Meet the Crew at Rockhampton Zoo Preview

Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, are the mammal most like humans, sharing 98.5% of human DNA, and their playful antics highlight their intelligent nature and vibrant personalities. Chimpanzees (also known as Chimps) inherit a variety of skills that are passed on from generation to generation from fishing for termites and ants, to cracking nuts with rocks and using leaves to build nests. Chimps are omnivorous; their diet comprised of leaves, fruit, nuts, roots, seeds, insects and occasionally meat.

Originally discovered throughout 26 countries in Central and West Africa, the chimpanzee population has since dropped as a result of human influences. Today Chimpanzees can be found in 20 countries, 10 of which are lucky to have a population of more than 1000. They are an endangered species that is declining rapidly. Sadly, approximately 3000 great apes, which include chimpanzees, are stolen from the wild each year as part of illegal pet and bush meat trade.

Commonly found in dense tropical rainforests, Chimps also inhabit secondary growth forest, woodland, swamps and open savannah. They are known for living in large communities. Males will usually stay together in what’s known as a boy’s club, while females will split off individually or into smaller groups of close females and their young. Chimp communities are led by an alpha male who must gain the support of the other members of the community to take leadership. Males stay in their birth communities all their lives, forming close bonds with their infants and spending most of their time together. Females, on the other hand, will leave their birth group when they reach maturity and migrate to other communities.

Chimpanzees can live up to 50 years in the wild, and 60 years in captivity, with females often living longer than males.

Rockhampton Zoo Chimpanzee enclosure has been designed to replicate the African rainforest, similar to their natural environment. It covers a large area so if at first you don't spot the Chimps, try the other viewing windows.

Meerkats, Suricata suricatta, are one of the most socially driven family units in the animal kingdom. Mobs (collective noun for a group of Meerkats) can be as small as four members, and as big as 50. Each Meerkat plays an integral role in the mob, whether it is looking for food, keeping an eye out for predators or caring for their young.

They are commonly found in arid, open habitats of south-western Botswana, western and southern Namibia, and northern and western parts of South Africa. Growing up to 35cm in length and weighing up to 900 grams, these adorable animals are one of the smallest mammals in the African Savannah.

Meerkats only go outside during the daytime. Each morning, as the sun rises, the mob emerge from their burrow and begin foraging for food. Using their keen sense of smell, they locate their favourite foods, which includes beetles, caterpillars, spiders and scorpions. They will also eat small reptiles, birds, eggs, fruit, seeds and plants. Back at the burrow, several babysitters stay behind to watch over newborn pups. This duty rotates to different members of the mob, and a sitter will often go all day without food.

Meerkats are characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, thin tapering tail, and brindled coat pattern. Their foreclaws are adapted for digging and have the ability to thermoregulate to survive in the harsh, dry habitat in which they live.

Our mob of Meerkats at Rockhampton Zoo are very cheeky and inquisitive and spend most of their day digging throughout the enclosure which features a lot of nooks and crannies for them to tunnel through and climb all over.

Asian Small-Clawed Otters, Amblonyx cinereus, are the smallest of the Otter species, usually weighing less than 5kg. In the wild, they can be found in coastal regions, specifically in the mangrove swamps and freshwater wetlands of Asia. Their current conservation status is considered vulnerable with the numbers in the wild decreasing. Their diets consist of mainly invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs.

Wedge-Tailed Eagles, Aquila audax, are Australia’s largest raptor. They are widely found throughout mainland Australia, Tasmania and Southern Papua New Guinea.

Their name derives from the bird’s iconic characteristic: their wedge-shaped tail. Young Wedge-Tailed Eagles, are mid-brown in colour with highlights of reddish-brown on their crown and wings. As these birds mature, they gradually become darker in colour, eventually becoming a dark blackish-brown.

Generally, female Wedge-Tailed Eagles will grow to become larger and heavier than their male counter parts. Females can weigh up to 5.3kg while males can weigh up to 4kg. Their average wingspan extends a miraculous 2.5m wide.

FUN FACT: Wedge-Tailed Eagles have super sharp talons which possess phenomenal grip strength. To put this into perspective, a Bald Eagle’s grip strength is 10x stronger than a human hand, but a Bald Eagle is only three quarters of the size of a full-grown Australian Wedge-Tailed Eagle!

