Melbourne Zoo is a zoo in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

. It is located within Royal Park in Parkville, approximately north of the centre of Melbourne. It is the primary zoo serving Melbourne. The zoo contains more than 320 animal species from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and around the world, and is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram routes 58 and 19, as well as by bicycle on the

Capital City Trail __NOTOC__ The Capital City Trail is a shared use path in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia, which circles the Melbourne city centre, city centre and some inner eastern and northern suburbs. It is 29km in length, and mostly co ...

. Bicycles are not allowed inside the zoo itself. The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The zoo is set among flower gardens and picnic areas. Many of the animals are now organised in bioclimatic zones: African rainforest ('Gorilla Rainforest') that include gorillas and lemurs; Asian rainforest ('Trail of the 'Elephants') that includes elephants, orangutans, tigers and

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

s; and the Australian bush with kangaroos, koalas, wombats, goannas, native birds and many others. Popular exhibits also include the 'Butterfly House', the 'Reptile House', the 'Great Flight Aviary', 'Wild Sea', 'Treetop Apes and Monkeys' and 'Lion Gorge'. The zoo includes a large schools section and caters to many school visitors annually, its immensely popular education program encourages young minds to conserve animals. Visitors can see historical cages including the heritage listed ''Elephant House'', which has been renovated and adapted for use for customers paying to sleep overnight in tents at the zoo in popular ''Roar and Snore'' evenings. These evenings allow the public to see some of the

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

animals at the zoo in evening guided tours by experienced camp hosts.

History

In October 1857 the Zoological Society of Victoria was formed with the aim of introducing animals and plants from overseas. Its first collections of animals were housed in Richmond Paddock. In 1861 the organisation changed its name to the "Acclimatisation Society of Victoria". On 6 October 1862, the organisation opened a new Melbourne Zoo in Royal Park on of land donated by the

City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The ci ...

. Melbourne Zoo was modelled on

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

. Initially the zoo was important for the acclimatisation of domestic animals recovering from their long trip to Australia. It was only with the appointment of Albert Alexander Cochrane Le Souef in 1870 that more exotic animals were procured for public display, and the gardens and picnic areas were developed. 1870 also saw the Society change its name to the "Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria", and was granted the prefix "Royal" in 1910. Tunnecliffe_patting_llama

Melbourne Zoo, Victoria, Australia -22Jan2011

One of the most famous exhibits from the early 1900s to the 1940s was Queenie the elephant. In the mid-1930s, the Society had financial troubles. In response the ''Zoological Gardens Act 1936'' was passed, handing the Zoo to a newly appointed Zoological Board of Victoria on behalf of the state government in 1937. Melbourne Zoo aerial panorama

In 1989, a 35-year-old man died when he was partially eaten by a lion after he entered its pen. On 15 January 2010 Melbourne Zoo welcomed its first elephant calf, Mali. This is the second elephant calf born in Australia, the first being in Sydney in July 2009. Mali is the first female calf born in Australia and the first calf born via artificial insemination. Melbourne Zoo commemorated 150 years of operation in 2012 and this was celebrated in an Australian Zoos collector's edition of stamps released by Australia Post in September 2012. The Zoo completed construction and opened a new carnivores trail in early 2018.

Zoos Victoria

Zoos Victoria administers the Melbourne Zoo, as well as the Werribee Open Range Zoo, which features herbivorous creatures in an open-range setting; and Healesville Sanctuary (formerly the Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary), which exhibits Australian fauna on of bushland. The three zoos have been collectively trading as Zoos Victoria since 1973, governed by the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board, which operates under the ''Zoological Parks and Gardens Act 1995''. In October 2022

Kyabram Fauna Park The Kyabram Fauna Park is a fauna park in Kyabram, Victoria, Australia. History Until 1967, the current site of the Kyabram Fauna Park was a fallow farmland that had been abandoned for some years. In 1967, the need to utilize this piece of l ...

also became part of Zoos Victoria.

Exhibits

*Gorilla Rainforest: Western lowland gorillas live in a family troop in a large habitat at the center of this area and is the major exhibit of this precinct. Other animals housed in this precinct are a

pygmy hippo The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (''Choeropsis liberiensis'') is a small hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. It has ...

, a southern cassowary, black-and-white ruffed lemurs and

ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ge ...

s. Additionally, a boardwalk following on the trail houses monkeys such as black-handed spider monkeys, northern white-cheeked gibbons, eastern black-and-white colobuses, cotton-top tamarins and emperor tamarins. *Growing Wild: An interactive play area opened in 2012 for the zoo's 150th anniversary. There are exhibits for Aldabra giant tortoises,

meerkat MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...

s and blue-winged kookaburras. *Trail Of The Elephants: Six Asian elephants — females Mek Kapah (the matriarch), Dokkoon, Kulab, 'Num-oi, Mali (daughter of Dokkoon) and Man Jai (son of Dokkoon), the herd rotates through one of the three paddocks throughout the day. The zoo used to have Ongard (son of Kulab), who is currently in Zoo Miami and an adult bull elephant named Bong Su who died in 2017 after a long battle with

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

since 2005. Bong Su arrived at the zoo as a gift from the

Sultan of Pahang Sultan of Pahang () is the title of the hereditary constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia. The current sultan is Al-Sultan Abdullah ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah. He is the Head of Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignitie ...

as an orphan in 1997. Other enclosures house

Sumatran tiger The Sumatran tiger is a population of ''Panthera tigris sondaica'' on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is the only surviving tiger population in the Sunda Islands, where the Bali and Javan tigers are extinct. Sequences from complete mitochon ...

