In the last weeks I've been travelling in Australia and I was able to visit some zoos along the trip. Perth Zoo On my second day in Australia, I visited Perth Zoo. Because my time was limited that day, I focused on native species. First, I went to "Reptile Encounter" to see one of the species of my wishlist for Perth Zoo: the perentie. I saw one sleeping on a rock in the inner part of the enclosure. It was quite a contrast with the dwarf Dampier Peninsula Monitor in the same building. Through "Australian Wetlands" I went to "Australian Bushwalk", hoping to see species number two of my overall whistlist (number one would follow in the zoos of the eastern coast): the numbat. At first, I only saw a brown fluffy thing in the upper part of the enclosure, but at the end one individual was very active and came really close! Close to the end of "Australian Bushwalk" I saw a Western Brush Wallaby as well, although at first I thought it was a juvenile Grey or Red Kangaroo, and an active Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat. I didn't see any Quokkas, but the next day I would see plenty of them in the wild at Rottnest Island. The next native section, the Nocturnal House, was located at the crossing point of "Asian Rainforest", "Amazonia" and "African Savannah". Along the way to the Nocturnal House, I had a quick look at the enclosures for tigers (didn't see any), elephants and orangutans. The Nocturnal House of Perth Zoo would be the largest of the ones I visited during this trip with the most diverse collection. I saw all mammal species but the Western Quoll, including some rare species endemic for Western Australia. I followed the route of the "African Savannah" to the exit, but didn't see any animals because it was near closing time and the keepers probably already put the giraffes, rhinos, painted dogs, etc in the inner enclosures. Beautiful zoo with the best native section and largest nocturnal house of all the zoos I visited during my trip. I didn't see much of the exotic sections, so it's hard to judge these sections or to compare them to that of European zoos. List of mammal species Short-beaked Echidna Tasmanian Devil Western Quoll Northern Quoll* Red-tailed Phascogale Fat-tailed Dunnart* Dibbler* Numbat* Greater Bilby Common Brushtail Possum Western Ringtail Possum* Northern Sugar Glider Feathertail Glider Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat Koala Long-nosed Potoroo Quokka Tammar Wallaby Western Brush Wallaby* Western Grey Kangaroo Red Kangaroo Goodfellow Tree Kangaroo Golden-bellied Water Rat Spinifex Hopping Mouse Ghost Bat Dingo Asian Elephant Sumatran Tiger Lion Meerkat Binturong Spotted Hyaena African Painted Dog Malayan Sun Bear Red Panda South American Coati Asian Small-clawed Otter White Rhinoceros Grant Zebra Rothschild Giraffe South African Porcupine Ring-tailed Lemur Black-and-white Lemur Pygmy Marmoset Cotton-top Tamarin Golden Lion Tamarin Brown Capucin Monkey Hamadryas Baboon Silver Gibbon Northern White-cheeked Gibbon Sumatran Orangutan * species not seen before
Melbourne Zoo I had some doubts of this zoo was worth a visit because of the small native section, but I'm glad I went. It's a nice zoo and it has a very clear set-up with a central lane and five major trails. After entering the zoo, I followed the central lane to see the main reason I decided to visit Melbourne Zoo. In a darkened aquarium I saw my most wanted species: the platypus! It was great to finally see one and the platypus was very active. After my visit to the Platypus House, I went to "Wild Sea" met penguins, fur seals and some aquaria. I liked the underwater views, but above water the enclosures weren't that special. "Australian Bush" with the nice Great Flight Aviary was next, followed by the herpetological houses (nice combination of native and exotic reptiles) and some enclosures for exotic mammals (quite odd combination of Malayan and Brazilian tapir). After that, I went to the "Lion Gorge", a newly opened trail with carnivores (painted dogs, big cats, Philippine crocs, devils and coatis). Because of the warm temperatures, there wasn't much action over there. "Trail of the Elephants" (Southeast Asia themed) and "Gorilla Rainforest" (mainly primates) were both nicely done, especially Tree-tops Monkeys. List of mammal species Platypus* Tasmanian Devil Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat Koala Red-necked Wallaby Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Australian Fur Seal* New Zealand Fur Seal* Asian Elephant Sumatran Tiger Lion Snow Leopard Meerkat Binturong African Painted Dog Red Panda South American Coati Asian Small-clawed Otter Malayan Tapir Brazilian Tapir Chapman? Zebra Collared Pecari Pygmy Hippopotamus Rothschild? Giraffe Ring-tailed Lemur Black-and-white Lemur Brown Capucin Monkey Black-handed Spider Monkey Hamadryas Baboon Guereza Northern White-cheeked Gibbon Siamang Sumatran Orangutan Western Lowland Gorilla
