Alma Park Zoo, June 2008 » Alma Park Zoo

20-06-2008

I'd agree with glyn I think. I'm actually in two minds over Alma Park Zoo. There's no denying the setting is superb and with money it could be a great little zoo. However it is equally undeniable that it hasn't apparently changed much at all in a number of years and that without the rainforesty surrounds the cages themselves would look even worse. There is a very lacklustre kind of air about the place.

They do have a regrettable tendency to (it would appear) build enclosures that are only just big enough -- not too small but not exactly large either.

Immediate improvements could be made simply by opening up the canopy over some of the cages to let in some light and sun, cutting down on the damp gloomy atmosphere that prevails. Better drainage and substrate in the paddocks would eliminate a lot of the mud. A number of the enclosures could be enlarged fairly cheaply.

Some should be demolished entirely (the monkey and cockatoo cages) and the animals either (ideally) sent elsewhere, or else given proper housing. (I would go for the first option, cost-wise and for the sake of the animals themselves).

However compared to photos of GuZoo that I have seen, Alma Park is a veritable paradise. The animals are cared for properly (healthwise, even if we can all agree the cages should be better and larger) and the staff are good.

I think the main problems that Alma Park has are simply money and a rather complacent "that's good enough for now" attitude

So, close it down or make it better? I like the latter option because it could be done relatively easily. GuZoo on the other hand I don't think anything can save.

Money and time .......
20-06-2008

I am not convinced that these are applicable to Alma Park ....

They charge a HUGE entrance fee for a very mediocre zoo , and they dont have
elephants , big cats , hippos etc , that rake up a huge grocery bill for feeding costs .... in fact , the number of animals at this zoo is relatively small for a zoo of its size ...

Alma Zoo has been in existance for many years now . From the recent zoo review which is very comprehensive , there has been NO improvements from my visit over 5 years ago .... and Alma Zoo was not a new zoo then . back then there was one new enclosure -- for the python . Again , barely adequate and certainly nothing special ( and too small for more than one python )

How many more years do the animals have to wait before they are given improved housing ?

I am not convinced with the argument of " give them time and money , and it will improve " can be applied to Alma Park , which is a shame , because there is potential .

Hamilton Zoo , New Zealand , originally started out as a wildlife and game park , with a motley group of animals . Very similar to Alma park .
The monies recieved from visitors were invested into the park , and now it is a very good zoo , with extremely roomy enclosures -- many parts of the zoo the animals have alot more space than the visitors . I now rank Hamilton Zoo as being a better zoo overall than even Wellingtons Zoo ( and Wellington zoo has been in existance for 100 years )

But as for Guzoo , I think what they REALLY need there is a bulldozer , and a prison cell for the Management ?!

20-06-2008

yeah I too wonder where the money goes from the entry fees. Perhaps there just isn't the patronage to total it all up. But it does seem to be a favourite family destination for locals (there were lots of cars in the car park the day I was there). Like I said, I'm in two minds over the place -- it could be good but it isn't and it doesn't appear to have the impetus to make it so.

22-06-2008

i think you would find that although feeding animals is expensive its the labour, insurance and maintenance that would chew through alot of the funds.
also, too, from the perspective of regional holding capacity for exotic species it would be nice to see this zoo redeveloped; even if it only created a few additional spaces for species like, I dunno, fishing cats,red panda, ruffed lemur and emporer tamarins then it would become an asset for the region.
considering improving the enclosures, you do have to wonder how much it really would cost to build new aviaries for the species already kept??? you could probably replace the majority of the existing inadequate enclosures for less than $60K, but for a small private enterprise that money would be hard to come up with.

23-06-2008

that's pretty much the thing that was going through my mind as to why it would be better to improve the place than just close it all down. As a small zoo it could be ideal for being a holder of the smaller species, especially if they went with a whole rainforest theme to the collection.

23-06-2008

and of course, whilst many of the enclosures are sub-standard there is a difference between cruelty and poor exhibitry. if there wasnt such a difference zoos like Melbourne with its grossly awful baboon enclosure would be closed too.

23-06-2008

If there was a bias it was not admitted.

The establishment and operating costs scared off the government.

There may also have been some pressure applied from some other major animal exhibitors given their links to our state government, but that is only anecdotally inspired supposition.

just wondering ......
24-06-2008

.... if they ( Alma park ) lowered the admission fee by , say , 20% .
Would that encourage more people to visit it ?
The entrance fee was a real extortion 5 years ago ! The other zoos in QLD were better value for money

24-06-2008

they have annual passes, $75 for adults, $45 for children and $50 for pensioners; which is equal to the cost of about three visits. It would be interesting to know the ratio of tourists to locals that visit

$25 .00 for admission fee ?!?
24-06-2008

Realistically I would say that the zoo is worth a $5 entrance fee for what little there is to see there .....$25 would be a realistic figure for admission to Australia Zoo or Currimbin Sanctuary ....
But all it currently takes is just 4 adults to visit and that is $100 for the zoo !
As it is promoted in all the tourist literature , there will be a steady trickle of visitors every day ..... 400 adult visitors will rake in $10 000 per day --- that wouldnt be hard to do in peak seasons .....

24-06-2008

actually its $28!! (I was just rounding it to $75 being equal to the cost of three visits).
I think $15 would be a fair enough price myself but no more than that.

What's Australia Zoo entry cost though? Isn't it something like $60??!

24-06-2008

fair dinkum! 60 bucks? What does it cost to get into the theme parks on the gold coast? How does Australia zoo compare?

24-06-2008

I've been to a lot of zoos around Canada and the U.S. (as well as 14 in Australia) and nearly all the North American zoos charge about $15 on average for an entrance fee. Alma Park should be GIVING people money to walk around that place. I'm not sure how much GuZoo costs but that's another zoo that should be giving away free tickets.

24-06-2008

Currumbin $32.00, Australia Zoo $52.00, Dreamworld (a theme park with tigers and an Aussie wildlife section) $66.00. Seems they all have a different idea what "realistic" is!

24-06-2008

$66 dollars to get into dreamworld, **** me, thats a lot of money.
i guess the admission price to Australia zoo is reasonable if you compare it to dream world, but for the average family with two adults and two kids, it's gunna be an expensive day.

(sorry about the whinging. I must be getting old.)