Taronga Zoo
Encyclopedia
Taronga Zoo is the city zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Officially opened on 7 October 1916, it is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...

 in the suburb of Mosman
Mosman, New South Wales
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...

. Taronga Zoo is managed by the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales under the trading name Taronga Conservation Society along with Dubbo's Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

Divided into eight zoogeographic regions, Taronga Zoo is home to over 2,600 animals on 21 hectares (51.9 acre), making it one of the largest of its kind.

History

The first public zoo in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 opened in 1884 at Billy Goat Swamp in Moore Park
Moore Park, New South Wales
Moore Park is a large area of parkland in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Centennial Parklands, a collective of three parks being Moore Park, Centennial Park and Queens Park. Centennial Parklands is administered by the Centennial Park &...

, on a site now occupied by Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective public secondary school for boys, located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with 1,180 students, from years 7 to 12...

 and Sydney Girls High School
Sydney Girls High School
Sydney Girls High School is an academically selective, Public high school for girls, located at Moore Park, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

. Inspired by a 1908 visit to the Hamburg Zoo, the secretary of the zoo, Albert Sherbourne Le Souef
Albert Sherbourne Le Souef
Albert Sherbourne Le Souef was an Australian zoologist.Le Souef was the son of Albert Alexander Cochrane Le Souef and brother of Ernest Albert Le Souef and Dudley Le Souef. He was the first director of the Taronga Zoo from 1916 to 1939...

, envisioned a new zoo based on the bar-less concept. After realising that the Moore Park site was too small, the NSW Government granted 43 acres (17.4 ha) of land north of Sydney Harbour
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...

. A further 9 acres (3.6 ha) were later granted in 1916.

Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning beautiful view.

Rustic Bridge

The "Rustic Bridge" was opened in 1915 and was one of Taronga Zoo's earliest landscape features. It was the main way in which visitors could cross the natural gully
Gully
A gully is a landform created by running water, eroding sharply into soil, typically on a hillside. Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys, but are metres to tens of metres in depth and width...

 that it spans. Early photographs show it as a romantic pathway secluded by plantings. The rustic effect
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...

 was created by embedding stones in the wall and like the Aquarium, its design was reminiscent of Italian grotto
Grotto
A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...

es.

Later additions and changes

A critical review in 1967 led to a new emphasis on scientific conservation, education and preservation. New exhibits were built starting with the Platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...

 and Nocturnal Houses, waterfowl ponds and walkthrough Rainforest Aviary. A Veterinary Quarantine Centre was built as was an Education Centre (funded by the Department of Education). Previous attractions such as elephant rides, miniature trains, monkey circus and merry-go-round gave way to educational facilities such as Friendship Farm and Seal theatre.

In the mid-1980s, a gondola lift
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...

 was installed that allows visitors to view the zoo and Sydney Harbour. It runs from the bottom of the park close to the ferry wharf, and transports passengers to the top end of the zoo.

2000 Masterplan

In 2000, TCSA commenced a 12-year $250 million master plan, the majority of which is being spent at Taronga Zoo. The first major master plan item was the Backyard to Bush precinct. Under the plan, the Zoo received five Asian elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

s from the Thailand Zoological Park Organisation for breeding purposes, education, long-term research and involvement of conservation programs. The plan has met opposition from environmental activists in Thailand, who blockaded the trucks hauling the elephants to Bangkok International Airport for their flight on 5 June 2006. The elephants along with other Asian rain forest specimens are housed in the "Wild Asia" precinct which opened in 2006 and aims to immerse visitors in an Asian rain forest environment.

A marine section, Great Southern Oceans, opened in April 2008. Recently, the redevelopment and restoration of the historic entrance opened, further adding to the masterplan. The chimpanzee exhibit is also under construction, hoping to split it into two sections, making it easier for introducing new individuals.

Zoo Friends

Zoo Friends
Zoo Friends
Zoo Friends provides assistance to Sydney's Taronga Zoo and Dubbo's Western Plains Zoo as a not-for-profit organisation. Over two million dollars were raised in 2005 in support of the Zoos and conservation and education strategies...

 offers support in form of volunteers and fund raising for both Taronga and Western Plains Zoo
Western Plains Zoo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo, formerly known as Western Plains Zoo and commonly known as Dubbo Zoo, is a large zoo near Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. It opened to the public on 28 February 1977, to provide more living and breeding space for large animals such as elephants and antelopes which...

. Members are offered behind-the-scenes experiences at the Zoo and unlimited Zoo entry. Members are also eligible to volunteer to help at the Zoo.

Platypus Birth

In February 2003 it became the second zoo in Australia to breed the platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...

.

Australia's first elephant birth

At 3.04am on 4 July 2009 Thong Dee, an Asian Elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

 gave birth to a male calf named Luk Chai. He is the first calf ever born in Australia. Thong Dee, and his father Gung, were two of the eight elephants imported into Australia to participate in the Australasian Conservation Breeding Program. Taronga is expecting a further two calves to be born in the next two years. The baby elephant is a major tourist attraction, with thousands of visitors attending the zoo just to see him.

Second elephant birth

A baby Asian elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

 was thought to have died during labour on 8 March 2010. The calf's 18-year-old mother Porntip was in and out of labour over the week beforehand, after a pregnancy lasting almost two years.
Zoo keepers and veterinarians were concerned about the progress of the labour, with Porntip showing unusual movements and behaviour.
An ultrasound at around 8am that morning revealed the calf was unconscious in the birth canal and believed to be dead. On 10 March 2010 at 3:27am the male calf was born. It was subsequently named Pathi Harn, a Thai expression meaning "miracle". Pathi Harn's father is Bong Su, of the Melbourne Zoo
Melbourne Zoo
The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, commonly known as the Melbourne Zoo, contains more than 320 animal species from Australia and around the world. The zoo is north of the centre of Melbourne. It is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram...

, and was artificially conceived.

Animals and exhibits

Taronga Zoo has about 340 species and over 2,600 individual animals. They are housed in a large variety of exhibits, including:

Wild Australia

Australian Wetlands
  • Black-necked Stork
    Black-necked Stork
    The Black-necked Stork is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across South and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetland habitats to forage for a wide range of animal prey...

  • Little Pied Cormorant
    Little Pied Cormorant
    The Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the sub-Antarctic...

  • Brolga
    Brolga
    The Brolga , formerly known as the "Native Companion", is a bird in the crane family. The bird has also been given the name "Australian Crane", a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.The Brolga is a common gregarious wetland bird species in...

  • Australian Pelican
    Australian Pelican
    The Australian Pelican is a large water bird, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant to New Zealand.-Taxonomy:...

  • Royal Spoonbill
    Royal Spoonbill
    The Royal Spoonbill, Platalea regia, also known as the Black-billed Spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia...

  • Pacific Black Duck
    Pacific Black Duck
    The Pacific Black Duck is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the Grey Duck in New Zealand...

  • Chestnut Teal
    Chestnut Teal
    The Chestnut Teal is a dabbling duck found in southern Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.-Description:The Chestnut Teal is darker and a slightly bigger bird than the Grey Teal....

  • Blue-billed Duck
    Blue-billed Duck
    The Blue-billed Duck is a small Australian stiff-tailed duck, with both the male and female growing to a length of 40 cm . The male has a slate-blue bill which changes to bright-blue during the breeding season, hence the duck’s common name . The male has deep chestnut plumage during breeding...

  • Australian Wood Duck
    Australian Wood Duck
    The Australian Wood Duck, Maned Duck or Maned Goose is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus Chenonetta...

  • Australian Shelduck
    Australian Shelduck
    The Australian Shelduck, Tadorna tadornoides, is a shelduck, a group of large goose-like birds which are part of the bird family Anatidae, which also includes the swans, geese and ducks. The Anatidae article should be referred to for an overview of this group of birds.This is a bird which breeds...

  • Plumed Whistling Duck
    Plumed Whistling Duck
    The Plumed Whistling Duck , also called the Grass Whistle Duck , is a whistling duck which breeds in New Guinea and Australia. It is a predominantly brown-coloured duck with a long neck and characteristic plumes arising from its flanks...

  • Water Whistling Duck
  • Black Swan
    Black Swan
    The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...

  • Cape Barren Goose
    Cape Barren Goose
    The Cape Barren Goose is a large goose resident in southern Australia. The species is named for Cape Barren Island, where specimens were first sighted by European explorers.-Taxonomy:...

