As the temperature in Dubbo hovers above 35 degrees everyday this week the African Elephants decided to take full advantage of the hot weather by going for a swim in their pool. 

Yum Yum isn’t too fond of the pool however on really hot days she can be seen cooling off in there.  Today she really enjoyed her time in the pool splashing around and totally covering herself in water.  At times it looked like a washing machine in the pool she was thrashing around and enjoying it so much. Yum Yum was definitely having lots of fun!

Our two African Elephants have many ways of cooling themselves down if it isn’t with water than they often cover themselves in mud or dirt, especially in the warmer months.

Tasmanian Devil paternity results are in at Taronga confirming that Tex is the dad of Martha’s joeys. It came as a bit of a surprise to us that Tex is the father, we had seen Theo in the act with Martha and was hoping that Theo would have sired his first litter. But Tex seemed to be the quiet achiever. 

Tex and Martha are the proud parents two years in a row now. They must be a match made in heaven and it’s clear to see that Martha only has eyes for her beloved Tex. 

Our other breeding male, Theo, will get a chance to have his genetics represented next season which is fast approaching, but until then he has the chance to relax and eat, to build up his strength for February. Hopefully this time next year we will be able to report Theo is a father for the first time.

During his visit James met Taronga's Senior primate Keeper, Lou Grossfeldt, who told him about the impact of deforestation, Coltan mining and the bushmeat trade is having on the wild gorilla populations.

The Zoo is part of the Global Year of the Gorilla program during 2009 which is using the "They're Calling You" program to encourage people to recycle mobile phones so millions of phones that are replaced every year don't end up in landfill and can have the Coltan used in some of them extracted for re-use.

Conservation authorites estimate there is more than 10 years' supply of Coltan in un-used mobile phones in homes and offices just waiting to be recycled.

Zoo visitors can get a free postage-paid bag to recycle their phones, or visit Taronga's website at /tcsa/environment/take-action/they're-calling-on-you.aspx to learn more and joined thousands of other Australians who have already recycled their old phones.

James also spoke with Annette Debenham from the Jane Goodall Institution about the program and the role of the Jane Goodall Institute as one of the Zoos' partners in the project.

Annette was visiting to support the ‘They’re Calling on You’ mobile phone recycling campaign set up by the Jane Goodall Institution to reduce Coltan mining in the Congo. Annette outline how Australians can recycle their mobile phones to reduce the mining operations imposing of Gorillas natural habitats, reduce Australian landfill and raise money to support the Jane Goodall Institution primate conservation work in Africa.

A few lucky zoo visitors grabbed the chance for a picture with James at Taronga's Gorilla Forest Exhibit.

But first I must tell you about 2009 being the “Year of the Gorilla” and what you can do to help this species survive in the wild.  The great apes, both Gorillas and Chimpanzees from Africa and their cousins the Orang-utan from Asia, are facing extinction in the near future.  There are a lot of threats facing these wonderful creatures from Habitat loss, hunting for Bushmeat, poaching for the pet trade, human diseases and more recently the illegal mining of Coltan.  80% of the world’s coltan is now mined in Africa, much of it illegally, and the majority is found right in Gorilla country.

Many international groups have joined forces to declare 2009 the Year of the Gorilla to focus on saving gorilla populations in the wild and their habitats. We are striving to make a difference in the conservation of all gorillas and those at Taronga Zoo are great ambassadors for their species.

So in the meantime, come out and see us at the zoo and find out more on what you can do in the Year of the Gorilla, also jump onto the website www.yog2009.org and help make a difference.

-Lisa

Luk Chai is always after more milk from his mum and when there’s no more he is off to try and nurse from the matriarch of the herd Porntip. Of course he’s not successful in getting a drink from her, but with Porntip due to have her own calf next March it is great that she’s getting this experience. Porntip's nursing of Luk Chai speaks volumes about the relationship that has developed between them.

In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday this week, the Zoo welcomed a male Bison calf into the world.

We discovered the male calf when we arrived at work on Tuesday morning and both mother and calf were doing well.  The calf named Shilah meaning brother in native American went out on the exhibit with the Bison herd that very same day, to the delight of visitors. 

Mother Shashone is very experienced with Shilah being her third calf and she was not letting him wander too far from her protection.

As Shilah grows he will start to get more independent and begin to explore the exhibit and bond with the other animals in the herd.

At present Shilah looks similar to a domestic calf, but as he develops he will end up at a similar size to his father, Cherokee-Bob who weighs around 1500kgs.

Currently two male Eastern Grey joeys and a male Swamp Wallaby are in my care being hand raised.

The three joeys became orphans after their mothers were victims of separate accidents.  All three were brought into the Taronga Western Plains Zoo Wildlife Hospital by members of the public and were immediately fed and received health checks before coming into my care.

Hand raising these three involves a lot of hard work and attention.  I currently feed the older two joeys twice a day, now that they are getting bigger.  The young Swamp Wallaby has six feeds a day which includes feeding at night, so sleep deprivation is hard to deal with.  There are also the ups and downs of caring for an animal that is so young.  When the Swamp Wallaby Joey arrived at the Wildlife Hospital we were very concerned and thought it might not make it, but with plenty of care and patience he is now doing well. 

It is a rewarding experience especially when they are released back into the wild but it is a lot of hard work and dedication.  Once these three are old enough they will all be released, which is the best possible outcome.

Currently we are caring for a young Barking Owl who was brought into the Taronga Western Plains Zoo Wildlife Hospital by a WIRES carer.  He was found on the ground and had been attacked by crows.

Immediately we administered emergency care including medications, fluids and tube fed the youngster to try and stabilise his health and start him on the road to recovery.

The Barking Owl is currently doing well and will stay in our care for some time until he has recovered fully.

Willa came in for a vet check at the zoo’s clinic recently.  It really wasn’t something that she enjoyed but Willa is doing very well and she weighs just under 2 kg.

For the past few days Willa has been settling into her new surroundings. She is quite social and likes to know what’s going on around her, so sleeping isn’t her priority right now. Wallabies generally would like to take little naps throughout the day, but not Willa. Last night for the first time in the car on the way home she put her head down in her sack and went to sleep like I would expect a baby wallaby to do.

Everything is new to me as well at the moment. Willa and I are trying to become familiar with each other’s personalities. We are both getting there, we are spending 24 hours a day together, Willa comes home with me during the night and during the day she generally hangs in a specially made pouch next to my desk.

I am lucky most of the hard work has been taken care of by Skye, she was the one to have all those sleepless nights. Willa is on 4 bottles a day and starting to eat some grevillea.

Luk Chai loves to hang out with Tang Mo usually right next her belly, but during the morning walks he insists on being right under her feet. Tang Mo is really tolerant of him walking between her legs. She does a bit of an awkward waddle to make sure she doesn’t accidentally trample on him. Luk Chai doesn’t even try it with mum Thong Dee, he knows that she won’t put up with those sort of shenanigans!

As the herd walks around the paddocks Luk Chai occasionally gets distracted along the way. He’ll run over to investigate a tyre before bumping it with his head and then a minute later he'll notice that he’s been left behind and gallop ahead to catch-up to the herd, squeezing himself between Tang Mo’s feet again.

It’s pretty much impossible to tell the sex of juvenile owls. We have to wait until they are fully grown and then make a guess –unless we use science! In the bird of prey world usually the girls are bigger, but this isn’t the case in Ripley’s owl family Ninox – it’s the boys that are larger. As an adult Barking Owl a boy is usually over 700 grams, whilst a girl will be less. It’s not exact, only a reasonable guess.

The other way we can tell is by their barking call. Just like a dog, they do bark! The boys sound more gruff, whilst the girls slightly more dainty. Sounds bizarre but it’s true. Our last Barking Owl Frodo didn’t start barking until she was two though which is a long time to wait.

So how do we do it scientifically? We use DNA tests to sex our owls. A feather was used and from this we got all the vital information, a great surprise and solid confirmation Ripley is definitely a girl.

Zoo keeper mum Erin is glowing. We were hoping for a boy as in the past we’ve found them to be more confident in the Bird Show, but when you’re as brilliant as Ripley it doesn’t matter either way. She’s already very confident!

Ripley has been flying to us on cue the past couple of days and even this morning she greeted some visitors by perching on their gloved hands. She can only fly a few feet currently, but everyone takes baby steps or flights before they glide.

From the Zoo’s desert dwelling Fennec Fox to the powerful, yet graceful Leopard Seals which live on the Antarctic pack ice, the message was clear, global warming is destroying our planet and greenhouse gas emissions need to be pulled back to a safe level of 350 Parts Per Million.

Global warming is happening faster than ever and humans are responsible. Greenhouse gases are released into  the atmosphere and many of the activities we do every day like turning the lights on, cooking food, or heating or cooling our homes rely on energy sources like coal and oil that emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.

This is a major problem because global warming destabilises the delicate balance that makes life on this planet possible. Just a few degrees in temperature can completely change the world as we know it, and threaten the lives of millions of people and animals around the world.

350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide – measured in ‘Parts Per Million’ in our atmosphere. 350PPM is the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.

The planet is in its danger zone because we've poured too much carbon into the atmosphere, and we're starting to see signs of real trouble: melting ice caps, rapidly spreading drought, the disappearance of wildlife.

Taronga is committed to safeguarding the future for wildlife. The Zoo has its own water recycling plant and environment committee ‘Taronga Green’ which motivates our staff to constantly improve the way we use our environment with inititives such as book swaps, eating sustainable seafood, recycling office waste and old mobile phones as coltan a mineral mined in prime gorilla habitat is used for mobile phone batteries and devavstating wild primate populations.

You can also make a difference through simple actions such as:
• Recycle and re-use
• Walk or cycle to work
• Use natural light where possible
• Think twice about turning the heater or air conditioner on
• Choose sustainable timber
• Be water wise
• Recycle your mobile phones
• Create a worm farm

We are about a week away from Go Day.

This weekend, the primate team along with other staff did a practise run through the procedure to move our oldest females in crates from the Chimp House to the Orang House. We wanted to get an idea on how long it would take from point A to point B.

I am happy to say things went very well and we got from point A to point B in 31 minutes and 25 seconds. This, I think, is pretty good. We need to be aware that this movement of crates should not be a Formula 1 pit stop exercise. Outright speed is not important; safety and smoothness are our main goals.

I mentioned before that this entire move is the biggest animal transfer that Taronga has undertaken since the Chimpanzees were moved to the current exhibit in the early 1980s. Due to this, we are very aware of needing to make sure that everything is going to work, and for this reason we shall be doing another practise run this week. Quite frankly, when moving conscious adult Chimpanzees my belief is you cannot practice enough.

There are several aspects of the move that still hang in the air. For example: which Chimp will be unloaded into the Orang house first; will the community be inside the house or outside when the first day of moves begin. Who will be the next individual to go?

As always, in keeping with our philosophy of acting upon our understanding of how our group is feeling, we will be waiting to see what the group’s behaviour is when we start, and will use that insight to dictate how we will proceed.

Taronga’s attitude to management of our Chimpanzee community has always been one of allowing self-management. We, as keepers, are only here to facilitate this.

Just like the adults, one of the keepers gave Luk Chai his first scrub at bath time. In the barn he’s never still enough for us to give him a scrub. He’s constantly on the move and just when you think he’s about to settle down for a brush he darts off to the next adventure. But today he was so taken with bopping about in the water that we managed to give him a gentle scrub on his back.

However, we have seen in the mornings in the Night House robust displays from all three of our adult males. I thought I might touch upon what displays are, the different styles employed by our different males and the overall purpose of displaying and ultimately the purpose of dominant males in Chimp society.

Displaying is the way male Chimpanzees pronounce their status and presence, power etc to other Chimpanzees within their community. Adult male Chimpanzees dominate other individuals through this method.

During displays, males wish to make themselves as impressive as possible so they “hackle up” which means their fur becomes erect, making them seem almost double in size. They then attempt to create as much noise and spectacle as possible, this includes banging, smashing, swinging, and stomping on objects and, indeed, other individuals. The fascinating thing about Chimpanzee displays is the personalisation of technique, each male develops his own style, based on individual whim and things observed and learned in their formative years.

Lubutu for instance likes to kick off from the back doors of exhibit. Shabani likes to kick off from the back wall, less of a noise but very impressive if you happen to be standing on the rear feeding platform and feel the impact through the wall. Chimbuka liked to attack the slides from the house into the exhibit but rubber flaps across these slides have stopped him there, so now he is more of a run-amok through other Chimpanzees sort of guy. Thankfully none of our males show a great interest in kicking off from the viewing windows. Displays involving another individual Chimpanzee usually involve slapping and stomping. Males very rarely will use their canine teeth to bite females (or males) when displaying, as the whole purpose is to intimidate rather than injure.

So what is the role of adult males within a society? They dominate individuals but cannot be counted on to protect them, so what is the point? Adult males act as a stabilising influence over the politicking of community members. Chimpanzee communities are hotbeds of political manoeuvring. However the one thing that every individual or family within a community fears and respects more than each other is the power and dominance of the adult males. They keep the lid on what is the pressure cooker of Chimpanzee politics. Without them a community would soon fall apart.

Last week I saw another example of the intelligence and comprehension of Chimpanzees and how as keepers, we have to recognise this and make allowances for different individuals. Last week’s weather was fairly dismal. However, our current routine for our Chimps is to allow the group access to one side of the Night House and to move them back and forth from one side to another throughout the day. We would prefer that the Chimps move from one side of the house to the other by going outside into the exhibit first and then back into the other side of the Night House. This means about 10 m of outside travel and while this is fine for the majority of our group, in miserable weather, two of our older girls have a decidedly different opinion on this matter. Both Bessie and Lulu will refuse to leave the house and instead will wait at the internal connecting raceway. They know exactly what we wish them to do but insist on emphasising to us that they do not want to go out in the rain and wish to travel a more civilised route. They never give us any trouble by mucking up and staying in the raceway, they simply want to be treated with the dignity that befits their age.

It’s another example of why working with Chimpanzees is such a rewarding experience.

Lincoln is becoming more and more independent every day,  eating his fair share of eucalypt leaves and slowly weaning himself off of his milk drinks, although there are occasions you will see him stick his head back in Maggie’s pouch for a suckle of milk.

With the onset of the warmer weather, it wont be long now until he will be more and more independent of mum. Even though mum’s hugs are the best, they can be a bit warm for both of them.

Lincoln is fast becoming popular at Koala Encounters with our visitors. The photographers are loving him because hes becoming more of an individual and being a part of their photos.  And what visitors can’t resist a little koala joey.

Day by day Lincoln is growing and developing, he is a typical little male, getting up to a lot of mischief. It won’t be long now that we may have to give Maggie a break, moving Lincoln in with a koala closer to his own age.

Mum Maggie is doing well also, she is a fantastic and tolerant mother. Maggie still enjoys getting her morning scratches and will get that much deserved rest from the little joey in coming weeks. Motherhood can be a tough gig, even for a koala.

Whilst Ripley is still growing, and is now over 42 days old, we are trying to introduce him to as much as possible, just as you would with a puppy, so he is used to different objects, environments and people when he gets older.

We are trying to make things less ‘scary’ so we took Ripley on a walk around the zoo so he could meet different people and also for a ride on our Sky Safari.

This was very exciting for Ripley. He was calm the whole time, which is a very good sign to us that he will be robust when he is in shows, just a couple of months away. Whilst in the Sky Safari his head was looking all around. His pupils became huge as we went over the elephant paddock. He tends to do that when something catches him by surprise or is new. Elephants are definitely new for Ripley.

After our ride we walked back down through the Zoo and stopped to talk to many excited people. His eyes and feet are generally what they comment on, aside from the fact he is extremely cute!

Before we gave him the ball, one of the Keepers let some of the air out so it wouldn’t make a loud bang if he did manage to pop it.

Today he was back at it, resting his tummy on the ball with his legs sprayed out and rolling about. Not surprisingly the ball couldn’t support 232 kilos of elephant and popped. It took Luk Chai by surprise and he looked at it for moment before standing up and heading back to his paddle pool in the barn. We went and grabbed him another one of his toys to play with – his blue shaggy ball.

She is training Cupcakes to ‘station’, ‘target’ and eventually turn on cue. We start with simple behaviours and as our skills increase so too do the complexities of the things we get to teach.

Station training involves asking an animal on cue to go to a specific place and stay there. Cupcakes' station is an upside-down terracotta bowl. Whenever Cupcakes looks at the bowl Merryn lets him know he is on the right track by making a noise, a click, he will recognise as saying “good job”. We call this a ‘bridge’ in the animal training world.

Then he gets a treat after the bridge, his favourite sunflower seeds. As he learns he must get closer to the station for his click and treat until eventually he will go to the terracotta bowl and stay there.

Using a similar approach Merryn will teach Cupcakes to ‘target’ where he’ll run to and touch and object when it is presented. Merryn is using a wand with a cork at the end. Soon Merryn will be able to get Cupcakes to run wherever the cork is.

