I visited Melbourne Zoo on 15.01.2023. I have been twice before, once in 2003 when my family spent the whole day there. The things I remember most from that visit are the variety in the reptile house, the lively Mandrill troop, the Butterfly House and the thing that was a favourite for all of us; Cat Alley. I remember seeing Ocelot and Bobcat among others and it’s a real shame it’s gone. I also did a flying visit in April 2011, arriving shortly before closing and making a dash just to see the baby elephants, Mali and Ongard.
I spent seven hours at the zoo on this visit and it wasn’t quite enough time to see everything. In my usual fashion, I criss-crossed all over the zoo during the day, but I have arranged this review trail by trail. I entered the zoo via the rail gate, but I’ll start my review from the front gate and work my way back.
It was a cool, overcast day following a very hot day on Saturday. Due to the weather I postponed my return home by a day, to visit the zoo when it would be more comfortable for both me and the animals. Unfortunately everyone else in Melbourne had the same idea, and combined with school holidays, the zoo was very busy. Still, it was good to visit again.
Gorilla Rainforest Trail:
This trail began with a walk-through for Ring-tailed Lemur. I was excited to see this exhibit as it was a first for me, and I actually didn’t know it was there until I saw it. The enclosure is entered through locked gates which can only be opened one at a time to prevent escape by the lemurs. It’s spacious and landscaped well to be aesthetically pleasing and good for the lemurs. There was a roped off area where the lemurs were. Most of them were huddled together on top of a platform for warmth, but a couple were on the ground. I was standing by the rope when a lemur approached. It jumped up onto the rope, almost touching me. At the entry there is a sign requesting that visitors keep 1.5m distance from the lemurs, and I always try to obey zoo rules, but I honestly just got caught up in the moment because it was so cool. It’s definitely the best look I’ve ever had at this species.
Ring-tailed Lemur Walk-through
Ring-tailed Lemur
Exiting the walk-through there was a viewing area for Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur. I saw two lemurs here.
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
Next was the Western Lowland Gorilla exhibit. It’s spacious and green. The first viewing area was open air, which I prefer to glass even if the animals are a little further away. Further along the path there was also a viewing window. I saw Kimya sitting on a platform in the centre of the exhibit, and Kanzi was slowly moving about foraging.
Gorilla exhibit
Kanzi
The next exhibit was for Pygmy Hippopotamus. It had two sections, with open air viewing and also a window which includes underwater viewing. The idea is good but I didn’t like this viewing area. With the trees all around and being partially underground, it’s dank and was swarming with bugs. It wasn’t a place I wanted to stay for long and preferred the third viewing area which looked down on the pond.
Pygmy Hippo
Next was an exhibit for Southern Cassowary. It works given the jungle setting, but I believe this is the exhibit which once held Mandrill, a species which would work even better on this trail. Phasing them out makes absolutely no sense. The Cassowary was sitting right by the viewing window, and was consequently drawing a crowd. Throughout the day the crowds did make it difficult to access and enjoy many of the exhibits.
Cassowary
The next section of the path was a boardwalk which passed several treetop exhibits for apes and monkeys. The first was for Cotton-top Tamarin and was an outstanding enclosure for this species with large trees and plenty of opportunities for climbing and hiding.
Cotton-top Tamarin exhibit
The next two were for Black-handed Spider Monkey. The monkeys were putting on an acrobatic show making them very popular. These exhibits are perhaps a touch small for their inhabitants, and the monkeys were making the most of every inch available.
Black-handed Spider Monkey
Next was good-sized exhibit for Emperor Tamarin.
Emperor Tamarin exhibit
The next two were for Black-and-white Colobus and White-cheeked Gibbon. They had screening mesh on the viewing windows which made photography very difficult, but it affords the animals some privacy so I’m all for it. I saw one colobus and both gibbons. The gibbons were on opposite sides of the enclosure but they both looked relaxed.
Descending from the treetops, there was viewing for the other side of the gorilla exhibit. I saw Otana snoozing from here.
Gorilla exhibit
Near here was a viewing window into the primate food preparation area. There was a keeper there weighing and sorting vegetables into various buckets. It was interesting to see behind the scenes and it adds something different to the zoo experience.
