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Editorial Magazine for Zoo Friends and Partners ISSN 1443-7376 Taronga Zoo, Sydney Phone (02) 9969 2777 Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo Phone (02) 6882 5888 Vol. XXV No. 4 Association of Zoo Friends: President: Diana Mingaye General Manager: Stephen Morley Phone (02) 9968 2822

Zoonooz likes to keep you up to date with a wide range of stories from our zoos – and that means both the exciting and the sad. In recent months, there have been a number of articles in the media about the deaths of some of our favourite animals.

Some of these items have been well reported while others have been a little less than fair.

As supporters of our zoos, it’s important that you are kept informed about these happenings, so in this edition we have included an article by Lisa Keen titled “A tough winter” which gives an insight into the issues. We are also reprinting a letter from our Zoo Friends President which was sent to the papers that were carrying stories about our losses. It was printed in the Mosman Daily (June 28) but I thought many of our readers may have missed it and would like the opportunity to read it.

Managing Editor

The Editor

Website: www.zoofriends.org.au Taronga Foundation: Shanthini Naidoo: Phone (02) 9978 4633 Zoo Parent: Megan Hale: Phone (02) 9978 4540 Corporate Partnerships:

Contents A moving marine experience.................................................3 Thar she blows!...................................................................6

Anthea Jackson: (02) 9978 4602 Zoological Parks Board: Chief Executive Officer: Guy Cooper Managing Editor: Judy Gibson Editor: Steve McAuley

Here be dragons...................................................................8 United for bears.................................................................10 A tough winter...................................................................11

Zoo Communications: Lisa Keen Design and Artwork: Fineline Type & Design Telephone: (02) 9557 7166 Printing: S.O.S. Printing + Media

On the comeback trail........................................................12 Focus on............................................................................14 Spinifex Hopping-mouse

Telephone: (02) 9550 1811

Zoomin..............................................................................16

Credits: Cover

Eastern Water Dragon

Photograph Jo Nevin Back Cover Lion Photograph Brian Chant

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The Ark Files.....................................................................22 Size matters

A moving marine experience

Be one of the first to explore a seldom-seen wilderness right here in Sydney. DARCY SHEDDEN gives us a sneak peak of the Great Southern Oceans precinct – opening early 2008.

Photographs Scott Howard and Cathy Hattesley 3

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The Great Southern Ocean circles around the continent of Antarctica and stretches to the southern-most tips of Australia, Africa and South America. Alternating between gale force winds and stark silence, the vast, frigid, sapphire waters of the Great Southern Ocean are characterised by enormous expanses of sea-ice and distinctive marine wildlife. Seen as one of the most productive marine ecosystems left in the world today, the Great Southern Ocean is truly one of the last great wilderness on earth.

Soon we will be able to explore this seldom seen wilderness right here in Sydney when Taronga brings the world above the surface – and below it – to breathing life in the magnificent, new Great Southern Oceans precinct. Opening in early 2008, this interactive exhibit takes you on a polar safari, allowing you to encounter the rugged environment and its amazing wildlife up close and personal. Complete with several viewing pools and a new 950-seat Seal Theatre, visitors will also have the opportunity to swim with the seals in a specially designed seal encounter pool! The internationally recognized

Australian Marine Mammal Research Centre will be based in the precinct, and visitors will be able to board an “underwater research vessel” and learn about the work being carried out by modern-day marine scientists.

All of Taronga’s current marine mammals and birdlife will soon call this state-of-the-art precinct home, becoming more visible and accessible to the public than ever before. Taronga’s five Australian Sea Lions, two Australian Fur Seals, two Californian Fur Seals and two New Zealand Fur Seals - as well as our magnificent Leopard Seals - will have their own special ponds with enormous underwater viewing areas, allowing us to see them in their best and favourite environment!

Our Fiordland Crested Penguins will join the mob of Little Penguins in a fabulous, new exhibit, where the innovative design allows visitors to observe not only their above-ground antics, but their perfect, underwater swimming skills as well.

Australian Pelicans - the largest pelicans in the world - will also have their own little corner of “The Great Southern Oceans” birdlife exhibit.

Moving the animals from their

current locations in the Zoo to their new home will be a logistical operation in itself. The larger seals are being trained to climb into crates in readiness for their move by truck, while some of the smaller seals will simply go for a ‘walk’ through the Zoo (as they have done before, very secretly, to take quick dips in the elephant pools before Gung and his girls arrived in Australia). The birds will all hop into carry boxes and emerge minutes later in their spectacular new world. It’s hard to know who will be the more ecstatic the animals - or the keepers who have been planning and looking forward to these moments for years!

Conservation and climate change is a major focus of the 1.2 hectare exhibit, as is educating the public about our particular marine animals.

So, let’s have a closer look at our resident stars!

Very rare in the wild, Australian Sea-Lions are found in the waters off South and Western Australia. Dark brown in colour, the male is almost twice the size of the silvery-grey female. Pups are born only every few years and this, combined with excessive hunting in the 19th century

a moving marine experience (before they became a protected species), is the most likely cause of their small numbers.

California Sea-Lions, like our Michi and Andy, are some of the most numerous of the world’s sea-lions.

They are considered to be the very intelligent and adaptable, which is the reason they are often showcased in marine shows. Along with visible ear flaps, their strong front flippers and rotating hind flippers are features that distinguish sea-lions from true seals.