She will then use this cork to train Cupcakes to turn on cue, again in a similar way you train a dog. Eventually Merryn will gradually stop using the target and have Cupcakes turn just by making a gesture with her hands.

We always keep the training sessions short, a maximum of 10 minutes, and Merryn trains Cupcakes twice a day. They’re both doing well! He is learning quickly which isn’t surprising as rats are very intelligent animals.

In April this year, and in keeping with natural elephant herd structures, Gung had reached an age to leave the matriarchal herd and by that stage, our pregnant older females were keen to see him go. In the wild, adolescent bulls leave the female herd and take up a more solitary lifestyle, returning to the females only to breed.

Gung's new customised bachelor facilities include mud wallows, two pools, a huge heated barn, and lots of features to play and interact with. He's also got areas of sun and shade, and he chooses whether to sleep indoors or out under the stars.

These days, we keepers spend several hours with him in a range of activities including exercising, wash-downs, play, numerous feeds, swimming and other activities.

Our assessment of him has been backed by recent behavioural studies that have shown that Gung now spends more time exploring his exhibit and the changing features that we regularly introduce, as he continues to mature and become more independent.

The females still come to visit Gung, but he's also benefited from increased interaction with the keepers. 

All the elephants at Taronga Zoo are part of an Australasian conservation breeding program for their species and Gung has already performed an important role in this program by fathering the first ever Asian Elephant calf born in Australia, Luk Chai (born in July 2009). As a young male, Gung's prospects for fathering further calves is promising.

He's full of life and energy, so he definitively looks forward to our work with him and we aim to give him a positive combination of play, exercise, foraging and rest.

One thing to note - he's very partial to decorating himself with a one of his play items, which is a long rope with a tyre at each end, Every day, when he's having breakfast in his barn, we locate it and hide it somewhere in the exhibit. Sure enough, when he comes out, it's the first thing he looks for and he immediately drapes it across his back and keeps it there most of the day - we call it Gung's 'bling'. 

from Elephant Keeper Bradd 

After we moved them the mother to a separate den, Tony and I were able to pick them up from the nest box.

It was a great experience to hold them as the breeding season had started slowly in February and we didn’t know how it would all go with our breeding Devils, the females Martha, Kiwi and Takina, and males, Theo, Tex and Mick.

Textbook devil breeding seemed to be non-existent this year, with a lot of their behaviours quite new to us. There were times when our females weren’t receptive to the charms and strength of our males Theo, Tex and Mick. At times it seemed like this just wasn’t going to be the season for our devils.

But things did get going and we saw a mating in May but had to wait another three months before we could do a pouch check in June to see if there any new additions.

The task of pouch checking Martha wasn’t easy. You can imagine trying to look in the pouch with a very narrow opening of quite a feisty female, but we saw one joey and that was a fantastic result.

After many months of watching the growth of Martha’s pouch and the little ones slowly start to become too big for the pouch today I finally got to hold one. This experience was a highlight of my career and such a positive for the breeding season.

The joeys had their first general health check and were implanted with a microchip to help us identify them. I’m proud to say that we have four very healthy devil joeys, three males and one female.

This week we saw an apparent reconciliation between Lubutu and Chimbuka. Both males were engaged in intense mutual grooming.

This is a sure sign of good intentions by both chimpanzees.

What followed after that was a pretty full on love-in with Lubutu being groomed hand and foot by various females and Chimbuka close by playing enthusiastically with our youngest, Sule. Sule was having such a great time, he did not know which way to turn. He engaged in full on robust pretend-wrestling with Chimbuka, but then thought “hey I might be missing out on stuff with Lubutu”, so he launched himself into the grooming melee. Finding they were completely entranced with their own activities, he quickly returned to resume play with Chimbuka.

Our third adult male Shabani was isolated from all this interaction and it showed as he undertook a series of displays banging on the back doors of the exhibit; no doubt from frustration.

The more relaxed atmosphere of the community in general has led to boisterous explorative behaviour by our two youngest individuals, Sembe, 20 months, and Sule, 18 months.

Both are at that period of life when every moment is an exciting adventure. Chimp babies in the wild will spend the first six months of their lives clinging to Mum’s belly before moving to her back in what we call the jockey position. In our group things tend to move a little quicker and both infants were riding jockey by 3 months. Sembe’s mother ,Shiba, is very protective so Sembe had a much more sheltered upbringing; Sule is far more independent due to the fact that his mother Sacha was not the most diligent mother she could of been.  Luckily for Sule, when he was out exploring at a young age he could rely on his older brother Shikamoo. Shikamoo amazed us with his attention to Sule, repeatedly keeping him safe by scooping him up and returning him to Mum whenever things looked like getting out of hand. This certainly was exemplary sibling behaviour from a male Chimpanzee.

With all this behind them Taronga’s own dynamic duo, Sembe and Sule are always ready and willing to test whatever boundaries there are to test. Both will readily swing from their hands in the night dens over to where the keepers are in order to proclaim their toughness over keepers through rigorous displays of foot stomping etc., always of course managing to stay just out of reach of any actual danger with an open escape route back to Mum being an absolute necessity.

Watching and experiencing these two in these formative years of their lives is one of the great privileges that we Chimp Keepers get to enjoy.

After a hard day’s work these are the images that you take home with you.

When we freshened up the elephants' paddock with organic topsoil two weeks ago, the mud wallow had to be filled in. Yesterday, we created a new watery, muddy mess for the elephants to play in again. Luck Chai was the first one in, loving being hosed with cool water, climbing all over his aunties and splashing and wriggling around in the mud.

Tang Mo and Pak Boon were more than happy to be his muddy companions, rolling and thrashing around with Luk Chai, even throwing some mud too. Mel, one of the keepers got in the way of the mud slinging and was covered top to toe in mud just like the elephants were.

Luk Chai would sometimes run out to join his mum, Thong Dee who was strolling around the rest of the paddock but then he would run straight back to the wallow again to join in the fun.

Today is a special day at Taronga Western Plains Zoo as our oldest Giraffe, Andrea turns 24.  Andrea is the oldest of three generations of Giraffe which are all on exhibit together at the Zoo.

Andrea is good natured and enjoys meeting people.  She is always one of the first to come over for the Giraffe encounter.

Today we organised a special birthday treat for Andrea with mini fruit muffins, some slices of bread, carrot and apples, which are her favourite.  It's like her chocolate!

Andrea is one of 12 Giraffe at Taronga Western Plains Zoo which will hopefully increase with a number of mums expecting before the end of the year.

The latest additions are five gorgeous piglets born two weeks ago.

Parents Max and Star welcomed two females and three males into the Backyard to Bush stye, all weighing in at 1kg.

Max and Star are miniature pigs crossed with wild boar giving them fantastic colours and hairy bodies. Both Max and Star are well trained pigs, able to sit, present their hooves for treatment and go for walks with the keepers.

The piglets are enjoying being out and about, playing in the mud and getting up to all kinds of mischief. They are proving a lot of hard work for their parents.

Today is a special day at Taronga Western Plains Zoo as our oldest Giraffe, Andrea turns 24. Andrea is the oldest of three generations of Giraffe which are all on exhibit together at the Zoo.

Andrea is good natured and enjoys meeting people. She is always one of the first to come over for the Giraffe encounter.

Today we organised a special birthday treat for Andrea with mini fruit muffins, some slices of bread, carrot and apples, which are her favourite. It's like her chocolate!

Andrea is one of 12 Giraffe at Taronga Western Plains Zoo which will hopefully increase with a number of mums expecting before the end of the year.

Straight after their wash down, the pair head out of the barn and almost simultaneously lie down on the ground and begin pancaking themselves in the new top-soil. Luk Chai is not too sure what all the commotion is about, but thinks it is a great opportunity to play with his mum and chief aunt. He’ll run between them and clamber all over them. Aunty Tang Mo is especially patient with him!

This move represents the single biggest primate transfer since the Chimps were moved to their then-new exhibit in 1981.

Many different people at Taronga have been working extremely hard to help the move go smoothly. With so much to do and so much at stake it has been universally agreed that in order for everything to be spot on, a few more weeks will be needed.

Overall, the tension of the previous couple of weeks has abated and the Chimpanzees are more relaxed, with far more play behaviour amongst our juveniles. Lubutu continues to re-establish his position of authority, but all is not as it once was.

In one notable interaction this week, Lubutu and Chimbuka were seated near each other at the base of the first drop of the exhibit’s waterfall. Lubutu got up and started displaying (hair erect and swaggering side to side) towards the waterfall. This is not uncommon behaviour in male Chimps and has been regularly documented in wild males. It is thought they can recognise and appreciate the power and movement of a waterfall and therefore wish to announce their presence towards that.

The importance (from our males’ perspective) of this episode is twofold. First, Lubutu directed his display at the waterfall not Chimbuka, and second Chimbuka immediately began a parallel display also directed at the waterfall. This can be interpreted as both males not wishing a confrontation, but Chimbuka also refusing to be intimidated by Lubutu’s actions.

Another interaction of note involved Shabani’s younger brother Samaki.
From about five years, young male Chimpanzees embark on their lifelong pursuit of promoting themselves within their community by basically becoming real ratbags, teasing, tormenting and annoying any individual they can if they think they can get away with it. Our older females usually bear the brunt of this as they lack the mobility and speed to deal with the offenders. As they grow the young males step up their antics to fitter individuals. Samaki will be eight years old in November so he is well practised at being a huge pain to many others.

This week he was tormenting one of our females, Koko, in the night dens, leaping forward, slapping her on the back then quickly retreating as she attempted to retaliate and then rushing back in for more. Physically he is no match for her but his speed and agility means that she would have to expend a great deal of effort in order to fully punish him. Although she may have been contemplating this, she screamed in fear and fled the raceway as Shabani came thundering through. Both brothers then chased her to the end of the den.

-Allan

Today, Freddie had his final check up at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital and is now ready to take the next step towards returning to the wild at a reserve located west of Dubbo in New South Wales to  gradually get used to the new surroundingss and learn to survive before returning to the wild.

Luk Chai continues to be spoilt by us keepers. We gave him another new toy this week. It’s a giant two meter-wide red disc which comes up to his knees when he steps in to the middle of it.

Depending on which side of the disc is facing up, he’ll stand on top of it like he’s the king of the paddock or use it as a seasaw. Once he’s finished with those games he just collapses inside his disc and has a nap.

If something’s a bit different, Korridge has been flying off his trainer’s hands and landing somewhere else … usually somewhere high! He always comes back but it can take a while.

To help both Korridge and us out, I started doing some extra training sessions with him today to boost his confidence.

To begin with, I simply offered Korridge some sunflower seeds from my right hand. We generally walk our birds around on our left hand but if he’s excited, he will fly away from this hand. Once he started eating the seeds, I slowly moved my left hand centimetre by centimetre, until it was close enough for him to step onto if he wanted to. Our birds always get to choose so they’ll want to do it in the future!

Once Korridge stepped onto my hand, I let him walk on and off as he pleased giving him a seed whenever he stepped on. I could then pick him up!  After a very short time, Korridge was stepping onto my hand and flying to me from wherever he was perching… such a great bird!

I kept my training session short so Korridge-Cup didn’t become frustrated but also so he didn’t get too many sunflower seeds, as they are high in fat. I will do more sessions in coming days as the repetition in training animals builds confidence.

Last Friday Ripley had his first flight! It was only from the ground to the couch and then a big jump into foster mum Erin’s lap for a nap – but a flight is a flight! There haven’t been any more practice flights just yet, but we are looking forward to more to come.

We’ve also give Ripley some toys to fill up his days. He was given some grevillea flowers and he tore the petals to pieces! He has also been given some wooden perches to grip and wear away.
 
Ripley has some big changes ahead this week as he graduates from sleeping over at his foster mum’s house to moving in with the rest of the birds at the QBE Free Flight Bird Show.

Male Chimpanzee politics are not cut and dry. They are fluid, constantly evolving and reacting to whatever situations and opportunities come along.

In the last couple of weeks there has been a series of significant challenges to Labutu’s alpha authority. These challenges to Labutu from one of the main challengers, Chimbuka, did result in some wounds suffered by both males.

Chimpanzees are incredibly stoic animals so the real problem for Lubutu was not the physical wounds, but the sudden loss of confidence that resulted from the challenges. Chimbuka of course realised this and kept pushing in order to press his apparent advantage.

However, as I have mentioned before, status and power amongst Chimpanzees relies on relationships and alliances. You are only as strong as your support network. We noticed that even though Lubutu was feeling a bit shell shocked he still enjoyed the support and friendship of the infants, youngsters and adult females on his side. This support coupled with the healing power of time has seen his confidence returned.

Last week he was visually showing his dominance in the mornings by banging on the chimps’ den door and letting out a racket of calls and screams. He has been leading the group when we move them around in their house during the day and overall he has been more vocal, which means he is more confident in advertising his presence in the community. At the same time Chimbuka is adopting a lower profile in his day to day activities.

The best example yet of Lubutu’s regained status was last Thursday evening when the group was brought into the den for the night. Kuma, one of our females, decided to take her own sweet time to come in for the night. When she finally came in with her son Furahi the first thing she did was seek out Lubutu and greet him. This is the human equivalent of quickly squaring things with the boss.

The things for us keepers to keep an eye on now are signs of a relationship building between Chimbuka and the other rising male Shabani who is playing both sides of the fence strategically.

- Allan

At our midday show we flew our six Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos, but yesterday we only had three come back … three!

It does make for exciting times and very quick thinking. This calls for us to start systematically checking the Zoo, and if unsuccessful, the streets of Mosman. It must look quite peculiar to Mosman residents who are unaware of what we’re doing. Some of us have cars but if you’re me, generally you’re the runner.

Our parrots don’t have tracking equipment like our raptors so we have to rely on their calls to know if we are getting close. With strong winds that’s a challenge!

Other Zookeepers radio us if they see them and that’s how we found our first explorer, Ngetali, at 1pm. He was sitting above the giraffes in a tree and when he calmed down from the excitement, he flew straight to one of his trainers. Positive reinforcement and training to develop a bond with the birds works wonders!

The next was Diyara who we found in Mosman resident’s front yard at 2pm. It took about an hour for her to fly down, but just like Ngetali she flew right to us.

When we were with Diyara we could hear our final Red-Tail in the distance, but with the strong winds he was moving further away fast. We searched but eventually the calls stopped, our feet ached and it was night. When night-time falls we call off our search for the day as he’ll roost in a tree … hopefully nearby! Then we start the search at dawn when he’s active again.

At this point as a trainer your heart sinks. So much time goes into training our birds and you become quite close.

This morning we were all up at 5am to continue the search. We got ourselves ready, packed our vans and headed out. At this point the slightest call will arouse your hopes and your mind can start to play tricks on you. 6:45am still nothing, 6:46am … nothing, 6:47am a call! Don’t get your hopes up. 6:48am more calls! Louder calls! By 6:50am we had found Korridge-Cup sitting in a tree and very excited to see us. We walked out and he came down in minutes. We had recovered all our birds!

I had such a high when he came down!

After all that we placed him back in his travel pack to take him back to join up with all the other Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos at the Bird Show.

His favourite game at the moment is to try to push the floating ball underwater. Naturally it keeps bobbing back up. Every now and then he pushes it out of the bath and expects one of us keepers to go and retrieve it for him. We have a keeper on standby to grab it and throw it back to him. Luk Chai has got us well trained!

We are all very excited by the arrival of a little filly Zebra foal.  The foal has been named Zahra which means flower in Swahili. 

Zahra was born in the early hours of the morning on Saturday 26 September 2009 and was out on exhibit that day, which was a real treat for our visitors.

Zahra is absolutely adorable and has real distinct black and white markings on parts of her body which is a little different, as most foals have a more brown colouration whe they are born and get darker over time.  She is quite confident for her age and loves to gallop out of the night yard with the herd onto exhibit.

Luk Chai uses his feet to test out the new soft topsoil. Photo by Ben Gibson

Thong Dee put the new top soil to the test by running between the top and lower paddocks, while the rest of the herd made plenty of noises. Luk Chai didn’t appear to know what all the commotion was about, but joined in the herd's excitement by letting out his second real trumpet!

When they came in to the barn for their mid morning baths they were all black. They had been busy sprinkling the dirt on their backs all morning!

Luk Chai uses his trunk to scoop up some new topsoil to sprinkle on his back. Photo by Ben Gibson

Each day Ripley is getting increasingly active. Ripley is starting to investigate his surroundings much more and that head of his is still swivelling … so much to take in!

We’re also very pleased that Ripley is doing all his normal owl things. Ripley’s instinct to fly is kicking in too, but unfortunately for Ripley no matter how much he flaps he won't get very far just yet, he needs to grow a few more wing feathers. Give it a few more days and he’ll be all over the place.

Foster mum Erin is very happy with bubs and even at this stage training has started. Ripley is currently getting used to scales and different environments.

You would have thought that she might have said thank you after all the tender love and care we have lavished on her for the past month, but once those flippers hit the open ocean she was off!

Big Lady was found washed up near Forster and brought to us by The Nation Parks and Wildlife Service. When she first arrived she was covered in barnacles so she probably hadn’t been moving around much at all.

