Australian Conservation Programmes
A small migratory parrot that crosses the sea on its migration, Orange-bellied Parrots breed in south-west Tasmania in the summer and migrate to the coast of south-east mainland Australia for the winter. The migration route includes the west coast of Tasmania and King Island. They spend much of their day either on or close to the ground and often while a group is feeding, they will take it in turns as a sentinel to sit on a high perch to check for dangers such as hawks.
In summer, soon after arriving back in the melaleuca area in southern Tasmania, pairs begin to form and seek out nest sites. They nest in tree-hollows in trunks and holes in dead branches with pairs known to return to the same nest site for many years. When a female accepts a nest site, she will spend up to a week in the nest preparing it for her brood. During this time, while she incubates and when the chicks are small, the male feeds the female on the nest. When chicks are about ten days old, both parents forage and return to the nest to regurgitate food for the young.
A captive breeding program, which was initiated with birds recruited from a small wild population, has focussed on understanding the birds’ behaviour and dietary needs to boost the production of offspring. The preparation of birds for release into the wild has included teaching the birds to feed on the favoured wild plants utilised by the wild birds and fitness training for life in the wild.
Decline in extent and quality of coastal salt marsh habitat, because of development, agriculture and interference with water systems has impacted the species’ mainland wintering habitat. As they forage on the ground, they are likely to be predated by foxes and feral cats on the mainland. Lack of natural burns at the breeding site has impacted native food resources there. Infectious disease outbreaks are also a threat to their population.
Due to the efforts of a range of optimistic and dedicated conservationists the wild population has risen to over 80 birds returning to nest in December 2023. Annual releases have occurred for many years with birds released both at the breeding grounds in Tasmania and along the Victorian coastline. During the mainland release birds are fitted with a radio transmitter and their movements and survival tracked by dedicated volunteers. To assist the valuable breeding females, they have also been assisted in their migration by flying them back to their breeding grounds by aeroplane. Conservation staff have also provided many artificial nest boxes in their breeding grounds which the birds are using well.
A significant captive breeding program that includes a variety of partners and zoos now manage a captive population of over 500 birds.
The Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisi is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. The name Sarcophilus means “Flesh-lover”. It was formerly present across mainland Australia but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago. The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is related to quolls, and distantly related to the thylacine. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. The Tasmanian devil’s large head and neck allow it to generate among the strongest bites per unit body mass of any extant predatory land mammal. It hunts prey and scavenges on carrion.
Tasmanian devils are threatened by
The captive breeding programme consists of animals that have been tested not to carry the virus and consists of approximately 600 animals spread across a variety of captive institutions on the mainland and in Tasmania. Some organisations have created large camps in which devils have been released and are thriving. Captive bred animals have also been released onto offshore islands such as Maria where post release, the population has thrived.
Listed as threatened, the Brush-tailed rock-wallaby occurs in fragmented populations roughly following the Great Dividing Range from southwest Queensland to western Victoria’s Grampians. They live on rocky escarpments, granite outcrops and cliffs, which have caves and ledges for shelter.
The population declined greatly after European settlement when people hunted the species for their pelts. Foxes are well known to prey on brush-tails and have been the primary reason for the failure of some of the attempts to release into the wild.
It was estimated in 2020 that there were less than 100 Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies left in the wild in Australia. The Southern Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby (sub-species) program was established in 1996 when there was estimated to be about 40 left in the wild. The initial focus was to build up a captive population as quickly as possible for re-introduction. To achieve this a technique called cross-fostering of joeys to yellow-footed rock wallabies was used to rapidly accelerate breeding. The technique was highly successful – the captive population grew enough to allow for the first trial re-introduction in 2008 in the Grampians National Park. This method improved the understanding of reintroductions developing novel approaches for improving reintroduction success. Large fenced, and predator proof areas, such as Mount Rothwell, are proving very successful in breeding numbers of this species. Genetic diversity is a challenge for this species and scientists have been working on a programme to maximise genetic diversity.
The population at our zoo are part of the original captive breeding programme to act as an insurance against the extinction of the species.
