@Chlidonias Oh man I envy you. I did find a map of where Colugos have been sighted at Singapore Zoo so I'm hoping that will increase my chances. How long is your trip still? When are you coming back to the land of the long white cloud if I may ask? Darn, thank you anyway though. The Linsang alone would get me there. The Hoopoe is one of those animals that has eluded me since forever. I've been to a few places which had them but never managed to see one. Hoping to break the curse this time 'round. (I've seen Wood Hoopoes though.) Same was true for Sirenia for quite a while. All my trips to see them either fell through last minute or as in the case of my last Sydney visit their enclosure was under construction... I'm looking forward to Singapore even more then. I did see the one at Dusit but it was just a furry ball in a corner. I went back there quite a few times but to no avail. Funnily enough pretty much every other review of the place said the same though.^^
won't be long now. I have no money left. actually I just realised that the house where Singapore Zoo's giant squirrels were is not a mammal house any more. I'm not sure if they are on display or not in that case. Dusit Zoo's giant squirrel in the Childrens Zoo area? He has been active every time I've been there.
No, the squirrel in the nocturnal house. But now that I'm thinking about it that might have been a Flying Squirrel. I almost never go to the kids areas which might have been a mistake in this case. Oh well...
A couple of things you may want to consider. If you're visiting Perth I'd say it would be worth visiting Caversham as well. The zoo itself is quite nice and here is a species list from 10 months ago which should give you an idea if there's anything you want to see there: Caversham Wildlife Park On Show Species List, July 2016 Also near Perth is the Armadale Reptile and Wildlife Park which you may want to consider if any of these species interest you: Caversham Wildlife Park On Show Species List, July 2016 You mention Honey Possums near Perth, if you want to have a reasonable chance of seeing them, you'll have to go to Dryandra. The book Finding Australian Mammals says that there are resident Honey Possums in King's Park, but I have read that those are no longer present. You should see Southern Brown Bandicoots though if you visit King's Park and you have a chance of Indopacific Bottlenose Dolphin. Since you're planning to visit Gold Coast anyway, you may be interested in Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary if you are interested in birds (Orange-bellied Parrot, Noisy Pitta, White-breasted Woodswallow, etc. see: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary - Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary On Show Species List) About the Black Giant Squirrel, I have also seen it very active at Dusit. See my picture here: Black Giant Squirrel | ZooChat
oh yeah, okay, the one in the nocturnal house (seemingly now gone, as of my last visit a couple of weeks ago) is/was an Indian giant flying squirrel. If you want to see giant flying squirrels active then the Singapore Night Safari has two species in a walk-through enclosure. At Dusit Zoo the Childrens Zoo has a very small cage for a black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor).
@LaughingDove Thanks I'll have a look at them lists tomorrow. I'd heard about Dryandra before so I guess it's definitely on my list now. I did come across Barna Mia Nocturnal Wildlife Experience which might be a way to see one. Don't know if it wouldn't make more sense to go with some sort of private guide (if there is one) though. Need to do more research I guess. Do you know anything about the ones at Bluff Knoll Cafe?
No, I haven't been to the Stirling Range National Park, however The Complete Guide to Finding the Mammals of Australia by David Andrew (which I recommend you getting if you will be looking for wild mammals in Australia) mentions the Bluff Knoll Cafe in the entry about Stirling Range and says that the cafe "attracts Honey Possums when Grevillea and Hakea bushes are in flower. Ask at the cafe if they're being seen - October is often good". You won't see Honey Possums at Barna Mia. I visited there about three years ago, the animals there are not wild, it is a small enclosure with a predator-proof fence. It's worth visiting if you're interested in any of the following species which is what they held when I was there three years ago. The species list may have changed of course. Western-barred Bandicoot Greater Bilby Rufous-hare Wallaby/Mala Burrowing Bettong Southern Brown Bandicoot Brush-tailed Bettong I was also told that they previously held Banded Hare-wallaby but those were sent away because they only achieved a breeding once.
@LaughingDove's Barna Mia species list is still accurate. Dryandra is a wonderful place, of course, and well worth a visit. I'm also surprised no-one has mentioned Rottnest Island, with its quokka, New Zealand fur seals, and very good chance of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin. There's also Seal Island and Penguin Island, another easy day-trip and with the bonus of Australian sealions. To see these from Rottnest Island, you really need to take a boat tour past Dyer Island, but this gets expensive and sightings are less reliable. There's an excellent report on other easily-reachable mammal-watching sites around Perth and WA here: http://mammalwatching.com/Australasian/Otherreports/JL WA 2015.pdf
Just a quick point, since you say you plan to visit Australia in July, you won't be able to visit Penguin Island as it is closed for the nesting season. You can, however, still do a 'cruise' to see Australian Sealions and Indopacific Bottlenose Dolphins. I have done this tour in the past which is not too expensive.
Just got it. Also heard that Cheynes Beach is good for spotting Honey Possums. Of course they would get rid of the most interesting species. Where did they send them?
My understanding is that the place is a government-run breeding facility so they don't decide what species to keep themselves and the Banded Hare-wallabies were taken somewhere else because they weren't breeding sufficiently well at Barna Mia. I don't know where they were sent to, presumably some other breeding centre.
be aware that getting around Western Australia by public transport is a major pain outside of the main highway routes. I got to Dryandra by the manager picking me up from the nearest highway bus stop. For Cheyne Beach I had to hitch from the nearest bus-accessible town.
Is it worse than Auckland Transport? I was thinking of renting a car but haven't looked at prices yet. Which one would you recommend, Dryandra or Cheynes?
seriously, in Australia in general there is usually no bus system outside the cities and main highways. Western Australia is particularly bad. Getting around Perth is easy, getting to other major towns and any small town on a highway is easy from Perth, but otherwise you're dead out of luck. Dryandra and Cheyne Beach are completely different with completely different wildlife and wildlife-spotting conditions. Dryandra is dry forest and is quite easy for birding and mammaling, while Cheyne Beach is heath and is very difficult. The animals you see at Dryandra you will not see at Cheyne Beach, and vice versa. I preferred Dryandra I guess - if I had to pick one - but it depends on what you want to see.
Hi Najade, Just wondering what species you particularly hope to see at Werribee Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary?