  • Magpie Goose


  • Australian Walkabout
    • Red Kangaroo
      Red Kangaroo
      The Red Kangaroo is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest mammal native to Australia, and the largest surviving marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, avoiding only the more fertile areas in the south, the east coast, and the northern rainforests.-Description:This species is a very...

    • Tammar Wallaby
      Tammar Wallaby
      The Tammar Wallaby , also known as the Dama Wallaby or Darma Wallaby, is a small member of the kangaroo family and is the model species for research on kangaroos and marsupials. It is found on offshore islands on the South Australian and Western Australian coast...

  • Swamp Wallaby
    Swamp Wallaby
    The Swamp Wallaby is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the Black Wallaby, with other names including Black-tailed Wallaby, Fern Wallaby, Black Pademelon, Stinker , and Black Stinker...

  • Agile Wallaby
    Agile Wallaby
    The Agile Wallaby , also known as the Sandy Wallaby, is a species of wallaby found in northern Australia and New Guinea. It is the most common wallaby in Australia's north....

  • Red-necked Wallaby
    Red-necked Wallaby
    The Red-necked Wallaby is a medium-sized marsupial macropod, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania.- Description :...

  • Emu
    Emu
    The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...



  • Koala Encounters/Koala Walkabout
    • Koala
      Koala
      The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....

  • Short-beaked Echidna
    Short-beaked Echidna
    The short-beaked echidna , also known as the spiny anteater because of its diet of ants and termites, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus...

  • Quokka
    Quokka
    The Quokka , the only member of the genus Setonix, is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. Like other marsupials in the macropod family , the Quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal...



  • Platypus House
    • Platypus
      Platypus
      The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...

  • Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat
    Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat
    The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat is one of three species of wombats. It is found in scattered areas of semi-arid scrub and mallee from the eastern Nullarbor Plain to the New South Wales border area. It is the smallest of all three wombat species. The young often do not survive dry seasons...

  • Water Rat
    Water Rat
    Water Rat may refer to:AnimalsWater Rat is a common name for several unrelated semiaquatic rodents, including:*European Water Vole, found in north and central Europe and Russia*Rakali, found in Australia and New Guinea...

  • Spinifex Hopping-mouse


  • Australian Nightlife
    • Tasmanian Devil
      Tasmanian Devil
      The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936...

    • Red-tailed Phascogale
      Red-tailed Phascogale
      The Red-tailed Phascogale , also known as the Red-tailed Wambenger, is a small carnivorous marsupial found in central and western Australia...

    • Bilby
      Bilby
      Bilbies are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. Before European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. One became extinct in the 1950s; the other survives but remains endangered....

    • Long-nosed Bandicoot
      Long-nosed Bandicoot
      The Long-nosed Bandicoot is a species of bandicoot found in Australia. It is the largest member of its genus, which also includes the Western Barred Bandicoot, the Eastern Barred Bandicoot and the Desert Bandicoot....

  • Long-nosed Potoroo
    Long-nosed Potoroo
    The Long-nosed Potoroo is a species of Australian potoroo. It is listed as Endangered in Victoria , Vulnerable in Queensland and nationally , although the IUCN lists it as Lower Risk.At first glance the Long-nosed Potoroo with its...

  • Brush-tailed Bettong
  • Common Ringtail Possum
    Common Ringtail Possum
    The common ringtail possum is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, as well as flowers and fruits. These dietary factors have, over time, aided burgeoning introduced populations in New Zealand...

  • Squirrel Glider
    Squirrel Glider
    The Squirrel Glider is a nocturnal gliding possum, one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus Petaurus.-Habitat:...

  • Yellow-bellied Glider
    Yellow-bellied Glider
    The Yellow-bellied Glider is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in a narrow range of native eucalypt forests down eastern Australia, reaching from northern Queensland to Victoria.-Habitat:...

  • Feathertail Glider
    Feathertail Glider
    The Feathertail Glider , also known as the Pygmy Gliding Possum, Pygmy Glider, Pygmy Phalanger, Flying Phalanger and Flying Mouse, is the world's smallest gliding possum and is named for its long feather-shaped tail. Although only the size of a very small mouse , it can leap and glide up to 25 metres...

  • Greater Stick-nest Rat
    Greater Stick-Nest Rat
    The Greater Stick-nest Rat, House-building Rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia on the Franklin Islands and St Peter Island in the Nuyts Archipelago, Reevesby Island, Salutation Island, Faure Island and Heirisson Prong, and a fenced off area at Roxby Downs...

  • Black-footed Tree-rat
    Black-footed Tree-rat
    The Black-footed Tree-rat, Mesembriomys gouldii, is one of two endemic arboreal rat species from the genus Mesembriomys found in Australia....

  • Plains Rat
  • Spinifex Hopping-mouse
  • Ghost Bat
    Ghost Bat
    The Ghost Bat , also known as the False Vampire Bat is a bat endemic to Australia, named for the extremely thin membrane of its wings that makes it appear ghostly at night. Ghost Bats have grey fur on their backs and pale grey or white fur on their undersides. They have long, narrow wings but no...

  • Tawny Frogmouth
    Tawny Frogmouth
    The Tawny Frogmouth is an Australian species of frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea. The Tawny Frogmouth is often mistaken to be an owl...

  • New Caledonian Giant Gecko


  • Australian Rainforest Aviary
    • Rainbow Lorikeet
      Rainbow Lorikeet
      The Rainbow Lorikeet, is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia , Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania...

    • Musk Lorikeet
      Musk Lorikeet
      The Musk Lorikeet is a lorikeet, one of the three species of the Glossopsitta genus. It inhabits south-central/eastern Australia. The Musk Lorikeet was first described by ornithologist George Shaw in 1790 as Psittacus concinnus, from a collection in the vicinity of Port Jackson in what is now...

    • Eclectus Parrot
      Eclectus Parrot
      The Eclectus Parrot, Eclectus roratus, is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands...

    • Australian King Parrot
      Australian King Parrot
      The Australian King Parrot is endemic to eastern Australia. It is found in humid and heavily forested upland regions of the eastern portion of the continent, including eucalyptus wooded areas in and directly adjacent to subtropical and temperate rainforest...

    • Crimson Rosella
      Crimson Rosella
      The Crimson Rosella is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The species as it now stands has subsumed two former separate species, the Yellow...

  • Double-eyed Fig-Parrot
  • Paradise Riflebird
    Paradise Riflebird
    The Paradise Riflebird, Ptiloris paradiseus, is a medium-sized, up to 30 cm long, passerine bird of the Paradisaeidae family. The male is black with an iridescent greenish blue crown, throat and central tail feathers. It has a black curved bill, black feet, dark brown iris and yellow mouth...

  • Wonga Pigeon
    Wonga Pigeon
    The Wonga Pigeon Leucosarcia melanoleuca is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland, eastern Victoria, Australia....

  • Topknot Pigeon
    Topknot Pigeon
    The Topknot Pigeon is a pigeon native to Australia. It is also known by the name of "Flock Pigeon".-Description:...

  • Superb Fruit-Dove
    Superb Fruit-Dove
    The Superb Fruit Dove , also known as the Purple-crowned Fruit Dove , is a medium-sized , colourful fruit-dove in the family Columbidae....

  • Emerald Dove
    Emerald Dove
    The Common Emerald Dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and east through Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, to northern and eastern Australia. The dove is also known by the names of Green Dove and...

  • Brown Cuckoo-Dove
    Brown Cuckoo-dove
    The Slender-billed Cuckoo-Dove, or Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Macropygia amboinensis, is a dove in the genus Macropygia. In Australia, it is sometimes called "Brown Pigeon" or "Pheasant Pigeon", but both are best avoided, as they can lead to confusion with the brown doves and the true Pheasant Pigeon...

  • White-headed Pigeon
    White-headed Pigeon
    The White-headed Pigeon is a pigeon native to the east coast of Australia, belonging to the same genus as the domestic pigeon C. livia....

  • Red-browed Finch
    Red-browed Finch
    The Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species is also been introduced to French Polynesia for breeding. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savanna habitats...

  • Blue-faced Parrot-Finch
  • Buff-banded Rail
    Buff-banded Rail
    The Buff-banded Rail, Gallirallus philippensis is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the family Rallidae....