Primate food prep area
This concluded the Gorilla Rainforest Trail. It is home to most of the zoo’s primates with a sprinkling of other rainforest species. I love the lush, dense vegetation and it really does feel like being in a rainforest. It would be nice to see Melbourne Zoo grow it’s gorilla troop and make the feature species of this trail a more dynamic exhibit.
TBC...
I spent seven hours at the zoo on this visit and it wasn’t quite enough time to see everything. In my usual fashion, I criss-crossed all over the zoo during the day, but I have arranged this review trail by trail. I entered the zoo via the rail gate, but I’ll start my review from the front gate and work my way back.
It was a cool, overcast day following a very hot day on Saturday. Due to the weather I postponed my return home by a day, to visit the zoo when it would be more comfortable for both me and the animals. Unfortunately everyone else in Melbourne had the same idea, and combined with school holidays, the zoo was very busy. Still, it was good to visit again.
Gorilla Rainforest Trail:
This trail began with a walk-through for Ring-tailed Lemur. I was excited to see this exhibit as it was a first for me, and I actually didn’t know it was there until I saw it. The enclosure is entered through locked gates which can only be opened one at a time to prevent escape by the lemurs. It’s spacious and landscaped well to be aesthetically pleasing and good for the lemurs. There was a roped off area where the lemurs were. Most of them were huddled together on top of a platform for warmth, but a couple were on the ground. I was standing by the rope when a lemur approached. It jumped up onto the rope, almost touching me. At the entry there is a sign requesting that visitors keep 1.5m distance from the lemurs, and I always try to obey zoo rules, but I honestly just got caught up in the moment because it was so cool. It’s definitely the best look I’ve ever had at this species.
Ring-tailed Lemur Walk-through
Ring-tailed Lemur
Exiting the walk-through there was a viewing area for Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur. I saw two lemurs here.
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
Next was the Western Lowland Gorilla exhibit. It’s spacious and green. The first viewing area was open air, which I prefer to glass even if the animals are a little further away. Further along the path there was also a viewing window. I saw Kimya sitting on a platform in the centre of the exhibit, and Kanzi was slowly moving about foraging.
Gorilla exhibit
Kanzi
The next exhibit was for Pygmy Hippopotamus. It had two sections, with open air viewing and also a window which includes underwater viewing. The idea is good but I didn’t like this viewing area. With the trees all around and being partially underground, it’s dank and was swarming with bugs. It wasn’t a place I wanted to stay for long and preferred the third viewing area which looked down on the pond.
Pygmy Hippo
Next was an exhibit for Southern Cassowary. It works given the jungle setting, but I believe this is the exhibit which once held Mandrill, a species which would work even better on this trail. Phasing them out makes absolutely no sense. The Cassowary was sitting right by the viewing window, and was consequently drawing a crowd. Throughout the day the crowds did make it difficult to access and enjoy many of the exhibits.
Cassowary
The next section of the path was a boardwalk which passed several treetop exhibits for apes and monkeys. The first was for Cotton-top Tamarin and was an outstanding enclosure for this species with large trees and plenty of opportunities for climbing and hiding.
Cotton-top Tamarin exhibit
The next two were for Black-handed Spider Monkey. The monkeys were putting on an acrobatic show making them very popular. These exhibits are perhaps a touch small for their inhabitants, and the monkeys were making the most of every inch available.
Black-handed Spider Monkey
Next was good-sized exhibit for Emperor Tamarin.
Emperor Tamarin exhibit
The next two were for Black-and-white Colobus and White-cheeked Gibbon. They had screening mesh on the viewing windows which made photography very difficult, but it affords the animals some privacy so I’m all for it. I saw one colobus and both gibbons. The gibbons were on opposite sides of the enclosure but they both looked relaxed.
Descending from the treetops, there was viewing for the other side of the gorilla exhibit. I saw Otana snoozing from here.
Gorilla exhibit
Near here was a viewing window into the primate food preparation area. There was a keeper there weighing and sorting vegetables into various buckets. It was interesting to see behind the scenes and it adds something different to the zoo experience.
Primate food prep area
This concluded the Gorilla Rainforest Trail. It is home to most of the zoo’s primates with a sprinkling of other rainforest species. I love the lush, dense vegetation and it really does feel like being in a rainforest. It would be nice to see Melbourne Zoo grow it’s gorilla troop and make the feature species of this trail a more dynamic exhibit.
TBC...
