I arrived at Monarto at a little after midday, a couple of hours later than I originally intended. The sky was still overcast but didn’t look like rain. Reluctantly, I set the ISO on my camera to 200.
The Visitor’s Centre was the pretty much the same as my previous visit 2 ½ years ago, although the Bilby (or Bilbies) had been removed from the pit. A sign said that the enclosure was empty, but there were at least four Spinifex Hopping Mice running around feeding. There were still Hopping Mice and Lizards on display in glass tanks as well.
I only had a few minutes to wait for the bus. A couple of meerkats were out, but they weren’t very active. It wasn’t a cold day, but it wasn’t particularly warm either. I took a couple of photos and then boarded the bus.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/meerkat-137020/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/example-labeling-137012/
I don’t remember the guide’s name, but the busdriver was named Patsy. Hard to forget for two reasons – firstly, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone named Patsy before, and secondly, the Guide kept asking Patsy questions about what had happened on tours that morning: “Did you see the Wedgetail Eagle this morning, Patsy?”, “Did you see them right up by the bus before, Patsy” etc. We never heard Patsy’s responses, but whatever she said seemed to keep our guide happy. Of course, our Guide reinforcing what we were missing out on probably wasn’t the best PR, but she was one of those volunteers that treats her job like a social outing and likes to chat with everyone.
The Guide was full of information about the animals, most of it very basic and mostly correct. Unfortunately, she was also anthropomorphic. And to make matters worse, there was some idiotic woman passenger on the bus who was quite sympathetic and emotional to the animals’ situations. When we were told about habitat destruction, and species hunted for their hides or their horns or other body parts, there would be a loud “Ohhh!”, “Ooohh, that’s awful”, or “Oh no, why would they do that?” from this woman. When two Przewalski Horses started fighting she slapped the window of the bus and shouted “Stop that!” at them, which they ignored, of course. AS the Przewalksi’s were the first thing we saw, I knew it was going to be a loooooong bus ride and wondered if I shouldn’t get off at the first stop.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/przewalskis-horse-137021/
As I said, the Przewalski’s were the first animals visited on the tour and they had just been fed. After spending a few minutes watching them feed we left for the Black Rhinos. It wasn’t until later that evening I realised we didn’t see the Bison which should have been next. I don’t know if they were off display, if Patsy had gotten lost, or if Our Guide knew nothing about Bison so we didn’t go there to save her embarrassment. Whatever reason, we didn’t see the Bison. Or the Dromedaries which have had an enclosure built for them in the Bison paddock.
I won’t go into details of the full bus ride, which took about an hour. Apart from the Bison we drove into or around all the other exhibits and saw most of the occupants up fairly close. I was not really impressed by the Bongo enclosure (although our guide was very excited that one of the Bongos was so close, and the idiot woman was in awe at “the most beautiful animal” she had ever seen). There were at least two addax and six eland calves, and the Spotted Hyena cubs were almost as large as the parents. After leaving the Cheetahs we drove through an enormous undeveloped grassed paddock that only housed a few emu and kangaroos (titled below as "Large expanse of nothing"). Our guide said something about this area going to have more native species soon. However, according to the map I was given, this area is dwarfed by a much larger area (the Bretag Scrub) which will be a “Future release site for native animals”.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/bongo-enclosure-137010/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/addax-young-137037/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/addax-137049/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/eland-137026/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/spotted-hyena-137032/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/spotted-hyena-137031/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/spotted-hyena-137030/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/large-expanse-nothing-137011/
When the bus dropped us off at the Visitor’s Centre I set off on foot, first to the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby enclosure, and then over to the new Chimpanzee exhibit. At the time of my visit (mid-March 2010) they had four males but only Sandali was outside. At first I thought he’d been separated, but a volunteer pointed out the open door to the inner area – apparently Sandali enjoyed the outdoor exhibit more than the others did.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/sandali-137039/
The exhibit itself is quite large. It looks about half the size of Taronga’s Chimp Park (or at least, it looks like that to me, it could be a bit larger or smaller), is sloping with a stream running through the middle. There were quite a few trees in the enclosure, mainly Eucalypts, and some grasses appear to have been planted. The ground was covered in woodchips. In addition, a couple of climbing platforms had been built out of poles and ropes strung between. I was really surprised at the trees. There appeared to be no damage at all to any of them. I would have though the chimps would have stripped the leaves or broken off branches, but there was no evidence of this, and the four chimps had been in the exhibit together for some months. Maybe when they get some girls they want to impress …
http://www.zoochat.com/76/new-chimpanzee-exhibit-137013/
The indoor area, referred to as an exercise room, was quite spacious and high, with climbing frames, ropes, shelves and platforms, toys and browse. The floor consisted of a deep layer of wood chips. The three chimps inside were very inactive, sitting around doing nothing. Maybe they had just been fed – Sandali was outside eating a piece of corn (but was otherwise just as inactive).