  • Black-breasted Buttonquail
    Black-breasted Buttonquail
    The Black-breasted Buttonquail is a rare buttonquail endemic to eastern Australia, where it is usually found in rainforest. Like other buttonquails, it is unrelated to the true quails...

  • Regent Bowerbird
    Regent Bowerbird
    The Regent Bowerbird, Sericulus chrysocephalus is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow bill, black feet and yellow iris...

  • Eastern Whipbird
    Eastern Whipbird
    The Eastern Whipbird is an insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia, its whip-crack call a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard much more often than seen, it is a dark olive-green and black in colour with a distinctive white...

  • Noisy Pitta
    Noisy Pitta
    The Noisy Pitta, Pitta versicolor, is a species of bird in the Pittidae family. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.It eats earthworms, insects and snails....

  • Black-faced Monarch
    Black-faced Monarch
    The Black-faced Monarch Monarcha melanopsis is a passerine bird in the family Monarchidae.The Black-faced Monarch was most likely discovered sometime in the 1810s, although its original discovery is somewhat controversial. According to many bird books, the original discoverer of the Black-faced...

  • Pacific Koel
    Pacific Koel
    The Pacific Koel , also known as the Eastern Koel, is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family. It has often been considered conspecific with the Asian and Black-billed Koels, but they are increasingly treated as a separate species...



  • Australian Bush Birds
    • King Quail
    • Painted Buttonquail
      Painted Buttonquail
      Painted Button quail, Turnix varius, is a species of button quail, the family Turnicidae, which resemble, but are unrelated to, the quails of Phasianidae. This species is resident in Australia....

    • Green Pygmy-Goose
    • White-browed Crake
      White-browed Crake
      The White-browed Crake is a species of bird in the Rallidae family. It is found in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vanuatu.Its natural...

    • Banded Lapwing
      Banded Lapwing
      The Banded Lapwing is a small to medium sized wader which belongs to the plover family. It is found over most of Australia and Tasmania though is absent from the northern third of the continent....

    • Pacific Golden Plover
      Pacific Golden Plover
      The Pacific Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover.The 23–26 cm long breeding adult is spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black...

    • Black-winged Stilt
      Black-winged Stilt
      The Black-winged Stilt or Common Stilt is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family . Opinions differ as to whether the birds treated under the scientific name H. himantopus ought to be treated as a single species and if not, how many species to recognize...

    • Laughing Kookaburra
      Laughing Kookaburra
      The Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, is a carnivorous bird in the kingfisher family Halcyonidae. Native to eastern Australia, it has also been introduced to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania and Western Australia. Male and female adults are similar in plumage, which is predominantly brown and...

    • Sacred Kingfisher
      Sacred Kingfisher
      The Sacred Kingfisher is primarily a woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys of Australia, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., New Guinea, N...

    • Forest Kingfisher
      Forest Kingfisher
      The Forest Kingfisher , also known as the Macleay's or Blue Kingfisher, is a species of kingfisher in the Halcyonidae family, also known as tree kingfishers. It is a predominantly blue and white bird. It is found in Indonesia, New Guinea and coastal eastern and northern Australia...

  • Rainbow Bee-eater
    Rainbow Bee-eater
    The Rainbow Bee-eater, Merops ornatus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia.-Description:...

  • Pheasant Coucal
    Pheasant Coucal
    The Pheasant Coucal is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea....

  • Glossy Black-Cockatoo
    Glossy Black-Cockatoo
    The Glossy Black Cockatoo , also known as the Casuarina Black Cockatoo after one of their preferred food items, is the smallest member of the subfamily Calyptorhynchinae found in Australia. Adult Glossy Black Cockatoos may reach 50 cm in length. They are sexually dimorphic...

  • Musk Lorikeet
    Musk Lorikeet
    The Musk Lorikeet is a lorikeet, one of the three species of the Glossopsitta genus. It inhabits south-central/eastern Australia. The Musk Lorikeet was first described by ornithologist George Shaw in 1790 as Psittacus concinnus, from a collection in the vicinity of Port Jackson in what is now...

  • Little Lorikeet
    Little Lorikeet
    The Little Lorikeet is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is endemic to Australia. It is a small parrot, predominantly green in plumage with a red face...

  • Turquoise Parrot
    Turquoise Parrot
    The Turquoise Parrot is a parrot previously widespread in Eastern Australia, though now mainly found in northeastern New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria....

  • Swift Parrot
    Swift Parrot
    The Swift Parrot breeds in Tasmania and migrates north to south eastern Australia from Griffith-Warialda in New South Wales and west to Adelaide in the winter. It is related to the rosellas, with the feeding habits of a lorikeet...

  • Superb Fruit-Dove
    Superb Fruit-Dove
    The Superb Fruit Dove , also known as the Purple-crowned Fruit Dove , is a medium-sized , colourful fruit-dove in the family Columbidae....

  • Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove
    Rose-crowned Fruit-dove
    The Rose-crowned Fruit Dove, Ptilinopus regina, also known as Pink-capped Fruit Dove or Swainson's Fruit Dove, is a medium-sized, up to 22 cm long, green fruit dove with a grey head and breast, an orange belly, whitish throat, yellow-orange iris, and greyish green bill and feet. It has a...

  • Wonga Pigeon
    Wonga Pigeon
    The Wonga Pigeon Leucosarcia melanoleuca is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland, eastern Victoria, Australia....

  • Topknot Pigeon
    Topknot Pigeon
    The Topknot Pigeon is a pigeon native to Australia. It is also known by the name of "Flock Pigeon".-Description:...

  • Emerald Dove
    Emerald Dove
    The Common Emerald Dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and east through Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, to northern and eastern Australia. The dove is also known by the names of Green Dove and...

  • Bar-shouldered Dove
    Bar-shouldered Dove
    The Bar-shouldered Dove is native to Australia.It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. It is a medium sized pigeon varying in size from 26 to 30 centimetres...

  • Peaceful Dove
    Peaceful Dove
    The Peaceful Dove is a pigeon native to Australia and New Guinea. It is closely related to the Zebra Dove of south-east Asia and the Barred Dove of eastern Indonesia...

  • Brush Bronzewing
    Brush Bronzewing
    The Brush Bronzewing is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.-References:...

  • Crested Pigeon
    Crested Pigeon
    The Crested Pigeon is a bird found widely throughout mainland Australia except for far tropical north areas. It is the only member of the genus Ocyphaps.There are only two Australian pigeon species that possess an erect crest, being the Crested Pigeon and the Spinifex Pigeon...

  • Noisy Pitta
    Noisy Pitta
    The Noisy Pitta, Pitta versicolor, is a species of bird in the Pittidae family. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.It eats earthworms, insects and snails....

  • Eastern Spinebill
    Eastern Spinebill
    The Eastern Spinebill, Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, is a species of honeyeater found in south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Sydney and Melbourne...

  • Noisy Friarbird
    Noisy Friarbird
    The Noisy Friarbird is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southern New Guinea and eastern Australia. It is one of several species known as friarbirds whose heads are bare of feathers. It is brown-grey in colour, with a prominent knob on its bare black-skinned head...

  • Blue-faced Honeyeater
  • New Holland Honeyeater
    New Holland Honeyeater
    The New Holland Honeyeater is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia, and was initially named Certhia novaehollandiae...

  • Striped Honeyeater
    Striped Honeyeater
    The Striped Honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, found in Australia. It is a medium sized honeyeater, about in length. Both sexes are a light greyish brown with dark brown centres to the feathers, which give the appearance of stripes. The stripes are...

  • Crimson Chat
    Crimson Chat
    The Crimson Chat is a species of small birds found in Australia. They are known by many other common names including: Tricolored Chat, Crimson tang, and Red canary in English; Scharlachtrugschmätzer by Germans; Curruca Carmesí in Spanish; and Epthianure tricolore in French...

  • Variegated Fairy-wren
    Variegated Fairy-wren
    The Variegated Fairywren is a fairywren that lives in diverse habitats spread across most of Australia. Four subspecies are recognised. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and blue crown and ear coverts, while non-breeding...

  • Eastern Yellow Robin
    Eastern Yellow Robin
    The Eastern Yellow Robin is an Australasian robin of coastal and sub-coastal eastern Australia. The extent of the Eastern Yellow Robin's residence is from the extreme southeast corner of South Australia through most of Victoria and the western half of New South Wales and north as far as Cooktown...

