Hello from Melbourne, Australia

G

Grant Rhino

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Hi, I'm Grant - from Melbourne, Australia

I've been on ZooChat for 3 or 4 years now, but never really introduced myself:

I'm not trained in animal husbandry or anything like that. I'm simply an animal enthusiast and zoo enthusiast, and have been obsessed with animals since I was 3 or 4 years old. My parents apparently took me to Melbourne Zoo almost every weekend when I was that age. I'm 40 years old now and I'm still obsessed with animals and zoos, but also with conservation these days too.

I volunteer at Werribee Open Range Zoo as a guide and have done so for 4 years. I only do one day per month but I consider that the highlight of my month.

I travel quite a bit, and when travelling I always make a point of visiting the local zoo, or if there is a national park close by, then even better - I go there instead!

I've been to most of the zoos in Australia several times, and others in New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, India, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Finland and Argentina.

My favourite national parks are Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve in India, and Chitwan National Park in Nepal.

As for the rest of my life, I am currently writing my PhD, working as a chess coach (I have an international chess title), looking after my 2 sons, drawing, and watching Australian Rules Football... Feel free to say hello - and if I'm ever in your city for whatever reason, feel free to show me your local zoo!
 
Thanks for typing up a great introduction! How many zoos have you visited now? I know that there is an Australian Zoo List somewhere on this site that has something like 160+ "zoos" in the country. Have you seen more than half of them?
 
snowleopard said:
Thanks for typing up a great introduction! How many zoos have you visited now? I know that there is an Australian Zoo List somewhere on this site that has something like 160+ "zoos" in the country. Have you seen more than half of them?
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A lot of the "zoos" in Australia are just little animal parks with native animals (sometimes as few as 10 animals), so these don't really interest me much. That said, I have been to quite a few of them - although I wouldn't remember the names of most of them. I've been to all the big zoos with exotics though (except for Altina - which I hope to get to soon). Anyway, here are the zoos I've been to in Australia and abroad:

AUSTRALIA
1. Melbourne Zoo
2. Werribee Open Range Zoo
3. Healesville Sanctuary
4. Moonlit Sanctuary
5. Halls Gap Zoo
6. Adelaide Zoo
7. Monarto Zoo
8. Cleland Wildlife Park
9. Gorge Wildlife Park
10. Perth Zoo
11. Taronga Zoo
12. Taronga Western Plains Zoo (Dubbo)
13. Mogo Zoo
14. National Zoo (Canberra)
15. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
16. Tasmania Zoo

OVERSEAS
17. Orana Wildlife Park (Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND)
18. Singapore Zoo (SINGAPORE)
19. Singapore Bird Park (SINGAPORE)
20. Singapore Night Safari (SINGAPORE)
21. Singapore River Safari (SINGAPORE)
22. Lok Kawi Wildlife Park (Kota Kinabalu, MALAYSIA)
23. Bangkok Zoo (THAILAND)
24. Chiang Mai Zoo (THAILAND)
25. Kathmandu Zoo (NEPAL)
26. Naintal Zoo (INDIA)
27. Varna Zoo (BULGARIA)
28. Kystendil Zoo (BULGARIA)
29. Belgrade Zoo (SERBIA)
30. Zagreb Zoo (CROATIA)
31. Ljubljana Zoo (SLOVENIA)
32. Budapest Zoo (HUNGARY)
33. Prague Zoo (CZECH REPUBLIC)
34. Alpine Zoo (Innsbruck, AUSTRIA)
35. Dresden Zoo (GERMANY)
36. Leipzig Zoo (GERMANY)
37. Berlin Zoo (GERMANY)
38. Frankfurt Zoo (GERMANY)
39. Artis Zoo (Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS)
40. Helsinki Zoo (FINLAND)
41. Bazel Zoo (SWITZERLAND)
42. Buenos Aries Zoo (ARGENTINA)

I think I may have been to another one somewhere in Germany, but I can't recall where, and I know I've been to more smaller ones in Australia too - but I wouldn't have a clue what the names of most of them are.
 
Great introduction @Grant Rhino. I've been on ZooChat myself just over 2 years and have been meaning to do one of these introductions for a while.

