Australia Zoo Australia Zoo in Trouble

the future of Australia Zoo

I reckon that if they want Australia Zoo to live up to its name , they should seriously look at working towards it .
For better or for worse , it has become obvious that Steve Irwin established
"Steve Irwin Zoo and Reptile Park" , whether this was intended or not .

Take the lynch pin away , and you need to have another anchor , or the whole project could easily collapse .
Steve tragically died a couple of years ago ( he was far too young to die in my opinion , even though I wasnt a great fan of his style ) and it could be argued as to how long he will be remembered by growing generations . Although he was probably Australias best known reptile conservation person , he did not have the depth or breadth that someone like Gerald Durrell or David Attenborough .

If Australia Zoo wants to seriously keep that title , they should decide how they are going to do that with a long term plan , that does NOT involve a Steve or a Bindi or someother personality that the media will continually hound for the rest of their lives . Otherwise it may as well be called Irwinpark
The more that the remaining Irwins can concentrate on running the zoo , the better .
They obviously have some potential to do so , I certainly dont want it wasted and being turned into yet another pseudo-attraction on the Sunshine Coast . Greater Brisbane could do with a decent zoo !
 
nigel, i think you'll find that since the growth of the zoo was founded on the entertainment industry - continuing as a (bindi) irwin theme park, very much is their future.

what your asking is for australia zoo to not only hypothetically become just another zoo, without the theatrics, but to become a zoo comparable to melbourne or taronga or any other major zoo in the world.

i don't think thats possible with a private enterprise. i don't think just being a zoo is going to be enough for australia zoo to not only sustain itself but be able to continue to grow in the decades to come.

public zoos receive on-going funding by the government for new developments. the gates mostly just cover cover the day-to day running of the place.

if australia zoo gave up on the entertainment element what would happen?

the irwin celebrity would fizzle and with it would disappear the zoos biggest income. their nest egg would have been all spent on investments in gorillas, elephants, lemurs, animal hospitals and african safaris.

eventually renovations and new attractions would be needed to keep the ours zoo up to date. and whilst taronga zoo gets another government cash injection, australia zoo will find themselves struggling to makeup the funds from gate sales alone. as the zoo slowly begins to become more outdated less people visit and slowly its slips into trouble.

see, if australia zoo wants to play with the big guys and "live up to its name" as you put it then its imperative that they do continue up with irwin image and maintain it as more than a zoo.

the whole future of the estate is pinned on bindi not just as a child television host, but eventually she will be marketed as a sex-symbol who's not afraid to get her hands dirty. you wait and see...
 
I've said it time and time again, but the potential at Australia Zoo is enormous. With rhinos, lemurs, an african savanna, hotel, etc all due to arrive within the next two years then there should be a huge spike in attendance. They still have long-term plans that have been rumored to involve both gorillas and orangutans, and the 3 aging Asian elephants will eventually have to be replaced by younger stock. Perhaps they can copy Werribee and incorporate rollercoasters and $220 million in renovation funds? Hahaha
 
patrick said:
nigel, i think you'll find that since the growth of the zoo was founded on the entertainment industry - continuing as a (bindi) irwin theme park, very much is their future.

what your asking is for australia zoo to not only hypothetically become just another zoo, without the theatrics, but to become a zoo comparable to melbourne or taronga or any other major zoo in the world.

i don't think thats possible with a private enterprise. i don't think just being a zoo is going to be enough for australia zoo to not only sustain itself but be able to continue to grow in the decades to come.

public zoos receive on-going funding by the government for new developments. the gates mostly just cover cover the day-to day running of the place.

if australia zoo gave up on the entertainment element what would happen?

the irwin celebrity would fizzle and with it would disappear the zoos biggest income. their nest egg would have been all spent on investments in gorillas, elephants, lemurs, animal hospitals and african safaris.

eventually renovations and new attractions would be needed to keep the ours zoo up to date. and whilst taronga zoo gets another government cash injection, australia zoo will find themselves struggling to makeup the funds from gate sales alone. as the zoo slowly begins to become more outdated less people visit and slowly its slips into trouble.

see, if australia zoo wants to play with the big guys and "live up to its name" as you put it then its imperative that they do continue up with irwin image and maintain it as more than a zoo.

the whole future of the estate is pinned on bindi not just as a child television host, but eventually she will be marketed as a sex-symbol who's not afraid to get her hands dirty. you wait and see...
Click to expand...

