We were a bit disappointed with our visit. I've been to Featherdale, Taronga, Monarto in SA, and Australia Zoo, and unfortunately, Mogo Zoo ranks at the bottom of that list for us.
To be fair, the staff were all lovely and welcoming, and the ticket price was quite reasonable. The layout was also pram-friendly, which made getting around easy. However, we had several concerns about the animal enclosures. Many seemed quite small, and several animals showed signs of stress—such as pacing tracks along the fences, which suggests repetitive movement due to confinement or anxiety.
One particularly troubling moment was observing the silverback gorilla reacting aggressively to visitors—he banged his hand forcefully on the glass in apparent frustration.
The signage around the enclosures was very informative, but we noticed a number of animals were housed directly opposite their natural predators. For example, the giraffes were located directly across from the lions, even though the giraffe sign explicitly lists lions as a primary predator. This seemed like a strange and potentially stressful choice.
In the feeding area where visitors can interact with deer, kangaroos, and camels, we saw a child allow a deer to eat an entire paper bag. The parent did nothing, simply saying, “Oh well.” I reported it to staff who were concerned and promptly notified keepers, but the situation could have been avoided entirely if staff were present in the feeding area. While signs are posted, visitor behavior can pose a risk without supervision.
While I believe the animals receive the basics—food, water, shelter—and the staff do care deeply, the zoo itself feels cramped and outdated in its design. If you’re looking to support a zoo that offers animals larger, more naturalistic environments, I’d recommend Monarto or Australia Zoo instead.
Some solutions to these issues - more enrichment, relocating away from predators, a permanent staff member in the feeding area for monitoring and closing 1 day a week to the public or have 1hr in the middle of the day to give the animals a break (currently the zoo is opened 7...
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