From our Giant Pandas, Wang Wang and Fu Ni to our little Quokkas, with more than 2,500 hungry mouths to feed, we’re always looking for plant material for animal enrichment and to supplement animal diets.
This plant material is called browse and the most commonly used plant material is the Ficus species (fig and rubber) and healthy bamboo for our Pandas.
We are looking for public donations of healthy plants such as Ficus elastica, Ficus benjamina and bamboo of the Phyllostachys aurea or Phyllostachys nigra species, and any of the clumping bamboo varieties, in particular Bambusa gracilis and Bambusa textilis, not to be confused with Arundo donax (Provence Reed).
Our horticulture team cut browse from the public or businesses which have trees that are suitable for nesting or supplementary dietary needs and require pruning, seasonal trimming or removal. The trimming and removal of branches for this purposes is provided free of charge but unfortunately we do not have the resources to do large tree removals but we will shape trees, leave the site in a tidy manner and stack cut logs.
If you are happy for us to come and trim your plants, harvest your bamboo or to remove and transplant entire clumps to our bamboo plantation please fill in the form below or call our Horticulture Team on 8230 1241 or Adelaide Zoo on 08 8267 3255.
Ideally each visit should provide us with a ute-load of browse material (approximately 15 branches, two to three metres long). It’s also preferable for our staff to cut the browse material themselves to ensure it is the correct species and at its freshest upon delivery.
Although we cannot generally transplant established plants for landscape use within the zoo, any plants in pots or unusual or uncommon specimens will be considered
