quick review. overall the zoo is looking great. no doubt thanks to some maintenance on older exhibits and all this rain we've had all summer. i did everything except the big cats and bears area.
gorilla rainforest - looking good as always. very unfortunate that there are no pygmy hippos. mandrill exhibit has had a slight landscaping work since my last visit.
treetop monkeys and apes - black capped capuchins now have access to old javan langur exhibit via a runway. a big improvement for the capuchin family (which was a nice addition to the collection). i had read some discontent on here that vegetation had been cleared form this area. it has. but was predominantly bamboo and only from between two particular exhibits (currently housing two species of lemur). my assumption is that this was done to give the primates access to sunlight in winter, since both these exhibits were exceptionally gloomy. whilst it looks different - i don't thing its a bad thing. plus the area has been replanted with less sun blocking species. i also was pleasantly surprised to see there is two tree shrews on display again here. a species of interest and very rare now in australia. i had thought the zoo was down to one (or none).
trail of the elephants - very lush and overgrown. looking great. orangs seem to have done a workover on the large trees in the exhibit that were planted too close to the climbing frames. the tall palms have taken well, but very unfortunate that the trees are unlikely to ever get parts that "breakable" size. siamangs holding their own with the public as usual. asian bird collection a shadow of what it once was. mandarin ducks, amhert and golden pheasnats, a hybrid peafowl some chattering lories, plumhead parrots, a couple of red faced parrotfinches and javas and white bibbed ground doves repeated through the four aviaries there.
wild sea - finally some fish! all the tanks are stocked and it makes a big difference. the outdoor areas of wild sea are not half bad. the pigface and tussocks are really growing well in the dunes and the gardens look great. i dare say all the sand actually makes parts of wild sea look far more natural than tarongas version. but its that intentional artificialness that lets it down and still does. but, to be fair - the addition of fish (especially in the penguin exhibit), garden maturity and some healthy algal growth have done a good job at improving it. like i said the outdoor sections are great. the cleverly designed super low fences between the visitors and penguins/seals are great. the fact that melbourne's seals can sunbathe on real sand is great. now if only they just fixed those damn rocks.
zoo center - the center of the zoo is primarily african savannah animals, platypus and the reptile and frog houses. all these looked great. the gardens surrounding the lion park (an exhibit i still think is good even though its about one of the oldest exhibits left at the zoo) have been "africanised" and are looking good. the platforms for the lions to lounge on are a nice addition too. its a very spacious exhibit by big cat standards - nothing to be ashamed of here. the frog house has a new room added especially for the corroboree frog program, which is worthwhile. these frogs used to be on display in a small tank the main frog house, whereas now there is a window into a cool room before you enter the main house in which various tanks and enclosures containing the frogs gives you a much better grasp of just what zoos vic is doing behind the scenes. the reptile house looks great as always. best landscaped terrariums i've ever seen in an australian zoo. the bongos have lost their yard to the new baboon development. they now have the rear end of the giraffe/ostrich/zebra yard, which fortunately is well shaded and vegetated. its a lot smaller but will suffice for their breeding pair. the baboon exhibit looks rather big. one wonders the logic of placing this exhibit smack bang at the entrance to the australian bush. its a step back from the immersion concept that melbourne has helped pioneer globally and to date, been exclusively practicing since its modernisation plans began in the late 80's.
the australian bush - nothing much has changed here. the great flight aviary is still a gem. there were parma wallabies in one of the old cassowary enclosures running alongside the GFA. whilst i may have missed one in the earlier exhibit i wonder if this signals that the species has left melbourne?
the old zoo - well excluding the bear/big cat areas that were refurbed on my last visit that just leaves the mixed up area surrounding the old elephant house. this area is completely undeveloped but again contains nothing to be embarrassed about. the red panda exhibits suffice. as do the tree kangaroo's (though its a shame these high profile animals don't have something great like they used to). the old penguin pool still houses a few "special needs" penguins. one of the old bird aviaries now holds the emperor tamarins. i was pleased to see a breeding family groups with a few youngsters in there. as far as i'm aware there are the only ones in australia. this species used to be displayed in a decent enclosure sandwiched between two terribly small ones for cottontops and a lone GLT. when i went to this area i was pleased to see that the three exhibits had been joined and given over to what was now a pair of GLT's. where the cottontops have gone i'm not sure.
so there it is. it was brilliant sunny day and the zoo was not even that busy. one could navigate easily and had no problem getting a look into any of the animal exhibits. with the new baboon exhibit on the way nobody can complain that melbourne has some atrocious or inadequate exhibits - it doesnt. and at half the cost of taronga and with a equally good collection and much, much, much nicer atmosphere i know which zoo i prefer.
