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 (also known as Wild Life Sydney) is a cool wildlife park located in the Darling Harbour area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It's right next to the city center. The zoo first opened in September 2006. It's found in a fun area that also has the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and Madame Tussauds Sydney. It's a great place to see amazing Australian animals!
Contents
How the Zoo Started
In May 2006, the company that owned the Sydney Aquarium decided to make their site bigger. They planned to add a wildlife park right next to the aquarium. After this, the company bought other tourist spots like Sydney Tower. They then changed their name to Sydney Attractions Group.
Later, in 2007, a company called Village Roadshow Limited bought Sydney Attractions Group. Then, in March 2011, a big UK attractions company called Merlin Entertainments bought Sydney Wildlife World. This was part of their purchase of Village Roadshow's attractions.
The park changed its name to Wild Life Sydney Zoo. It reopened on September 13, 2011, with its new name. In 2007, the attraction won an award for being the best family-focused tourism spot. This award was given by The Australian newspaper.
Inside the Zoo: Its Unique Design
Building the zoo started in November 2004 and finished in August 2006. Wild Life Sydney is special because most of its public areas are indoors. They are also air-conditioned, which is nice on hot days! This project cost about A$52 million to build.
The zoo has a walkway that is about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long. This path winds through 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) of animal homes. The exhibits on the upper level are open to the air. They are covered by a large roof made of stainless steel mesh. This roof is held up by curved beams. These beams were designed to look like the ribs of the rainbow serpent from Aboriginal stories.
Because of this open-air design, the animal areas look very natural. They have real plants, even full-sized trees! The biggest exhibit is the Kangaroo Walk-About. It's a 800-square-metre (8,600 sq ft) area that looks like a semi-desert. It has 250 tonnes (280 short tons) of red sand brought all the way from central Australia. It also has real bottle trees. Here, you can see Kangaroo Island kangaroos, echidnas, a quokka, and koalas.
Explore the Animal Worlds
Wild Life Sydney Zoo is split into ten different areas. Each area has its own special animals and exhibits:
- Butterfly Tropics
- Devil's Den (home to Tasmanian devils)
- Gumtree Valley (where you can find koalas)
- Wallaby Cliffs
- Daintree Rainforest (with amazing cassowaries)
- Kangaroo Walk-About
- Kakadu Gorge (look out for crocodiles here!)
- Night Fall
- Discovery Treehouse and Koala Rooftop
- Koala Rooftop Cafe
Fun Experiences at the Zoo
Wild Life Sydney offers some cool extra activities for visitors. One popular experience is "Breakfast with the Koalas." This means you get an early morning tour of the zoo. After the tour, you enjoy a buffet breakfast. You even get to eat near the koalas and take a photo with one! You can also get koala photos throughout the day.
The zoo also offers a special guided tour that takes you behind the scenes. This lets you see parts of the zoo that most visitors don't get to see. If you want something really special, private dining experiences are also available.