  • Hooded Robin
    Hooded Robin
    The Hooded Robin is a small passerine bird native to Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae it is sexually dimorphic; the male bearing distinctive black and white coloured plumage, while the female is a nondescript grey-brown.-Taxonomy:Like all Australian Robins, it is...

  • Grey Shrike-thrush
    Grey Shrike-thrush
    The Grey Shrikethrush or Grey Shrike-thrush , formerly commonly known as Grey Thrush, is one of the best-loved and most distinctive songbirds of Australasia. It is moderately common to common in most parts of Australia, but absent from the driest of the inland deserts...

  • Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike
    Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
    The Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike is a common omnivorous passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It has a protected status in Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974....

  • Silvereye
    Silvereye
    The Silvereye or Wax-eye is a very small passerine bird native to Australia, New Zealand and the south-west Pacific islands of Lord Howe, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji...

  • Clamorous Reed-Warbler
    Clamorous Reed-Warbler
    The Clamorous Reed Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds from Egypt eastwards through Pakistan, Afghanistan and northernmost India to south China, southeast Asia and south to Australia...

  • Eastern Whipbird
    Eastern Whipbird
    The Eastern Whipbird is an insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia, its whip-crack call a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard much more often than seen, it is a dark olive-green and black in colour with a distinctive white...

  • Diamond Firetail
    Diamond Firetail
    The Diamond Firetail Stagonopleura guttata is a species of estrildid finch found in eastern Australia, from Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, to south-eastern Queensland, commonly found on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range. The bird lives in eucalypt forest and woodland, mallee country,...

  • Red-browed Finch
    Red-browed Finch
    The Red-browed Finch Neochmia temporalis is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species is also been introduced to French Polynesia for breeding. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savanna habitats...

  • Plum-headed Finch
    Plum-headed Finch
    The Plum-headed Finch Neochmia modesta also known as Cherry Finch is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 100,000 – 1,000,000 km².-Habitat:...

  • Double-barred Finch
    Double-barred Finch
    The Double-barred Finch Taeniopygia bichenovii is an estrildid finch found in dry savanna, tropical dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia...

  • Chestnut-breasted Mannikin
  • Satin Bowerbird
    Satin Bowerbird
    The Satin Bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus is a bowerbird endemic to eastern Australia.A rare natural intergeneric hybrid between the Satin Bowerbird and the Regent Bowerbird is known as Rawnsley's Bowerbird.-Distribution:...

  • Regent Bowerbird
    Regent Bowerbird
    The Regent Bowerbird, Sericulus chrysocephalus is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow bill, black feet and yellow iris...

  • White-browed Woodswallow
    White-browed Woodswallow
    The White-browed Woodswallow is a moderately-sized passerine bird native to inland Australia. Like all woodswallows, it has a brush-tipped tongue but feeds almost exclusively on flying insects....



  • Creatures of the Wollemi
    • Platypus
      Platypus
      The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...

    • Short-beaked Echidna
      Short-beaked Echidna
      The short-beaked echidna , also known as the spiny anteater because of its diet of ants and termites, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus...

    • Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby
    • Australasian Grebe
      Australasian Grebe
      The Australasian Grebe is a tiny waterbird common on fresh water lakes and rivers in greater Australia, New Zealand and on nearby Pacific islands. At 25-27 cm in length, it is one of the smallest members of the grebe family...

    • Hardhead
      Hardhead
      The Hardhead, Aythya australis, is the only true diving duck found in Australia. Hardheads are common in the south-east of Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, but also in the wetter country near the coasts. They are moderately nomadic in normal years, but disperse widely in times...

    • Masked Lapwing
      Masked Lapwing
      The Masked Lapwing , previously known as the Masked Plover and often called the Spur-winged Plover or just Plover in its native range, is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia, particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent...

    • Bush Stone-curlew
      Bush Stone-curlew
      The Bush Stone-curlew or Bush Thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia...

    • Little Pied Cormorant
      Little Pied Cormorant
      The Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the sub-Antarctic...

  • Laughing Kookaburra
    Laughing Kookaburra
    The Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, is a carnivorous bird in the kingfisher family Halcyonidae. Native to eastern Australia, it has also been introduced to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania and Western Australia. Male and female adults are similar in plumage, which is predominantly brown and...

  • Sacred Kingfisher
    Sacred Kingfisher
    The Sacred Kingfisher is primarily a woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys of Australia, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., New Guinea, N...

  • Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
  • Gang-gang Cockatoo
    Gang-gang Cockatoo
    The Gang-gang Cockatoo, Callocephalon fimbriatum, is found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. Mostly mild grey in colour with some lighter scalloping the male has a red head and crest, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest...

  • Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
    Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
    The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is an Australian lorikeet found in woodland in eastern Australia. The common name aptly describes this bird, which has yellow breast feathers broadly edged with green that look like scales....

  • Eastern Rosella
    Eastern Rosella
    The Eastern Rosella is a rosella native to southeast of the Australian continent and to Tasmania. It has been introduced to New Zealand where feral populations are found in the North Island and in the hills around Dunedin in the South Island.-Taxonomy:The Eastern Rosella was named by...

  • Superb Parrot
    Superb Parrot
    The Superb Parrot , is a parrot native to southeastern Australia...

  • Red-rumped Parrot
    Red-rumped Parrot
    The Red-rumped Parrot , also known as the Red-backed Parrot or Grass Parrot, is a common bird of south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin.-Description:...

  • Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove
    Rose-crowned Fruit-dove
    The Rose-crowned Fruit Dove, Ptilinopus regina, also known as Pink-capped Fruit Dove or Swainson's Fruit Dove, is a medium-sized, up to 22 cm long, green fruit dove with a grey head and breast, an orange belly, whitish throat, yellow-orange iris, and greyish green bill and feet. It has a...

  • Wonga Pigeon
    Wonga Pigeon
    The Wonga Pigeon Leucosarcia melanoleuca is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland, eastern Victoria, Australia....

  • Brush Bronzewing
    Brush Bronzewing
    The Brush Bronzewing is a species of bird in the pigeon family Columbidae.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.-References:...

  • Dollarbird
    Dollarbird
    The Oriental Dollarbird , also known as the Dollar Roller, is a bird of the roller family, so named because of the distinctive blue coin-shaped spots on its wings....

  • Australasian Figbird
    Australasian Figbird
    The Australasian Figbird is a conspicuous medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern Australia, southern Papua New Guinea, and the Kai Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of S...

  • Noisy Pitta
    Noisy Pitta
    The Noisy Pitta, Pitta versicolor, is a species of bird in the Pittidae family. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.It eats earthworms, insects and snails....

  • Superb Lyrebird
    Superb Lyrebird
    The Superb Lyrebird is a pheasant-sized songbird, approximately 100cm long, with brown upper body plumage, grayish-brown below, rounded wings and strong legs...

  • Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike
    Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
    The Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike is a common omnivorous passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It has a protected status in Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974....

  • White-browed Babbler
    White-browed Babbler
    The White-browed Babbler is a species of bird in the Pomatostomidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.-References:...

  • Satin Bowerbird
    Satin Bowerbird
    The Satin Bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus is a bowerbird endemic to eastern Australia.A rare natural intergeneric hybrid between the Satin Bowerbird and the Regent Bowerbird is known as Rawnsley's Bowerbird.-Distribution:...

  • Regent Bowerbird
    Regent Bowerbird
    The Regent Bowerbird, Sericulus chrysocephalus is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird. The male bird is black with a golden orange-yellow crown, mantle and black-tipped wing feathers. It has yellow bill, black feet and yellow iris...

  • Striped Honeyeater
    Striped Honeyeater
    The Striped Honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, found in Australia. It is a medium sized honeyeater, about in length. Both sexes are a light greyish brown with dark brown centres to the feathers, which give the appearance of stripes. The stripes are...

  • Regent Honeyeater
    Regent Honeyeater
    The Regent Honeyeater, Xanthomyza phrygia, is an endangered bird endemic to Australia. It feeds on nectar and insects within eucalyptus forests. Recent genetic research suggests it is closely related to the wattlebirds.-Distribution:...

  • Diamond Firetail
    Diamond Firetail
    The Diamond Firetail Stagonopleura guttata is a species of estrildid finch found in eastern Australia, from Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, to south-eastern Queensland, commonly found on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range. The bird lives in eucalypt forest and woodland, mallee country,...

