Entries about australia zoo

Australia Zoo is a 100-acre (40 ha) zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland.

It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA), and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter made the zoo a popular tourist attraction.

Australia Zoo was opened by Bob and Lyn Irwin on 3 June 1970 under the name Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park. Their son Steve, had helped his parents since childhood to care for crocodiles and reptiles and to maintain the growing number of animals in the zoo.

As filming generated extra funds, Steve and Terri put all money raised from filming and merchandise into conservation and building new exhibits.
Even building Bindi's amazing tree house with reptile exhibit

The 'Animal Planet Crocoseum' stadium at the zoo

has a seating capacity of about 5000.


At the time of its construction, it was the first in the world where snake, bird and crocodile shows were conducted.

Australia Zoo calls these shows 'Wildlife Warriors 101'. This is also where the zoo presents concerts, such as the Summer Down Under series.
Wedge Tail Eagle

Condor

Africa
On 17 September 2011, the zoo opened its African Safari exhibit, a multi-species replica of the Serengeti ecosystem, showcasing zebras,

rhinos,

and giraffes

interacting as they would in the wild.

Asian Small-clawed Otters

Social animals, living in groups of up to 20 individuals. Each group is actually one large family, with only the dominant pair breeding.

In the wild, these little otters would eat up to a third of their own body weight every day with an average size of 3kg.

Otters communicate with more than 12 different vocal noises.

Eastern Water Dragon

These lizards love the water, to escape predators the seek the safety of water and can hold their breath for up to 20mins until danger passes.

Komodo Dragon

Bacteria found in Komodos' saliva will cause infection and eventually kill their prey, even if the initial bite doesn't. They weight up to 100kg.

Rhinoceros Iguana

The rocky shore is the perfect home for these lizards with stacks of hiding places, baking spots and plenty of tucker.

They are mainly vegetarian, but given the chance the will have a go at just about anything.
Male Rhinoceros Iguanas are built for strength, and that gnarly, bumpy head is how they gain their name. The bigger the iguana, the bigger the territory and the more girls they have.

Aligators
Fang1 - born in 1960

"She is an absolutely gorgeous girl; I love her big Bette Davis Eyes". Anywhere from 20 to 40 eggs are layed inside the nest and take approximately 65 days to hatch.

Albert - born in 1988

Albert came form the same clutch of eggs as Annie. Alligators have an extra eye lid which enables them to see underwater, just like wearing swimming goggles.

Alison - born in 1930

This girl is a true grandma; she first came to Australia in 1933! Baby alligators have brightly coloured yellow and black cross-bands which fade as they age.

Annie - born in 1988

She is beautiful my Annie and crikey she loves her food! and this lizard was being very brave drinkign her water

Female gators lay their eggs in a mound of rotting vegetation they construct using their back legs.

Fang 2 - born in 1960

She's a beautiful mum - she is the mother of our first ever baby alligators. Female gators take care of their babies for up to two whole years!

Barney - born in 1960

He might seem a bit cranky, but really he is just protecting his cute little girlfriend! Alligators have between 74 and 80 blunt, peg-like teeth.

Cameron the crocodile

This replica is based on dimensions of a real crocodile that could still exist today. Since Saltwater Crocodiles were hunted to the brink of extinction by the 1970s, it is rare to see a large croc in the wild. Today we see recovering populations where a few individuals are just starting to gain some real size. In reality though they still have some growing to do!

We can only wonder and hope that maybe somewhere out there, there could still be a true giant. Saltwater Crocodiles have highly advance salt excretion glands so they can spend large amounts of time in saltwater. The barnacles on this crocodile are evidence that is has spent time in the open ocean. If the crocodile move into fresh water the barnacles would fall off within 24 hours.

This reinforced concrete replica was made at the zoo. It weighs 930kgs (2050lbs) and is 8.3m (27') long. A croc this size in the wild would weigh approximately 2.5 tonne.

Freshwater Crocodile

These crocs are the first crocs that Steve ever caught. He was just nine years old.

Scrappa

Scrappa is the son of Agro. He can strike from the water's edge at lightening speed.

not something little girls should p[lay with!

Red Kangaroos

chilling out

a little joey

Black Footed Rock Wallaby

Tasmanian devils

Henry & Ebony - 5 & 4 years old.
Devils once ranged throughout most of the mainland Australia. The introduction of dingoes is thought to be the primary reason for the demise of the Tasmanian Devil.

Binturong

Like a creature of the night - the Binturong prowls the dense forest canopy of Indonesia, hungrily searching out fruit.

Wombats

Dingoes

baby Dingoes

with a gorgeous white male cub

Koalas

Koalas are marsupials. They give birth to un-developed young that grow inside a pouch.

Koalas may be extinct on the south-east coast of Queensland within ten years.

The biggest threats include habitat destruction, disease and injury by dogs or cars.

