Our Animals

Below you can find links to information about some of the animals you can see at Werribee Open Range Zoo. We will be adding more animals to the list over time, so if your favourite animal isn't featured, check back soon.


  • African Wild Dogs

    The African Wild Dog has many aliases including the Hunting Dog, Cape Hunting Dog and is also known as the Painted Dog, due to the unique artistic patterns along their body. Their scientific name, Lycaon pictus, is latin, meaning painted wolf.

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  • Giraffe

    The tallest of all living creatures, the giraffe is perfectly adapted to feeding from the tops of trees in the African savannah.

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  • Hippopotamus

    The word ‘hippopotamus’ is Greek for ‘river horse’. These large African animals spend most of their time in or near large pools of water and can weigh up to 3 tonnes.

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  • Lion

    Often called ‘King of the Jungle’, the lion in fact is not a jungle dweller, but lives on the savannahs of eastern and southern Africa.

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  • Meerkat

    The meerkat is not a cat, nor is it related to the prairie dog. It is a member of the civet family, which includes the otter and mongoose.

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  • Rhinoceros

    The Southern White Rhinoceros is a ‘gentle giant’ being the calmest of the five rhino species. Living mainly in South Africa, it is under threat from poaching.

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  • Zebra

    A Plains zebra has rather broad stripes, especially towards its rump, with colour ranging from black to dark brown. There may be a brown ‘shadow stripe' between a black and white stripe

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