Taronga Zoo has received another female Fiordland Penguin. She has been named ‘Piopiotahi’. She has joined Taronga Zoo’s four (1.3) other Fiordland Penguins. Security Check
Thats now 2.4 in Australia. If either Melbourne or Taronga can get these guys breeding, I see no reason why we couldn't eventually have a thriving colony here in Australia. There will undoubtably continue to be supplementary genetics washing up rather consistently.
Should be 2.5 - there are now 1.4 at Taronga and Melbourne has 1.1 - unless the Melbourne female has died?
No I misread. 2.4 is even better. That would have to be the most ever held in captivity? They seem to be washing up (or at least being found) with more frequent occurrence. Quite a few get rereleased also.
Just awful news.... Lubutu, Taronga Zoo’s alpha male chimpanzee has died unexpectedly from lung failure. Security Check
Taronga Zoo has a new arrival. The exact species will be announced later today and the zoo has provided some clues. Security Check EDIT: Taronga Zoo has just announced it was a male Red Kangaroo from Taronga Western Plains Zoo. I had hopes for something a bit more exciting. Security Check
I visited Taronga Zoo for the first time today and thought I’d share some of my highlights and impressions of the zoo: -Taronga Zoo’s nocturnal house is brilliant. The enclosures are all well-designed and the nocturnal house has a diverse range of species not seen enough of in Australian collections. Highlights included Red-tailed Phascogales, Plains Rats, Yellow-bellied Gliders, Brush-tailed Bettongs, a Long-nosed Bandicoot and of course, the Long-beaked Echidna (which was much larger than I expected). I also managed to see all three species of monotremes in under half an hour (both echidna species in the nocturnal house and platypus in the nearby enclosure). A real Taronga speciality. -I loved the bush bird aviaries. It was one of the few quiet areas of the zoo. Species like Forest Kingfisher, Golden Whistler, Variegated Fairy Wren, Rainbow Bee-eater and Crimson Chat were notable highlights. -There was a male Superb Lyrebird in full display in the Blue Mountains aviary. He mimicked a range of incredible sounds (kookaburras and other bird species, in addition to some more urban sounds). I also finally saw a Palm Cockatoo (my favourite parrot species)! -The Ruddy Shelducks (which were housed in one of the pygmy hippo enclosures) had two ducklings. Glad they have bred at the zoo, they’re aren’t very common in Australia. -The reptile house had a nice balance of native and exotic species. I particularly liked the rainforest area with the arboreal species (Fijian iguanas, basilisk, green tree python etc). Despite visiting the reptile house three times I didn’t manage to see the Tuatara. -Also, the group of ten Francois Langurs were a pleasure to watch. The young males were play-fighting on my visit. I also saw both Fishing Cats. -The African Savannah area is coming along. I took quite a few photos of the new enclosures. -My main criticism of Taronga is that there seems to be a lot of empty space, especially around the middle area of the zoo. It was also sometimes quite difficult to navigate around the zoo with the labyrinth of pathways. I hope to cover all my thoughts and impressions of Taronga with a full review and species list in the coming weeks.
If memory serves correct, I think they got one or two of the offspring from the pair at Adelaide around a year ago.
Last I heard, they had two females named Seisa and Hoppy. They are sisters born at Adelaide Zoo and arrived in March 2019. Until recently, Adelaide Zoo was the only zoo in the country to exhibit this species. Source: Adelaide Zoo’s Facebook
Actually one of the Adelaide birds was Taronga's, and was on loan with the proviso that first offspring go to Taronga. It took so long to happen that nobody remembered the arrangement till an older member of Taronga's staff remembered it.
I meant at the time (March 2019), Adelaide was the only zoo in Australia holding the species. Currumbin have also previously held Palm cockatoo. From 2004: “The earliest report of a Palm Cockatoo in captivity in Australia appears to be of one survivor of two babies taken from nests on Cape York Peninsula in 1912. Both chicks were sent to Dr. E. A. D’Ombrain in Sydney. (Sindel,S &Lyn,R. 1989). What has been acclaimed in Australia as the world first parent reared breeding of the Palm Cockatoo was achieved by Bob Lyn of Sydney in 1968. (Sindel, S & Lyn, B. 1989). Until recently, of the few Palm Cockatoos in captivity in Australia, only a male that was held at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, (CWS) until 1999, was positively known to have come from Cape York Peninsula. Sindel and Lynn (1989) state that in 1971, Kerry Muller then Curator of Birds at Taronga Zoo, breed a pair of Palm Cockatoos. Unfortunately the chick was lost as a result of psittacosis, some time after being taken for hand rearing. In 1973 a second pair at Taronga Zoo nested and successfully hatched a chick which died soon after fledging. Taronga Zoo received a pair of Palm Cockatoos in 1959, a probable donation from Sir Edward Hallstrom’s collection. This pair were sent on to Adelaide Zoo in 1998 and are still held within their collection. There is however some speculation as to weather they are P.aterrimus or P. goliath. Adelaide Zoo recently acquired a young male Palm Cockatoo from the Cape York Area, and are actively seeking a female for him. Adelaide and Taronga Zoos are working to collect P. aterrimus cooperatively for the long term.” http://www.australasianzookeeping.org/Husbandry Manuals/Palm Cockatoo Husbandry Manual 2004 s.pdf
They are on-display in the Moore Park Aviary (along with Luzon Bleeding-heart Dove, Blue-faced Honeyeater and King Quail). Mentioned here: A Review of Taronga Zoo [Taronga Zoo]