Taronga Western Plains Zoo, formerly known as (and still commonly referred to as) Western Plains Zoo and commonly known as Dubbo Zoo, is a large
zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
near
Dubbo, New South Wales
Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021.
The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...
, Australia. It opened to the public on 28 February 1977, to provide more living and breeding space for large animals such as
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
s and
antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
s which needed more space than was available at the restricted Sydney site. The zoo is run by the
Taronga Conservation Society (formerly Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales), along with
Taronga Zoo Sydney
Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'.
It ...
. Western Plains Zoo is located on the
Newell Highway
Newell Highway is a national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amounts of freight. At in length, the Newell is th ...
in west Dubbo about 5 km from the city.
History
In the late 1960s, plans to develop a large plains zoo to complement Sydney's Taronga Zoo were established. The new zoo would provide breeding facilities particularly suited to the large plains dwelling animals and to fulfil a need for an open range facility for the display of mainly grazing animals. After considerable planning and preparation, a site on the outskirts of Dubbo in central West New South Wales was chosen. Formerly an army camp during World War Two, the site was transformed into a 300 hectare zoo of woodland and irrigated grasslands.
Western Plains Zoo opened to the public on 28 February 1977. When the zoo opened, it contained 35 different animals from six countries. The zoo is an open-range design, with walls and fences replaced by concealed moats which divide the animals from the visitors. This creates the impression of actually being with the animals in the wild. It was also the first zoo to be built in Australia in 60 years.
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
visited the Western Plains Zoo in 1992.
In 1994 Western Plains Zoo was awarded as the Best Major Tourist Attraction, the highest honour in Australian Tourism.
On 26 September 2006, ''
The Daily Liberal
The ''Daily Liberal'' is a daily newspaper produced in the city of Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. The news stories published relate particularly to the city of Dubbo and the surrounding district. The newspaper was first printed in 1875. The ...
'' published an article announcing British comedian
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
was visiting the zoo "in order to raise money for a new Greater One-Horned rhino exhibit".
Name change
The zoo changed its name to Taronga Western Plains Zoo on 21 January 2008, citing the need to draw attention to the work of the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
Zoo friends
Zoo Friends
Zoo Friends provides assistance to Sydney's Taronga Zoo and Dubbo's Western Plains Zoo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo, formerly known as (and still commonly referred to as) Western Plains Zoo and commonly known as Dubbo Zoo, is a large zoo near Dub ...
was an organisation which offered support in form of volunteers and fund raising for both
Taronga Zoo Sydney
Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'.
It ...
and Western Plains Zoo. Members were eligible to volunteer to help at the Zoo. In 2009 the organisation was disbanded and all assets donated to the Taronga Conservation Foundation.
Taronga Zoo Sydney
Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'.
It ...
now runs its own volunteer program.
Animals
;Africa
*
Addax
The addax (''Addax nasomaculatus''), also known as the white antelope and the screwhorn antelope, is an antelope native to the Sahara Desert. The only member of the genus ''Addax'', it was first described scientifically by Henri de Blainvil ...
*
African lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
*
African wild dog
The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Ly ...
*
Barbary sheep
The Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia''), also known as aoudad (pronounced ɑʊdæd is a species of caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. While this is the only species in genus ''Ammotragus'', six subspecies have been describ ...
*
Black rhinoceros
The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...
*
Bongo
*
Cheetah
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...
*
Common eland
The common eland (''Taurotragus oryx''), also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus '' Taurotragus''. An adult male is ...
*
Common ostrich
The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa and is the largest living bird species. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members o ...
*
Dromedary camel
The dromedary (''Camelus dromedarius'' or ;), also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel, or one-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate, of the genus ''Camelus'', with one hump on its back.
It is the tallest of the three species of ...
*
Giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...
*
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
*
Leopard tortoise
The leopard tortoise (''Stigmochelys pardalis'') is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Stigmochelys'', althou ...
*
Meerkat
MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...
*
Plains zebra
The plains zebra (''Equus quagga'', formerly ''Equus burchellii''), also known as the common zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. Its range is fragmented, but spans much of southern and eastern Africa south of ...
*
Scimitar-horned oryx
The scimitar oryx (''Oryx dammah''), also known as the scimitar-horned oryx and the Sahara oryx, is a ''Oryx'' species that was once widespread across North Africa. In 2000, it was declared extinct in the wild on the IUCN Red List.
A captive bre ...
*
Southern white rhinoceros
The southern white rhinoceros or southern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum simum'') is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the much rarer northern white rhinoceros). It is the most common and widespread subspecies ...
;Americas
*
Black-handed spider monkey
*
Galápagos tortoise
The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a species of very large tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). It comprises 15 subspecies (13 ...
;Asia
*
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
*
Asian small-clawed otter
*
Banteng
*
Blackbuck
The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources.
It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...
