2010 - 2011 Annual Report - Zoos South Australia

CONTENTSYear In ReviewPresident and CEO’s ReportPresident ReportCEO’s ReportConservation ProgramsConservation ArkVeterinary Conservation ProgramsAssets & InfrastructureAdelaide Zoo, Monarto ZooAnd Warrawong Wildlife SanctuaryGreen TeamWild AfricaOverseas Conservation ToursConservation EducationLibraryInterpretationHistoryThe Animals & HorticultureOverviewLiving CollectionsStatus Of CollectionAppendicesHorticultureWild TimesFinalsThe chimpanzees are going from strength to strength interms of both their group cohesion, with Tsotsi as alphamale now, and in captivating audiences of visitors. As soonas our team of expert primate keepers feels that we havesufficient stability in the group we will stop contraceptionin two or more females and the dream of having the naturalbehaviours of a family group will eventually be realized.Jane Goodall, DBE, was in South Australia as part of a 50year anniversary of the start of her research in the wildand, in addition to giving a sell-out talk at the AdelaideShowground, she visited the chimps and their keepers.Again she remarked on how if she were born a chimp intoday’s world she would rather be at Monarto than in thewild. She was hugely impressed.The contribution of the native species team at Monarto (nowworking with colleagues at Warrawong) is growing apace.The breeding of warru, Tasmanian devils and support ofother endangered species may be behind the scenes andinsufficiently recognized but it lies at the heart of all we doand why we exist. We marked ‘Threatened Native SpeciesDay’ on 7 September as it is the anniversary of the death ofthe last known thylacine. The presence of our ambassador,actress Teresa Palmer, and hundreds of primary schoolstudents wearing specially designed t-shirts listing all theextinctions and currently endangered native Australiananimals made it a media event. It is remarkable that acountry so proud of its distinctive landscapes and faunaand flora can be so inactive when it comes to protecting itsheritage for future generations. Monarto can act as a way toactivate people.The ‘Wild Africa’ project plans, put simply, entail theprovision of overnight, safari-style accommodationsomewhere across the 1,500 hectares at Monarto.This will attract greater numbers of Australian tourists.The access to Mallee scrubland and close encounters withendangered Australian species will also attract overseasvisitors to complement the extra 30% of Adelaide visitorscoming into South Australia to see Giant Pandas. We see thatMonarto is as much about ‘Wild Australia’ as ‘Wild Africa’.The first year of our management of the operations andbusiness at Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary has been oneof learning the deeper history and philosophy of the siteand sharing the beauty and seasonal transitions withvisitors. The highlight for many people is a sighting of oneof the only platypus in mainland South Australia. BecauseWarrawong is a sanctuary for native species within a feralprooffence, humans are the ones who are entering theanimals’ space, their habitat. We cannot guarantee thateveryone will see everything but we can guarantee a uniqueglimpse of a vanished Australia. And with two new babyplatypus the chances of a special experience is appreciablyincreased. There is work to be done at Warrawong toensure the ecological management of a precious place andto reinvigorate it as a business without spoiling it. WithMonarto it acts as a headquarters for our fieldwork and thissuite of programs, entitled ‘Conservation Ark’ for the lasttwo years, continues to grow.CEO’s Report– 2 of 3