Adelaide Zoo After Melbourne, I travelled by touring car through Victoria and South Australia, following the Great Ocean Road and across the Grampians to Adelaide. Beside emus, parrots, kookaburras and kangaroos, I saw a Swamp Wallaby and an Echidna in the wild. Adelaide Zoo has a nice collection of both native and exotic species, most notably the only giant pandas of the Southern Hemisphere. I expected it to be somewhat larger based on the map, some enclosures were empty (most notably that of the koalas and common wombats) and some enclosures were a bit old-fashioned (that of the lions and small carnivores), but I liked this zoo. Highlight was the Nocturnal House, seeing some marsupials for the first time. I was quite impressed by the size of the squirrel gliders, didn't know that this species is larger that sugar gliders. List of mammal species Short-beaked Echidna Tasmanian Devil Northern Quoll Greater Bilby Southern Brown Bandicoot* Common Ringtail Possum* Squirrel Glider* Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat Long-nosed Potoroo Quokka Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby Tammar Wallaby Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Red Kangaroo Goodfellow Tree Kangaroo Greater Sticknest Rat Spinifex Hopping Mouse Ghost Bat Australian Sea Lion* Sumatran Tiger Lion Serval Meerkat Maned Wolf Fennec Fox Malayan Sun Bear Giant Panda Red Panda South American Coati Asian Small-clawed Otter Malayan Tapir Brazilian Tapir Hippopotamus Pygmy Hippopotamus Rothschild? Giraffe Greater Mara Capybara Ring-tailed Lemur Pygmy Marmoset Emperor Tamarin Golden Lion Tamarin Bolivian Squirrel Monkey Hamadryas Baboon Mandrill Dusky Leaf Monkey Northern White-cheeked Gibbon Siamang Sumatran Orangutan
South Australian Museum & Australian Museum Because both museums had some animals in their eduction centers (small reptiles, frogs, invertebrates), I will mention these two museums as well. After leaving Adelaide Zoo, I went to the South Australian Museum. I liked it a lot with its diverse collection of mounted mammals (including a Javan Rhinoceros and a Philippine Colugo), the exhibit of extinct and locally extinct mammals (including a young Thylacine) that gave me a bit of a sad feeling, the interesting paleontological sections (Ediacara, Megafauna, opalised plesiosaur) and the small Egyptian room. Later during my trip I visited the Australian Museum in Sydney. It was bigger, but not better than that of Adelaide. It had two good paleontological sections (Cenozoic and Mesozoic) with mostly casts and not that much original fossils, although a non-original skeleton of a Giganotosaurus is still impressive.
Taronga Zoo I bought my ticket before going on the ferry to the zoo, so after arriving I could enter the zoo directly at the waterside entrance. I started in the marine section, followed by the Kids Trail (petting zoo meets wildlife park). Next was de best section of the zoo with the Blue Mountains Bushwalk (lyrebirds didn’t show, but I would see it in the wild later on), Platypus House (including Common Wombat and Greater Bilby) and “Australian Wildlife”, seeing my second Platypus and my first Long-beaked Echidna and Yellow-bellied Gliders. Both the koala and kangaroo enclosure were quite simple. After visiting Reptile World, I went to the African and Asian sections. There seems to be plans for new enclosures, but for now the African section are just chimpanzees and giraffes (nice view with the Opera House in the background). The Asian section wasn’t that special. Well, Taronga… The zoo that I expected the most of, high on my worldwide wish list, but I was a bit disappointed. Where my expectations to high? Was it the fact that I already saw several rare native species in other zoos during my trip? Was it the overcrowding with Asians? I definitely didn’t like the chaotic pathways in some parts of the zoo and the fun park-styled attractions like the “Wild Ropes” and the