Taronga Zoo

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Taronga Zoo
File:Tarongazoologo.gif
Map
LocationSydney, New South Wales, AUS
Land area287 hectares
No. of animals26,000
No. of species340
Websitehttp://www.zoo.nsw.gov.au/

Taronga Zoo is the city zoo of Sydney officially opened on October 7th, 1916. It is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in Mosman. Taronga is linked to Dubbo's Western Plains Zoo in terms of breeding programs.

Taronga Zoo is home to over 26,000 animals on 287 hectares, making it one of the largest of its kind, and it divided into eight zoogeographic regions with numerous indoor pavilions and outdoor exhibits.

Giraffes in front of Sydney's skyline.
Sydney as seen from Taronga Zoo

History

The first public zoo in New South Wales opened in 1884 at Billy Goat Swamp in Moore Park. After returning from Germany in 1908, Albert Sherbourne Le Souef, the secretary of the zoo, envisioned a new zoo based on the bar-less concept he saw at the Hamburg Zoo.

After realising that the Moore Park site was too small, the NSW Government granted 43 acres of land north of Sydney Harbour. A further 9 acres were later granted in 1916.

Exhibits

The Early Exhibits

  • The Giraffe House was completed in 1923
  • The Aquarium in completed in 1927
  • Floral Clock in completed in 1928
  • Tahr Mountain in completed in 1932
  • The Tiger Pits in completed in 1939

Under the directorship of Edward Hallstrom in the years 1940’s – 1960’s, several new exhibits were built including those for large cats, koalas, apes and gorillas.

Later Additions and Changes

A critical review in 1967 led to a new emphasis on scientific conservation, education and preservation.

New exhibits were built starting with the Platypus and Nocturnal Houses, waterfowl ponds and walkthrough Rainforest Aviary. A Veterinary Quarantine Centre was built as was an Education Centre (funded by the Department of Education). Previous attractions such as elephant rides, miniature trains, monkey circus and merry-go-round gave way to educational facilities such as Friendship Farm and Seal theatre.

Current Modifications

  • Taronga is continually undergoing redevelopment to close the old cramped animal enclosures and replace them with larger, more natural enclosures.
  • Taronga has received eight Asian elephants from the Thailand Zoological Park Organisation for breeding purposes, education, long-term research and involvement of conservation programs. The plan has met opposition from environmental activists in Thailand, who blockaded the trucks hauling the elephants to Bangkok International Airport for their flight on June 5, 2006. [1]
  • In February, 2003 it became the second zoo in Australia to breed the platypus.
  • A scenic cable car allows the visitor to get a good picture of the zoo and its magnificent surroundings.
  • An Asian Wildlife section at Taronga has opened in 2005.

Zoo Friends

Zoo Friends is an organisation which offers support in form of volunteers and fund raising for both Taronga and Western Plains Zoo. It's a good way of getting behind the scenes at the Zoo and offers its members free Zoo entry. Members are also eligible to volunteer to help at the Zoo. More details at http://www.zoofriends.org.au

Animal Listing

Taronga Zoo has about 340 species and over 2600 individual animals. Some include:

Australian Wetlands

Australian Walkabout

Serpentaria

The African Waterhole

Wild Asia

Seals & Sealions

Big Cats & Bears

Backyard To Bush

See also

External links


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