I always feel like I shouldn't love a zoo. It's quite the thing to see lions in small spaces, snow leopords hiding be beneath single pines, giraffes as you sip your latte. But dammit, Melbourne Zoo, it's hard not to love you. Part of it is memory, of course. I went with my folks as a kid, and then I took my kid, and now I'm taking my kid WITH my grandkid. Mindblown. It's only two train stops up from where they live and it's pretty easy to get to from the centre of Melbourne too.
It is a little expensive - $53 for an adult, though kids are free. My son buys a yearly pass so they can go any time, so I snuck in for free.
The first critters you'll see are the meerkats. They're a crowd pleaser, standing up on their hind legs cutely. There's lots of things for them to clamber on and climb under and awesome for kids too as the surrounds can be clambered on - rocks and logs and even tunnels. IN fact, the whole of the zoo is fun to run around - bamboo forests and tunnels and rocks, and in fact it's encouraged. A great place to bring wild kids!
Next we wandered round to the monkeys. It was too cold for the lemurs, who'd retreated indoors to eat, though we did see a couple, with thier long bushy tails. We ended up missing the orangutans and platypuses and a lot of the Aussie animals - there's only so much a toddler can take, and he did pretty well, considering. We did love the tamarin, who looks like one of those creatures out of the Lorax.
I always feel terribly sorry for the gorillas, as they look so human like and despite the efforts to keep them entertained and healthy, I always think they should be in the wild. But Melbourne Zoo participates in breeding programs and conservation initiatives aimed at protecting gorilla populations, aimed at genetic diversity and supporting global efforts to prevent extinction.
My favourite are the giraffes. There's a cafe where you can have a coffee and a sandwich and watch them. I stared for ages - they are so alien to me with their knobbly horns and tall lanky legs. I just adore them - such impossible creatures. They eat around 45 kg of food a day. We sat and googled how much money the zoos (there's four in Vic that are all partnered) make per day and year, and most years they barely break even. They are a not for profit so that feels less exploitative - it's all about education and preventing extinction.
I just found out there's a giraffe cam at the Melbourne Zoo too. Not as good as the real thing. Honestly I spent a lot of time staring at the giraffes. My grandson and I joked we'd like to bring one home and that it could live on the balcony with their dog Edie.
The reptile enclosure hasn't changed since I was a kid I don't think. It was hard to find the frogs as they're pretty good at camouflaging. The small Phillipino crocodiles were cool, as were the snakes. We were glad they were behind glass.
The tassie devils were lovely, warming themselevs in the sun. They have no natural predators, but are endangered in the wild, so zoos have an important role to play in their conservation. They have bone crushing teeth and apparently that's why you never find missing poeple in Tassie - the devils eat them, bones and all.
We accidentally walked out via the gift shop, where lots of animals begged to come home. We didn't buy one though we really wanted to.
Melbourne zoo is Australia's oldest zoo, having opened in 1862. There's over 320 species of animals, and there's immersive experiences there too like the Butterfly House where some people get wedding photos taken. I got it wrong about kids entering free - that's just on weekends and school holidays, but normally it's 26.50. It's great for a family day out if you're travelling to Melbourne or even if you have nothing to do one day - if you've never been, it's definitely worth it to create some nice memories with the fam.
What's your favourite animal? Do you have a zoo near you?
With Love,
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