Historic elephant house at Adelaide Zoo
Historic Elephant House, Adelaide Zoo
The beautiful old 19th century building shown above used to house the elephants at Adelaide Zoo. The zoo no longer houses elephants here and it has been converted into an historic interpretive centre (see photo below).
I can remember going for a ride on an elephant at the Adelaide Zoo when I was a child (more than 50 years ago). The last elephant held in this zoo’s animal collection died at the Monarto Zoo section a few years ago. While neither section of the zoo currently holds any elephants, I understand there are plans to re-introduce some to Monarto Zoo in the next few years.
Historic Elephant House, Adelaide Zoo
Baby elephant, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Elephants, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
The elephants on display at Taronga Zoo in Sydney are a major attraction, especially with the birth of the baby shown in these photos. The elephants are enjoying their new quarters opened only a year or so ago. This enclosure is much more spacious and elephant friendly than the old quarters and they obviously enjoy showing off to their admiring audience. One of the benefits of this new enclosure is the excellent viewing areas for the public. Large numbers of people can all view the animals simultaneously.
I remember fondly my earliest encounter with an elephant was in my home state capital city of Adelaide. When I was a child the Adelaide Zoo had several elephants and children were able to ride on them around the zoo. This no longer happens today, so I had to travel to Thailand and Nepal to have a ride on one of these wonderful creatures.
Further reading:
- Adelaide Zoo – archived articles of visits to Adelaide Zoo, South Australia
- Taronga Zoo – articles about my visits to Taronga Zoo, Sydney
- My travels in Nepal
- My travels in Thailand
- Elephants
Elephants, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Elephants, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Elephants, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Old Elephant house, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
On our visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney earlier this year we walked past the old historic elephant house. It is a beautiful building with very ornate decorations. It is no longer used to house the elephants because they now have a much more suitable house nearby. The new elephant enclosure is also much more suitable and is shown in the photos below.
Elephant enclosure, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Elephant enclosure, Taronga Zoo, Sydney