Global Species Conservation Programmes
White rhino are the second-largest land mammal after blue whales, and their name comes from the Afrikaans word “wyd” which means wide and refers to the animal’s wide mouth. They lack front teeth and use their large lips like a lawnmower to pluck short grass.
The majority (98%) of the southern white rhinos occur in just four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. Southern white rhinos were thought to be extinct in the late 19th century, but in 1895 a small population of fewer than 100 individuals were discovered in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. After more than a century of protection and management, they are now classified as Near Threatened and around 18,000 animals exist in protected areas and private game reserves. They are the only one of the five rhino species that are not endangered.
White rhino have complex social structures and groups, of sometimes a dozen cows and calves, may form. Adult bulls defend territories that they scent mark with sprayed urine and dung piles. Cows and calves move freely through bulls’ territories. Bulls competing for a cow may engage in serious conflict that is accompanied by snorting calls and using both their horns and massive size when fighting. Rhino love to wallow in a muddy pool, often for hours. Wallowing is cooling in the heat and covers their body in mud that, when dry, is then rubbed off on rubbing posts removes external parasites such as ticks. Mud also assists with camouflage and acts as a sunscreen.
Brought back from the brink of extinction once before in 1900, now poaching for their horns now threatens the species again. Horns are believed in some Asian countries to have medicinal benefits and they are carved to create expensive dagger handles sold in the Middle East. Figures of 500 or more rhinos being poached each year are not unusual.
Rhino contribute significantly to economic growth and sustainable development through the tourism industry, which creates job opportunities and provides significant tangible benefits to local communities living alongside the rhino. Supportive community members often report poaching threats to law enforcement agencies. The key focus is on protecting remaining wild populations through monitoring, anti-poaching, and the removal of horns. An armed war against poachers is being fought daily by brave rangers, often with trained detection dogs.
Every year rhino are moved from safe breeding populations to establish new populations in private and government reserves where their security can be guaranteed.
Zoos globally provide significant funding and research for rhino conservation programmes for all five rhino species. In addition, zoos have provided animals for release in several countries where they have become extinct e.g., Uganda and Rwanda.
Red pandas, like giant pandas, are bamboo eater’s native to Asia’s high forests. Despite these similarities and their shared name, the two species are not closely related. Red pandas are much smaller than giant pandas and are the only living member of their taxonomic family. Genetic studies show that red pandas are an ancient species amongst the carnivores and are probably most closely related to the group that includes skunks, raccoons and weasels.
Red pandas can be easily identified by their unique red coat colour, which acts like camouflage within the canopy of fir trees where branches are covered with clumps of reddish-brown moss and white lichens. Red pandas live in high-altitude, temperate forests with bamboo understories in the Himalayas and other high mountains including mountains in Burma and parts of China.
Red Panda populations have decreased by half in recent years, and they are now classified as endangered. Zoos internationally have formed a global species breeding programme for the species and our red pandas belong to this breeding programme. As with many species half of all red pandas borne are males but only one individual male is required to breed and ensure their genetics are represented in the global population. To enable this some zoos must agree to hold excess males only and this is the role we play in the breeding programme.
Our red pandas play a valuable role as ambassadors for their species and during the ever-popular encounters our visitors learn a lot more about red pandas and hopefully fall in love with them and wildlife generally.
The Red Panda Network is committed to the conservation of wild red pandas and their habitat through the education and empowerment of local communities in Nepal and are funded by international agencies including the zoo network.
The planet’s fastest land animal is built for super speed, rather than stamina. A cheetah chase usually only lasts a minute and covers about 300 metres. At full speed, cheetah take three strides a second, covering seven metres per stride with the long tail acting as a rudder. A highly flexible spine allows their body to twist and turn with ease even at high speed. Their prey usually consists of smaller antelope and mammals but on occasion they will even catch ostrich. One tenth of their prey is stolen by lions or hyaenas so they hunt during the day to reduce this impact. The distinctive black ‘tear marks’ running from its eyes are thought to help reflect the glare of the sun.
