All in the past now, I will follow the progress of the zoo over the next few years to see what progress has been made compared to the last few years
Australia Zoo australia zoo growing pains
- Thread starter Coquinguy
- Start date
Yes indeed. The Crocodile Hunter Lodge is something that's been in their plans for many years, so now the infrastructure is in place, they can focus on other projects that are hopefully more animal centric.
Tricoart
Well-Known Member
Or they can just rename another section of the zoo after the trendiest Irwin family member at the time
Chandler’s Small Mammals Building (CSMB)
I think it’s Chandler’s turn. He might not be front and centre like the others, but he’s no doubt getting a bit of a complex when the rest of them have an island, a reptile house and an aviary between them.
Seriously though, I think a small mammals building is the next logical step. It’s be an efficient use of space and allow them to bring in several new species without breaking the bank (small monkeys, porcupine etc).
Small mammals buildings are common in North America, so Terri would have a first hand insight as to what makes a decent one.
I agree but really I am surprised with the number of overseas tourists they get and with the amount of Aussie species which are nocturnal that they have not got one already.Chandler’s Small Mammals Building (CSMB)
I think it’s Chandler’s turn. He might not be front and centre like the others, but he’s no doubt getting a bit of a complex when the rest of them have an island, a reptile house and an aviary between them.
Seriously though, I think a small mammals building is the next logical step. It’s be an efficient use of space and allow them to bring in several new species without breaking the bank (small monkeys, porcupine etc).
Small mammals buildings are common in North America, so Terri would have a first hand insight as to what makes a decent one.
If they’re looking for inspiration for a nocturnal house, they should look no further than Perth Zoo. Their nocturnal house is easily the best I’ve seen in any zoo.
Nocturnal houses are common though, so I’d prefer a small mammal house which houses both nocturnal and diurnal species. They have the opportunity to build something really innovative with monkey exhibits etc. with ceilings that can be rolled back in fair weather to expose a wire mesh roof - allowing natural sunlight into the exhibits.
All great ideas but I guess the money is not there
Alice Spring Desert Park has an even better/newer Noc House IIRC and it houses both diurnal and nocturnal species.
Chimpanzeearescary
Member
Australia Zoo in the early 2000’s was on its way to become one of the best zoos in the country until Steve Irwin’s tragic death which stopped a lot of development. Since then, the zoo has lost (and then gained) elephants, introduced new exhibits (Africa, Bindi’s Island) and has had cheetahs for over a decade but haven’t given them an enclosure???? The zoo has a lot of potential so what could make it better?
It would be good to have more animals in the Africa precinct.
The enclosure with the giraffe, zebra and rhino could do with a deer species (eland, addax) or an ostrich. A serval or fennec fox enclosure would be good to.
Turning Bindi’s Island into a monkey island not accessible to the public. You could have multiple species of lemurs, gibbons, siamangs… It baffles me the only primate or monkey species they have on display is ring-tailed lemurs.
They have enough room where the Bindi’s Boot Camp area is to add another larger enclosure for something like a Pygmy hippo, mandrill or gorilla.
Adding a Sumatran elephant bull.
Including more rarer natives such as tree kangaroos and platypus.
And finally, a nocturnal house.
It would be good to have more animals in the Africa precinct.
The enclosure with the giraffe, zebra and rhino could do with a deer species (eland, addax) or an ostrich. A serval or fennec fox enclosure would be good to.
Turning Bindi’s Island into a monkey island not accessible to the public. You could have multiple species of lemurs, gibbons, siamangs… It baffles me the only primate or monkey species they have on display is ring-tailed lemurs.
They have enough room where the Bindi’s Boot Camp area is to add another larger enclosure for something like a Pygmy hippo, mandrill or gorilla.
Adding a Sumatran elephant bull.
Including more rarer natives such as tree kangaroos and platypus.
And finally, a nocturnal house.
Stingrays touch pond
I would identify a Sumatran elephant bull, on display exhibits for the Cheetah and a diversification of species on the Savannah as priorities; followed by a great ape species accommodated on Bindi’s Island as was the original intention and an overall decrease in gimmicks and commercialisation.
