Growing Wild
Open
All non-members must pre-book online. Zoo Members can simply scan their membership card at the zoo gate.
Meerkats Keeper Talk
1.15pm every day
Little animal lovers are sure to go bananas over Growing Wild, our interactive play area designed especially for children aged three to eight. Here, kids can scamper beside meerkats, crawl inside a Giant Tortoise shell, and come face-to-face with Brush Turkeys, reptiles, insects and more. Young ones can explore the animals, sculptures, tunnels and sounds as they let their imaginations run wild.
Aldabra Giant Tortoise
The Aldabra Giant Tortoises are the oldest residents at Melbourne Zoo. They eat grass, herbs, leaves, and woody stems, and can weigh up to 250kgs! Classed as vulnerable, these slow movers are from the Seychelles, a group of islands off East Africa, but have been introduced elsewhere too.
Conservation Status
Vulnerable
Meerkat
Visitors to Melbourne Zoo love to connect with these delightful animals. Meerkats are small, measuring about 26–28cm, and just love to dig. We have the Slender-tail Meerkats that are found across southern Africa. Our meerkats spend most of the day foraging for food with a lookout always standing guard, watching for predators.
Conservation Status
Least Concern