Their flexible hind flippers enable them to “walk” quite well on land, and their strong front flippers give them the ability to execute their famous ‘flipper-stand’ – which you can see at the marine show.

On the other hand, true seals like our Australian Fur Seals - have no visible ear flaps and come equipped with small front flippers and fixed hind flippers. Australian Fur Seals are excellent swimmers, and can dive to depths up to 500 metres in search of prey.

Named for the spots on their fur, leopard seals live almost exclusively on the pack ice of the Antarctic.

Leopard seals have been portrayed as the ‘villain’ in recent Antarctic movies – and truth be told, they are quite deserving of their reputation! They are fierce hunters in shallow water, using their long, sharp canine teeth and unusually loose jaws (that can open very wide) to attack anything edible. Smaller seals, fish and birds (including the odd duck or gull - as occasionally demonstrated by our very well-fed Brooke) are all part of their natural diet.

Little (or Fairy) Penguins have been bred at the Zoo for many years in an effort to help re-colonise the local population at Manly - where numbers had dropped to as low as 35 animals in 1996. Found along the southern Australian, Tasmanian and New Zealand coastlines, these are the smallest penguin species. They feed

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Northern right whale

Thar she blows!

Caroline Hogg explains how a newly developed breathalyser test for the world’s largest mammals just might ensure the survival of the Northern Right Whale…

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Standing on the bridge of a fishing boat off the coast of Western Australia , I saw my first whale. A beautiful 15-metre humpback whale was sighted on its journey south to Antarctica. Sounding like a freight train coming out of a tunnel, each breath it took left the air tainted with the smell of fish. Diving, its tail hung in the air for a moment before gliding below the surface. Suddenly, the black and white beast rose out of the inky blue depths, breaching right next to the boat and showering all on board with a wave of water. At that instant, I knew I was hooked on whales for life. wOver the past 17 years, I have had the privilege of working with baleen whales around the world.

Baleen whales get their name from

the large baleen plates that hang from the roof of their mouths.

Made of keratin (which is the same substance as your fingernails), baleen plates act as a sieve to filter food from the water during feeding.

Some of the largest whale species are baleen whales - including blue, humpback and right whales.

Right whales - so named because they were the ‘right’ whale to kill - were hunted commercially for several centuries. The slow moving right whales were found close to the coast and floated when dead. As right whale populations dwindled in the Atlantic, whalers moved on to the Pacific and Southern Oceans. This expansion was accompanied by improved hunting technology, including

the development of the factory ship which allowed whales to be processed at sea. With whaling no longer limited to the number of animals that could be towed back to the shore-based station, whale stocks declined rapidly. In 1935, the northern right whale was declared a protected species, and in 1982, a world-wide moratorium on commercial whaling was established.

Since this time, many whale populations have begun to show signs of recovery; however others remain in a state of crisis.

Northern right whales are the rarest of all, with the only known viable population found on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Approximately 300 individuals remain, and growth is limited to only one to two calves born per year. In 2001, the International Whaling Commission reported that ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear and “inherent reproductive failure” were the primary threats to the survival of this population. Although scientists

Humpback whale

were working on the problems of ship-strikes and entanglements, no one seemed to understand the cause of “inherent reproductive failure”.

Because the technology to determine reproductive hormone concentrations in blood samples was not developed until the late sixties, and because it is very difficult to collect a blood sample from a free-swimming whale without that sampling being fatal to the animal, a whale’s reproductive physiology

has been challenging to understand.

In the north Atlantic population of right whales, a proportion of females old enough to breed had never reproduced. The question begged: why?

This was the question that I was asking when I returned to Australia to do my PhD with Dr Tracey Rogers at the Australian Marine Mammal Research Centre (AMMRC). Established in 1996, the AMMRC is a joint initiative between

the Zoological Parks Board of NSW and the University of Sydney specialising in acoustics, physiology and ecology of marine mammals.

In order to determine what was affecting the reproductive state of the female Northern right whales, a better hormonal sampling method was needed.

I knew from working with whales that each time they surfaced near the boat and exhaled, we were covered in slimy, fishy-smelling ‘whale blow’. Could it be possible to detect hormones in mucus from the lungs, using techniques similar to detect hormones in saliva? The simple answer is yes.

During the course of my PhD, I validated a technique and showed that it was possible to detect reproductive hormones in both saliva and blow samples in the captive dolphins at Sea World. We then worked with researchers in Queensland and the USA to collect blow samples from both humpback and northern right whales. Using a small boat, a blow collecting device was fastened to the end of a 13-metre pole attached to the bow. As the whales surfaced, the device was passed through the whale blow and the sample collected. Using my technique to analyse the samples, we were able to detect both male and female reproductive hormones in both species. Much to our excitement, this finding has opened up a whole new area of research with whales and dolphins. Hopefully, this technique can be used to understand the reproductive challenges of the critically endangered right whale.

Whales captivate me and I love whale research because of the challenge. I was told that blow sampling could not be done - and now we have successfully shown that there is more to whale blow than just air

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Castaways of the Pacific Story by Peter Harlow.

Photographs Brian Chant and Peter Harlow

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Iguanas may look fearsome and prehistoric, but in reality they are the gentle giants of the lizard world, as they only plants. Iguanas occur almost entirely in the New World, with the marine iguanas from the Galapagos islands and the green iguanas from Central America being the most well known. They are not found in Australia, however the word goanna which we use for our own large and carnivorous monitor lizards, is actually a corruption of the Spanish word iguana. Early explorers no doubt thought they were the same.

