Melbourne Zoo
Imagine that, I ended up there too!
No, I’d been there before, of course, naturally with the family. The last time was when my son had only just started walking. To give you a sense of how long ago that was, he’s been driving a car for ages now. So yes, it had been a very long time since I’d set foot in the zoo. And then one fine day my wife and I headed out there for a stroll, just the two of us this time.
Before the photo report, let me say a little about the history of Melbourne Zoo.
It was founded on 6 October 1862 and is the oldest in Australia. Interestingly, the zoo’s original purpose had nothing to do with entertaining the public. It was set up to acclimatise imported animals and plants to Australian conditions. They brought in European birds, pheasants, rabbits, goats, camels and other livestock, which they then tried to spread across the country.
These days the local nature and ecosystems are protected, but in the 19th century nature had to be bent over a knee and put to work for mankind. Preferably remodelled along European lines as well. Australians are still cleaning up the mess from some of those experiments.
Pretty soon, though, the zoo smoothly slid into a more familiar role — entertaining the public. Especially after 1870, when Albert Le Souef became its director and bought lions, tigers, monkeys and other exotica. The zoo became one of the most popular spots for family outings in Melbourne, especially because entry on Sundays was free. By the 1880s the crowds were so big that the police had to manage them.
And, yes, there was plenty to entertain people. You could ride Queenie the elephant, toss nuts to the bears and laugh until you dropped watching Molly the orangutan smoke cigarettes.
Queenie gave rides for over forty years, sometimes to 500 people a day. Over her career she walked around 165 thousand kilometres with passengers on her back. Not a bad mileage for an elephant.
And Molly could do more than smoke. She could light matches herself, and she also drank alcohol. One day she even set fire to her own wooden enclosure, which then had to be rebuilt in concrete. By today’s standards, entertainment like that is unimaginable.
From the 1960s the zoo’s priorities gradually shifted towards conserving rare species, scientific research and education. The old cages were replaced with spacious enclosures, and the elephant rides were stopped in 1962.
By the way, I’d suggest a topic for a research project — which brand of cigarettes orangutans prefer. Though I suspect my proposal wouldn’t carry much weight with the zoo’s scientific board.
So, the photos from the zoo. This isn’t quite a photo walk. I wasn’t trying to show what the zoo itself looks like (well, almost), but photographed various interesting critters with varying success. Some posed quite willingly, and others flatly refused to cooperate.
To start with, we went to look at the small furry creatures, like lemurs and otters. The lemurs were lazing in the shade, completely unbothered by their neighbours, some big lizards. We caught the otters at breakfast. As it turned out, they were being served oysters that day, though without the champagne.
Then we dropped in on a tiger named Hutan. We saw only his sleepy striped arse. The sign by the enclosure honestly warned that the chances of catching Hutan awake in the morning are slim.
Next stop was the Butterfly House. It’s a big pavilion, a bit like a greenhouse, with heat and humidity like the jungle. The butterflies are comfortable there, and they fly around in countless numbers. My camera lens fogged up straight away, and I had to wait for it to clear. By then I’d worked up a sweat myself, but the shots were worth it.
After the butterflies we paid a visit to the great apes. The chimpanzees were having a ball with a roll of toilet paper — it doesn’t take much to be happy! I wonder whether they were bored during the COVID lockdowns. Toilet paper was in short supply back then for some reason.
The orangutans, on the other hand, looked very sad. They sat on their platforms and looked at the world around them with unspeakable misery. I understood why Molly the orangutan was once supplied with cigarettes and alcohol — the zookeepers felt sorry for her! I’d have poured these orangutans a drink and given them a light too, but these days that’s not politically correct. They could at least be given smartphones or iPads to give them something to do.
Then we went to the aquarium. It’s not as big as SEA LIFE in the city, but it’s interesting all the same. Besides the tropical fish, you can see penguins and seals in their underwater form. On land they’re slow and clumsy. But in the water they’re quick, agile and elegant!
We also caught the seal show at the pool. The zookeepers were giving the seals a check-up and feeding them fish, while the seals showed off their aquatic skills. We happened to run into the penguins as well.
And then it was the cats’ turn. Most of the cats, for the most part, turned out to be painted (nicely, I’ll admit). The lions, however, showed themselves in all their glory. The snow leopards behaved as cats should, that is, snoozed in the shade of a tree.
The dingo and the Tasmanian devil kept pace with the cats and were slacking off at close to 100% efficiency.
Tortoises, lizards and frogs. The giant tortoises make quite an impression. Picture a boulder nearly a metre across, ambling across the lawn!
And, of course, the graceful giraffes and a sleepy koala. I don’t understand why they don’t put the koalas and giraffes together. Koalas love sitting in tall trees, so they could climb up the giraffes and sit on their necks. Just thinking out loud…
Next, our path led to the birdies.
And then there was the baboon family. I don’t know why, but the sight of baboons brings to mind British football hooligans. Disclaimer — I don’t mean to offend anyone, neither hooligans nor baboons!
All in all, the zoo seemed a bit cramped, confusing, and the animals were hard to see. But the tickets were very expensive. The woman at the counter spent ages asking which possible concessions (pensioner or student) we had, and, surprised to hear that we were just ordinary working people and weren’t entitled to any concessions, hit us with the full whack — $61.50 a ticket.
It seemed to me that the animals at the zoo are in a privileged position. Instead of paying for a ticket and trudging around looking for amusing critters, they can just sit at home and watch this whole zoo parading past them. And if they get bored, they can always have a nap.
Hi-res photos are available on Flickr:
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