Giant Pandas, Adelaide Zoo
Giant Panda, Adelaide Zoo, South Australia
Two Giant Pandas arrived at the Adelaide Zoo late last year in the midst of great media hype. In fact, for months before their arrival they were featured in the news media almost every day, certainly every week. As the arrival date approached this certainly became every day.
Adelaide Zoo under went a major renovation in preparation. A large new entrance gate area replaced the historic entrance gates which had been used since the 1800s. (The old gates were not destroyed; they are just no longer in use.)
Close to the new entrance gates is a multi-million dollar new enclosure specifically built for the two new pandas, Wang Wang and Funi.
In the just over 6 months since their arrival, the pandas have increased visitor numbers to the zoo by 70%. In the first month or so, coinciding with the Christmas and New Year break as well as school holidays, visitors had to book ahead to see these amazing animals. Even then there was a waiting period before getting to see them. I decided to wait until recently and even then I had to line up for ten minutes at the end of a long line of people. The wait was worth it. Over coming days I will feature the many photos I took of the pandas.
Giant Panda enclosure, Adelaide Zoo, South Australia
Giant Panda, Adelaide Zoo, South Australia
Education at Monarto Zoo
Children and the Education Officer at work at Monarto Zoo
Most zoos have education as an integral part of their reason for existing. Monarto Zoo in South Australia is no exception.
In fact, the zoo has long had an Education Officer, Ian, who is a trained teacher with many years of experience. I am delighted to not only call him a colleague but also a friend. I also had the privilege of teaching two of his own children some years ago. About that time I also helped Ian and several other teachers develop some of the learning materials used with classes visiting the zoo. That was many years ago and they have probably been changed many times since.
The photo above shows Ian in full swing with a class of children at the zoo.
Volunteers
The zoo also relies heavily on volunteer help. These volunteers give of their own time to acts as guides on bus trips and also on the many tasks behind the scenes, things like tree planting programmes. On one shuttle bus trip we took last year we had the delight of another friend, Brian (shown below) as our tour guide. Brian is also a former teaching colleague and now a good friend.
People living in South Australia are always needed as volunteers at the zoo. Contact the zoo for more information on how to become a volunteer.
Brian, one of the volunteer guides at Monarto Zoo
Ostriches at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Male (L) and female (R) Ostriches at Monarto Zoo
Ostriches are native to Africa, not South Australia, but if I want to see some Ostriches I only have to drive for about 10 minutes from my home in Murray Bridge South Australia. There is a small flock of Ostriches on display in our local open range zoo at Monarto which is a part of the Adelaide Zoo. Good – but quite as good as seeing them in their natural environment.
On the other hand, there are some Ostriches living in the wild in South Australia. In the nineteenth century Ostrich feathers were in demand for decorations on hats and several farms were set up in several parts of the country. A few feral birds remain in the arid country just north of Port Augusta where one farm was located. These were released from the farm when the market demand slumped, and a small self sustaining population can still be seen from time to time – if you know where to look.
Other African animals at Monarto Zoo include the African Lion.
Lions and Rabbits
Lions, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
We enjoy visiting our local Monarto Zoo, just a few miles from home in Murray Bridge. One of the highlights of a visit to this open range zoo is to take the shuttle bus through the African Lion enclosure, a large grassy paddock not unlike the grasslands they would enjoy in their natural environment. The only difference is that they don’t have to hunt for their daily meal.
The lions shown in several photos on this post are sitting on a mound of dirt approximately in the middle of their enclosure. Our tour guide on one trip to the zoo informed us that a large number of rabbits lived in burrows in this mound. A few careless rabbits came out to feed in the first few days the lions had taken up residence and paid the ultimate price. The rabbits have now learned to stay holed up until dusk – after the lions have returned to their night quarters for the evening.
Lions, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Lions, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
African Lions at Monarto Zoo
Lions, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
On our visit to our local Monarto Zoo (just a few minutes’ drive from home in Murray Bridge) last year we had our first look at the new viewing platform looking over the African Lion enclosure. This gives an excellent view of the large paddock where the lions can roam. Fortunately several of the lions were quite close to the platform and I was able to get good photos of them.
Lion viewing platform, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Lions, Monarto Zoo, South Australia