Yes I think I remember this, when I went in June. There was a wallaby visible from the counter through a glass window.
Wildlife HQ now has three female Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby, to be paired with their male. Wildlife HQ
Wildlife HQ has received two female (sisters) Maned Wolf - Queensland’s first! (The video also mentions they will be receiving Fennec Fox soon- another species not held in Queensland zoos) WIN News Sunshine Coast
For a species that's not common within the region one would believe the zoo would want to obtain and breed them also flagging the species as endangered too. appears this is not going to happen!
I don't know the specifics of this zoo's holding, but Ruffed Lemurs are a managed species. Being part of the programme doesn't necessarily include breeding. Having holders of surplus/over-represented/elderly/whatever individuals is also a necessity.
Wildlife HQ has recieved Red Panda (father and son) from Perth Zoo. This brings their total red panda count to 4:0. Wildlife HQ
Wildlife HQ has recieved Fennec Fox! Great to see so many new additions! This is their third exotic canid species to arrive in the last year. WIN News Sunshine Coast
A summary of the zoo's achievements for 2018 (quite extensive for a privately-owned zoo). From their Facebook page; "We helped welcome Commonwealth Game athletes with Aussie animals; Mr Bob Irwin opened our brand new Estuarine Crocodile exhibit; Three rescue koalas made Wildlife HQ their new home; We added two baby Alligators to our reptile collection; Maly celebrated her 10th Birthday and helped raise awareness for wild Sun Bears; Four gorgeous little koala joeys were born; We welcomed our beautiful dingo pup, Nala to our zoo family; Our Ring-Tailed Lemurs settled into their new island home; We opened a Maned Wolf exhibit and welcomed Dahlia and Eartha; Our gorgeous Black and White Ruffed Lemurs arrived from Perth Zoo; A cute little Emperor Tamarin baby was born; Our new Rock Wallaby exhibit opened and Rocky got two new girlfriends; Our dingoes went on a beach excursion with their keepers; and last but definitely not least, our new Fennec Fox exhibit opened and we welcomed Zahra & Kesi! What a year!"
I am starting to believe this zoo is becoming a holding zoo for single sex species many of the zoos new non native species added are of the same sex?
It does seem that way, but it's probably a combination of factors. I believe Australia Zoo wasn't allowed to import male Meerkats to join their all female mob as there are restrictions imposed by Queensland authorities. It was a couple of years ago I heard this, so this may have changed. If not, then their may be similar restrictions of what WHQ can or can't import. From what I've seen, zoos that are new to holding a species that is part of a managed breeding programme are not given reccomendations for breeding over facilities that have been part of the breeding programme and have never bred. For example, Wellington Zoo became the only holder of Sumatran tigers in NZ in 1992, they were allowed to breed two litters in 1996 and 2000. In 1998, Auckland Zoo acquired Sumatran tigers; in 2001, Hamilton Zoo acquired Sumatran tigers; and in 2006, Orana Wildlife Park acquired Sumatran tigers. Auckland was given next preference to breed (over both Hamilton and Orana), followed by Hamilton. Of course, this is a generalisation, and there are exceptions; but generally speaking - breeding is a privaledge and reccomedation to do so appears to be allocated relatively fairly where possible (not just the same zoos breeding). The most obvious exception is where space is needed to achieve breeding e.g. city zoos like Auckland will never breed cheetah. I believe Wildlife HQ will get their turn at breeding many of the exotic species they hold - but probably not Malayan sun bear. We seem to have given up on them.
I was there today and there was only one fennec Fox. I asked a keeper about it and she said there was only one. Anybody know what happend to the other one?
Wildlife HQ may be different (I don’t follow their fb page closely), but almost no Australasian zoo I do follow would announce the death of a small animal, who’s absence would otherwise go unnoticed by all but the most observant fans. Births are shouted from the rooftop; deaths are largely swept under the rug as far as public announcements go in our region’s zoos. Note: this isn’t necessarily a criticism (more of an observation) as you can’t blame zoos for wanting to avoid bad PR/animal rights backlash etc.
I will be going to Wildlife HQ tomorrow, I’ll see what I can find out about the Fennec Foxes. It should be great to finally see Fennec Fox and Maned Wolf (two long-awaited life ticks).