Costa visits Australia Zoo and meets with Terri and Robert Irwin to see how the animals here relate to and rely on plants for their food and habitat. Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
The zoo was started by the Irwin family as a 2-acre reptile park in 1970 and it’s now a 700-acre zoo employing more than 500 people, who look after 1200 animals. Conservation and education are key goals for the zoo.
Terri Irwin explains that 110 acres is open for guests to explore - and some food is harvested within that - but another 600 acres is set aside to grow plants to feed the animals. A huge range of plants is grown here, from eucalypts to bananas to mulberries, plus hibiscus and roses. No pesticides can be used of course, so it requires a lot of meticulous care.
Elephants are some of the biggest eaters, each chomping through 150kg of plant life a day. There are now four female Sumatran elephants at the zoo.
Even with so much home-grown greens, the food bill is $80,000 a week.
But as Robert points out, they also benefit from the end product of all this feeding; he reckons the best tomatoes in the world come from soil enriched with elephant poo.
Most of the threats to animals stem back to habitat loss, Robert says, so keeping healthy habitat going in the wild is essential to avoiding future animal extinctions. To help preserve these ecosystems, the zoo manages three conservation properties in Queensland.
There is also an animal hospital on site. In the first year there were 60 patients; now the zoo cares for about 10,000 sick or injured animals each year. The hospital has provided 24-hour care for every day since it opened in 2004.
A new hospital has since been built and the zoo works with other institutions to research medicines and preventative measures.
Koalas in care are fed a variety of plants, not just eucalypts, to keep them healthy.
Cheetah Highlands is the new 2.5acre exhibit opened at the zoo last year, allowing visitors to see the world’s fastest land animals close up.
While some palms and trees are supplied for shade and for climbing, cheetahs love wide, open spaces so grassland space dominates their area, with a rock escarpment formation to sit on or shelter under.
Aloes and tall grasses echo the aesthetic of Africa.
The immersive experience extends to staying in an on-site cabin overnight.
The surrounding plants include the rare Coochin Hills Grevillea, which is now self-seeding in the gardens. Australian native good plants are grown for use in the on-site restaurant.
Three large bottle trees, planted by the late Steve Irwin, were becoming swaped in the original location, so when the new centre was built, the plants were moved to form a ‘welcoming committee’ a the new entrance.
“And you know,” says Terri, “that was Steve’s favourite way to garden: with a crane!”
Filmed on Kabi Kabi Country in Beerwah, Qld
Featured plants:
Mulberry (Morus cv.)
Hibiscus (Hibiscus sp.)
Queensland Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus)
Tallowwood (Eucalyptus microcorys)
Gum-topped box (Eucalyptus moluccana)
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