Notes on a visit to Healesville Last weekend I drove down to Victoria to visit Healesville Sanctuary. The plan was also to visit Moonlit World and possibly Melbourne Zoo, but I couldn’t find any accommodation around Pearcedale/Frankston due to the F1 Grand Prix, nor could I get any accommodation around Parkville because of the Cox Plate. So I ended up doing Healesville and Werribee. Like so many other visits to Victoria, it rained. From a lovely sunny drive down from Sydney, it started raining pretty much as I drove through Wodonga. Although it didn’t rain while I was visiting the Sanctuary or Open Range Zoo, it was overcast for most of the time. Saturday morning I got to Healesville just before 9:00, and was the first person to enter when they opened the gates. It remained overcast and cool all day, although the sun did make a few brief appearances and blue sky appeared but it would soon cloud over again. And although it didn’t rain, the overcast skies don’t really make for the best photography IMO despite the woman in the ticket office telling me that cloudy days are better for photography than sunny ones. Healesville Sanctuary looks to me more like a piece of natural forest that has had some paths and enclosures sprinkled between the trees, unlike other places which look more like paths and enclosures with vegetation planted in the spaces between. Having last visited five years ago, here are a few brief observations of my visit: Orangebellied Parrots – was really keen on photographing these again and was very disappointed to find the walkthrough aviary they were in is now closed. A sign out the front said “Orangebelly Parrot Recovery HQ to be built here soon” (or words to that effect). The parrots were on display in two other aviaries in the park, but neither was a walkthrough and I was unable to get any photographs. The Kangaroo Walkthrough features Red Kangaroos and a mob of Kangaroo Island Kangaroos. Around the park, mainly on Manna Gums, were signs identifying the trees as being old, some over 200 years old. There was also signage and displays talking about the importance of trees as homes for wildlife – the multistorey apartment analogy – and the value of dead tree stags and hollows. And within the park I could see many dead trees left standing, although most people might not even notice them (and less would realise the significance). There are renovations to the platypus area and the golden arch monstrosity is off display while a new viewing area is being built. Platypus are still on display in the first platypus building, although I didn’t see any. The walkthrough Wallaby enclosure, featuring endangered rock wallabies, is a really nice large exhibit despite there being little signage. But like so many other places I’ve been to, the piles of rocks for the wallabies look like a pile of rocks dumped in the enclosure. I only saw two of the rock wallabies, and they weren’t very active. Although the Orangebelly Parrot Walkthrough aviary was closed, there were still other aviaries to walkthrough. I spent a bit of time in the Woodland Birds Aviary photographing the Purple-crowned Lorikeets, and also the Satin Bowerbirds, Gang Gangs, Red-browed Finches, Yellow Robin and Chestnut Mannikins. Within the Wallaby Walkthrough is an Arid Birds Aviary that has a walkthrough building attached to it (which I’m led to believe is a recent addition); in here are Princess and Scarlet-chested Parrots, Diamond Doves, Budgies, Inland Dotterels, Zebra Finches and Hooded Robins. The Fruit Bat Aviary has stilts, rails, tawny frogmouth and Fruit bats. These aviaries are all fairly close to each other, on the Woodland Track, but elsewhere in the park is the large Lyrebird Aviary, where I saw a female lyrebird in the top of a tall treefern, and the impressive waterbirds aviary, which had both Glossy Ibis and White-faced Heron chicks recently out of the nest. And lastly the Land of Parrots, a large walkthrough aviary divided into two by a wall down the middle – one side houses Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, a pair of eclectus Parrots, a pair of Apostlebirds, a Pair of Whiteheaded Pigeons and a pair of Bush Thick-knees (Stone Curlews). The other side was closed because a storm had recently brought down a tree that had damaged the aviary and it was still being repaired, but it normally houses Regent Parrots, Musk Lorikeets, Scaly-breasted Lorikeets and lots of budgies. A good sized aviary for the birds, but I was disappointed at the volume of sunflower seeds the public could buy to feed the birds. Parrots will often eat sunflower seeds to the exclusion of all else, and sunflower seeds have a high fat content. The Nocturnal House, although smallish, had some rarities on display including Northern Quoll, Mountain Pygmy Possum and some Red-tailed Phascogales which were very active. They also have just received some Black-footed Tree Rats which were still settling in. And the usual – Spinifex Hopping Mice, Common Ringtail, Bilby etc. Wombat enclosure was one of the most pristine looking wombat enclosures I’ve ever seen, still heavily vegetated despite a lot of digging. Most wombat exhibits look more like a mining camp – bare ground with a few holes and mounds of dirt. Maybe it’s new enclosure. Two aviaries for Leadbeaters Possums but five metres away from the path so there is no way anyone can see anything. A bit disappointing. And two enclosures for the dingos – one really nice large, well-vegetated enclosure, and another smaller, barer enclosure. Reptiles – some lizards and redbelly black snakes are displayed in separate tanks scattered around the park, lace monitors in an outdoor enclosure, pink-tongued skinks and knobtail geckos in tanks in the Nocturnal House, butu all the other reptiles are in the Reptile House. This building consists of a corridor with several tanks down one side and a small room at the end with even smaller tanks for little skinks. The first tank is an aquatic one, with juvenile Freshwater Crocodiles and Merten’s Water Monitor, the rest of the tanks had snakes (except one with Frilled Lizards, but previously held snakes as the label hadn’t been changed). The last room held some small tanks with rare skinks – the She-oak Skink and the Guthega Skink. Through a window into the keeper area I could see more tanks along a back wall with a thick substrate of sphagnum moss and I guess these housed Corroboree Frogs. Throughout the building the tanks were a decent size and furnished appropriately for the species, typical for reptile tanks in zoos throughout Australia (and elsewhere in the world), but