Thankfully after taking some x-rays we didn’t find any fishing lines, plastic bags or other rubbish inside her which was a great relief. Human litter is a huge problem for marine animals, they tend to mistake it for food and once they have gobbled it down it is usually lethal.

Despite being a fussy eater she soon showed us she was a fighter and for the past few weeks we kept a close eye on her to make sure she could dive and swim and was back to full fitness. It soon became clear to us that all she needed was a little bit of rest and recuperation and was ready and raring to get back out there.

Today, ‘Big Lady’ left with a full police escort. The Water Police helped us transport this very special girl a few kilometres past Sydney Heads, and with one big breath she swam away...success!

She was a very special patient for us at the Wildlife Hospital.  Only about 1 in 100 turtle hatchlings would make it to her age and size, being a breeding female we really wanted to get her back out into the wild as quickly as possible.

Making the day even more special we were also greeted by a female Hump Back Whale and her calf on their way back to feeding areas in the Antarctic. The calf breached and splashed around as mum waved her extraordinarily long pectoral fin.   

A perfect end to a perfect day.

The iceblock was way too big for Luk Chai to play with and Thong Dee picked it up with her trunk and dropped it on the floor to break it in to little pieces. Luk Chai went over to investigate, examining the cold slippery chunks with his feet and trunk whilst mum quickly devoured the treats of apples, peanuts and cane sugar.

Luk Chai copied mum and used his trunk to pop a few pieces of ice in to his mouth.

Plans for which groups will move house together and in what order are pretty much finalised in our minds. What the Chimps think about all this we will see later on!

There are so many parts to this move. We have to consider how we will encourage different individuals away from the group so we can give them an anaesthetic to move them to their new home safely. We have to think about what areas of their new home we will initially place them in to reverse the anaesthetic and then which of their chimp companions they will meet first at their new exhibit, reintroductions are always quite interesting. All in all it is a lot of work.

Our three older females, Lulu, Bessie and Spitter will be moved whilst they are fully awake in specially designed travelling crates. This week we started doing practice runs with the empty crates to make sure we could manoeuvre them easily out of the Chimp House. These practice runs are extremely valuable as we can now iron out any kinks in the system to ensure a smooth moving process for our elderly females.

The Chimps themselves remain blissfully unaware of what’s coming. They have enough to deal with considering the current political situation amongst our three males.

There is still a lot of tension between our males following some significant fighting a few weeks back. They are certainly wary in each others company.

Our current Alpha male, Labutu, still has the support of the female members of our community as evidenced by their enthusiastic greetings to him and numerous grooming sessions. The youngsters have picked up on all this tension and their squabbling has become more frequent and with higher intensity.

With so much happening in the Chimp society, the old girls may very well enjoy being the first ones to move house.

-Allan

Meet Allambie and Lilli Pilli, our two Koala joeys which have just  made their debut out of the pouch.  The pair are between 10 to 12 months of age and are becoming more independent as they grow.  Allambie is a bit shy and is not to fond of the keepers while Lilli Pilli is the opposite and often enjoys some leaves held up by the keeper for her to munch.

There  hasn't been a Koala joey born at the Zoo since 2003, so it is very exciting for all the keepers to see two little joeys at the same time!

The pair are both doing well, with mothers Victoria and Flora being very caring to their young.  The joeys will stay with the mothers for the next few months as they become fully independent.

The joeys will be on public display in November after maintenance on their exhibit is finished.

He thought it was such a great game he decided to try it standing up. He hopped out of the bath and stood next to the tub, but this time used a swinging motion to splatter water all over the place.

By the time he was finished his little bath tub was surrounded by a pool of water!

They’re bot busy looking after the little ones, which are now about 10 days old.

It seems like the twins are quite content taking it easy in the shade during the day under a rock outcrop, while the other young lamb was happy to hang out with the adults and mum, which were grazing on hay down on the lower paddock.

Barbary sheep are naturally found in the arid mountainous areas of Northern Africa and have been introduced to the wild in Spain, the United States and Mexico.

They generally eat grass, bushes and lichens.

When water’s short, Barbary Sheep can get enough moisture from the plants they eat.

I started working with Australian animals before starting work with our apes and monkeys from tiny Cotton-top Tamarins to  the very colourful De Brazza Monkeys, the ever-thinking Orang-utan, and the complex and family orientated chimpanzee, but my passion and fascination lies with the largest of the great apes, the gentle giants, the Gorillas.

Gorillas are the largest and most powerful  primates, but they're very gentle.

They are the vegetarians of the rainforests of Central and Western Africa and will spend over half the day eating native fruits, tree branches and leaves, roots and bark, native spinach and celery.

The Western Lowland Gorilla and the Eastern Lowland Gorilla are both classed as critically endangered by habitat loss, the bush meat and pet trades, poaching, human disease and illegal mining.

As a primate keeper, I explain to zoo visitors what they can do help.
This year is ‘Year of the Gorilla’ and to raise awareness about the plight of this species we’re supporting a mobile phone recycling program because a rare mineral called coltan is used in manufacturing of mobile phones. Unfortunately, much of the world’s supply comes from Central Africa where gorillas live.

Each day at our keeper talks we encourage visitors to put old mobiles in postage-paid satchels we hand-out so they can send their old phones off to be recycled. Every recycled mobile reduces the demand for the mineral, keeps the phones out of land-fill and helps save precious gorilla habitat.

Well that’s it for me. I’ll back soon to introduce you some of our gorilla family members and also tell you more about what we are doing to help our closest living relatives.

- Lisa

Keepers today started their usual morning rounds only to find three tiny Barbary Sheep lambs had been born overnight.  The mothers and their lambs are all doing well and we've already seen the young ones suckling from mum which is a great sign.  The babies are very cute and are hiding in the rocky areas on the exhibit with mum keeping a close eye but over coming days they will start to get a bit more adventurous. 

The lambs went out with the rest of the herd this morning so it will be real treat for visitors to see three little ones in the one exhibit. 

The Barbary Sheep lambs are the first spring babies at the zoo with more on the way hopefully.

Barbary Sheep are recognisable by their sandy brown colour and have shaggy hair on their throat and a mane.  Their horns are very distinctive, curving outwards and backwards and then inwards.

It is so cute. We don’t yet know if it’s male or female as we usually have to wait until they grow up, but this can happen very quickly in the owl world. It only takes around two months and then they are fully grown and ready to start flying.

At the moment the chick only weighs 407 grams! It’s covered in white fluffy down and is very interested in its new environment, constantly scanning the room, turning its head upside down, backwards and nearly all the way around.

After several successful mini charges at the tyres, Luk Chai was a little over confident. He did his little run up but at the last second missed the tyre and bumped his head on the tree.

He was a little stunned at first and paused, looking around for sympathy from mum and the aunts. The aunts didn’t seem too concerned, so he let out a squeak to make sure that they all rushed over to check on him.

He was out in the elephant paddock today copying how mum and the aunts prepare their pineapple greens to eat. He deliberately pinned the pineapple top to the ground with his foot and skilfully used his trunk to try and tear off the tough leaves.

He hasn’t quite mastered the art of ripping the leaves off yet, but it won’t be long until his coordination and strength improves to the point where he'll soon be able to eat the leaves.

Our two Orang-utans have moved out.

In a big step in the renovation of the Chimpanzee exhibit, they’ve gone to their new off-exhibit home so work modifying the side of the Orang House can go at full speed.

Up at the Chimp House, the group were introduced to the new transport crates which have been moved into place in their night dens.

These new crates will be used to move our three oldest females to their temporary home.
As the three are quite old, we’ll move them while they are awake as they’ll be more comfortable, whereas the other members of the group will get an anaesthetic for the trip.

We’ve given all the chimpanzees access to the crates to let them check them out and I’m pleased to say that most of the group absolutely love them.

The problem now for us keepers is to get them out of the crates. The youngsters in particular feel that the crates are great to show us just how tough they are and that they are a force to be reckoned with… as long as mum is close by that is.

At around about six months old the joeys are also starting to eat solid food on their own.  Keepers are providing pieces of meat for mum as well as the young ones.  The joeys will remain with mum for the next few months before they become fully independent.

A 100 kilogram Green Turtle at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital is proving to be a fussy eater, knocking back her vegetables in favour of juicy fish.

We affectionately call her ‘Big Lady’ and she’s keeping us nurses on our toes by refusing to eat her vegetables during rehabilitation. She spits out her vitamin tablets which we’ve been hiding in her food.  

We’ve even been hiding her fish, squid and prawns in bunches of lettuce, hoping that as she tries to devour the seafood she will inadvertently gobble her greens. But just like a naughty child, she’s devised some great tactics to avoid veggies by cleverly sniffing out the fish and knocking them out of the lettuce bouquet to eat!

Amongst his normal (but vocal!) vocabulary are grunts and gargling sounds. Today, he let out a new noise, his first real trumpet blast! It was a mini version of what his dad Gung does.

He was playing with some tyres we’d placed in a hay net and in the excitement his little trunk trumpeted. The girls were so surprised by the new noise that they stopped what there were doing and glanced over at him.

We discovered the adults birds, Connie and Bruce, had used their powerful beaks to dismantle the camera system we'd installed, even taking bits of it back into the nest box.

At first, we thought they'd destroyed the camera, but luckily it survived although we probably won't be able to reconnect it because Connie is expected to lay an egg very soon and we don't want to disturb the birds.

If all goes well, we'll have a new Condor chick in about two months' time.

Spring is certainly here at the Backyard to Bush where Amy the goat gave birth to three kids late last month and her friend Eve had twins yesterday!

We couldn’t quite believe how quickly she gave birth. She went in to labour just after 1pm and 20 minutes later her two kids were cuddled up next to her. Both are a little smaller than Amy’s kids but are doing really well, up suckling and walking around.

We have named the male, “Diamond”, as it’s pure black with a bright white spot on its head head. We haven't named the female yet, but there have been plenty of suggestions!

I’ve just weighed them both for the first time and there’re under a kilo. I weighed myself on the scales first and then picked one up for a hug and weighed myself again, subtracting the differences in weight.

They’re now having a snooze, nestled together in the soft sawdust as mum enjoys some hay close by.

Amy’s young are out in the farmyard. We’ve named them Bruno, Malcolm and Stephen and they’re growing up fast, about three times the size of Eve’s. The males are completely different colours, grey, cream and brown and they totter around their play area. They climb over each other and have fun on the balance beam we’ve specially set up for them, before collapsing on the hay for a snooze.

Aunty Pakboon stood close by as he dozed. The big elephants take it in turns to keep an eye on him and touch him gently with their trunks as he sleeps. Often when he wakes up he’s covered with wet trunk kisses all over his body.

It’s very cute watching him. He’ll be running around outside and then all of a sudden he stops next to the log, tumbles to the ground, sliding forward on his legs to a comfy sleeping position. I’ve been calling it his ‘crash nap’!

Today he rested on his side, with his legs in the air as he pushed the tyres around with his feet. He thought is was such a good game watching the tyres swing through the air.

Today they chased after each other displaying their massive three-meter wingspan and stretching  their necks with their heads bent downwards. It kind of looks like they are doing a very awkward dance, but not one you’d want to join in.

Bruce appeared to be making more off an effort than Connie! 

Connie and Bruce have also been spending more time in the nest box which is a very good sign. The smell isn’t that greatest though, but it is all part and parcel of the condor breeding game.

If they are successful it won’t be long till Connie lays an egg and then two months on we may have a baby condor chick. They've successfully raised chicks before.

Born in May, the three males named Jengo, Guban, Zazu, and one female, Zahara, are very special to us.  Not only has it been a while since the Zoo has bred African Wild Dog pups but also their mother's the most genetically important female in Australia and New Zealand.

Since the puppies emerged from their den recently, they've been very curious exploring their new area under the watchful eye of their mother, Zuri.  Dad, Notch, and uncle, Browny, are very protective of the little ones although the pups are becoming more independent now as they get a bit older.

At feed time, all the adults make sure the puppies eat first even if it means the mature dogs only get a small share of the meal .  Usually it's a case of tug-o-war with the puppies as they tear the meat into smaller pieces between them and then take off away from the others with their share.

Our male Sumatran tiger ‘Satu’ recently broke one of his molar teeth. It’s quite common in the wild, but at the Zoo we usually only see this once in a while.

As not many dentists get to treat a Tiger for a sore tooth, we called in the expert help of Dr David Clarke and his team who specialise in veterinary dentistry. Satu’s broken fourth molar was in quite good condition as we’d spotted it very early on.

Whilst people dread a dentist's visit, Satu was blissfully unaware because he was under general anaesthetic as we fixed his tooth.

The procedure went really well and at the end we capped the broken molar. We’ll keep him on antibiotics for the next few days to make sure there aren’t any complications.

He should be tearing meat off the bone within a week.

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So what does Senior Keeper mean?  Well, it means I’ve been here quite a while. In fact, I have spent over 20 years working at Taronga.

During this time I’ve seen some pretty cool things. I have hand-raised possums and one very special Squirrel Monkey, been involved in moving large animals including Kodiak Bears and Giraffes, and helped rescue a stranded Elephant Seal. I’ve cared for sick and injured animals at Taronga’s Wildlife Hospital, travelled to other Zoos around the world to learn from them and I recently went to Lisbon Zoo in Portugal to help one of our female gorillas settle in to her new home.

Even with all that, I can honestly say that the continuing highlight of my career has been caring for the Chimpanzee community here at Taronga Zoo.

Most people know that Taronga has Chimpanzees but few realise just how special our group is. Taronga Zoo’s Chimpanzees are considered a benchmark for other chimpanzee communities in human care and many zoos world-wide would love to have what we have.

Why is our Chimpanzee Community so special? Well it’s not just numbers, although having 19 Chimpanzees is something that many Zoos would aspire to. It’s the fact that Taronga’s Chimpanzees live as close as it is possible to the way Chimpanzees live in the wild.

Taronga’s Chimpanzees live in a large, complex, socially stable, multi-male, multi-female community, made up of different families.

The family unit is the basis of Chimpanzee society, just as it is with humans. We have six different families in our community. Chimpanzee communities are seething hotspots of complex social tension and politics and I often think that our Chimpanzees could make one of the best-ever soap operas.

One of the pivotal moments in any new Primate Keeper’s career at Taronga comes when they are able to identify the majority of the individuals in the group. Once this happens, all that blur of noise and action that visitors see daily starts to mean something. When you can identify individuals, make an educated interpretation of what and why things are happening, well… that’s when you are well and truly hooked.

Here at Taronga we’re about to embark on the biggest chimpanzee management operation since the group moved to its current exhibit in 1981.

In order to accommodate our constantly evolving and growing community we need to do some major redevelopment of their home, and while the work is going on the Chimpanzees will need to move out during September-October and live in the Zoo’s Orang-utan exhibit.

Any changes to the environment of our complex Chimpanzee group – even a new Keeper, as every Chimpanzee has their favourites – have a huge impact on the social and political balance of the group, so this move is one of the biggest challenges that the Taronga Chimpanzees have faced. We are starting to introduce the idea of the move slowly to the Chimpanzees by showing them some of the moving crates. Even this made the males a bit worried, and they had a bit of a screech and hugged one another. The females were much more sensible and just looked curious.

The Orang-Utans are going to be taking an extended holiday, to get some peace and quiet away from their noisy cousins in newly-built accommodation off-display, and have kindly agreed to lend the Chimpanzees their exhibit for the 18 month duration of the redevelopment.

We will soon probably be wishing they were on holiday along with the Orang-Utans, since the Orang-Utan house is also the office area for the Primate Staff and when having a family dispute, the Chimpanzees are never quiet about it! Without a doubt there’ll be exciting and trying times for all of us in the months to come.

-Allan

You can also find out more about this exciting and diverse group on Facebook, with individual profiles of all nineteen Chimpanzees and extra photos - The Chimpanzee Family at Taronga Zoo on Facebook

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It’s a case of first in gets the peanut and the girls quickly scout around the yard searching out the treats. Luk Chai hasn’t quite got the hang of finding the peanuts but while watching the girls he occasionally stumbles over one.

He’s been watching the adults eating and copying the way they pick up small objects with their trunks so when he stumbles on a peanut he carefully tries to scoop it up. It takes him a while and if he’s not quick enough one of the girls comes over and steals it from him!

He’ll be relying on mum’s milk for a few years to come, but it’s great to see that he’s beginning to taste their food.

He’d run full pelt towards her before joining in the commotion as they splashed around in the mud. Luk Chai would then hop out of the wallow to start all over again and each time Pak Boon would get all excited as he’d run towards her.

Then this morning he discovered another game. We’ve hung a bunch of small rubber tyres at head level in the barn. He usually pushes them around with his trunk, but today he discovered that he could head butt them! Just like bull elephants in the wild he did a mini charge at the tyres, doing a little run up before playfully knocking them with his head.

Luk Chai spent the afternoon in the dust bath with the girls as they coated themselves in dirt. He’s been mimicking mum and the aunts, trying to spray dirt on himself with his trunk. He wasn’t very successful, but he got plastered in dirt anyway. He stood under their bellies and the extra soil fell on to his back.

