Zebras at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Plains Zebra at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
One of the animal species featured at the open range Monarto Zoo in South Australia is the Plains Zebra. These beautiful animals can be see close up while travelling on one of the zoo buses which take visitors through the zoo. Monarto Zoo, opened to the public in 1993, is a part of the Adelaide Zoo. It is about an hour’s drive south east of Adelaide and close to my home town of Murray Bridge.
Plains Zebras not on the endangered list in their usual habitat in Africa with significant numbers still existing in the wild, though their numbers are declining. You can read more about them on the zoo web page here.
While the web page lists this species as Plains Zebras, I am sure I have heard most guides on the bus tours call them Chapman’s Zebras. Doing a little research I have found that Chapman’s Zebras are actually a subspecies of the Plains Zebra, so I probably missed that part of the commentary given by the guides. Generally the volunteer guides do an excellent job with their commentary during each bus tour, adding plenty of extra information and truly enhancing the zoo experience.
Links:
- Plains Zebras – the zoo web page on this species
- Monarto Zoo
- Adelaide Zoo
Plains Zebra at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Plains Zebra at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Plains Zebra at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
American Bison at Monarto Zoo
American Bison at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
The American Bison were very first animals to arrive at the Monarto Zoo near Adelaide in South Australia when it was set up as an open range zoo in 1983, though I should add that the zoo only opened to the public in October 1993. Before that is was only used as a breeding and pasture area for some animals from the Adelaide Zoo. Since opening to the public it has boomed as far as visitor numbers are concerned, with many hundreds of thousands annually (I can’t find any current figures on their website).
The herd of American Bison has grown from only 2 in 1983 to over a dozen today. They share a paddock of some 15 hectares in size and the bus tours all travel through the enclosure. On some occasions I have been on the bus when the herd has occupied part of the road leading through their home. Stubbornly they usually refuse to move; the driver has no option but to take a slight detour. On these occasions visitors get very close up views indeed. On our most recent visit they were well off the track, thankfully.
Although their numbers in America were originally in the millions they quickly declined due to hunting and disease. Thankfully the species was rescued before they became extinct in the wild and their numbers are now stable, though only about 15,000 exist in the wild population. You can read more about the species here.
Links:
- The American Bison – article on the zoo website
- Monarto Zoo
- Adelaide Zoo
American Bison at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
American Bison at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Przewalski’s Horses at Monarto Zoo
Przewalski’s Horse, Monarto Zoo
Most people have probably never heard of the Przewalski’s Horse – unless they have taken a tour at the Monarto open range zoo near Adelaide. A few days ago I shared a few photos of the endearing meerkats at this zoo and today it is the turn of the horses.
Monarto Zoo is a part of the Adelaide Zoo and is my home zoo, being only a ten minute drive from my home in Murray Bridge. I am a life member so I can go visit for free any time, so we try to get there several times a year. This most recent visit was with friends on the occasion of my wife’s birthday.
The Przewalski’s Horse is critically endangered in the wild. At one point it was classified as extinct in the wild, but successful breeding programmes, especially here at Monarto, have seen the re-introduction of the species in its natural habitat. It was this successful programme which convinced me to become a life member of the zoo, even though I am not a particularly great horse lover.
It is the world’s only remaining wild horse and is native to Mongolia, Kazakhstan and the Gobi Desert. They’re smaller than domestic horses, with stocky bodies, large heads and a thick upright mane.
Monarto Zoo now has about 20 of these horses, having exported a small group to Mongolia twenty years ago.
In 1995, Monarto Zoo participated in a program which saw seven horses successfully reintroduced to Takhi Tal Nature Reserve in Mongolia, leading to the species forming functional breeding herds in its native habitat. As a result, in 2008 their status was downgraded from extinct to critically endangered.
You can read more about this beautiful animal on the zoo website here.
Links:
Przewalski’s Horse, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Przewalski’s Horse, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Happy Birthday to Trevor’s Birding
Red-browed Finch
Congratulations and Happy 10th Birthday to Trevor’s Birding
A companion site that I also write for is called Trevor’s Birding. You can access the site here. I started that site just a few days over 10 years ago and it has proved to be one of the more popular birding sites worldwide. The site attracts readers from over 200 countries and comments from many of them.
Over the last ten years I have posted over 1660 articles, almost all of them about Australian birds – with a small offering from a few other countries as well, including Thailand, Nepal, Ethiopia and Morocco – with Spain still to come. In many cases I have included photos of the birds I have seen, and write about.
A good proportion of the photos shown on the site include birds I have seen in our own garden. We live on five acres of partly mallee scrub on the outskirts of Murray Bridge, an hour’s drive south east of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. This small rural city straddles the Murray River, Australia’s longest and largest waterway, so we occasionally get the odd water-bird landing on our roof, in the garden – or even in the swimming pool.
Later this year Trevor’s Travels will also be celebrating its 10th birthday, so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, to celebrate, I thought that I would share some of my best bird photos with my readers.
Why not leave a comment as well?
Star Finch
Sacred Kingfisher
Australian Magpie
Meerkats at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Meerkat on guard at Monarto Zoo
Earlier this we paid a visit to the Monarto Zoo in South Australia. It was a special treat for my wife on her birthday. Friends Rose and Keith picked us up and drove us to the zoo. We are fortunate that it is a quick ten minute drive from home. We try to visit several times a year, partly because it is so close and partly because we enjoy our visits. We also like to get value out of my zoo membership. I am a life member of the Adelaide Zoo and this allows me free access to this and other zoos around Australia. I can also bring one other person free, and that is usually my dear wife.
Monarto Zoo is run by Adelaide Zoo and is an open range zoo. While there are exhibits one can walk to, most of the animals are observed from one of the regular bus tours of the large zoo. These tours are included in the entry fee and leave the information centre every twenty minutes or so, depending on demand. Walking tracks also criss-cross the park for the able and the energetic.
A number of exhibits are accessible by foot from the information centre, including the meerkat display. Today I am showing a series of photos taken on this special occasion. As usual, one of these endearing critters posed beautifully for me. I love how photogenic and cooperative they are.
Link:
Meerkat on guard at Monarto Zoo
Meerkat on guard at Monarto Zoo
Meerkat on guard at Monarto Zoo
Meerkat on guard at Monarto Zoo
Meerkat on guard at Monarto Zoo
Meerkat on guard at Monarto Zoo
Monarto Zoo