Cheetahs communicate in many ways. Some of these are through vocalizations such as purrs, bleats, barks, growls, hisses, and a high-pitched chirping sound. Another way they communicate is through scent marking and males will mark their territory by spraying urine or by cheek and chin rubbing against a tree trunk or bush. In the last 100 years, the world has lost 90% of the wild cheetah population, cheetah are now found in just 9% of their historic range with the global population is estimated at less than 8,000. The Asian cheetah population now numbers just 50 or so animals, in one isolated pocked of Iran. A reintroduction programme was initiated in India in 2022.
Cheetah kill prey daily and on private land this puts in them in conflict with stock farmers. In addition, the loss of open grasslands in Africa to thick bush due to a lack of regular fire has greatly reduced their natural habitat. The key focus is on protecting remaining wild populations through:
- Educating rural communities and farmers.
- Capture and translocation of problem animals.
- Guard dog programmes in which dogs are raised and live amongst livestock and protect them from cheetah and other predators.
Guard dog programmes have extended to several countries and conservation programmes and areas including little blue penguins being protected from cats and foxes in Victoria. Guard dogs are often not accompanied by a shepherd with all responsibility for the flock delegated to the dog. Similarly, donkeys are used to guard cattle calves from leopards.
Our Cheetahs are part of the regional zoological breeding programme. They are also a part of a global studbook held to assist manage the genetics of the global captive population. Zoos globally provide significant funding and resources for cheetah conservation programmes.
Naturally they occur in the canopies of dense humid forests in Brazil where they drink much of their water from bromeliad plants in the canopy. These tamarins are territorial and defend their area with scent markings and high-pitched squeals. Aggression includes an open mouth, an arched back, and staring. Food includes fruits, nectar, and insects but any smaller animal may be potential food. They use their long, slender fingers and hands to probe into crevices, bark, and other hiding places for insects.
They live in groups of two to eight family members consisting of a breeding pair, offspring of one or two litters and other relatives. After a gestation of about four and a half months, the female usually gives birth to twins. They cling to their mother’s fur for the first few weeks, but all members of the group will carry and care for the infants. Grooming and huddling together forms an important social function with males responsible for 70% of the grooming interactions.
Critically endangered and down to 150 individuals in the wild in 1970, intensive conservation efforts have helped the population recover. Now classified endangered species, there are about 2,500 in the wild — about a third of which are descendants of animals released from the international zoological breeding programme.
The key concern is habitat loss with only 2% of their habitat remaining in Brazil. The selective removal of large trees reduces the available roosting hollows has left them exposed to predators. A human yellow fever outbreak in 2018 infected and reduced the tamarin population by 30% in places. Scientists introduced a successful vaccination programme in 2020.
Several new populations have been re-established using tamarins bred by zoos and animals moved from unprotected wild areas. The survival rate of re-introduced animals has been encouraging, but destruction of unprotected habitat continues. Zoos globally continue to provide significant resources for the golden lion tamarin conservation programme. Our tamarins are part of the international breeding programme.
A non-for-profit has been established to help fund the conservation of the species.
Follow us @hallsgapzoo
Happy Mother’s Day from the Zoo! They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and in Asha’s case, it’s more like mini me’s running around the exhibit! Motherhood is all about love, protection, and a whole lot of lookalikes.
Here’s to all the wild, wonderful mums out there we hope you have a great day and get to relax.
When you’re visiting see if you can spot the difference between Asha and her daughters or even spot one of our newer mums, hint: you might see a little face poking out of a pouch.
#mothersday #grampians #present #hallsgapzoo #visitmelbourne
✨✨FAST FACT FRIDAY✨✨
Today is about our beautiful native Dingoes
🐾 The widest part of their body is their skull which they use to test if they can fit through holes without getting stuck.
🐾 They are not a dog they are genetically and behaviourally different to domestic dogs.
🐾 They can jump up to 2m high from a standing position.
Come and meet one of our 3 beautiful boys Daku, Bobby and Maliki during an encounter
#hallsgapzoo #encounter #dingo
💕Looking for the perfect Mother’s Day present?
How about the gift of an animal experience for the special woman in your life.
Spend some quality time together, cementing your position as the favourite child while having an unforgettable time feeding a giraffe, patting a 2000kg rhino or having a red panda walk across your lap. 🤭
Check out our website for our full range of encounters. #mothersday #mothersdaygifts #encounters
✨✨✨FAST FACT FRIDAY✨✨✨
Today we are looking at Elk
🦌They are one of the largest species of Deer.