new tiger enclosure. Don’t get me wrong, I had a good time in the zoo and saw some interesting species and some beautiful enclosures, but it was less fantastic than that I had expected. Perth Zoo had a better native area and both Perth and Melbourne Zoo had a more diverse exotic collection. List of mammal species Short-beaked Echidna Western Long-beaked Echdina* Platypus Tasmanian Devil Eastern Quoll Red-tailed Phascogale Greater Bilby Long-nosed Bandicoot* Common Brushtail Possum Common Ringtail Possum Squirrel Glider Yellow-bellied Glider* Feathertail Glider Common Wombat Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat Koala Woylie Long-nosed Potoroo Quokka Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby Swamp Wallaby Red-necked Wallaby Red Kangaroo Goodfellow Tree Kangaroo Plains Rat Black-footed Tree Rat Greater Sticknest Rat Spinifex Hopping Mouse Ghost Bat Australian Sea Lion New Zealand Fur Seal Subantarctic Fur Seal* Asian Elephant Sumatran Tiger Fishing Cat Meerkat Binturong Malayan Sun Bear Red Panda Asian Small-clawed Otter Californian Sea Lion Pygmy Hippopotamus Alpaca Rothschild? Giraffe Bongo Ring-tailed Lemur Cotton-top Tamarin Golden Lion Tamarin Bolivian Squirrel Monkey François Leaf Monkey Northern White-cheeked Gibbon Chimpanzee Western Lowland Gorilla
Wildlife Sydney Zoo & Sea Life Sydney At first, it wasn’t in my plans to visit this zoo, but I had an unexpected extra free afternoon. I didn’t expected much of it; a wildlife park in the center of Sydney, in a building at Darling Harbour? It turned out to be quite nice with a diverse collection. Most sections were composed of a large enclosure with a combination of mammals and birds and terraria for reptiles and frogs. The nocturnal section was quite large, although the main enclosure was empty because of redecoration (I think bilbies were kept here). At first, I thought my luck with platypuses was gone, but in the end I saw both of them. My visit to Sea Life, the next door facility, was mainly to see the dugongs. The other sections weren’t that special, although I liked the concept of “Jurassic Seas” as an evolution themed area with invertebrates, hagfish, lungfish and axolotls among others (the name is kind of strange for Australia, "Cretaceous Seas" would make more sense referring to the Eromanga Sea with its marine reptiles). The boat ride in the new “Penguin Expedition” was already closed at the time I got there. The enclosure is nothing compared to that of Loro Parque that I visited last year. List of mammal species Wildlife Short-beaked Echidna Platypus Tasmanian Devil Tiger Quoll Fat-tailed Dunnart Yellow-bellied Glider Feathertail Glider Common Wombat Koala Rufous Bettong* Quokka Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby Red-legged Pademelon* Agile Wallaby Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Eastern Grey Kangaroo Spinifex Hopping Mouse Ghost Bat Sea Life Dugong*
Kuranda After Sydney I went to tropical Queensland. The best thing of Kuranda was the travel, by scenic railway and cable car through the rainforests of Barron Gorge National Park. The zoological attractions of the town - a small zoo, a large aviary and a butterfly garden - are like Kuranda it self: quite commercial. Instead of one "Kuranda Zoo" you have to pay three times a entrance fee and of course additional if you want to cuddle a koala. I went to Koala Gardens en Birdworld, but didn't go to the butterfly garden My main reason to visit the Koala Gardens was to see the two endangered species of tropical Queensland, the Northern Bettong and the Mahogany Glider. Anyway, Koala Gardens was not bad with a lake with many freshwater crocodiles, a small walkthrough area with kangaroos and wallabies and a nocturnal house that was much larger than I expected. I read something about Bilbies, but there was a lot more to see. Gliders and bandicoots were also kept in a separate enclosure next to the nocturnal house. Birdworld consists of one large walkthrough aviary. After entering, you come on a feeding platform. From there the pathway goes down to the cassowary enclosure at the lowest point and then up again. The aviary was nice, but I've seen more beautiful ones elsewere. I don't understand why they have to keep exotic birds. Tropical Queensland or Australia have enough interesting species, so why macaws, conures and Asian birds? List of mammal species Koala Gardens Greater Bilby Northern Brown Bandicoot Common