that when I was there, but then I've seen plenty in Asian zoos so not a great loss.
There are 2.0 still, Wewak and Patrick. Wewak still should be in the aviary next to the meerkats but Patrick could either be in the Rainforest aviary (near the Goodfellows tree kangaroos) or in a small aviary behind it. I haven't seen him in the Rainforest aviary in my past few visits so he should therefore be in the smaller aviary.
I only just saw this edit Jabiru. According to Taronga's Facebook the exhibit will be open "in time for the holidays", which is very vague, but I'm disappointing that the walkthrough won't be open this year.
Bongo birth boosts Australasian breeding program Photos of the young'n on the zoo's Facebook page, and on the link below. Story here: https://taronga.org.au/news/2013-12-13/bongo-birth-boosts-australasian-breeding-program
aargh I hate it when that happens! I'm all for theming and putting the animals into context because that is very important, but it is just stupid when zoos create huge hideously-expensive exhibits where the actual animals are only a small part. The animals are why people are going to the zoo!! I'm willing to bet too that the "spiny forest replication" will be nothing of the sort.
I don't think I've ever seen lemurs displayed in a proper "spiny forest" type exhibit, they always seem to get rainforest/jungle style exhibits. Spiny would be very hard to replicate decently though, unless it was an indoor exhibit (e.g. what Bronx has) or in a very nice climate (e.g. Taronga.....) On a semi-related note, Adelaide Botanical Gardens has a brilliant Madagascar house and garden, with lots of plants that would be perfect for a lemur exhibit...
Lemur Forest Adventure is open to the public tomorrow. It was however officially opened by the Premier of NSW today, and in the photo you can see a glimpse of the exhibit: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...15535145.15994.110584599004440&type=1&theater EDIT: Article: http://taronga.org.au/news/2013-12-16/madagascan-lemurs-welcomed-new-forest-exhibit-at-taronga-zoo
Stainform – Architectural balustrades and industrial fabrication Taronga Zoo – Lemur Forest Adventure Here you can see the lemur exhibit
hmm.... The Facebook photo makes it look amazing! The Stainform link makes it look like a hideous monstrosity!
Agree! It certainly looks intriguing and I'm looking forward to checking it out. The Staniform photos show more the non-enclosure parts, so hopefully the bit the lemurs are in is better than it appears.
An interesting thing regarding Kuma the chimpanzee: Grandmother=Fifi Mother=Ficha Sons=Furahi, Fumo Considering that Taronga's chimps are named in accordance with the first letter's of their mother's line, it seems unusual that Kuma does not have a name starting with 'F'. However, her name in Swahili literally translates as "fanny" (private female body part), so either a keeper was trying to be funny or has a weird sense of humour! Just a little story for those who care......
Article about baby chimpanzee Fumo: Chimp family welcomes 'Fumo' | Taronga Conservation Society Australia
These photos give a good visual experience of Lemur Forest Adventure, starting here: [ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/55369298@N00/11557080815/in/photostream/"]Heading for the Lemur Forest Adventure | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]
I saw both brothers, Wewak in the aviary by the Meerkats, Patrick at the very opposite end of the zoo in a small aviary opposite the Red Kangaroos. Patrick made some very cool noises! They are both 34 years old (so I guess from the same clutch).