We’ve noticed that he’s learnt one of mum’s tricks. Thong Dee loves trying to steal treats from our food pouches. Thong Dee taps the pouch with her trunk and tries to reach in when she thinks we’re not looking. Luk Chai has been watching mum and although he doesn’t even eat veggies yet he’s taken on one of mum’s endearing characteristics.

Luk Chai approaches quietly and he’s caught me quite unaware a few times! You don’t know he’s right next to you until you feel his little trunk poking about in your pouch. He hasn’t managed to steal any of the adults’ treats yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time till the young calf perfects his technique.

Luk Chai got his first taste of ice recently! With the spring-like weather we gave each of the females a massive ice treat filled with fruit and peanuts. The girls stood on the ice blocks with their feet to break the ice into small pieces and Luk Chai was close by to watch the goings on.

Standing next to mum he scooped the iceblock up with his trunk and popped it in his mouth. He then rushed over to check out his aunties' ice treats and tasted them too.

We have been following her progress ever since we discovered her as a small ‘pinky’, about the size of a jellybean, nestled up inside mum’s pouch during a routine check in March. And she certainly hasn’t disappointed us. She grew and developed right on schedule and, after several weeks of just poking her little head out, she  finally emerged from mum’s pouch in late July to take her  first tentative steps on those extremely long legs.

After much practice and more than a few comical wipe-outs she has nearly mastered the art of hopping and  is currently more than living up to her name as a bouncing joey, spending a good deal of her day zipping around her enclosure.

She can normally be seen at the Australian Walkthrough, fearlessly exploring every nook and cranny. It is being renovated at the moment but you’ll catch June investigating the changes to her home from the 14^th of September onwards. 

She has also proven to be as friendly and gregarious as her hand-raised mother and can frequently be seen alongside mum in the middle of the footpath posing for photos and demanding pats and cuddles from passers by. But when it all gets to be too much and she needs a little nap mum is still always close at hand for a warm drink and a comfy bed.

To see more exclusive photos of June, and to catch up with her adventures at the zoo, head to TarongaZoo on Flickr. You can also keep up with all the latest exploits of the animals at Taronga by following us on Twitter.

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All photos by Lorinda Taylor

He doesn’t know it at the moment, but the wallow is good for his skin during the warmer weather. By coating himself in mud he’s naturally protecting himself from the sun and mosquitoes.

We can tell he’s growing up as he gets more independent. Usually he follows the girls into the mud wallow, but today he went in before mum and the aunts. They watched him play about in the mud from a distance as if to say "we know you’re having a good time but we’re not coming in quite yet!".

Our not so little calf was weighed again yesterday – he’s now 164 kilos!

He’s the veteran when it comes to the game, I’ve only been flying him for a few months and am lucky if I get more than a few passes.

Today we went up to Georgia’s Heights. I flew him there and got an incredible ten passes! It was brilliant. Khan was very puffed by the end and I think a little shocked … seeing me he probably expected a very short game.

Khan isn’t in every show but if wind suits you may get the chance to see him. If you ask me, it’s well worth coming and testing your luck!

Australian Mammals Keeper, Lisa Cavanagh, said: “Only last week while I was showing two visitors the koalas, I noticed the mother, Maggie, walking along a branch with one of Lincoln’s legs hanging out of the pouch. The visitors didn’t notice the unusual fifth leg of the koala until I pointed it out to them and they were just centimetres away.”

“Lincoln is so small, he could fit in my cupped hands but he still clings to his mother Maggie, and will stay close to her for at least another six months. The pair spend the majority of their time sleeping and eating, with Lincoln clinging between his mother’s arms and legs while reaching out to grab young eucalyptus shoots which he has just started to eat.”

“To see the emergence of a joey koala is very rare, and we are just lucky that Maggie is very comfortable with people and has given us the opportunity to watch as Lincoln starts to explore the world outside the pouch.”

Maggie is six years old and loves an early morning scratch, especially in the hard to reach places around her pouch. She was hand-raised by a keeper at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, and is one of the most affectionate koalas at the zoo.

Visitors can catch a glimpse of Maggie and Lincoln, as well as Eliza and Yindy at the new Koala Encounters exhibit next to the Platypus House.

For more of Lincoln and to see exclusive photos of his first forays into the outside world, follow TarongaSydney on Flickr. You can also keep up with the latest exploits of all the animals at Taronga Zoo by following us on Twitter.

Links

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All photos by Lorinda Taylor

They were a great group. Very enthusiastic for so early in the morning … 8AM. All bright eyed we talked about the show and our birds. We brought them out our Rufous Owl ‘Angus’ and beautiful Wedge-Tail Eagle ‘Nonami’.

Much fun was had. We talked about the ways we can help birds, little things like turning off your television when you’re not watching it. And to wrap it up, myself and one brave volunteer swallowed a mealworm each. Tastes like chicken.

Luk Chai kicked the ball so hard it went flying down to their lower paddock. He stood there for a few minutes trying to work out where his ball went and I raced down to retrieve it for him. When I returned he’d already discovered a new game. The little rascal was chasing one the girls around the paddock in a game of tag.

Pak Boon was particularly happy to wallow in the mud and Luk Chai seeing an opportunity to gain higher ground attempted to climb her. He wasn’t very successful as she’s one of the larger girls, but that didn’t stop him trying.

The herd enjoyed their morning feed in the paddock while watching the traditional blessing ceremony which involved chanting and prayers. Luk Chai seemed quite unaware of anything unusual. He was more interested in the bamboo shoots mum was eating and seeing what mum and the aunties where up to.

At the end of the ceremony Luk Chai, Thong Dee and chief aunty, Tang Mo, followed us Keepers into the barn for the final part of the ceremony. The Monks sprinkled water on Luk Chai’s head to bless him and wish him good health and success. Luk Chai was very interested in the Monks, saying hello and checking them out with his trunk.

The Monks offered Luk Chai some bananas, but of course he’s not quite ready to eat them yet. Tang Mo and Thong Dee were only too happy to look after them!

Their yellow crests all went up and they all went silent which is very different for them because they are generally one of Australia’s noisiest birds.

After leaving them for a bit to play with their new ‘toy’ the younger five let their beaks do the walking and were seen happily flicking through the phone book.  After deciding they didn’t need those pages they tore it apart.

However Elliott had other plans! He had obviously been listening to the messages in our Free Flight Bird Show and was keen to recycle and reuse so  he ran over and collected all the fallen pieces and made a nest with them in the corner.

We hope no-one gets prank calls.

The elephants were at first very surprised to see him, and then affectionately surrounded him, smelling him and inspecting with their trunks. Mau spoke to them in Thai and they immediately responded, doing anything he asked. Clearly they're still very fluent in Thai!

Mau said all the elephants looked incredibly healthy and he was happy for them. They introduced him to Luk Chai and Mau gave the calf a big hug, declaring him 'perfect'.

Photo: Lorinda Taylor

The calf has found a new game!
 
We rolled an inflatable ball towards Luk Chai. After a few goes he got the hang of it and kicked the ball right back to us using his feet and trunk.

Aunty Pak Boon was very interested in his new game. She kept an eye on us and wanted to have a go too, but she’s too big to play soccer with the calf just yet.

Photo: Rick Stevens

Now that Luk Chai and conquered climbing rocks, logs and a tyre, today he tried the biggest mountain of all. Mum and Tang Mo were lying on their dirt mound in the paddock and he thought it would be great fun to clamber over them.

Tang Mo loved the attention. She helped him climb right over using her trunk and the calf came off her back like a slippery dip. Once he was back on the dirt mound he rushed back around to her belly to start all over again.

Leslie has been in shows for nearly a year now and her flights have been very impressive but short and sweet. This week we saw more of what we are trying to encourage Leslie launched herself into the air and looped over our heads. She looped six times before coming in to land!

We were all very happy with Leslie and are looking forward to seeing more of this.

During the play session, mum was tugging a huge log with her trunk and Luk Chai decided he’d have a go too.

He’s been watching the other elephants push the logs around. Luk Chai tried to push the log with his trunk and feet, but of course it didn’t budge!

Photo: Rick Stevens

We weighed Luk Chai this afternoon and he’s now 132 kilos!

The aunts and mum are settling back in to their daily play sessions with us keepers, but Luk Chai likes interrupting and getting in the middle of everything.
 
Aunty Pak Boon is quite adorable as she can’t concentrate when Luk Chai is around.

During the play session Pak Boon was balancing on a big log with two of her feet in the air. The calf decided to climb the log and watch, and she totally lost her concentration. He then ran off to check what the other aunties were up to.

He’s loves spending time underneath mum and the aunties' bellies. He’s there so often that he’s lost a few baby hairs from rubbing his back across their tummies.

Photo: Rick Stevens

Luk Chai shared mum’s drink of water this morning. Thong Dee was having a drink of water from the hose and Luk Chai thought it was a great game. He got really excited by the big drops of water falling onto his trunk and stood right under her chin to catch the drips.

There was more water games later in the morning. After the warm baths in the barn he then had fun deliberately skating across the rubberised floor.

He knows exactly what to do at the scales now. Tang Mo hopped on and Luk Chai waited patiently for his turn. Without help, he climbed on and got off to give mum a turn.

He spent most of the day practicing his climbing abilities. Now that he can climb the logs and rocks he’s been focusing his attention on a tractor tyre. Today he had success and got all four legs in to the middle of the tyre. He’s learnt the technique of climbing this awkward shape so he can now climb in and out of the tyre fairly quickly.

Photo: Rick Stevens

After going through over 30,000 entires that you all put forward in the naming competition, us keepers decided to go with “Luk Chai”. It’s pronounced Look- Chai.

We liked this name as it reflects his Thai heritage and means “my son”. A word that sounds similar to Chai also means triumph and our boisterous and inquisitive boy certainly is a triumph for the conservation breeding program.

He's spending a lot more time with the herd of girls. Porntip the matriarch has taken him under her wing. She’s become very attentive and wants to touch him all over with her trunk.

All four girls follow him around the paddock and Elephant Keeper Gary calls him the Prince as they tag behind him

With all the exploring during the day the calf is getting lots of sleep at night next to mum and chief aunty Tang Mo. The calf and mum are getting over seven hours a night, but Tang Mo is getting a few less hours as she gets up to check on him.

Photo: Rick Stevens

The calf's been busy trying to climb the rocks in the paddock. He's mastered getting on top of the logs and now he's trying the rocks which are as tall as him.

He's finding the rocks a little tricky as his front feet slip off, but he's very persistent. Just as he gets half way up the rock, he slides off again.

The elephants got some more soil added to their dirt mound and the calf has already being trying to reach the top. He clambers up, but the soil slips under his feet.

He squeaked once when he tumbled off the mound and mum and the aunties rushed over to check that he was ok.

He's beginning to develop more of a regular schedule, spending a lot more time outside in the paddocks.

Just like any newborn, he's very curious and likes to investigate everything with his trunk, feet and face.

Aunty Porntip, who's the matriarch of the herd, is spending more time with the calf . It's lovely watching their bond develop as she was a little reserved initially about the new addition to the family.

Today Porntip was standing next to the calf and decided that she wanted to give him kisses. She reached out with her trunk and kissed him all over his bottom.

Photo: Rick Stevens

Our little water baby took the plunge this morning! He went for a swim in the top paddock’s moat for the first time.

He did a bit of a dog-paddle with his feet as he’s not tall enough to reach the bottom.

Thong Dee went in to the moat first, fully submerging herself and rolling round in the water. The calf decided to follow and not too far behind was Aunty Tang Mo who put her front legs in so she could keep an eye on things.

Two of the elephant keepers, Gary and Lucy, gave him a brand new ball which has been keeping him busy. He squashes the ball with his feet and face and then watches it pop back into shape. And then the game starts all over again!

Mum and Tang Mo like the look of his new toy and want to play with his ball too.

He’s turning into a real water baby. We took him down to the lower paddock with the girls and he followed mum into the waterfall for a dip.

When we got back to the barn he decided to go for another swim in his little pool. He lay down in the warm water, fully submerged and it was beautiful watching him play around in the water with his trunk and feet.

He stayed in the pool for over an hour and didn’t want to come out. Mum and aunty Tang Mo were close by, although they were happy for him to be a bit independent and let him do his own thing.

This afternoon we were back outside in the lower paddock. He’d been watching mum and the aunties enjoying their banana tree shoots and decided he wanted a turn too,mouthing on mum’s juicy shoots.

Calf at mud wallow - Photo by Bobby-Jo Vial

The calf's getting more and more independent and is starting to spend time on his own in the top paddock.

He 's confident enough now not to need to be right next to his mum or aunts.

This afternoon, when the girls moved off from the mud wallow, the calf stayed behind, playing on the edge of the wallow and even blowing bubbles in the muddy water.

He's also becoming quite a climber, clambering over logs and playing on the big dirt mound, rolling in the dirt and digging around with his feet.

This afternoon the calf spent about two hours just playing and exploring.

The second he came inside the barn, he crashed on out his pile of sawdust bedding, asleep.

Photo: Bobby-Jo Vial

He's loving his custom made baby elephant pool, which was cut down from a big plastic tank.

He's now getting right in and going under water completely, ducking his head under and splashing with his front feet.

The calf has his bath when his aunty Tang Mo is having her's in the next stall.

He's been staying in for about 15 minutes until he gets bored and jumps out to move on to the next thing, which is often to have a quick snack from his Mum, Thong Dee.

We've had to put toys like rubber tubs and tyres in the stall with him and Thong Dee when she is having her bath because if we don't he'll try to grab the hose with his trunk and get in the middle of everything.

Elephant calf at 106kg - Photo: Bobby-Jo Vial

He was weighed again today after a little hike in the lower paddock with his mum and Aunty Tang Mo, keeping up really well.

The scale showed 106 kg so he's putting on weight nicely.

At first he followed his mum Thong Dee onto the scale platform which is about 10cm high.

Then his mum stood next to the scale and because he's curious about new things he began to rub his trunk on the metal platform to find what it felt like.

Then he just stepped on and weighed himself.

Then he was so happy he didn't want to get off and we had to call him down.

While his mum grabbed a bite to eat, the calf played around Aunty Pak Boon's legs and under her belly.

Before he went out this morning, we delivered a bag of wood shavings to his stall while he was feeding from his mother, Thong Dee.

He stopped feeding and immediately started pushing the shavings around with his trunk before lying down in them and then falling asleep.

The shavings were all through the stiff hair on his little back and Thong Dee even heaped more shavings on him, so he was almost out of sight.

We're blown away by the joy we're seeing on visitors' faces when they see the calf for the first time.

It's great to have everyone's support and he's bringing as much joy to all our visitors as he is to us.

Thong Dee's sleeping well now and getting about six hours a night.

This morning he got into the mudhole with the aunties and got covered from head to foot.

It is so lovely to see the visitors' reactions to him, especially when he gets a run up...he loves to run and is getting more coordinated and sure of his legs each time he goes out.

He's spending more time outdoors too. We really want to share this baby with everyone, so make sure you stick around.

It might take a little bit of time for him and aunties to venture out but I can promise you seeing this adorable little calf is worth the wait!

We are also beginning to teach him some manners.

He now has to wait in line with all the girls to go outside. At the beginning he would push his way to the front of the queue to get out first, but it is now time for him to learn patience and practice some elephant etiquette.

Photo: Bobby-Jo Vial

This morning Thong Dee tried to have a hay breakfast in the barn. The calf stood right in the middle of her breakfast napping on his feet. Thong Dee tried to work out how to get the hay from under his feet without disturbing him. She carefully used her trunk to work her way away around him.

Joel another elephant keeper then gave Thong Dee a warm wash down with a hose in the barn. The calf thought this was a great game and tugged the hose from Joel with his little trunk.

The calf really enjoyed it and found a large ball that he tried to roll around.

He was trying his best to push the new toy with his trunk. He couldn't quite manage to roll it around at first, but with the help of his legs he got it going.

Mum got herself all mudded up in the mud wallow. She was then ready to go for a swim in the moat and the calf looked like he was going to follow.

The top paddock moat is a little too deep for the calf just yet, so we talked Thong Dee out of going for her dip with some food.

We'll encourage Thong Dee to take the calf for a swim in the lower paddock moat this afternoon. It's only knee-deep so it's the perfect place for him to develop his swimming feet.

He always stands under mum's belly and is very curious about the warm water that washes on to him. He's not too sure where it comes from.

He's still trying to suckle from aunty Tang Mo too and seems to be convinced that if he is persistent Tang Mo will nurse him even though she doesn't have any milk. He definitely hasn't give up on her!

Photo: Bobby-Jo Vial

This morning we took the calf out for another walk in the lower paddock.

The calf, Thong Dee and aunty Tang Mo had a great time throwing mud on themselves.

Tang Mo and the calf ran onto a big dirt mound and demolished it totally together.

The whole family then explored the knee-deep moat. We seriously thought all five of them were going in for a dip.

They stood with their front legs in the water and us keepers were quickly taking off our shoes and socks just in case we had to jump in too with the calf.