Ringtail Possum Squirrel Glider Mahogany Glider* Common Wombat Koala Northern Bettong* Long-nosed Potoroo Quokka Red-legged Pademelon Swamp Wallaby Parma Wallaby Agile Wallaby Eastern Grey Kangaroo List of species Birdworld (according to the given leaflet) native Cassowary Radjah Shelduck Whistling Duck Freckled Duck Black Swan Buff-banded Rail Cattle Egret Intermediate Egret Pied Heron White-faced Heron Red-winged Parrot King Parrot Eclectus Parrot Fig Parrot Rainbow Lorikeet Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Mustard Lorikeet Galah Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Major Mitchell Cockatoo Rock Pigeon White-headed Pigeon Torres Strait Imperial Pigeon Emerald Dove Peaceful Dove Bar-shouldered Dove Figbird Frairbird Zebra Finch Chestnut Mannakin exotic Mandarin Duck Scarlet Macaw Blue-and-yellow Macaw Hahn Macaw Nanday Conure Sun Conure Blue-fronted Amazon Indian Ringneck Alexandrine Parrot Dusky Lorikeet Chattering Lorikeet Maned Pigeon Luzon Bleeding-heart Pigeon Spotted Turtle-Dove Orange-breasted Finch Java Sparrow Cordonbleu Finch
No, but I only made lists of the mammals that were kept in the zoos I visited. As you already knew, Koala Gardens has two species of frogmouth. Besides the mentioned freshwater crocodiles, the herpetological collection consists of knobtail geckos and white-lipped frogs in the nocturnal house and some lizards and snakes at two locations in the zoo (near the entrance and near the exit). Wild Eastern Water Dragons wander around at the Heritage Market and they are quite easy to spot.
Cairns Aquarium I visited Cairns Aquarium, which was from the entrance of my hotel on the other side of the roundabout, during the evening. Because of Chinese New Year the aquarium was open during evening hours. In the first part of the aquarium I was the only visitor, but eventually there were some others in the reef sections. Cairns Aquarium consists of two floors with themed exhibits, beginning with freshwater and followed by rainforest and mangroves, coral reefs and finally the Oceanarium. The collection is not pure aquatic or amphibious, but also include several terrestrial and arboreal species of reptiles, frogs and arthropods, mainly in the rainforest section. A special part of the reef section is dedicated to venomous species, including Olive Sea Snakes. The aquarium keeps several species of sharks with Blacktip Reef Sharks in “Aqualuna”, the basin of the restaurant. Unfortunately the hammerheads were nowhere to see, although there is a large photo of one above or next to the entrance. I liked Cairns Aquarium with its good themed exhibits and diverse collection. It’s “just” an aquarium and not almost a theme park like Sea Life Sydney. Bonus are the large flocks of Spectacled Flying-Foxes roosting and flying around the aquarium. To conclude, I really liked my visits to these Australian zoos and aquaria. Some were really good, some were average and some were a bit disappointing, but all were worth a visit for the collection or the park/aquarium itself. It’s a nice list: three species of monotremes, nine species of dasyuromorphs, four species of peramelemorphs, eight species of gliders and possums, three species of vombatiforms, four species of potoroids, fifteen species of macropods, five species of native rodents, four species of native pinnipeds, dugongs, dingos and ghost bats, as well as among others eight species of monitors, some of the most venomous snakes of the world and countless species of birds.
Thanks very much for posting all about these Aussie zoos and aquariums. Your reviews and lists are much appreciated!
Here is a list of the mammals listed in 3 or more of the animal collections visited by AWP. 5: Tasmanian Devil; Koala; Quokka; Ghost Bat 4: Short-beaked Echidna; Greater Bilby; Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat; Long-nosed Potoroo; Northern White-cheeked Gibbon; Spinifex Hopping Mouse; Sumatran Tiger; Meerkat; Red Panda; Asian Small-clawed Otter; Rothschild? Giraffe 3: Platypus; Squirrel Glider; Feathertail Glider; Common Wombat; Kangaroo Island Kangaroo; Goodfellow Tree Kangaroo; Asian Elephant; Hamadryas Baboon; Sumatran Orangutan; Lion; Binturong; Malayan Sun Bear; South American Coati; Pygmy Hippopotamus I think it's a bit sad that some Australasian species that occur in a few Australian zoos are not kept outside Australia, but the exotic species seem to be fairly common outside Australia.
