I remember coming here as a child and when I revisited it a lot of good memories came back, especially the Silverback Gorilla and the Rattlesnake behind glass. I went on the day when the Zoo had an article in the Herald Sun about snow leopard twins, but was dissapointed when I did not see them. I chose a cold and miserable day to visit the Zoo, so the animals were mostly all huddled in the beginning of the day, so I stayed twice as long to make sure I could get great pictures. The baboons in an all concrete exhibit almost broke my heart, as with some smaller monkeys elsewhere, huddled up with inadequate shelter on a cold day. Yet the Zoo boats they have won awards for their exhibits for their animals. I found that information on each animal was kind of inadequate, clearly only the favourite animals like the elephant and orangatangs had extra information on them. All others had roughly an A4 page of where the animal originated from but little else. The Zoo conducts 'Talk with the Keeper" at various animal exhibits yet due to the circular paths I found that I missed a lot of the talks because I couldn't get there quick enough. Of those I did attend, the keeper of the large Tortoise was the only one I found eager to give you stories and facts about 'her animal', others I found weren't interested unless you had the right questions for them. Also I found some of the Zoo to be a little 'preachy' about "Saving the Endangered Animals". I'm all for conservation, and I happily signed a Zoo petition on behalf of Black Bears, however it seemed that with almost every second exhibit I visited there was a Zoo guide ready to tell me how to change my 'carbon imprint' what I can do to help endangered animals. There are various eating spots you can buy your lunch from, from the easy food-on-paper-plates to indoor bistro dining, but I strongly suggest to bring your own lunch as everything for sale is over priced by at least $2. There is wonderful merchandise for sale. All up I stayed 6 hours and was never bored.

You could see most animals here, including huge turtles, the Bengal tiger, Kangaroos, Koala bears, emus, ostriches, etc. There is even a section, where butterflies are let out in an open enclosure and they fly all over the visitors and sit on their hands or shoulders. You could see almost every beautiful butterfly in this section. The Melbourne Zoo (also known as the Royal Melbourne Zoo) is placed well away from the hustle and the bustle of the city. It also offers night safari, announcements by the zoo-manager of the births of new animals, and many fun activities.

Founded in 1862, Melbourne Zoo is Australia's oldest and the third oldest in the world. It has changed greatly over the years, replacing the old barred cages and pits with more animal friendly enclosures. The zoo is divided into bio-climatic zones using landscape immersion to help animals acclimatise to the Australian environment and is at the forefront of the captive Lowland Gorilla breeding program. The butterfly house, lion park and primate enclosure are among the highlights. In summer locals flock to the twilight jazz sessions .

Probably the best zoo I've ever been to. Enclosures are nice for the animals, easy to get around and lots of Meerkats! Price is expensive, but no more so than any other attraction around Australia. Take your own food and drinks for a whole day out.

Enjoyed visiting the zoo when I was younger and we went with class there. Nice and scenic, with very cute animals. Haven't been there for awhile, as i don't like to see animals in captivity anymore. It makes me sad :(