One hundred and thirty years ago today, Thursday 23 May, Adelaide Zoo opened its gates to the public for the first time. Since its humble beginnings in 1883 as the South Australian Zoological and Acclimatisation Society the zoo has gone on to become a leader in animal welfare and the preservation of all creatures, great and small. Giant Panda Funi ...

From mid January to the beginning of March our beautiful female Giant Panda, Funi, went through her second pseudo-pregnancy, which saw her experience all the things she would if actually pregnant. Symptoms included hormonal fluctuations, loss of appetite and prolonged episodes of sleep. This is very normal for female pandas to go through even if th ...

There's a new species on display at Adelaide Zoo this week with two female Highland Cattle, the first to ever reside at the zoo, joining the family. Highland Cattle hail from the highlands of Scotland. Photo: Dave Mattner ...

From ice blocks filled with meat, fish or fruit to water misters and wading pools these are just some of the methods zookeepers at Adelaide Zoo use to keep its animal residents cool during scorching weather. Adelaide Zoo's resident giraffe enjoys a carrot filled ice block. Photo: Dave Mattner Sumatran Tiger, Tuan, takes a nice cooling dip. Photo: ...

Karta, our Sumatran Orangutan, is due to give birth roughly around the middle of December but just like humans it wouldn't be unusual for her to give birth a couple of weeks either side of the anticipated date. With Karta's due date approaching rapidly we've been noticing quite a few changes in her behaviour. Now that she's in her last trimester, w ...

Monarto Zoo celebrated World Environment Day on 5 June by launching the revamped Herd, located at the Southern White Rhinoceros exhibit, with a recycling theme. ...

In a difficult decision for Monarto Zoo male Cheetah, Askari, was humanely put to sleep on Thursday 4 April as his quality of life had rapidly deteriorated due to acute renal failure. ...

Zuri hit the six month mark at the end of February, wow how time has flown! Each and every day Zuri is gaining confidence and exploring her surroundings more and more. Zombi is always close by but is giving Zuri the time and space to learn the necessary skills required to be a chimp. Zombi is gradually moving a few metres away from Zuri so that she ...

Monarto Zoo recently welcomed a young Bongo male from Melbourne Zoo. His name is Isaac and he will eventually be a companion animal to our current male Bongo, Rafiki. Rafiki has been living a solitary life at Monarto with the occasional visit from our two castrated male Blackbuck, Chop and Mr. Burns so the arrival of Isaac is very exciting for keep ...

The past month at the chimp building has been an exciting time with plenty of busy days on the platform and many opportunities for visitors to get a great look at Zuri out and about. Our youngest chimp is becoming more adventurous with each passing day! ...

On Thursday, November 1, our team at Warrawong began the month with a pleasant surprise...a Tawny Frogmouth chick! A fluffy surprise for Warrawong! ...

Last year saw the return of Woylies or Brush Tail Bettongs to Warrawong Sanctuary and I'm excited to announce a second introduction of an additional five Woylies to our already growing population! This critically endangered marsupial can only be seen at night. Photo: Kate Haensel ...

During late March Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary conducted its annual small mammal census. This year the process stepped up a notch with the inclusion of Zoo's Animal Health, and Species Management teams. This contributed greatly to more accurate processing of animals and data recording. In the weeks prior to the census 150 cage traps, including sma ...

March 2012 is an exciting time on the calendar for Zoos SA. It marks the launch of the Thailand Wildlife Discovery tour, which will depart from Adelaide and spend 15 days exploring the many wonders that Thailand has to offer. Led by myself, Terry Intarakhamhaeng, Zoos SA birding specialist and Thai wildlife expert, this tour will not only focus on ...

How well can you identity our feathered friends at Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary? ...

Zoos provide a great opportunity for people to learn about and connect with animals they may otherwise never see. In particular, zoos may be the only chance to see some international species up close, a very different experience to watching them on TV. These ambassadors for their wild cousins provide a connection for people to learn about the chall ...

1. Lady luck. Let's be honest, this can play a big factor! 2. Find your inner ninja. The quieter you run the better. Running on your toes helps, as this reduces the "thudding" sound of your feet hitting the ground. ...