*
European fallow deer
The European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), also known as the common fallow deer or simply fallow deer, is a species of ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. It is historically native to Turkey and possibly the Italian Peninsula, Bal ...
*
Greater one-horned rhinoceros
}
The Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis''), also called the Indian rhino, greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Li ...
*
Indian peafowl
The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and ...
*
Persian onager
The Persian onager (''Equus hemionus onager''), also called the Persian wild ass or Persian zebra, is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Iran (Persia). It is listed as Endangered, with no more than 600 individuals left in the wil ...
*
Przewalski's horse
Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of Ce ...
*
Siamang
The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...
*
Sumatran tiger
*
White-handed gibbon
The lar gibbon (''Hylobates lar''), also known as the white-handed gibbon, is an endangered primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of the better-known gibbons and is often kept in captivity.
Taxonomy
There are five subspecies o ...
;Australia
*
Eastern grey kangaroo
*
Emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...
*
Koala
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...
*
Quokka
The quokka (''Setonix brachyurus'', ) is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus ''Setonix''. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbivo ...
*
Red-necked wallaby
The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been ...
*
Short-beaked echidna
The short-beaked echidna (''Tachyglossus aculeatus''), also called the short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus ''Tachyglossus''. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snou ...
*
Swamp wallaby
The swamp wallaby (''Wallabia bicolor'') is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the black wallaby, with other names including black-tailed wallaby, fern wallaby, black pademelon, stinker (in Q ...
*
Tasmanian devil
The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...
*
Western quoll
The western quoll (''Dasyurus geoffroii'') is Western Australia's largest endemic mammalian carnivore. One of the many marsupial mammals native to Australia, it is also known as the chuditch. The species is currently classed as near-threatened.
...
;Madagascar
*
Black-and-white ruffed lemur
The black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata'') is an endangered species of ruffed lemur, one of two which are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Despite having a larger range than the red ruffed lemur, it has a much smaller populati ...
*
Ring-tailed lemur
The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ge ...
Gallery
File:Dubbo_Zoo_(3147790307).jpg, Elands
File:Taronga Western Plains Zoo IMG 0580 (41733644614).jpg, African wild dog
File:Dubbo_Zoo_(3166218284).jpg, White rhinoceros
File:Dubbo_Zoo_(3143025963).jpg, Black rhinoceros
File:Dubbo_Zoo_(3143859492).jpg, Plains zebra
File:Ostritch_-_panoramio.jpg, Ostrich
File:Giraffes_at_Taronga_Western_Plains_Zoo.jpg, Giraffes
File:Dubbo_Zoo_Cheetah_(3146003653).jpg, Cheetah cubs
File:Dubbo_Zoo_(3147869601).jpg, Lion
File:2020-10-07_Meerkat_(Suricata_suricatta)_in_Taronga_Western_Plains_Zoo_3.jpg, Meerkat
File:Dubbo_Zoo_(3143849864).jpg, Scimitar oryx
File:2020-10-07_Bongo_(Tragelaphus_eurycerus)_in_Taronga_Western_Plains_Zoo,_Dubbo,_NSW_1.jpg, Bongo
File:Dubbo_NSW_2830,_Australia_-_panoramio_(183).jpg
File:Geochelone_nigra_2.jpg, Galápagos tortoise
File:Dubbo_Zoo_(3147828779).jpg, Onager
File:2020-10-07_Siamang_(Symphalangus_syndactylus)_at_Taronga_Western_Plains_Zoo,_Dubbo,_NSW.jpg, Siamang
File:2020-10-07_Asian_elephant_(Elephas_maximus)_in_Taronga_Western_Plains_Zoo_5.jpg, Asian elephant
File:Dubbo_Zoo_Tiger_(3145991961).jpg, Sumatran tiger
File:Asian_small_otter_wpz_2006.JPG, Asian small-clawed otter
File:Dubbo_NSW_2830,_Australia_-_panoramio_(73).jpg, Banteng
File:Przewalski%27s_Horse,_Dubbo_Zoo,_c_2005.jpg, Przewalski's horse
File:Dubbo_Zoo_Koala-04and_(3145938147).jpg, Koala
File:Lemurs_-_panoramio.jpg, Ring-tailed lemur
See also
*
Jim Lacey
James Francis Lacey (5 June 1934 – 31 January 2008) was an Australian whose work was considered instrumental in the development of the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, New South Wales, as its general manager from 1988 to 1992. Lacey also served ...
-
General manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of the Western Plains Zoo from 1988 until 1992.
[
*]Taronga Zoo Sydney
Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'.
It ...
References
External links
*
Zoo Friends, a supporter of the Zoo, offers membership and volunteer opportunities
{{Authority control
1977 establishments in Australia
Zoos established in 1977
Tourist attractions in New South Wales
Dubbo
Zoos in New South Wales