Gibbons and lemurs are coming to Rockhampton Zoo with works to start on enclosure upgrades

Visitors to Rockhampton Zoo will be able to get up close and personal to new attractions with plans underway for more animals.

It’s action stations at Rockhampton Zoo with works due to start on upgrades to an enclosure for new white-cheeked gibbons.

The arboreal primate gibbons will be located in the former macaque enclosure, which has been empty since July 2021 when Lhasa died in her sleep.

Her companion Dana had to be euthanised because she was very distressed and there were no other macaques in any Australian zoos for her to be sent to.

Work is underway at Rockhampton Zoo in preparation to transform the macaque enclosure to house white-cheeked gibbons.

A tender went out for the upgrades to the enclosure, including climbing structures, to make way for the gibbons and was recently awarded to Pierce Rigging for $25,555.

More work has gone on behind the scenes in preparation for securing the gibbons.

The zoo has officially received a Biosecurity Queensland permit to hold gibbons and received an Australasian Species Management Plan from the Zoo and Aquarium Association.

Rockhampton Zoo has also been accepted for a breeding program that would see it get a baby gibbon.

White Cheeked Gibbons at the Adelaide Zoo in Adelaide. (AAP Image/Kelly Barnes)

Gibbons are critically endangered and it is estimated there are 150-160 in the wild and about 200 in captivity in the world.

Plans for ring-tailed lemurs are also in the works at Rockhampton Zoo - to go in the dome aviary space, which had to close in March 2021 after a salmonella outbreak.

A pair of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) perched on a rock in the Isalo National Park in Madagascar.

The 40 birds in the 20-metre tall aviary enclosure had to be euthanised.

The space would allow visitors to walk through and see the lemurs adventure around the tree canopy.

Animal encounters are planned for the lemurs and gibbons, like what is being offered with the meerkats.

Tenders for the other enclosure renovations and renewals are currently being reviewed.

In more zoo news, a new wombat arrived at the Rockhampton Zoo in April after the beloved Donna passed away earlier in the year at the age of approximately 32.

Donna was hit by a car when living in the wild and had irreparable nerve damage which meant she had a permanent limp and couldn’t return to the wild safely.

She came to the Rocky zoo in 2001 where she spent more than 20 years.

The new wombat named Nojee is an 18-year-old male southern hairy-nosed wombat.

Nojee lives in the wombat enclosure on the right-hand side of the public walkway, opposite Bruce’s enclosure.

Zookeepers are hopeful Nojee could be trained to do encounters.

According to zoo reports, for the month of June, the zoo had a total of 12,093 visitors.

There were 91 paid meerkat encounters with a revenue of $8,200.

Council donates 15 per cent of meerkat encounters revenue to a conservation project and in July, $8,919 was donated to help protect wild populations of chimps in the Liberia rainforests.

Another tender for a Bushfire Spray System in the Chimp Night House closed at the end of June and is now under evaluation.

This has been a topic of discussion at previous council meetings as there is significant risk if a bushfire were to come close to the zoo.

There has also been a major issue with flying foxes at the Botanic Gardens, with marquees having to be set up in the Gardens Tearooms area.

According to a council report, as of June 30, no zero black-headed flying foxes and little red flying foxes had been spotted at the Botanic Gardens.

Nudging and dispersal activities are ongoing.