Adelaide Zoo

Adelaide Zoo
File:Zoos SA Logo.jpg Adelaide Zoo
34°54′51″S 138°36′21″E
Date opened	23 May 1883
Location	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Land area	8 hectares (20 acres)
No. of animals	over 2,000
No. of species	300
Memberships	ZAA, WAZA
Website	www.zoossa.com.au

One of the Sumatran tigers at Adelaide Zoo

Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo (after Melbourne Zoo), and the only major metropolitan zoo in Australia to be owned and operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is administered by the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia Incorporated (trading as Zoos SA) which is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). and which also administers the Monarto Zoo near Murray Bridge.

The zoo houses about 300 native and exotic species, with over 1,800 animals on site. The zoo's most recent enclosures are in the second phase of the South-East Asia exhibit, known as Immersion, providing visitors with the experience of walking through the jungle, with Sumatran tigers and orangutans seemingly within reach.

Five buildings within the zoo have been listed as state heritage places on the South Australian Heritage Register including the front entrance on Frome Road and the former Elephant House. The zoo is also a botanical garden and the grounds contain significant exotic and native flora, including a Moreton Bay fig planted in 1877.

The giant panda exhibit, which opened in December 2009, is home to two giant pandas, Wang Wang and Funi.

History

The last greater flamingo in Australia died at Adelaide Zoo in January 2014

A pied heron in one of the zoo's walk-in aviaries

Adelaide Zoo first opened on 23 May 1883, occupying 6.5 hectares (16 acres) (now 8 hectares (20 acres)) of land granted by the Government. It was founded by the South Australian Acclimatization and Zoological Society. The society later became the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia after a Royal Charter was granted by King George VI in 1937.

The first director of the zoo (from 1882 to 1893) was R. E. Minchin. He was succeeded by his son A. C. Minchin (from 1893 to 1934), and grandson R. R. L. Minchin (from 1935 to 1940). Another grandson, Alfred Keith Minchin ran the (private) Koala Farm in the North Parklands 1936–1960; the surplus koalas were set free on Kangaroo Island.

In the mid-twentieth century the zoo was involved in the export of live birds, with 99% of Australia's exports of live native birds, mainly finches and parrots for aviculture, passing through either Adelaide or Taronga zoos. At a time when the need for conservation of Australia's native birds, and control of their trade was becoming increasingly apparent, South Australia lagged behind other states in passing appropriate legislation.

In 1962 a new director of the zoo, William Gasking, was quickly dismissed through the power exerted by the Zoo Council president, Fred Basse, on the grounds that Gasking would not cooperate with the bird trade. However, when Basse retired the trade in birds dropped to a tenth of what it had been two years before. Since then the zoo's administration has been restructured and the zoo has regained public credibility and scientific status.

The modern zoo has moved away from the traditional housing of species separately in pairs. Now species are grouped together as they would be in the wild, in exhibits that are carefully planned according to region. Enclosures have been designed with the needs of the animals in mind, providing a more natural habitat, which also serves an educational purpose for visitors. Although some of the zoo's heritage listed enclosures such as the Elephant House have been retained, they are no longer used to house animals; (the Elephant House now has educational signs).

The flamingo exhibit was opened in 1885, and is one of the few to have remained in the same position to date. Originally it was stocked with 10 flamingos, however most died during a drought in 1915. In 2014, one of two surviving flamingos in the exhibit, thought to be the oldest in the world at 83 years of age, died. The remaining Chilean flamingo at Adelaide zoo is now the only flamingo in Australia.

Current focus

The zoo has a particular focus on species from the Gondwana 'supercontinent' which was made up of South America, India, Africa, Australia and South East Asia. The botanic similarities between the regions are featured in the zoo's main exhibits, which include a South East Asian Rainforest, and Australian Rainforest Wetlands walk-through aviary. The South East Asian exhibit combines Sumatran orangutan and siamang together. It also combines Malayan tapir and dusky leaf monkey together. In the past, in fact almost to the present day, Adelaide Zoo was famous for having the best bird collection and display of all the Australian zoos.

The zoo also has a focus on educational programs. There is a selection of "get to know the zoo" type of tours, a large "children's zoo" area, and from April 2009, an educational area for secondary school students and their teachers. Schools can hire the facility and groups can sleep there, with a member from the zoo supervising. Also, a new educational area called the Envirodome opened in April 2009. Night walks, tours and animal research can be done. More information on the educational programs can be found on the zoo's web site.

Exhibits

Asian Region

The South East Asia Exhibit called Immersion was built in two parts. The first part was finished in 1995 which gave exhibits to animals such as siamangs and sun bears. In late 2006 most of part two was finished which gave exhibits to Sumatran orangutans, siamangs and Sumatran tigers. There is also a large walk-through aviary which takes you past the two gibbon islands to the sun bear enclosure.