Snoozing for up to 18-20 hours a day because they only eat eucalyptus leaves which are low energy and hard to digest.

Kookaburra

Curlew

Cassowary

The cassowary is Australia' largest land animal - the largest cassowary on record was 85g although most weight between 35 and 60kg.

The seeds of more than 100 Wet Tropics plants are spread by cassowaries. While most of their diet is fruit, they also eat snails, insects, fungi, flowers and dead animals.

Male cassowaries are responsible for hatching the eggs (on the nest for about 50 days!) and look after the chicks for the first 9 to 18 months.

Cassowaries can live to a ripe old age - up to 60 years in captivity and some reports of up to 40 years in the wild.

It is estimated that there are as few as 1,500 adult birds left in north Queensland. It is now on the endangered species list.
The word cassowary comes from two Papuan word meaning horned head.

Brolga

In northern parts of Australia, the Brolga and Sarus Crane can easily be confused. The Brolga is the only true Aussie crane.

It makes the large Ibis birds look small!

Jabiru

Adult males have dark eyes whilst adult females have yellow eyes, but these aren't developed until they are around three years old.

Great Egret

Emu

and the difference between an Emu egg (on the left) and an Ostrich egg (on the right)

Sumatran Tigers

Kaitlyn and Ramalon are the perfect match,

their bloodlines are the most valuable for the future breeding of Sumatran Tigers outside Indonesia

Ramalon was born in 1994 and weighs 120kg

the keeper demonstrated how they carry out medical checks, without the need for sedation, including checking the teeth

taking blood samples

and just how big they are

we found a baby tiger in the shop

Aldabra Giant Tortoise

Back from the brink - Aldabra Tortoises were used by early sailors as food. However, thanks to one of the world's first conservation breeding programs, numbers have now increased to more than 100,000.

Fresh Water Turtles

Long Neck Turtle

Shingleback Lizard

Their large thick scales have earned them the nickname 'Pine Cone Lizard'. In the wild breeding pairs have been known to meet up every spring for up to 8 years.
They are closely related to the blue-tongue skink.

Burmese Python

Muscle Power - Burmese Pythons constrict their prey by tightly coiling around them. Eats primarily mammals an birds.
Can live for up to 40 years and grow up to a whopping 5m long. At that size they can eat a pig or deer.
The snake skin trade had greatly reduced the number of Burmese Pythons in the wild.

Albino Burmese Python

Albino Burmese pythons start out life with an amazing bright orange and yellow colouration and as they mature they fade to a more pastel yellow colour. They can live for up to 40 years and grow to a whopping 5m long.

King Brown

The King Brown is one of the reptile kings of Australia. Primarily a reptile-eater, even the bite from a venomous snake won't worry this fella. With giant venom glands, the King Brown will bite and hold prey using a chewing action to pump enough venom into his prey to show up the most deadly adversary.

Lowlands Copper Head

It can often be found in groups under fallen timber or in burrows to shelter from the bitter cold. More bodies mean more heat.

Collette's Snake

not a lot is known about this bloke in the scrub, but he sure grows to be one of Australia's largest venomous snakes. found only in the black-soil plains of western Queensland means that this fella is one difficult candidate to track down. The searing heat and extreme seasons force this species underground into deep cracks in the earth for much of the year. As a result almost nothing is known about this species in the wild.

Western Brown snake

This bloke comes in a multitude of colour patterns. From one place to the next, this species of snake can appear as different as chalk and cheese to the untrained eye. It just goes to show that even if you think a snake is harmless it's best left alone.

Eastern Tiger Snake

With a notorious reputation and a venom rated at number four in the world, this bloke is not one to muck around with.

Taipan

The Taipan is one of Australia's best known snakes and for good reason. This fella has a short temper. Like any snake though, given the chance he will go the other way.

Water Python

Check out how the light shimmers off her skin in iridescent rainbow colours. she was considered by some local aboriginals as an ancestor of the 'original' Rainbow Serpent.

Carpet Python

Often encountered in suburban areas, you couldn't find a better rat catcher. The Carpet Python is totally harmless. It is usually active at night and spends most of the day coiled up in a tree or rafter, or stretched out basking in an open area.

Woma

Land clearing and burning are the two major factors that have really knocked this guy around. Australia Zoo is now the only facility in Australia to hold this local form and hope to breed and later release these guys back into protected habitat.

Red Bellied Black

With stunning red edges to its belly scales, and a shiny black back, this snake surely ranks amongst Australia's most stunning venomous snakes.

Grey Kangaroos

I didn't think this joey would fit, when he was spooked by a noise

but I was wrong!

here's another chilling out - half in, half out the pouch

After spending hours looking around the animals, it was a unique experience to see the theatre where animals are looked after

Fortunately there was nothing happening in there at that time.