One species of iguana has been known from the south Pacific for over 200 years; the small Banded Iguana native to Fiji and Tonga.

This strange distribution has always baffled biologists. How did a lizard

get 8000 km across the Pacific Ocean from it’s closest relatives? Rafting on piles of floating vegetation has long been the only possible explanation, however the recent discovery of the fossil ancestor of all iguanas in the Gobi Desert of China suggests a second possible route; a combination of overland travel and rafting from Asia. The answer may never be known.

A biologist working in Fiji in 1980 discovered a second species of iguana there, and it became known as the Fijian Crested Iguana. Larger than the Banded Iguana, lives on the dry western islands of Fiji and had a raised crest of soft spines down its back. Originally thought to be found only on a small uninhabited island called Yadua Taba, the island was immediately given sanctuary status

and full protection. Later, Crested Iguanas were also found on a small number of other remote islands, but recent surveys have shown that all of these populations are small, fragmented, and continuing to decline. For this reason the Crested Iguana is classified as a Critically Endangered species.

Both the Banded and Crested Iguana live entirely in trees and eat only vegetation. This diet restricts them to living only on islands with the right mix of native forest tree species, where they eat leaves, fruit and flowers. Unfortunately for the Crested Iguana, the native dry forest habitat essential for its survival is now rare in Fiji. Dry forests in Fiji have been cleared by burning and replaced with grass for goat grazing, or with gardens, copra plantations

or invasive exotic plants. Only on the sanctuary island of Yadua Taba does the species really flourish today.

With the help of many colleagues, I have been involved in iguana research on this 70 hectare island for almost a decade.Many aspects of the Crested Iguana’s biology were, until recently, unknown because of the remoteness of Yadua Taba, and the expense and difficulty of working

there. Details of the iguana’s diet, reproduction, longevity and even the number of Crested Iguanas on the island were all unknown until the last few years.

In 1984, Taronga was the first zoo to receive the newly discovered Crested Iguana, with the aim to maintain a viable breeding population offshore in the event of a catastrophe occurring in Fiji. These were all from

the sanctuary island of Yadua Taba, and were the founders for the seventy Crested Iguanas which today are held by nine Australian zoos.

A Species Recovery Plan has recently been finalised for the Fijian Crested Iguana. This IUCN plan itemises and documents what actions are required, and by whom, to ensure the continuing decline of the Crested Iguana is halted and reversed. Recent genetic work has shown that the few remaining island populations are all genetically distinct, so the recommendation is that one or two additional island populations be brought into captivity for captive breeding before total extinction in the wild. Within Fiji there is only one endangered-species captive breeding facility, Kula Eco Park on the main island of Viti Levu. The Species Recovery Plan requires Kula Eco Park to send all of its Yadua Taba Crested Iguanas to Australian zoos and to hold and breed only genetically distinct iguanas which will be collected from two islands in the Mamanuca archipelago. The last iguana survey of these islands in 2003 suggested there were only 20 - 30 adult iguanas remaining on each of these islands, with no evidence of juvenile survival, so urgent action is required to ensure these populations do not disappear.

The hope is that damaging agricultural practices, such as burning and goat grazing, on these uninhabited islands will eventually stop and forest restoration will allow these iguanas and their captive-bred offspring to be returned in a few years. Before this can happen however, alternative forms of income need be found for the Fijian clans who own these islands, as goat grazing provides the only income for many families. Eco-tourism on some of the most spectacular tropical islands in the world may well be the saviour for the beautiful Fijian Crested Iguana.

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Saving the Sumatran tiger Story by Lisa Keen. Photograph Annette Petersen

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Sumatra - the sixth largest island in the world, with roughly twice the land area of Victoria, is the natural habitat of the smallest remaining subspecies of the tiger family.

Originally, Sumatra offered tens of thousands of square kilometres of magnificent tropical forests but today, Sumatra is also home to more than 45 million people. People need space and have used land from the forest not only to build homes but

also to establish farms, factories and roads - all the trappings of human civilization.

Gradually over the years, the tigers have been squeezed into smaller and smaller pockets of land between the areas of this human occupation. Many tigers have been killed or injured coming into human conflict as their dwindling habitat becomes smaller and smaller and others as they tried to survive,

moving between the remaining forest fragments.

Today there are estimated to be only about 300 of Sumatran Tigers living in the wilds of Sumatra. That’s dangerously close to extinction.

The Australasian zoos (members of the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria - ARAZPA) are working co-operatively on a breeding program which operates in close collaboration with a similar group of European Zoos. The two groups between them manage around 125 Sumatran Tigers, a large enough group to work toward preserving as much genetic diversity as possible.

Of these tigers, thirty one are based in Australasia. Chris Hibbard

Exotic Fauna Precinct Manager at Taronga Zoo, coordinates the Australasian program. It’s his job, in consultation with his European colleague, to coordinate the breeding and animal placements of Sumatran Tigers in all ARAZPA member zoos. It sounds as if he’s the on-line dating service of the tiger world, but it’s actually a good deal more complicated than that.

