In a heartwarming milestone for Hunter Valley Wildlife Park, Kebibi, a first-time giraffe mum, has welcomed the park’s very first giraffe calf. The healthy male calf was born on 15 September 2024, and only 3 weeks after his birth, weighed in at a sturdy 80 kilograms and over six feet tall.
Kebibi’s birth story unfolded under the night sky, with staff watching through night vision to ensure the process was progressing smoothly without needing to disrupt the mother and calf. Zookeeper Chad Staples, who was on hand for the exciting moment, described the birth as a “tense but thrilling” event after a lengthy 16-month pregnancy.
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Despite there being anywhere between 300 and 600 at the Nulkaba address at any given season, the park boss has a particular fondness for Maji, the four-year-old lioness.
Chad hand-reared Maji when her mum didn’t survive the birth.
Since then, the pair have formed a unique bond that visitors to the park are sure to pick up on.
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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.
Feed the ostriches from our shaded deck just opposite the alligator pond. You’ll find camels, ostrich and antelope all in the expansive yard these amazing animals call home. They’re pretty fond of food, so if you stick around a few minutes, we’re pretty sure you’ll get a visit from a variety of animals. It’s free to feed animals in this paddock, but you must purchase the animal food from our admissions office to ensure the animals aren’t being fed anything that will make them sick.
Our friendly Camels love a snack and a pat, but be careful to hold you hand flat as they may get carried away taking the food from your hand. Purchase animal food from the admissions counter on your way into the park.
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.
Alligators have an armoured body with bony plates for protection across their back. Their front feet have 5 toes with claws to assist them on the land, with their back feet being 4 webbed toes aiding in swimming.
An alligator’s tail is very powerful and can propel them through the water, but being solid muscle makes them heavy and slower on the land. Alligator’s teeth are interlocking with each tooth fitting into a socket on the opposite jaw. They will usually have 74-80 teeth at one time but can go through 2000-3000 teeth in a lifetime as they are replaced after falling out.
They prefer a cooler climate to other crocodilian species and live furthest away from the equator. They are the apex predator of their habitat.
Whilst juvenile Alligators mainly eat fish, frogs and birds, as they grow alligators regularly consume turtles & small mammals and being opportunistic feeders they occasionally hunt large prey from the water’s edge.
Alligators were once hunted for their leather; the population declined rapidly giving them an endangered status in 1967, however the species has made a full recovery since.