🦌Babies are born with spots but loose them by the end of summer (as you can see in the photo) they are also born without a scent to help protect them from predators.
🦌Males grow impressive antlers each year and shed them in the winter
#elk #hallsgapzoo #nationalpark
#visitmelbourne #visitmelbourneaustralia
Thankyou so much to a Family from Horsham who so generously donated 5 family yearly memberships to some deserving local families saying that “The Halls Gap Zoo has brought so much joy to our lives over the years and after everything they and the local community have been through, especially with the challenges of the fires, we wanted to give something back to the zoo and hopefully bring some joy to local families through a zoo membership.”
So wonderful to have such kindhearted people in our community so Thankyou again.
#kindness #hallsgapzoo #familymembership
Happy World Vet Day!!
Today we celebrate the dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to protect the health and welfare of animals everywhere.
We would like to thank our vets from Stawell veterinary clinic who help us when our animals need them and after the recent fires were amazingly kind enough and wiped our bill which was such a big help to us.
We would also like to thank the vets from Werribee Zoo who take on our animals when they need specialist veterinary care especially when they make the trek out to see our animals on site.
We appreciate each and everyone of you for your commitment to the animals you work so hard to care for.
✨✨✨FAST FACT FRIDAY✨✨✨
Today is about Black Capped Capuchins
🐒 They do what is called urine washing so they will pee into their hands and feet and rub it all over them to leave their scent as they travel through the forests.
🐒 They are very intelligent and will use tools to help them break open food sources.
🐒 They have semi prehensile tails and only juveniles can hang their whole body weight from their tail while adults will still need to support themselves with their arms or legs
Pictured is Marko and Polo the cheekiest father and son duo you ever did meet.
Today we pause to remember the courage and sacrifice of all who served not only the men and women but also the animals who helped our soldiers.
We remember and thank all of them, your sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Just a reminder that we are open everyday this long weekend 10am-5pm everyday.
#hallsgapzoo #visitmelbourne #grampians #longweekend
Thank You for Hopping By!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who joined us for our Easter Bunny Hunt at the zoo! It was great to see so many smiling faces and families enjoying the day together. Your enthusiasm made the event extra special!
The total count of bunnies hidden around the zoo was 26, did you find them all?
We hope you had as much fun finding bunnies as we did hiding them.
#hallsgapzoo #easter #visitmelbourne #grampians
Happy Easter from all of us at the Zoo.
We’re sending warm wishes your way for a day filled with love, laughter, and maybe a few bunny hops!
Enjoy the sweet treats and some wild moments with the ones you love.
Our animals clearly had fun with some Easter themed enrichment.
#grampians #grampiansvictoria #visitmelbourne #longweekend #Easterhunt #easterbunny #visitmelbourneaustralia #zoo
Don’t forget our Easter Bunny Hunt is on all weekend!
Keep an eye out, count all the bunnies you see and put your guess in our raffle box that will be drawn at 3.30pm everyday.
Make sure to follow our social media pages to find out the correct answer on Tuesday.
Here is a little hint to get you started:
“The bunny’s journey has just begun,
Snuggling close with more than one.
Fluffy friends with button eyes,
That’s where the first surprise lies!”
#Easterhunt #easterbunny #longweekend #grampians #visitmelbourne #visitmelbourneaustralia
✨✨✨FAST FACT FRIDAY✨✨✨
These little legends love hanging out motionless on tree trunks like it’s a full-time job. They’re not fire-breathing, but they do give serious “forest guardian” vibes and they will judge you silently from a branch…
BOYD’S FOREST DRAGON
They are quite different compared to other reptiles in the fact they do not rely on basking in the sun to regulate their body temperature.
Babies are independent straight after they hatch from the eggs.
They are masters of camouflage and use this to protect themselves from predators.
They are native to rainforests in northeastern Australia with the Daintree rainforest being a good place to try and spot them.
#grampians #schoolholidays #easter #nationalpark #hallsgapzoo #zoo #boydsforestdragon
This Easter on all 4 days we’re turning the zoo into a bunny-filled adventure! Count all the hidden bunnies scattered throughout the zoo for your chance to WIN an exclusive Lizard or Dingo encounter *conditions apply.
#hallsgapzoo #easter #schoolholidays
