Rockhampton Zoo is now home to two Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon! Nakai, an 11-year-old male came from Perth Zoo and Tuson, a 5-year-old female arrived from Adelaide Zoo. The pair have settled in well and have started bonding and grooming each other. Tuson is starting to reach sexual maturity, and so she is beginning to transform into a beautiful golden colour. Nakai and Tuson are second cousins, so they are not a breeding pair. However, the Rockhampton team hopes that in the future both Nakai and Tuson can be paired up with suitable mates and join the breeding program. This would be fantastic for the survival of the species, as Northern White-Cheeked Gibbons are critically endangered and their population in the wild is in decline.
Wellington Zoo welcome eight new Ring-tail Lemur babies:
Ring-tail Lemurs at Wellington Zoo
Wellington Zoo was thrilled to welcome eight new Ring-tail Lemur babies in 2022. When male Ring-tail Lemur, Zeus, was brought to Wellington Zoo from Hamilton Zoo as part of the managed breeding programme, they had no idea just how successful he would be. Over the months of September and October, all four females at Wellington Zoo welcomed a set of twins. The babies have grown up a lot over the past few months and are all thriving in their recently renovated habitat. These eight arrivals are hugely significant to Wellington Zoo’s efforts to support the declining population of Ring-tail Lemurs. The births also played a large role in raising awareness for the plight of Ring-tail Lemurs on a global scale. According to Wellington Zoo’s media monitoring tool, media coverage on their Ring-tail Lemur babies had a global reach of almost 280,000,000 people.
SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Aquarium celebrate birth of two little blue penguin chicks:
Little blue penguin chicks
SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Aquarium is thrilled to announce the arrival of two little blue penguin chicks. This is a very exciting milestone as it is the first time this species has hatched on the Sunshine Coast! The first chick emerged from its egg on Saturday the 11th of June with the second chick hatching on Friday the 1st of July.
Little blue penguins are the only species of penguin to breed on mainland Australia. They usually lay 1-2 eggs in a shallow burrow, which is guarded by the parent birds. To better the chances of these eggs hatching, keepers decided to artificially incubate the eggs before returning them to the burrow before hatching. Biggie and Ziti are the proud parents of the first chick. Dennis and Ash are parents of the second chick. Both pairs are sharing the demanding duties of raising their chicks. In the wild, adult birds tend to alternate between one day of guarding the nest with the next spent foraging at sea to provide food. At about two weeks of age, both adults must begin to forage to keep up with their chick’s ferocious appetite.
Gumbuya World welcome their first ever exotic species, Taro, the Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo:
Taro, the Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo
Gumbuya World made the exciting move in 2022 to introduce the very first exotic species into their collection with the addition of Taro, the Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo from Taronga Conservation Society. Following the extensive redevelopment of Gumbuya into a Water, Wildlife & Rides Park in 2017, Wildlife Managers Tony Hower & Benny Bradley were keen expand on the range of animals currently in their care. The process of getting Taro to Gumbuya was an extensive one, with the wildlife team taking charge of every aspect of the acquisition, from the in-depth permit application through to designing and eventually constructing the exhibit. The project provided the team with opportunities to build new relationships within the industry, with special thanks to the team at Taronga for giving so much of their time and expertise throughout the entire process. The arrival of Taro is just the first step in Gumbuya World’s planned expansion, as they plan to remain focused on their wildlife division for future growth.
Wild Life Sydney Zoo care for a 20 year-old male Platypus Mack:
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Keeper Jessica Dick checks platypus in nest box
Wild Life Sydney Zoo is currently caring for Mack (Mackenzie) a 20 year-old male Platypus who is on loan from Taronga Zoo as part of the Species Management Program (SMP) led by the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA). The zoo is normally home to 18-year-old female Platypus Jackie who has made the temporary move across Sydney Harbour to Taronga in hopes of breeding with one of their resident males. The team at Wild Life Sydney have been guided by Taronga zoo keeper Robert Dockerill on how to safely care for Mack, as male platypus are venomous and possess a sharp spur about 12 millimetres long on each ankle. Collaborating with organisations like Taronga allows Wild Life Sydney Zoo to contribute positively to a better understanding of these cryptic and unusual Australian mammals. Much of what is known about the breeding behaviour of platypus generally comes from observations of animals in human care. Very few zoos have had success in breeding platypus so every effort and attempt provide new and exciting learnings, which can be shared with other organisations.