Plains Zebras migrate annually across Namibia and Botswana in search of better grazing pastures, forming Africa’s longest land migration of over 400kms. Zebra can reach speeds of 65kph. They can also deliver strong kicks and bite when threatened
Mid-sized and thick bodied, Zebras are recognisable by boldly striped black and white with a black or dark muzzle. All Zebras have individual markings with no two alike. Their necks are maned with short hair and their tail ends in a longhaired tuft
Southern Sudan and southern Ethiopia, east of the Nile River to southern Angola and northern Namibia and northern South Africa
Herbivore; Feeding selectively on particular grass species
Breeding occurs throughout the year although peak births occur during the wet season. The herd stallion has sole breeding access to the females
Zebras are a highly social species, living in complex social systems. Harems comprise a single stallion to several unrelated mares and their recent offspring. Bachelor groups also exist. Groups come together to form migrating herds of 10,000 or more for safety against predators.
The Domedary Camel has a single hump, which stores fat the Camel can break down when resources are scarce. Our camels certainly don’t have this problem, and when cisiting you’ll discovery they are VERY enthusiastic feeeders and may put their mouth around your hand if you’re offering food. For that reason we ask you to keep your hand flat when feeding camels.
Diet
Camels are herbivorous grazers that constantly eat foliage, dry grasses, and available desert vegetation (mostly thorny plants).
It takes 15 months, longer than a year for a femal Camel to be ready to give birth to a sinlge baby camel.
Camels were introduced to Australia much earlier than you may think – right back in 1840. Burke and Wills used Camels while exploring because of their ability to survive in dry, arid conditions for a long period of time.
This large and slender cheetah is distributed across more than 25 African countries, boasting a population of around 12,000. However, the Asiatic sub-species is in a critical situation, with only 50-60 individuals remaining in Iran.
Cheetahs utilise various vocalizations for communication. Purring expresses contentment and enjoyable social interactions, particularly between mothers and cubs. Chirping resembles the sounds of little birds and is used by mothers and cubs to call each other. Churring is observed during social gatherings. Growling, hissing, and spitting occur in response to annoyance or danger. Yowling intensifies in situations of heightened danger or fear.
Cheetahs are carnivorous and enjoy small antelope, gazelle and fresh game. Cheetahs only eat fresh kills and prefer smaller fast moving game.
Females Cheetahs can give birth to as many as 9 cubs at once, but usually 3-5 after a gestation period of 90 to 98 days.
The birth weight of a Cheetah cub is between 150g to 300g.
Cub mortality is as high as 90% during the first weeks after birth.
Cheetah siblings stay together in a group after their mother leaves them at 18 months.
The females will leave the group and live and hunt alone, while the males form a coalition and hunt together.
Largest of the Gibbon species, Siamang Gibbons have a glossy, black shaggy coat, dark hairless face, long fingers and arms which are longer than legs. A Siamang Gibbon’s arms can span a huge 1.5 metres. Siamangs possess an impressive throat sac, which they use for territorial calling. Territorial calls can last 10-15 min and can be heard over a distance of 1.5-2kms.
Siamang Gibbons are territorial and actively defend their home ranges, with territories overlapping with other primate species. It is the only example in the world where 3 non-human apes coexist.
Omnivorous, consisting of fruits and leaves, Siamang also eat a small amount of insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates.
Siamangs live in small monogamous family groups of up to 8, usually consisting of a dominant breeding pair and their immature offspring. Grooming is one of the most important social activities that cement social bonds.
Habitat loss due to logging, clearing for palm oil plantations and agriculture, poaching and hunting for the illegal pet trade. Also susceptible to zoonotic disease.
Ring Tiled Lemurs ‘sun worship’ which means they face their tummies to the sun and stretch their arms out wide to warm themselves up.
Ring-tailed Lemurs live in groups of 5-25 animals with the females making up a well-ordered hierarchy that dominates over males. Female lemurs remain in the group whilst males join other groups, thus we have a group of males on the islands at Mogo.
Ring-Tailed Lemurs diet consists mainly of fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, sap and the occasional invertebrate. Due to the fact that the vegetation in forests inhabited by these lemurs is sparse and non-continuous, they are often found traveling on the ground.
Ring-tailed Lemurs live in groups of 5-25 animals with the females making up a well-ordered hierarchy that dominates over males.
Unfortunately Ring-Tailed Lemur populations are rapidly declining in the wild, with around 50% of their natural habitat having been destroyed in the past 35 years. This steep decline in numbers has left them classified as an “Endangered” species on the IUCN red list.
The forests that Ring-Tailed Lemurs prefer are quickly being converted to farmland, overgrazed by livestock, or harvested for charcoal production. Ring-tailed lemurs are also hunted for food in certain areas of their range and are frequently kept as pets.
Fortunately, they are found in several protected areas in southern Madagascar, but the level of protection varies widely in these areas offering only some populations refuge from hunting and habitat loss.
The Spotted Hyena has a spotted coat and is the largest of the four hyena species. The hyena has a large head, large ears, long front legs and shorter back legs with a back that slopes down from the shoulder to the tail. It can be difficult to distinguish the females from the males. Females are also larger than the males.
Hyenas are carnivores and eat a wide range of animals, including wildebeest, zebra, gazes dinesire rebirds. Spotted Hyenas will steal prey from cheetah or even lions if they are in a pack. They are also very good scavengers and their digestive system allows them to eat all parts of the animal—meat, skin and bone.
A Hyena’s gestation period is on average 110 days, with the average litter having 2 cubs. Cub are born with soft brownish black hair and weigh about 1kg. Spotted hyena cubs are born with their eyes open and will nurse for 12-16 months, though they can process solid fools as early as 3 months old and will be participating in hunts within their first year.