it was the labelling that both impressed and disappointed me. Video labelling was used throughout the reptile house – that is, a monitor is fixed above the exhibit with a photograph of the animal in question and it name. The benefit of these displays is that the image changes to provide more photos and more information, and multiple species can be shown on the one monitor. The disadvantages are that it is costly to have some many monitors, and when you change the occupants of an exhibit, you have to reprogram the monitors feed. But my disappointment was twofold – firstly, the rare species of skinks only had a little piece of tape with the common name taped to the tank (although there was a video of Mike Swan talking about the skinks nearby). Secondly, the video labels of the snakes were rather sensationalistic. Most of the snakes were in the ‘Top Ten’ of deadliest snakes in the world – I think the Reptile House had eight of the ten – and large stickers with their number (ranking of deadliness) were stuck on the glass front of the tank. Most of the videos included a “Fearsome Factor”, which described their deadliness ranking. I was a little concerned about other labels elsewhere in the sanctuary too. The Rock Wallaby for instance. The sign said they were the only Rock Wallaby native to Victoria, endangered with less than 20 left in the wild. Which species, I wondered? But I couldn’t find out, because all the signage either referred to it as either “Victoria’s only rock wallaby” or as “The Shadow”. I eventually determined it was the Brushtail Rock Wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) by asking a volunteer. Less than 20 in the wild (in Victoria), but nothing about numbers in other states, or even the fact they are found in other states. Other labels are not effective either. Obviously an attempt to provide information in a more engaging way, the labels are given eye-catching titles like “Solar Powered” for the Jacky Lizard which warms up in the sun, or “Get us out of here!” for the Lace Monitors, referring to the breeding habits. Beside the description is a small photo and under the photo in small type is the common name and the latin name. For people who don’t want to spend a lot of time reading, they might not see the species name. One family I saw walked past the Barn Owl exhibit and left believing the species was called “Masked Avenger” . However, most of the bird labels in the aviaries were of the traditional type. But what really depressed me was not animal related labelling at all, but more a marketing ploy. I had seen a poster advertising “Zooperman”, who appeared to be some sort of superhero (‘zooperhero’ according to the advertising) in green tights with bulging muscles underneath, a purple cape, belt and sunglasses, yellow and black striped jungle print shorts and a big ‘Z’ on his chest. I thought this was justy a marketing campaign to promote a kids activity centre in the sanctuary, until I saw Zooperman walking through the sanctuary in all his purple and green splendour. I avoided him, as he was obviously aimed at kids, and I hate having conservation or zoology/animal related information preached at me by someone who thinks they know more about it than me. And then I came across Zooperman’s friend, Crapman. Actually, I didn’t see him, but there is a lifesize display of him with the face cut out so you can stick your own mug in and have your photo taken. According to his slogan, Crapman is saving wildlife from extinction, one toilet at a time. I wasn’t too sure how that works until I visited the facilties. Apparently it’s all to do with recycled toilet paper. When you sit down on the toilet an audio recording starts of Crapman talking about the trees destroyed to make toilet paper, and why recycled is better for the environment and wildlife. It must be disconcerting for women to suddenly hear a male booming voice seemingly in the cubicle with them. All I overheard was Crapman asking “What’s green and sits at the bottom of the toilet? Kermit The Bog!! Ha Ha Ha ha!!!” and I knew I had to leave quickly lest I suffer irreparable damage to my cerebral cortex. I don’t know how effective Zooperman and Crapman are at spreading the conservation message, but surely there are better ways to do it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overall, Healesville is still a really pleasant place to visit to spend a few hours, and I had a great time also watching all the wild birds found within the grounds – dozens of Superb Blue Wrens, some with chicks, Thornbills, Silvereyes, Fantails, Swamphens, Moorhens, Kookaburras etc. But I’d really like to see the Sanctuary in the sun one day. Hix Photos uploaded in the gallery.
Thanks for the review Hix. I hope to include a visit here when I eventually get to Australia, although hopefully Crapman will be off fighting for conservation somewhere else. I love that you can do that in an Australia zoo though - can't see it flying in an American zoo. Sorry to hear that I won't be able to see the "Platypus MacDonald's" with the golden arches, but it is probably better for the platypus to have an improved home.
Nice mini-review Hix, but no mention of the Tassie devils? Does Healesville still have a large breeding group in a couple (or more) exhibits? Are the lyrebirds still as spectacular as ever? Also, the list of species in the Nocturnal House and Reptile House is mouthwatering for someone outside of Australia. Werribee Open Range Zoo review up next?
@David Brown - the golden arches have not disappeared, just construction happening around them so you can't get to them. Maybe when you arrive it will be open again .... @snowleopard - Two enclosures for devils, nothing spectacular, saw two devils in one exhibit, right down the baaaack, and the other exhibit I could see one fast asleep. I've seen enough lyrebirds to be blase, but if one started displaying........ Werribee ORZ will be next, once I"ve sorted and labeled the photos, and then actually written something. Hix
I'm surprised that he wasn't. I've seen him displaying just off the path on two of my last three visits. I'm glad you had a good trip I can't believe you passed up Melbourne Zoo just because of a lack of close accommodation though.
I didn't pass it up for that reason. The next morning was very cloudy again, and as it has rained every time I've visited the zoo in the past, I thought I'd wait for a sunny day. So I went elsewhere - and then the sun came out. Hix
They probably know more about animals and zoology than 95% of zoogoers though. You are in the minority, so just grin and bear it.
