| Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens | |
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 Main Entrance | |
 Interactive map of Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens | |
| 37°47′05″S144°57′08″E / 37.784762°S 144.952095°E /-37.784762; 144.952095 | |
| Date opened | 6 October 1862; 163 years ago (1862-10-06)[1] |
| Location | Parkville,Melbourne,Victoria,Australia |
| Land area | 55 acres (22 ha) |
| No. of animals | 5,120 |
| No. of species | 250[2] |
| Memberships | Zoo and Aquarium Association,[3]World Association of Zoos and Aquariums[4] |
| Major exhibits | lions, tigers, snow leopards, orang-utans, gorillas, gibbons, baboons, lemurs, pygmy hippopotamus, giraffes, marsupials, platypus, birds, reptiles |
| Website | www |
| Official name | Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Criteria | a, e, f, g, h |
| Designated | 23 May 1996 |
| Reference no. | H1074[5] |
| Heritage Overlay numbers | HO364 HO822 HO823 HO824 HO830 HO831 HO826 HO825 HO828 HO829 HO827[5] |
Melbourne Zoo is azoo inMelbourne, Australia. It is located withinRoyal Park inParkville, approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the centre ofMelbourne. It is the primary zoo serving Melbourne. As of 2021, the zoo contains 3742 animals comprising 243species,[6] fromAustralia and around the world. The zoo is accessible viaRoyal Park station on theUpfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram routes58 and19, as well as by bicycle on theCapital City Trail. Bicycles are not allowed inside the zoo itself.
The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens is a full institutional member of theZoo and Aquarium Association and theWorld Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The zoo is set among flower gardens and picnic areas. Many of the animals are now organised inbioclimatic zones: African rainforest ('Gorilla Rainforest') that includegorillas andlemurs; Asian rainforest that includesorangutans,tigers andotters; and theAustralian bush withkangaroos,koalas,wombats,goannas,native birds and many others. Popular exhibits also include the 'Butterfly House', the 'Reptile House', the 'Great Flight Aviary', 'Wild Sea', 'Treetop Apes and Monkeys' and 'Lion Gorge'. During the summer months they also hold sleep over events at the zoo that allows people to purchase tickets to "camp out" for a night under the stars.
Thezoo includes a large schools section and caters to many school visitors annually, its immensely popular education program encourages young minds to conserve animals.
Visitors can see historical cages including the heritage listedElephant House, which has been renovated and adapted for use for customers paying to sleep overnight in tents at the zoo in popularRoar and Snore evenings. These evenings allow the public to see some of thenocturnal animals at the zoo in evening guided tours by experienced camp hosts.
In October 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was formed with the aim of introducing animals and plants from overseas.[7] Its first collections of animals were housed inRichmond Paddock.[7] In 1861 the organisation changed its name to the "Acclimatisation Society of Victoria".[7]
On 6 October 1862, the organisation opened a new Melbourne Zoo inRoyal Park on 55-acre (22 ha) of land donated by theCity of Melbourne. Melbourne Zoo was modelled onLondon Zoo.
Initially the zoo was important for the acclimatisation of domestic animals recovering from their long trip to Australia. It was only with the appointment ofAlbert Alexander Cochrane Le Souef in 1870 that more exotic animals were procured for public display, and the gardens and picnic areas were developed.[8] 1870 also saw the Society change its name to the "Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria", and was granted the prefix "Royal" in 1910.[7]
One of the most famous exhibits from the early 1900s to the 1940s wasQueenie the elephant.
In the mid-1930s, the Society had financial troubles. In response theZoological Gardens Act 1936 was passed, handing the Zoo to a newly appointed Zoological Board of Victoria on behalf of the state government in 1937.[7]
In 1964, the acclaimed Lion Park exhibit opened, with an elevated walkway overlooking and separating two exhibits. It was demolished and replaced by a new lion exhibit in 2014.[9]
Australia's first gorilla birth occurred at Melbourne Zoo in 1984. Giant pandas were loaned to the zoo from China for an exhibition to celebrate Australia's bicentennial in 1988.
In 1989, a 35-year-old man died when he was partially eaten by a lion after he entered its pen.[10]
The Trail of the Elephants exhibit was unveiled in 2003 and won numerous awards. On 15 January 2010 Melbourne Zoo welcomed its first elephant calf, Mali. This is the second elephant calf born in Australia, the first being in Sydney in July 2009. Mali is the first female calf born in Australia and the first calf born via artificial insemination. The zoo's elephant herd were relocated to its 'sibling' zoo Werribee Open Range Zoo in February 2025 to live in a new 21 hecatre state-of-the-art home. The Trail of the Elephants precinct was renamed 'Forest of Wonder'.
Melbourne Zoo commemorated 150 years of operation in 2012 and this was celebrated in an Australian Zoos collector's edition of stamps released by Australia Post in September 2012.
The Zoo completed construction and opened a new carnivores trail in early 2018.
Additions to the ground include picnic lawns, pavillions, former cages now historical reflections, function centres, cafeterias, a carousel, and a Japanese garden including a pond lake with an island (currently home to some of the zoo's Siamang gibbons).
Zoos Victoria administers the Melbourne Zoo, as well as theWerribee Open Range Zoo, which featuresherbivorous creatures in an open-range mostly African setting with a safari bus tour; andHealesville Sanctuary (formerly the Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary), which exhibitsAustralian fauna on 175 hectares (430 acres) of bushland.[11]
The three zoos have been collectively trading as Zoos Victoria since 1973, governed by the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board, which operates under theZoological Parks and Gardens Act 1995.[12]
In July 2022,Kyabram Fauna Park joined Zoos Victoria.[13]
Colossal Biosciences and Zoos Victoria began a conservation project in October 2023 to preserve theVictorian grassland earless dragon as well as sequence its genome.[14][15]
The carousel was manufactured in England and then brought to Australia in 1886 by a family that ran a touring carnival, visiting country towns in Victoria. After touring with the carnival for over 60 years, in 1952 the carousel became part of a fun fair at the Melbourne Zoo, but was still owned by the same families. When the fun fair at the zoo was permanently closed in 1997, the carousel was purchased by the zoo. By that time, the carousel was in a deteriorated condition. It was restored off-site in 2004-2005 with funding fromHeritage Victoria and re-opened in August 2005. The carousel is listed by Heritage Victoria as a heritage place.[16]
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