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Rhino at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
White Rhinoceros at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
The White Rhino is the largest animal on display at Monarto Zoo near Murray Bridge in South Australia. This is an open range zoo, the largest of its type in the world and only a ten minute drive from my home.
Monarto Zoo is a part of our state’s major zoo, the Adelaide Zoo. Many improvements have been made since it came into being in the early 1990s. There are many walking trails through the mallee scrubland surrounding the enclosures, and shuttle buses ferry visitors from one exhibit to the next, or take them on guided bus tours through the park.
Further reading:
- Monarto Zoo its web page with details of location, entrance fees and details of the animals.
- Adelaide Zoo - its web page with plenty of details.
- White Rhinoceros – page from the zoo web page with pages of information about this animal.
- ZooChat Forums – my son’s web page featuring nearly 1000 zoos from around the world. It includes over 100,000 photos.
- Archived stories - more articles from my archives.
White Rhinoceros at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Mongolian Horses, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Mongolian Horse, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
The Mongolian Wild Horse, or Przewalski’s Horse was once very common throughout much of central Asia. It is thought that they became extinct in the wild, but conservation efforts by zoos like Monarto Zoo in South Australia have been instrumental in reintroducing this species back into its natural habitat.
The breeding programme here at Monarto just a few minutes’ drive from my home has been very successful, and quite a few horses from the zoo herd have been returned to Mongolia. It is conservation efforts like this that make me pleased to be a supporting member of the zoo.
Further reading:
- You can read more about this horse by clicking here.
- To read more about zoos around the world, go to my son’s web site called ZooChat Forums. It features almost 1000 zoos and over 100,000 photos of zoos and animals.
- To read more about my visits to zoos, click here.
- To read about birds in zoos, click here.
Mongolian Horses, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Mongolian Horses, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Mongolian Horses, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Chimp enclosure, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
New Chimp enclosure, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Monarto Zoo near my home town of Murray Bridge in South Australia is only about a ten minute drive from home. It is a part of the Adelaide Zoo and only about a 40 minute drive down the south eastern freeway from the capital city. Monarto is an open range zoo. It has many walking trails through the large zoo, the largest of its type in the world. Shuttle buses take visitors on guided tours through the various large enclosures. These stop at certain spots along the tracks so that visitors can get close up views of the animals.
Earlier this year a new, elaborate enclosure opened for a group of chimpanzees (see photos). On my most recent visit the chimps were already in the building and were almost ready to go into their night quarters. Consequently I didn’t get any good shots of the animals themselves. Always a good excuse to go back for another visit! Instead I have included below several photos of their outdoor activity area.
Further reading:
- Monarto Zoo
- Adelaide Zoo
- Zoos SA (South Australia)
- ZooChat Forums – my son’s site about zoos from around the world (over 100,000 photos of animals and zoos)
- Zoo articles - from my archives.
- Birds in zoos – from the archives of my blog Trevor’s Birding.
New Chimp enclosure, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
New Chimp enclosure, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
New Chimp enclosure, Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Education at Monarto Zoo
Children and the Education Officer at work at Monarto Zoo
Most zoos have education as an integral part of their reason for existing. Monarto Zoo in South Australia is no exception.
In fact, the zoo has long had an Education Officer, Ian, who is a trained teacher with many years of experience. I am delighted to not only call him a colleague but also a friend. I also had the privilege of teaching two of his own children some years ago. About that time I also helped Ian and several other teachers develop some of the learning materials used with classes visiting the zoo. That was many years ago and they have probably been changed many times since.
The photo above shows Ian in full swing with a class of children at the zoo.
Volunteers
The zoo also relies heavily on volunteer help. These volunteers give of their own time to acts as guides on bus trips and also on the many tasks behind the scenes, things like tree planting programmes. On one shuttle bus trip we took last year we had the delight of another friend, Brian (shown below) as our tour guide. Brian is also a former teaching colleague and now a good friend.
People living in South Australia are always needed as volunteers at the zoo. Contact the zoo for more information on how to become a volunteer.
Brian, one of the volunteer guides at Monarto Zoo
Ostriches at Monarto Zoo, South Australia
Male (L) and female (R) Ostriches at Monarto Zoo
Ostriches are native to Africa, not South Australia, but if I want to see some Ostriches I only have to drive for about 10 minutes from my home in Murray Bridge South Australia. There is a small flock of Ostriches on display in our local open range zoo at Monarto which is a part of the Adelaide Zoo. Good – but quite as good as seeing them in their natural environment.
On the other hand, there are some Ostriches living in the wild in South Australia. In the nineteenth century Ostrich feathers were in demand for decorations on hats and several farms were set up in several parts of the country. A few feral birds remain in the arid country just north of Port Augusta where one farm was located. These were released from the farm when the market demand slumped, and a small self sustaining population can still be seen from time to time – if you know where to look.
Other African animals at Monarto Zoo include the African Lion.