But they decided not to after all.

The calf is really having a good time out there. He is just a joy to watch.

The calf found a tyre and began to explore it with his trunk.  Aunty Pak Boon soon joined him in the fun with his new toy.

Then he moved on to a tree and began playfully biting the bark before he came upon a hanging plastic disk that the adult females usually play with.

The calf ran his trunk all over it, feeling the texture.

Then it was back to the barn for a bath with his mum, Thong Dee.

While we were washing his mum, the calf actually grabbed the hose and started tugging on it.

He wrapped his trunk around it and kind of pulled on it, which is amazing for such a young elephant.

Before the bath was over, he got a spray from the hose and a brush down because he’d gotten quite dirty on his walk.

He squeaked and all the aunties immediately rushed to help by trying to pick him up and pet him,  checking him from head to foot with their trunks to make sure he was ok.

He’s now starting to run and although he’s a little awkward, he’s got great control.

While they were outside, a shower of rain came through and on the way back to barn,  they stopped off for a mud wallow bath.

The calf stood on the edge of the wallow and got lots of mud splattered on him.

He seemed to enjoy it, moving around and wiggling his little body.

When they got back to the barn, he crashed out for a sleep straight away.

Thong Dee and Tang Mo ate breakfast side by side. The calf stood between their feet and watched mum and aunty Tang Mo feed.

Even though he won’t eat hay for a long time yet, he picks it up with his trunk and pretends to mouth it just like the adults.

After the rain, Thong Dee’s hole which she uses as a dust bath filled up with water and the little calf tumbled into the puddle.

He splashed in and fell over but got up really quickly.

We’re keeping the time together with the all the aunties short because they are showering him with attention which can be a bit overwhelming for a little guy.

Tang Mo is really protective and is like a second Mum and she’ll cut in if the others get a bit too attentive.

The little fellow doesn’t seem to care.

We’re very happy watching him develop so fast. We couldn’t hope for better.

Pak Boon has taken a real shine to the calf and it looks like Tang Mo might have a little competition ahead as to who's going to be the chief aunty.

The calf has been running to Pak Boon to spend time underneath her belly.

The bath tub is just big enough to fit the calf and two adult elephant feet.

Thong Dee got in first, dunking her front legs in and her little calf followed. He didn’t use his trunk much, but he’s learning to swim. He did a bit of kicking with his legs.

Thong Dee got out and gave Tang Mo a turn in the warm bath with the calf too.

On the way back to the barn Thong Dee, aunty Tang Mo and the calf all got involved in a dusting session and the calf had great fun in the dirt.

He also had his first introduction to a toy today. We gave him a toy soccer ball to see what he would make of it. He was kind of kicking it but I think that was coincidence, and mum and aunty took more interest and picked it up tossed it to us.

He's still suckling heaps, which is a good sign.

When Thong Dee began to get up, she was a little bit slow so Tang Mo came over and helped her up with her trunk.

Tang Mo was the duty parent, getting up and down several times in the night to check on how the calf was doing.

On the walk back to the barn we went past a shallow trench Tang Mo and Thong Dee had been digging in the days leading up to the birth. The two girls did some dust bathing there in the sun with the calf watching.

And… we also weighed him for the first time. He’s 96 kilos!

Thong Dee shelters the calf under her belly and Thong Dee and Tang Mo stick together to lookout for him.

It is very sweet to watch Tang Mo supporting Thong Dee so she can get some time to herself.

The little calf has been lying down to have a rest and I watched Thong Dee circle around her a few times as she tried to work out how to help the calf stand up. Tang Mo stepped in to help and showed mum how to help him stand, lifting him gently to his feet with her trunk.

-Kat (Elephant Keeper)

This afternoon the calf has got really use to suckling from Thong Dee. Once the calf got the hang of it he fed on and off for the rest of the day.

Thong Dee usually loves to dust herself with hay and soil, and this afternoon, after dusting her own back with sawdust she heaped a careful shower on the calf as well.

We certainly know who his Dad is!

Gung has always had the habit of occasionally walking backwards

We're all very excited and tired but it still seems surreal.

Even though I can see him now and saw him being born, when I leave the room and see the calf through the window, I get a surprise and go: "Oooh, there's a calf in there."

The other cows all are all curious. They're reaching into Thong Dee's pen to try to touch the little elephant with their trunks.

They even look worried if the calf makes a little sound.

Thong Dee's maternal instincts are kicking in and she's being very protective of the newborn.

The little calf is suckling and standing close to mum, but getting a bit wobbly and ready to try to lie down for its first nap.

The other females were very interested during the birth as they watched from the stalls next door.

The calf was born just after 3am this morning after a short labour.

We couldn't be happier.

Kat (Elephant Keeper)

Thong Dee is treated to a warm bath at Taronga Zoo while keepers get ready for her impending birth.

Elephant Keeper Kat-Theodore and Thong Dee in Background

Elephant Keeper Kat Theodore-and Thong Dee to her right

Thong Dee is one of the younger elephants in the herd and she's very endearing. She loves her food especially oaten hay and pineapple tops. Amongst the Keepers she's also known for a crafty habit of "trading up food". Once she's finished with the best parts of the pineapple tops, she then uses her trunk to present us with the second grade bits as an offering, but in return expecting a more tasty vegetable treat!

It's amazing to think that Thong Dee is carrying a 90-110 kg calf. Thong Dee is certainly showing and when she lies down for her warm bath each morning, she takes her time these days getting back up. She's carrying the calf low in her belly and that causes a huge bulge up top as all her internal organs are pushed upwards to create space for her growing baby.

I became Matari’s surrogate mum in early January when he was only about six months old. He was under-weight, stressed and had lost patches of fur.

His first port of call was a visit to Taronga Wildlife Hospital for a full health check. Luckily he was pretty healthy and the vets said he could with me that night with a prescription requiring a quiet, warm place to sleep and lots of love and care. I thought ‘That, I can do!’

The three hourly feeds started and I watched him calm right down, become relaxed and begin to show his big personality. Within weeks, Matari started to eat solids, mainly carrot and when taken outside on the grass for a play I was so proud to watch him instinctively start digging in the dirt and eating some grass and grass roots! He was growing up!

Wombats are active after dark, he plays most of the night in his pen and for the first few nights till I got used to the new noise in the house, he kept me awake between feeds.

He makes a fair bit of mess, between the half-eaten grass and dirt scattered around in his pen and going to the toilet throughout the night. There is usually a big clean-up to be done first thing in the morning before work, which means getting up early as I am at Taronga by 6.30 am most days.

There’s a lot washing too. Not nappies but something similar - woollen and cotton ‘pouches’ like wide pillow cases, and towels too which I use to keep him warm, cosy and comfy.

The Tasmanian Devil has suffered significant population decline since the mid 1990s due to Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), an infectious cancer which is transmitted between individuals through biting.

The devastating disease is sweeping through Tasmania's devil population, killing more than 90% of adults in high density areas and 40-50% in medium-low density areas. Tasmanian Devils were declared as Endangered in May 2008.

The low genetic diversity in Tasmanian Devils has increased their susceptibility to this disease and animals usually die within months of contracting the disease. Average sightings of devils have declined by over 50% during the past 10 years and it's estimated that Tasmanian Devils could go extinct within 25-30 years.

Australian zoos and wildlife parks are working together with the government of Tasmania to place disease-free devils into an 'insurance breeding program' that breeds healthy devils and maintains the maximum genetic-diversity of the species so that if the worst happens and the disease wipes them out in the wild, the zoos can repopulate devil habitat with disease-free animals in the future. This program and extensive research studies are all part of the Save The Tasmanian Devil Program (STTDP).

Zoo-based Insurance Breeding Program to protect endangered Tasmanian Devils

Acting together to protect threatened species, zoos co-operate under a Conservation Management Program to breed native animals, ensuring they are healthy not only in terms of individuals but also on behalf of an entire species, to ensure that the genetic diversity and health of the species is protected.

Australian Zoos and wildlife parks have come together to establish an insurance breeding program for Tasmanian Devils.

Conservation Management Programs for threatened species are coordinated by the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria (ARAZPA). ARAZPA has been a driving force in harnessing the collective capacities of its member zoos and wildlife parks in Australia to come together to try to save Tasmanian Devils.

Tasmanian Devils Need Your Help - donate to tassiedevilappeal.org

Tasmanian Devils are an icon species, unique to Tasmania, and the largest remaining carnivorous marsupial ion the world.

They may not be cute and cuddly - in fact their known for their screeching and fierce behaviour - yet for a small animal, much of their spine-tingling snarls are for show to threaten other devils away.

Due to deadly disease, numbers of Tasmanian Devils have dropped so alarmingly in the past 10 years, there is now a very real threat that they could all be wiped out within a few years time.

Zoos and wildlife parks are acting immediately to take young wild devils before they get the disease and put them into special facilities where they can be protected and bred. This is to ensure that devils will not become extinct as a species in the wild.

Our zoos and the devils desperately need your support and help to provide immediate facilities for disease-free devils where they can breed and eventually released back into the wild.

In this day and age, surely we can come together to support this unique species and not let it slide towards extinction in our lifetime.

Keepers at Taronga Zoo welcomed the gorgeous black bundle into the world in August,  aptly naming him 'Mahali', which means 'an event' in Swahili. Like all newborns, Mahale is delighting visitors as he clings tightly to his mothers chest. Mahale is now taking a definite interest in his surroundings, even taking food from his mother's grasp.

The birth brings Taronga Zoo's gorilla population to a total of nine, and keeper Rachel Woodward, said:  "Now is the perfect time to come and enjoy the playful antics in the Gorilla group. We have two active five year olds - 'Mbeli' and 'Fataki', an inquisitive three year old, 'Kimya' whilst 'Fuzu' who is one, is just taking his first tentative steps away from Mum, 'Frala'. With the addition of our new born, Mahali there is so much going on."

"Just like human children, with so many youngsters in the group there is always a lot of activity and playfulness, and sometimes a little 'dummy spit' however our very impressive and majestic Silverback, 'Kibabu' keeps their behaviour in check," said Rachel. "He is a very fair and respected leader."

Taking care of the Gorillas is a rewarding job for keepers at the Zoo but in the wild, jungle clearing, disease and poaching have seen the dramatic decline in Western Lowland Gorilla populations. Ebola Virus alone has reduced wild Western Lowland Gorilla numbers by 90% in some areas. Zoo-based breeding groups like Taronga's are increasingly vital following the recent announcement by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the International Primatological Society Conference in Edinburgh in August that almost half of the world's 634 primate species face extinction. 

Mahali will play an important role in the worldwide conservation of this critically endangered species, but there are simple things such as choosing sustainable timber for our building and furniture needs which will help support gorillas and other endangered  species.

With the warmer weather upon us, Mahale is not the only new Zoo arrival. Taronga has also welcomed an array of 'spring babies' including a new baby Binturong or Asian Bear-cat 'Sari' and an adorable Quokka 'Poppy Lou' which is being hand raised by one of the Zoo's dedicated keepers, Sam Elton.

The boom has also reached the Taronga Wildlife Hospital which treats and rehabilitates injured and orphaned animals. The new patients include 'Lily' a 240 day old Eastern-grey Kangaroo who was found beside a highway near Goulbourn, NSW after her mother was killed by a car.  It is hoped that once Lily is weaned she will live at the Zoo's Education Centre and become an important ambassador for her species helping to educate people about the importance of being vigilant on our roads and making sure domestic pets are always on a leash or kept in doors after dusk when most of our unique wildlife are out and about.

The youngster, named 'Ronnie', was bought to Taronga Zoo's Wildlife Hospital by National Parks and Wildlife Services in July after being found at Norah Head with severe wounds extending across its back and along the left hand side of its body.

Closer inspection by veterinary staff at Taronga Zoo found the wounds appeared to have been made by a Cookie Cutter Shark, which carve out circular plugs of flesh from large fish, whales and seals.

Taronga Zoo Wildlife Nurse, Amy Twentyman, said: "Without medical treatment the young seal would have died, but right from the start he was very confident and we hoped this tenacity and lots of tender loving care would bring him back from the brink."

Ronnie's treatment was extensive with the New Zealand Fur Seal given antibiotics and pain relief while his wounds were thoroughly cleaned and checked many times every day. 

"Due to the terrible wounds, it was over three weeks until Ronnie could enter the water. For a marine mammal this is quite a long time and when he moved from intensive care to his rehabilitation pool he excitedly did somersaults, obviously enjoying the feeling of water on his body again."

Due to his shark injuries and long rehabilitation Ronnie was unable to be released back into the open ocean but luckily found a home at Taronga's new marine exhibit Great Southern Oceans.

Since graduating from hospital Ronnie, who was named after the ORCA representative who found him stranded at Norah Heads, has settled in exceptionally well and despite being the youngest of all of the Zoo's seals is the most self-assured. He now tips the scales at 13 kilograms, with his favourite food being squid.

Initially Ronnie has been working with his dedicated keeper, Nick Boyle, to build up a strong relationship between them. It is important that the Zoo's seals and their keepers have a strong bond and trust one another implicitly so that simple health checks such as examining their teeth and flippers can be performed regularly and easily.

Ronnie has also just started making cameo appearances in the Zoo's educational Seal Show presented daily where the keepers recount the Ronnie's amazing story of survival and the many pressures our marine life face in the open oceans.

The youngster has also started to meet and socialise with the other seals at Great Southern Oceans. So far he has only met Tathra, the Zoo's oldest seal, which is also a New Zealand Fur Seal. Tathra was also rescued from a beach and rehabilitated at the Wildlife Hospital. Once Ronnie develops a strong relationship with Tathra, he will slowly be introduced to the rest of the Zoo's magnificent seals.

The New Zealand Fur Seal is found in Tasmania, West Australia, South Australia and New Zealand. The species is listed as rare under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 due to their low numbers. Only a few thousand may remaining in waters around Tasmania.

Taronga and Taronga Western Plains Zoos care for 4,000 animals from over 350 species, provide conservation messages to over 1.5 million visitors and conservation education to over 100,000 school students annually.  Taronga Zoo's Wildlife hospital regularly treats marine animals restoring them to health including penguins, and endangered Green Turtles, Hawksbill Turtles and Loggerhead Turtles.

Keeper, Renae Zammit, said: "We had hoped that Petre would be able to raise the calf, but after birthing complications the new arrival struggled in the first 24 hours to stand and suckle. With only one other breeding pair of Pygmy Hippos in the Australasian region every precaution was taken to give it the best chance of survival."

Renae and fellow keeper, Tracey Roberts, have literally moved into the Zoo to care for Monifa in alternate 24 hour shifts, sleeping at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital in order to feed and tend to the youngster's every need.

"Although it is a massive undertaking, it is definitely a labour of love. She is quite an unusual looking baby, she almost doesn't look real but after months of planning for this birth, it was love at first sight," said Renae.

Currently the calf is having six daily feeds of a substitute milk formula, however such is the trust developed between the keepers and the animals in their care, Renae was able to initially milk Petra's colostorum,  a pre-milk developed by the mother which is packed with antibodies and important nutrients that boosts natural immunity.

"At first it was a battle to get Monifa to recognise the artificial teat, but it is now thriving, drinks readily from a little bowl and has nearly doubled its birth weight. The infant is such an inquisitive little thing and loves bath time; she even turns somersaults in the warm water. At the moment the youngster's life consists of feeding and sleeping. She has also just graduated from the hospital, moving into the Hippo dens full-time so she is able to smell and hear the Hippo parents. "said Renae.

The youngster will be weaned at four to six months of age. Being solitary animals, when older the little female will time share the exhibit with the adult hippos but live in a separate den complete with misting machines to keep her skin hydrated.

Zookeeping colleagues at Henry Doorley Zoo, America, named the baby. Their Pygmy Hippo born earlier this year was named 'Zammit' after Renae worked alongside their keepers during the final stages of the zoo's Pygmy Hippo pregnancy and the subsequent birth of a male calf.

Monifa is important to the regional population of eight Pygmy Hippos. Foot and Mouth Disease in European countries has restricted the importation of hoofed species making every birth significant for the local gene pool.

As Pygmy Hippos are solitary nocturnal forest dwelling creatures, little is known about them in the wild. The majority of research recorded about the species has been learned from those cared for in Zoos.

The survival of the species in Zoos is more assured than in the wild: the World Conservation Union estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 Pygmy Hippos remaining in the wild. Pygmy Hippos are primarily threatened by loss of habitat, as forests are logged and converted to farm land, and are also vulnerable to poaching, hunting, natural predators and war.

Keyword: bird show

Ripley is a Girl! (6/11/2009)

Although we’ve previously been referring to Ripley as a boy, as it turns out, he is actually a she! We found out only a few days ago.

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Ripley the Owl Rides the Cable Car (2/11/2009)

Ripley is nearly fully grown now and spending every day at Bird Show. She does require a little more attention though as she can fly well and is flying all over the place!

