Zoo News - December 2009
Spend summer with Ben 10 and Bindi!
Kick-start the new year with Bindi, Ben 10 and a stack of wildlife action at Australia Zoo as we celebrate Summer Down Under!
The worlds favourite cartoon superhero, Ben 10, is visiting Australia Zoo from January 12 to January 25 with his awesome alien friends. Check him out in the Crocoseum daily, WIN some ripper Ben 10 prizes, jump on the giant Ben 10 inflatable obstacle course and even meet Ben 10 himself!
The action in the Crocoseum continues as the Irwin clan takes centre stage everyday until January 17. Sing and dance along with Bindi and the Jungle Girls, then hold on to your seats as Terri and Wes feed the crocs!
To top off a sizzling summer of fun, Australia Zoo is hosting the truest and bluest Australia Day celebration on earth! Join in the fair-dinkum fun with special guests and proud Aussie, John Williamson.
Make this summer the coolest ever at Australia Zoo! Wooo-hoo!
Steve Irwin fights for whales!
From the docks of Fremantle, the crew aboard Sea Shepherd's vessel, the Steve Irwin, waved goodbye to hundreds of supporters as they embarked on their sixth whale defense campaign, Operation Waltzing Matilda. Among the crown were avid Sea Shepherd supporters, Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin.
Sharing Sea Shepherds passion for whales and their survival, Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin travelled to Fremantle to surprise the crew of the Steve Irwin and wish them well on their journey to save the gentle giants of the ocean.
Lead by Captain Paul Watson, the crew of the Steve Irwin is on a mission to stop illegal whaling operations in Antarctica.
Each year, Sea Shepherd saves the lives of hundreds of magnificent whales, while successfully damaging the Japanese whale meat trade.
Operation Waltzing Matilda aims to end illegal whaling in Antarctica once and for all.
Good luck Sea Shepherd- Steve would be so proud!
Support the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society today- check out their ripper t-shirts and caps here!
Calling all Zoo Keepers!
Wondering how to entertain the kids these school holidays? Why not treat them to an incredible behind-the-scenes, hands-on, wildlife encounter at Australia Zoo!
Our ripper, ‘Zoo Keeper for a Day' Christmas holiday program is underway and going off like a frog in a sock with stacks of animal action for budding Zoo keepers from around the country.
Zoo Keeper for a Day is the perfect blend of adventure, education and good old fashion, get your hands dirty, fun. The day is jam-packed with adventure for our little Zoo Keepers; one minute they're hand-feeding the Asian Elephants and the next they're scrubbing tortoise shells. And that's just the beginning!
To top it off, all kids receive a ripper Zoo keeper hat, water bottle and scrumptious lunch. Wooo-hoo!
Don't waste another second! Bookings for our Zoo Keeper for a Day Christmas Holiday program can be made now. It will be a day they'll never forget!
Prep class thinks BIG for elephant conservation!
Australia Zoo's motto is "Conservation through Exciting Education" and the Millmerran State School Prep class are doing just that!
After a pet project, the children of Millmerran State School Prep became very interested in wild animals.
Visits to the library, fact sheets and a large book titled "Animals of the World" immersed the children in their project. They became fascinated with world maps and where the animals lived and began to discuss animal habitats.
Gradually the children's classroom was transformed into different areas of the world with each child constructing a box collage animal, the animal's habitat and a fact sheet about their animal.
As their knowledge of endangered animals grew, they decided to build a seperate section of their Zoo devoted to these troubled species. Then, the children opened their zoo to the public and charged a gold coin admission. The prep children acted as zoo keepers and information experts, answering all of the different questions their visitors had.
Having learnt so much about endangered animals, the class decided to use the money they raised from their zoo to adopt an endangered animal at Australia Zoo. The lucky animal was our gorgeous Asian Elephant, Sabu!
On Friday November 13, 2009, the Millmerran Prep class was lucky enough to visit Australia Zoo! During their visit they personally handed their adoption donation over to Sabu's keepers and were fortunate enough to meet their newly adopted elephant!
