Mugga Lane Zoo facts for kids
| Date opened | 19 December 1979 |
|---|---|
| Date closed | 2002 |
| Location | Mugga Lane, Symonston |
| Land area | 9 ha (22 acres) |
| Coordinates | 35°21′05″S 149°08′06″E / 35.3514716°S 149.134962°E |
| No. of species | 116 |
The Mugga Lane Zoo was a private zoo located in Canberra, Australia. It opened in 1979 as the Canberra Wildlife Gardens. This was Canberra's first permanent zoo. It opened long before the National Zoo & Aquarium. In 1981, the park changed its name to Mugga Lane Zoo. The zoo closed its doors around 2002. It was home to more than 116 different kinds of animals. The park covered about 9 hectares (22 acres). Today, the old zoo site is popular with urban explorers. It is also thought to be the source of the feral peacocks seen around South Canberra. The zoo's founder, Terry Thomas, said the zoo never made much money. This was partly because it was hard to get permits for animals.
History of Mugga Lane Zoo
Building the Mugga Lane Zoo started in 1979. The owner, Terry Thomas, had asked for approval in 1975. It took three years to get permission from the Department of the Capital Territory. Even with approval, the park was not yet a licensed zoo. So, it first opened on 19 December 1979 as the Canberra Wildlife Gardens.
It took another three years for the park to get its official zoo license. After this, it changed its name to Mugga Lane Zoo. Even as a licensed zoo, it was still hard to get permits for new animals.
During a big dry period from 1979 to 1983, there were strict water rules. To help with this, a dam was built on the property. This dam is one of the few things left from the zoo today.
In 1989, Terry Thomas sold the zoo to Doug Lloyd. Doug Lloyd owned a local secondhand bookstore. According to Thomas, this was when the zoo started to decline. The Mugga Lane Zoo closed for good around 2002.
Animals at the Zoo
The Mugga Lane Zoo was home to many different animals. They had both native Australian animals and some from other parts of the world.
Mammals at Mugga Lane
The zoo had several types of kangaroos and wallabies. These included:
- Red, Eastern grey, and Western grey kangaroos
- Wallaroos
- Swamp and Red-necked wallabies
- Red-necked pademelons
- Wombats
They also had other interesting mammals:
- Northern and Southern dingos
- Red foxes
- Fallow deer
- Blackbucks
- Thick-tailed galago (a small primate)
- Pardine genet (a cat-like animal)
- Striped skunks
- Great red agoutis (large rodents)
- Bonnet and Crab-eating macaques (monkeys)
- Barbary sheep
- Servals (wild cats)
- Various domestic mammals