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Its Not Only Birds we Train at the Bird Show (30/10/2009)

Whenever somebody new starts we like to give them a project to ease them into the animal training world. For Merryn her first is an agouti rat called Oberon that she has decided, against my better judgement, to rename Cupcakes.

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Back to School for Korridge Cup (14/10/2009)

Korridge-Cup, the Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo that took a flight through suburban Mosman last week, has also been lacking a little bit of a confidence in his training sessions at Bird Show.

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New Toys for Ripley (13/10/2009)

Ripley’s starting to look more and more like an adult Barking Owl. He’s now completely covered in feathers, making him look less like a fuzz ball.

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Fly-Off Shenanigans! (9/10/2009)

Yesterday was an extremely windy day for us at the zoo, with gusts up to 60 km/hr! On days like these we modify our show as some birds struggle in those winds, but even those that have proved themselves before can find it a bit tough.

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His Name is Ripley! (6/10/2009)

Our Barking Owl chick has been with us just over a week now and is growing quickly! He is now 500 grams and that’s a lot of growth for a little owl, especially when you consider at full size they only weigh around 700 grams. We’ve also named him Ripley! Although we won’t know its sex for a while yet, but in the meantime we’re calling it a he.

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Baby Owls... They Grow Up So Fast! (25/9/2009)

This morning a Barking Owl chick arrived to be raised by zookeeper Erin and then trained for the QBE Free Flight Bird Show.

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Condors Choose Private Hatching (18/9/2009)

Our plan to study the hatching of a new Andean Condor chick using cameras in the nest boxes came unravelled today.

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Condors Do Mating Dance (16/9/2009)

We’re getting ready for what may be an interesting time down at Bird Show where Bruce and Connie, our resident pair of Andean Condors, have started showing signs they are attempting to breed.

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Lure Flying Khan (31/8/2009)

I’m currently learning how to lure fly our Peregrine Falcon Khan. We have a leather lure that we swing around and send out to Khan as he flies by. If he catches it, he wins. And Khan always wins!

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Owls, Eagles & Worms (27/8/2009)

The Conservatorium High School paid us a visit today. They came behind the scenes after spending the night at the zoo.

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Elliott Makes a Nest (14/8/2009)

Today we gave our flock of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos a phone book to play with. We hung it up on the side of their aviary and at first they weren’t too sure about it.

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Leslie the Condor Soars High (7/8/2009)

This was a very exciting week for us! Leslie, our beautiful Andean Condor, went for a huge fly above the bird show amphitheatre ‘wowing’ our visitors.

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NAIDOC Show Season Finishing Up (28/7/2009)

It’s been an exhilarating time. Thirty-three NAIDOC shows have been presented in the past month.

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Keyword: elephant

Porntip Prepares for Her Own Calf (16/11/2009)

Even before Luk Chai was born, auntie Tang Mo played an important role in preparing the mother-to-be, Thong Dee . When Thong Dee was in labour Tang Mo gave her a gentle rub on the back wiith her trunk to reassure and give her comfort. When Luk Chai arrived it took a little longer for the older elephants to get used to the newest member of the herd, but we’ve certainly noticed that they’ve now well and truly taken the boisterous young calf to heart as well as under their bellies.

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Tang Mo Waddles During the Morning Walks (9/11/2009)

In the mornings we take the girls for a walk around the paddocks to keep them fit and active. They link together like a chain, head to tail.

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Swimming with the Elephants (3/11/2009)

It was really hot today so instead of the elephants’ usual bath in the barn we decided to give them their wash down under the waterfall in the lower paddock. This was the first time we’ve been swimming with Luk Chai and he had a ball ducking under the water and dog paddling alongside Tang Mo and Thong Dee in the moat.

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Luk Chai Burst His New Ball (2/11/2009)

Over the weekend we gave Luk Chai another new ball to roll about with. This time we chose a yellow fitness ball filled with air because he loves to squash things with his belly.

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Update on Luk Chai's Father, Gung (30/10/2009)

It's been six months since our male elephant, Gung moved into his own exhibit after leaving the female herd, so here's an update on what's happening with him now.

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A wallowing good time! (22/10/2009)

When we freshened up the elephants' paddock with organic topsoil two weeks ago, the mud wallow had to be filled in. Yesterday, we created a new watery, muddy mess for the elephants to play in again.

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Rolling Around in the Paddock (16/10/2009)

The elephants are still excited with the new soil we put in the paddocks, especially Thong Dee and Tang Mo. They still can’t get enough of it and it’s been almost two weeks!

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King of the Elephant Paddock (14/10/2009)

We weighed Luk Chai on Sunday and he’s doubled his birth weight. In only three months, he now tips the scales at 206 kilos.

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Luk Chai's Bath Time Fun (8/10/2009)

Luk Chai’s got a new toy and it looks like it’s a winner! Previously we gave him a shaggy blue coloured ball, but that was so yesterday. Nowadays he’s much more interested in his new plaything - a textured purple ball which he loves mucking around with during bath time.

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Fun in the Elephant Paddock (7/10/2009)

We’ve freshened up the elephants’ paddocks with an additional layer of organic top soil and there was great excitement in the herd when they realised there was something new to sprinkle on their backs.

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Sharing Ice Treats with Mum (2/10/2009)

Yesterday Luk Chai enjoyed a massive iceblock in the barn with mum Thong Dee. The bucket-sized iceblock filled with treats was like a massive paddle pop with a bamboo stick poking out the end for Thong Dee to pick up with her trunk.

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A Splish Splash in the Bath! (30/9/2009)

Luk Chai was busy splashing around during bath time today. He sat down in the bath and used his trunk to create a commotion. He’d lift his trunk high up in the air and suddenly drop it in to the water tub, splashing water all over himself.

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A Rascal again (25/9/2009)

Luk Chai has been busy playing with the bunch of small tyres again. We hung the tyres out in the paddock on a tree branch and he does a little mock charge at them. He likes to do a bit of a run up and bump them with his head.

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Pineapple Tops (24/9/2009)

Luk Chai is learning the art of eating pineapple tops as he gradually discovers that they’re not playthings but something to eat.

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First Real Trumpet (21/9/2009)

We’ve all come to recognise Luk Chai’s little noises. When he’s excited he does a little snort-snuffle and when he’s playing with one of his favourite toys or running towards the adults he makes a high pitched “grrrr” noise.

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Another Siesta in the Paddock (18/9/2009)

Luk Chai had another nap in the paddock this morning. He fell asleep in the middle of sampling a pineapple leaf. Mum and the aunts love pineapple tops and he’s been having a nibble too. Mid-chew he shut his eyes for a nap and the pineapple leaf hung out of his mouth whilst he rested.

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Napping in the Elephant Paddock (17/9/2009)

Luk Chai has a favourite snoozing spot out in the middle of the main elephant paddock, next to the large log where he likes to crash for a nap. It’s very cute watching him. He’ll be running around outside and then all of a sudden he stops next to the log, tumbles to the ground, sliding forward on his legs to a comfy sleeping position. I’ve been calling it his ‘crash nap’!

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Swinging Tyres (16/9/2009)

The bunch of small rubber tyres we’ve hung at Luk Chai's level in the barn continues to be one of his favourite toys.

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Sharing Peanuts (11/9/2009)

Peanuts are a real treat for the elephants, so at lunch time we scattered peanuts around their paddock as part of their enrichment activities. It’s a case of first in gets the peanut and the girls quickly scout around the yard searching out the treats. Luk Chai hasn’t quite got the hang of finding the peanuts but while watching the girls he occasionally stumbles over one.

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New Games for Luk Chai! (8/9/2009)

Luk Chai has been delighting us with his playful antics with Pak Boon in the mud wallow yesterday. Pak Boon was having the greatest time rolling on her back in the mud, while Luk Chai was busy with his own game. He’d run full pelt towards her before joining in the commotion as they splashed around in the mud. Luk Chai would then hop out of the wallow to start all over again and each time Pak Boon would get all excited as he’d run towards her.

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Luk Chai Two Months Old Today! (4/9/2009)

Luk Chai is two months old today! He spent the afternoon in the dust bath with the girls as they coated themselves in dirt. He’s been mimicking mum and the aunts, trying to spray dirt on himself with his trunk. He wasn’t very successful, but he got plastered in dirt anyway. He stood under their bellies and the extra soil fell on to his back - he loved it!

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Young Calf Enjoys Ice Treats! (2/9/2009)

Luk Chai got his first taste of ice recently! With the spring-like weather we gave each of the females a massive ice treat filled with fruit and peanuts. The girls stood on the ice blocks with their feet to break the ice into small pieces and Luk Chai was close by to watch the goings on.

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Pig In Mud (1/9/2009)

Luk Chai has been having lots of fun in the mud wallow! For the past few days he’s been in it everyday with the girls as they cool off in the mud. He’s like a pig in mud the way he rolls about.

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Soccer Ball Fun (18/8/2009)

Luk Chai discovered a new toy today – a large soccer ball which the girls in the herd like to play with. He head-butted it around the yard and eventually worked out how to kick it with his foot. Luk Chai kicked the ball so hard it went flying down to their lower paddock. He stood there for a few minutes trying to work out where his ball went and I raced down to retrieve it for him. When I returned he’d already discovered a new game. The little rascal was chasing one the girls around the paddock in a game of tag.

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Knee Deep in Mud (17/8/2009)

The whole herd decided to play in the mud wallow this morning. This is the first time the Luk Chai has tried out the deeper wallow and found himself knee deep in the mud as a result. Pak Boon was particularly happy to wallow in the mud and Luk Chai seeing an opportunity to gain higher ground attempted to climb her. He wasn’t very successful as she’s one of the larger girls, but that didn’t stop him trying.

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Luk Chai is Blessed! (15/8/2009)

Our little Luk Chai received a traditional Thai blessing today from eight Monks followed by an ecumenical cermony to celebrate his birth.   The herd enjoyed their morning feed in the paddock while watching the traditional blessing ceremony which involved chanting and prayers. Luk Chai seemed quite unaware of anything unusual. He was more interested in the bamboo shoots mum was eating and seeing what mum and the aunties where up to. At the end of the ceremony Luk Chai, Thong Dee and chief aunty, Tang Mo, followed us Keepers into the barn for the final part of the ceremony. The Monks sprinkled water on Luk Chai’s head to bless him and wish him good health and success. Luk Chai was very interested in the Monks, saying hello and checking them out with his trunk. The Monks offered Luk Chai some bananas, but of course he’s not quite ready to eat them yet. Tang Mo and Thong Dee were only too happy to look after them!

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A Special Visit (14/8/2009)

A very special event today - Thong Dee and Tang Mo's former owners flew in from Thailand to attend a blessing ceremony this weekend where Luk Chai will be blessed by Buddhist monks. Tang Mo and Thong Dee had not seen their former Thai mahout for three years. The mahout, Mau, had grown up with these elephants and spent two years working alongside the Taronga team in Thailand before the elephants were imported to Australia. The elephants were at first very surprised to see him, and then affectionately surrounded him, smelling him and inspecting with their trunks. Mau spoke to them in Thai and they immediately responded, doing anything he asked. Clearly they're still very fluent in Thai! Mau said all the elephants looked incredibly healthy and he was happy for them. They introduced him to Luk Chai and Mau gave the calf a big hug, declaring him 'perfect'.

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The Calf Plays Ball Games (10/8/2009)

The calf has found a new game! We rolled an inflatable ball towards Luk Chai. After a few goes he got the hang of it and kicked the ball right back to us using his feet and trunk. Aunty Pak Boon was very interested in his new game. She kept an eye on us and wanted to have a go too, but she’s too big to play soccer with the calf just yet.

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Climbing Aunty Tang Mo (9/8/2009)

Now that Luk Chai and conquered climbing rocks, logs and a tyre, today he tried the biggest mountain of all. Mum and Tang Mo were lying on their dirt mound in the paddock and he thought it would be great fun to clamber over them. Tang Mo loved the attention. She helped him climb right over using her trunk and the calf came off her back like a slippery dip. Once he was back on the dirt mound he rushed back around to her belly to start all over again.

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Moving Logs (7/8/2009)

Luk Chai has been playing grown-ups again. During the play session, mum was tugging a huge log with her trunk and Luk Chai decided he’d have a go too. He’s been watching the other elephants push the logs around. Luk Chai tried to push the log with his trunk and feet, but of course it didn’t budge!

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Luk Chai Interrupts Aunty Pak Boon (5/8/2009)

We weighed Luk Chai this afternoon and he’s now 132 kilos!

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Luk Chai Has Unexpected Swim (3/8/2009)

Luk Chai, the elphant calf, took a sudden swim in the main moat today while he has drinking. He was using his trunk to put water in his mouth when he bent down on his knees to get closer to the water and over -balanced. There was a splash as he fell right in. Mum, Thong Dee, and aunt, Tang Mo were right there with one of the keepers. Thong Dee started to step in but the keeper helped by guiding Luk Chai's trunk to steer him in the right direction towards the steps. Luk Chai struck out strongly, climbed up the steps and out of the water. Then he thought he'd try it again but decided against it at the last minute.

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Luk Chai Has Stubble (31/7/2009)

I just stroked Luk Chai on his back to say hello and noticed he’s a little prickly! He’s loves spending time underneath mum and the auntie’s bellies. He’s there so often that he’s lost a few baby hairs from rubbing his back across their tummies.

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Calf Enjoys Water Games (30/7/2009)

Luk Chai shared mum’s drink of water this morning. Thong Dee was having a drink of water from the hose and Luk Chai thought it was a great game. He got really excited by the big drops of water falling onto his trunk and stood right under her chin to catch the drips. There was more water games later in the morning. After the warm baths in the barn he then had fun deliberately skating across the rubberised floor.

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Now 122 Kilos! (29/7/2009)

Our little Luk Chai is putting on the kilos! We weighed him again today and in seven days he’s put on another seven kilos. He knows exactly what to do at the scales now. Tang Mo hopped on and Luk Chai waited patiently for his turn. Without help, he climbed on and got off to give mum a turn. He spent most of the day practicing his climbing abilities. Now that he can climb the logs and rocks he’s been focusing his attention on a tractor tyre. Today he had success and got all four legs in to the middle of the tyre. He’s learnt the technique of climbing this awkward shape so he can now climb in and out of the tyre fairly quickly.

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Elephant calf named Luk Chai! (27/7/2009)

Thong Dee’s little calf has a name! We’ve named him “Luk Chai”. After going through over 30,000 entires that you all put forward in the naming competition, us keepers decided to go with “Luk Chai”. It’s pronounced Look- Chai.

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A Little Prince (26/7/2009)

The calf’s been busy climbing again and has mastered the art of getting over the rocks in the paddock. He’d been practicing last week and now he's got the hang of climbing over them.

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A Little Rascal (23/7/2009)

The calf's been busy trying to climb the rocks in the paddock. He's mastered getting on top of the logs and now he's trying the rocks which are as tall as him.

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Tipping the Scales At 116 Kilos! (22/7/2009)

We weighed the calf and he's now 116 kilos. So he's putting on around a kilo a day!

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Calf Having a Ball (21/7/2009)

Our little water baby took the plunge this morning! He went for a swim in the top paddock’s moat for the first time.

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Elephant Calf's Waterfall Adventure (20/7/2009)

Thong Dee’s little calf is becoming more active everyday and we’re all a little surprised at how quickly he’s developing!

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Blowing Bubbles on His Own (17/7/2009)

The calf's getting more and more independent and is starting to spend time on his own in the top paddock.

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Elephant Calf Enjoys His Toys at Bathtime (16/7/2009)

He's loving his custom made baby elephant pool, which was cut down from a big plastic tank.

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On the Scales (15/7/2009)

He was weighed again today after a little hike in the lower paddock with his mum and Aunty Tang Mo, keeping up really well.

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Calf Brings Joy During Endless Play (14/7/2009)

The calf's already been out exploring both paddocks and it seems his favourite thing to do is play in the dirt.

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Calf Learns Elephant Manners (13/7/2009)

Our little calf is becoming more adventurous every day and is spending lots of time in the top paddock now.

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Calf Plays Tug o-War (12/7/2009)

We weighed the calf again today and he's now 100 kilos. That?s four kilos he's put on in under a week!

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Exploring the Top Paddock for the First Time (11/7/2009)

The calf, mum and aunty Tang Mo explored the top paddock for the first time with us keepers this morning.

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Demolishing Dirt Mounds with Aunty Tang Mo (10/7/2009)

This morning we took the calf out for another walk in the lower paddock.

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Sharing a Bath with Mum (10/7/2009)

Thong Dee is having a bath, so the calf is having a bath by default too!

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Calf Plays Grownups (9/7/2009)

Thong Dee had her first long sleep since the baby’s arrival last night. Tang Mo played baby watcher as Thong Dee slept for five hours straight.

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Calf Tries the Mud Wallow (9/7/2009)

We took them outside for a walk just now and the adventurous calf ran towards to Aunty Porntip who accidentally bumped the little fellow, making him fall over.

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Exploring the Lower Paddock (9/7/2009)

When the sun came out after lunch we went for another walk to the Lower Paddock.

