A Day At The Zoo

In 1970 the then SA government, buoyed by overoptimistic predictions of population growth and hankering after federal 'New Cities' programme funds, acquired 16 000 hectares at Monarto south of Adelaide. Grand plans were made, getting grander by the minute, and then in 1975 it all ground to a halt as population growth slowed and federal funds dried up.  No-one was happy, particularly the farmers of the previously-thriving Monarto community, and no one knew quite what to do with 16 000 hectares of scrub at Monarto, so nothing was done.

Roll on 1983 and the Adelaide Zoo, located as it was inside the park lands and bounded by river and city, was running out of space and that unused 16 000 hectares suddenly looked quite capable of accommodating a rhinoceros or two.  Monarto Zoo was established as a closed-to-the-public facility where big animals could stretch their legs and breeding programs for endangered species could proceed in private.  By 1993 Monarto had morphed into a safari park where visitors could walk and bus around to watch the animals, attend keeper talks and feeding times, and pay for overnight stays, close-up lion encounters, and all sorts of safari experiences to subsidise the breeding programs. 

I'll let pictures tell the story of my day at the zoo.

The walking trails were pleasant, and when we got tired of walking we just hopped on the bus.

White rhinos, enjoying a spot of intermittent sunshine, with beaten-up drums to demonstrate what 'play' might look like for a white rhino.

Upside down rhino sculpture, ostensibly to draw attention to the plight of white rhinos in the wild.

Chimpanzees, quite rightly ignoring the gawping crowds.

Playtime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meerkats, paying attention. 

Some of the wildlife was up close and personal, sharing the path with us.  A red-headed mouse spider wandered along looking for a mate.

Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby, also very unconcerned by us wandering through its home.

Tasmanian Devil.  The zoo has a program to re-establish colonies in the wild, sans the communicable facial tumours that plague the species.

Occasionally we caught exciting glimpses of the South Australian Touristica Transportus (bus variety) as it wandered through the enclosures.

The giraffe herd, including 2-week old baby.

Of course everyone got excited about lions.  The lions weren't so excited in return, especially in the middle of the day.

Lots of other animals didn't deign to be photographed and the cheetahs merely gave us a glimpse of spotted tail behind the bushes.  I'd be remiss, however, if I didn't mention the sheer engineering pleasure Roger experienced at the sight of the earthworks required to construct an elephant enclosure. I didn't take a photo.  You'll have to imagine the earthworks.

Thus ended our day at the zoo.