Australia Zoo and Sabu say a BIG thank you to the Millmerran State School Prep class for their ripper conservation efforts and support for our precious animals!
Bring conservation through exciting education into your class-room school- adopt an animal or conservation project today!
Our free trip to Australia Zoo!
To celebrate Steve Irwin Day 2009, Australia Zoo went on the search for Wildlife Warriors around the world. We ran an online video competition asking fellow conservationists how they KHAKI IT everyday to make a difference to wildlife and wild places.
There were 40 entries, all worthy of the extraordinary prize- a free trip to Australia Zoo to celebrate Steve Irwin Day! But the Irwin's could not look past the amazing work of Dani and Ashlyn; two 16 year-old girls from South Florida, USA.
The girls arrived at Australia Zoo on the eve of Steve Irwin Day, ready for three days of animal action and V.I.P treatment...this is there experience.
Our free trip to Australia Zoo!
November 1, 2009- we received a call that changed our lives. With tears in our eyes, and smiles across our faces... we tried to take-in the fact that we were actually going to be fulfilling our dreams. That is, visiting the beautiful land of Australia. Never did we think that this was going to happen, we can't thank everyone enough for all they've done.
Part of our prize, was to spend three days as V.I.P. guests at the gorgeous Australia Zoo. Everything about the Zoo was beyond incredible. Never have we seen a place so clean, friendly, and unique.
The amazing staff there, made us feel right at home. We enjoyed learning first-hand about the history of the Zoo, the animals, and everything else we possibly could take in.
On the eve of Steve Irwin Day, we got a whole tour of the zoo, fed the Kangaroos, had an Echidna encounter, and checked out the Wildlife Hospital. What a great way to start our three days at the Australia Zoo!
Celebrating Steve Irwin Day at the Zoo was such an amazing opportunity. It was great seeing everyone sharing the same love we have. When we met Terri, Bindi, and Robert... it happened in a heartbeat. Those three are amazing people, and having Terri congratulate, and thank us for what we do, were words we will never forget.
We spent our Monday feeding the beautiful elephants, being a part of the animal extravaganza, and walking and taking pictures with Maneki the Sumatran Tiger... Those were incredible experiences that we share with everyone.
To complete our trip, we spent an amazing day at the beautiful Fraser Island. That was the perfect, relaxing way to spend our last full day in Australia.
Overall, the whole experience there... was perfect. We would love to thank everyone. Our voters, our Tour Guides, our new "Mates", The Irwin Family, Dreamtime Resorts, V-Australia and everyone else for making our dream come true.
We hope to see you all at the Zoo, again!
Dani and Ashlyn
Robert's Jurassic 6th Birthday!
Crikey! Robert Irwin walked with dinosaurs as Australia Zoo turned prehistoric to celebrate his 6th birthday today.
A special delivery of dinosaurs arrived at Australia Zoo for the party of Jurassic proportions, with guests able to experience up close encounters, where they can pat, feed and even walk alongside a dinosaur!
Robert was excited about this experience, and extended an invitation to all kids under 14 years to come along and help him celebrate his birthday for free*!
The party came to life with a special performance by the ICE AGE characters, Sid and Scrat, as they put on a show LIVE in the Crocoseum especially for Robert's birthday. Kids checked out the show, and then met Sid and Scrat themselves! The Crocoseum also featured an exclusive screening of ICE AGE 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs to celebrate its release on DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow.
The crowd sung along to wish Robert a happy birthday as he took time out from the dinosaurs to cut his birthday cake - it was so gigantic, the crowd were treated to their very own piece!
The day also marked the arrival of Santa to Australia Zoo, who joined in the fun as he fed the crocs in the Crocoseum! Wooo-hoo!
There was STACKS of FREE fun to be had as Jurassic Joe entertained, and the HUGE croc slide was in action. Kids also had a go at the dinosaur-themed colouring competition and the rock-climbing wall, checked out the awesome ice sculpture, and had their hair cut by Robert's very own hairdresser!
To fit in all the jurassic fun, Australia Zoo opened at the early time of 8am, with free dino-muffins for the early birds.