Perth Zoo — Attraction in South Perth

HIINTS HINTS HINTS My review is based on observations attending at 0930hrs on a warm Friday in Oct. Regardless of my comments I recommend a visit to the zoo as part of your Perth visit. I will say prices are hexy but if you want to see exotic animals expect to pay exotic prices. 1 x adult $38.10 with concessiones and family prices available as well. Zoo management knows much more about animal husbandry than I ever will thus their rationale will trump my observations. Get there earlier. Earlier the better. Parking any where near the zoo is a premium. The car parks around the zoo WILL be full. Smart to use public transport With WA residents getting a free zoo entry, expect a long entry queue at the start of the day. We arrived 0930hrs and queued for 15-20 min to get in. Dont be Zoo Member 'Karen' when there is not a seperate member entry line. Time spent complaining to the duty manager about loss of priviledge is better spent lining up with us mere peasants to speed yr entry.--yes we did witness Karen complain for 10 minutes why no member line entry was in place. LOL..! Expect lots of school groups, young families with babies, toddlers and yonger kids, grandparents galore and a wide variety of multi cultural tourists. Prams, strollers and beach carts are everywhere. Beach carts are a great idea as can carrying the kuds and load your necessaries and food for the day. A plastic beach cart can be hired at the zoo but bring yr own from home. There is a lit of walking to do the full tour tiring out little (and older) feet. The zoo is not flat terrain. Not hilly but there are numerous inclines which will tire our dad and grand pa tasked with pushing dragging all the pushers or beach carts about with kids and supplies. Bring your own food as far as possible. Zoo food is expensive. Ie $3.50 for single piece of fruit. Have a look at my photos to guage the expensive prices. $10 for single round of sandwiches.... $14 for a wrap. Get the picture!! Attend as early as possible and try to work in the feeding times to maximise value and sighting animals. If you miss seeing an animal cycle back at later time to see if they are now visible. Significant construction is currently (Oct 2024) happening in the middle of the zoo. Bit of a nuisance but short term pain for long term gain. A few empty displays today. Many enclosures are glass fronted and glass dirty making quality photography more difficult. Im not talking about mobile phone snaps but proper photography. Many of the smal primates in their displays are difficult to locate, view and or photograph. Assume due to aninal husbandry rationale. Orangatang display us outstanding Elephant viewing is stuffed. Dead end meaning one way in and same way out. Very popular display. Add in the kids everwhere, prams, strollers, beach carts, pushy parents, oblivious grand parents and the odd wheel chair, you have a continually severly congested display. Needs to be worked on by managemwnt. Distinct lack of seating, tables and shade about the cafe lunch area. People consuming what ever shade they could find. Hopefully the new construction might improve this. The Sumatran Tiger viewing area is likewise stuffed. The glass panels have been blocked out only allowing very limited viewing. (See photos). Great difficulty to view this elusive beast. Obvioulsy a animal husbandry rationale but a great dissapointment for the viewing public. Dont be a DH in the nocturnal enclosure and use yr mobile phone torch to light up the enclosure to locate the animal. - yeah we saw this today..lol. After lunch the crowd dies down and most school groups depart. If it is a hot day expect the bigger animals to lie down and be more sedate hence come early. Budget 3-4 hrs to walk the zoo fully once and up to 6 hrs to revisit displays and have a thorough visit. Regardless of the few negatives I mentioned I had a great time. The excitement, joy and pure pleasure the zoo puts on everybodies face is worth the visit. Stay...

I really like to leave positive reviews to help businesses but I didn't enjoy my visit here so I apologise in advance. I had to buy some sunscreen from the shop and it was ridiculously priced. I looked for a broad brimmed hat which was even more absurdly priced! Sometimes this is a feature of specialist venues like this but it doesn't make it right. The map of the zoo needs updating, I must have taken at least half a dozen dead end paths and I used to create maps for a living! Perhaps directions written on the paths or more obvious signage is needed. There's no thought given to having keeper presentations on a circuit so that visitors can make their way around the zoo taking in presentations as they go - some consecutive presentations are widely separated and you have to read the fine print as they are not on every day. The lack of planning means people are going in all directions on narrow walkways with little kiddies that you don't want to knock over or double prams etc. Signs indicating a presentation are not always where the presentation is being hosted so I saw lots of people waiting in the wrong places. This is an issue when a keeper is talking and pointing things out and most of the crowd can't see them. Given the crowds, even on a weekday the presentation viewing areas were small and very cramped. It wasn't obvious in some exhibits where animals were and some paths shown on the map didn't exist resulting in backtracking and more crowded pedestrian traffic even outside the areas being renovated. The presenters were drowned out by noisy children in some cases which may be ameliorated by more appropriate placement of loudspeakers or a request by presenters at the start of the presentation for parents to make an effort to allow everyone to hear by attending their kids, not that it should be necessary! It's a great day out for kids but adults would like to enjoy it too. On a positive note the keepers obviously love their animals and the animals look healthy and well cared for. Seating could be a little more comprehensive and refreshments seem generally adequate but healthy options or special dietary requirements are thin on the ground. Shade is easy enough to find on hot days and a good childrens play area is near the central cafe. A couple of zoo volunteers were inside the entry gate but they may have been more helpful if they were dispersed and able to help people find the best place for presentations or help guide visitors to particular exhibits. Perhaps my expectations were unduly high after having visited other zoos, I hope so because I think this one could be a better visitor experience...

Amazing zoo that I have visited as an interstate traveller and highly recommend to all interstate visitors. Aside from the super friendly, down to earth staff, and the animal offerings, this is hands down the most peaceful and serene zoo I have ever visited (speaking from experience in visiting SA zoos including Monarto, Adelaide Zoo, Werribee, Melbourne and Healesville in VIC and Taronga in NSW). There is a supremely good energy the moment you step inside, it is something indescribable like a spiritual energy that calms the nervous system and makes one very happy (perhaps this site was connected to spiritual gatherings of our Aboriginal ancestors' past maybe). I especially loved the large expansive aviary section for all kinds of bird species, is a great and unique offering that other Australian zoos I visited don't have. It is a very inclusive thing to offer at the zoo. One suggestion would be, and the reason I voted if 4 stars, is I noticed a slight nod to the Western Australian emblem, the black Swan, within the aviary, but not much else. I had the privilege of meeting your sole female swan, Swany, and was introduced to this intelligent bird by the friendly and passionate female bird keeper. As a long time Swan lover, and someone that is passionate about history and culture, I think it could be both educational and enlightening to include a Swan talk in your future line up of animal talks, considering the black swan represents the emblem of WA, so has symbolic and historical significance. Many Perth residents and even interstate visitors would appreciate learning more about this intelligent bird, their connection with our ancestors and the state of WA. This could definitely boost tourism for both the zoo and add an exciting addition to...