Ropes, high climbing towers and tree top hang-outs; the new Orangutan Forest Canopy Trail at Adelaide Zoo has opened for public viewing thanks to a generous donor! As a conservation charity, Zoos SA relies on visitation and generous donations and grants to build and update both its sites and the new Orangutan Forest Canopy Trail is no exception. “The wonderful Orangutan Forest Canopy Trail was made possible by a very generous donation,” said Dr Phil Ainsley, Director, Adelaide Zoo. “While the donor wishes to remain anonymous what I can say is that we are truly grateful for their support. “We c ..read more

There’s only one thing more likely to capture the attention of the animal loving public than a Red Panda – and that’s a Red Panda cub! Adelaide Zoo is therefore thrilled to share that plans are underway to breed its two Red Pandas, as part of a regional breeding program to save the species. Female Red Panda, Mishry, is about to come into her breeding season and keepers are preparing to introduce her to male Red Panda, Ravi. Red Panda Keeper, Jemma Cleere, said introducing Red Pandas is a delicate process. “Female Red Pandas come into breeding season for just a few weeks at the start of winter ..read more

Adelaide Zoo is the go-to for a fun activity during Gather Round! Footy fever has taken over Adelaide Zoo for the AFL Gather Round! Keepers and the BEEZA volunteer team have been busy combining footy with the enrichment program at the zoo to get in on the footy action. Animals across the zoo predicted winners for the games while interacting with the decorated enrichment boxes. Sumatran Tiger, Delilah, picked stripy friends Richmond Football Club and Giant Panda, Wang Wang, stayed loyal to black and white in choosing Collingwood! These themed enrichment boxes are one way keepers make every day ..read more

Keepers are going green for all things amphibian this World Frog Day! Lollihop, Yoda and Wallcott are among the 13 frogs leaping into the spotlight today to enjoy a tasty cricket. To celebrate, Keeper Kasey Fenwick shared her top three most ribbeting frog facts… Frogs swallow using their eyes! “Frogs can’t swallow food like you or I can, they swallow using the backs of their eyes! “So what they do is when they get the food into their mouth, they pull their eyes back in and the backs of their eyes will push the food back down into their throat and into their stomach,” said Kasey. Frogs can indi ..read more

There is good news to hiss about at Adelaide Zoo, with vets performing a routine health check on a Rough-scaled Python. With the snake under a general anaesthetic, vets undertook a thorough examination, checking the python from the tip of his nose to the end of his slithery tail. A heat pad kept this cold-blooded animal toasty and warm. Zoos SA Veterinarian, Kat Johnson, carefully ran an ultrasound down the long, scaly body to check for any internal abnormalities. “We used the ultrasound to look at the heart, the liver and look at any potential lumps that we were feeling to see if it was norma ..read more

Adelaide Zoo’s Animal Health Centre team were seeing stripes last week as vets undertook a general health check on 8-year-old Sumatran Tiger, Delilah. This is the first time the vet team has assessed Delilah under general anaesthetic since giving birth to three healthy cubs in December 2022. It was a careful process to safely transport the tiger, weighing around 94 kilograms, with an electric vehicle to the Animal Health Centre where a team of Adelaide Zoo’s vets and vet nurses conducted a full physical examination and collected blood samples. An abdominal ultrasound, including evaluation of D ..read more

They might be tiny but a very special family of Fat-tailed Dunnarts (a native marsupial) has stolen hearts at Adelaide Zoo. Keepers barely have a spare finger (let alone hand) with the record arrival of nine tiny joeys! No bigger than a grain of rice when first born, Keeper Eli (pronounced E-lie) said this is the largest litter of native Fat-tailed Dunnarts to be born at the zoo. “When Fat-tailed Dunnart joeys are born they are smaller than a grain of rice and they have no bones. They move into their mothers pouch and attach to a teat. “Within 90 to 120 days they will be fully grown. It’s a ve ..read more

Oh my hippopotami – It’s World Hippo Day! Hippo hippo hooray! Today, 15 February, is World Hippo Day. While both species of hippo are grey, barrel-shaped and bounce along the bottom of rivers, lakes and swamps, the Nile Hippopotamus and the Pygmy Hippopotamus couldn’t be further apart when it comes to size. Weighing in at about one sixth of the size of a Nile Hippo, Obi, the Pygmy Hippopotamus who resides at Adelaide Zoo, does his best to keep up with the big girls at Monarto Safari Park. Petite but portly Obi packs a punch when it comes to munching through his food as keeper Jemma Cleere conf ..read more

Adelaide Zoo is gearing up to welcome the Year of the Dragon, with dragon species across the zoo enjoying themed enrichment today. The Dragon is the fifth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac signs, strong and powerful, endlessly energetic and full of vitality. The zoo is home to five species of real life dragons (the non-fire breathing type!). Today the Southern Angle-headed Dragons were treated to tasty cockroaches while the Central Netted Dragon enjoyed some crickets. The biggest dragon, Cecilia the Komodo Dragon, was presented with decorated enrichment. Despite being the large ..read more

Night vision footage has revealed the after-dark activity of Adelaide Zoo’s newest and most whiskery resident, a rather large Black-footed Tree-rat. While most of the animals are tucked up in bed, new to the zoo Beatrix the Black-footed Tree-rat has been busy investigating her new home in the Variety Children’s Zoo. Adelaide Zoo’s Senior Keeper of Natives, Meg Williams, said as a nocturnal animal, Beatrix has been building her confidence in the afternoon and under the cover of darkness. “She’s been very busy exploring her habitat at night and in the morning we see a lot of footprints of where ..read more