Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 04/06/2026 14:03:00

Opened in May 1883, Adelaide Zoo is the second-oldest zoo in Australia and one of the few major city zoos still run by a not-for-profit society rather than a government department. It was founded by the South Australian Acclimatisation and Zoological Society on land carved from the adjoining Botanic Park, and several of its first buildings survive, including the polychrome brick and cast-iron front gates of 1883 and the former Elephant House. The grounds double as a botanic garden, with mature trees such as a Moreton Bay fig planted in the 1870s shading the paths between enclosures. Today the zoo spreads across about eight hectares beside the River Torrens and holds more than two thousand animals from roughly three hundred native and exotic species. Its best-known residents have long been giant pandas: Wang Wang and Fu Ni lived in the purpose-built Panda Forest from 2009, and a new pair arrived in 2024 to continue the only giant panda program in the southern hemisphere. Other highlights include a walk-through rainforest aviary, a nocturnal house and the Immersion section of the South-East Asia exhibit, where Sumatran tigers and orangutans appear to be only a pane of glass away. The zoo has shifted steadily from a Victorian menagerie toward conservation and education, taking part in breeding programs for endangered species and running close-encounter experiences that let visitors meet keepers and animals up close. Its central location, a short walk or a Popeye boat ride along the Torrens from the city, makes it an easy half-day outing, and the heritage architecture gives a strong sense of how public attitudes to wildlife have changed over more than a century. Free-flight bird presentations and seasonal events keep regular members coming back through the year. Conservation work extends well beyond the front gates through Zoos South Australia, the not-for-profit body that also runs the open-range Monarto Safari Park, with proceeds from visits supporting breeding and field programs for threatened native species. Special experiences let visitors go behind the scenes as junior keepers, feed animals or take early-morning tours before the public arrives, and the on-site cafes and shaded lawns make it comfortable for a full day with children. Because the grounds sit beside the Botanic Gardens and the Torrens, a visit folds easily into a wider day exploring the parklands that ring the city centre, and members return often as exhibits and seasonal events change.