The tigers aren’t in a position to choose their own mate. Instead this is done for them by Chris and his colleagues on the basis of the genetic inheritance of each of the tigers. Careful records have been collected for each of the present 125 Sumatrans in the group. Expert reference to these records indicates which animals should make a good

breeding pair. But genetic suitability isn’t everything. Until the pair are placed together, no-body can be sure they will want to mate. If it doesn’t work that can be a very frustrating and expensive exercise. Not because of the cost of purchasing a tiger—the zoos in the group exchange tigers without charge. But moving a tiger around the world costs a great deal of money, involves a great many complicated procedures and much paperwork. This is why the import of animals from overseas is only undertaken when absolutely necessary.

The pair of Sumatran Tigers currently at Taronga is a mother and daughter so there’s clearly not going to be any breeding at that zoo without some movement. Indeed

late in 2007, the mother will move to Adelaide to be paired with a male that has recently arrived from Germany. The son of the German tiger is currently at the Western Plains Zoo and will soon be brought down to Taronga to pair up with the daughter.

Then it will be fingers crossed.

The shorter days of autumn and winter are ideal for mating so when the females reach oestrus, the tigers will be gradually introduced to each other. There is far less likelihood of serious aggression at that time. The tigers will stay together during the approximately 104 days of pregnancy but then the male will be removed when births are about to take place.

He’ll remain in close contact but separated from the mother and cubs.

Over the next ten years, the breeding target for Australasian zoos is around twenty successful births with another thirty targeted for Europe. This should be sufficient to ensure that the captive population meets the goals of the management program in preserving as much genetic diversity as possible. Sadly there is no point in building a much larger population because there is currently no safe or suitable place to release into the wild. The Sumatran Tigers in captivity play a valuable role in highlighting the plight of the species in the wild and many zoos contribute to the funding of in-situ conservation initiatives through fundraising activities and conservation awareness programs.

They are also just stunningly beautiful creatures.

Thanks to the long-term planning and careful management carried out by our zoos, there is no longer the risk of total extinction of the magnificent Sumatran Tiger.

Story by David Harris

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With a little help A story of dedication and hope‌ Maggie Cruther reports.

Photographs by Bobby-Jo Vial

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Dholes are an endangered species of wild dog found in eastern and southern Asia. Not only are their habitats disappearing due to human encroachment, dholes are also persecuted by many who view them as pests. Taronga Zoo has embarked on a dhole breeding program - the only zoo in Australia to do so.

Last year, Taronga welcomed two dholes named Brahmi and Tunlay from Cambodia. Soon after settling into their new home, Brahmi and Tunlay became the proud parents of a beautiful female pup, Kiri.

Unlike the domestic dog, dholes are only able to fall pregnant once a year. Hoping to build on last year’s success, Brahmi and Tunlay were allowed to breed again this year. Two weeks before the expected birth, cameras were set up in the whelping box to enable keepers to monitor Tunlay and learn more about dhole birthing behaviour without disturbing her. Normally, dholes give birth around 63 days after mating, but Tunlay did not show obvious signs of labour until day 72. In anticipation of the birth, the vets checked her progress and keepers stayed at the zoo overnight.

Though no pups were born during the night, close examination of the video footage early the next morning revealed that Tunlay had experienced strong contractions around 2am. Early in the morning, the vets were called and an exhausted Tunlay was anesthetised and rushed to the vet clinic. Physical examination revealed that the first puppy had become stuck on its way out and a caesarean operation was needed to save the pups.

All togeher, five pups were delivered. Despite the enormous efforts by the veterinary staff, the puppy who had been stuck never recovered, and two were stillborn.

The remaining two pups, both male, were fine although sluggish. Shortly after the pups were returned to their

Health check at Jenolan Caves

mum, there was a bit of a worry as the pups weren’t interested in suckling, despite assistance from the keepers.

Initially, the keepers decided to leave the pups in the care of their mum in hopes that she would have better luck encouraging the pups. Later that day, it became apparent that mum had not been successful either; the pups still had not suckled and were growing weak.

With the pups’ welfare at stake, Carnivore Unit Supervisor Louise Ginman decided to separate the pups from their mum to ensure that they were fed overnight. The intention was to return the pups to mum the following morning; however, because Tunlay became quite stressed when

her pups were removed, the decision was made to hand rear them and limit the stress to the mother.

Louise and her fellow keeper, Justine Powell, became foster mums to the little fellas, taking them home each night. Intensive 24-hour care followed, complete with a rigorous feed schedule (bottle feeding every three to four hours), cleaning, exercise and regular vet visits. Needless to say, sleep deprivation became the norm for Louise and Justine!

When the pups were six days old, the keepers began introductions of the pups their dhole family. Importantly, the family needed to become familiar with the pups’ scent and a crate containing the pups was placed next

to the enclosure fence each day.

Keepers also held the pups up for sniffs.

At six weeks of age, the pups were reunited with their mother under the watchful eye of Louise and Justine. Initially, the pups weren’t too impressed with Tunlay’s comparatively rough handling (being used to far gentler handling from their foster mums) so the next day they were placed with their dad, Brahmi, a much gentler soul. Throughout the week, the introductions continued until all the adults were curling up peacefully with the pups in the nest boxes during the day.

At eight weeks of age, after a visit to the vet to receive their second parvovirus vaccination, the pups played happily and curled up for a sleep. Later that afternoon, the keepers received an urgent call and upon arrival at the dhole enclosure they were met by a distressing sight… one pup was unresponsive. Keepers quickly retrieved the pup and he was rushed to the vet clinic. Despite desperate efforts to revive him, the pup had died.