Sumatran orangutan The Sumatran orangutan (''Pongo abelii'') is one of the three species of orangutans. Critically Endangered, and found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than the recent ...

s, siamangs,

Asian small-clawed otter The Asian small-clawed otter (''Aonyx cinereus''), also known as the oriental small-clawed otter and the small-clawed otter, is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its web ...

s, black-capped squirrel monkeys and a butterfly house. *Wild Sea: Opened in 2009, this immersive $20 million development houses animals that live off the coasts of Victoria such as

Australian fur seals The brown fur seal (''Arctocephalus pusillus''), also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal. Description The brown fur seal is the largest and most robust member of the fur seals. ...

, long-nosed fur seals,

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 lit ...

s, Fiordland penguins, big-belly seahorses and some native fish. With underwater sounds and a projector screen coupled with the beautiful lighting effects it has a calming touch of realism. The penguins and seals can be viewed from above water level and below. *Australian Bush: This trail consists of native animals such as koalas, western grey kangaroos, emus,

southern hairy-nosed wombat The southern hairy-nosed wombat (''Lasiorhinus latifrons'') is one of three extant species of wombats. It is found in scattered areas of semiarid scrub and mallee from the eastern Nullarbor Plain to the New South Wales border area. It is the s ...

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...

s, lace monitors, helmeted honeyeaters and orange-bellied parrots. *Great Flight Aviary: A large free-flight aviary within the Australian Bush precinct dating to the 1930s. Visitors walk along a boardwalk through three different bioregions representing an Australian rainforest, wetlands and bushland. Some species housed include

red-collared lorikeet The red-collared lorikeet (''Trichoglossus rubritorquis'') is a species of parrot found in wooded habitats in northern Australia (north-eastern Western Australia, northern Northern Territory and far north-western Queensland). It was previously ...

s, red-tailed black cockatoos, blue-faced honeyeaters, eclectus parrots,

pied heron The pied heron (''Egretta picata''), also known as the pied egret is a bird found in coastal and subcoastal areas of monsoonal northern Australia as well as some parts of Wallacea and New Guinea. Taxonomy The species was originally described ...

s, radjah shelducks and wonga pigeons. *Lion Gorge: Two male

African lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

s, Ndidi and Zuberi moved to the zoo from the Werribee Open Range Zoo. The precinct also contains

dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...

es, snow leopards, brown-nosed coatis as well as additional enclosures for Sumatran tigers and Tasmanian devils. Also included in this area is the 'DigestED' building, which houses multiple species of snakes like reticulated pythons. *Frogs and Reptiles: World of Frogs houses several native and endangered frogs and toads, including southern

corroboree frog Corroboree frogs ( ) comprise two species of frog native to the Southern Tablelands of Australia. Both species are small, poisonous ground-dwelling frogs. The two species are the southern corroboree frog (''Pseudophryne corroboree'') and the no ...

s and the only Baw Baw frogs in captivity. The zoo's Reptile House holds a variety of native and exotic reptiles such as the coastal taipan, eastern diamondback rattlesnake,

Fiji crested iguana The Fiji crested iguana or Fijian crested iguana (''Brachylophus vitiensis'') is a critically endangered species of iguanidae, iguana native to some of the northwestern islands of the Fijiian archipelago, where it is found in tropical dry forest, ...

, Gila monster,

grassland earless dragon ''Tympanocryptis'' is a genus of Australian lizards in the Family (biology), family Agamidae commonly known as earless dragons. Description The genus ''Tympanocryptis'' has the following characters. The tympanum is hidden (hence the common name ...

and Philippine crocodile. *Other animals: Other animals include red pandas,

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

s, plains zebras, platypuses, blue-and-yellow macaws, red-fronted macaws,

hamadryas baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region of the Arabian Peninsula. These re ...

s, a Malayan tapir and collared peccaries.

Gallery

Melbourne Zoo (5117021053).jpg, Asian elephant herd Orangutan-Melbourne-Zoo-20070224-056.jpg, Orangutan File:Tiger at Melbourne Zoo (11882960305).jpg, Sumatran tiger File:Gorilla Eating (4334174066).jpg, Western lowland gorilla Pygmy hippopotamus Melbourne Zoo (11882419955).jpg, Pygmy hippo Ring-tailed lemurs.jpg, Ring-tailed lemurs File:Melbourne Zoo Giraff.jpg, Giraffes and zebras Melbourne Zoo meerkats.jpg, Meerkats File:Aldabra Giant Tortoise at Melbourne Zoo.jpg, Aldabra giant tortoise File:Lion - melbourne zoo.jpg, African lion Snow Leopard at Melbourne Zoo.jpg, Snow leopard File:Red panda 30966214626.jpg, Red pandas Australian fur seal 02.jpg, Australian fur seal Pelican-Melbourne-Zoo-20070224-050.jpg, Australian pelican Eudyptula minor -Melbourne Zoo, Australia -swimming-8a (1).jpg, Little penguins A koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in Melbourne Zoo - Flickr - odako1.jpg, Koala File:Emu - melbourne zoo.jpg, Emu Platipus01.jpg, Platypus Tapirus indicus1.jpg, Malayan tapir

Notes

External links

* *
List of species at Melbourne Zoo
globalspecies.org {{Authority control 1862 establishments in Australia Zoos established in 1862 Organisations based in Melbourne Tourist attractions in Melbourne Zoos in Victoria (Australia) Culture of Melbourne Parks in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)