Yep I think Patrick has hit the nail on the head with what you have said here, this is very close to the mark
 
Aus zoo future

I certainly would not like to pin millions of dollars on a 9 year old shoulders. She will eventually be a teen and come with some baggage.
 
patrick said:
but eventually she will be marketed as a sex-symbol who's not afraid to get her hands dirty. you wait and see...
Click to expand...

Would "poster girl" be a better term? I don't know, sex-symbol just sounds too sleazy... or britney! :eek:
 
Just take Britney with the boa constrictor at the MTV Music Awards a couple of years ago...add Bindi with a carpet python and the sky is the limit!
 
snowleopard said:
Just take Britney with the boa constrictor at the MTV Music Awards a couple of years ago...add Bindi with a carpet python and the sky is the limit!
Click to expand...

Bindi Irwin is Australia Zoo's answer to US Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton. I just wish Australia Zoo would totally move away from this showbusiness presentation of wildlife and become a serious contender in the major zoos stake.

Fine they want to bring in more Sumatran tigers, gorillas, orangs, rhinos and elephants ... and create an African savannah themed exhibit type. But if that is not followed with a serious investment in wildlife conservation programmes both at the park and in situ, it will be a wasted opportunity to make Australia Zoo come good.

I also wish that Terri would use some of those millions of Aussie dollar to set up a true conservation fund (if she wants that DAK ilk, she should also put her money where her mouth is ... as DAK ACTUALLY INVESTS BIGTIME in in situ conservation programmes).

So, time to be sensible and get a vision truer to form inside Australia Zoo! :p
 
jelle said:
I also wish that Terri would use some of those millions of Aussie dollar to set up a true conservation fund
Click to expand...

I mentioned earlier in the thread that the Irwins have bought some huge amount of land (36,000 acres if I remember) as conservation land... Do you not consider this "true" conservation...
 
jelle said:
Bindi Irwin is Australia Zoo's answer to US Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton. I just wish Australia Zoo would totally move away from this showbusiness presentation of wildlife and become a serious contender in the major zoos stake.
Click to expand...

I think that's a bit rough. Bindi is still a kid and is not a dumb party queen like the other two.

From what I've seen of her, Bindi works very hard and whether you like her style or not, she can be (and already is to a degree) a great ambassador for wildlife conservation.
 
Bindi

Bindi is just a 9 year old. Nothing more or less. She does not give any great insight into conservation issues of the day. She likes animals which is great. Hopefully she will not go down the path of other celebrities but she has been assigned the celebrity status without any accomplishments. Pretty much the same as Paris Hilton or Nicole Ritchey.

Hopefully she will cure cancer, end famine, and fix global warming!
 
Thankyou Mark, And though we all ahve our opinions on The irwin Troop, I ahve to say that if even children learn just to respect animals, then the irwins will have done enough.

Let me say i know many of you older members, mark and ptig, whilst you have opinions, i am actually the result of an 'irwin upbrining'. I grew up watching him, and learning about wildlife, and i did get a respect for wildlife. Though i also had other imput, i did am probably at that age of the first generation of children steve educated, and i hope that bindi, with her tv show on abc (might i say it's not bad, but i have so say a little immature due to it focusing on very young children and not my age group) it is actually quite good, and is a very big and good step in educating under 10's about wildlife in general, such as behaviour and adaptions, but as well how to respect and conserve.

And hopefulyl as she grows, so does the maturity of the programs.

I actually think bindi will continue to be a very big spot light, and i hope bob, who is actualyl quite shelterat his age compared to bindi, produces more mature documentaries like his father.
 
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