visted werribee yesterday. cold and raining, i was supprised to still get a good look at the animals. primarily i went to see the new hippo exhibit and i was very impressed. despite the lack of underwater viewing, you certainly do get a nice up close look at the animals. the design has cleverly integrated the 3 seperate enclosures into one continuous riverbank and the fact that the safari bus actually drives through one end of the river is a nice touch, at least from the visitor perspective. i particuarly liked the addition of the "kubu queen" barge and the decking area around the two very large transplanted ficus trees was avery attractive spot to watch the hippo from.
from someone who only a few years ago whinged about the lack of attempts to "africanise" the werribee zoo landscape, i must say i am very impressed with how far they have come in such a short time. even if there is a few washingtonia palms mixed in with the senegal (whats happeneing to me!) - the landscaping is great.
i dare say - look out dubbo, werribee takes their time and expands slowly, but when they do they do it well. the close proximity to melbourne city, the fact that the entire zoo (including all the buildings and exhibits) are new and modern, the fact that it is built around the popular "safari" concept - these are all elements that are the foundations for them to potentially become australias most visited open range zoo.
on the downside - the zoo seems to be fast running out of animals on the safari tour. not only is their less species on display, i couldn't help but notice the herd sizes of some appeared smaller than ever before. the lower savannah seems somewhat empty - whilst they ahve planty of rhino, they are down to just two giraffe (anthony is still alive and kicking for those rothschild's fans however) the eland herd seemd smaller than i remember and i saw no waterbuck anywhere at the zoo either (they may be there but i certainly didn't see any - and i look). the kudu herd, that has never been known to breed so long as i have been visiting is no longer on display behind the hippos. i didn't see them anywhere at all. nor did i see a single ostrich a species that added a nice touch to the numerous african paddocks in the past.
but since it is feeling a little empty in the ungulate dpt, i wonder why the zoo doesn't place the african buffalo on display (i saw one grazing between the trees in an off-diaply yard). i wonder where the kudu went, it seems obvuous they will never breed (indeed maybe their is a reason - the male is castrated and they are all related?), but they make a much welcome addition. you'd think the asian paddock would be easily stocked up for interest sake but instead the chital herd seems to have dwindled to virtually nothing, due to the zoos reluctance to breed them. the blackbuck herd seems very small now too and the asian buffalo, who used to all wallow in the dam in the paddock and recieve a bit of interest have long gone from the display.
the zoo walking trails finally have some substance to them but the safari is feeling rather, well, all about rhino. quite literally, i think it needs a few more animals to talk about. the guide sepnt considerable time talking about cheetah - an animal on the trails - to fill time in empty exhibits.
understanding the import artiodactyl issues - i think the zoo best get themselves some more asian buffalo, breed up the chital and blackbuck, throw in a few peacocks, get some banteng and wapiti (for the bison paddock) and put those african buffalo, ostriches and kudu back on display.
the upside is that the addax and bison had quite a few calves the vervets had a bunch of newborns and the guide said they hoped/expected a couple of the female rhino and mongolian horses were pregnant which was nice.
anyhow, little quibbles aside, its a great-looking zoo on a perfect peice of land, in the perfect spot and has so much potential. i look forward to seeing it expand over the years.
from someone who only a few years ago whinged about the lack of attempts to "africanise" the werribee zoo landscape, i must say i am very impressed with how far they have come in such a short time. even if there is a few washingtonia palms mixed in with the senegal (whats happeneing to me!) - the landscaping is great.
i dare say - look out dubbo, werribee takes their time and expands slowly, but when they do they do it well. the close proximity to melbourne city, the fact that the entire zoo (including all the buildings and exhibits) are new and modern, the fact that it is built around the popular "safari" concept - these are all elements that are the foundations for them to potentially become australias most visited open range zoo.
on the downside - the zoo seems to be fast running out of animals on the safari tour. not only is their less species on display, i couldn't help but notice the herd sizes of some appeared smaller than ever before. the lower savannah seems somewhat empty - whilst they ahve planty of rhino, they are down to just two giraffe (anthony is still alive and kicking for those rothschild's fans however) the eland herd seemd smaller than i remember and i saw no waterbuck anywhere at the zoo either (they may be there but i certainly didn't see any - and i look). the kudu herd, that has never been known to breed so long as i have been visiting is no longer on display behind the hippos. i didn't see them anywhere at all. nor did i see a single ostrich a species that added a nice touch to the numerous african paddocks in the past.
but since it is feeling a little empty in the ungulate dpt, i wonder why the zoo doesn't place the african buffalo on display (i saw one grazing between the trees in an off-diaply yard). i wonder where the kudu went, it seems obvuous they will never breed (indeed maybe their is a reason - the male is castrated and they are all related?), but they make a much welcome addition. you'd think the asian paddock would be easily stocked up for interest sake but instead the chital herd seems to have dwindled to virtually nothing, due to the zoos reluctance to breed them. the blackbuck herd seems very small now too and the asian buffalo, who used to all wallow in the dam in the paddock and recieve a bit of interest have long gone from the display.
the zoo walking trails finally have some substance to them but the safari is feeling rather, well, all about rhino. quite literally, i think it needs a few more animals to talk about. the guide sepnt considerable time talking about cheetah - an animal on the trails - to fill time in empty exhibits.
understanding the import artiodactyl issues - i think the zoo best get themselves some more asian buffalo, breed up the chital and blackbuck, throw in a few peacocks, get some banteng and wapiti (for the bison paddock) and put those african buffalo, ostriches and kudu back on display.
the upside is that the addax and bison had quite a few calves the vervets had a bunch of newborns and the guide said they hoped/expected a couple of the female rhino and mongolian horses were pregnant which was nice.
anyhow, little quibbles aside, its a great-looking zoo on a perfect peice of land, in the perfect spot and has so much potential. i look forward to seeing it expand over the years.
YOU HAVE TO GO TO WPZ!!! However, the future of all our open-range zoos will shift dramatically whateer tourism patterns occur etc, becuase of quarantine and artiodactyl collapse.
).