Animals in exhibit:

Sumatran tiger Sumatran orangutan Siamang Rufous night heron Malayan tapir

White-cheeked gibbon Malayan sun bear Oriental small-clawed otter Red panda Giant panda

Eurasian coot Mandarin duck Pheasant coucal Cattle egret

Dusky leaf monkey Glossy ibis Green peafowl Radjah shelduck

Australian Region

Tasmanian devil Red kangaroo Tammar wallaby Major Mitchell's cockatoo Australian bustard Australian pelican

Yellow-footed rock wallaby Brolga Kangaroo Island kangaroo Western rosella Bilby Mallee fowl

Emu Short-beaked echidna Long-nosed potoroo Baudin's cockatoo Australian fur seal

Southern hairy-nosed wombat Black-footed rock wallaby Brush-tailed rock wallaby Blue-winged kookaburra

Jewels of Asia Aviary

Palm cockatoo Channel-billed cuckoo Golden pheasant Noisy pitta Chestnut-breasted munia Red avadavat

Black-capped lory Dusky lory Common tree shrew Rose-crowned fruit-dove Lady Amherst's pheasant Rufous whistler

Mandarin duck Blue-faced honeyeater Sacred kingfisher Buff-banded rail White-browed woodswallow

Emerald dove Plumed whistling duck Dollar bird Pekin robin Peaceful dove

Children's Zoo

Australorp chicken Silkie bantam Frizzle bantam Koala Yellow-footed rock wallaby

Long-billed corella Lowline cow Fallow deer Quokka Damara sheep

Domestic ferret Miniature goat Domestic rabbit Helmeted guineafowl Tammar wallaby

Guinea pig Kangaroo Island kangaroo Western grey kangaroo Brown rat

African Region

African hunting dog African lion Barbary sheep Cheetah Chimpanzee

Colobus monkey Common zebra Fennec fox Giraffe

Hamadryas baboon Hippopotamus Mandrill Meerkat

Ostrich Ring-tailed lemur Serval Western lowland gorilla

South American Region

Brazilian tapir Collared peccary Galapagos tortoise

Brazilian agouti Blue-and-gold macaw

Razor-billed curassow Hyacinthine macaw

Chilean flamingo Yellow-naped amazon

Tamarin House

Pygmy marmoset

Cotton-top tamarin

Black lion tamarin

Golden lion tamarin

Australian Habitat Aviaries

Rainbow bee-eater Black-winged stilt Hooded plover Orange-bellied parrot King parrot Black-breasted button-quail

Dusky woodswallow Red-browed finch Diamond firetail White-browed woodswallow Superb fruit-dove

Regent honeyeater Bush thick-knee Peaceful dove Noisy pitta Eastern whipbird

Freckled duck Variegated fairy-wren Star finch Superb parrot Macleay's fig parrot

Australian Bush Aviaries

Crimson chat Spinifex pigeon Gouldian finch

Australian pratincole Budgerigar Black-breasted button-quail

Pied honeyeater Chiming wedgebill Hooded robin

Bourke's parrot Hooded parrot Regent parrot

Envirodome

The Envirodome is an interactive visitor experience housed in the old Ape Block along with the Education Centre. The non-animal exhibits are hands-on and are aimed at the conservation of our environment, hoping to educate the public on simple changes they can make to help the environment. The building itself has been largely recycled and has a green roof, rain-water fed toilets, hay-bale walls and solar-panels.

Splendid tree frog Veiled chameleon

Phasmid Seahorse

A Day in the life of Average Joe Giant floor Jigsaw puzzle Water Sculpture

Conservation at Adelaide Zoo The effects of global warming River pond

Incidents

In 1909, the Strand Magazine (p. 386) reported that a snake had swallowed a rug weighing almost 12 pounds, and which survived undamaged in the snake's stomach until disgorged almost a month later. The short article featured a photograph of the disgorged rug which was 5 feet 3 inches long.

In 1985, two men broke in and killed 64 animals.

On 30 October 2008, a 78-year-old blind greater flamingo named "Greater" was beaten, allegedly by a group of teenagers. Four teenagers were charged after visitors reported an incident to zoo staff. The male flamingo was left "extremely stressed."

On Mother's Day 2009, the female orangutan, Karta, built an escape route out of plant material and tripped the hot wires with a stick. After a short while on the 'outside' she dropped back into the exhibit with no harm done.

References

• Robin, Libby. (2001). The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901-2001. Melbourne University Press: Carlton. ISBN 0-522-84987-3
• "Fact file of the Adelaide Zoo"

External links

• Media related to Adelaide Zoo at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website