Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo visits...
- Thread starter patrick
- Start date
- Status
01/07/07
not much had changed at the zoo since my last visit. the tiger cubs are growing fast, the gorillas are still in the process of a major re-shuffle, the hippo is still yet to be moved to sydney. and the mandrills are proving popular onnce more with their very cute little newborn becoming increaingly active. the recent rains had filled up many long-dried up moats, including the waterfall in the gorilla rainforest and given the gardens and enclosures long-awaited injection of lush green grass and groundcover regrowth.
the four female elephants continue to present quite the perfect little picture of a family. kapah, who seemed to have gone from infatuated when they first arrived to almost a little overwhelmed a few weeks later always seems to be very interactive with the others these days. i even saw her give the youngest, num-oi a gentle slap with her trunk when she was greedily scoffing too much hay.
i think the new elephant are gorgeous, but moreso i love watching kapah when shes with them.
some new wooden signs had been placed up around the path to give visitors a better idea of what each paddock is named. they read things like "village paddock" and "barn paddock viewing 1". unfortuinately they are exceptionally boring looking and feature no thai or malayan writing or design elements and thus seem a bit out of place to me. i suppose the idea is that they will allow the visitors to get a betetr sense of TOTE and underatnd what the keepers are talking about when they refer to these locations.
i saw the keeper presentaions for the brown bears and big cats. essentially the big cats involves them following very simple commands for a treat of non-lactose milk. it was however, lovely to not only see the clouded leopard, but see her actively running up and down the front of the exhibit and standing on her hind legs to receive her milk. i learnt a little about her. shes hand raised from the USA (and loves being a good pat from her keeper) and is very old -20 years old in fact (i was told she was expected to live only a coupple more years). she has only been undergoing the training program for a very short period of time and proved that whilst you may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, you certainly can teach an old cat. (man that was a bad joke, but i couldn't help myself!! sorry)
the australian section is pretty good, even though the bulk of it has been themed on the dry semi-arid areas of the west victorian malee after a bushfire. its a bit hard to navigate, and very "australiana" with its odd aussie poetry enscribed all over the place, but it certainly is very thematically well done.
all in all no changes but still consitently good. i was with a friend from auckland NZ - and he was very very impressed by the gorillas, orangutans and the the large big cat collection.
not much had changed at the zoo since my last visit. the tiger cubs are growing fast, the gorillas are still in the process of a major re-shuffle, the hippo is still yet to be moved to sydney. and the mandrills are proving popular onnce more with their very cute little newborn becoming increaingly active. the recent rains had filled up many long-dried up moats, including the waterfall in the gorilla rainforest and given the gardens and enclosures long-awaited injection of lush green grass and groundcover regrowth.
the four female elephants continue to present quite the perfect little picture of a family. kapah, who seemed to have gone from infatuated when they first arrived to almost a little overwhelmed a few weeks later always seems to be very interactive with the others these days. i even saw her give the youngest, num-oi a gentle slap with her trunk when she was greedily scoffing too much hay.
i think the new elephant are gorgeous, but moreso i love watching kapah when shes with them.
some new wooden signs had been placed up around the path to give visitors a better idea of what each paddock is named. they read things like "village paddock" and "barn paddock viewing 1". unfortuinately they are exceptionally boring looking and feature no thai or malayan writing or design elements and thus seem a bit out of place to me. i suppose the idea is that they will allow the visitors to get a betetr sense of TOTE and underatnd what the keepers are talking about when they refer to these locations.
i saw the keeper presentaions for the brown bears and big cats. essentially the big cats involves them following very simple commands for a treat of non-lactose milk. it was however, lovely to not only see the clouded leopard, but see her actively running up and down the front of the exhibit and standing on her hind legs to receive her milk. i learnt a little about her. shes hand raised from the USA (and loves being a good pat from her keeper) and is very old -20 years old in fact (i was told she was expected to live only a coupple more years). she has only been undergoing the training program for a very short period of time and proved that whilst you may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, you certainly can teach an old cat. (man that was a bad joke, but i couldn't help myself!! sorry)
the australian section is pretty good, even though the bulk of it has been themed on the dry semi-arid areas of the west victorian malee after a bushfire. its a bit hard to navigate, and very "australiana" with its odd aussie poetry enscribed all over the place, but it certainly is very thematically well done.
all in all no changes but still consitently good. i was with a friend from auckland NZ - and he was very very impressed by the gorillas, orangutans and the the large big cat collection.
thanks so much apt, it's great to see the elephnats all settled in, now not to be a pain, any pictures?
on the signs, great idea, but it seems very silly to call one paddock "barn paddock viewing 1'. not very imaginative, something like The Clearing would have been cool. and yes in thai would have been awsome!
on the signs, great idea, but it seems very silly to call one paddock "barn paddock viewing 1'. not very imaginative, something like The Clearing would have been cool. and yes in thai would have been awsome!
i think in immersion exhibits is important not to go into overkill and clutter the environment. i find most immeriosn exhibits try and cramp in too much in too little space, therefore completely destroying the iniatal concept. did you know TOTE is supposed to be a thai village, with a "village paddock" and then when you enter through the "temple gates" you are suppose dto enter the elephants rainforest habitat. only problem is that there are almost just as many man-made features (conctere viewing steps, bamboo fencing, steel pillars, chains, signs and thai buildings) in the "rainforest" side as the "village" side.
