Melbourne Zoo – Part Two

Apart from the Elephants, the Butterfly house was my favourite part of the zoo (don’t make me choose between them!). I could have stayed in there for hours! Having them fly around and land on you was magical, though it took a while to get used to the sensation of something touching your hair.

Hundreds, maybe thousands(?) of butterflies from small to large, in a rainbow of colours are housed here. Oh, and as it was a cold 12ish degrees outside, the Butterfly House is heated to 28 degrees, so it was a nice place to sit down and warm up! Lucky butterflies!

The Lemurs are sooooo cute! You enter Lemur Island through 2 airlock doors & become engulfed in a gorgeous walk through exhibit! One of the Lemurs had sat himself on the edge of the walkway and fallen asleep! Obviously they aren’t too worried about us humans!

The ring tailed lemurs really were just so adorable and seeing them up so close was pretty special. I always thought they’d be a bit smaller then they are!

The Gorillas were just WOW. Seeing them run around and interact with each other just showed how huge and powerful these animals are!

Melbourne Zoo is one of 150 zoo institutions worldwide that is working on a breeding program to keep these animals alive. Sadly they are on the critically endangered list. If you’re in Australia and have any old mobile phones, and want to do a small part in helping save wild Gorillas, make sure you check out ‘They’re calling on you’. It’s totally free.

Who doesn’t love Meerkats? Seriously, I think they are just one of those animals that everyone adores. These meerkats were in the ‘Growing Wild’ zoo area which is a great area for kids to get interactive and have some fun. They actually have an area that mimics the Meerkats homes with tunnels, steps, rocks, meerkat statues and sounds that the kids can play in! (I want one of those in my backyard!)

I have to admit though, after those TV ads I just imagine all Meerkats having Russian accents now.

The Seal and Little Penguin area was a little disappointing, but I think maybe that was because it was a cold day & they were all huddled on land. Walking through the inside area of the exhibit was eerie, mimicking what I imagine being underwater would be like. Dark, with only patches of light, and a projection on the walls of underwater animals. This area has huge glass windows showing the underwater area of both the Seal and Penguin enclosures and would be amazing to see the animals swim around in.

The reptile house was another fave of mine, but that might just because I love reptiles. It’s my dream to one day own a python!

A huge area in the middle of the zoo (which used to be the lion enclosure) is currently under construction. The lions, three brothers, were moved to another area for the time being, while their new enclosure, including a African Wild Dog area, is being built. The ‘Predator Precinct’ will certainly be a sight to see once it’s finished!

With in being School Holidays here in Victoria, I’d highly recommend a day out the zoo. Children 3 & under are always free, and during Victorian School Holidays (& weekends) kids aged between 4-15 are also free!! Adults are $30 and consessions are $23. Though if/when I move to Melbourne, I think I’ll be buying myself a Zoo Membership!

Now, I have to ask, what’s your favourite animal!?