http://www.zoochat.com/76/new-chimpanzee-exhibit-inside-area-137014/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/new-chimpanzee-exhibit-inside-area-137015/
I left the chimps and started walking the Ridge Track to the Giraffe feeding platform. I passed the ‘lookout’ to the Black Rhinos (which I think is appalling because the view of much of the exhibit is blocked by a couple of small trees) and arrived at the giraffes a little after the feeding and talk had begun. The keeper was standing on the back of a truck giving the talk and handfeeding a hand-reared eland. The presentation encompassed both giraffes and elands and was quite good. A nice change to the bus-ride commentary. After asking a few questions (the waterbuck are off-display due to over-aggressive behaviour) I set off on foot again.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/walking-trail-view-black-rhinos-137017/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/keeper-talk-giraffe-eland-feeding-137018/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/giraffe-137045/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/giraffe-137035/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/giraffe-137025/
This time I walked the Boma Track to the Cheetahs. Again, I arrived after the keeper talk had started. The keeper was in the enclosure with the three hand-reared males and was getting them to do some basic behaviours so he could check their paws, teeth etc. The presentation was quite good and informative. It was entertaining to watch the keeper working one animal, while another tried to get into the food container on his belt.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/cheetah-137027/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/cheetah-137054/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/cheetah-talk-137056/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/cheetah-talk-137052/
I walked back to the White Rhinos to wait for a bus to take me up to the Spotted Hyenas, Wild Dogs and Lions again. While waiting I saw a wild Wedgetail Eagle in flight and managed to get some photos of it, not the best because with a cloudy background and no sun the eagles appear more as silhouettes.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/wild-wedgetail-eagle-137059/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/wild-wedgetail-eagle-137058/
The bus arrived, but it was heading back to the Visitor’s Centre. I decided not to wait any longer as it was getting late and I still had to go to Mt Barker and find some accommodation. So I jumped on the bus.
Back at the Visitor’s Centre I bought a few souvenirs (spent more money than I should have), grabbed something to eat and drink and then left. It was around 4pm. As I got to my car in the carpark the sun broke through the clouds and shone strongly for the rest of the afternoon.
Hix
The Visitor’s Centre was the pretty much the same as my previous visit 2 ½ years ago, although the Bilby (or Bilbies) had been removed from the pit. A sign said that the enclosure was empty, but there were at least four Spinifex Hopping Mice running around feeding. There were still Hopping Mice and Lizards on display in glass tanks as well.
I only had a few minutes to wait for the bus. A couple of meerkats were out, but they weren’t very active. It wasn’t a cold day, but it wasn’t particularly warm either. I took a couple of photos and then boarded the bus.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/meerkat-137020/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/example-labeling-137012/
I don’t remember the guide’s name, but the busdriver was named Patsy. Hard to forget for two reasons – firstly, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone named Patsy before, and secondly, the Guide kept asking Patsy questions about what had happened on tours that morning: “Did you see the Wedgetail Eagle this morning, Patsy?”, “Did you see them right up by the bus before, Patsy” etc. We never heard Patsy’s responses, but whatever she said seemed to keep our guide happy. Of course, our Guide reinforcing what we were missing out on probably wasn’t the best PR, but she was one of those volunteers that treats her job like a social outing and likes to chat with everyone.
The Guide was full of information about the animals, most of it very basic and mostly correct. Unfortunately, she was also anthropomorphic. And to make matters worse, there was some idiotic woman passenger on the bus who was quite sympathetic and emotional to the animals’ situations. When we were told about habitat destruction, and species hunted for their hides or their horns or other body parts, there would be a loud “Ohhh!”, “Ooohh, that’s awful”, or “Oh no, why would they do that?” from this woman. When two Przewalski Horses started fighting she slapped the window of the bus and shouted “Stop that!” at them, which they ignored, of course. AS the Przewalksi’s were the first thing we saw, I knew it was going to be a loooooong bus ride and wondered if I shouldn’t get off at the first stop.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/przewalskis-horse-137021/
As I said, the Przewalski’s were the first animals visited on the tour and they had just been fed. After spending a few minutes watching them feed we left for the Black Rhinos. It wasn’t until later that evening I realised we didn’t see the Bison which should have been next. I don’t know if they were off display, if Patsy had gotten lost, or if Our Guide knew nothing about Bison so we didn’t go there to save her embarrassment. Whatever reason, we didn’t see the Bison. Or the Dromedaries which have had an enclosure built for them in the Bison paddock.