Silvery Gibbons inhabit the isolated pockets of primary rainforests on the western side of Java, live in monogamous family groups consisting of the parents and up to 4 immature offspring. Silvery Gibbons are strictly arboreal and rarely descend to the forest floor.
Adaptations in their wrists and shoulders support them when brachiating through the forest canopy.
The female’s loud call and song early in the morning acts to defend their territory.
Silvery Gibbons live in monogamous family groups consisting of the parents and up to 4 immature offspring. They are strictly arboreal and rarely descend to the forest floor. Adaptions to their wrists and shoulders support them when brachiating through the forest canopy. The female’s loud call and song early in the morning acts to defend their territory.
Body hair is grey all over with a dark hairless face with light grey eyebrows. Arms and fingers are long with reduced thumbs.
Fragmented populations in the western half of Java
Mainly frugivorous, they also eat leaves, flowers, nuts and insects.
A single offspring is born after a gestation period of 210 days. Birth interval is 2-3 years. Sexual maturity is reached between 5-7years. Average lifespan in the wild is 35 years. Gibbons in captivity can live up to 50 years.
Social, living in family units of up to 6 individuals. Groups consist of a dominant male and female breeding pair and their immature offspring.
The biggest threat to the survival of Silvery Gibbons is habitat loss and human encroachment. Less than 4% of their original habitat exists and is still on the decline. The illegal pet trade and poaching is another ongoing threat.
Silvery Gibbons are a seriously endangered species , Mogo Zoo is proud to be one of a handful of institutions who, under the watchful eye of a globally run Breeding Program has managed to produce offspring. We support the ‘Silvery Gibbon Project’ based at Perth Zoo in an effort to rescue and rehabilitate Silvery Gibbons on the island of Java.
White Rhinos are the most social and largest of the 5 Rhino sub-species. Rhinos live an average of 50 years in captivity. They graze in groups of up to 7. Although calves are weaned from their mother at around 12 months old, they usually stay with their mothers up until about 3 years old.
You may be surprised that Rhinos communicate with each other using their ears, nostrils, posture and complex breathing for communication and expression. These sounds can cary from calf squeaking, to snarling, or wailing by adults.
White Rhino feed and rest alternately during the day and night, often resting in the hottest part of the day. Males live in small territorial ranges. Female home ranges are larger and may overlap several male territories. Home ranges are scent posted with dung heaps, also known as middens and usually located at territory boundaries. The size of the midden represents the rhino’s status
White Rhino are one of the heaviest land animals in the world. Colouration is yellowish brown to slate grey. They produce 2 horns on their snout, made from keratin which can grow up to 1.8 meters in length. White rhino have a distinct flat broad mouth for grazing. All rhinos have poor eyesight but good hearing and a good sense of smell
Southern Africa, with smaller trans located populations found in Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe
Herbivore; grazing mostly on grass
Breeding occurs throughout the year, after courtship and mating which lasts during 1 to 3 weeks. Males use scent to determine when females are approaching estrus. The territorial bull will join the female for up to 20 days until she is ready to mate
Mother and calf stay together for long periods, often until the next calf is born, around 3 years. Sexually mature males tend to lead solitary lives
Habitat loss and poaching, horns for use in traditional Chinese medicine
Our wildlife parks at Hunter and Mogo both home lions. These magnificent creatures are usually tawny or a sand colour, but can also be white due to a receive gene ‘leucism’.
Lions can run at about 55km/h but their prey average around 80km/h. To get around this they must get as close as possible to their dinner without being seen and then explode from hiding, relying on surprise and brute force. Female lions are the original ‘stalkers’.
Lions are strictly carnivorous, relying on a diet of Buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, roan, sable, springbok, gemsbok, kob, impala, Warthog, waterbuck, haribeest and other animals.
Female lions are the stable presence in the pride. They are responsible for cub rearing and most of the hunting, as well as contributing significantly to the defense of the pride.
Females are the active hunters possessing a balance of speed, power, stealth and endurance that the much larger males struggle to match. Males are primarily responsible for patrolling, marking and defending the pride range as well as mating, but it is the female members that keep the pride together and functioning, often surviving several pride takeovers by various coalitions of males.
Gorillas are the largest of the primate family and the closest to Homo Sapiens, sharing 98% of our DNA structure. They live in family groups and are very sociable animals.
There are two main groups of Gorillas, Western and Eastern Gorillas, both with sub species.
Primarily found in lowland tropical forest particularly where there is dense ground level herbaceous growth, swap forest with new growth and hot and humid with year round rainfall
Gorillas are Diurnal; living in home ranges, which may overlap. Sleeping for about 13 hrs over night and resting for several hrs during the day. Generally peaceful, shy and amiable unless threatened, although males will beat chest with fists to intimidate or show strength. Gorillas build day and night nests on the ground using branches and leaves.
Southern Sudan and southern Ethiopia, east of the Nile River to southern Angola and northern Namibia and northern South Africa
Primarily herbivores eating over 200 types of plants, also feeding on flowers, wood, bark, leaves, fruit and fungus.
No fixed breeding season and mating occurs throughout the year. Once born infants are carried by the mother and by 3 months are able to crawl and cling to their mother. Females provide young with transportation, food as well as protection.
Gorilla group sizes average 10, called a troop, composed of at least one adult male, several adult females and their offspring. Groups are lead by the dominant male called a silverback. ( silverbacks have grey hair on their backs which develops with sexual maturity at around 11 years of age.) Mature males called ‘blackbacks’ are driven out by silverbacks and form bachelor groups or their own families with lower ranking females.
Commercial hunting, Habitat destruction, Disease; Ebola virus, illegal mining, adults poached for bush meat leaving orphaned youngsters to be subjected to the illegal pet trade.