  • Eastern Water Dragon
  • Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard
    Eastern blue-tongued lizard
    The Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard is a subspecies of large skink which is common throughout Eastern Australia, often found in bushland and suburban areas where conditions are suitable...

  • Cunningham's Skink
    Cunningham's Skink
    Cunningham's Skink is a large skink species native to southeastern Australia. It can reach up to 30 cm in length, and may be confused with blue-tongued lizards....

  • Eastern Water Skink
  • Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko
    Southern Leaf-tailed Gecko
    The southern leaf-tailed gecko has two species. One, Saltaurius wyberba, lives in the granite belt of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, Australia. They do their foraging at night on massive rock faces...

  • Eastern Long-necked Turtle


  • Helmore Parrot Aviary
    • Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo
    • Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo
  • Short-billed Black-Cockatoo
    Short-billed Black-Cockatoo
    The Short-billed Black Cockatoo or Carnaby's Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus latirostris is a cockatoo endemic to south-western Australia. Also known as the Large Black Cockatoo, or simply Carnaby's Cockatoo, it is black with white tail feathers and white cheek patches...

  • Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
    Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
    The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua galerita, is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia and New Guinea. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests...

  • Major Mitchell's Cockatoo
    Major Mitchell's Cockatoo
    The Major Mitchell's Cockatoo also known as Leadbeater's Cockatoo or Pink Cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo restricted to arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia...

  • Gang-gang Cockatoo
    Gang-gang Cockatoo
    The Gang-gang Cockatoo, Callocephalon fimbriatum, is found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. Mostly mild grey in colour with some lighter scalloping the male has a red head and crest, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest...



  • Backyard to Bush
    • Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat
      Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat
      The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat is one of three species of wombats. It is found in scattered areas of semi-arid scrub and mallee from the eastern Nullarbor Plain to the New South Wales border area. It is the smallest of all three wombat species. The young often do not survive dry seasons...

    • Red Kangaroo
      Red Kangaroo
      The Red Kangaroo is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest mammal native to Australia, and the largest surviving marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, avoiding only the more fertile areas in the south, the east coast, and the northern rainforests.-Description:This species is a very...

    • Eastern Grey Kangaroo
      Eastern Grey Kangaroo
      The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is a marsupial found in southern and eastern Australia, with a population of several million. It is also known as the Great Grey Kangaroo and the Forester Kangaroo...

    • Spinifex Hopping-mouse
    • House Mouse
      House mouse
      The house mouse is a small rodent, a mouse, one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus.As a wild animal the house mouse mainly lives associated with humans, causing damage to crops and stored food....

    • Guinea Pig
      Guinea pig
      The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...

    • European Rabbit
      European Rabbit
      The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...

    • Sheep
    • Goat
      Goat
      The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

    • Pig
      Pig
      A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

  • Emu
    Emu
    The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...

  • Budgerigar
    Budgerigar
    The Budgerigar , also known as Common Pet Parakeet or Shell Parakeet informally nicknamed the budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot, and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus...

  • Cockatiel
    Cockatiel
    The Cockatiel , also known as the Quarrion and the Weiro, is the smallest cockatoo endemic to Australia. They are prized as a household pet and companion parrot throughout the world and are relatively easy to breed...

  • King Quail
  • Chicken
    Chicken
    The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

  • Wild Turkey
    Wild Turkey
    The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...

  • Children's python
    Children's python
    Children's python is a nonvenomous python species found in Australia.-Etymology:Both the common name, Children's python, and the specific name or epithet, childreni, are in honor of English scientist John George Children.-Description: Adults grow to an average length of about 1m , with a maximum...

  • Diamond Python
  • Red-bellied Black Snake
    Red-bellied Black Snake
    The Red-bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus, is a species of elapid snake native to eastern Australia. Though its venom is capable of causing significant morbidity, it is not generally fatal and less venomous than other deadly Australian snakes. It is common in woodlands, forests and...

  • Coastal Bearded Dragon
  • Lace Monitor
    Lace monitor
    The Lace Monitor, or Lace Goanna, Varanus varius, is a member of the monitor lizard family, Australian members of which are commonly known as goannas. It belongs to the subgenus Varanus....

  • Shingleback
  • Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard
    Eastern blue-tongued lizard
    The Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard is a subspecies of large skink which is common throughout Eastern Australia, often found in bushland and suburban areas where conditions are suitable...

  • Eastern Snake-necked Turtle
  • Green Tree Frog
    Green tree frog
    Green tree frog is a common name for several different tree frog species:*American green tree frog *Australian Green Tree Frog...

  • Dainty Green Tree Frog
    Dainty Green Tree Frog
    The Dainty Green Tree Frog or Graceful Treefrog is a tree frog native to eastern Queensland, and north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It ranges from northern Cape York in Queensland to Gosford in New South Wales, with a small and most likely introduced population in Hornsby Heights in Sydney...

  • Green and Golden Bell Frog
    Green and Golden Bell Frog
    The Green and Golden Bell Frog , also named the Green Bell Frog, Green and Golden Swamp Frog and Green Frog, is a ground-dwelling tree frog native to eastern Australia. Despite its classification and climbing abilities, it does not live in trees and spends almost all of its time close to ground level...

  • Splendid Rainbowfish
  • Pacific Blue-eye
  • Redback spider
  • Golden orb-web spider
  • Huntsman Spider
    Huntsman spider
    Sparassidae are a family of spiders known as Huntsman spiders because of their speed and mode of hunting. They also are called giant crab spiders, because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places...

  • Bird-eating spider
  • Wolf Spider
    Wolf spider
    Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae, from the Ancient Greek word "" meaning "wolf". They are robust and agile hunters with good eyesight. They live mostly solitary lives and hunt alone. Some are opportunistic hunters pouncing upon prey as they find it or even chasing it over short...

  • White-tail spider
  • Net-casting spider
  • Black house spider
    Black house spider
    The black house spider is a common species of cribellate Australian spider, found throughout much of Australia and New Zealand. A closely related species, the grey house spider , has a similar distribution....

  • Daddy Long Legs
    Daddy long-legs spider
    Pholcidae, commonly known as cellar spiders, are a spider family in the suborder Araneomorphae.Some species, especially Pholcus phalangioides, are commonly called granddaddy long-legs spider, daddy long-legs spider, daddy long-legger, or vibrating spider...

  • Desert Scorpion
  • Rainforest Scorpion
  • Praying Mantis
  • Black House Ant
  • Meat Ant
    Meat ant
    Meat ants , also known as meat-eater ants or gravel ants, are a species of ant belonging to the Iridomyrmex genus. They can be found throughout Australia.-Nests:...

  • Grasshopper
    Grasshopper
    The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...

  • Phasmid
    Phasmid
    Phasmid may refer to:* Phasmid , a sensory structure in nematodes* Phasmatodea, the insect group which contains stick insects and walking-sticks* Phagemid, a vector used in gene cloning...

    s
  • Giant Burrowing Cockroach
    Giant burrowing cockroach
    The giant burrowing cockroach is also known as the rhinoceros cockroach and litter bug . They are native to Australia and mostly found in tropical parts of Queensland...

  • American cockroach
    American cockroach
    The American cockroach , also known as the waterbug, or misidentified as the palmetto bug , is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. None of the Periplaneta species are endemic to the Americas; despite the name, P...

  • Centipede
    Centipede
    Centipedes are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of...

  • Garden snail
  • Mealworm
    Mealworm
    Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle. Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult...



  • Other Wild Australia

    • Red Kangaroo
      Red Kangaroo
      The Red Kangaroo is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest mammal native to Australia, and the largest surviving marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, avoiding only the more fertile areas in the south, the east coast, and the northern rainforests.-Description:This species is a very...

    • Eastern Grey Kangaroo
      Eastern Grey Kangaroo
      The Eastern Grey Kangaroo is a marsupial found in southern and eastern Australia, with a population of several million. It is also known as the Great Grey Kangaroo and the Forester Kangaroo...

    • Tammar Wallaby
      Tammar Wallaby
      The Tammar Wallaby , also known as the Dama Wallaby or Darma Wallaby, is a small member of the kangaroo family and is the model species for research on kangaroos and marsupials. It is found on offshore islands on the South Australian and Western Australian coast...

  • Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby
    Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby
    The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby is a member of the macropod family ....

  • Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo
    Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo
    Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo , also called the Ornate Tree Kangaroo, belongs to the family Macropodidae, which includes kangaroos, wallabies and their relatives, and the genus Dendrolagus, with eleven other species. The species is native to the rainforests of New Guinea, and the border of central...

