A couple of weeks ago I spent a few hours at Taronga. Having been there last December I noticed a few changes that I thought worth reporting on.
Firstly, the new Australian section is open. It occupies the area that used to be the waterbird ponds, the macropod walkthrough, the old Koala Encounters, the Echidna/Wombat enclosure and the Platypus House.
The new macropod walkthrough is where the waterbird ponds were. So as soon as you walk through the entrance building into the entry precinct you can look over the wall at the walkthrough. Or sit at the café and watch the visitors walking through.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/macropod-walkthrough.653527/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/macropod-walkthrough.653526/full
So, after I walked through the ticket gates I turned left towards the Rainforest Aviary. The road is no longer blocked off and as I walked past the Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo exhibit there was a piece of artwork standing in front of, a dingo made of fabric covering a wire frame. I soon discovered there were a number of these pieces of artwork scattered throughout the zoo. I liked the fact that the dingo was where it was because, before it was modified for the Tree Roos, that exhibit held dingos pretty much from the time the exhibit opened in 1982 right up until 2009 when the entry precinct construction commenced.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/goodfellows-tree-kangaroo-exhibit.653532/full
A little beyond the Tree Roo exhibit, and opposite the eastern entrance to the Rainforest Aviary, are the gates into the macropod walkthrough, guarded by some more ‘artwork’, this time spiders.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-spiders.653519/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/signage.653529/full
The walkthrough is a larger area than the previous one Taronga had and better planted out, utilising existing trees and vegetation and extensively planting out the rest. It’ll look really good once those new plants get established and are growing. I only saw Swamp and Red-necked wallabies, and a single Kangaroo Island Kangaroo in the enclosure, but the labels indicate there are also Tammar Wallabies and Red-necked Pademelons, Red Kangaroos and Emu, but I didn’t see any. They may have been out of sight, getting used to their new home and staying away from the public, or they might not have been added yet. But I must admit, my interest was mainly in the enclosure itself and not specifically the inhabitants.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/macropod-walkthrough.653558/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/red-necked-wallaby.653548/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/macropod-labels.653525/full
At the eastern end of the exhibit another pair of double doors leads to the new Koala area. It’s essentially an elevated walkway that circles around past two or three large enclosures for the koalas, plus four or five smaller annexes for Koala Encounters. The northern part of the loop overlooks part of the macropod walkthrough, and the southern part of the loop also overlooks the new dingo enclosure.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/koala-exhibits.653523/full
However, I only saw one koala here. It’s possible they haven’t moved them in yet, or this one was here to test if the exhibits are escape-proof. There are living gum trees in the exhibits and the one koala walked along a horizontal branch over the path a little above a tourist head, much to her delight. Should be good once there are more koalas in there.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/koala.653524/full
The dingo exhibit I think is a bit smaller than the old one, but whereas the old one had a water moat at the front, lots of vegetation with some areas of long grass, and a few rocks for sunning themselves on, this exhibit has what appears to be a dry riverbed as a moat, some rocks and trees and shrubs, a pool and a lawn area. Maybe when the grass grows in it will look better, but at this point it has an artificial feel about it (at least, that’s how I feel).
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/dingo-exhibit.653521/full
The dingos had just been given some enrichment and they were busy ripping into cardboard boxes to get at the treats and had attracted a bit of a crowd, although most of the crowd was made up of ‘keeper for a day’ participants.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/dingo.653540/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/signage.653530/full
Following the path around the dingos I came to the entrance to the Nocturnal House, which is still being renovated. Pity. Backtracking I went down the next path that leads to the floral clock passing another piece of art, a giant goanna (or monitor lizard, for those of you not familiar with the Aussie terminology). A new addition here is a cultural garden, circular in shape and surrounded by a low stone wall which is all that remains of Taronga’s iconic Spider Monkey enclosure.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-goanna.653517/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/m...te-of-the-spider-monkey-enclosure.653531/full
Between the garden and the platypus was a sign pointing out where to go for the new exhibits. The whole Australian section is named “Nura Diya Australia” which I’m assuming is the local aboriginal Cammeraigal language. It’s good that the zoo is now recognising the traditional custodians in this way (they already acknowledge them on their website) but I would have liked to have seen some more information boards about the local peoples and their relationship with the wildlife and the land. There was a couple of paragraphs on one of the dingo signs, but apart from that it just appears that all they have done is used aboriginal names for the exhibits.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/directional-signage.653557/full
As I continued on down past the Cassowary I could see the new Reptile House under construction now has the concrete base in place.
