I visited the Perth Zoo on the 1st October. It was my first visit here and I was very impressed with it. Everything looks really nice and I honestly can't remember any "bad" enclosures at all. The zoo is divided into three broad sections: Australia, rainforest, and Africa. Unfortunately the entire Wetlands area, which opens the Australian section, was closed for renovation; I didn't mind missing out on the little blue penguins and pelicans, but it did mean I couldn't see the Western swamp tortoise (to use the Australian name ) or the frogs which was disappointing. Most of the Australian section is taken up with a walk-through enclosure for kangaroos and what-not with side-exhibits for koalas and wombats, all of which is kind of lost on me but obviously something non-Australasian tourists find appealing. The whole area looks great I must admit but I was more interested in the aviaries and the numbats. Perth Zoo has a very important breeding programme for numbats, from which they have released something like 100 animals back into the wild. The numbat (I think there's just one on display) was hiding when I first went to see him but on my return later was out and about being very active and photogenic. They really are a beautiful and colourful creature, far more so than I had imagined. There are also quokkas in the enclosure next door, of which I got some poor photos (they did insist on sitting in the shade at the back!). The reptile house was also much better than many zoos' efforts, attractive terrariums, nicely set-out, well-lit, with a good selection of native species (the only exotics were a very large reticulated python and red-eared terrapins): again, I can't think of anything to say against it. The rainforest section is a sort of mixed bag of exhibits, mostly southeast Asian species like sun bears and small-clawed otters because that's what Australasian zoos focus on. To be honest I don't find these species particularly interesting because every major zoo in the region has them, and they're often displayed in similar ways. The cluster of cages for mainly-South-American small primates here was exceedingly well done however, all nicely planted and well designed (apart for reflections off the glass fronts which in some cases were very bad but that can't really be helped). Right next to these, sort of stuck in between the rainforest and African sections, was the nocturnal house which was fantastic, one of the best in Australia and in my opinion worth visiting the zoo for this alone. Almost everything inside is native, with the sole exception of a slow loris which to my delight was wide awake and full of beans. I've seen quite a few lorises in Asian zoos but they have always been asleep. This was the first one I'd ever seen actually being active and it was a real eye-opener. For a start, it was completely belying its common name of slow loris: this one was all over the show at a pace that I would describe, if he was a human, of a very fast walk (if you imagine being late for the bus but you don't want to run so you just walk extra fast). Other interesting species in the nocturnal house include red-tailed and brush-tailed phascogales, woylie, ghost bat, western quoll, western ringtail possum, dibbler (!!!), bilby, feathertail glider, the extraordinary Australian owlet-nightjar....and the list just goes on and on. The African section is pretty standard -- you know the score, lions and giraffes and meerkats -- but they also have spotted hyaenas here. I'd never seen a hyaena of any species before....and I still haven't because they were hiding Overall, nothing at all to really complain about at the Perth Zoo. I would have to rank it in the very top zoos in Australasia, and quite possibly I'd rate it higher than either Taronga or Melbourne (as much as I love those zoos they both have numerous bad points). Photos to come at some point.....
Thanks for the review. I've always wanted to see a numbat. Is this the only zoo in the world that displays them? Do you happen to know if there have ever been any numbats in zoos outside of Australia?
there's one or two other collections in Australia with numbats (Adelaide and Alice Springs? An Australian will correct me shortly). Taronga had them formerly as well I believe. They have probably never been taken alive from Australia.
Perth Zoo is a great zoo, definitely worth being up with Taronga, Melbourne and Adelaide. On my multiple visits my favourites would have to have been the wetland aviary (to me the best in Australia), the free ranging ('feral') palm squirrels and the nocturnal house. The African species, despite the many animals that you can see in other places was very well set out, and had a really good 'African savannah' feel to it. Good review by the way.
Never heard of/seen one anywhere else. Was fortunate enough to see the one on display at Perth on my visits some years ago now- the only one I'm ever likely to see too.
Did Alice Springs used to or am I totally wrong? And I'm sure there's some connection between Adelaide and numbats....did they plan on having them, or had them in the past?
Commiserations; I know how you feel, having spent a morning making a bad cold worse trying to get a view of a kagu at San Diego decent enough for photographic purposes. Spotted hyaenas are usually OK at showing themselves. The other three species tend towards agorophobia whenever I'm around, or so it seems..
I did see a feral pigeon in the supermarket carpark earlier today... I was under the impression that kagu were tame and confiding. Evidently the bird in San Diego hadn't read the right reference books, or maybe its French colonial background had left it with Anglophobia.
Alice Springs definitely did end up with numbats during the last 10-15 years (not certain about current status). Not aware that Adelaide ever had numbats, but there might be some confusion with the native wildlife sanctuary group in SA set up by 'the bloke who wore a feral cat hat' (sorry for the vagueness, but I cannot think what his name is - I know somebody will). Anyway WA's CALM (as it was then) sold numbats to him for one of his sanctuaries. I am pretty sure they were breeding too. I believe that the sanctuary group (or at least some of the SA ones are now run by the SA zoo board.
that would be Dr John Wamsley, and you could well be correct in that I may be confusing two different places. Thanks for the info