Cool to hear that you volunteer at the Werribee Open Range Zoo. How are the lion introductions going of the new cubs to the pride?
 
Grant Rhino said:
Richmond (The Tigers) of course :)

I've been a fully paid up member for nearly 20 years :)
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The following things have all happened twice since 1982:
- Space shuttle disasters
- Wars between President George Bush and Saddam Hussein
- Kevin Rudd prime ministerships
- Richmond finals victories.

Batman movie reboots used to be on this list but they now exceed Richmond finals wins.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Cool to hear that you volunteer at the Werribee Open Range Zoo. How are the lion introductions going of the new cubs to the pride?
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A few weeks ago they were in with their Johari (their dad) and their mum. I can't recall if the other female was in there with them, but the 3 older cubs (young adults) weren't there. They are growing quickly though!
 
CGSwans said:
The following things have all happened twice since 1982:
- Space shuttle disasters
- Wars between President George Bush and Saddam Hussein
- Kevin Rudd prime ministerships
- Richmond finals victories.

Batman movie reboots used to be on this list but they now exceed Richmond finals wins.
Click to expand...

If I get to see a Richmond premiership at any stage in my lifetime, I will be extremely satisfied :)
 
Grant Rhino said:
A few weeks ago they were in with their Johari (their dad) and their mum. I can't recall if the other female was in there with them, but the 3 older cubs (young adults) weren't there. They are growing quickly though!
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With the three adolescent males leaving for Melbourne Zoo this year, it seems uneccessary and senseless to risk introducing them to the cubs. It's a shame the zoo didn't just breed the two females at the same time to replicate the wild situation, rather than breed them a year apart.
 
Hi, I'm also a Victorian. I can sympathise with you because I've been a Lions supporter all my life, which aside from those 3 wonderful years from 2001 to 2003 has been quite painful. Also, I can't recommend Altina highly enough, well worth the drive, it's an amazing zoo.
 
MattyP said:
Hi, I'm also a Victorian. I can sympathise with you because I've been a Lions supporter all my life, which aside from those 3 wonderful years from 2001 to 2003 has been quite painful. Also, I can't recommend Altina highly enough, well worth the drive, it's an amazing zoo.
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I actually visited Altina a few weeks ago. As for the Lions, great to see them have a win this weekend - and a good one too!
 
Grant Rhino said:
I actually visited Altina a few weeks ago. As for the Lions, great to see them have a win this weekend - and a good one too!
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What did you think of Altina?
It was the best win we've had in years! Was so good to see the boys keep it together for the full four quarters.
 
MattyP said:
What did you think of Altina?
It was the best win we've had in years! Was so good to see the boys keep it together for the full four quarters.
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I didn't really like Altina - I think it's great that they are breeding the Maned Wolf and the Hog Deer successfully, but I just didn't like the whole layout of the place. It felt to me like a big, disorganised farm: You're forced to do a tour, which doesn't give you much opportunity to take good photos or linger at an animal you find particularly interesting, there are too many fences and too much wire (as opposed to moats etc), there is farm equipment like old vehicles around, there are far too many ungulates (including semi-domesticated "fillers" such as Scottish Highland Cattle, Buffalo, domestic pigs etc) and the website doesn't make it clear that a tour is the only way to see the zoo.

That said, there is a huge upside to the place: They are only relatively new, and are gaining more and more interesting animals at a rapid pace. Hopefully as they grow they will get rid of the semi-domesticated fillers, clean the place up a bit and scrap the tour model in favour of a typical walk through zoo model.

I did like the front walking section, but I wish I could've just walked through without the tour and spent more time there.

While I don't really like the place right now, I'm confident that it will be much better in 10 years time.

As for the Brisbane Lions, I must admit, I thought they would beat the Dockers - they were due for a win and the Dockers are pretty susceptible. In any case, it was a great win, and I didn't think they would win by as much as they did.
 
Gosh a lot changes in footy in one year! I can't believe that Richmond are into the Grand Final!!!! I don't think we will win it - but it's just such an amazing feeling to actually be in one!!!! :) :) :) I never thought I'd ever get to see us in one. If we win it, it's just a bonus!!!!
 
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