Melbourne Zoo

{{Short description|Zoo in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}} {{Use Australian English|date=May 2014}} {{Infobox zoo |zoo_name= Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens |logo=MelbourneZooLogo.jpg |logo_width=200px |image=Melbourne Zoo entrance 1a.jpg |image_caption=Main Entrance |date_opened={{start date and age|1862|10|06|df=y}} <ref name="zoo_history"/> |date_closed= |location=Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |area= {{Convert|55|acre|abbr=on}} |coordinates={{Coord|display=it|-37.784762|144.952095|type:landmark_region:AU}} |num_animals= 5,120 |num_species= 250<ref name="zoo_about"/> |members= Zoo and Aquarium Association,<ref name="zaa_list"/> World Association of Zoos and Aquariums<ref name="waza_list"/> |exhibits= lions, tigers, snow leopards, orang-utans, gorillas, gibbons, baboons, lemurs, pygmy hippopotamus, giraffes, marsupials, platypus, birds, reptiles |publictransit={{rint|melbourne|met train}} Royal Park<br /> {{rint|melbourne|tram}} Melbourne Zoo/Royal Park (#26): 58<br /> {{rint|melbourne|met bus}} Bus route 505|website= {{URL|www.zoo.org.au/Melbourne}} |embedded={{Infobox designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = VICHR | designation1_offname = Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens | designation1_type = State Registered Place | designation1_criteria = a, e, f, g, h | designation1_date = 23 May 1996 | delisted1_date = | designation1_partof = | designation1_number = H1074<ref name=heritage>{{cite web|title=Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens |url=https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/4781|website=Victorian Heritage Database|publisher=Government of Victoria|access-date=25 November 2023}}</ref> | designation1_free1name = Heritage Overlay numbers | designation1_free1value = HO364 HO822 HO823 HO824 HO830 HO831 HO826 HO825 HO828 HO829 HO827<ref name=heritage /> }}}}

'''Melbourne Zoo''' is a zoo in Melbourne, Australia. It is located within Royal Park in Parkville, approximately {{Convert|4|km|mi}} north of the centre of Melbourne. It is the primary zoo serving Melbourne. As of 2021, the zoo contains 3742 animals comprising 243 species,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Animal Inventory 2020-21 |url=https://www.zoo.org.au/media/5358/inventory-report-2020212.pdf |access-date=19 February 2023 |website=Zoos Victoria}}</ref> from Australia and around the world. The zoo is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram routes 58 and 19, as well as by bicycle on the Capital City Trail. Bicycles are not allowed inside the zoo itself.

The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The zoo is set among flower gardens and picnic areas. Many of the animals are now organised in bioclimatic zones: African rainforest ('Gorilla Rainforest') that include gorillas and lemurs; Asian rainforest that includes orangutans, tigers and otters; and the Australian bush with kangaroos, koalas, wombats, goannas, native birds and many others. Popular exhibits also include the 'Butterfly House', the 'Reptile House', the 'Great Flight Aviary', 'Wild Sea', 'Treetop Apes and Monkeys' and 'Lion Gorge'. During the summer months they also hold sleep over events at the zoo that allows people to purchase tickets to "camp out" for a night under the stars.

The zoo includes a large schools section and caters to many school visitors annually, its immensely popular education program encourages young minds to conserve animals.

Visitors can see historical cages including the heritage listed ''Elephant House'', which has been renovated and adapted for use for customers paying to sleep overnight in tents at the zoo in popular ''Roar and Snore'' evenings. These evenings allow the public to see some of the nocturnal animals at the zoo in evening guided tours by experienced camp hosts.

==History== In October 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was formed with the aim of introducing animals and plants from overseas.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Royal Zoological and Acclimatisation Society |url=https://researchdata.edu.au/royal-zoological-acclimatisation-society/491147 |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=Research Data Australia |language=en}}</ref> Its first collections of animals were housed in Richmond Paddock.<ref name=":0" /> In 1861 the organisation changed its name to the "Acclimatisation Society of Victoria".<ref name=":0" />

On 6 October 1862, the organisation opened a new Melbourne Zoo in Royal Park on {{Convert|55|acre|adj=on}} of land donated by the City of Melbourne. Melbourne Zoo was modelled on London Zoo.