the actual concept behind TOTE doesn't actually work at all. and to get back to point, the signage added recently is just one teeny little element of many that ruin the attempt at creating a rainforest atmosphere.
i'm not saying the man-made elements are useless, just that there are so much of them in such a small area it really doesn't much feel like a tranquil rainforest.
the actual concept behind TOTE doesn't actually work at all. and to get back to point, the signage added recently is just one teeny little element of many that ruin the attempt at creating a rainforest atmosphere.
i'm not saying the man-made elements are useless, just that there are so much of them in such a small area it really doesn't much feel like a tranquil rainforest.
The man made elements in the elephant enclosure are supposed to highlight the challenges faced by asian elephants....there is not much natural habitat for them to live in safely/peacefully. The message that is supposed to get across is that these animals are increasingly having to share their habitat with humans as we encroach on their environment with our farm crops, temples, etc. Humans and elephants don't always mix well.
I'm a bit old fashioned and not a fan of interpretive displays/exhibits and I think they go over most people's head.
I'm a bit old fashioned and not a fan of interpretive displays/exhibits and I think they go over most people's head.
i'm a big fan of these style exhibits but i'll agree that many i see being built these days are so over-amitious that they end up becoming cluttered, compromising a lot of the aniamls space and like you said sending the message straight over the tops of most peoples heads anyway.
I have seen people fascnated by the interpretation and others totally ignore them. I really like Melbournes Elephant exhibit, especially the barn.hall whatever it is that has all the ibfo. I find something new in there everytime. I also like to look at the vegie garden to see what is growing. But the food court area really leaves me cold.
i have seen on tele, that mek kapah used to go into the vegie garden, and tear up some palms, or some vegies in there, the garden was then themed as 'local village garden - elephant reak havock" (soz spelling lol) . I think this is great, better than people imitating elephant havock, why not get a real ele to!
I just reread my last comment. Correction: I'm a fan of the exhibit (and it's better for the animals). I'm not a fan of the fact that there's not much 'old fashioned signage' or any information that correctly explains the message that they're trying to get across...it's left to your interpretation. (And the message is often misinterpreted or missed altogether.)
I think people like to know the facts. But the exhibit is soooo much better than where they came from.
I think people like to know the facts. But the exhibit is soooo much better than where they came from.
All new zoo building in Uk is following this pattern too -examples are lions at Whipsnade, Gorillas-London, Red Ape- Chester etc..
the problem is most zoo visitors come mainly to look at and enjoy the 'live' animals, the 'heavy' conservation messaging is very over childrens' heads, and even for adults, to read the ever increasing display material available would use up an awful lot of the time available for their visit. I'm certainly not against its provision, but I too wonder how worthwhile it is in this context. Its more the sort of thing I'd like to read during a more thoughtful visit to a museum perhaps.
whether its a museum, zoo, botanical garden or university lecture, most of what people are told is forgotten pretty quickly.
i think the benifit of the immersion style exhibit is that so much interpretation that previously would have been pointed out to people on unread signs can now reach visitors sub-consciously. put people in a gorilla rainforest, rather than telling them that gorillas come from a rainforest. self directed learning through immersion can have strong outcomes depending on the quality of the interpretation, when combined with a live animal and further participatory learning experiences.
ultimately, zoos must position themselves to influence not only community attitudes towards conservation but more importantly behaviour. immersion exhibits, if done well are going to pull this off more effectively than the 'how many eggs does it lay?' traditional interp.
using an example of an exhibit in the UK that youre clearly familiar with-whipsnades 'Lions of the Wherever it is'-the main themes still clearly resonate with me even though i visited once nearly 2 years ago....
1-carnivores and people are in conflict at many levels (the goat boma is fabulous)
2-lions are an essential part of the eco-system-reinforced by zebra, ostrich etc
3-lions come from Africa (traditional architecture etc)
4-there is a relationship between lions and indigenous people
5-ZSL is working on lion conservation
6-lions are amazing. seeing them close up to the plate glass windows. fantastic
if every exhibit could reinforce the complexities of conservation, but also the simple differences we could make then it would be a great step forward.
id love to see our Aussie Zoos with gorillas starting a phone-recycling scheme to educate people about upgrading your moby every 6 months is seriously endangering gorillas through copper mining. or next to the orangs,create a display of foods that use palm oil, if only to get people thinking.
learning needs to become a little more daring, i think it will
i think the benifit of the immersion style exhibit is that so much interpretation that previously would have been pointed out to people on unread signs can now reach visitors sub-consciously. put people in a gorilla rainforest, rather than telling them that gorillas come from a rainforest. self directed learning through immersion can have strong outcomes depending on the quality of the interpretation, when combined with a live animal and further participatory learning experiences.
ultimately, zoos must position themselves to influence not only community attitudes towards conservation but more importantly behaviour. immersion exhibits, if done well are going to pull this off more effectively than the 'how many eggs does it lay?' traditional interp.
using an example of an exhibit in the UK that youre clearly familiar with-whipsnades 'Lions of the Wherever it is'-the main themes still clearly resonate with me even though i visited once nearly 2 years ago....
