What to Know Before You Visit Melbourne Zoo

The Melbourne Zoo, Also known as Royal Melbourne Zoological Park is a zoological park in Melbourne, Australia. Located in Parkville ‘s Royal Park, some 4 kilometres north of Melbourne, it is Melbourne ‘s largest zoo. Over 320 animal species from Australia and around the world live in the Zoological Park. The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) and of the World Zoo and Aquarium Association.

Also Read: Meet The Australian Native Wildlife At The Featherdale Wildlife Park

History of Royal Melbourne Zoological park

The Royal Melbourne Zoological Park was opened on 6th October 1862. It is the oldest zoo in Australia and the modelling is based out of the London Zoo. Prior to the opening of this park, the animals were housed at the botanical gardens in Melbourne. The zoo was initially important for acclimatizing domestic animals recovering from their long journey to Australia.

The zoo is set among flower gardens and areas for picnics. Many of the animals are now raised in bioclimatic areas: African jungles with gorillas, mandrills, pig meal hippos and parrots; Asian forests with tigers and otters and Australian bush with the endangered koala, kangaroos, emu, echidnas and hairy wombats. The Butterfly Center, the great flight aviary and the Elephants’ Trail are all famous exhibits. Melbourne Zoo recently completed construction and its carnivores trail opened in early 2018.

Keeper talks and feeding hours are perfect chances for tourists to know even more about the amazing animal environment and Melbourne Zoo funds restoration projects in the forest.

The zoo has a wide portion of schools and offers annual service to many school students, the highly successful educational initiative inspires young minds to protect wildlife.

Getting There

The park is located approximately 4 kilometres north of Melbourne. It is accessible by the Upfield railway line via Royal Park station and is also accessible by tram routes 58 and 19 and by bicycle on the Capital City Path. However, Bicycles are still not allowed inside the park itself. Alternatively, one can hire a car and drive down to the zoo. 

Also Read: Visit The Taronga Zoo: Where Wildlife Comes With A View

Things To Explore 

The Melbourne Zoological park is home to a ton of animal species from around the world. The visitors have an opportunity to stroll through the lush Asian and African rainforests, Australian bushland and even underwater. A walk in the tiger’s natural habitat, along with seeing monkeys swinging from tree to tree. One even gets to see eye-to-eye with orang-utans exhibit, explore the Trail of Elephants, and then down the bush track to see unique Australian wildlife including koala, kangaroo, wombat and emu. Lastly, Victoria’s iconic little penguin and Australian fur seal can be found in the Underwater world. 

3 Significant Ways To Explore The Zoo

Adventure Map

The adventure map itinerary is the fastest and easiest way to explore the Zoo. The visitors get to check out the tree-top apes and monkeys with a ride on the carousel.

It takes roughly one hour to complete this trail. 

Discovery Map

The discovery map takes approximately two hours to complete. It is a more extensive itinerary to explore the trail of the elephants, your favourite rainforest animals, and the popular Wild Sea.

Epic Map

The Epic Map itinerary is the best way to explore the full zoo in one jam-packed day. Visitors can explore everything from the gorilla rainforest to larger-than-life giraffes.

The duration average required to complete this trail would be around 4 hours give or take.

There are also multiple foods and beverages outlets available within the zoo premises itself for the visitors to stop and take a break during their exploration time. 

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