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Enjoying a Warm Bath (8/7/2009)

ur little calf enjoyed his first real bath with mum and aunty Tang Mo inside the barn.

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Calf Spends Time With Aunty Pak Boon (8/7/2009)

All three aunties and Thong Dee spent the afternoon in the lower paddock with the calf.

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Taronga’s Elephant Calf Discovers Puddles (8/7/2009)

He just went for a short walk with all the aunties this morning in the lower paddock.

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Learning to use his trunk (7/7/2009)

He has just used his little trunk to pick up a pineapple top for the first time! He'd been trying to do this during in mum's morning feed, poking the pineapple tops with his trunk, but now he's already learnt how to pick it up.

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Thong Dee gets her first proper nap (7/7/2009)

We watched Thong Dee have her first proper nap lying down last night. It was beautiful. The calf lay between her front legs with Tang Mo just next door.

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More time outside and calf got his first toy (7/7/2009)

We took the calf for its third walk today. Mum Thong Dee decided to try climbing a hill and the calf tried to follow. He made a really good attempt but had a little stumble. Thong Dee turned straight back and continued on flat ground.

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It has been a big morning (6/7/2009)

We introduced the calf to the matriarch of the herd Porntip. She was a little nervous as the calf walked up to check her out. The calf then met Pak Boon, another aunty, who was more confident about saying hello, but she too didn't quite know what to make of the new calf.

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Third walk (6/7/2009)

Thong Dee was happier about leaving the security of the barn with her calf at her side. Us keepers and Tang Mo helped Thong Dee walk the calf right down to the lower paddock. When we got there Thong Dee and Tang Mo ate some hay and the calf stayed close to the two girls.

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Introduced the calf to Tang Mo (5/7/2009)

This morning we introduced the calf to one of the aunties, Thong Dee’s best friend, Tang Mo. The introduction went really really well. Tang Mo is being very protective of the calf already.

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First walk outside (5/7/2009)

We helped the calf go for his first walk outside this afternoon with mother Thong Dee and Aunty Tang Mo. He was very strong and kept up with mum and Tang Mo, but Thong Dee was reluctant to leave the security of the barn, so they were outside only very briefly. After that he went back into the warm barn were he is spending most of the time.

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It's a boy ! (4/7/2009)

Mum and the baby are doing well. Thong Dee's maternal instincts are kicking in and she's being very protective of the newborn.

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Just Like His Father (4/7/2009)

The little calf has just done a little backwards moonwalk exactly like his father, Gung does sometimes. We certainly know who his Dad is!

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Thong Dee gives newborn first dust bath (4/7/2009)

This afternoon the calf has got really use to suckling from Thong Dee. Once the calf got the hang of it he fed on and off for the rest of the day.

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Thong Dee bathtime (1/7/2009)

Thong Dee is treated to a warm bath at Taronga Zoo while keepers get ready for her impending birth.

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The waiting game continues (25/6/2009)

We're still playing the waiting game here at the Elephant Barn, and while most things have remained the same with the rest of the herd we have noticed Thong Dee behaving a little differently.

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Thong Dee trades-up her food (24/6/2009)

Pregnant Asian elephant Thong Dee trades-up her food. Thong Dee passes a pineapple top to her keeper in exchange for vegetable food treats such as sweet potato. http://taronga.org.au/elephants

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Getting ready for the big day (17/6/2009)

After years of planning and around 22 months’ gestation, our Asian Elephant Thong Dee is almost ready to give birth to her first calf. Find out what Taronga’s vets and keepers have been doing to make sure everything goes smoothly.

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Daily hormone tests (4/5/2009)

Today we started doing daily hormone tests with Thong Dee to monitor a particular hormone which will help us predict when she's getting close to giving birth.

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Biggest birth yet (28/4/2009)

I'm one of ten keepers that look after our five Asian Elephants at Taronga Zoo. We have four females and one bull elephant which we care for. Three of the females are pregnant, with one of the girls, Thong Dee, expecting any time now. Elephants have the longest gestation period of all mammals (22 months) so it's been a long time coming for Thong Dee and we're sure that she'll be relieved when it's over.

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Keyword: chimpanzee

Dotting the i's and crossing the t's (5/11/2009)

Well, we are definitely getting down to the sharp end of things here in the Orang house in order to receive our Chimpanzees, and pretty much all the “ï’s” have been dotted and all the “t’s” crossed on the various plans and procedures that we have developed for the move.

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Status and Presence Chimpanzee Style (3/11/2009)

Last week was a fairly quiet week in social terms within our community. This is most likely down to the weather. It has not been the most pleasant and Chimpanzees, just like humans, tend to hunker down and ride out the more miserable conditions.

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Reconciliation between Lubutu and Chimbuka (23/10/2009)

There have been fantastic developments (for us keepers) within the male politics of Taronga’s Chimpanzee community. This week we saw an apparent reconciliation between Lubutu and Chimbuka. Both males were engaged in intense mutual grooming.

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Challenges to Lubutu's Leadership (12/10/2009)

This week has been a great reminder for all of us who work with Chimpanzees.

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Not Long Now (2/10/2009)

Planning for the move is continuing at an increasingly frantic pace. Plans for which groups will move house together and in what order are pretty much finalised in our minds. What the Chimps think about all this we will see later on!

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Moving House Chimp Style (24/9/2009)

Our two Orang-utans have moved out. In a big step in the renovation of the Chimpanzee exhibit, they’ve gone to their new off-exhibit home so work modifying the side of the Orang House can go at full speed.

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Introducing the Chimpanzee Family at Taronga! (14/9/2009)

My name is Allan and I am a Senior Keeper working in the Primate section here at Taronga Zoo. Even with all the amazing things that I have seen, I can honestly say that the continuing highlight of my career has been caring for the Chimpanzee community here at Taronga Zoo. Most people know that Taronga has Chimpanzees but few realise just how special our group is. And it's not just numbers, although having 19 Chimpanzees is something that many Zoos would aspire to. It’s the fact that Taronga’s Chimpanzees live as close as it is possible to the way Chimpanzees live in the wild, in a large, complex community. I often think that our Chimpanzees could make one of the best-ever soap operas!

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Keyword: taronga western plains zoo

Zoo's African Elephants cool off in the pool (19/11/2009)

As the temperature in Dubbo hovers above 35 degrees everyday this week the African Elephants decided to take full advantage of the hot weather by going for a swim in their pool.

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Warm weather sees birth of Bison calf (13/11/2009)

In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday this week, the Zoo welcomed a male Bison calf into the world.

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Handraising three bundles of joy is hard work (12/11/2009)

Currently two male Eastern Grey joeys and a male Swamp Wallaby are in my care being hand raised.

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Juvenile Barking Owl gets a helping hand (11/11/2009)

Currently we are caring for a young Barking Owl who was brought into the Taronga Western Plains Zoo Wildlife Hospital by a WIRES carer.

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Zoo's oldest Giraffe celebrates a birthday (20/10/2009)

Today is a special day at Taronga Western Plains Zoo as our oldest Giraffe, Andrea turns 24. Andrea is the oldest of three generations of Giraffe which are all on exhibit together at the Zoo.

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Andrea Giraffe turns 24 (19/10/2009)

Today is a special day at Taronga Western Plains Zoo as our oldest Giraffe, Andrea turns 24. Andrea is the oldest of three generations of Giraffe which are all on exhibit together at the Zoo.

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Red Kangaroo Joey gets a helping hand (16/10/2009)

Freddie the Red Kangaroo Joey came into the Zoo's Wildlife Hospital at about 11 months of age.

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A Stripy Arrival (7/10/2009)

We are all very excited by the arrival of a little filly Zebra foal. The foal has been named Zahra which means flower in Swahili.

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Koala Joeys Make their Debut Out of the Pouch (30/9/2009)

Meet Allambie and Lilli Pilli, our two Koala joeys which have just made their debut out of the pouch. The pair are between 10 to 12 months of age and are becoming more independent as they grow. Allambie is a bit shy and is not to fond of the keepers while Lilli Pilli is the opposite and often enjoys some leaves held up by the keeper for her to munch.

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Spring Has Sprung with The First Babies at the Zoo (25/9/2009)

Keepers today started their usual morning rounds only to find three tiny Barbary Sheep lambs had been born overnight. The mothers and their lambs are all doing well and we've already seen the young ones suckling from mum which is a great sign. The babies are very cute and are hiding in the rocky areas on the exhibit with mum keeping a close eye but over coming days they will start to get a bit more adventurous.

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Tasmanian Devil Joeys Becoming Explorers (23/9/2009)

The Tasmanian Devil joeys at Taronga Western Plains Zoo are becoming more independent as each day passes. All four joeys are still tending to be more nocturnal, only coming out from hiding in the late afternoon. They're very curious characters and are starting to explore their area at night on their own. Mum's pretty happy to watch them from a safe distance, letting them get into all kinds of mischief.

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Endangered Foursome Growing Up Fast (16/9/2009)

Meet our four African Wild Dog pups which are growing up fast!

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Zoos mercy mission for Devils (19/12/2008)

The Tasmanian Devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world and is found in the wild only in Tasmania.

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Keyword: taronga zoo

Porntip Prepares for Her Own Calf (16/11/2009)

Even before Luk Chai was born, auntie Tang Mo played an important role in preparing the mother-to-be, Thong Dee . When Thong Dee was in labour Tang Mo gave her a gentle rub on the back wiith her trunk to reassure and give her comfort. When Luk Chai arrived it took a little longer for the older elephants to get used to the newest member of the herd, but we’ve certainly noticed that they’ve now well and truly taken the boisterous young calf to heart as well as under their bellies.

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Taronga's Involvement in Year of the Gorilla (16/11/2009)

We have nine Western Lowland Gorillas at Taronga Zoo. In every gorilla society there is a dominant male called the silverback and our silverback is the very impressive Kibabu who weighs over 200 kg. Also in his family are his three females, Moulia, Kriba and Frala, and then we have our juveniles Mbeli, Fataki and Kimya not to mention our two newest family members Fuzu and Mahale, (both very cute and both very different in personality). Over the coming weeks I will try and update you on our family group and what they have been up to.

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Willa the Swamp Wallaby has a New Mum (11/11/2009)

Willa is a 7 month old Swamp Wallaby and cute as a button. Up until now Willa has been cared for by Inspector Skye Adams at the RSPCA. Her life is now beginning at the zoo and when she is big enough she will be introduced to the other wallabies in our Australian Walk Through exhibit.

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Tang Mo Waddles During the Morning Walks (9/11/2009)

In the mornings we take the girls for a walk around the paddocks to keep them fit and active. They link together like a chain, head to tail.

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Ripley is a Girl! (6/11/2009)

Although we’ve previously been referring to Ripley as a boy, as it turns out, he is actually a she! We found out only a few days ago.

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Taronga's Wild Support for International Day of Climate Change (6/11/2009)

Taronga's remarkable animals and dedicated staff took action against global warming by getting involved in International Day of Climate Action on October 24.

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Dotting the i's and crossing the t's (5/11/2009)

Well, we are definitely getting down to the sharp end of things here in the Orang house in order to receive our Chimpanzees, and pretty much all the “ï’s” have been dotted and all the “t’s” crossed on the various plans and procedures that we have developed for the move.

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Status and Presence Chimpanzee Style (3/11/2009)

Last week was a fairly quiet week in social terms within our community. This is most likely down to the weather. It has not been the most pleasant and Chimpanzees, just like humans, tend to hunker down and ride out the more miserable conditions.

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Swimming with the Elephants (3/11/2009)

It was really hot today so instead of the elephants’ usual bath in the barn we decided to give them their wash down under the waterfall in the lower paddock. This was the first time we’ve been swimming with Luk Chai and he had a ball ducking under the water and dog paddling alongside Tang Mo and Thong Dee in the moat.

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Luk Chai Burst His New Ball (2/11/2009)

Over the weekend we gave Luk Chai another new ball to roll about with. This time we chose a yellow fitness ball filled with air because he loves to squash things with his belly.

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Ripley the Owl Rides the Cable Car (2/11/2009)

Ripley is nearly fully grown now and spending every day at Bird Show. She does require a little more attention though as she can fly well and is flying all over the place!

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Its Not Only Birds we Train at the Bird Show (30/10/2009)

Whenever somebody new starts we like to give them a project to ease them into the animal training world. For Merryn her first is an agouti rat called Oberon that she has decided, against my better judgement, to rename Cupcakes.

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Update on Luk Chai's Father, Gung (30/10/2009)

It's been six months since our male elephant, Gung moved into his own exhibit after leaving the female herd, so here's an update on what's happening with him now.

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Reconciliation between Lubutu and Chimbuka (23/10/2009)

There have been fantastic developments (for us keepers) within the male politics of Taronga’s Chimpanzee community. This week we saw an apparent reconciliation between Lubutu and Chimbuka. Both males were engaged in intense mutual grooming.

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A wallowing good time! (22/10/2009)

When we freshened up the elephants' paddock with organic topsoil two weeks ago, the mud wallow had to be filled in. Yesterday, we created a new watery, muddy mess for the elephants to play in again.

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Piglets Latest in Backyard to Bush Baby Boom (20/10/2009)

Springtime at Backyard to Bush has arrived along with bouncing baby animals, from tiny fluffy chicks to cute goat kids.

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Rolling Around in the Paddock (16/10/2009)

The elephants are still excited with the new soil we put in the paddocks, especially Thong Dee and Tang Mo. They still can’t get enough of it and it’s been almost two weeks!

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King of the Elephant Paddock (14/10/2009)

We weighed Luk Chai on Sunday and he’s doubled his birth weight. In only three months, he now tips the scales at 206 kilos.

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Back to School for Korridge Cup (14/10/2009)

Korridge-Cup, the Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo that took a flight through suburban Mosman last week, has also been lacking a little bit of a confidence in his training sessions at Bird Show.

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New Toys for Ripley (13/10/2009)

Ripley’s starting to look more and more like an adult Barking Owl. He’s now completely covered in feathers, making him look less like a fuzz ball.

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Challenges to Lubutu's Leadership (12/10/2009)

This week has been a great reminder for all of us who work with Chimpanzees.

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Fly-Off Shenanigans! (9/10/2009)

Yesterday was an extremely windy day for us at the zoo, with gusts up to 60 km/hr! On days like these we modify our show as some birds struggle in those winds, but even those that have proved themselves before can find it a bit tough.

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Luk Chai's Bath Time Fun (8/10/2009)

Luk Chai’s got a new toy and it looks like it’s a winner! Previously we gave him a shaggy blue coloured ball, but that was so yesterday. Nowadays he’s much more interested in his new plaything - a textured purple ball which he loves mucking around with during bath time.

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Fun in the Elephant Paddock (7/10/2009)

We’ve freshened up the elephants’ paddocks with an additional layer of organic top soil and there was great excitement in the herd when they realised there was something new to sprinkle on their backs.

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His Name is Ripley! (6/10/2009)

Our Barking Owl chick has been with us just over a week now and is growing quickly! He is now 500 grams and that’s a lot of growth for a little owl, especially when you consider at full size they only weigh around 700 grams. We’ve also named him Ripley! Although we won’t know its sex for a while yet, but in the meantime we’re calling it a he.

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Not Long Now (2/10/2009)

Planning for the move is continuing at an increasingly frantic pace. Plans for which groups will move house together and in what order are pretty much finalised in our minds. What the Chimps think about all this we will see later on!

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Sharing Ice Treats with Mum (2/10/2009)

Yesterday Luk Chai enjoyed a massive iceblock in the barn with mum Thong Dee. The bucket-sized iceblock filled with treats was like a massive paddle pop with a bamboo stick poking out the end for Thong Dee to pick up with her trunk.

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Big Lady Makes a Splash! (2/10/2009)

Today we released the 100 kilogram Green Turtle, ‘Big Lady’ that we have been looking after at the Wildlife Hospital.

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A Splish Splash in the Bath! (30/9/2009)

Luk Chai was busy splashing around during bath time today. He sat down in the bath and used his trunk to create a commotion. He’d lift his trunk high up in the air and suddenly drop it in to the water tub, splashing water all over himself.

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A Rascal again (25/9/2009)

Luk Chai has been busy playing with the bunch of small tyres again. We hung the tyres out in the paddock on a tree branch and he does a little mock charge at them. He likes to do a bit of a run up and bump them with his head.

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Baby Owls... They Grow Up So Fast! (25/9/2009)

This morning a Barking Owl chick arrived to be raised by zookeeper Erin and then trained for the QBE Free Flight Bird Show.

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Year of the Gorilla (25/9/2009)

Hi everyone just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Lisa and I'm a primate keeper. This year is ‘Year of the Gorilla’ and to raise awareness about the plight of this species we’re supporting a mobile phone recycling program because a rare mineral called coltan is used in manufacturing of mobile phones.

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Moving House Chimp Style (24/9/2009)

Our two Orang-utans have moved out. In a big step in the renovation of the Chimpanzee exhibit, they’ve gone to their new off-exhibit home so work modifying the side of the Orang House can go at full speed.

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Pineapple Tops (24/9/2009)

Luk Chai is learning the art of eating pineapple tops as he gradually discovers that they’re not playthings but something to eat.