1-carnivores and people are in conflict at many levels (the goat boma is fabulous)
2-lions are an essential part of the eco-system-reinforced by zebra, ostrich etc
3-lions come from Africa (traditional architecture etc)
4-there is a relationship between lions and indigenous people
5-ZSL is working on lion conservation
6-lions are amazing. seeing them close up to the plate glass windows. fantastic
if every exhibit could reinforce the complexities of conservation, but also the simple differences we could make then it would be a great step forward.
id love to see our Aussie Zoos with gorillas starting a phone-recycling scheme to educate people about upgrading your moby every 6 months is seriously endangering gorillas through copper mining. or next to the orangs,create a display of foods that use palm oil, if only to get people thinking.
learning needs to become a little more daring, i think it will
Yes, the 'Lions of the Serengeti ' experience at Whipsnade is very good. As I think I said in the 'Gorilla Kingdom' post, the concepts behind these two exhibits (and London's Hunting Dogs) is so similar I feel they must be designed by the same firm. This could be the new 'face' of London Zoo in the future. I would like to think so.
I really didn't have the time to look at all the interpretive material at Gorilla Kingdom- I wish I had- but it would also have been difficult to concentrate with all the excited children milling around etc. But whichever way you look at it, with all this information at least the choice is here- to read and take as much in as you wish.
Its said nowadays that there's too much information in our World for us to take it all in- I feel that the current trends in Zoo info is mirroring this feature of lour lives in 2007. Bu I'd much rather this than the reverse.
Its a far cry from what I remember as 'information' at the Zoo when I visited as a kid. A simple label that said; Gorilla. (Gorilla gorilla). Habitat; W.Africa.(plus a little shaded map!)
I really didn't have the time to look at all the interpretive material at Gorilla Kingdom- I wish I had- but it would also have been difficult to concentrate with all the excited children milling around etc. But whichever way you look at it, with all this information at least the choice is here- to read and take as much in as you wish.
Its said nowadays that there's too much information in our World for us to take it all in- I feel that the current trends in Zoo info is mirroring this feature of lour lives in 2007. Bu I'd much rather this than the reverse.
Its a far cry from what I remember as 'information' at the Zoo when I visited as a kid. A simple label that said; Gorilla. (Gorilla gorilla). Habitat; W.Africa.(plus a little shaded map!)
06/08/07
not a hell of a lot to say, but from my quick little visit i noticed the zoo has made a bit more of an effort to "brand" its precincts. the asian area enterance has been totally jazzed up, with what must have cost a fortune in palm trees. whilst always sporting a nice jungly enterance at a prime location off the drive, it now not only has a very extensive garden of matured asian palm species, it alos has permanent (these ones are vinyl on steel poles) colourful "trail of the elephants" flags sporting graphics of the animals.
likewise, the same was done at the left of the zoo main enterance for the "gorilla rainforest" (that interestingly has many non-african primates!). its a little less dramatic than the asian area becuse of its location of the sharp left of teh enterance but hopefully when teh grottoes are revamped a new more rainforestly path and enterance will be incorperated so as to be a bit more immersive. currently the flags are mounted on some cream-brick public toilets!!!
not a hell of a lot to say, but from my quick little visit i noticed the zoo has made a bit more of an effort to "brand" its precincts. the asian area enterance has been totally jazzed up, with what must have cost a fortune in palm trees. whilst always sporting a nice jungly enterance at a prime location off the drive, it now not only has a very extensive garden of matured asian palm species, it alos has permanent (these ones are vinyl on steel poles) colourful "trail of the elephants" flags sporting graphics of the animals.
likewise, the same was done at the left of the zoo main enterance for the "gorilla rainforest" (that interestingly has many non-african primates!). its a little less dramatic than the asian area becuse of its location of the sharp left of teh enterance but hopefully when teh grottoes are revamped a new more rainforestly path and enterance will be incorperated so as to be a bit more immersive. currently the flags are mounted on some cream-brick public toilets!!!
The entrance to elephants was being missed by too many patrons so it was redesigned.
The precincts have been renamed. What used to be the African Rainforest (home to the gorillas) is now just 'Rainforest' (easier than trying to explain the what gibbons and lemurs are doing there.) Asian Rainforest has been renamed 'Trail' (or something similar). I'm pretty sure this is right.
The precincts have been renamed. What used to be the African Rainforest (home to the gorillas) is now just 'Rainforest' (easier than trying to explain the what gibbons and lemurs are doing there.) Asian Rainforest has been renamed 'Trail' (or something similar). I'm pretty sure this is right.
It costs $23 to get into Melbourne zoo and the usual concessions apply. all the pricing details can be found on Three Great Zoos - Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary and Werribee Open Range Zoo
Sorry, forgot to add also that work on the "Stories of the Sea" precinct starts on 8th October, 2007. The seals will be moved temporarily and one of the paths will be blocked but there shouldn't be any major problems. It will be great when it's finished (in about two years time.......)
- Status