Wedge-Tailed Eagles will soar for hours on end without a wingbeat, regularly reaching heights of 1800 metres - sometimes even higher. Their keen eyesight extends into ultraviolet and infrared spectrums. They feature bony rings around each eye, which can be contracted to elongate the eyeball and enlarge their focus, allowing them to spot prey from a great distance.

Most prey is captured on the ground in gliding attacks or (less frequently) in the air. Wedge-Tailed Eagles are opportunistic hunters. Since the arrival of Europeans, the introduced rabbit and brown hare have become the primary prey for these raptors. Larger introduced mammals, such as foxes and feral cats are also occasionally hunted, while native animals, such as wallabies, small kangaroos, possums, wombats, koalas, and bandicoots, are also prey. Carrion (the decaying flesh of dead animals) is also a regular part of their diet. Wedge-Tailed Eagles have been known to be able to lift prey half their own body weight into the air.

Wedge-Tailed Eagles are monogamous and mate for life. Their breeding season is from April to September and courtship consists of impressive aerial displays involving dives and loops. The breeding pair share their duties and will make a huge nest that can be up to 1.8m wide and weigh up to 400kg. The female can lay up to three eggs but the pair will usually only raise one chick to adulthood.

Blue and Gold Macaws, Ara ararauna, are a large South American Parrot, featuring mostly blue top parts and light orange to yellow underparts and gradient hues of green on their crown. Each bird features a white face with a pattern of black lines, which are as individual to each bird as fingerprints are to humans.

Blue and Gold Macaws inhabit the subtropical and tropical forests, woodlands and savannahs of northern South America. They can grow to up to 91 cm long and weigh up to 1.8 kg. Their wingspan averages more than a metre wide giving them flight speeds of up to 56kmh. Blue and Gold Macaws use their long tail like a rudder to steer and brake while in flight.

Female and male parrots look similar and can be found living in pairs or large flocks. Like other Macaw species, the Blue and Gold have a wide range of vocalisations and social behaviours. Their level of intelligence has been compared to that of a toddler. They are very capable mimics and are therefore capable of getting up to a lot of mischief!

Blue and Gold Macaws are monogamous and mate for life. They reach sexual maturity around three to four years of age and after that, breed every one to two years. Females will lay up to three eggs but will usually only feed the strongest chick. Both parents help to look after their fledgelings until they become independent after about three months. They will stay with the parents for about a year.

Get up close to two of our most iconic Australian animals at Rockhampton Zoo’s Kangaroo Country: The Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Macropus gigatneus, and the Emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae.

Dingoes, Canis lupus dingo, are common throughout Australia and in scattered groups across Southeast Asia. The primary wild populations are located in Australia and Thailand. They are found throughout Western and Central Australia in forests, plains and mountainous rural areas.

Dingos are mostly social creatures that live in groups called packs, although some dingos choose to live alone. A pack can consist of anywhere between 3 – 12 dingoes. They will hunt in larger packs to take down larger prey but normally work alone when preying on smaller animals. Their diet consists of small animals including birds, rabbits and reptiles and will also take on larger animals such as kangaroos, wallabies, sheep, calves and occasionally crocodiles from time to time.

Each pack is led by a dominant male and female pair, with the dominant male the ultimate pack leader. The dominant female will kill any pups from subordinate females in the pack to give her pups the best chance of survival.

Males are generally larger than females. Males can weigh more than 19kg, while females can weigh around 16kg in the wild. Quick off the mark, dingoes have been known to travel at speeds of up to 48kmh. To put that into perspective, Usain Bolt (eight-time Olympic Gold Medallist and former fastest man on the planet) was recorded sprinting 45kmh.

Rockhampton Zoo is home to Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombats, Lasiorhinus latifrons, one of three species of wombat. The other two species include the Bare-Nosed (otherwise known as the Common Wombat) and the critically endangered Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat.

Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombats are found throughout Western Australia, southern South Australia, and south-western parts of New South Wales. They live in semi-arid to arid grasslands and woodlands. Wombats are nocturnal herbivores and grazers, preferring young tender grasses. In addition to grasses, their diet also consists of herbs, shrubs, barks, mosses, underground roots and tubers.

Wombats are marsupials. The females care for their joeys in a pouch that uniquely opens backwards so that it doesn’t fill up with dirt while digging. Newborn joeys weigh only 1 – 2g. They use their semi-developed forelimbs to make their way to their mother’s pouch, where they will spend the next six – 10 months growing. The joey then leaves the pouch and remains with its mother for a further eight – 10 months before becoming fully independent. The lifespan of a Wombats is normally 11 years in the wild, but in captivity they can live into their 30s.

