Melbourne Zoo

Melbourne Zoo
Melbourne Zoo
	Main Entrance
	37°47′05″S 144°57′08″E / 37.784762°S 144.952095°E
Date opened	6 October 1862
Location	Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Land area	55 acres (22 ha)
No. of animals	5,120
No. of species	250
Memberships	Zoo and Aquarium Association, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Major exhibits	Elephants, lions, tigers, orang-utans, gorillas
Website	www.zoo.org.au/Melbourne
Victorian Heritage Register
Official name	Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens
Type	State Registered Place
Criteria	a, e, f, g, h
Designated	23 May 1996
Reference no.	H1074
Heritage Overlay numbers	HO364 HO822 HO823 HO824 HO830 HO831 HO826 HO825 HO828 HO829 HO827

Melbourne Zoo is a zoo in Melbourne, Australia. It is located within Royal Park in Parkville, approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the centre of Melbourne. It is the primary zoo serving Melbourne. As of 2021, the zoo contains 3742 animals comprising 243 species,^[6] from Australia and around the world. The zoo is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram routes 58 and 19, as well as by bicycle on the Capital City Trail. Bicycles are not allowed inside the zoo itself.

The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The zoo is set among flower gardens and picnic areas. Many of the animals are now organised in bioclimatic zones: African rainforest ('Gorilla Rainforest') that include gorillas and lemurs; Asian rainforest ('Trail of the Elephants') that includes elephants, orangutans, tigers and otters; and the Australian bush with kangaroos, koalas, wombats, goannas, native birds and many others. Popular exhibits also include the 'Butterfly House', the 'Reptile House', the 'Great Flight Aviary', 'Wild Sea', 'Treetop Apes and Monkeys' and 'Lion Gorge'. During the summer months they also hold sleep over events at the zoo that allows people to purchase tickets to "camp out" for a night under the stars.

The zoo includes a large schools section and caters to many school visitors annually, its immensely popular education program encourages young minds to conserve animals.

Visitors can see historical cages including the heritage listed Elephant House, which has been renovated and adapted for use for customers paying to sleep overnight in tents at the zoo in popular Roar and Snore evenings. These evenings allow the public to see some of the nocturnal animals at the zoo in evening guided tours by experienced camp hosts.

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^ ^a ^b "Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens". Victorian Heritage Database. Government of Victoria. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
^ "Animal Inventory 2020-21" (PDF). Zoos Victoria. Retrieved 19 February 2023.

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[heritage-5] "Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens". Victorian Heritage Database. Government of Victoria. Retrieved 25 November 2023.

[6] "Animal Inventory 2020-21" (PDF). Zoos Victoria. Retrieved 19 February 2023.

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