After thorough post mortem investigation an exact cause of death could not be determined.

Keepers were devastated by the loss and have kept up a close vigilance on the remainder of the dhole group.

During the day, the entire family is together and are closely monitored by keepers and watchers. They are behaving normally and interacting well with the remaining puppy. The father, in particular, has been attentive and the pup spends each night with him.

This arrangement is working well and the pup thriving.

Breeding prospects for Tunlay are in doubt, and other zoos in Australia will be needed to join the dhole breeding program so that this little family of four can expand. In the meantime, our (as yet un-named) latest addition is a VIP… very important puppy… a precious bundle

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grey-headed flying fox AUSTRALIA

Story by BRIGITTE DUBA Photograph Tony Britt-Lewis Illustration Ngaire Sales

What has a silvery-grey, furryfoxy face and can fly? If you live in Sydney, you are probably aware of the Flying Fox. Despite the obvious characteristics its name suggests, the Grey-headed Flying Fox is more complex. So if you think it’s as ‘blind as a bat’ and a suburban pest, you may just be surprised at what this unique Aussie mammal has to offer!

The Grey-headed Flying Fox or Fruit Bat is one of the largest of all bats with a body mass between 600g-1kg. It is covered with dark fur and has a distinctive red-russet coloured neck-ruff. It is the only bat where the fur extends right down to its toes! The lightweight bones of its forelimbs and hind limbs are flapped with two-layered, semi-transparent black skin to form wings that can span one metre. The flying fox lacks strong leg muscles to support its body weight to remain upright hence the reason it hangs upside-down.

Mega or Micro?

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What makes this bat unique is

that unlike Micro-bats that rely on echolocation for navigation, the Grey-headed Flying Fox has an extremely heightened sense of smell and large eyes for excellent day and colour night vision. Its night vision is in fact superior to ours! The flying fox is a Mega-bat and a true nectar and soft fruit feeder and uses these adaptations to seek out blossoms and fruit on flowering native trees.

This species of bat is also very social and colonies gather together during the day in roosts or camps.

The colony is nomadic and may travel up to 50km each night in search of food. The flying fox is the only mammal able to sustain flight and can reach cruising speeds of 35km/h. The travel pattern is quite complex and colony migration is dependant on areas of seasonal abundance of native Eucalyptus, Banksia and Melaleuca blossoms, nectar and pollen, and fruits found in rainforests. The Grey-headed Flying Fox is found predominantly along the east coast of Australia in

temperate and sub-tropical areas from Queensland down to Victoria.

Breeding A female is old enough to breed by three years of age. Males produce a pungent gland secretion to attract females and to compete with rival males. Colonies are very vocal and produce over twenty calls to communicate during mating and in defense of their territory.

Mating occurs during April-May and the male’s large penis (almost a quarter of its body length) allows the challenging act of mating to take place upside! Females however will mate with more than one male throughout the year. After six months females give birth to a single, totally fur-covered baby that clings constantly to its mother. It feeds on her milk from a nipple in her ‘wingpit’ for about one month. Then, over

the next couple of months young bats remain in a crèche whilst the females leave the camp each night in search of food. Upon their return mothers easily locate their young by their individual odours. By three months of age the young are ready to learn to fly and join their mothers to locate food and become fully independent by five months of age. Bats can live to about 10-15 years in the wild.

Bat decline Grey-headed Flying Fox camps once consisted of over 400,000 individuals. More recently this number has drastically declined with the species’ entire population reduced from millions to only about 400,000.

Habitat destruction and urban threats such as barbed wire fencing, power lines and disruption of roosting sites

are the main contributors but negative human misconceptions have added to the toll. Ironically bats have adapted to suburban survival simply as a consequence to loss of their natural habitats to human development.

Bats are often perceived as pests and disease carriers. Contrary to common belief, bats are very clean and groom themselves regularly.

People living near a colony are not at risk of infection. The bat lyssavirus a type of rabies is only carried by a very small percentage (less than 1%) of flying foxes. As a safe guard all Australian bat carers and handlers are vaccinated but even then can only be infected by direct contact from a carrier bat’s saliva or scratch.

Another myth is that the flying fox destroys fruit crops and trees.

The Grey-headed Flying Fox is an

opportunistic feeder and migrates to new feeding sites on a seasonal basis allowing plants to rejuvenate.

The species is now classified as vulnerable with many killed by fruit tree netting or culled unnecessarily especially during the fruit season which coincides when females have their young.

Enviro Friendly bats Bats actually play a vital role in the environment in the dispersal of seeds. A single bat can disperse about 60,000 seeds a night through its droppings, an important regeneration process for many native forests.

Their preferred pollen and nectar diet is also an integral contributor in the cross-pollination of many native flowering plants.

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Welcome home!

After sub-letting their enclosure to a pair of rambunctious teenage gorillas, the DeBrazza’s Guenons are returning home. During the gorilla’s tenancy, Kumani and her partner, Mr. B, have been enjoying a nice vacation in an offdisplay area. The gorillas have since moved on to join their new breeding groups at other zoos.

DeBrazza’s belong to a group of African monkeys known as guenons. A French word meaning fright, guenons were so called because they grimace and expose their teeth when they are frightened or angry – enough to give anyone a fright!

Quite distinctive, this beautiful monkey lives in swamps, bamboo and mountain forests. Wearing an olive-grey speckled coat, their face is adorned with a white beard and a bright orange brow. This colouring helps them blend into the habitats of their wild home.

