Kyabram Fauna Park » Kyabram Fauna Park

Kyabram Fauna Park
05-02-2008

This is the first time i've done this so forgive me if i do it wrong.

I was just wondering if anyone has been to this zoo in country Victoria. It is the closest zoo to where i live and so i go all the time.

It has Koala's,
Barn Owl's,
tawny frog mouths,
barking owls,
echidna,
a huge solar powered reptile house with all natives,
gouldian finches,
peaceful doves,
stubble quails,
Forest wombats and they are building a new exhibit for southern hairy nosed wombats
magpie geese
cape baren geese
brolgas
spotted quolls
eastern quolls
alpine dingoes
red tailed black cockatoos
galahs
stone curlews
lorikeets
fruit bats
wild budgies
brush turkeys
and a heap of other birds in various aviaries depending on where in the country they come from

05-02-2008

I have not been yet, but it is on my list.

I live half way between Kyabram and Altina Wildlife park and have been to neither.

06-02-2008

It's worth a visit even for the information centre with wetlands viewing that was built a few years ago

The reptile house
11-02-2008

As you enter you see the big glass fronted exhibit with stony creek crocodiles and a huge Mertons Water Monitor and then you go down the diurnal half of the building with a glass fronted exhibit each for:-
Lace Monitors
Green Tree Snakes
Carpet Python
Eastern Death Adder (Or Something like that. I'm a bit forgetful of names)
and Tiger Snakes
Red Bellied Black Snakes
Then you can look into the food preparation area and where the keep any baby lizards od snakes and then down the Nocturnal Half of the building with:-
Black headed Python
Another python that i forget it's name
Green Tree Frogs
Water Pythons (Or something like that)
And Spiny-tailed skinks

08-03-2008

I spent the day there today with kids. We all had a good day and were happy with our visit.

The focus on wetland birds was greater than I expected, with several very large wetlands with bird viewing areas. Their breeding and reintroduction of Cape Barren Geese has been succesful with them traveling up to 100 km from the park in the non breeding season before returning to breed each year. They have done the same more recently with Magpie Geese and they are also doing well.

They have a good range of native mamals but I would always like to see more. I saw Spotted and Eastern Quolls, Echidnas, Koalas, Common Wombat, two pairs of Dingo and Flying Foxes. There were also many Walabies and Red and Grey Kangaroos as well as Emus free ranging through the park.

Unfotunatly their last elderly Tassie Devil died in Dec. I asked about them getting more in the natiomal breeding program but there are quarinteene restrictions they carnt meet. Due to it being a small park with only one fulltime keeper the same keeper needs to look after both the quolls as well as the Dingos would need to look after the Devils. This is not alowed due the posability of introducing disease and they can not aford a new keeper to look after just the Devils.

The birds were good with to many species to individualy mention. My favorite is the Curlew which they have several of and breed well. Unfortunatly the original birds came from the Melbourne zoo and one was of uncertain ancestory so they can not be released. It would be good if they could either get the birds geneticaly tested if possable to see if they are all the local strain or either get new birds to breed of known ancestory so more reintroducution of this species could occur. At the moment they restrict breeding by removing eggs. They have one sitting on rwo eggs at the moment.

They have a good range of native reptiles which pat has covered. The only change I saw was that they now have no Crocodile. It died last Tuesday. It is suspected that it may have been caused buy it standing on its back legs against the side of its enclosure at feeding time on Sunday and it toppled backwards and may have sustained an injury. It seemed fine afterwards and on Monday but was dead on Tuesday. It is in the freezer and I suspect their will be an autopsy to find the defenite cause.

The recently built Environmental centre, theatre, classrooms and glass fronted viewing centre was also very good. This facility is mostly used buy visiting school children but also had some very good displays for general visitors.

Overall it was a good day, no crowds, relaxed atmosphere, friendly helpful staff who were happy to talk. Very good Caffe with good meals, a pleasure to eat there.

08-03-2008

I'm glad you liked it and the crocadile incident is sad but at least its enclosure won't sit empty like the devils. Also did you see the baby major mitchells cockatoo's?

08-03-2008

We did go in the cockatoo avery while the keeper was there. She gave my kids handfuls of sunflower seeds to feed a quite cocky. I did see the Major Mitchells up the back sitting in their nest box but did not notice the babies. It may have been because of the cocky being more interested in eating my leather boots than the sunflower seeds.

09-03-2008

Yeah he's really friendly and loves leather (Handbags, Wallets ect)

How far into the new wombat exhibit are they?

10-03-2008

Not much of the new enclosure is built, looks like it is still in the foundations stage.

Do you often see Magpie or Cape Baren Geese grazing in padocks nearby.

10-03-2008

We've had magpie geese on our farm once.

03-09-2008

I got a new newsletter about the goings on at the Kyabram Fauna Park and there was some stuff about the new baby Koala, another clutch of eggs from the major mitchells cockatoos, Three spotted quoll babies and breeding their 70th eastern barred bandicoot which are off display.
And the best news of all is that they are getting the tassie devils that retire from the breeding program.

03-09-2008

I will have to get back soon. I would like to see the Quoll with young.

I never knew they had Bandicoots.

Major Mitchels seem easy to breed. My inlaws are always trying to sell them as they have a pair which breed every year. People who want a Cocky dont want the bother of getting a lisence, so their are very few people who will buy them.