Initially the zoo was important for the acclimatisation of domestic animals recovering from their long trip to Australia. It was only with the appointment of Albert Alexander Cochrane Le Souef in 1870 that more exotic animals were procured for public display, and the gardens and picnic areas were developed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article219425205 |title=The Zoological Gardens. |newspaper=Weekly Times |issue=594 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=22 January 1881 |access-date=3 March 2017 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 1870 also saw the Society change its name to the "Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria", and was granted the prefix "Royal" in 1910.<ref name=":0" /> thumb|left|The President of the Zoological Board, feeding a llama, 1937 [[File:Melbourne Zoo, Victoria, Australia -22Jan2011.jpg|right|thumb|The Rail Gate entrance, at the north of the zoo near to Royal Park railway station]] One of the most famous exhibits from the early 1900s to the 1940s was Queenie the elephant.

In the mid-1930s, the Society had financial troubles. In response the ''Zoological Gardens Act 1936'' was passed, handing the Zoo to a newly appointed Zoological Board of Victoria on behalf of the state government in 1937.<ref name=":0" />

thumb|Melbourne Zoo aerial panorama, February 2017 thumb|Aerial panorama of Parkville, and the Melbourne Zoo, April 2025 In 1964, the acclaimed Lion Park exhibit opened, with an elevated walkway overlooking and separating two exhibits. It was demolished and replaced by a new lion exhibit in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Melbourne unveils lions' window on the world |url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-unveils-lions-window-on-the-world/news-story/042d327da9d136582cb6ad9605b806b7 |access-date=18 February 2023 |website=Herald Sun}}</ref>

Australia's first gorilla birth occurred at Melbourne Zoo in 1984. Giant pandas were loaned to the zoo from China for an exhibition to celebrate Australia's bicentennial in 1988.

In 1989, a 35-year-old man died when he was partially eaten by a lion after he entered its pen.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/03/26/Dead-man-found-in-lions-pen-at-zoo/8771606891600/ |title=Dead man found in lion's pen at zoo |newspaper=UPI |date=26 March 1989}}</ref>

The Trail of the Elephants exhibit was unveiled in 2003 and won numerous awards. On 15 January 2010 Melbourne Zoo welcomed its first elephant calf, Mali. This is the second elephant calf born in Australia, the first being in Sydney in July 2009. Mali is the first female calf born in Australia and the first calf born via artificial insemination. The zoo's elephant herd were relocated to its 'sibling' zoo Werribee Open Range Zoo in February 2025 to live in a new 21 hecatre state-of-the-art home. The Trail of the Elephants precinct was renamed 'Forest of Wonder'.

Melbourne Zoo commemorated 150 years of operation in 2012 and this was celebrated in an Australian Zoos collector's edition of stamps released by Australia Post in September 2012.

The Zoo completed construction and opened a new carnivores trail in early 2018.

Additions to the ground include picnic lawns, pavillions, former cages now historical reflections, function centres, cafeterias, a carousel, and a Japanese garden including a pond lake with an island (currently home to some of the zoo's Siamang gibbons).

==Zoos Victoria==  Zoos Victoria administers the Melbourne Zoo, as well as the Werribee Open Range Zoo, which features herbivorous creatures in an open-range mostly African setting with a safari bus tour; and Healesville Sanctuary (formerly the Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary), which exhibits Australian fauna on {{Convert|175|ha|acre}} of bushland and has a wildlife hospital for rescued native animals.<ref>{{cite web | title=About us | website=Zoos Victoria | url=https://www.zoo.org.au/about-us/ | access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref>

