Introduction: The Zoo With Two Entrances In November and December 2023, I made a total of four visits to Melbourne Zoo. The first visit was around four hours and I visited my favourite precincts: Gorilla Rainforest, Trail of the Elephants and Lion Gorge; as well as the Main Trail. It would have been possible to see the whole zoo in a day, but I didn’t want to rush; and so the second visit was a whole day visit during which I visited the remaining precincts including Wild Sea, Growing Wild, Australian Bush and the Reptile House. The third visit was a short afternoon visit during which I revisited my highlights; and the fourth visit was another short trip to see a species I’d missed on previous visits. Visiting Melbourne Zoo was best described as putting a face to a name. My earliest association with the zoo was as a child in the 2000’s, when I was given a copy of Melbourne Zoo’s guidebook from 1992 by a family friend. I read about their gorilla infants (Mzuri and Buzandi) and saw photos of their tigers, elephants etc. As I grew older, I heard about Melbourne Zoo in relation to species I followed. Many animals I visited in New Zealand zoos were either born at Melbourne Zoo, descended from Melbourne Zoo animals or sent to Melbourne Zoo. I watched Melbourne Zoo documentaries and saw them featured in documentaries about other zoos. As an adult, I’ve read research papers authored by Melbourne Zoo staff and thoroughly enjoyed discussing Melbourne Zoo on ZooChat - including it’s past, present and future. Unlike some zoos I’ve visited with a blank slate, I had a picture in my mind of just about every square inch of Melbourne Zoo, which made seeing it in person all the more interesting. Melbourne Zoo opened in 1862 and is Australia’s oldest zoo. Melbourne Zoo has two entrances, which although not unique within Australian zoos, was a novelty to me coming from New Zealand, where all four of our main zoos have a single entrance. Main Entrance: Rail Gate Entrance: Note: All photos throughout this review are my own, unless otherwise specified.
Hope you enjoyed the zoo! seems like you did. Their collection has taken some big hits in the last decade, but they've been working pretty hard to turn it around. With some very recent hopeful additions to the native section. Still a very solid zoo in their current state though.
Thank you. I throughly enjoyed my visits to Melbourne Zoo. I went with high hopes and I was not disappointed. I’ll be posting the review precinct by precicnt over the next week or so, so still lots to come.
Thanks and yes, each trail will be covered with its own post and photos. On my first visit, I visited the Gorilla Rainforest, Trail of the Elephants and Lion Gorge in that order so will review them first; followed by the Main Trail. On my second visit, I revisited the above; as well as visiting Wild Sea, Growing Wild, Australian Bush and the Reptile House.
Part One: Gorilla Rainforest If you enter Melbourne Zoo via the Main Gate, a logical place to start is the Gorilla Rainforest Trail. The first exhibit is a walk through exhibit housing Ring-tailed lemur. The exhibit is spacious, well presented and can easily manage a large flow of pedestrian traffic. Melbourne Zoo hold a bachelor troop of Ring-tailed lemur. An unexpected sighting in this exhibit was a Gippsland water dragon. Ring-tailed lemur exhibit: To access the next exhibit (Black and white ruffed lemur), you pass through a series of arboreal pods, which double as vantage points of the exhibit. Unlike the Ring-tailed lemur exhibit, which is netted; the Black and white ruffed lemur exhibit is open air. The partially moated exhibit gives the illusion of an island, with access to the water restricted via hot wire fencing. It’s an ample size for the two females that inhabit it. Though both lemur exhibits were of a high standard, I’ll admit my eagerness to visit the upcoming gorilla complex stole my focus on the first visit. Black and white ruffed lemur exhibit: Melbourne Zoo’s Gorilla Rainforest opened in 1990. I’ve read about this exhibit since childhood and seen it featured in various documentaries. I approached it with high expectations and yet was still impressed. The epitome of immersion, this exhibit is 1600m/2 in size and lushly planted. Within the region’s city zoos, I struggle to think of any exhibit which has aged as well as this. The exhibit was designed to accomodate a family troop of around 10 gorillas and while it’s currently under-utilised by a 1.1 pair and their adolescent daughter, the relative independence of these three gorillas meant there was plenty to see across the multiple viewing points throughout the exhibit. It’s a credit to the design of the exhibit that the apes were almost constantly on the move, utilising features such as the caves; foraging amongst the vegetation; and traversing the undulating topography. Top marks for this exhibit. Gorilla Rainforest: Gorilla Rainforest: Otana: The Pygmy hippopotamus exhibits and Mandrill exhibit (currently vacant) were built to compliment the Gorilla Rainforest and opened in 1992. These exhibits haven’t aged as well as the gorilla exhibit and while it was exciting to see the zoo’s male Pygmy hippopotamus at the underwater viewing window on one of my visits, the exhibit as a whole could do with a refurb. The Mandrill exhibit is looking similarly dated and is currently vacant following the departure of the Southern cassowary that last inhabited it. Originally built to accomodate a small family troop of Mandrill, it easy to imagine similar numbers would make the exhibit look cramped three decades on. While I’m not a fan of vacant exhibits, it was interesting nonetheless to see the old Mandrill exhibit. The immersive design was evident even with the absence of animals, which I’ll admit sounds paradoxical. Pygmy hippopotamus exhibit: Felix: Old Mandrill exhibit: Next up was the Treetop Apes and Monkeys boardwalk. Though these exhibits were well planted, the overhead mesh made them look dated. The Emperor tamarin and Cotton-top tamarin exhibits are a reasonable size due to the size of their inhabitants; but the gibbon, colobus and spider monkey exhibits are comparatively cramped. Many zoos in the region exhibit spider monkeys in large open air exhibits, which can accomodate larger troops than Melbourne’s, which was further split into two on my visit. Though I enjoyed watching the colobus, viewing was limited by the tinted windows, which were there to give them privacy. While the elephant complex will surely take priority in redevelopments, I hope these exhibits aren’t far behind. Cotton-top tamarin exhibit:
I look forward to this extensive, step-by-step review of Melbourne Zoo. It honestly seems that most of the Gorilla Rainforest loop holds up quite well, with the new lemur exhibits mixing in with the more established enclosures. Everything looks lush and well vegetated and I love that shot of the Pygmy Hippo!
