The Koala Park Sanctuary is a privately owned and run wildlife park located at West Pennant Hills in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. The park is known for its collection of

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the ...

s and other animals and is set in a rainforest-like park.

History

Construction on the Koala Park Sanctuary began in the 1920s and the park opened in October 1930. The sanctuary was established by

Noel Burnet Noel Burnet (4 March 1904 – 24 June 1953) was an Australian environmentalist and founder of the Koala Park Sanctuary, a privately owned and run wildlife park located at West Pennant Hills, New South Wales, Australia. He was a Fellow of the Ro ...

as a way to combat the declining number of koalas in the wild. He spent the remainder of his life dedicated to researching and preserving the animals habitat.

Animals

The park is a walk-through wildlife park; most of the animals are contained behind wire and cage style exhibits. The following animals are currently held in the parks collection: *

Koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the ...

s *

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...

s *

Little penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian li ...

s *

Cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the orde ...

s * Dingoes * Emus *

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

s *

Wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are ad ...

s *

Echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

s *Native Birds

Events

The park has a live sheep shearing exhibition run at various times throughout the day called "The Stockman's Camp." It also recounts Australian bush stories. The park also allows visitors to handle the animals, abiding by the state ''Koala Handling Time''.

Conservation

The Koala Park Sanctuary opened a Koala Research Hospital in 1930. The hospital cares for sick and injured native animals and releases them back into the wild. It is open to the public and provides education about native animals and the problems faced by the koalas living close to human areas.

Controversy

In December 2010, the Department of Primary Industries inspectors reported finding ageing and dirty animal exhibits, drainage problems, and out-of-date records. The inspectors issued a series of notices to Koala Park Sanctuary to fix the issues. A newspaper editor attended the park and claimed a number of issues had not been resolved and believed that animals were suffering. However, an

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

inspector who visited the park said he did not believe any of the animals were suffering or had been neglected or were malnourished. On 2 February 2016, the RSPCA fined the sanctuary $75,000 and banned them from acquiring new koalas for six months due to a koala being dehydrated with an emaciated body and all five showing signs of

chlamydia Chlamydia, or more specifically a chlamydia infection, is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear they may occur only several we ...

References

External links

{{Parks in Sydney, state=autocollapse Zoos in New South Wales Wildlife parks in Australia 1930 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Sydney Parks in Sydney The Hills Shire Koalas Animal sanctuaries Tourist_attractions_in_Sydney Zoos established in 1930