Exotic Mammal species Australia Zoo could easily source:
In that thread, I also posted this list of exotic mammal species Australia Zoo could easily source within the country (most of which are suitable for their climate):
Przewalski's horse
Black rhinoceros
Dromedary camel
Rusa
Red deer
Fallow deer
Hog deer
Banteng
Water buffalo
American bison
Barbary sheep
Indian antelope
Eland
Nyala
Common waterbuck
Addax
Scimitar-horned oryx
Black and white ruffed lemur
Golden lion tamarin
Emperor tamarin
Cotton top tamarin
Common marmoset
Pygmy marmoset
Bolivian squirrel monkey
Black-capped capuchin
Black-handed spider monkey
Hamadryas baboon
Siamang
Sumatran orangutan
Common chimpanzee
Western lowland gorilla
African lion
Snow leopard
Sri Lankan leopard
Caracal
Serval
African wild dog
Maned wolf
Fennec fox
Spotted hyena
South African created porcupine
Capybara
I will tag some of our other Australasian users who may also have ideas to add: @Zorro, @Matt_C, @steveroberts, @Jambo, @WhistlingKite24, @akasha, @Abbey, @Swanson02, @Patrick Keegan, @marmolady
Exotic Mammal species Australia Zoo could easily source:
In that thread, I also posted this list of exotic mammal species Australia Zoo could easily source within the country (most of which are suitable for their climate):
Przewalski's horse
Black rhinoceros
Dromedary camel
Rusa
Red deer
Fallow deer
Hog deer
Banteng
Water buffalo
American bison
Barbary sheep
Indian antelope
Eland
Nyala
Common waterbuck
Addax
Scimitar-horned oryx
Black and white ruffed lemur
Golden lion tamarin
Emperor tamarin
Cotton top tamarin
Common marmoset
Pygmy marmoset
Bolivian squirrel monkey
Black-capped capuchin
Black-handed spider monkey
Hamadryas baboon
Siamang
Sumatran orangutan
Common chimpanzee
Western lowland gorilla
African lion
Snow leopard
Sri Lankan leopard
Caracal
Serval
African wild dog
Maned wolf
Fennec fox
Spotted hyena
South African created porcupine
Capybara
I will tag some of our other Australasian users who may also have ideas to add: @Zorro, @Matt_C, @steveroberts, @Jambo, @WhistlingKite24, @akasha, @Abbey, @Swanson02, @Patrick Keegan, @marmolady
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree with you but at the end of the day if they don’t even add an ostrich to its African exhibit I would not expect much if any of those species to appear
I have to agree AZ had so much going for it when Steve was in control but since his unfortunate passing much has slowed to a mere craw. They use to mention on the zoos website about a ten year plan with three stages in the zoos building program. Since then any reference to previous plans appear to of vanished. The bindi Island was going to be the worlds largest gorilla exhibit, Orangs were a species of interest. The list goes on.
Australia have the space, unlike most other zoos, to hold large species of ungulates. They should defenitelty be taking advantage of this. With only giraffes, rhinos and elephants, I can say it's quite a let down, especially considering all the other species they could be importing.
Primates are another area their collection is lacking in, and even using Bindi's islands area to create a sequence of islands for monkeys would be a much better use of the area.
First off and foremost though, i'd like to see them expanding their African collection. Ostritch, Zebra, African Lions, Hamadryas Baboons, Serval, Fennec Fox, Crested Porcupine and any species of African antelope would be good. There's nothing major stopping this from happening. They have the space and the finance.
One has to give them some credit they do have two zebra
As you have said they have the space and the finances so what’s stopping them?
One has to give them some credit they do have two zebra
As you have said they have the space and the finances so what’s stopping them?
I believe it's just the fact that they'd rather put their finances towards building new lodges revolving around the Irwins. It's good all in all, but when they're building a multitude of these and staring in reality tv shows, instead of improving their zoo and its collection, it can get quite concerning.
Like i've said there's nothing stopping them from making these changes if they really desire to do so.
And then there’s their latest gimmick - the cryptocurrency. If all these things demonstrated a flow on effect towards improving the zoo as the publicity around the Pre-2006 Crocodile Hunter TV series did, then I see no harm in them taking the initiative to generate money from a diverse range of sources. However, the lack of development suggests it’s a detraction rather than a benefit to the zoo’s progress imo.
@Chimpanzeearescary You appear to have a comprehensive knowledge of AZ and what could possibly make it a better zoo do you spend a lot of time there?
Swanson02
Well-Known Member
I agree, I believe just completing one of these 'wishlist' projects could spur Australia Zoo onto something greater. It does amaze me that Darling Downs a zoo that receives a 10th (probably less) of the annual visitors AZ does, has a collection rivaling if not surpassing Australia Zoo. I like Australia Zoo and have visited it many times but I get the feeling they have developed an arrogancy and are content with where they are at. It is probably due to the fact that if you ask anyone internationally to name a zoo in Australia, Australia Zoo will likely be top of mind if not the only zoo they could name. Unfortunately due to this stagnation AZ probably wouldn't even crack my top 5 zoos visited nowadays.
The commercialisation of Australia Zoo has been present since Steve and Terri took over and the TV series took the zoo to the international stage; but prior to Steve’s death, this was at least tempered by the conservation work and progress towards establishing a growing collection of animals. The zoo had a sense of direction and a clear vision going forward of geographic precincts and plans for several new exhibits.
Since then, all this appears to have fallen by the way side; while the commercialisation continues with a vengeance.
Chandler and Bindi’s wedding celebrated with commemorative wedding plates? Really? Unless you’re a royal getting married or a royal celebrating a jubilee/jubbly, you don’t get a commemorative plate.