Taylor Swift’s two visits to Sydney Zoo has reignited the city’s zoo feud

It is the war of the Sydney zoos that has been sent to stratospheric levels thanks to superstar Taylor Swift’s visits. What zoo is the city’s no.1?

It is the war of the Sydney zoos that has been sent to stratospheric levels thanks to superstar Taylor Swift’s visits.

The deep rift between Taronga Zoo and Sydney Zoo has been well documented, even making it to the Federal Court before being settled out of court.

Swift visited Sydney Zoo in the Harbour City’s western suburbs near Rooty Hill not once but twice over the past week, venturing out to see some critters solo on Wednesday and the next day with NFL star partner Travis Kelce in tow.

The visit has sent social media into overdrive as Swift unknowingly stepped into the ongoing drama between the two zoos.

One TikTokker named Kitty Rae, a singer, noted: “If you are in Sydney and you want to go to a zoo, what are you going to do? Sydney zoo.”

Rae described what she said was “passive aggressive” on the part of Sydney Zoo with its website playing to the rivalry.

Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce at Sydney Zoo. Picture: 9 News

On the landing page, it invites the public to “see the first hyena cub ever to be born in Sydney”, as well as the wording “Sydney Zoo provides an experience that is more immersive and engaging than traditional zoos” and “Sydney Zoo has Sydney’s ONLY rhino”.

To make things even more complicated, there’s a third zoo in the mix, that being Wild Life Sydney Zoo in Darling Harbour.

Mosman’s Taronga Zoo first opened in 1916 while Sydney Zoo in Bungarribee is less than five years old.

A Google search shows Sydney Zoo ranked first, followed by Wild Life Sydney and then Taronga Zoo.

In 2018, Sydney Zoo won the right to keep its name after being drawn into a legal catfight in the Federal Court by Taronga Zoo. Taronga alleged misleading or deceptive conduct, arguing the title could cause the public to confuse the new zoo with its own facility on Sydney Harbour.

Harry Styles is also linked to the drama in that charity money raised from his 2023 world tour went to 25 recipients including ‘Sydney Zoo’. It was later clarified that Styles meant the undisclosed amount was for Taronga Zoo, not Sydney Zoo.

Both zoos were contacted for comment.

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