Taronga has two regional rarities, the mentioned Long-beaked Echidna of New Guinea (although Zaglossus lived in Australia and I read something about a collected specimen from Kimberley dated around 1900) and the tuatara of New Zealand. Furthermore, I didn't see any exotic rarities besides the Giant Pandas.
numbers corresponding to the enclosures Perth Zoo 1. Western Ringtail, Red-tailed Phascogale 2. Fat-tailed Dunnart 3. Southern Boobook, Long-nosed Potoroo, Common Brushtail Possum 4. Dibbler 5. Tawny Frogmouth 6. Ghost Bat 7. Olive Python 8. Cane Toad 9. Jungle Python 10. Rough-scaled Python 11. Northern Quoll 12. Spinifex Hopping Mouse, Owlet-Nightjar 13. Greater Bilby, Ghost Bat 14. Northern Sugar Glider 15. Green Tree Frog 16. Western Quoll 17. Giant Prickly Stick Insect 18. Scorpion 19. Australian Tarantula 20. Banded Knobtail Gecko 21. Stimson’s Python 22. Feathertail Glider, Leaftail Gecko 23. Golden-bellied Water Rat Adelaide Zoo first long side: 1. Spinifex Hopping Mouse 2. Greater Sticknest Rat 3. Northern Quoll 4. Long-nosed Potoroo, Squirrel Glider 5. Greater Sticknest Rat short side: 6. Long-nosed Potoroo, Squiller Glider second long side: 7. Greater Bilby 8. Southern Brown Bandicoot, Common Ringtail Possum 9. Ghost Bat Taronga - Australian Nightlife 1. Greater Bilby 2. Greater Sticknest Rat 3. Short-beaked Echidna, Red-tailed Phascogale 4. Short-beaked Echidna, Common Brushtail Possum 5. Eastern Quoll 6. Spinifex Hopping Mouse 7. Short-beaked Echidna, Black-footed Tree Rat 8. Long-nosed Potoroo, Squirrel Glider 9. Yellow-bellied Glider 10. Feathertail Glider 11. New Caledonian Giant Gecko 12. Diamond Python 13. Plains Rat 14. Common Ringtail Possum, Long-nosed Bandicoot, Tawny Frogmouth 15. Short-beaked Echidna, Western Long-beaked Echidna, Squirrel Glider 16. Ghost Bat Wildlife Sydney 1. Platypus (actually right before the real nocturnal section) 2. Yellow-bellied Glider 3. Feathertail Glider 4. (empty) 5. Night Skink 6. Knobtail Gecko 7. Northern Giant Cave Gecko 8. Fat-tailed Dunnart 9. Woma Python 10. Tiger Quoll 11. Rufous Bettong, Ghost Bat 12. Spinifex Hopping Mouse (actually right after the real nocturnal section) Koala Gardens - Nocturnal Wonders 1. Greater Bilby (central enclosure) 2. White-lipped Frog 3. Northern Bettong 4. Papuan & Marbled Frogmouth 5. Common Ringtail Possum, Rufous Bettong 6. Mahogany Glider 7. Rough Knobtail Gecko
I recall reading a report of a possible sighting of Zaglossus in the Kimberleys in the last 18 months.
No, I was wrong, just looked it up. It was the 1900 specimen you mentioned. Scientists are training some detector dogs to search for scats to discover if they still exist in the area.
Regarding the Kimberley specimen of Zaglossus, there's a thread here: long-beaked echidna.......from Australia?
