Werribee Zoo hippo exhibit
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Date opened | 1983 |
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Location | Werribee, Victoria, Australia |
Coordinates | 37°55′22″S 144°40′02″E / 37.9229°S 144.6673°ECoordinates: 37°55′22″S 144°40′02″E / 37.9229°S 144.6673°E |
Land area | 225 hectares (560 acres) |
Memberships | ZAA |
Major exhibits | Hippopotamus, lion, zebra, giraffe, meerkat, ostrich, gorilla, African wild dogs, numerous antelope, rhinoceros, and Australian animals |
Website | www |
Werribee Open Range Zoo is an African themed zoo in Werribee, about 32 kilometres (20 mi) south-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board or 'Zoos Victoria' which also includes Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary. It is situated on approximately 225 hectares (560 acres) and is located on the Werribee River in Werribee Park, adjacent to the Werribee Mansion. It was originally agistment land to the Melbourne Zoo.
Visitors to the zoo can take a bus tour, which normally lasts 35–40 minutes, multiple times a day, and takes up to 140 people per bus. The tour includes animals such as the hippo as well as animals of the grassland, such as zebra, waterbuck, giraffe, ostrich and rhinoceros, as well as the camel and the oryx.
The zoo has a simulated African village, with educational and entertaining features, including a mock scenario of an African ranger and his adventures tracking lions, and an interactive soundscape walk with simulated lion sounds surrounding the walker. There are two independent trails that visitors may follow: the Pula Reserve Walking Trail which focuses on African animals, including lions, vervet monkeys, cheetahs and meerkats, and the Australian Journey Walk, which focuses on Australian animals, like the koala, emu and kangaroo.
There is a Learning Centre, which teaches more about the history and geography of animals in their environments.