Major Projects

Zoos SA’s education department is about to undergo a major upgrade. The old Ape Block at Adelaide Zoo, renowned for its enormous red brick walls, will be transformed into the state of the art, environmentally-friendly Westpac EnviroDome. This purpose built facility will contribute significantly to education and conservation, while greatly enhancing visitor enjoyment.

Westpac has teamed up with Zoos SA and the South Australian Government to fund the new $4 million building – the Westpac Enviro Dome – which will feature a special environmental interpretation centre.

The environmental interpretation centre, located at the end of the development, will provide exciting and thought provoking learning experiences for zoo visitors of all ages in a way which has not previously been possible. There will be living and non-living displays, interactive activities information about sustainable building and living, the environment, animals and conservation.

The new Westpac Enviro Dome is expected to open to the public in October 2008.

• The new Education Centre will be an icon for the Adelaide Zoo and set a new benchmark in zoo education.
• The Zoo Education Centre is anticipating 85,000 children to visit each year.
• With 288,000 children (14 years and under) in South Australia, every school-age child will therefore attend the Zoo Education Centre at least once every three years.
• All zoo visitors will have the opportunity to partake in the interactive environmental interpretation exhibition. Key messages for the interpretation centre
• Primary Theme: People are an integral part of the natural world. Imagine if all our actions helped the planet to survive.
• Primary Message: We can all have a positive influence on the planet.
• Primary Action: This is what I can do to help the planet. What does Zoos SA teach?
• A factual and scientific approach to understanding the animal world.
• The place of animals in human history and the intertwining of the living world with culture, tradition, religion and art.
• The role and history of zoos in wildlife conservation and a privileged view of how zoos carry out their mission.

Adelaide Zoo has managed chimpanzees in the existing enclosure for many years. Currently we have a related group of one male and two females. However, in 2007 this area is to be demolished, making way for a new Environmental Education Centre. This provides the opportunity for the Society to invest in a new best practice complex to manage a large breeding group of chimpanzees at Monarto Zoo. The new facility will be the largest in Australia enabling us to play a significant role in the management of this endangered species.

Zoos SA Linkages with Jane Goodall Institute (JGI)
The Royal Zoological Society of South Australia is collaborating with JGI to fundraise and raise public awareness for the Bushmeat campaign.

“Do we really care that within 15 years there may be no chimpanzees or gorillas or elephants or any other amazing beings, roaming the forests of the Congo Basin and other parts of Central and West Africa? Does it matter? That is something everyone must ask in his or her own heart. We are not asking for charity to help save the wildlife – and ultimately the people – of African forests. We are asking for a collective investment in the future, and in a legacy that we can be proud of. We do not have much time left. We must act now”.

Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE

Great apes are a challenging species to manage in captivity due to the complex range of behaviours, social hierarchy, strength and intelligence. Therefore, the world-renowned open range enclosures, synonymous with Monarto Zoo, make Monarto the best location in the country for a new chimpanzee enclosure. It is rare that an established zoo in Australia would be able to provide the space required to manage a group of chimpanzees and these new facilities will greatly enhance the regional management of chimpanzees.

An upgraded entrance, a giant panda forest and a new perimeter fence will be a part of a major refurbishment of Adelaide Zoo.

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Giant pandas are uniquely qualified to act as “ambassador” animals as they are icons of conservation and instantly identifiable worldwide. The entrusting of pandas to another country is a strong demonstration of state to state friendship, with a shared sense of responsibility for global biodiversity. There is a sense in which the two iconic species of giant panda and koala are linked, and certainly the conservation science and community support for both is comparable.

RZSSA will support the Chinese Giant Panda Conservation program through the Wildlife Conservation Directorate Forestry Bureau in a number of ways:

• In-situ support of China Conservation research and education programs. This is to be done partly by direct financial support and partly through professional collaboration, linking with the University of Adelaide;
• Membership of the multi-site breeding program of giant pandas to ensure long term gene pool security; and
• Involvement in a public awareness and support campaign for China’s biodiversity in Australia and a closer sense of twinning between the two countries fauna and institutions. Specifically, the RZSSA and South Australian Universities will work alongside Chinese colleagues to identify areas of mutual interest spanning genetic science, reproductive physiology, nutrition and veterinary care, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, conservation psychology,

GIant Panda Tourism
The giant panda will be exclusive to Adelaide Zoo from 2009, for a minimum of 10 years.

• During the three months giant pandas were at the Sydney and Melbourne Zoos in 1988, 660,000 visitors attended.
• One million visitors are expected to visit Adelaide Zoo per annum; made up from local, national and international tourism.
• WangWang and Funi will be part of the global breeding program to conserve giant pandas, with a strong record of producing babies; panda babies will provide another surge in media and attendances.
• Planning has begun for a state of the art habitat, a new entry precinct, perimeter fences, function centre, interpretative experiences, merchandise and educational resources.

Adelaide Zoo Recent Development Experience
In 2006 Adelaide Zoo completed its most adventurous new exhibit named “Immersion: The Rainforest Experience”. This multi-million dollar exhibit houses some of the world’s most endangered species including sumatran orangutan and sumatran tiger. The next stage of the zoo’s master plan development is to complete the new giant panda exhibit, providing best practice facilities for not only giant panda but also the red panda. The giant panda facilities will be state of the art, incorporating the most advanced management features recently developed in US zoos.

Technical Collaboration Between Zoos SA and the Wolong Nature Reserve
The successful breeding of giant pandas requires more than good timing. Zoos SA scientists and veterinarians will work closely with colleagues in Wolong and Chengdu to evaluate issues like giant panda nutrition, physical health, and psychological well being. Working with partners from the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Ocean World Hong Kong the San Diego Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, St. Louis Zoo, and the University of Adelaide, our staff will provide technical and logistic support to our Chinese colleagues in the field.

The concept behind The Serengeti is to create a large, 60 hectare, open-range, drive-through exhibit, encompassing two valleys and a connecting ridge line in which there are herds of African hoof stock, surrounded by carnivore such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs.

Imagine driving through large herds of African animals such as antelopes, zebras, and giraffes, even rhinos and elephants.

See the baboons stirring before you, follow the white rhino and her calf, and then hear the guttural, spine-tingling growl of a lion, just metres behind you.

The Serengeti will be able to be seen from the normal guided bus tours, from viewing areas along the walking tracks, on a section of the Zu-Loop service and also from specially operated, open sided safari vehicles. This will allow unprecedented photographic and up close experiences for groups of eight to ten people.

Overnight accommodation is also planned, something Zoos SA has been working on for some time. This opens up a myriad of function and catering opportunities for members and our visiting public. An open sided education facility may also form a part of this excitingnew development.

We aim to coordinate and run a festival over a five day period at some of the major exhibition spaces and cultural institutions in Adelaide. Providing both a public exhibition space for showcasing WILD issues and then opportunities to debate WILD and environmental topics with experts in the area and linking in local Universities, TAFE and schools.

The proposed WILD festival will be a unique celebration of our natural world and environment, with the aim of:

• Engaging the community on WILD and environmental issues;
• Encouraging the public and business alike to become passionate champions for all things WILD;
• Leading debate on WILD challenges faced in the world today;
• Providing solutions to some of the WILD issues;
• Connecting the public with WILD science;• Identifying specific programs (SA) in the WILD to adopt;
• Establishing WILD as an ongoing bi-annual festival for South Australia;
• Developing the next generation of conservationists and environmentalists; and
• Being a carbon neutral event.