Taronga Zoo is Sydney's oldest zoo and one of the Australia's most famous zoo. Its name means "beautiful view" in the local Aboriginal language, which is true enough - the Sydney suburb of Mosman, where the zoo is located, is quite picturesque.
The first zoo in the state of New South Wales appeared back in 1884 in a place called Moore Park, but it was very small and could not cater for the needs of the townspeople. В 1908, the state government had the idea of creating a new zoo, a much larger, for which 17 hectares of land was set aside north of Sydney Harbour. Eight years later, in 1916, a further 3.6 hectares was added to the zoo - this year is considered to be the year Taronga was founded.
In 1915, the zoo opened the Aqueduct Bridge, which was the first feature of the local landscape. Over this bridge, which resembled medieval Italian grottoes, visitors crossed a large ravine that divided the road to the Zoo.
In the late 1960s, the zoo underwent major changes that led to increased scientific work and improved conditions for the animals. В In particular, an outdoor aviary for tropical birds, a House of Nocturnal night animals, waterfowl ponds and a quarantine centre. Many educational programmes have been developed and Many educational programmes have been developed and implemented to introduce visitors about animal life.
In the mid-1980s, the zoo built a rope suspension railway, from which you can view not only the Taronga grounds but also Sydney Harbour.
Today there are more than 2600 animals on an area of 21 hectares, which makes "Taronga" one of the largest zoos in the world. All of the zoo's inhabitants are housed in eight different themed areas. For example, in the House of the Platypus not only the platypus, but also wombats and a kangaroo rat. "Wetlands of Australia" exposition presents numerous birds: stork, Australian crane, pelican, king spoonbill, Pacific black duck. "Walking Australia" offers encounters with kangaroos, wallabies, emu ostriches, koalas and other typical inhabitants of the green continent. Finally, the most interesting exposition "Great South Seas", opened in 2008, introduces you to sea leopards, California sea lions, little penguins and other inhabitants of the ocean depths.
