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, 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.
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.
Find out how we track the movements and behaviour of estuarine crocodiles.
Crocodiles
Steve Irwin and his Australia Zoo team, 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.
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.
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. Tiger conservation is therefore now more critical than ever.
In the last sixty years we have lost three sub-species of tiger; the Balinese, Caspian and Javanese tigers are gone forever. It is estimated that just 100 years ago there were over 100,000 tigers in the vast forests of Asia. Humans are the only race capable of wiping out an entire species, making humans solely responsible for the tiger's demise.
Wildlife Warriors - Tiger Conservation
Wombats
Steve Irwin and the Australia Zoo team love wombats. It's as simple as that. Why else would you build a one-acre enclosure with large air-conditioned dens and then put just three Common Wombats in it? The Australia Zoo wombats have the best life of any captive wombat anywhere in the world. Almost to prove the point, both of our females have produced offspring in the last two years despite being hand-raised, something that usually prevents breeding in captivity. Their offspring, two female joeys, have also been hand-raised and now share time in the enclosure with their parents. Given that the new enclosure has only had wombats in it for 30 months, the enclosure and husbandry regimes have been enormously successful.
The experience of caring for the adults and producing these Common Wombat joeys has just been the start of an ambitious program by Australia Zoo to aid the critically endangered Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat.
The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat is one of the most endangered species of mammal in the world. There are currently no more than 113 individuals left in the wild, and this is an ambitious guess based upon random hair-sampling of active burrows. At one point in the 1970s it was thought that the population was as low as 35 individuals, so there has been some progress in stabilising the population.
Cheetahs
Despite their status as the fastest land mammal on earth, the cheetah is running out of time. With only between 9,000 and 12,000 cheetahs left in the wild, cheetah-human conflict is the biggest threat to their survival. Conflict occurs when cheetah, which are often wrongly affiliated and blamed for livestock losses, are killed by angry farmers.
Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors is working in partnership with De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust, and most recently Cheetah Outreach, both located in South Africa. Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors works with both organisations to support cheetah releases, tracking and monitoring of cheetah, and local education to reduce the cheetah-human conflict.
Through vital research and the facilitation of a cheetah tracking program, De Wildt and Cheetah Outreach have found that the cheetah is a nomadic animal and often only crosses the same property once every two weeks, proving to farmers that a cheetah may not even be in the area when their livestock has been killed. This information is helping to change the tide and is producing a number of ‘cheetah friendly' farmers. In exchange for a small fee, these friendly farmers contact De Wildt when a cheetah is located on their property, and rather than killing the animal, they assist De Wildt to capture and relocate the cheetah to a safe area.
Wildlife Warriors - Cheetah Conservation
Elephants
Australia Zoo is home three happy, healthy and very beautiful Asian elephants. Sadly, it is a very different story for Asian Elephants in the wild. With no more than 30,000 elephants left in the forests of Asia, the Asian elephant is rapidly declining throughout its range. In fact, it is thought that this current figure is less than one tenth of the population of the Asian elephant's African cousin.
The Asian Elephant is declining throughout its range, with no more than 30,000 elephants left in the forests of Asia. In fact, it is thought that this current figure is less than one tenth of the population of the Asian elephant's African cousin.
Habitat loss and degradation are leading to populations of Asian elephants becoming fragmented in their environment. As their habitat shrinks, elephants and humans come into conflict as elephants raid crop fields and destroy homes and property. This human-elephant conflict is thought to be the leading cause of elephants being killed in the wild.
Wildlife Warriors - Elephant Conservation
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!
From koalas to Green Sea turtles, the Australia Zoo Rescue Unit is dedicated to rescuing all wildlife in need. From Brisbane to Kilcoy and beyond the team travels far and wide with a proven catch and release program in place- their aim is to successfully rescue, rehabilitate and release team works closely with Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors - Australia Wildlife Hospital to ensure each animal received the best possible care.
The Australia Zoo Rescue Unit provides a free service to the community to rescue sick and injured wildlife and get them to the best possible veterinary treatment, the Australian Wildlife Hospital. The team are highly skilled and trained to rescue everything from road accident victims to marine animal strandings (including everything in between) and they do it all seven days a week!
Tasmanian Devils
The 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.Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors in 2008 financially supported a pilot project in Tasmania known as Devil Island to help save the Tasmanian devil from extinction. Unfortunately, the Tasmanian devil suffers 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.
DFTD is unique, being only one of three cancers that can spread like a contagious disease. Under normal circumstances, cancer cannot be ‘caught,' however DFTD is the exception to this rule, making the research and science into finding a cure incredibly difficult. DFTD is highly contagious and is spread when a diseased devil bites a healthy devil.
DFTD is unique to the Tasmanian devil, and is characterised by large tumours which appear mainly on the face and neck. Once these tumours are visible, there is a certainty that the Tasmanian devil will suffer a long painful death due to starvation.