The three zoos have been collectively trading as Zoos Victoria since 1973, governed by the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board, which operates under the ''Zoological Parks and Gardens Act 1995''.<ref>{{cite report|title=Annual Report 2019-2020|date=2019| author=Zoos Victoria|url=https://www.zoo.org.au/media/4472/zoos-victoria-annual-report-final-251120.pdf|access-date=31 March 2021}}</ref>

In July 2022, Kyabram Fauna Park joined Zoos Victoria.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maier |first=Adena |date=13 July 2022 |title=Zoos Victoria just acquired its fourth (and biggest!) zoo |url=https://www.timeout.com/melbourne/news/zoos-victoria-just-acquired-its-fourth-and-biggest-zoo-071322 |access-date=October 24, 2023 |website=Time Out}}</ref>

Colossal Biosciences and Zoos Victoria began a conservation project in October 2023 to preserve the Victorian grassland earless dragon as well as sequence its genome.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://dallasinnovates.com/here-be-dragons-colossal-partners-with-zoos-victoria-to-save-reptile-once-thought-extinct/|author=David Seeley|date=October 25, 2023|title=Here Be Dragons: Colossal Partners with Zoos Victoria To Save Reptile Once Thought Extinct|work=Dallas Innovates}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/25/imagine-more-dragons-us-biotech-firm-aims-to-breed-tiny-australian-lizard-that-is-near-extinction|author=Adam Morton|date=October 24, 2023|title=Imagine more dragons: US biotech firm aims to breed tiny Australian lizard that is near extinction|work=Guardian}}</ref>

==The Carousel== {{main|Melbourne Zoo Carousel}} The carousel was manufactured in England and then brought to Australia in 1886 by a family that ran a touring carnival, visiting country towns in Victoria. After touring with the carnival for over 60 years, in 1952 the carousel became part of a fun fair at the Melbourne Zoo, but was still owned by the same families. When the fun fair at the zoo was permanently closed in 1997, the carousel was purchased by the zoo. By that time, the carousel was in a deteriorated condition. It was restored off-site in 2004-2005 with funding from Heritage Victoria and re-opened in August 2005. The carousel is listed by Heritage Victoria as a heritage place.<ref name="VHD">{{Cite web |title=Carousel - Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Elliott Avenue, Parkville, Melbourne City |url=https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/4738 |access-date=26 August 2024 |website=Victorian Heritage Database}}</ref>

==Exhibits== <div style="margin-top:16px;"></div>

;Gorilla Rainforest {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Asian small-clawed otter *Black-and-white ruffed lemur *Black-headed python *Boyd's forest dragon *Collared peccary *Eastern Pilbara spiny-tailed skink *Pink-tongued lizard *Pygmy hippopotamus *Ring-tailed lemur *Southern Pilbara rock goanna *Western lowland gorilla {{div col end}}

;Treetops Apes & Monkeys {{div col|colwidth=20em}}  *Cotton-top tamarin *Eastern black-and-white colobus *Emperor tamarin *Northern white-cheeked gibbon {{div col end}}

;Growing Wild {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Aldabra giant tortoise *Blue-and-yellow macaw *Central bearded dragon *Centralian blue-tongued lizard *Chameleon gecko *Fijian crested iguana *Meerkat *Northern banded knob-tailed gecko *Red-tailed black cockatoo *Scheltopusik *Southern corroboree frog *Victorian grassland earless dragon {{div col end}}

;Forest of Wonder (used to be known as Trail of the Elephants) {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Asian small-clawed otter *Black-winged stilt *Bolivian squirrel monkey *Luzon bleeding-heart dove *Noisy pitta *Rose-crowned fruit dove *Sacred kingfisher *Siamang *Sumatran orangutan *Sumatran tiger *Zebra finch {{div col end}}

;Butterfly House {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Australian leafwing *Australian painted lady *Chocolate argus *Eastern red lacewing *Meadow argus *Orchard swallowtail butterfly *Yellow admiral {{div col end}}