Crocodiles fall into two groups: Saltwater Crocodiles and Freshwater Crocodiles.

Saltwater Crocodiles, Crocodylus porosus, are the largest living reptile and are the apex predator of their aquatic environment. Male saltwater crocodiles can grow up to 7m long and females average around 3m.

A Saltwater Crocodile’s diet consists of fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, birds, small to medium sized mammals and other reptiles such as snakes and lizards.

They are commonly found in Northern Australia, South-East Asia and the eastern coast of India in wetland areas. There are roughly 100,000 Saltwater Crocodiles throughout Australia, where they are a protected species.

Freshwater Crocodiles, Crocodylus johnsoni, are relatively smaller in comparison to their Saltwater relatives. Males will only grow to about 3m and females will grow to about 2m in length. They are a timid species by nature, featuring a slender snout and slightly smaller teeth compared to the Saltwater Crocodile. Freshwater Crocodiles feed mainly on fish but will eat other prey when available.

Freshwater Crocodiles are commonly found in Northern Australia (from Cape York to the Kimberley Region) in freshwater wetlands, billabongs, rivers and creeks. They are a protected species and numbers are decreasing due to their species ingesting cane toads.

Rockhampton Zoo is home to several snake species including the Spotted Python, Stimpson’s Python, Water Python, Woma Python and the Red-Tailed Boat Constrictor.

Frilled Lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, also known as the Frilled Necked Lizard, or Frillie, is found in Northern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea. Recognisable by their iconic ‘frilled’ neck, these reptiles primarily feed on insects and other invertebrates. They can grow up to 90cm long and are known to be agile runners on their two hind feet.

Male Frilled Lizards will compete with one another for females by gaping their mouths and spreading their frills, often leading to fighting and biting. Once a mate has been chosen by the female, she will dig a shallow nest to lay her eggs – laying multiple clutches a year. Incubation can last from two to four months and temperature plays a role in determining the gender of the hatchlings. Frilled Lizards can live up to 20 years.

Blotched Blue-Tongue Lizards, Tiliqua nigrolutea, are found in Southern Australia and usually live in open country with lots of ground cover, such as tussocky grasses or leaf litter. Known for their vibrant, bright blue tongue, these lizards will open their mouths wide and stick out their tongue to scare off predators when feeling threatened. Blue-Tongues are not very agile, which means the animals they eat are mostly slow moving. Their teeth are large, and they have strong jaw muscles to be able to crush snail shells and beetles.

Blotched Blue-Tongue Lizards are known for living their life in solitude, but between September and November, mating occurs. At this time, males may fight aggressively among themselves and the mating act itself can be rough with females carrying scrape marks from the male’s teeth. Females give birth to young live three to five months after mating.

FUN FACT: Another name for Botched Blue-Tongue Lizards are ‘Blueys’.

The Perentie, Varanus giganteus, is the largest monitor in Australia. Found in arid to semi-arid regions, these guys are located around South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. These massive lizards can grow up to 2.5 metres long and weigh up to 15kg (the equivalent of a medium size dog).

Perenties are carnivores and will eat eggs, carrion, birds, mammals and other reptiles. They have also been known to eat smaller perenties. They swallow their food whole, in spite of having sharp teeth. Recent research has shown that these lizards possess evolutionary remains of a venom gland, which might explain why wounds from their bites take a long time to heal.

When it comes to reproduction, male Perenties will fight over a female. Once the fight is won, the male will show his interest in a female by nuzzling her. Using a termite nest, the female will lay six to 12 eggs over the course of a year. The eggs take around 220 days to hatch.

FUN FACT: Perenties can run up to 40kmh and will often display ‘tripoding’ behaviour, in which they stand up on their hind feet and look for threats.

Have you ever dreamed of finding out what Zookeepers do behind the scenes at the Rockhampton Zoo? Why not take on a Junior Zookeeper Experience?

Held during Queensland School Holidays* for school-aged children (aged 8 – 12 years), the Junior Zookeeper Experience takes you to parts of the Zoo usually only inhabited by Zoo staff and our wonderful animals.

You will get the chance to make enrichment items, feed selected animals, help clean enclosures, and maybe even hold a reptile while asking your Zookeeper Guide lots of questions. Find out more here.

*Junior Zookeeper Experiences are not held during public holidays.