Australia Zoo is a fantastic wildlife sanctuary, and should be an example for other zoos which want to make their zoo more viable to the animals theykeep captured, even if there are certain matters in Australia Zoo that one should deal with – and I mean deal with quite urgently. In spite of the fact that Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, the famous crocodile hunter, owns the zoo – and shares Steve Irwin’s vision of the full respect for all living creatures, I am not fully impressed with the situation and the concept. Lots of stuff her is fine, and is absolutely awesome, but yes I do wonder. Why are the extremely poisonous snakes kept in small aquariums, what are Bengal and Sumatran tigers doing in their relatively small enclosures in a zoo that actually wants to present Australian wildlife, and finally, Australia Zoo just introduced a display of African animals like elephants, zebras and what - nots. These animals are not fine here, and really – wouldn’t it be smarter to stick to the humane concept of having animals on display that actually thrive in their enclosures and can interact with the visitors?
The really good stuff in Australia Zoo though is that people can walk inside of the enclosures an encounter kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, lots of local birds – even wild turkeys and kookaburras – and the most eager ones like myself even get to pet certain animals who do not mind some human love and care at all.
There are “shows” as well, and I must say – these shows are not too bad – they’re actually pretty educational. This way people get to learn about snakes, crocs, parrots and so on – and they get to learn about threatened species and even how to avoid being bitten by poisonous snakes. I must admit, I was pretty impressed by the whole ordeal with animal shows. I do not at all like these kinds of circus –like parties, but here in Australia Zoo they seem to take good care of the animals, and they are not trained to do abnormal things to impress the spectators. So I guess it is not too bad. And really, the way we treat nature and animals it is a good thing that some people make an effort to educate visitors who come to these kinds of parks. It is popular, and makes people think. Crocs are not enemies, neither are poisonous snakes – we just have to learn how to stay out of their way. These keepers make it very clear that there are no species which are especially interested in the consumption of human flesh. If they attack it is because we enter their territory and they feel threatened.
Visitors can view crocodile feedings and participate in elephant feedings. There are 4 walk-through enclosures that visitors can enter and feed kangaroos, wallabies and koalas, and there is often an opportunity to pet a koala when staff are in the exhibit. Don’t do what I did, I petted a koala with a joey in her pouch, and yes I did get in trouble with the keeper, and it did not help that I was Norwegian.
The zoo also offers a roving animal team that walks around the grounds throughout the day with various animals such as alligators, birds, snakes and lizards. Visitors may have their photo taken with the animals and can purchase professional copies from the zoo's photo lab.
Wildlife Warriors
Wildlife Warriors runs a rescue operation and care station for any native wildlife which may be injured in accidents outside the zoo.This effort is supported by Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital next to the zoo, which can care for up to 10,000 animals per year, with two operating theaters, two treatment rooms, intensive care units for mammals, birds, and reptiles, and a CAT scan room. The hospital is named in honor of Steve Irwin's mother Lynn Irwin, who died in a car accident in 2000.
If you want to see the hospital, they charge you a dollar, and you can see the rooms and some of the injured animals. The koala bear is now under constant threat due to loss of habitat and cars hitting them when they look for their trees on the other side of the road. Australia Zoo displays clear posters informing people of the fact that these beautiful creatures are bound to become extinct. The animal hospital gets hundreds of injured ones every month. They have broken spines, crushed legs and some of them have lost an eye or an ear. It is a really bad situation. The vets employed here do a great job! This is the very best part of Australia Zoo.
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