;Insect House {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Australian leaf insect *Bundaberg banded snail *Diving beetle *Egyptian beetle *Giant burrowing cockroach *Giant golden orb-weaving spider *Golden huntsmen *Rainforest millipede *Rainforest tree katydid *Red-spotted rose chaffer *Rock orb-weaver {{div col end}}

;Wild Sea {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Banggai cardinal fish *Big-belly seahorse *Boesemani rainbowfish *Chinese algae eater *Eastern fiddler ray *Flame angelfish *Globefish *Goyder River rainbowfish *Green chromis *Little penguin *Magnificent rabbitfish *Moon jellyfish *Moonlighter *Murray River rainbowfish *Neon rainbowfish *New Zealand fur seal *Ocellaris clownfish *Olive perchlet *Pacific blue tang *Port Jackson shark *Sea sweep *Silver mullet *Six-spined leatherjacket *Southern fiddler ray *Southern purple-spotted gudgeon *Southern rock lobster *Yellow tang {{div col end}}

;Australian Bush {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Black swan *Emu *Forest red-tailed black cockatoo *Kangaroo Island kangaroo *Koala *Lace monitor *Quokka *Rainbow lorikeet *Regent honeyeater *Short-beaked echidna *Southern hairy-nosed wombat *Swamp wallaby *Tammar wallaby *Tawny frogmouth *Twenty-eight parrot *White-browed woodswallow {{div col end}}

;Great Flight Aviary {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Black-faced cormorant *Black-necked stork *Blue-billed duck *Blue-faced honeyeater *Brown-capped emerald dove *Buff-banded rail *Bush stone curlew *Cattle egret *Freckled duck *Glossy ibis *Little pied cormorant *Nicobar pigeon *Pied heron *Pied imperial pigeon *Pink cockatoo *Radjah shelduck *Regent parrot *Royal spoonbill *Satin bowerbird *Southern cassowary *White-faced heron *White-headed stilt {{div col end}}

;Lion Gorge {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *African lion *Binturong *Dingo *Snow leopard *Sumatran tiger *Tasmanian devil {{div col end}}

;DigestED {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Ball python *Banded archerfish *Chinese algae-eater *Clown loach *Gulf saratoga *Kissing gourami *Macleay’s water snake *Magnificent tree frog *Malayan blood python *Orange lacewing *Reticulated python *Silver shark *Taiwanese beauty snake {{div col end}}

;World of Frogs {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Australian green tree frog *Baw Baw frog *Boyd's forest dragon *Crucifix frog *Dainty green tree frog *Desert tree frog *Eastern dwarf tree frog *Peron's tree frog *Southern bell frog *Southern corroboree frog *Spotted tree frog *Stuttering frog {{div col end}}

;Reptile House {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Amy's knob-tailed gecko *Black-headed python *Bleeding heart tetra *Broad-headed snake *Canberra grassland dragon *Central netted dragon *Coastal taipan *Common death adder *Corn snake *Double-crested basilisk *Eastern diamondback rattlesnake *Elongated tortoise *Eyelash viper *Fiji crested iguana *Freshwater crocodile *Frill-necked lizard *Golden coin turtle *Honduran milk snake *Hosmer's skink *Indian star tortoise *Jungle carpet python *Lace monitor *Madagascar giant day gecko *Malayan blood python *Merten's water monitor *Mexican cantil *Monocled cobra *Neon cardinal *Philippine crocodile *Pueblan milk snake *Rainbow boa *Red-barred dragon *Reticulated gila monster *Rhinoceros iguana *Scheltopusik *Shingleback lizard *Short-finned eel *Siamese algae eater *Spiny terrapin *Striped legless lizard *Sunda king cobra *Tiger snake *Tokay gecko *Twist-necked turtle *Veiled chameleon {{div col end}}

;Tortoise Lawn {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Aldabra giant tortoise *Carolina box turtle *Hermann's tortoise *Horsfield's tortoise {{div col end}}

;Eat and Play/Japanese Gardens Precinct {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Japanese koi *Komodo dragon *Red panda *Siamang {{div col end}}

