Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo - Sydney, Oct 18, 2003

Simon Hampel

Simon Hampel

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Staff member
20+ year member
Went to Sydney's Taronga Zoo yesterday for the first time in quite a few months.

I don't have time to post a full review of what's been happening at Taronga Zoo, so I'll put in a couple of key points.

  • The new "Backyard to the Bush" section is open. A bit of a disappointment really - for such a lot of money spent, there's not terribly many animals there. Maybe I'm just not getting it. It looks good though.
  • Some massive reconstruction occurring around where the new elephant enclosure will be.
  • Sunbears have been relocated to another exhibit - but there's not very good visibility. At least there's more sun in this one though !
  • The new red pPanda exhibit just down past the snow leopards, is very good - with lots of good sunlight making it possible to get a really good look at these beautiful creatures. A little lacking in trees and foliage, but that will grow, and makes it easier to see them in the meantime.
  • Went on the sky safari for the first time - I never realised it was free. It's a fairly short ride, but it's a good way to get back up to the top entrance from the very bottom of the zoo. You get a great view of a lot of the contstruction work going on at the moment - so worth taking just for that.

I'll post some more later perhaps.
 
Sim said:
[*]Went on the sky safari for the first time - I never realised it was free. It's a fairly short ride, but it's a good way to get back up to the top entrance from the very bottom of the zoo. You get a great view of a lot of the contstruction work going on at the moment - so worth taking just for that.
[/list]

I'll post some more later perhaps.
Click to expand...

I went also a few months ago when I was in Sydney, it is a really great view of the harbour also. When I went a few years ago I'm pretty sure it was a seperate charge so seems they have had a change of policy.
 
taronga's got problems.....

i also visited taronga in late november 04'.

i actually found it to be alot more run down looking than i last remembered it. the magnificent old entrance is in desperate need of some serious rennovation, extentions and refurbishment. i totally agreed with sim's comments regarding the new "backyard to bush" exhibit. i just didn't get it either. i liked the concept in theory, especially the idea of building an australian eco-friendly farmhouse for the domestic animals, but just didn't get the relevance of what caring for a pet frog had to do with anything in the suburban house. i expected it would showcase wild animals in the city, with rats and possums in the walls, cockroaches under the sink etc...and talk about clean living practices. i just remember alot of fishtanks in every room.

then the bush part was just pathetic - the wombat burrow was so noisy and tacky compared with the one at melbourne. i hated the blaring tv and all the mineshaft props everywhere.

i was glad to see that the chimps had had some dead trees and ropes intalled in their exhibit. the gorgeous tiny baby chimps would chase eachother to the very tops of the branches. it made a big difference. it's a pity they haven't ever really bothered to try and vegetate this exhibit with live plants, it would make such a difference. then again, id'e love to see that brick wall get rendered as well!

in one african exhibit there was a massive ficus tree that had been obviously felled in a storm. it had clearly been lying there awhile with bits of broken concrete around it and twisted metal exposed. i wonder why?

overall i'de have to say taronga's looking pretty run-down and shabby throughout. it's a shame, because it potentially has one of the greatest locations for a zoo in the world (though not really suited to displaying large animals because of that cliff its built on!). i do love the "serpentaria" indoor-outdoor reptile house and the "creatures of the woolemi" was great as well, but far from being worth the $30 entry fee and the extra $10 for parking!!!!
 
I too saw the fallen tree you are talking about Patrick. Is it the one with the barbary sheep? It was leafing aout again and so I thought it was meant to be part of the exhibit.
Jason
 
Views of Taronga Zoo

Even though I visited Taronga Zoo back in 1998 , I also found it was overhyped
overrated , and overpriced , having just been to Melbourne Zoo for my first time , and Auckland Zoo a few months later . I felt that the zoo needed a decent makeover , with better enclosures for the animals ( and less emphasis on luxuries for people ) The bottom half of the zoo was a real disgrace , and appeared to be totally abandoned .
Quite apart from being the Kiwi of the forum , I think that Auckland Zoo has been much better in regards to enclosures than Taronga Park , I would put it ( Auckland Zoo ) in the same quality category as Melbourne and Perth zoos .
I think Jay will vouch for that as he has about 5 of the videos of Auckland Zoo
I hope that the improvements to Taronga will help to bring the zoo back into one of the best zoos of the world . It certainly has the potential to be so , and the location cant be beat .
 
what a waste of a ficus!

that's the one jason, in the barbary sheep exhibit (speaking of which did ya see the lambs/kids - too cute!). it was even a decent sized morton bay fig and as you said it was still struggling onto existance (though the sheep were doing their best to eat it to death). i suspect that it might have even survived some relocation surgury - the chimp exhibit sure could have used it!!!
 
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