Teenage gorillas are not tidy tenants, so you can imagine that Kumani and Mr. B’s home needed a bit of sprucing up after their departure. Their exhibit has been revamped with lots of new logs, trees and herbs in which then can play. Our DeBrazza’s are quite shy and it may take a few minutes of watching quietly for you to see them leaping through the vegetation – so please be patient. But when you spot their

From Ambassador to activist

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A well-known member of the Education Centre team has taken on a new role!

For over a year, Basil, the long-nosed bandicoot, has played an important part in educating zoo visitors about our local fauna.

Ambassador for all bandicoots, this rescued animal knows first hand what habitat loss can mean for the welfare of a species.

Although we have had long-nosed bandicoots at the zoo for many years, they have never successfully bred. In case an ‘insurance population’ of bandicoots is ever required, we needed to find out if we are able to breed them. Wouldn’t you know it, Basil is aiding his species, not only by his service at the Education Centre, but also by actively participating in the breeding study at Taronga. Recently, Basil became the proud father of the first-ever bandicoot young to be born at Taronga! You could say that Basil’s role has shifted from ambassador to activist!

Fantastic how life comes full circle; Basil is helping us to understand more about bandicoot breeding and, someday, this information may lead to the repopulation of animals that have been pushed out of their habitat – the very same condition that lead Basil to Taronga in the first place.

Very illuminating If you know what you’re looking at, it is possible to learn quite a lot about eggs by holding them in front of a bright light in a darkened room. Called egg candling, this process predates the electric light, and originally involved the use of a candle.

Candling is typically used on bird eggs to work out whether or not they are fertile. If you candle a chicken egg three days after it is laid and see a small reddish area with fine red lines extending away from it, congratulations! You have a fertile egg!

Dr Tim Portas, one of the veterinarians at Western Plains Zoo, is taking candling one step further and using it to try to determine whether the eggs laid by the Galapagos Tortoises are fertile. Unfortunately, these eggs are not nearly as easy to candle as bird eggs. Galapagos Tortoise shells are large and thick, so they are a bit difficult to completely illuminate.

And unlike chicken eggs that are commonly candled, there is not a lot of information available about what you should actually see when you candle the eggs of this species! So Tim will have to work out egg-actly what it is that he is looking at! We wish Tim well with this project!

Story by June Downs

Photograph by Leonie Saville

The making of Mr Munro The ZooShop strives to develop exclusive merchandise that showcases our animals while delivering educational and conservation messages.

To allow every visitor the opportunity to cuddle with the favourite animal hero from the Great Southern Ocean, ZooShop’s Sue Baker asked senior marine mammal keeper, Jo Walker, which animals she thought were the rising stars of the exhibit. After careful consideration, Jo reckoned this distinction would go to Mr Munro, the Fiordland Crested Penguin and Miya, the Australian Sea Lion.

Work began with the soft toy company who had created the fabulous Gung. A sculptor and a designer from their American headquarters spent a memorable hour with Jo and both animals, taking many photos and measurements from different perspectives to ensure design accuracy.

In the following six months, eight prototypes were produced and gradually finessed by both Jo and the ZooShop team. The proud little character that you see in the photograph is the final product…taken with it’s slightly more lifelike friend - who seems to approve!

The toys went on sale for $19.95 as a preview during the school holidays in October. ZooShops make a substantial financial contribution to the zoo, and the profits from the

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A Saucy girl from San Diego The sign on their enclosure says that tree kangaroos come from New Guinea, but the newly arrived tree kangaroo at Taronga has never been there. Born at San Diego Zoo in May 2002, Salsa made the long journey to Australia in early July this year. After several weeks in quarantine, Salsa moved into the enclosure next to Parum, the resident three-year old male originally from Melbourne Zoo. Apart from her mother, Salsa had never seen another tree kangaroo - and she peered through the mesh at the equally curious Parum.

Salsa certainly must have liked what she saw! Three days later, the two began sharing an enclosure and after some very mild introductory jostling, they settled into a happy relationship, the older Salsa very quickly taking charge.

Salsa had been expected to take several months to settle into her environment before beginning a family.

Apparently, Salsa is not one to waste time. Much to the surprise of zoo staff, the two were observed mating a month later!

Whether or not Salsa actually is pregnant wasn’t

Looks don't Mata...

...or do they?

As one of the weirdest looking animals coming out of South America, the Mata Mata Turtle uses its (not so good) looks to an advantage.

With a face only a mother can love, the head of this unusual turtle is covered in frills and bumps, looking

like something out of a science fiction movie. This scary appearance has served the Mata Mata well; nicknamed ‘the ugly one’, folklore has it that bad luck will befall anyone that harms the turtle. As a result, the turtle has yet to make it onto the menu at the local restaurants!

The bizarre appearance is beneficial in another way.

In the murky water of the Amazon, the Mata Mata is often mistaken for underwater debris - swaying in the water, the loose skin around the head resembles a fallen leaf and the knobby, brown shell looks a bit like a submerged log. Camouflage is very important because the Mata Mata doesn’t hunt prey – it ambushes it!

Mata Mata means ‘kill, kill’ and this turtle is really good at it. Waiting motionless, the Mata Mata waits for and unsuspecting prey to swim a bit too close…then, using its mouth like a vacuum, it sucks them in!