;Amazon Aviary {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Buffon's macaw *Green-winged macaw *Red-fronted macaw {{div col end}}

;Main Trail {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *Giraffe *Hamadryas baboon *Nyala *Platypus *South American tapir {{div col end}}

==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed"> File:DSC 4942 (16415619924).jpg|Little penguin exhibit File:Melbourne Zoo aviary 1a.jpg|Inside the Great Flight Aviary File:Gorilla Eating (4334174066).jpg|Western lowland gorilla File:Pygmy hippopotamus Melbourne Zoo (11882419955).jpg|Pygmy hippo' File:Giraffe08 - melbourne zoo edit.jpg|Giraffe File:Melbourne Zoo meerkats.jpg|Meerkats File:Carousel at Royal Melbourne Zoological Park.jpg|Historic carousel File:Aldabra Giant Tortoise at Melbourne Zoo.jpg|Aldabra giant tortoise File:Lion - melbourne zoo.jpg|African lion File:Tiger_at_Melbourne_Zoo_(11883204553).jpg|Sumatran tiger File:Red panda 30966214626.jpg|Red pandas File:White_cheeked_gibbon_(4989098807).jpg|Northern white-cheeked gibbons File:Melbourne- Zoo-6-March71 (4412797599).jpg|View of a fur seal swimming underwater File:DSC 5059 (17036926121).jpg|Up close viewing at the baboon exhibit. File:Pelican-Melbourne-Zoo-20070224-049.jpg|Australian pelican File:A koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in Melbourne Zoo - Flickr - odako1.jpg|Koala File:Emu - melbourne zoo.jpg|Emu File:Hanson Melbourne Zoo.jpg|Different performances are held at the zoo. File:Fiji crested iguana.jpg|Fiji crested iguana File:Snow leopard side of river.jpg|Snow leopard File:Black-necked stork in The Melbourne Zoo.jpg|Black-necked stork File:Tree_kangaroo2.jpg|Goodfellow's tree-kangaroos File:Tasmanian devil on tree trunk.jpg|Tasmanian devil File:Sumatran_Orangutan_Melbourne_Zoo_(11883749616).jpg|Sumatran orangutans File:Emporer_Tamarin_(4989099285).jpg|Emperor tamarin File:Baird%27s_tapir_01.jpg|South American tapir File:Platipus01.jpg|Platypus </gallery>

==See also== {{stack|{{portal|Victoria|animals}}}} * List of zoos in Australia

==Notes== {{Reflist |refs= <ref name="zoo_about"> {{Cite web |url = http://www.zoo.org.au/Melbourne/About_Melbourne_Zoo |title = About Melbourne Zoo |work = zoo.org.au |publisher = Zoos Victoria |access-date = 27 August 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100702084809/http://www.zoo.org.au/Melbourne/About_Melbourne_Zoo |archive-date = 2 July 2010 |df = dmy-all }} </ref>

<ref name="zoo_history"> {{Cite web |url = http://www.zoo.org.au/Melbourne/History_of_the_Zoo |title = History of the Zoo |work = zoo.org.au |publisher = Zoos Victoria |access-date = 27 August 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100819110538/http://www.zoo.org.au/Melbourne/History_of_the_Zoo |archive-date = 19 August 2010 |df = dmy-all }} </ref>

<ref name="zaa_list"> {{ZooOrg|zaa|zoos|access-date=29 January 2011}} </ref>

<ref name="waza_list"> {{ZooOrg|waza|zoos|access-date=29 January 2011}} </ref>

}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{Official website|www.zoo.org.au}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160305051452/http://www.globalspecies.org/zooinsts/display/13859 List of species at Melbourne Zoo], globalspecies.org

Category:1862 establishments in Australia Category:Educational organizations established in 1862 Category:Zoos established in the 19th century Category:Organisations based in Melbourne Category:Tourist attractions in Melbourne Category:Zoos in Victoria (state) Category:Culture of Melbourne Category:Parks in Melbourne Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)