Wild Life Sydney facts for kids
Logo of Wild Life Sydney
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Wild Life Sydney complex, pictured in 2014, across Darling Harbour
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| Date opened |
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| Location | Darling Harbour, City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Land area | 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) |
| Coordinates | 33°52′12″S 151°12′6″E / 33.87000°S 151.20167°E |
| No. of animals | Unknown |
| No. of species | Unknown |
| Memberships |
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| Major exhibits | 10 Zones |
Wild Life Sydney Zoo (formerly Sydney Wildlife World) is a wildlife park in the Darling Harbour precinct, on the western edge of the Sydney central business district, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in September 2006, the zoo is located adjacent to a leisure and retail precinct that includes the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and Madame Tussauds Sydney.
Contents
History
In May 2006, Sydney Aquarium Pty Ltd announced plans to expand the existing aquarium site, in order to incorporate a wildlife park. Following this announcement, and after the acquisition of the tourist attractions at Sydney Tower and of Manly Oceanarium, Sydney Aquarium Pty Ltd changed its name to Sydney Attractions Group. Village Roadshow Limited purchased Sydney Attractions Group in late 2007. UK attractions group Merlin Entertainments bought Sydney Wildlife World as part of its acquisition of Village Roadshow assets in March 2011.
The park changed its name to Wild Life Sydney Zoo (trademarked as Wild Life Sydney) and re-opened on 13 September 2011.
The attraction won the Award for the best family-focused tourism at The Australian's 2007 Travel and Tourism Awards.
Design
Construction began in November 2004 on the site, and was completed in August 2006. Wild Life Sydney is unusual for a zoo or wildlife park in that the public areas are almost entirely enclosed and air-conditioned. The A$52 million development features a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) walkway which snakes through 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) of enclosures.
The upper level exhibits are open-air, enclosed only by a large stainless steel mesh roof structure supported by curved beams, which were designed to look like the ribs of the rainbow serpent of Aboriginal myth when viewed from above. This open-air feature has enabled the exhibits to be landscaped naturally with live plants, including full-sized trees. The largest exhibit is the 800-square-metre (8,600 sq ft) semi-arid habitat of kangaroo walkabout, featuring 250 tonnes (280 short tons) of red sand trucked in from central Australia and full-sized bottle trees. This habitat houses Kangaroo Island kangaroos, echidnas, a quokka and koalas.
Exhibits
Wild Life Sydney Zoo is divided into ten zones, containing the following exhibits:
- Butterfly Tropics
- Devil's Den (Tasmanian devils)
- Gumtree Valley (koalas)
- Wallaby Cliffs
- Daintree Rainforest (cassowaries)
- Kangaroo Walk-About
- Kakadu Gorge (crocodiles)
- Night Fall
- Discovery Treehouse and Koala Rooftop
- Koala Rooftop Cafe
Experiences
Wild Life Sydney offers a range of experiences for their guests. These experiences include breakfast with the koalas, which entails an early morning guided tour around the zoo before a buffet breakfast with the koalas as well as a photo taken with a koala. Koala photos are also available throughout the day.
Additionally, the zoo offers a behind the scenes guided tour. Private dining experiences are also available.