The rest of the day was pretty much normal with little to report: the lions are still not on exhibit; in Serpentaria, with the dingo pups in their new exhibit a Rhino Iguana is now in the indoor part of the Komodo Dragon exhibit; the Aldabran Tortoises were mating; and in the Arid Bird Aviary after the Wollemi (or Blue Mountains) aviary they’ve now got two pair of Freckled Ducks plus some Diamond Firetail chicks, and the labels also said Rainbow Bee-eater but I couldn’t find them.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/aldabran-tortoises.653534/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/freckled-duck.653545/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/freckled-duck.653544/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/freckled-duck-female.653543/full
And throughout the Zoo were these artwork animals consisting of fabric over a wire framework – lion, gorillas, kangaroo, koala, and some very large jellyfish (possibly some more that I’ve forgotten).
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-lion.653518/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-koala.653516/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-kangaroo.653515/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-jellyfish.653514/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-gorilla.653513/full
There’s some signage beside the Moore Park Aviary (apparently more correctly called the circular Aviary) that I found interesting.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/signage.653550/full
And a bit later I saw a familiar piece of artwork, just sitting on the ground up against a fig tree on the Soden Lawns near the Bongo. I can’t remember where it used to be mounted – possibly in the Cabin Ride terminal somewhere – but I took some photos of it for posterity in case it disappears or gets damaged out in the elements.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/painting.653528/full
So a few changes in the past five months, the big one being the opening of Nura Diya. Hopefully the Nocturnal House (or Night Walk as the zoo appears to be referring to it) will be open shortly.
Hix
Firstly, the new Australian section is open. It occupies the area that used to be the waterbird ponds, the macropod walkthrough, the old Koala Encounters, the Echidna/Wombat enclosure and the Platypus House.
The new macropod walkthrough is where the waterbird ponds were. So as soon as you walk through the entrance building into the entry precinct you can look over the wall at the walkthrough. Or sit at the café and watch the visitors walking through.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/macropod-walkthrough.653527/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/macropod-walkthrough.653526/full
So, after I walked through the ticket gates I turned left towards the Rainforest Aviary. The road is no longer blocked off and as I walked past the Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo exhibit there was a piece of artwork standing in front of, a dingo made of fabric covering a wire frame. I soon discovered there were a number of these pieces of artwork scattered throughout the zoo. I liked the fact that the dingo was where it was because, before it was modified for the Tree Roos, that exhibit held dingos pretty much from the time the exhibit opened in 1982 right up until 2009 when the entry precinct construction commenced.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/goodfellows-tree-kangaroo-exhibit.653532/full
A little beyond the Tree Roo exhibit, and opposite the eastern entrance to the Rainforest Aviary, are the gates into the macropod walkthrough, guarded by some more ‘artwork’, this time spiders.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-spiders.653519/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/signage.653529/full
The walkthrough is a larger area than the previous one Taronga had and better planted out, utilising existing trees and vegetation and extensively planting out the rest. It’ll look really good once those new plants get established and are growing. I only saw Swamp and Red-necked wallabies, and a single Kangaroo Island Kangaroo in the enclosure, but the labels indicate there are also Tammar Wallabies and Red-necked Pademelons, Red Kangaroos and Emu, but I didn’t see any. They may have been out of sight, getting used to their new home and staying away from the public, or they might not have been added yet. But I must admit, my interest was mainly in the enclosure itself and not specifically the inhabitants.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/macropod-walkthrough.653558/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/red-necked-wallaby.653548/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/macropod-labels.653525/full
At the eastern end of the exhibit another pair of double doors leads to the new Koala area. It’s essentially an elevated walkway that circles around past two or three large enclosures for the koalas, plus four or five smaller annexes for Koala Encounters. The northern part of the loop overlooks part of the macropod walkthrough, and the southern part of the loop also overlooks the new dingo enclosure.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/koala-exhibits.653523/full
However, I only saw one koala here. It’s possible they haven’t moved them in yet, or this one was here to test if the exhibits are escape-proof. There are living gum trees in the exhibits and the one koala walked along a horizontal branch over the path a little above a tourist head, much to her delight. Should be good once there are more koalas in there.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/koala.653524/full
The dingo exhibit I think is a bit smaller than the old one, but whereas the old one had a water moat at the front, lots of vegetation with some areas of long grass, and a few rocks for sunning themselves on, this exhibit has what appears to be a dry riverbed as a moat, some rocks and trees and shrubs, a pool and a lawn area. Maybe when the grass grows in it will look better, but at this point it has an artificial feel about it (at least, that’s how I feel).