So it seems that looks do matter!

Story by Adam Sckidmore Photograph Brian Chant

Celebrate Christmas with friends In the continuing tradition of showing appreciation towards generous patrons that ensure the future of the zoo through bequests, a special ‘Friends of the Future Christmas Luncheon’ will be held at Taronga in December. This will be a great opportunity not only to see what’s happening at the zoo, but also to meet some more of the Future’s wonderful Friends!

If you have already notified us of your bequest to the Taronga Foundation, an invitation will be mailed to you shortly. If you have remembered the Zoo in your will but have not yet advised us, please contact Fran O’Brien at (02) 9978 4573 (Monday - Wednesday) or email fobrien@zoo.nsw.gov.au to make sure you receive an invitation to this important event.

And if you’re not yet a Friend of the Future, why not join now? Without adequate support for our long-term conservation, breeding, research and education programs, the future of wildlife will be far less secure. A legacy to the Taronga Foundation will help us to continue caring for animals for future generations, and we are indebted to the generosity of those who choose to support us in this way.

If you’d like to find out more about making a bequest to the Taronga Foundation, or if you have any questions, please contact Fran for a confidential chat.

Story by Lisa Keene

Many shades of green What do plastic bottles, coffee grounds and cell phones have in common? You guessed it – they can all be recycled!

Whether it’s recycling, making sure you turn off lights when leaving a room, or adopting the catch cry “Avoid, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, everyone plays an instrumental role in helping reduce the ecological footprint of our Zoos.

Striving to become even more environmentally friendly, Taronga has adopted the ZPB Environmental Stewardship Strategy. This strategy promotes workplace sustainability and encourages ‘greener’ behaviour from everyone.

Made up of employees across the zoo, the Stewardship Team is the key to the success of this program. In a short time, this Green Team has motivated the zoo staff and implemented a number of green practices around the zoo. To reduce reliance on dryers, the humble clothes line was reintroduced – now lines full of drying joey pouches has become a regular feature of the Australian section! Other initiatives include divisional worm farms and kitchen compost units, the use of phosphate free and biodegradable cleaning products, and decreased power expenditure.

Making environmentally friendly decisions in everyday life is quite easy, and at the zoo we are taking many steps to improve the environment. Sometimes it’s the little things that inspire others and, ultimately, have the biggest impact.

Photograph Taronga Zoo

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A splash of sunshine Initially, it’s the gregarious chattering that will grab your attention but, once you’ve looked, you will be captivated by the fabulous flashes sun-drenched colour!

In the bird aviaries opposite Reptile World (Serpentaria) live a flock of twenty Sun Conures. These small, energetic parrots of the north-eastern forests of South America weigh only 100 grams and are 300 millimetres in length from head to tip of tail. Cloaked in yellow, red and orange feathers, Sun Conures look spectacular in flight.

To showcase their acrobatic abilities, they have recently been placed in the largest of the aviaries so we can see them in their true glory. Once they have completely settled into their new accommodation, their previous housemates, a beautiful pair of Green-winged Macaws and a two-year old Brazilian Agouti, will join them.

The young Agouti “teenager” is the older offspring of our resident breeding pair. Likened to guinea pigs on steroids, agoutis are red-rumped rodents that are common throughout the northern half of South America. With their strong rodent teeth, and their habit of burying cracked seeds in caches underground, they are valuable seed dispensers in their natural environments.

A well-traveled road As Western Plains Zoo was being established in the mid 1970’s, large animals in even larger trucks were a familiar sight along the byways of Mosman, the streets leading out of Sydney, the motorways climbing up over the Blue Mountains on the road west to Dubbo.

Regularly delivering precious stock to the new open range zoo, Taronga Zoo trucks have shuttled giraffe, cheetah, White Rhinoceros, zebra, American Bison, Eland, Indian Antelope and even a Giant Anteater to their new western home.

These animal motorcades always received a warm welcome as they trundled through the towns and villages along the way. The dignified giraffes, peering out from their huge travelling crates, are popular voyagers. In recent years, giraffes born at Western Plains Zoo have reversed that westward migration, trekking east to Sydney for a new life at Taronga Zoo. Jimiyu, a male giraffe born in Western Plains Zoo 18 months ago, is the latest such traveller. His convoy left Dubbo with a police escort on a cool August morning and his progress was followed closely by the media. Throughout the trip, ABC radio provided regular updates on his current location. Hundreds of fans turned out on every street corner to wish Jimiyu well as he journeyed to Mosman to join Taronga’s four female giraffes.

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Story by Darill Clements

Photograph by Judy Gibson

Western Plains Zoo Master Plan WPZ Master Plan is the current project for Lucas Crabtree, Senior Project Manager, Capital Works and Infrastructure (CWI) Division of Zoological Parks Board NSW. Lucas has previously worked as Senior Project Manager with CSIRO. His background is in architecture, and he says it is a privilege to work on this exciting project.

The Master Plan process creates a Vision, which guides the development and evolution of the Zoo. The Master Plan looks at the entire site and lays a framework for the exhibits, both new and upgraded, to ensure a cohesive story is presented to zoo visitors. The Plan will build on current strengths of the Zoo such as a strong African presence which is supported by successful breeding programmes. Other zoo facilities are also examined including the Entrance precinct, animal holding areas and infrastructure.