I won’t go into details of the full bus ride, which took about an hour. Apart from the Bison we drove into or around all the other exhibits and saw most of the occupants up fairly close. I was not really impressed by the Bongo enclosure (although our guide was very excited that one of the Bongos was so close, and the idiot woman was in awe at “the most beautiful animal” she had ever seen). There were at least two addax and six eland calves, and the Spotted Hyena cubs were almost as large as the parents. After leaving the Cheetahs we drove through an enormous undeveloped grassed paddock that only housed a few emu and kangaroos (titled below as "Large expanse of nothing"). Our guide said something about this area going to have more native species soon. However, according to the map I was given, this area is dwarfed by a much larger area (the Bretag Scrub) which will be a “Future release site for native animals”.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/bongo-enclosure-137010/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/addax-young-137037/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/addax-137049/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/eland-137026/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/spotted-hyena-137032/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/spotted-hyena-137031/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/spotted-hyena-137030/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/large-expanse-nothing-137011/
When the bus dropped us off at the Visitor’s Centre I set off on foot, first to the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby enclosure, and then over to the new Chimpanzee exhibit. At the time of my visit (mid-March 2010) they had four males but only Sandali was outside. At first I thought he’d been separated, but a volunteer pointed out the open door to the inner area – apparently Sandali enjoyed the outdoor exhibit more than the others did.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/sandali-137039/
The exhibit itself is quite large. It looks about half the size of Taronga’s Chimp Park (or at least, it looks like that to me, it could be a bit larger or smaller), is sloping with a stream running through the middle. There were quite a few trees in the enclosure, mainly Eucalypts, and some grasses appear to have been planted. The ground was covered in woodchips. In addition, a couple of climbing platforms had been built out of poles and ropes strung between. I was really surprised at the trees. There appeared to be no damage at all to any of them. I would have though the chimps would have stripped the leaves or broken off branches, but there was no evidence of this, and the four chimps had been in the exhibit together for some months. Maybe when they get some girls they want to impress …
http://www.zoochat.com/76/new-chimpanzee-exhibit-137013/
The indoor area, referred to as an exercise room, was quite spacious and high, with climbing frames, ropes, shelves and platforms, toys and browse. The floor consisted of a deep layer of wood chips. The three chimps inside were very inactive, sitting around doing nothing. Maybe they had just been fed – Sandali was outside eating a piece of corn (but was otherwise just as inactive).
http://www.zoochat.com/76/new-chimpanzee-exhibit-inside-area-137014/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/new-chimpanzee-exhibit-inside-area-137015/
I left the chimps and started walking the Ridge Track to the Giraffe feeding platform. I passed the ‘lookout’ to the Black Rhinos (which I think is appalling because the view of much of the exhibit is blocked by a couple of small trees) and arrived at the giraffes a little after the feeding and talk had begun. The keeper was standing on the back of a truck giving the talk and handfeeding a hand-reared eland. The presentation encompassed both giraffes and elands and was quite good. A nice change to the bus-ride commentary. After asking a few questions (the waterbuck are off-display due to over-aggressive behaviour) I set off on foot again.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/walking-trail-view-black-rhinos-137017/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/keeper-talk-giraffe-eland-feeding-137018/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/giraffe-137045/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/giraffe-137035/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/giraffe-137025/
This time I walked the Boma Track to the Cheetahs. Again, I arrived after the keeper talk had started. The keeper was in the enclosure with the three hand-reared males and was getting them to do some basic behaviours so he could check their paws, teeth etc. The presentation was quite good and informative. It was entertaining to watch the keeper working one animal, while another tried to get into the food container on his belt.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/cheetah-137027/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/cheetah-137054/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/cheetah-talk-137056/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/cheetah-talk-137052/
I walked back to the White Rhinos to wait for a bus to take me up to the Spotted Hyenas, Wild Dogs and Lions again. While waiting I saw a wild Wedgetail Eagle in flight and managed to get some photos of it, not the best because with a cloudy background and no sun the eagles appear more as silhouettes.
http://www.zoochat.com/76/wild-wedgetail-eagle-137059/
http://www.zoochat.com/76/wild-wedgetail-eagle-137058/
The bus arrived, but it was heading back to the Visitor’s Centre. I decided not to wait any longer as it was getting late and I still had to go to Mt Barker and find some accommodation. So I jumped on the bus.
Back at the Visitor’s Centre I bought a few souvenirs (spent more money than I should have), grabbed something to eat and drink and then left. It was around 4pm. As I got to my car in the carpark the sun broke through the clouds and shone strongly for the rest of the afternoon.
Hix