The most beautifully coloured wallaby, the yellow-footed choose to live on rocky outcrops where they are adapted to bound effortlessly across the rocks. They will drink water if available but can survive for much of the year without water by obtaining it from their food. They’re usually best seen in the early morning or late afternoon basking on rocky ledges in the sun.
There are two populations, about 2000 animals in South Australia and another 200 in New South Wales. Their decline was due to introduced foxes and feral cats as well as competition for food from domestic stock and fires. Significant effort by conservation agencies including a captive breed and release programme by zoos has seen the species gradually increase in numbers. Aboriginal landowners have managed a very successful conservation programme in South Australia. The bounce back of the species in the Flinders Ranges has been exceptional with park visitors now regularly seeing the species in the ranges.
The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby has played a key role in Zoos South Australia’s highly successful wallaby cross-foster program. Under this program a critically endangered Victorian Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby joey is removed from its mother and fostered by a Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby. This in turn allows the critically endangered Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby to give birth to another joey approximately 30 days later increasing the amount of offspring one female can produce in a year. The surrogacy program has assisted in building the population of the species with less than 60 individuals remaining in the wild.
There are four species of quolls. The largest species, also known as tiger quolls, the spotted-tailed quoll is the second largest carnivorous marsupial on the Australia mainland after Tasmanian devils. They live in a variety of habitats, are mainly solitary animals and will make their dens in rock shelters, small caves, hollow logs, and tree hollows and feed on prey such as possums, bandicoots, rabbits, birds, and reptiles.
Quolls have a fascinating breeding cycle – The female calls or “clucks” when she is in oestrus (season) and her neck swells. After a gestation period of 3 weeks, she will give birth to up to thirty young. When spotted-tailed quolls give birth, their offspring are about the size of a grain of rice and up the fur on the mother’s belly and into the pouch where they attach on to a teat. With only 6-7 teats available only that number of young can survive. The mother carries her joeys in her pouch until about 2 ½ months of age at which point, they are left in a nest in the den. The young are then weaned and are independent at 5 months and mature by one year of age. They are short lived with a life expectancy of only up to five years. The joeys grow to about 2 kg for females and 4 kg for males, by the time they reach adulthood.
The spotted-tailed quoll population is seriously threatened throughout mainland Australia. Listed as endangered on the mainland, the introduction of feral animals such as foxes, cats, and dogs, as well as diseases and the logging of their forest habitats, have greatly reduced their numbers. Historic logging of forests and the threat of global warming has for the first time seen many previously very wet forests drying with some even burning.
Several new forest reserves and linkages have been created where the species has been recorded. Feral animals, in particular fox and cat control measures, are being implemented in key habitats. To avoid conflict with people tips on how to “quoll proof” hen houses has been made available. Camera traps and trained scat/scent dogs are being used to detect and monitor populations.
A captive breeding insurance population is managed in Australian wildlife parks and zoos such as ours. Genetics are tightly managed and being relatively short-lived, animals are moved between organisations for breeding on a regular basis.
Our Zoo is one of the top breeding facilities for this species with over forty bred over a twelve-year period.
The Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) is a large, ground-dwelling bird of extraordinary grace and beauty. It is endemic to Australia and nearby islands. It was formerly known as the Bush Thick-knee.
Threats to the bush stone-curlew include:
- predation by foxes and cats
- trampling of eggs by cattle
- clearance of woodland habitat for agricultural and residential development
- modification and destruction of ground habitat through removal of litter and fallen timber, introduction of exotic pasture grasses, grazing and frequent fires disturbance in the vicinity of nest sites.
Numbers have declined greatly over the last century. The bush stone-curlew is now endangered in NSW and were once widely distributed in Victoria. Sadly, they have suffered a significant decline, and it is estimated there are fewer than 300 breeding pairs left on the Northern Victorian Plains where it is now listed as critically endangered. One of the main problems affecting this ground-dwelling bird is that their chances of breeding successfully are very low. Curlew eggs and young are particularly vulnerable to predation by foxes and cats.
