Which Australia Zoo has most native species? And which zoo has most native repitles?

B

BuddyB

New Member
Hi there, am visiting Australia in September and would love to visit a zoo/facility that showcases native Australian species and/or specialized in Australian reptiles. Not really into tigers, camels, polar bears, etc... I can see those anwhere. I'm visiting all over so any help would be great!

Thanks,Buddy
p.s. I did peruse the different threads but couldn't find any info specific to what I'm looking for.
 
austrlain zoo gower said:
Where about in Australia are you going?

Featherdale ( NSW) and Healesville Sanctuary ( Victoria ), they both have a wide variety of Australian Species
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Couple of days in Sydney, a couple of days in Bundaberg, Darwin for a 5 day camping tour, and the Port Dougas area for about 5 days, I still have 5 days unplanned and am trying to plan that now.
 
BuddyB said:
Couple of days in Sydney, a couple of days in Bundaberg, Darwin for a 5 day camping tour, and the Port Dougas area for about 5 days, I still have 5 days unplanned and am trying to plan that now.
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If your up Queensland way - Australia Zoo might also be a really good bet. They have a great collection of natives, marsupials, birds, reptiles and all.

Up Port Douglas way too, there's also Hartley's Crocodile Adventures which also has a pretty decent native collection.
 
BuddyB said:
Hi there, am visiting Australia in September and would love to visit a zoo/facility that showcases native Australian species and/or specialized in Australian reptiles. Not really into tigers, camels, polar bears, etc... I can see those anwhere. I'm visiting all over so any help would be great!

Thanks,Buddy
p.s. I did peruse the different threads but couldn't find any info specific to what I'm looking for.
Click to expand...

I know you asked for reptiles rather than amphibians but I feel like I should mention that Melbourne Zoo currently has 12 species of native frog on display (Southern Stuttering Frog, Peron’s Tree Frog, Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog, Dainty Tree Frog, Spotted Tree Frog, Baw Baw Frog, Desert Tree Frog, Crucifix Frog, Green Tree Frog, Southern Bell Frog, Southern Corroboree Frog and Splendid Tree Frog) along with a smattering of native reptiles including some highlights like Chameleon Gecko and Coastal Taipan. As for Native Species, it’s primarily an exotics zoo but it does have a decent native animal collection and with a few days in Melbourne, can be paired with the native heavy collections of Healesville Sanctuary and Moonlit Sanctuary. Also if you visit Melbourne Aquarium and Melbourne Museum you’ll also be able to tack on some more amphibians.
 
BuddyB said:
Couple of days in Sydney, a couple of days in Bundaberg, Darwin for a 5 day camping tour, and the Port Dougas area for about 5 days, I still have 5 days unplanned and am trying to plan that now.
Click to expand...

With this itinerary the two outstanding collections I recommend are Taronga, which has probably the most representative collection of Australian species across all terrestrial vertebrate groups, in uniformly excellent exhibits and in a world-famous location, and Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas, which is an outstanding collection of North QLD (and tropical north more generally) species, again with some fantastic display quality. Hartley’s is also very good but it really depends how many zoos you wish to visit.

I have never been to Darwin but believe the ridiculously named Crocosaurus Cove will do nicely for a specific reptile focus, and it is located in the centre of Darwin so can be squeezed in either side of your camping trip.
 
Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas may be worth a visit depending what you're interested in. It has a nice bird and mammal collection, but the vast majority of its reptiles are common species you will see at almost any Australian zoo. Hartley's Crocodile Adventures is much better in the reptile department.
 
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