Below a list of Australian and New Guinean native mammals (precolonial) kept in zoos that I visited. In bold the additions of my recent holiday in Australia. Platypus – Ornithorhynchus anatinus Short-beaked Echidna – Tachyglossus aculeatus New Guinean Short-beaked Echidna – Tachyglossus aculeatus lawesii Long-beaked Echidna – Zaglossus (bartoni or bruijni) Kultarr – Antechinomys laniger Fawn Antechinus – Antechinus bellus Mulgara – Dasycercus cristicauda Kowari – Dasyuroides byrnei Western Quoll – Dasyurus geoffroii Northern Quoll – Dasyurus hallucatus Tiger Quoll – Dasyurus maculatus Eastern Quoll – Dasyurus viverrinus Numbat – Myrmecobius fasciatus Dibbler – Parantechinus apicalis Red-tailed Phascogale – Phascogale calura Common Planigale – Planigale maculata Tasmanian Devil – Sarcophilis harrisii Fat-tailed Dunnart - Sminthopsis crassicaudata Northern Brown Bandicoot – Isoodon macrourus Southern Brown Bandicoot – Isoodon obesulus Greater Bilby – Macrotis lagotis Long-nosed Bandicoot – Perameles nasuta Striped Possum – Dactylopsila trivirgata (can't remember if I actually saw it) Feathertail Glider – Acrobates pygmaeus Yellow-bellied Glider – Petaurus australis Sugar Glider – Petaurus breviceps Northern Sugar Glider – Petaurus breviceps ariel Mahogany Glider – Petaurus gracilis Squirrel Glider – Petaurus norfolcensis Ground Cuscus – Phalanger gymnotis Western Ringtail – Pseudocheirus occidentalis Eastern Ringtail – Pseudocheirus peregrinus Spotted Cuscus – Spilocuscus maculatus Common Brushtail Possum – Trichosurus vulpecula Northern Brushtail Possum – Trichosurus vulpecula arnhemensis Common Wombat – Vombatus ursinus (according to ZTL: in Europa V. u. hirsutus and V. u. tasmaniensis) Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat – Lasiorhinus latifrons Koala – Phascolarctos cinereus (in Europa P. c. adustus, but I don't know for the Australian ones) Rufous Bettong – Aepyprymnus rufescens Brushtail Bettong – Bettongia penicillata Northern Bettong – Bettongia tropica Long-nosed Potoroo – Potorous tridactylus Mala – Lagorchestes hirsutus Spectacled Hare-Wallaby – Lagorchestes conspicillatus Quokka – Setonix brachyurus Red-bellied Pademelon – Thylogale billiardieri Dusky Pademelon – Thylogale brunii Red-legged Pademelon – Thylogale stigmatica Hagen's Scrub Wallaby – Dorcopsis hageni Müller's Scrub Wallaby – Dorcopsis muelleri Brushtail Rock Wallaby – Petrogale penicillata Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby – Petrogale xanthopus Swamp Wallaby – Wallabia bicolor Agile Wallaby – Macropus agilis Tammar Wallaby – Macropus eugenii Western Brush Wallaby – Macropus irma Parma Wallaby – Macropus parma Red-necked Wallaby – Macropus rufogriseus Antilopine Wallaroo – Macropus antilopinus Black Wallaroo – Macropus bernardus Western Wallaroo – Macropus robustus cervinus Eastern Wallaroo – Macropus robustus robustus Northern Wallaroo – Macropus robustus woodwardi Kangaroo Island Kangaroo – Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus Black-faced Kangaroo – Macropus fuliginosus melanops Eastern Grey Kangaroo – Macropus giganteus Red Kangaroo – Macropus rufus Goodfellow Tree-Kangaroo – Dendrolagus goodfellowi Matschie Tree-Kangaroo – Dendrolagus matschiei Ghost Bat – Macroderma gigas Least Blossom Bat – Macroglossus minimus Black Flying-Fox – Pteropus alecto Grey-headed Flying-Fox – Pteropus poliocephalus Brushtail Rabbit Rat – Conilurus penicillatus Golden-bellied Water Rat – Hydromys chrysogaster Greater Sticknest Rat – Leporillus conditor Grassland Melomys – Melomys burtoni Black-footed Tree Rat – Mesembriomys gouldi Spinifex Hopping Mouse – Notomys alexis Northern Hopping Mouse – Notomys aquino Plains Rat – Pseudomys australis Carpenterian Rock Rat – Zyzomys palatilis Central Rock Rat – Zyzomys pedunculatus Dingo – Canis lupus dingo Subantarctic Fur Seal – Arctocephalus forsteri Australian Fur Seal – Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus New Zealand Fur Seal – Arctocephalus tropicalis Australian Sea-Lion – Neophoca cinerea
I forgot to make notes in the Reptile Houses of Adelaide and Taronga, so when I couldn't recall which native snake species were on display, I decided to send a mail to the zoos. Quite a different reaction I got. The reply from Taronga was of a enthousiastic reptile keeper who send me a complete list of all snake species at Reptile World including some interesting facts about them (thanks Lauren!). The reply from Adelaide was just: "unfortunately I am unable to provide a list of all the snake species kept in our Reptile House"... So, I'm still in doubts about the native snakes in Adelaide. I known @Najade visited the zoo recently, but did you make a list of reptile species? I mailed some questions to Wildlife Sydney (also about snakes) and Melbourne Zoo (whether or not the animals I saw around the Pelican Pond are zoo animals) as well, but I'm still waiting for a proper reaction.