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/dingo-exhibit.653521/full
The dingos had just been given some enrichment and they were busy ripping into cardboard boxes to get at the treats and had attracted a bit of a crowd, although most of the crowd was made up of ‘keeper for a day’ participants.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/dingo.653540/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/signage.653530/full
Following the path around the dingos I came to the entrance to the Nocturnal House, which is still being renovated. Pity. Backtracking I went down the next path that leads to the floral clock passing another piece of art, a giant goanna (or monitor lizard, for those of you not familiar with the Aussie terminology). A new addition here is a cultural garden, circular in shape and surrounded by a low stone wall which is all that remains of Taronga’s iconic Spider Monkey enclosure.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-goanna.653517/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/m...te-of-the-spider-monkey-enclosure.653531/full
Between the garden and the platypus was a sign pointing out where to go for the new exhibits. The whole Australian section is named “Nura Diya Australia” which I’m assuming is the local aboriginal Cammeraigal language. It’s good that the zoo is now recognising the traditional custodians in this way (they already acknowledge them on their website) but I would have liked to have seen some more information boards about the local peoples and their relationship with the wildlife and the land. There was a couple of paragraphs on one of the dingo signs, but apart from that it just appears that all they have done is used aboriginal names for the exhibits.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/directional-signage.653557/full
As I continued on down past the Cassowary I could see the new Reptile House under construction now has the concrete base in place.
The rest of the day was pretty much normal with little to report: the lions are still not on exhibit; in Serpentaria, with the dingo pups in their new exhibit a Rhino Iguana is now in the indoor part of the Komodo Dragon exhibit; the Aldabran Tortoises were mating; and in the Arid Bird Aviary after the Wollemi (or Blue Mountains) aviary they’ve now got two pair of Freckled Ducks plus some Diamond Firetail chicks, and the labels also said Rainbow Bee-eater but I couldn’t find them.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/aldabran-tortoises.653534/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/freckled-duck.653545/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/freckled-duck.653544/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/freckled-duck-female.653543/full
And throughout the Zoo were these artwork animals consisting of fabric over a wire framework – lion, gorillas, kangaroo, koala, and some very large jellyfish (possibly some more that I’ve forgotten).
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-lion.653518/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-koala.653516/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-kangaroo.653515/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-jellyfish.653514/full
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/artwork-gorilla.653513/full
There’s some signage beside the Moore Park Aviary (apparently more correctly called the circular Aviary) that I found interesting.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/signage.653550/full
And a bit later I saw a familiar piece of artwork, just sitting on the ground up against a fig tree on the Soden Lawns near the Bongo. I can’t remember where it used to be mounted – possibly in the Cabin Ride terminal somewhere – but I took some photos of it for posterity in case it disappears or gets damaged out in the elements.
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/painting.653528/full
So a few changes in the past five months, the big one being the opening of Nura Diya. Hopefully the Nocturnal House (or Night Walk as the zoo appears to be referring to it) will be open shortly.
Hix
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