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First Real Trumpet (21/9/2009)

We’ve all come to recognise Luk Chai’s little noises. When he’s excited he does a little snort-snuffle and when he’s playing with one of his favourite toys or running towards the adults he makes a high pitched “grrrr” noise.

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Another Siesta in the Paddock (18/9/2009)

Luk Chai had another nap in the paddock this morning. He fell asleep in the middle of sampling a pineapple leaf. Mum and the aunts love pineapple tops and he’s been having a nibble too. Mid-chew he shut his eyes for a nap and the pineapple leaf hung out of his mouth whilst he rested.

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Eve the Goat has Twins! (18/9/2009)

Spring is certainly here at the Backyard to Bush where Amy the goat gave birth to three kids late last month and her friend Eve had twins yesterday!

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Napping in the Elephant Paddock (17/9/2009)

Luk Chai has a favourite snoozing spot out in the middle of the main elephant paddock, next to the large log where he likes to crash for a nap. It’s very cute watching him. He’ll be running around outside and then all of a sudden he stops next to the log, tumbles to the ground, sliding forward on his legs to a comfy sleeping position. I’ve been calling it his ‘crash nap’!

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Condors Do Mating Dance (16/9/2009)

We’re getting ready for what may be an interesting time down at Bird Show where Bruce and Connie, our resident pair of Andean Condors, have started showing signs they are attempting to breed.

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Swinging Tyres (16/9/2009)

The bunch of small rubber tyres we’ve hung at Luk Chai's level in the barn continues to be one of his favourite toys.

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Introducing the Chimpanzee Family at Taronga! (14/9/2009)

My name is Allan and I am a Senior Keeper working in the Primate section here at Taronga Zoo. Even with all the amazing things that I have seen, I can honestly say that the continuing highlight of my career has been caring for the Chimpanzee community here at Taronga Zoo. Most people know that Taronga has Chimpanzees but few realise just how special our group is. And it's not just numbers, although having 19 Chimpanzees is something that many Zoos would aspire to. It’s the fact that Taronga’s Chimpanzees live as close as it is possible to the way Chimpanzees live in the wild, in a large, complex community. I often think that our Chimpanzees could make one of the best-ever soap operas!

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Sumatran Tiger Satu Gets A Visit From The Dentist (14/9/2009)

Our male Sumatran tiger ‘Satu’ recently broke one of his molar teeth. It’s quite common in the wild, but at the Zoo we usually only see this once in a while.

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Sharing Peanuts (11/9/2009)

Peanuts are a real treat for the elephants, so at lunch time we scattered peanuts around their paddock as part of their enrichment activities. It’s a case of first in gets the peanut and the girls quickly scout around the yard searching out the treats. Luk Chai hasn’t quite got the hang of finding the peanuts but while watching the girls he occasionally stumbles over one.

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New Games for Luk Chai! (8/9/2009)

Luk Chai has been delighting us with his playful antics with Pak Boon in the mud wallow yesterday. Pak Boon was having the greatest time rolling on her back in the mud, while Luk Chai was busy with his own game. He’d run full pelt towards her before joining in the commotion as they splashed around in the mud. Luk Chai would then hop out of the wallow to start all over again and each time Pak Boon would get all excited as he’d run towards her.

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Luk Chai Two Months Old Today! (4/9/2009)

Luk Chai is two months old today! He spent the afternoon in the dust bath with the girls as they coated themselves in dirt. He’s been mimicking mum and the aunts, trying to spray dirt on himself with his trunk. He wasn’t very successful, but he got plastered in dirt anyway. He stood under their bellies and the extra soil fell on to his back - he loved it!

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A Zippy Bouncy Bundle of June (2/9/2009)

Meet June (named after legendary songstress June Carter), our first new addition to the Red-necked Wallaby collection here at Taronga Zoo for this year. She was born in January to mum Emmy-Lou and dad Jed.

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Young Calf Enjoys Ice Treats! (2/9/2009)

Luk Chai got his first taste of ice recently! With the spring-like weather we gave each of the females a massive ice treat filled with fruit and peanuts. The girls stood on the ice blocks with their feet to break the ice into small pieces and Luk Chai was close by to watch the goings on.

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Pig In Mud (1/9/2009)

Luk Chai has been having lots of fun in the mud wallow! For the past few days he’s been in it everyday with the girls as they cool off in the mud. He’s like a pig in mud the way he rolls about.

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Lure Flying Khan (31/8/2009)

I’m currently learning how to lure fly our Peregrine Falcon Khan. We have a leather lure that we swing around and send out to Khan as he flies by. If he catches it, he wins. And Khan always wins!

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Spring Brings Koala Joey Out of the Pouch (28/8/2009)

Spring-like weather has given sharp-eyed Taronga visitors a chance to glimpse Lincoln, a six month old koala joey which has just started to spend most of his time outside of his mother’s pouch.

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Owls, Eagles & Worms (27/8/2009)

The Conservatorium High School paid us a visit today. They came behind the scenes after spending the night at the zoo.

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Soccer Ball Fun (18/8/2009)

Luk Chai discovered a new toy today – a large soccer ball which the girls in the herd like to play with. He head-butted it around the yard and eventually worked out how to kick it with his foot. Luk Chai kicked the ball so hard it went flying down to their lower paddock. He stood there for a few minutes trying to work out where his ball went and I raced down to retrieve it for him. When I returned he’d already discovered a new game. The little rascal was chasing one the girls around the paddock in a game of tag.

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Knee Deep in Mud (17/8/2009)

The whole herd decided to play in the mud wallow this morning. This is the first time the Luk Chai has tried out the deeper wallow and found himself knee deep in the mud as a result. Pak Boon was particularly happy to wallow in the mud and Luk Chai seeing an opportunity to gain higher ground attempted to climb her. He wasn’t very successful as she’s one of the larger girls, but that didn’t stop him trying.

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Luk Chai is Blessed! (15/8/2009)

Our little Luk Chai received a traditional Thai blessing today from eight Monks followed by an ecumenical cermony to celebrate his birth.   The herd enjoyed their morning feed in the paddock while watching the traditional blessing ceremony which involved chanting and prayers. Luk Chai seemed quite unaware of anything unusual. He was more interested in the bamboo shoots mum was eating and seeing what mum and the aunties where up to. At the end of the ceremony Luk Chai, Thong Dee and chief aunty, Tang Mo, followed us Keepers into the barn for the final part of the ceremony. The Monks sprinkled water on Luk Chai’s head to bless him and wish him good health and success. Luk Chai was very interested in the Monks, saying hello and checking them out with his trunk. The Monks offered Luk Chai some bananas, but of course he’s not quite ready to eat them yet. Tang Mo and Thong Dee were only too happy to look after them!

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A Special Visit (14/8/2009)

A very special event today - Thong Dee and Tang Mo's former owners flew in from Thailand to attend a blessing ceremony this weekend where Luk Chai will be blessed by Buddhist monks. Tang Mo and Thong Dee had not seen their former Thai mahout for three years. The mahout, Mau, had grown up with these elephants and spent two years working alongside the Taronga team in Thailand before the elephants were imported to Australia. The elephants were at first very surprised to see him, and then affectionately surrounded him, smelling him and inspecting with their trunks. Mau spoke to them in Thai and they immediately responded, doing anything he asked. Clearly they're still very fluent in Thai! Mau said all the elephants looked incredibly healthy and he was happy for them. They introduced him to Luk Chai and Mau gave the calf a big hug, declaring him 'perfect'.

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Elliott Makes a Nest (14/8/2009)

Today we gave our flock of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos a phone book to play with. We hung it up on the side of their aviary and at first they weren’t too sure about it.

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The Calf Plays Ball Games (10/8/2009)

The calf has found a new game! We rolled an inflatable ball towards Luk Chai. After a few goes he got the hang of it and kicked the ball right back to us using his feet and trunk. Aunty Pak Boon was very interested in his new game. She kept an eye on us and wanted to have a go too, but she’s too big to play soccer with the calf just yet.

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Climbing Aunty Tang Mo (9/8/2009)

Now that Luk Chai and conquered climbing rocks, logs and a tyre, today he tried the biggest mountain of all. Mum and Tang Mo were lying on their dirt mound in the paddock and he thought it would be great fun to clamber over them. Tang Mo loved the attention. She helped him climb right over using her trunk and the calf came off her back like a slippery dip. Once he was back on the dirt mound he rushed back around to her belly to start all over again.

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Moving Logs (7/8/2009)

Luk Chai has been playing grown-ups again. During the play session, mum was tugging a huge log with her trunk and Luk Chai decided he’d have a go too. He’s been watching the other elephants push the logs around. Luk Chai tried to push the log with his trunk and feet, but of course it didn’t budge!

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Leslie the Condor Soars High (7/8/2009)

This was a very exciting week for us! Leslie, our beautiful Andean Condor, went for a huge fly above the bird show amphitheatre ‘wowing’ our visitors.

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Luk Chai Interrupts Aunty Pak Boon (5/8/2009)

We weighed Luk Chai this afternoon and he’s now 132 kilos!

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Luk Chai Has Stubble (31/7/2009)

I just stroked Luk Chai on his back to say hello and noticed he’s a little prickly! He’s loves spending time underneath mum and the auntie’s bellies. He’s there so often that he’s lost a few baby hairs from rubbing his back across their tummies.

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NAIDOC Show Season Finishing Up (28/7/2009)

It’s been an exhilarating time. Thirty-three NAIDOC shows have been presented in the past month.

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Elephant calf named Luk Chai! (27/7/2009)

Thong Dee’s little calf has a name! We’ve named him “Luk Chai”. After going through over 30,000 entires that you all put forward in the naming competition, us keepers decided to go with “Luk Chai”. It’s pronounced Look- Chai.

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A Little Prince (26/7/2009)

The calf’s been busy climbing again and has mastered the art of getting over the rocks in the paddock. He’d been practicing last week and now he's got the hang of climbing over them.

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A Little Rascal (23/7/2009)

The calf's been busy trying to climb the rocks in the paddock. He's mastered getting on top of the logs and now he's trying the rocks which are as tall as him.

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Tipping the Scales At 116 Kilos! (22/7/2009)

We weighed the calf and he's now 116 kilos. So he's putting on around a kilo a day!

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Blowing Bubbles on His Own (17/7/2009)

The calf's getting more and more independent and is starting to spend time on his own in the top paddock.

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Elephant Calf Enjoys His Toys at Bathtime (16/7/2009)

He's loving his custom made baby elephant pool, which was cut down from a big plastic tank.

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On the Scales (15/7/2009)

He was weighed again today after a little hike in the lower paddock with his mum and Aunty Tang Mo, keeping up really well.

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Calf Brings Joy During Endless Play (14/7/2009)

The calf's already been out exploring both paddocks and it seems his favourite thing to do is play in the dirt.

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Calf Learns Elephant Manners (13/7/2009)

Our little calf is becoming more adventurous every day and is spending lots of time in the top paddock now.

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Calf Plays Tug o-War (12/7/2009)

We weighed the calf again today and he's now 100 kilos. That?s four kilos he's put on in under a week!

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Exploring the Top Paddock for the First Time (11/7/2009)

The calf, mum and aunty Tang Mo explored the top paddock for the first time with us keepers this morning.

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Demolishing Dirt Mounds with Aunty Tang Mo (10/7/2009)

This morning we took the calf out for another walk in the lower paddock.

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Sharing a Bath with Mum (10/7/2009)

Thong Dee is having a bath, so the calf is having a bath by default too!

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Calf Plays Grownups (9/7/2009)

Thong Dee had her first long sleep since the baby’s arrival last night. Tang Mo played baby watcher as Thong Dee slept for five hours straight.

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Calf Tries the Mud Wallow (9/7/2009)

We took them outside for a walk just now and the adventurous calf ran towards to Aunty Porntip who accidentally bumped the little fellow, making him fall over.

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Exploring the Lower Paddock (9/7/2009)

When the sun came out after lunch we went for another walk to the Lower Paddock.

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Enjoying a Warm Bath (8/7/2009)

ur little calf enjoyed his first real bath with mum and aunty Tang Mo inside the barn.

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Calf Spends Time With Aunty Pak Boon (8/7/2009)

All three aunties and Thong Dee spent the afternoon in the lower paddock with the calf.

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Taronga’s Elephant Calf Discovers Puddles (8/7/2009)

He just went for a short walk with all the aunties this morning in the lower paddock.

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Learning to use his trunk (7/7/2009)

He has just used his little trunk to pick up a pineapple top for the first time! He'd been trying to do this during in mum's morning feed, poking the pineapple tops with his trunk, but now he's already learnt how to pick it up.

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Thong Dee gets her first proper nap (7/7/2009)

We watched Thong Dee have her first proper nap lying down last night. It was beautiful. The calf lay between her front legs with Tang Mo just next door.

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More time outside and calf got his first toy (7/7/2009)

We took the calf for its third walk today. Mum Thong Dee decided to try climbing a hill and the calf tried to follow. He made a really good attempt but had a little stumble. Thong Dee turned straight back and continued on flat ground.

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It has been a big morning (6/7/2009)

We introduced the calf to the matriarch of the herd Porntip. She was a little nervous as the calf walked up to check her out. The calf then met Pak Boon, another aunty, who was more confident about saying hello, but she too didn't quite know what to make of the new calf.

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Third walk (6/7/2009)

Thong Dee was happier about leaving the security of the barn with her calf at her side. Us keepers and Tang Mo helped Thong Dee walk the calf right down to the lower paddock. When we got there Thong Dee and Tang Mo ate some hay and the calf stayed close to the two girls.

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Introduced the calf to Tang Mo (5/7/2009)

This morning we introduced the calf to one of the aunties, Thong Dee’s best friend, Tang Mo. The introduction went really really well. Tang Mo is being very protective of the calf already.

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First walk outside (5/7/2009)

We helped the calf go for his first walk outside this afternoon with mother Thong Dee and Aunty Tang Mo. He was very strong and kept up with mum and Tang Mo, but Thong Dee was reluctant to leave the security of the barn, so they were outside only very briefly. After that he went back into the warm barn were he is spending most of the time.

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It's a boy ! (4/7/2009)

Mum and the baby are doing well. Thong Dee's maternal instincts are kicking in and she's being very protective of the newborn.

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Just Like His Father (4/7/2009)

The little calf has just done a little backwards moonwalk exactly like his father, Gung does sometimes. We certainly know who his Dad is!

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Thong Dee gives newborn first dust bath (4/7/2009)

This afternoon the calf has got really use to suckling from Thong Dee. Once the calf got the hang of it he fed on and off for the rest of the day.

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Thong Dee bathtime (1/7/2009)

Thong Dee is treated to a warm bath at Taronga Zoo while keepers get ready for her impending birth.

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The waiting game continues (25/6/2009)

We're still playing the waiting game here at the Elephant Barn, and while most things have remained the same with the rest of the herd we have noticed Thong Dee behaving a little differently.

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Thong Dee trades-up her food (24/6/2009)

Pregnant Asian elephant Thong Dee trades-up her food. Thong Dee passes a pineapple top to her keeper in exchange for vegetable food treats such as sweet potato. http://taronga.org.au/elephants

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Getting ready for the big day (17/6/2009)

After years of planning and around 22 months’ gestation, our Asian Elephant Thong Dee is almost ready to give birth to her first calf. Find out what Taronga’s vets and keepers have been doing to make sure everything goes smoothly.

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Daily hormone tests (4/5/2009)

Today we started doing daily hormone tests with Thong Dee to monitor a particular hormone which will help us predict when she's getting close to giving birth.

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Biggest birth yet (28/4/2009)

I'm one of ten keepers that look after our five Asian Elephants at Taronga Zoo. We have four females and one bull elephant which we care for. Three of the females are pregnant, with one of the girls, Thong Dee, expecting any time now. Elephants have the longest gestation period of all mammals (22 months) so it's been a long time coming for Thong Dee and we're sure that she'll be relieved when it's over.

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Matari the Wombat Dropped Off at Taronga's Doorstep (22/1/2009)

I became Matari’s surrogate mum in early January when he was only about six months old. He was under-weight, stressed and had lost patches of fur.

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Pygmy Hippo Baby Fascinates Keepers (19/12/2008)

Monifa means 'I am lucky' in Nigerian. She was born in the early hours of October 15 to first-time mother, 'Petre' and father 'Timmy'. However after a difficult breach birth, the Zoo's dedicated keepers made the decision to intervene and hand-raise the precious female calf.

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Lucky Seal Survivor Now Calls Taronga Home (19/12/2008)

A rare juvenile New Zealand Fur Seal which was attacked by a shark has survived against all odds to find a new home at Taronga Zoo's Great Southern Oceans exhibit.

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Gorilla Baby Update (19/12/2008)

Taronga Zoo's Western Lowland Gorilla group welcomed a brand new addition to their family, a tiny male infant which was born to proud mother, 'Mouila'.

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Zoos mercy mission for Devils (19/12/2008)

The Tasmanian Devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world and is found in the wild only in Tasmania.

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