Goats free to roam empty Adelaide Zoo as COVID-19 halts public access
The Adelaide Zoo is closed to the public but it’s opened its gates to the Sunday Mail and you’ll be surprised by what’s been going while the crowds are away.
SA News
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Goats are sauntering past puzzled-looking orang-utans at the Adelaide Zoo.
At Monarto Safari Park, keepers are boogying on down to a fascinated audience of chimpanzees who have become nature documentary aficionados.
This if life behind the scenes of our much-loved zoos since doors closed on March 25 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Zoos SA chief executive Elaine Bensted says it is the first time in the 137-year-old history of the Adelaide Zoo that gates have been closed for more than one day.
“We’ve been open through two world wars, the great depression …. It is new territory for us all.”
At the height of these school holidays, both sites would have welcomed up to 3700 visitors a day.
The 3000 animals are missing the crowds too.
“Our goats have been calling out to us a little more than normal and really miss being the centre of attention,” says Michelle Birkett, Adelaide Zoo senior keeper and presenter.
“They’re part of our children’s zoo, so they are used to a lot of human contact and are part of our shows,” she says.
To combat the boredom, Adelaide zoo keepers have been walking the herd of 12 miniature goats through the empty grounds.
Their casual, daily strolls have raised eyebrows, particularly from the orang-utans and the Sumatran tigers, who’ve been savouring their visits from afar. Meanwhile, the meerkats are intrigued by the remote-control car that keeps zipping by without much notice. And the troop of 12 chimpanzees at Monarto are enjoying their keepers performing dance moves with guitars and tambourines on a public viewing platform that on a busy day can draw crowds of up to 1000 people.
“Our chimps enjoy watching humans as much as really humans like watching the chimps,” says Monarto’s Primate Keeper Lisa Morrison
“It’s different for them not to see the public on site, so our keepers are making sure we are providing them with a lot of increased visual enrichment in public areas where we normally would not do this.”
A flat screen TV running nature documentaries has also been set up outside the glass viewing area of the chimps’ enclosure.
Zoos SA is providing 24/7 live streaming of the chimpanzees, pandas and southern white rhino (#athomewiththeanimals), plus Facebook keeper talks.