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
An unusual sign
Sign at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
I was amused by this sign on one of the gates at Monarto Zoo, an open range zoo in South Australia.
At first glance you may be wondering what is so unusual about it.
It happens to be on a gate leading into the lions’ paddock!
Not the best place to be riding a bike, I’d say.
Lions, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
African Wild Dogs, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
African Wild Dogs, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Monarto Zoo near Murray Bridge in South Australia has a large pack of African Wild Dogs on display. These colourfully marked animals are native to large parts of southern Africa. Sadly, their numbers have dwindled in recent decades and they number about 5000 individuals in the wild. Some packs are so small they are no longer viable breeding groups. Zoos like Monarto are therefore a key to the conservation of this species. You can read further about this species on the Adelaide Zoo website here.
On my recent visit the pack was resting right on the track taken by the shuttle bus, allowing excellent photos of the animals. I noticed that the dog shown below has a small wound on the back rump. I guess life can be rugged in a wild dog pack.
Further reading:
- African Wild Dogs – from the Adelaide Zoo website.
- Monarto Zoo
- ZooChat Forums – features nearly 1000 zoos from all over the world, with over 100,000 photos.
- Archived articles – more articles I’ve written about zoo animals.
African Wild Dogs, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
African Wild Dogs, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Giraffes at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Giraffe at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
The giraffe herd at Monarto Zoo here in South Australia is quite large. They have bred successfully over recent years and now number well over twenty. I took these photos on a recent visit and I love the shot above. One of the giraffes came up close to the shuttle bus and posed for me, looking straight at the camera on cue. I zoomed in and just captured its head.
Monarto Zoo near Murray Bridge is the largest open range zoo of its type in the world. It is about 45 minutes’ drive from the Adelaide city centre and is a part of Zoos South Australia.
Further reading:
- Giraffes – information about giraffes
- Monarto Zoo – web page of the zoo
- Adelaide Zoo – web page of the zoo
- ZooChat Forums – information about nearly 1000 zoos around the world.
- Archived articles – more articles I’ve written about zoos I have visited
The last 2 photos show a giraffe drinking. To do this they have to splay out their front legs in quite an ungainly manner. It is at this point that giraffes are most vulnerable and can easily be taken by animals like lions. The animal nearby is a Blackbuck.
Giraffe at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Giraffe at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Giraffe at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Chital Deer, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Chital Deer, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Monarto Zoo, just a few kilometres from my home in Murray Bridge, is a part of the Adelaide Zoo. Until the 1980s Monarto was a farm, but in the 1990s it became an open range zoo, now the largest of its type in the world.This zoo has a large collection of Chital Deer and similar species like Blackbuck, Addax and Scimitar-horned Oryx.
Further reading:
- Chital Deer – on the Monarto Zoo webpage
- Monarto Zoo – more information about the zoo
- Adelaide Zoo
- ZooChat Forums – about zoos all over the world with over 100,000 photos.
- Archived articles – about zoos I have visited
Chital Deer, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Chital Deer, Monarto Zoo, South Australia