  • Emu
    Emu
    The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...

  • Malleefowl
    Malleefowl
    The Malleefowl is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken...

  • Sacred Kingfisher
    Sacred Kingfisher
    The Sacred Kingfisher is primarily a woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys of Australia, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., New Guinea, N...

  • Southern Cassowary
    Southern Cassowary
    The Southern Cassowary, Casuarius casuarius, also known as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary, is a large flightless black bird...

  • Eclectus Parrot
    Eclectus Parrot
    The Eclectus Parrot, Eclectus roratus, is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands...

  • Red Lory
    Red Lory
    The Red Lory is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is endemic to the Moluccas and surrounding islands in Indonesia.Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and tropical mangrove forests....

  • Rainbow Lorikeet
    Rainbow Lorikeet
    The Rainbow Lorikeet, is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia , Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania...

  • Purple-crowned Lorikeet
    Purple-crowned Lorikeet
    The Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Glossopsitta porphyrocephala, is a lorikeet found in scrub and mallee of southern Australia...

  • Red-rumped Parrot
    Red-rumped Parrot
    The Red-rumped Parrot , also known as the Red-backed Parrot or Grass Parrot, is a common bird of south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin.-Description:...

  • Victoria Crowned Pigeon
    Victoria Crowned Pigeon
    The Victoria Crowned Pigeon, Goura victoria, is a large, bluish-grey pigeon with elegant blue lace-like crests, maroon breast and red iris. The bird may be easily recognized by the unique white tips on its crests. Both sexes are similar. It is on average 74 cm long and weighs 2,384 grams...

  • Diamond Dove
    Diamond Dove
    The Diamond Dove is a bird resident in Australia.The dove predominantly exists in areas near water but which are lightly arid or semi-arid in nature, being Central, West and Northern Australia. They are one of Australia's smallest pigeons along with the Peaceful Dove...

  • Common Bronzewing
    Common Bronzewing
    The Common Bronzewing is a species of medium-sized, heavily built pigeon. Native to Australia and one of the country's most common pigeons, the Common Bronzewing is able to live in almost any habitat, with the possible exception of very barren areas and dense rainforests.- Description :Males of...

  • Blue-faced Honeyeater
  • Regent Honeyeater
    Regent Honeyeater
    The Regent Honeyeater, Xanthomyza phrygia, is an endangered bird endemic to Australia. It feeds on nectar and insects within eucalyptus forests. Recent genetic research suggests it is closely related to the wattlebirds.-Distribution:...

  • Striated Grasswren
    Striated Grasswren
    The Striated Grasswren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2006. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

  • Saltwater Crocodile
    Saltwater Crocodile
    The saltwater crocodile, also known as estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles...


  • Great Southern Oceans

    • Leopard Seal
      Leopard Seal
      The leopard seal , also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic...

    • California Sea Lion
      California Sea Lion
      The California sea lion is a coastal sea lion of western North America. Their numbers are abundant , and the population continues to expand about 5% annually. They are quite intelligent and can adapt to man-made environments...

  • Australian Sea Lion
    Australian Sea Lion
    The Australian Sea Lion , also known as the Australian Sea-lion or Australian Sealion, is a species of sea lion that breeds only on the south and west coasts of Australia...

  • Australian Fur Seal
  • New Zealand Fur Seal
    New Zealand Fur Seal
    The Australian fur seal , or New Zealand fur seal or southern fur seal, is a species of fur seal found around the south coast of Australia, the coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and some of the small islands to the south and east of there...

  • Australian Pelican
    Australian Pelican
    The Australian Pelican is a large water bird, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant to New Zealand.-Taxonomy:...

  • Fiordland Penguin
    Fiordland Penguin
    The Fiordland Crested Penguin , also known as Tawaki , is a species of crested penguin from New Zealand...

  • Little Penguin
    Little Penguin
    The Little Penguin is the smallest species of penguin. The penguin, which usually grows to an average of in height and in length , is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, with possible records from Chile.Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names...


  • Moore Park Aviary

    • Northern Palm Squirrel
      Northern Palm Squirrel
      The Northern Palm Squirrel also called the Five-striped Palm Squirrel is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family.-Distribution:...

    • Mandarin Duck
      Mandarin Duck
      The Mandarin Duck , or just Mandarin, is a medium-sized perching duck, closely related to the North American Wood Duck. It is 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan.-Description:...

  • Lady Amherst's Pheasant
    Lady Amherst's Pheasant
    The Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Chrysolophus amherstiae, is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae.These are native to south western China and Myanmar, but have been introduced elsewhere, and have established a self-supporting, but now declining, feral population in England, the...

  • Swinhoe's Pheasant
    Swinhoe's Pheasant
    Swinhoe's Pheasant, Lophura swinhoii, is a bird of the pheasant subfamily of Phasianidae family that is endemic to Taiwan, where it inhabits primary broadleaved forest and mature secondary forest at 200-2,300 m. It was sometimes referred to as the unofficial "national bird" of Taiwan, but the...

  • Luzon Bleeding-heart
    Luzon Bleeding-heart
    The Luzon Bleeding-heart is one of a number of species of ground dove in the genus Gallicolumba that are called "bleeding-hearts".They get this name from a splash of vivid red colour at the centre of their white breasts...


  • Serpentaria

    • Freshwater Crocodile
      Freshwater Crocodile
      The freshwater crocodile , also known as the Australian freshwater crocodile, Johnston's crocodile or colloquially as freshie, is a species of reptile endemic to the northern regions of Australia...

    • Komodo Dragon
      Komodo dragon
      The Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...

    • Mitchell's Water Monitor
      Mitchell's Water Monitor
      Mitchell's water monitor is a species of Monitor lizard, native to Australia. native to Australia. It was named after Francis J. Mitchell of the South Australian Museum.-Description:...

    • Short-tailed Monitor
      Short-tailed monitor
      The short-tailed monitor, or the pygmy goanna, is the smallest living monitor lizard, and may be the smallest species of monitor that has ever existed with a maximum length of 25 cm...

    • Eastern Water Dragon
    • Coastal Bearded Dragon
    • Chameleon Dragon
    • Central Netted Dragon
    • Tawny Crevice Dragon
    • Frilled Lizard
    • Basilisk
    • Sailfin Lizard
      Sailfin lizard
      The Philippine Sailfin Lizard, Crested Lizard, Sail-fin Lizard, Sailfin Water Lizard, or Soa-soa Water Lizard is an oviparous lizard living only in the Philippines....

    • Green Iguana
      Green Iguana
      The Green Iguana or Common Iguana is a large, arboreal herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana native to Central and South America...

  • Rhinoceros Iguana
    Rhinoceros Iguana
    The Rhinoceros Iguana is a threatened species of lizard in the family Iguanidae that is primarily found on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, shared by the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They vary in length from 61 to 137 cm and skin colors range from a steely gray to a dark green...

  • Fiji Banded Iguana
  • Fiji Crested Iguana
    Fiji Crested Iguana
    The Fiji crested iguana is a critically endangered species of iguana native to some of the northwestern islands of the Fijiian archipelago, where it is found in dry forest.-Taxonomy and etymology:...

  • Gila Monster
    Gila monster
    The Gila monster is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexican state of Sonora...

  • Anaconda
    Anaconda
    An anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake found in tropical South America. Although the name actually applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to refer only to one species in particular, the common or green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, which is one of the largest snakes in the world.Anaconda...

  • Jackson's Chameleon
  • Veiled Chameleon
    Veiled Chameleon
    The veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus, is a large species of chameleon found in the mountain regions of Yemen, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. It is also sometimes referred to as the Yemen Chameleon....

  • Scheltopusik
    Scheltopusik
    The Scheltopusik or European Legless Lizard is a large glass lizard found from southern Europe to Central Asia. Its common name comes from the Russian . It was previously in the genus Ophisaurus but has been placed in its own genus Pseudopus.- Description :This lizard can reach a length of...

  • Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard
    Eastern blue-tongued lizard
    The Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard is a subspecies of large skink which is common throughout Eastern Australia, often found in bushland and suburban areas where conditions are suitable...

  • Night Skink
  • Hosmer's Skink
  • Land Mullet
    Land Mullet
    Egernia major, also known as Land Mullet, is one of the largest members of the skink family .The species may reach total lengths of up to 60 cm. They are uniform glossy black to brown, with a paler ring around the eye...