A stone-curlew working group bred and released a total of 85 young bush stone-curlews over 8 releases at two locations in southern NSW from 2008 to 2017. The group conducted the first successful release of bush stone-curlews in Australia and has been the driving force behind the establishment of numerous other similar programs across southeastern Australia. Many of the birds from these early releases have survived and been found breeding in the wild where predator control has been implemented and suitable habitat exists.
There is a managed captive breeding programme, which our birds from part of, and there are plans to release some of the offspring into suitably managed natural areas. While they are generally reliable breeders, it can take some pairs a few years to settle and breed successfully.
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Knuckles has the right idea spending the hot day having his lunch delivered to him while taking a swim. 📸 Supervisor Mila
Welcome to week 2 of Fast Fact Friday.
This week we are looking at the fascinating Wedge-Tailed Eagle.
🪶 Wedge-Tailed Eagles are Australia’s largest bird of prey and one of the world’s largest eagle, with an average wingspan of 2.3m.
🪶They build nests 1.8m across by 3m deep and will reuse these nests in following breeding seasons while continuing to add to them.
🪶Wedge-Tailed Eagle juveniles are a light brown colour and will darken as they get older.
Photo of our beautiful Hummer who is with us as he is unable to be returned to the wild after sustaining injuries from being hit by a car.
📸 Keeper Haylee
#nationalpark #hallsgapzoo #visitmelbourne #melbourne #grampiansnationalpark #hallsgap #wedgetailedeagle
Welcome to our first week of Fast Fact Friday.
Each week we will post new facts about a species we have here at the zoo. We want to share our beautiful animals with you and together we can explore what makes them so unique.
Obviously, we had to start with this animal. Who else? The Cheetah! The fastest land animal.
-Cheetahs can accelerate into a 112km/h sprint in only 3 seconds, but they cannot maintain high speeds for more than a minute.
- The Cheetah’s spots are designed for camouflage while hiding and during hunting and each Cheetah has a unique pattern in their spots.
-Cheetahs do not roar instead they purr just like our domestic cats at home.
Despite being very fast, they spend a lot of their time resting and lying in wait for the right moment to chase prey, you will see our boys lazing around in the sun and surveying their area.
What animals would you like to have featured in Fast Fact Friday? Comment below.
Running low on personal space after these school holidays? (Our Redneck Wallaby mum knows how you feel) Hop on in to the zoo today to let the kids run off some steam so they sleep well and are ready for the new school year. The weather is going to be perfect to see all the animals out and about.
📸 Keeper Sherrin
#grampians #grampiansvictoria #grampiansnationalpark #schoolholidays #schoolholidaysmelbourne #hallsgap #hallsgapzoo #hallsgapvictoria
Bristles would like to let everyone know we are open everyday this long weekend from 10am-5pm. Bring the kids for a nice day out before school is back. We have keeper talks planned, encounters will be running and our food van will be open for coffees, drinks and hot food. We can’t wait to see all of you . #hallsgapzoo #grampians #visitmelbourne #victoria #visitvictoria #redpanda
We would like to introduce our new babies. Firstly we have 2 baby elk calves that you might be lucky enough to get a glimpse of. Mum will usually keep the babies in the thick bush for the first few weeks to keep them safe and as they get older they start venturing out more, they are born with spots and without a scent so they don’t attract any predators.
We also have a beautiful baby Quokka keepers named Ember she is not on display just yet but be sure to keep an eye out on socials on when she will make her debut. #hallsgapzoo #grampians #visitmelbourne #victoria #visitvictoria #quokka #elk
Come and enjoy some up close encounters with our animals and while our keepers talk to you about facts and individual personalities you can:
😍Have a Red Panda walk across your lap,
😱Pat a rhino,
😄Hold a lizard,
🤭Feed a cheetah,
🤗Get kisses from the dingoes,
😮Feel small standing next to our giraffe
🥰Hold an otters hand
🤪Deal with the craziness of our meerkat mob
🤗Or walk our baby wombat
If you’ve had encounters what has been your favourite?