After leaving Lewa Downs I travelled with trust trading staff and Scouts to catch up with staff from Zoos Victoria at Melako but on the way we purchased beadwork from several conservancies and met many of the women involved. Most of this beadwork – over 25,000 units - had been ordered for Xmas sales through Zoos Victoria. The Melako area is famous ...

Lewa Downs was a cattle station which has been converted by the conservation-minded Craig family into a wildlife haven. While there I saw Reticulated giraffe, Grevy's and Grants Zebra, Leopard, Black and White Rhino, Grant's gazelle, Beisa oryx, Buffalo, Eland, Klipspringer, Warthogs, Olive baboons, Vervet monkeys, Somali ostrich, Crowned cranes, S ...

Last October I visited Northern Kenya as the guest of the Northern Rangeland Trust. This had been arranged through Zoos Victoria which already supports a community conservancy area there called Melako. The trust has been helping to facilitate community-led conservation initiatives in this region for many years and now works with Samburu, Rendile, M ...

Monarto Zoo is pleased to announce it has one male and two female lion cubs, which was confirmed during the cubs' first vet check on the morning of Wednesday 5 June. It was the first time Monarto Zoo staff had the opportunity to directly interact with the cubs, which were born on 24 April, to review their physical health, administer their first va ...

Monarto Zoo is celebrating yet another breeding milestone with the arrival of three African Lion cubs born overnight on Wednesday 24 April to veteran mum, Tiombe, one of the zoo's five lionesses. The birth follows a recent string of breeding success for the zoo with several high profile births including six Cheetah cubs, two Spotted Hyena cubs, a ...

Let your imagination run wild at Adelaide and Monarto Zoos these school holidays as we celebrate mythical creatures! Have fun with the weird and wonderful while you learn more about the zoo's real residents. The fantastical fun at both zoos includes a specially-themed activity trails, magic shows, musical entertainment, arts and crafts, roving ent ...

Hop into Adelaide and Monarto Zoos this Easter long weekend, 29 March to 1 April, to enjoy exciting activities including visits from the Easter Bilby, Haigh's Chocolates giveaways, fun with our animal friends and the opportunity to win yummy prizes! Both zoos are open every day of the long weekend with special guest the Easter Bilby on site to mee ...

Monarto Zoo is celebrating the public debut of a Spotted Hyena cub following the first ever hyena caesarean in Australia. The amazing procedure was performed on first-time mum, Forest, as she struggled to deliver her cub naturally, with zookeepers and veterinarians knowing they had to step in after her labour lasted nearly three days. Monarto Zoo ...

National Volunteer Week is Australia's largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism. Today there are approximately more than six million people volunteering annually in Australia. Zoos SA is proud to support more than 500 volunteers, who are the lifeblood of our organisation and provide countless hours of service performing a verity of essent ...

Treat your mum to an amazing day out at Adelaide or Monarto Zoo this Mother's Day. We're excited to partner with The Advertiser and Sunday Mail to exclusively provide readers with a 'mums go free' special offer this Mother's Day Sunday 12 May. To spoil mum and redeem the offer, pick up a copy of the paper on Saturday 11 May or Sunday 12 May and co ...

I would like to take this opportunity to advise you that Zoos South Australia will cease business operations at Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary effective 1 March. In line with the Zoos SA 5-Year Business Plan, introduced in July 2012, the ZSA executive team in conjunction with the Board began a detailed assessment of our business operations, which in ...

During October Dr Wendy Foster, Rebecca Ma and I traveled to China to meet with Chinese partners working on the Giant Panda program and of course, some pandas! This trip was an opportunity to further strengthen the zoo's relationship with our Chinese counterparts as well as for me to learn more about an important conservation program for Zoos SA, ...

For many years dedicated volunteers from both Adelaide and Monarto Zoos have been visiting a variety of community groups sharing fascinating stories of things that happen both front of house and behind the scenes at our Zoos. Funny anecdotes always bring laughter and intimate tales of individual animals can sometimes bring tears, but our volunteers ...