  • Cunningham's Skink
    Cunningham's Skink
    Cunningham's Skink is a large skink species native to southeastern Australia. It can reach up to 30 cm in length, and may be confused with blue-tongued lizards....

  • Giant Cave Gecko
  • Rough Knob-tailed Gecko
  • Tuatara
    Tuatara
    The tuatara is a reptile endemic to New Zealand which, though it resembles most lizards, is actually part of a distinct lineage, order Sphenodontia. The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of its order, which flourished around 200 million years ago. Their most recent common...

  • Reticulated Python
    Reticulated Python
    Python reticulatus, also known as the reticulated python is a species of python found in Southeast Asia. Adults can grow to over 8.7 m in length but normally grow to an average of 3-6 m . They are the world's longest snakes and longest reptile, but are not the most heavily built...

  • Amethystine Python
    Amethystine python
    Morelia amethistina is a non-venomous species of snake, known as the amethystine or scrub python, found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia. Popular among reptile enthusiasts, and noted for its coloration and size, it is the largest Australian snake...

  • Green Python
  • Boa Constrictor
    Boa constrictor
    The Boa constrictor is a large, heavy-bodied species of snake. It is a member of the family Boidae found in North, Central, and South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive...

  • Taiwan Beauty Snake
  • Rhinoceros Viper
  • Eyelash Viper
  • Egyptian Cobra
    Egyptian cobra
    The Egyptian cobra is a species in the genus Naja found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the largest Naja species in Africa.- Description :...

  • Corn Snake
    Corn Snake
    The Corn Snake , or Red Rat Snake, is a North American species of Rat Snake that subdues its small prey by constriction. The name "Corn Snake" is a holdover from the days when southern farmers stored harvested ears of corn in a wood frame or log building called a crib...

  • Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
  • Taipan
    Taipan
    The taipans are a genus of large, fast, highly venomous Australasian snakes of the elapid family.-Overview:The taipan was named by Donald Thomson after the word used by the Wik-Mungkan Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.There are three known species: the coastal...

  • Red-bellied Black Snake
    Red-bellied Black Snake
    The Red-bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus, is a species of elapid snake native to eastern Australia. Though its venom is capable of causing significant morbidity, it is not generally fatal and less venomous than other deadly Australian snakes. It is common in woodlands, forests and...

  • Black-headed Python
  • Stimson's Python
  • Collett's Snake
    Collett's Snake
    The Collett's Snake - also known as the Down's Tiger Snake, Collett's Black Snake or Colletts Cobra - is a venomous snake native to Australia...

  • Fierce Snake
    Fierce Snake
    The Inland Taipan , also known as the Small Scaled Snake and Fierce Snake, is native to Australia and is regarded as the most venomous land snake in the world based on LD50 values in mice. It is a species of taipan belonging to the Elapidae family...

  • Desert Death Adder
    Desert Death Adder
    The Desert Death Adder, Acanthophis pyrrhus, is a species of snake native to Australia and is one of the most venomous land snakes in the world...

  • Broad-headed Snake
    Broad-Headed Snake
    The Broad-Headed Snake is a venomous snake that is restricted to the Sydney Basin in NSW, Australia. It is one of 3 snakes in the genus Hoplocephalus, all restricted to eastern Australia...

  • Arafura File Snake
    Arafura File Snake
    Acrochordus arafurae is an aquatic snake species found in northern Australia and New Guinea. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:...

  • Star Tortoise
  • Elongate Tortoise
  • Matamata
    Matamata
    Matamata is a rural Waikato town in New Zealand with a population of around 12,000 . It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits...

  • Eastern Snake-necked Turtle
  • Northern Snake-necked Turtle
  • Broad-shelled River Turtle
  • River Cooter
  • Saw-shelled Turtle
  • Short-necked Turtle
  • Green Tree Frog
    Green tree frog
    Green tree frog is a common name for several different tree frog species:*American green tree frog *Australian Green Tree Frog...

  • Red-eyed Tree Frog
  • White-lipped Tree Frog
  • Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog
    Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog
    The Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog , is a small and very common tree frog found on the eastern coast of Australia, from around Cairns, Queensland to around Ulladulla, New South Wales. Individual frogs of this species are often found in having been accidentally relocated via transported fruit boxes...

  • Green and Golden Bell Frog
    Green and Golden Bell Frog
    The Green and Golden Bell Frog , also named the Green Bell Frog, Green and Golden Swamp Frog and Green Frog, is a ground-dwelling tree frog native to eastern Australia. Despite its classification and climbing abilities, it does not live in trees and spends almost all of its time close to ground level...

  • Cane Toad
    Cane Toad
    The Cane Toad , also known as the Giant Neotropical Toad or Marine Toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad which is native to Central and South America, but has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania and the Caribbean...


  • South American Aviaries

    • Brazilian Agouti
      Brazilian Agouti
      The Brazilian Agouti, Dasyprocta leporina, is a South American agouti species from the family Dasyproctidae.It is found in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Trinidad & Tobago and Brazil.It has also been introduced to the Lesser Antilles...

    • Green-winged Macaw
  • Sun Conure
    Sun Conure
    The Sun Parakeet or Sun Conure is a medium-sized brightly colored parrot native to northeastern South America. The adult male and female...

  • Nanday Conure
  • Brown-throated Conure

  • African Waterhole

    • Sun Bear
      Sun Bear
      The sun bear , sometimes known as the honey bear, is a bear found primarily in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia; North-East India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Southern China, Peninsular Malaysia, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.-Description:The sun bear...

    • Pygmy Hippopotamus
      Pygmy Hippopotamus
      The pygmy hippopotamus is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa . The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal...

  • Brazilian Tapir
    Brazilian Tapir
    The South American Tapir , or Brazilian Tapir or Lowland Tapir or Anta, is one of four species in the tapir family, along with the Mountain Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, and Baird's Tapir...

  • Common Zebra
  • Giraffe
    Giraffe
    The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...

  • Bongo
    Bongo (antelope)
    The western or lowland bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest antelope species....

  • Barbary Sheep
    Barbary sheep
    The Barbary Sheep is a species of caprid native to rocky mountains in North Africa. Six subspecies have been described. Although it is rare in its native North Africa, it has been introduced to North America, southern Europe and elsewhere...

  • Ostrich
    Ostrich
    The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...

  • Egyptian Goose
    Egyptian Goose
    The Egyptian Goose is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae, and is the only extant member of the genus Alopochen...

  • Helmeted Guineafowl
    Helmeted Guineafowl
    The Helmeted Guineafowl is the best known of the guineafowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus Numida...


  • Wild Asia

    • Asian Elephant
      Asian Elephant
      The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....

    • Silvery Gibbon
      Silvery Gibbon
      The silvery gibbon is a primate in the Hylobatidae or gibbon family. Its coat is bluish-grey in colour, with a dark grey or black cap. Like all gibbons, Silvery Gibbons lack external tails, have dorsally-placed scapula and reduced flexibility in the lumbar region. They have long, curved fingers...

    • Francois' Langur
      Francois' Langur
      Francois' langur or Francois' leaf monkey is a species of lutung and the type species of its species group. Francois' langur belongs to the Colobinae subfamily, Cercopithecidae family, in the Primates order...

    • Fishing Cat
      Fishing Cat
      The Fishing Cat is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. In 2008, the IUCN classified the fishing cat as endangered since they are concentrated primarily in wetland habitats, which are increasingly being settled, degraded and converted...

    • Binturong
      Binturong
      The Binturong , also known as the Asian Bearcat, the Palawan Bearcat, or simply the Bearcat, is a species of the family Viverridae, which includes the civets and genets. It is the only member of its genus...

    • Oriental Small-clawed Otter
      Oriental Small-clawed Otter
      The oriental small-clawed otter , also known as Asian small-clawed otter, is the smallest otter species in the world, weighing less than 5 kg. It lives in mangrove swamps and freshwater wetlands of Bangladesh, Burma, India, southern China, Taiwan, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines,...

    • Chital
      Chital
      The chital or cheetal , also known as chital deer, spotted deer or axis deer is a deer which commonly inhabits wooded regions of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and in small numbers in Pakistan...

    • Malayan Tapir
      Malayan Tapir
      The Malayan Tapir , also called the Asian Tapir, is the largest of the four species of tapir and the only one native to Asia. The scientific name refers to the East Indies, the species' natural habitat...