Check out the link below for more information and it is always best to pre book as some encounters are limited to only 2 people a day.
https://hallsgapzoo.com.au/encounters/
WE ARE OPEN!!!!
From Tuesday the 7th of January at 10am we officially reopen to visitors. It has been a long 17 days of being closed so our animals are so excited to see you all. Encounters will be up and running so please call to book or arrive early to avoid disappointment.
#hallsgapzoo #grampians #visitmelbourne
🎄✨ Merry Christmas from our zoo family to yours! 🎅🏼🐾
We’d like to thank you all for your amazing support throughout the year—your love for the animals and our work means the world to us!
Just a friendly reminder, the zoo is closed today.
Wishing you a joyful day filled with love, laughter, and a little wild magic. 🌟🦒🐆
- The Halls Gap Zoo Team
Dear Friends and Supporters,
As you may know, Halls Gap Zoo (Grampians VIC, Australia) has always been a cherished part of our community, providing a home for hundreds of animals and offering unforgettable experiences for visitors from near and far. However, like many other local businesses, we’ve been devastated by the recent bushfires that forced us to close our doors during our busiest season- a critical time for us to generate revenue and ensure the wellbeing of our animals.
These fires not only caused damage to the surrounding environment but also severely impacted our ability to operate and care for our beloved animals. Despite the challenges, we have remained committed to their care, but the financial strain has been overwhelming. The closure has made it incredibly difficult for us to meet our daily operating costs, and without support, we risk losing the progress we’ve made.
How Your Support Will Help:
Animal Care: The costs of feeding, vet visits, and maintaining the animals’ habitats remain constant, even when the zoo is closed.
Every donation, big or small, makes a difference in helping us get back on our feet and continue our important work. We’re asking for your support now so that we can continue to care for our animals and provide a unique, educational experience for future generations.
Thank you for standing by us during this challenging time. Your kindness and generosity mean the world to us and to the animals that call Halls Gap Zoo their home.
https://gofund.me/f0539bc9
🌅 After an intense few days, this is the view we woke up to this morning.🌅
We’re so grateful for the stunning beauty that surrounds us here at Halls Gap Zoo, especially after the challenges of the past week. Our team has been working tirelessly, and we are happy to report that all animals are safe and being cared for daily by our dedicated keepers.
A huge thank you to the CFA (Country Fire Authority) and Forest Fire Management Victoria for their relentless efforts in keeping the zoo and surrounding areas safe during these challenging times.
We also want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of our supporters for your patience, understanding, and kindness as we navigate this difficult period.
Our team has set up a GoFundMe page to help alleviate the costs of caring for a zoo as large as ours. You can visit the link https://gofund.me/09c777da to donate.
As per the VIC Emergency website, Halls Gap town is still not safe for return, and as such, we remain closed until further notice. Please continue to check the VIC Emergency site- https://www.emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/ for the latest updates on the situation in the area.
Stay safe and keep an eye on our social media for more updates as we work through this. Your support means the world to us.
Hot days means snow enrichment for our panda boys. 🧊
In the wild, red pandas are found throughout the cold Himalayas. This means on hot days, we go the extra mile for our cold loving friends and provide them lots of frozen treats.
📸 Keeper Steph
#redpanda #enrichment #hallsgapzoo #grampians #victoria
🎉 Happy 1st Birthday, Polo! 🐒
Our cheeky little black-capped capuchin is officially a whole year old today! Polo has grown into such a playful and curious young monkey, keeping his family (and keepers!) on their toes every single day.
Even though we’re still closed due to the bushfires, we couldn’t let Polo’s big day pass without a celebration. The team put together a special birthday party with all of Polo’s favourite treats and enrichment activities, and he had an absolute blast exploring his birthday goodies.
Thank you for all your support during this challenging time. We’re looking forward to reopening as soon as it’s safe and sharing moments like these with you in person again. Stay safe, everyone!
📸: Keeper Sherrin
#BlackCappedCapuchin #hallsgapzoo
