I took the Small Child to the National Zoo in canberra.  Kids love zoos and to be honest – so do I.  I’ve been to handful of zoos around the world Barcelona Zoo, London Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo and Christchurch Zoo.  Also been to a handful in Australia – Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, Taronga Zoo in Sydney and a few smaller menageries like Zoo Doo Wildlife Park in Hobart, Alma Park Zoo in Brisbane, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Coast and I’m sure there’s a few others that I’ve long since forgotten.

Anyway the point is – I like zoos.  I like getting the opportunity to see exotic animals up close and if you’re lucky you might even get a few good pictures of animals that you wouldn’t be able to do without significants amounts of expensive travel.  I particularly like zoos that have great habitats for the inhabitants and zoos that obviously aim to educate and have large investment in conservation programs. 

As you do when you’re a parent you tend to want to instil in your children an appreciation for the sorts of things that you yourself are interested in, so the Small Child has also been to a number in Brisbane, the one in Christchurch and now the National Zoo.  And I have to say – what a disappointment the National Zoo in Canberra turned out to be.  I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of days and wondering if I’ve just got high expectations because I’ve seen some of the international offerings in Europe.  But no after thinking about it for a while I have to say I just don’t think our ‘National Zoo’ comes up to scratch.

The animals they have there are –
African Lion
Sumatran Tiger
Bengal Tiger
Cougar *
King Cheetah*
Serval*
Snow Leopard
Malaysian Sun Bear
European Brown Bear
Native Dingos*
Koala
Giraffe*
Common Eland*
Zebra*
Capuchin Monkeys
Marmoset
Cape Barren Goose
Tamarin Monkeys
Tasmanian Devil
Otters
Red Panda
Alpacas
Emu
Wombat 

There was also an Aquarium which had some sharks, various reef fish in salt aquariums and a Reptile House which had an Olive Python, a Boa Constrictor, a Blood Python, a Corn Snake, two Reticulated Pythons, a Fijian Crested Iguana, a Rhinoceros Iguana and some small Alligators.  Is it just me or is anyone else noticing something missing here?  This is the National Zoo in Canberra, Capital City of Australia…

So where the fuck are all the Australian animals?  

The handful they do have there are bolded in the list above and a pathetic bunch they make.  The whole place centres it advertising around the big cats which to be fair is something that most zoos tend to do.  But seeing that this is supposed to be the National Zoo of Australia I had expected to see a large array of Australian Animals…. including various kangaroos.  How can you have an Australian zoo with no kangaroos?  That’s absurd.

I expected to see….
Kangaroos – red ones, grey ones, Wallabies, Pademelons all of them
Platypus
Echidnas
Possums
Quolls
Bandicoots
Sugar Gliders
Native mice
Quokkas
Bilbys

How about some Australian birds?
Galahs
Cockatoos
Red Tail Black Cockatoos
Whipbirds
Lyrebirds
Black Swans
Cassowary
Ibis
Bitterns
Curlews
Rainbow Bee Eaters
Brolgas
Jabirus
Kookaburras

What about some Australian representatives in the Reptile House?
Red Bellied Black Snakes
Taipans
Death Adders
Frilled Lizzards
Thorny Devils
Long necked tortoises
Crocodiles (not alligators)
Goannas

This is just a list I have made off the top of my head here.  I am aware that I have had an unusually good education in Australian flora and fauna due to many long holidays taken in National Parks all over Australia with the family when I was growing up and I have actually seen many of these animals in their natural habitats.  I imagine if I did some googling I could find a list long as your arm full of interesting and unique Australian animals that deserve inclusion in our so-called National Zoo.  It blows me away that hardly any of them were represented at all.

As I said – it was a sad disappointment to me and just lucky that the Small Child has a glass half full view of life so far and one lonely emu and one hiding wombat was still a thrill for him.

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