Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Taronga Western Plains Zoo ~ Dubbo NSW

Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo opened in 1977 and was the first open-range zoo in Australia.

When the Zoo opened, it contained 35 different animals from six countries. Today, you can see over 1,000 different animals from five continents. 

Including endangered species such as Black Rhinoceros, Sumatran Tigers, Elephants and Giraffe that roam across the 300 hectares of bushland. 

It is now recognised as Australia’s greatest open plain zoo, with walls and fences replaced by concealed moats that divide the animals from the visitors.

The Zoo is open every day of the year from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm.

The entry ticket includes two consecutive days’ admission, giving you ample time to explore all the Zoo offers. 

The Zoo has a 6-kilometre circuit around the exhibits and you can drive your car, ride your bike, walk or hire a bike or golf cart to get around.

The Savannah Visitor Plaza includes a shop, playground and cafe overlooking the Savannah Lake and Primate Island.

You can enter this area for free and watch the Black-handed Spider Monkeys and Ring-tailed Lemurs.

Meerkats

Slender-tailed Meerkats have greyish-brown to light grey coats with dark bands across the body and dark eyes and nose. The black fur around their eyes acts like ‘built-in sunglasses’ to help the meerkats see in the bright sunlight.

Meerkats live in an extended family group and while the majority of the group are looking for food, individuals called sentries will stand guard on their hind legs, watching for predators.

Rhinoceros

White Rhinoceros have two horns with a broad snout and a square lip. They are grazers that feed on low-growing vegetation and they can live to 35-40 years old.

Black Rhinos are smaller than White Rhinos and they are critically endangered. Black rhinos are browsers, rather than grazers, they don’t feed on low-growing vegetation, they feed on leaves from bushes and trees.

Zebras

There are four different species of Zebras, and each zebra has a unique pattern of stripes as individual as a human’s fingerprint. Zebras are highly social and generally live in family groups of between five and twenty individuals.

Giraffes

Giraffes are the tallest of all the animals, with some male giraffes growing to 5.5 metres high. They also have the largest eyes of any land mammal, they have great eyesight and can see clearly up to 2 kilometres away.  They spend most of their day grazing.

Hippopotamus

The hippopotamus is the second largest land mammal, elephants are the largest. Hippos are great swimmers and can hold their breath for up to five minutes underwater. 

Cheetahs

The Cheetah is the fastest land mammal, and they can run up to 103 kilometres per hour or 29 metres per second in high-speed chases over hundreds of metres. Taronga Western Plains Zoo was the first zoo in Australasia to successfully breed cheetahs. 

Asian Elephants

Elephants are the largest living land mammal, they are super smart and very social. Elephants are herbivores and spend up to 16 hours a day feeding on 75 – 100 kilograms of food and they can drink 80 – 160 litres of water a day.

Sumatran Tigers

Sumatran Tigers are critically endangered, with as few as 400 Sumatran Tigers left. Sumatran Tigers generally hunt at dusk and can travel up to 20 kilometres in one night in search of food.

Waterhole Cafe and Water Play Area

Halfway around the Zoo circuit, you will come to the Waterhole Café and water play area. Here you can stop for a drink or a snack and watch another group of meerkats.

You can also have a splash in the African waterhole, themed water play area featuring hippo and elephant sculptures.

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Greater One horned Rhinoceros

Are the largest of the Rhino species, they have one horn and grey-brown hide with skin folds, which gives it an armour-plated appearance. They are solitary animals that graze on mainly grass.

Lions

African Lions are the second largest of all the big cats, and they are very social, they live in a family group called a pride.

Tasmanian Devil

The Tasmanian Devil is the largest living carnivorous marsupial in the world. They are nocturnal, and for their size, they have one of the most powerful bites of any mammal.

Aussie Walkthrough

In the Aussie Walkthrough exhibit, you can see kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and emus.

Savanah Safari

For an additional cost, you can go on a Savannah Safari; this is a unique guided tour amongst herds of African animals, including giraffes, rhinos, and zebras. 

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