Giant Pandas » Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

21-05-2007

Zoo_Boy???? you lost me there mate.
i dont think it really matters how influential ugly and ugly irwin are in the wildlife world, when zoos are dealing with (if they have to deal with it at all) a critically endangered species like this rhino what should matter is husbandary, research, resources. money isnt everything. australia zoo might have the climate, but they dont have any rhinos, no rhino staff, no facilities, no scientific facilities (like taronga) and no links regionally.
if ex-situ propogation is considered a solution with this species, and lets face it everythings on the table but nothings happening fast, Australia zoo is the last place any rhino should go.
to begin with, there are dozens of US zoos with not only the experience but the budget and facilities to keep this species properly. and as sumatran rhinos are not part of the regional collection plan, theres no compelling reason to base a program here over and above any US zoo.
but if the sumatran rhinos had to come to oz, then id say Perth, Taronga or Melbourne would be the best zoos for them, simply because each institution has had success with the other rhino species.

21-05-2007

sumatran rhinos have no place in zoos at all right now - least of all a privately-owned one who has just lost their biggest attraction and has no experince with rhino whatsoever.

as for pandas, to be honest i don't much care. they breed well now in chinese breeding centres, there is not really a shortage of them in captivity. what is really needed is expansion of their protected areas in the wild. in any event i wont be bothered going too see them, i've seen them before and they sleep a lot. i just think its hilarious that they actually reckon they can get them and if they do i find it equally rediculous that they reckon they can afford them!!

21-05-2007

i think flying to see polar bears, in the arctic or the gold coast, is ridiculous
and ironic.
if i lived in qld, id go and see them, but dont know if i could be arsed getting up there all the way from nsw, and i love pandas. id be even less likely to rush up there if they were staying here long term because id put it off until a legit reason to visit qld came up.
of course, im one of a few.
there probably would be a surge in tourists to the gold coast. but after the novelty wore off, who knows.

22-05-2007

I didn't much like the way this debate suddenly swung away from whether Currumbin Sanctuary will get Giant Pandas from China (it does sound a very
unlikely venue for a successful deal of that kind) and into the above discussion. I would hope NO foreign zoo without successfull experience of THIS SPECIES- so that excludes everywhere except Cincinatti,(and possibly L.A.)- would even consider trying to acquire these difficult animals, at least in the present situation..

22-05-2007

if oz zoo wants em, they will get the best staff, facilities and everything money can buy

22-05-2007

you seem to think that australia zoo is one of the wealthiest, and most experienced zoos in the world..

22-05-2007

well, i am saying they can get the best staff if they wish, austrlia zoo is only going to grow, and it has the money, and defintally the power

22-05-2007

Why should they want them? Because its a very rare species that nobody else has?

Currimbin
24-05-2007

As a visitor to Australia several times I must say that Currimbin ranked very highly as far as my views of Australia fauna parks .
It had a huge walk through aviary ( second in size only to Hamilton Zoo in the region ) and had an enormous number of native Australia fauna on display
The snake talk was the most informative and relavent that I have ever come across , with alot of emphasis on first aid for bites , and respecting snakes for what they are . There was none of the Irwin hype when they brought out a death adder and a king brown , but we were still informed of the potential that these snake can pack if mishandled or threatened .

But Currimbin is a native Australia fauna sanctuary -- there is no exotic animals at this place . So why do they think they can diversify , and start off with pandas ? If they did this , it will no longer be an Australia Wildlife Park , nor could locals really consider it a zoo just because it wants to get ONE species of exotics .
Do they think that the booming Chinese tourism industry into the region will be wanting to see pandas , or koalas and kangaroos ?

Steve Irwin bought up alot of land before his untimely death . Currimbin cannot really expand too much at its present site .
I personally feel that Currimbin does more work to polish its "Aussie Animal Experience" if it wants to attract more customers , or devote more towards a research and conservation role of endangered species .
Let Australia Zoo build up its reputation and credibility further as a zoo that has potential to house exotics , now that Steve is dead .
As far as QLD establishments are concerned , Australia Zoo would be my first choice to develop a zoo in the same context as zoos are ie have both native and exotic taxa .

31-05-2007

Agree with everything you said there Nigel. I think this really is just one of those pie in the sky things

Pandas in QLD
01-06-2007

Yeah , I think it is somewhat wishful thinking that there will be giant pandas on exhibit in the state for quite some time .
The closest possibilities ( in QLD ) would be Australia Zoo , or another exhibit at Dreamland , but neither of those places are currently up to exhibiting giant pandas .
My pick for the most suitable place would be either Taronga Park or Melbourne Zoo . Especially if they needed a temporary exhibit that would bring in ALOT of visitors .
Auckland had them for a few months , and the whole area was packed -- alot of people were disapointed that the whole area was so crowded they didnt get to see what they most wanted to see . Even at Washington DC s National Zoo , the panda house was packed with Chinese tourists !!

01-06-2007

they were vvvvery popular when they came to melbourne and taronga also. i imagine the auckland pandas were indeed the same pair we had here touring australia?....

another thing that may be worth considering is that, i would assume, all other zoos with pandas outside china would be government funded - not privately owned. i would be very supprised considering how much diplomatic effort is involved in securing pandas in the best circumstances, if the chinese would be happy to lease them to a private enterprise!

its all dreamy la-la stuff.

that said i wouldn't be remotely supprised if the whole giant panda idea gets thrown out there from one of the major zoos. the way things are going we may very well have a mandarin-speaking prime minister by the end of the year.

no doubt that would help

personally? i find they sleep an aweful lot!! though they are admittedly a little more exciting than koalas....

Pandas In queensland..
01-06-2007

Surely melbourne would be more appropriate climate wise. Keeping of pandas is incredibly expensive. food id not the problem though. I have been told and please correct me if I'm wrong, that the animals are leased by the government for a very substantial fee. possibly this fee is covered by increased visitor numbers. Food is reasonably easily obtained. Majority of bamboo species grow very quickly and often become pests in backyards (canberra gets alot of it's bamboo from residential areas, so does melbourne, as well as it's own plantations)

01-06-2007

i'de be all for melbourne eventually getting pandas - the brown bear exhibit could effectively be redeveloped for them - if it wern't for the rediculous amount of money in rent that must be paid, with inital attendance increases eventually failing to offset the costs...

they end up costing the zoos a fortune in money that, despite going to panda conservation, would probably be better spent on a species that doesent already recieve a hell of a lot of attention anyway.

01-06-2007

Melbourne Bear enclosure would be ideal for Giant Pandas-fill in the water moat and bark floor that whole area, add lots of bamboo and perhaps a few fir trees and it would be great.