Launch of plan to guide development of Perth Zoo

14/1/95

A far-reaching business plan to guide development of the Perth Zoo over the next 10 years was launched today by Environment Minister Kevin Minson.

Mr Minson said the plan called for expenditure of $24 million over 10 years. This would ensure extensive improvements to the zoo for both visitors and animals, including new and improved animal exhibits, parking and transport arrangements.

The State Government had committed $12 million for projects set out in the plan, with the zoo responsible for raising the remaining $12 million from private and corporate sponsorship.

The plan was initiated by zoo director John DeJose, who had overseen many major improvements to the zoo, including the African Savannah exhibit, innovative community classes and areas of real conservation impact such as Harmony Farm and the breeding of endangered native animals for re-introduction to the wild.

Mr Minson said the zoo's independent fundraising body, the Perth Zoo Society, would be responsible for raising the $12 million in private sponsorship for the new plan and he was pleased to announce that Mr DeJose had agreed to take up the position of executive director of the Perth Zoo Society to assist with this task. As a result, Mr DeJose would not be seeking reappointment to the position of zoo director when his current term expired.

Mr Minson said the continual improvements planned for the zoo were clearly detailed in the plan and he had no doubt they would ensure the Perth Zoo retained its position as the most popular zoo per capita in Australia with around 600,000 visitors each year. This was almost double the attendances being achieved 10 years ago.

Mr Minson said the Perth Zoo was the least expensive zoo to visit in Australia and this would continue to be the case, although price rises would apply from April to assist with the large cost involved in the zoo's redevelopment. The new prices would be $20 family, $8 adult, $5 concession and $4 children.

Under the plan, the zoo's well loved and much used picnic lawns would remain the central hub of the facility, leading on to the many themed exhibit complexes.

A range of new exhibits were planned, including an Australian bush walk consisting of 400 metres of pathway winding through a series of habitats from woodland to desert. It would be home to rock wallabies, red and grey kangaroos, emus, numbats, hare wallabies, wombats, echidnas and koalas. Native birds would also be a feature.

"With the Western Australian Tourism Commission targeting one million international visitors to the State by the year 2000, the bush walk should prove a popular drawcard for overseas tourists, while also giving local people an opportunity to learn about their natural heritage," Mr Minson said.

The bush walk would include interpretive stations to communicate key messages about plants and animals, their interdependence, Aboriginal cultural significance and conservation. A spectacular Moreton Bay Fig tree would provide the setting for an Aboriginal camp for interpretive demonstrations and performances. Legends from the Dreamtime, relationships to the land, plants and animals and practical issues such as foods and medicines would be represented.

The plan would also see the progressive development of a spectacular rainforest exhibit which would differ from many others attempted around the world by not needing to be housed indoors. The series of exhibits would take about 10 years to be fully completed with vegetation well-established.

Many rare and endangered species, such as the Sumatran Tiger and the Silvery Gibbon, would be subjects of intensive breeding programs and would continue to demonstrate the zoo's contribution to conservation. Elephants, orang-utans, otters, Malayan Tapirs and many species of monkeys would all have their homes in the rainforest.

Other initiatives in the plan include continuing improvements to Harmony Farm and the African Savannah exhibit.

Mr Minson said the Savannah was unique in the region and would continue to be a major drawcard. Future plans would see an increase in the population of the Savannah. The zoo's pride of lions would provide a spectacular entrance to the Savannah complex, while an outcrop of granite boulders would give an authentic African appearance to the exhibit while also concealing the holding and service areas.

The existing program to improve animal visibility at the zoo would also continue. In the past year, a number of 'low visibility' animals such as the white rhinoceros had been targeted by the program and were now able to be seen more often due to changes to the layout of enclosures.

Media contact: Caroline Lacy 222 9595