Lucas’s current brief is to engage architects and to consult with all stakeholders (for eg Zoo Senior Management Team, Marketing, Life Sciences, CWI and Interpretative Services). Then the Master Plan will be formulated, incorporating details for the animals and their exhibits, holding and breeding yards, animal husbandry needs, as well as landscaping, visitor shelters, interpretative signage, and opportunities for guide interpretation.

Spring Cleaning There comes a time when most houses need sprucing up, and two of the Aussie Bush Bird enclosures at Taronga are no exception.

The bird enclosures opposite the Koala House are slated for a ‘Backyard Blitz’ type of makeover. A combination of renovations, including a fresh paint job, new plantings, replacement of the substrate and improved display graphics, will dramatically enhance the aesthetics of the enclosure for the feathered inhabitants and their human visitors alike.

The renovated enclosures will represent the many habitats of Australia - including Sydney sandstone, heath and woodland - and will showcase the beautiful birds found within. Featured residents will include the striking Regent bowerbird, the colourful Noisy Pitta, the lashing Eastern Whipbird, the regal Sacred Kingfisher, and the stately Glossy Black cockatoo. Once all the renovations are finished, the less dominant species of birds will be introduced to their new home first, so that they might establish a territory before the ‘bossy’ birds are allowed in.

In addition to providing a much needed housing upgrade for some of Australia’s smaller citizens, a visit to Aussie Bush Birds will remind zoo visitors how fortunate we are to have such special habitats - and inhabitants surrounding this busy city of ours.

Story by Maggie Crutcher

Photograph by Rob Dockerill

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Life in the fast lane

By CHRISTINE WICHEMS Illustrations Vicki Mike

The need for speed…

The fastest mammal in the world award goes to the cheetah. These solitary hunters use stealth to get close to prey, and then EXPLODE in a lightning-fast sprint. Built for speed, the cheetah has a long, slender and light body and its long tail helps it stay balanced. The claws don’t retract, and grip the ground like running cleats. Clocked going 114 km per hour over 640 metres, cheetahs can accelerate from 0 to 72 km per hour in just two seconds!

Although fast, a cheetah is a sprinter that puffs out after only a short distance. Considering longer distances, the award for the fastest distance runner that muscle, bone and blood can produce goes to the pronghorn antelope. Found in the Great Plains of North America, this antelope has been clocked running at over 98 km per hour (about twice as fast as a racehorse) – and not just in a short sprint! Covering 11.2 kilometres in just 10 minutes, no animal in the world can keep up with this speedster once it gets going. These antelope come equipped with a light, lean body complete with an enlarged windpipe, lungs and heart. All this, plus the ability to carry more oxygen to the muscles, means that pronghorn antelope have a high rate of power output - the equivalent of putting a V8 engine in a Mini Cooper. With a body like that, it is no surprise they leave other animals in the dust.

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No Need for Speed…

Not including animals that don’t move (coral, sponges, barnacles) the snail is the slowest creature on earth, and the three-toed sloth qualifies for the slowest animal on earth (although the giant tortoise and Slow Loris are not far behind). Interestingly, the sloth isn’t slow because it is lazy; the sloth’s slow speed is actually an advantage against its major predator. Eagles often locate prey by using their very keen eyesight to detect movement; so this predator would have great difficulty finding a very slow sloth skulking through the trees!

The racing accomplishments of elite athletes at the Olympics are impressive, but non-human feats may truly astound you.

Haulin’ Bass The fastest creature in the sea is a hotly contested topic, and everyone has their personal favorite. Big game fishermen barrack for the marlin; shark enthusiasts vote for the Shortfin Mako and supporters of the ‘maximum horsepower’ school incline toward the Blue Whale. Though challenging, estimating swimming speed is the open sea has been done, sometimes in a rather creative manner! In a fishing competition in Florida, an Atlantic Sailfish took out 100 yards of line in 3 seconds, which is equivalent to a speed of 109 km per hour – enough to earn this species the fastest of the sea award.

Feathered Tri-athletes Turning our attention skywards, one of nature’s boldest predators is the peregrine falcon – and when it comes to speed, no creature on earth can match it. After spotting prey from high above, the peregrine plunges earthward in a high-speed dive. As the prey rolls and dodges, the falcon makes slight mid-air adjustments in its trajectory until the moment of final impact. Accurately measuring the dive speed has proven challenging and researchers have tried to do it using stop-watches, high-speed photography, radar, wind tunnels and even by skydiving with the bird. Best estimates suggest that the peregrine falcon hits its prey going 320 km per hour. That’s enough to knock anything senseless!

Not all birds take to the air, however, so the fastest bird award has several categories. Africa’s ostrich, for instance, gets the award for the fastest running bird. One of the largest birds in the world, the ostrich is flightless, a characteristic shared with

Ahead by an Antennae!

In the US each spring, the steeds of the insect world converge upon Purdue University for the opportunity to compete at the AllAmerican Trot, an insect version of the Melbourne Cup. With names like Wonder Roach and Sewer Sam, these bugs race for the distinction of being crowned fastest insect.

Cockroaches were born to run - how else would they survive the light of day? As discovered in the All-American Trot, the ultimate in cockroach running speed (5.5 km per hour) is achieved when they rear up on their hind two legs to look much like our Frilled-neck Lizard!

When it comes to speed, few insects can compare with the American Cockroach…except of course the Australian species of tiger beetle. With a running speed of 9 km per hour, the tiger beetle takes the crown!

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