    • Grey-headed Flying Fox
      Grey-headed Flying Fox
      The Grey-headed Flying-Fox, Pteropus poliocephalus, is a megabat native to Australia.Members of the genus Pteropus include the largest bats in the world. The Pteropus genus has currently about 57 recognised species....

  • Green Peafowl
    Green Peafowl
    The Green Peafowl or Javan Peafowl, Pavo muticus is a large Galliform bird that is found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia...

  • Kalij Pheasant
    Kalij Pheasant
    The Kalij Pheasant, Lophura leucomelanos, is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from the Northern India to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have an at least partially glossy bluish-black plumage,...

  • Golden Pheasant
    Golden Pheasant
    The Golden Pheasant or "Chinese Pheasant", is a gamebird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae...

  • Red Junglefowl
    Red Junglefowl
    The Red Junglefowl is a tropical member of the Pheasant family. They are thought to be ancestors of the domestic chicken with some hybridisation with the Grey Junglefowl...

  • Chukar Partridge
  • King Quail
  • Buff-banded Rail
    Buff-banded Rail
    The Buff-banded Rail, Gallirallus philippensis is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the family Rallidae....

  • Mandarin Duck
    Mandarin Duck
    The Mandarin Duck , or just Mandarin, is a medium-sized perching duck, closely related to the North American Wood Duck. It is 41–49 cm long with a 65–75 cm wingspan.-Description:...

  • Ruddy Shelduck
    Ruddy Shelduck
    The Ruddy Shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae...

  • Water Whistling Duck
  • Cattle Egret
    Cattle Egret
    The Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...

  • Glossy Ibis
    Glossy Ibis
    The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...

  • Royal Spoonbill
    Royal Spoonbill
    The Royal Spoonbill, Platalea regia, also known as the Black-billed Spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia...

  • Sacred Kingfisher
    Sacred Kingfisher
    The Sacred Kingfisher is primarily a woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys of Australia, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., New Guinea, N...

  • White-bibbed Ground Dove
  • Luzon Bleeding-heart Pigeon
    Luzon Bleeding-heart
    The Luzon Bleeding-heart is one of a number of species of ground dove in the genus Gallicolumba that are called "bleeding-hearts".They get this name from a splash of vivid red colour at the centre of their white breasts...

  • Superb Fruit-Dove
    Superb Fruit-Dove
    The Superb Fruit Dove , also known as the Purple-crowned Fruit Dove , is a medium-sized , colourful fruit-dove in the family Columbidae....

  • Nicobar Pigeon
    Nicobar Pigeon
    The Nicobar Pigeon, Caloenas nicobarica, is a pigeon found on small islands and in coastal regions from the Nicobar Islands, east through the Malay Archipelago, to the Solomons and Palau. It is the only living member of the genus Caloenas....

  • Pied Imperial Pigeon
  • Red Lory
    Red Lory
    The Red Lory is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is endemic to the Moluccas and surrounding islands in Indonesia.Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and tropical mangrove forests....

  • Australasian Figbird
    Australasian Figbird
    The Australasian Figbird is a conspicuous medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern Australia, southern Papua New Guinea, and the Kai Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of S...

  • Red-whiskered Bulbul
    Red-whiskered Bulbul
    The Red-whiskered Bulbul is a passerine bird found in Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropical Asia. It has been introduced in many tropical areas of the world where populations have established themselves...

  • Metallic Starling
    Metallic Starling
    The Metallic Starling also known as Shining Starling, is a bird in the starling family. It is native of New Guinea and nearby Australasian islands, and a limited area of northeastern Australia.-Description:...

  • Clamorous Reed-Warbler
    Clamorous Reed-Warbler
    The Clamorous Reed Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds from Egypt eastwards through Pakistan, Afghanistan and northernmost India to south China, southeast Asia and south to Australia...

  • Pekin Robin
  • Tri-coloured Mannikin
  • Java Sparrow
    Java Sparrow
    The Java Sparrow, Padda oryzivora also known as Java Finch, Java Rice Sparrow or Java Rice Bird is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in Java, Bali and Bawean in Indonesia. It is a popular cagebird, and has been introduced in a large number of other...

  • Koi
    Koi
    or more specifically , are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens....

  • Rosy Barb
    Rosy barb
    The rosy barb is a subtropical freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family . It originates in Bengal, India and other parts of Southeast Asia.-Physical description:...

  • White Cloud Mountain Minnow
    White Cloud Mountain minnow
    The White Cloud Mountain minnow is a hardy, species of freshwater fish and coldwater fish often kept in aquaria.These creatures are brilliant for children as they are very easy to look after. The species is a member of the carp family of order Cypriniformes, native to China...

  • Medaka

  • Himalayan Mountains

    • Red Panda
      Red Panda
      The red panda , is a small arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is the only species of the genus Ailurus. Slightly larger than a domestic cat, it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs...

  • Snow Leopard
    Snow Leopard
    The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...

  • Himalayan Tahr
    Himalayan Tahr
    The Himalayan Tahr or Common Thar is a large ungulate related to the wild goat.-Habitat:...


  • Cats of Asia

    • African Lion
  • Sumatran Tiger
    Sumatran Tiger
    The Sumatran tiger is a tiger subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra and has been classified as critically endangered by IUCN in 2008 as the population is projected at 176 to 271 mature individuals, with no subpopulation having an effective population size larger than 50...

  • Binturong
    Binturong
    The Binturong , also known as the Asian Bearcat, the Palawan Bearcat, or simply the Bearcat, is a species of the family Viverridae, which includes the civets and genets. It is the only member of its genus...


  • "Dog Row"

    • Dhole
      Dhole
      The dhole is a species of canid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the only extant member of the genus Cuon, which differs from Canis by the reduced number of molars and greater number of teats...

  • Fennec Fox
  • Pygmy Hippopotamus
    Pygmy Hippopotamus
    The pygmy hippopotamus is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa . The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal...

  • Meerkat
    Meerkat
    The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"...


  • Giant Tortoises

    • Aldabra Giant Tortoise
      Aldabra Giant Tortoise
      The Aldabra giant tortoise , from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world....

  • Andean Condor
    Andean Condor
    The Andean Condor is a species of South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur...


  • Transport

    The Taronga Zoo ferry services
    Taronga Zoo ferry services, Sydney
    Taronga Zoo ferry services connect Taronga Zoo with Circular Quay by commuter ferry. The services are provided by Sydney Ferries Corporation, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. The route is coloured dark blue on the current Sydney Ferries network map...

     are, for many tourists, the preferred mode of travel to the zoo. Passengers disembarking at the ferry
    Ferry
    A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

     wharf, located on Bradleys Head Road, can enter the zoo via a gondola lift
    Gondola lift
    A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...

     or connect with local State Transit
    State Transit Authority of New South Wales
    The State Transit Authority of New South Wales is an agency of the Government of New South Wales based in Sydney, Australia operating bus and ferry services. The STA is part of transport minister Gladys Berejiklian's portfolio...

     bus services. Sydney Ferries offers combined "ZooLink" tickets covering ferry fares, park entry and gondola ride.
    Taronga Zoo also works heavily with various other Sydney Harbour transport operators, such as Captain Cook Cruises and Yellow Water Taxis. Both of these operators have combined tickets/packages which include tickets covering transport fares, park entry and gondola ride.

    See also

    • Western Plains Zoo
      Western Plains Zoo
      Taronga Western Plains Zoo, formerly known as Western Plains Zoo and commonly known as Dubbo Zoo, is a large zoo near Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. It opened to the public on 28 February 1977, to provide more living and breeding space for large animals such as elephants and antelopes which...

    • Taronga
      Taronga
      Taronga is a young adult science fiction post-apocalyptic novel written by Australian author Victor Kelleher. The story revolves around the catastrophic disaster that destroys the Earth as we know it and its impact of Australia in the Southern Hemisphere. It is not revealed to us directly what has...

       by Victor Kelleher
      Victor Kelleher
      Victor Kelleher is an Australian author. Victor was born in London and moved to Africa with his parents, at the age of fifteen. He spent the next twenty years travelling and studying in Africa, before moving to New Zealand. Kelleher received a teaching degree in Africa and has taught in Africa,...

      , a work of fiction using Taronga Zoo as its setting

    External links

    The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
    x
    OK