Thanks, I appreciate it. The lemur exhibits opened 2013 and replaced the old gorilla exhibits. Along with the Gorilla Rainforest, they set the scene for a modern world class zoo. Part Two - Trail of the Elephants is coming next!
The spider monkeys, to my experience, have access to two enclosures joined together, giving the impression of two separate exhibits. I would be interested if the group was actually physically split.
Part Two: Trail of the Elephants The Trail of the Elephants Trail follows on nicely from the Gorilla Rainforest Trail and is the zoo’s largest precinct. The first exhibit houses Asian small-clawed otters. The design is reminiscent of a drained South East Asian riverbed and is a reasonable size compared to others in the region. The small family group (breeding pair and their three adult sons) were making full use of the space. Asian small-clawed otter exhibit: The Sumatran tiger exhibit is next and is designed to replicate a forest. It opened in 1992 and currently houses a male tiger named Hutan. Like the gorilla exhibit, this is an exhibit I’ve read a lot about over the years and I was a little underwhelmed seeing it in person. It was much smaller than I imagined and is starting to look a little dated. It’s crowning feature is arguably it’s BOH facilities, which have previously enabled the zoo to house multiple big cats at any point in time. Hutan has access to the dens and frequently takes himself off (especially after a feed) meaning there wasn’t a lot of visitor interest in this exhibit. Sumatran tiger exhibit: The trail includes a rainforest aviary and a wetlands aviary. Neither are large aviaries, but it’s great to see Melbourne integrate bird species into a primarily megafauna centric precinct. Black-winged stilt aviary: The Butterfly House opened in 1985 and is large open building with a glass roof and a boardwalk leading past multiple feeding stations. The building that has aged well and remains fit for purpose. It was especially interesting seeing the hatchery on the way out, which exhibits various pupae. Butterfly House: The highlight of the precinct is the elephant complex. Totalling 2.5 hectares, the complex includes three interconnected paddocks, a bamboo forest, a village field and a community hall to replicate an Asian village. The complex opened in 2003 and at the time was considered the most modern and progressive elephant exhibit in the region. Two decades on, it’s will soon be dwarfed by the complexes at Werribee and Monarto, but was an excellent facility nonetheless. The matriarchal herd consists of five adults and three calves who were aged 10 months to 12 months on my visit. The bull, Luk Chai, lives separately from the cows. Crate training was in full swing and the elephants were enthusiastic participants. An elephant crossing allows the elephants to transfer between two of the paddocks, which regionally is a novel feature. The elephants were rotated between the paddocks and it was a thrill to see the two female calves, Aiyara and Kati, playing in the pool together. There’s countless black and white photos of young elephants at Auckland Zoo, Taronga Zoo etc. frolicking in pools/baths during the early 20th century; and I thought it poignant to consider how a century later, our young elephants are now captive born within multigenerational herds. The interior of Melbourne Zoo’s main elephant barn is viewable by the public, which is a great feature. I was intrigued to see the remnants of a graffiti dedicated to Num Oi and Sanook. Media releases following the births of Mali and Ongard in 2010 showed similar tags denoting Dokkoon and Malu’s stall; and Kulab and Ongard’s. I didn’t realise they did it three years later for Sanook. Elephant barn (interior): Elephant crossing: Elephant exhibit: Elephant exhibit: Kati (10 months): A rather non-descript exhibit for Bolivian squirrel monkeys followed; before the precinct concluded with the South East Asian Ape House. It’s a large building bordered by a Siamang exhibit on one side and an orangutan exhibit on the other. The orangutan exhibit reminded me a lot of Auckland Zoo’s 1987 exhibit, with the concrete walls (freshly painted ahead of my visit), grass terrain and climbing structures. The sway poles are an interesting feature I haven’t seen at any other zoo in the region. The zoo held a male Sumatran orangutan, Malu; and two hybrid females, Kiani and Gabby on my visit. Malu and Kiani spent a lot of time up by the viewing window and it was a privilege to see her before her death just weeks later. Orangutan exhibit:
Thanks for your review. I've been enjoying reading it so far. I agree that the Melbourne exhibit (at least in your photos prior to the installation of the newer poles) looks a little outdated when compared to new complexes like Auckland's.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed Part 2 and are enjoying the review so far. There’s plenty more to come. Off to Lion Gorge (Carnivores precinct) next. Melbourne Zoo’s orangutan exhibit opened in 2006, so it’s not even that old. I remember thinking in the 2000’s that Auckland Zoo’s orangutan exhibit (1987-2017) still looked very modern - even though it was looking very tired by the mid-2010’s. With this in mind, perceptions change and exhibit standards are constantly evolving, so I think it’s perfectly reasonable that Melbourne would create in 2006 what I would assess as a improved version of Auckland Zoo’s 1987 exhibit. In addition to the open exhibit (1000m2), it has the mesh exhibit and a larger day room than what Auckland had. Fast forward to the 2020’s and Auckland Zoo have the most innovative complex in the region, with Melbourne and other zoos in the region now working to update their exhibits.
They haven't been split, they just tend to hang out across both enclosures from experience. This isn't a new thing too - they've had access to both for around a decade now; going back to when the first enclosure previously held Tree Kangaroo and Echidna.
