OzAnimals Travel

Archive for the ‘New South Wales’ Category

This is a list of animal species at Taronga Zoo compiled from information on the zoo web site as at April 2009.

Mammals

Nowra Wildlife Park is the largest Australian native animal park on the New South Wales South Coast. The park is set on six hectares on the banks of the Shoalhaven River, and is home to over a hundred species of mammals, birds and reptiles. The park, previously known as Nowra Animal Park, has been around for about 30 years offering affordable family outing for Shoalhaven residents and visiting families. The Park is owned by Nicholas Schilko who purchased the property in 2003.

Sydney Wildlife World is located at Darling Harbour in Sydney next door to the Sydney Aquarium. The attraction opened in 2006 and allows visitors to see some of Australia wildlife right in the heart of the city. Allow about an hour and a half to look round Wildlife World. There are over 65 exhibits and about a hundred species of Australian animals to see. The attraction is on two main levels with an additional roof top area where you can meet koalas and have you photo taken with a koala.

Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Kulnura on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It is a privately owned non-profit organisation that works in association with various zoos, Government wildlife services and local community groups in the conservation of endangered species, with a particular focus on saving the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby.

The Sanctuary is set on 13 hectares of Australian bushland and home to over sixty wallabies including three populations of Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby – the Kawau Island Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby, the Victorian Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby (southern form) and the New South Wales Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby (central form).

The Living Desert Reserve covers 2400 hectares of land in the Barrier Ranges about 9km from the City of Broken Hill. The landscape and scenery within the reserve is stunning and can be accessed via a number of walking trails. “The Living Desert Flora and Fauna Sanctuary” is situated in The Living Desert Reserve, and is an area of 180ha surrounded by an electric predator-proof fence.

Allow two hours for a return trip to the Living Desert from Broken Hill (although you can spend a lot longer if you want to se more of the area). This will give you time to check out the Cultural Walk Trail in the Sanctuary, and also the Sculpture Symposium. These attractions will give you an appreciation of the Aboriginal Heritage of the area.

Blackbutt Reserve is set on about 182 hectares of land just 6km from the centre of the city of Newcastle in New South Wales. It provides a bushland recreational area for visitors as well as running various environmental education, conservation and research programs. The Reserve is undulating natural bushland of ridges and sheltered gullies with several picnic areas, open grassy spaces, bushwalking tracks. Vegetation on the Reserve is mainly Eucalypt forest with pockets of remnant vegetation. A restored rainforest provides habitats for a number of rare and vulnerable species. A colony of fruit bats can be reached via the rainforest walk.

Altina Wildlife Park is situated near the town of Darlington Point on the Murrumbidgee River, in the Riverina region of New South Wales. The Park is laid out as a Safari Park on 207 hectares of bushland amongst majestic River Red Gums. What makes this park different is that visitors are transported round the Park in a horse drawn cart with a tour guide. This gives a peaceful open air feel to the experience and provides good opportunities to get up close to the animals.

The Koala Hospital is situated in the grounds of the Macquarie Nature Reserve in Port Macquarie and is dedicated to the care, treatment and preservation of koalas. Facilities at the hospital include eight Intensive Care Units, a treatment room, twenty four hour rescue operation and ten outdoor recovery yards.

The Hospital is run by the Koala Preservation Society of New South Wales who raise funds through their “Adopt A Wild Koala” Program, bequests, donations and fund raising programs. Apart from the Supervisor, and the people who collect the leaves, the facility is operated by volunteers.

Potoroo Palace is a not for profit wildlife sanctuary located at Merimbula in the Bega Valley of New South Wales. One of the aims of the organisation is to educate the public about the importance of the conservation of native Australian animals and plants. The variety of species exhibited is fairly small compared to some of the larger zoos and sanctuaries.

Many animals kept at the sanctuary are native mammals of the Bega Valley area including Long-nosed Potoroos, Swamp Wallabies, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Wombats, Long-nosed Bandicoots and Short-beaked Echidnas.

Priam Psittaculture Centre is located at the Silver Dawn Parrot farm near Bungendore in New South Wales (about 30km east of Canberra). The Centre was established in 1997 and is owned by the Gow family. Priam Psittaculture Centre breeds Australian cockatoos and exotic parrots on the eighteen hectare native eucalypt woodland property. The Centre houses one of the best collections of macaws in Australia, including species not seen in the major zoos.

The three main objectives of the organisation are education, conservation and research. Priam Psittaculture Centre is an Associate Institutional Member of ARAZPA (Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria) and a member of ISIS (International Species Information System).