$16 million to be spent on native animal enclosures at Taronga Zoo

With a new competitor in town Sydney’s Taronga Zoo has upped the ante and will bring visitors closer than ever to some of its most famous attractions.

The arms race between Sydney’s two zoos has ramped up a notch, with a $16m native animal enclosure given the green light.

In a move that is expected to supercharge visitation to the Mosman site and conserve wildlife ravaged by climate change and bushfires, Taronga Zoo is pressing ahead with significant improvements to its koala canopy walk.

Plans for extensions to the kangaroo and wallaby “walk-through experience”, underwater viewing of its platypus residents and improvements to the nocturnal exhibition were this week approved by Planning Minister Rob Stokes.

Artist’s impression of the $16m extension to Taronga Zoo, approved by Planning Minister Rob Stokes.

“Taronga Zoo is one of Australia’s most iconic tourist destinations and this revamp will place greater emphasis on some of our nation’s most iconic animals,” Mr Stokes said.

“This development will inject $16m into the state’s economy and create more than 800 construction jobs while helping to make Taronga Zoo a more attractive tourist destination.”

Taronga Zoo submitted the development application less than a year after Sydney Zoo opened its doors in December 2019.

That facility, located 33km west of the CBD near Blacktown, has been poaching visitors who until then had only one option.

The new canopy walk will give us better views of Baxter the Koala at Taronga Zoo. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Taronga chief executive Cameron Kerr said their zoo “has a vital role to play in inspiring lasting connections between people and wildlife and in doing so, create conservation champions eager to protect wildlife around the world”.

“In the wake of recent climate emergencies and the toll they have taken on Australian wildlife, this revitalised precinct will be a powerful tool for wildlife conservation and education,” Mr Kerr said.

Environment Minister Matt Kean said Taronga Zoo had been an important part of Sydney Harbour’s landscape and NSW’s critical conservation work since 1916.

It is expected the construction work will create 800 jobs in the short-term.

“The Australia Precinct at Taronga is home to some of our Aussie icons including the koala, platypus and bilby,” Mr Kean said.

“The project will see new life breathed into parts of the precinct that are more than 30 years old, improving the visitor experience and encouraging more people to get out and learn about the conservation of our iconic Aussie animals.”

Works on the precinct upgrade are set to kick-off in the coming months, with the project expected to be completed by 2023.