Koala Exhibits

blospz

blospz

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Koala exhibits in the U.S. seem very basic. Glass fronted exhibits with a tree limbs in the middle and a koala sleeping in it. Most of them look sterile. Are there any zoos that have more unique exhibits? I am a fan of the one at Cleveland Zoo where they share an area with a tree kangaroo and echidna. At least it's lush from bottom to top.

I have only seen a few so I'm interested about the other selected zoos.
 
I agree with all of your comments, and I personally find that the best koala exhibits are the ones that have outdoor enclosures (San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc). San Diego in particular has always been a wonderful destination to view koalas, with many of the animals in a series of exhibits that were basic but often contained various species of macropod. Now that the zoo has demolished that area, the new Outback zone (opening in the next few months) will likely still be America's #1 location for koalas. The all-indoor, glass-fronted perches in many other zoos are boring and sterile.
 
The only koala exhibit I've ever seen was an indoor nocturnal one in the Minnesota Zoo years ago. The koalas were moving around a little bit. I have never seen pictures of nocturnal koala exhibits. Are they normally nocturnal?
 
elefante said:
The only koala exhibit I've ever seen was an indoor nocturnal one in the Minnesota Zoo years ago. The koalas were moving around a little bit. I have never seen pictures of nocturnal koala exhibits. Are they normally nocturnal?
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In the 1970s, the LA zoo opened a large indoor nocturnal exhibit that featured a single large habitat for koalas, echidnas, bettongs and I think frogmouths (?). I remember really liking it, as it was the first place I'd ever seen koalas in a habitat setting, not just stuck on a stick. Not sure the lack of UV etc. was particularly good for the animals, and the fact it has been closed down for years (although still there) probably tells the story.
 
reduakari said:
In the 1970s, the LA zoo opened a large indoor nocturnal exhibit that featured a single large habitat for koalas, echidnas, bettongs and I think frogmouths (?). I remember really liking it, as it was the first place I'd ever seen koalas in a habitat setting, not just stuck on a stick. Not sure the lack of UV etc. was particularly good for the animals, and the fact it has been closed down for years (although still there) probably tells the story.
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I too quite enjoyed that display. I believe it also had Sugar Gliders as well.

Albuquerque has an indoor greenhouse style enclosure with open air viewing and free-flying birds that I enjoyed quite well.
 
I made an awesome multileveled one based on a treehouse on Zoo Tycoon 2. I'll see if I can find pics, its honestly one of the best exhibits Ive made.
 
Whenever I see photos of koalas kept in the Northern Hemisphere I have to ask myself why they go to so much bother. The one that Ituri mentions in Albuquerque sounds like a good idea to get around the colder weather aspect but in Australia koalas are kept in almost every zoo that I've been to and for the most part are kept in basic fenced areas with climbing equipment.

Here's an example from a native species zoo in country Victoria.
http://www.zoochat.com/383/koala-exhibit-kyabram-fauna-park-57354/

And another from Melbourne Zoo.
http://www.zoochat.com/51/new-koala-exhibit-281388/

The more ambitious zoos will have raised viewing and a maybe a couple of other species (echidnas, bettongs etc.) to liven it up but they all follow a pretty basic formula.
 
snowleopard said:
I agree with all of your comments, and I personally find that the best koala exhibits are the ones that have outdoor enclosures (San Francisco...).
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I was surprised to see that SF had koalas when I first went as an adult. It's definitely not a bad exhibit, but it needs work; the proximity of yahoo to glass is too tempting. If not a setback barrier, a docent should be installed their fulltime to prevent hipsters shoving their DSLRs right up to the glass, and the kids from banging on it. A walkway that encircles the outdoor portion would be nice.

Given the concerns with the weather, the zoo keeps all koalas indoors unless the temperature is 60 degrees or more.
 
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