Projects
Australia Zoo is proud to fund various national and international Conservation Projects. Our current projects are successfully helping to protect many species including crocodiles, tigers, wombats, elephants and cheetah.
When you visit Australia Zoo or Sponsor a Conservation Project, you are helping us to develop exciting new territory in wildlife and wilderness conservation. A portion of the proceeds go directly to support Australia Zoo’s conservation projects.
Australia Zoo Rescue Unit
Australian Wildlife Hospital 24-hour emergency hotline
Phone: 1300 369 652
Steve and Terri Irwin were born into families of wildlife rescuers! In the beginning, Australia Zoo was made up of animals which had been rescued by the Irwin's and unable to be released back into the wild. Today, Australia Zoo has its very own Wildlife Rescue Unit; a team dedicated to rescuing wildlife 365 days a year!
Cheetahs
Despite their status as the fastest land mammal on earth, the cheetah is running out of time. With only 9,000 to 12,000 cheetahs left in the wild, this magnificent species has become critically endangered due to loss of habitat and cheetah-human conflict. Conflict occurs when cheetahs are wrongly blamed for livestock losses and subsequently killed by angry farmers.
Crocodiles
Australia Zoo, in partnership with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) and the University of Queensland (UQ), are making monumental strides in the field of crocodilian research and conservation.
Through programs such as Crocs in Space, International Crocodile Rescue, not to mention the Irwin family's long-time involvement in trapping and relocating rogue crocodiles for the QPWS, we are fighting at the frontline in the battle to save the Saltwater Crocodile, and all crocodilian species, from persecution and eventual extinction.
Elephants
Australia Zoo is home three happy, healthy and very beautiful Asian elephants. Sadly, Asian Elephants in the wild are not so lucky. With no more than 30,000 elephants left in the forests of Asia, the population of Asian Elephants is rapidly declining. In fact, it is thought that this current figure is less than one tenth of the population of the Asian elephant’s African cousin.
Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve
The Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve (SIWR) is a wetland conservation property and a tribute to Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.
The 135,000 ha property, in Queensland's Cape York Peninsula, is home to a set of important spring fed wetlands which provide a critical water source to threatened habitat, provide permanent flow of water to the Wenlock River, and is home to rare and vulnerable plants and wildlife.
The Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve (SIWR) was acquired as part of the National Reserve System Programme for the purpose of nature conservation with the assistance of the Australian Government.
Tigers
Come along to Australia Zoo to catch a glimpse at our six magnificent Sumatran Tigers in action- they will take your breath away! It has taken millions of years for tigers to evolve into the beautiful, awe-inspiring predator we have today. Once roaming over nearly one-fifth of the Earth, the tiger has been pushed into small isolated islands of habitat, often surrounded by a sea of humanity. It is presently a very real possibility that the tiger will become extinct in our lifetime.
Tasmanian Devils
Tasmanian Devils suffer from what is known as the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), an infectious cancer that can now be found across 70% of Tasmania. This disease is a cancer killing Tasmanian devils in the wild at an alarming rate.
Tracking
Australia Zoo has established a number of Animal Tracking Projects that will enable our wildlife to have the greatest chance of survival.
Read about the release of Rafael, a three flippered Loggerhead Turtle, marked the launch of Australia Zoo’s Turtle Research Project.