gorilla rainforest - looking good as always. very unfortunate that there are no pygmy hippos. mandrill exhibit has had a slight landscaping work since my last visit.
treetop monkeys and apes - black capped capuchins now have access to old javan langur exhibit via a runway. a big improvement for the capuchin family (which was a nice addition to the collection). i had read some discontent on here that vegetation had been cleared form this area. it has. but was predominantly bamboo and only from between two particular exhibits (currently housing two species of lemur). my assumption is that this was done to give the primates access to sunlight in winter, since both these exhibits were exceptionally gloomy. whilst it looks different - i don't thing its a bad thing. plus the area has been replanted with less sun blocking species. i also was pleasantly surprised to see there is two tree shrews on display again here. a species of interest and very rare now in australia. i had thought the zoo was down to one (or none).
trail of the elephants - very lush and overgrown. looking great. orangs seem to have done a workover on the large trees in the exhibit that were planted too close to the climbing frames. the tall palms have taken well, but very unfortunate that the trees are unlikely to ever get parts that "breakable" size. siamangs holding their own with the public as usual. asian bird collection a shadow of what it once was. mandarin ducks, amhert and golden pheasnats, a hybrid peafowl some chattering lories, plumhead parrots, a couple of red faced parrotfinches and javas and white bibbed ground doves repeated through the four aviaries there.
wild sea - finally some fish! all the tanks are stocked and it makes a big difference. the outdoor areas of wild sea are not half bad. the pigface and tussocks are really growing well in the dunes and the gardens look great. i dare say all the sand actually makes parts of wild sea look far more natural than tarongas version. but its that intentional artificialness that lets it down and still does. but, to be fair - the addition of fish (especially in the penguin exhibit), garden maturity and some healthy algal growth have done a good job at improving it. like i said the outdoor sections are great. the cleverly designed super low fences between the visitors and penguins/seals are great. the fact that melbourne's seals can sunbathe on real sand is great. now if only they just fixed those damn rocks.
zoo center - the center of the zoo is primarily african savannah animals, platypus and the reptile and frog houses. all these looked great. the gardens surrounding the lion park (an exhibit i still think is good even though its about one of the oldest exhibits left at the zoo) have been "africanised" and are looking good. the platforms for the lions to lounge on are a nice addition too. its a very spacious exhibit by big cat standards - nothing to be ashamed of here. the frog house has a new room added especially for the corroboree frog program, which is worthwhile. these frogs used to be on display in a small tank the main frog house, whereas now there is a window into a cool room before you enter the main house in which various tanks and enclosures containing the frogs gives you a much better grasp of just what zoos vic is doing behind the scenes. the reptile house looks great as always. best landscaped terrariums i've ever seen in an australian zoo. the bongos have lost their yard to the new baboon development. they now have the rear end of the giraffe/ostrich/zebra yard, which fortunately is well shaded and vegetated. its a lot smaller but will suffice for their breeding pair. the baboon exhibit looks rather big. one wonders the logic of placing this exhibit smack bang at the entrance to the australian bush. its a step back from the immersion concept that melbourne has helped pioneer globally and to date, been exclusively practicing since its modernisation plans began in the late 80's.
the australian bush - nothing much has changed here. the great flight aviary is still a gem. there were parma wallabies in one of the old cassowary enclosures running alongside the GFA. whilst i may have missed one in the earlier exhibit i wonder if this signals that the species has left melbourne?
the old zoo - well excluding the bear/big cat areas that were refurbed on my last visit that just leaves the mixed up area surrounding the old elephant house. this area is completely undeveloped but again contains nothing to be embarrassed about. the red panda exhibits suffice. as do the tree kangaroo's (though its a shame these high profile animals don't have something great like they used to). the old penguin pool still houses a few "special needs" penguins. one of the old bird aviaries now holds the emperor tamarins. i was pleased to see a breeding family groups with a few youngsters in there. as far as i'm aware there are the only ones in australia. this species used to be displayed in a decent enclosure sandwiched between two terribly small ones for cottontops and a lone GLT. when i went to this area i was pleased to see that the three exhibits had been joined and given over to what was now a pair of GLT's. where the cottontops have gone i'm not sure.
so there it is. it was brilliant sunny day and the zoo was not even that busy. one could navigate easily and had no problem getting a look into any of the animal exhibits. with the new baboon exhibit on the way nobody can complain that melbourne has some atrocious or inadequate exhibits - it doesnt. and at half the cost of taronga and with a equally good collection and much, much, much nicer atmosphere i know which zoo i prefer.
