25 & 26 May 2016 - Dubbo and Taronga Western Plains Zoo

From Tamworth I towed the van South to Dubbo via Gunnedah & Gilgandra.  Stayed in a Council owned park (very nice too) and had planned to visit the Western Plains Zoo, which is located just outside Dubbo.

Had a heap of rain overnight & for a while I thought my visit might be completely washed out, but as the morning developed it cleared up enough to do it.  Meant it was pretty quiet, not to mention cold, but that was not all bad either, as you can drive around the various areas, park and walk to look at particular groups of animals and attractions.

The Zoo sets up a daily schedule of feedings and keeper presentations (at enclosures) which can give some structure to a visit and those that I attended were very interesting & informative......

 First hippo come out for dinner.  They were obviously used to the routine and it was interesting seeing a bit of food agro between the male and the female.  Very similar to the horses at home.

 There is only one African elephant left (several Asian elelphants not far away) as her partner has passed away.  She lives in a paddock with a couple of camels for company.  All the elephants have a heated barn where they spend the cold Winter nights and mornings.  In general they seem to be very conscious of the wellbeing of all their animals, and are involved in many cooperative breeding programmes.

A couple of white rhinos (I think) and a calf looked pretty happy.

This young Sumatran Tiger was very restless and had apparently become aggressive to his siblings so now lives alone (again apparently not uncommon in the wild).

 The African Wild Dogs were very active.  Separated from the outside world by a moat and fence.  No doubt just as well.

The meerkats were active & full of fun......just like on TV.

Pretty good experience as Zoos go.  An entry cost me around $38 with Senior's discount.  They give you two days of entry as there is a lot to see.  If you have the time & enthusiasm you could spend a couple of days.  One was enough for me.