Monarto Zoo- Working With The Keepers: In the Murraylands region of South Australia
Drive just 45 minutes out on the South Eastern Freeway and there's the turn off into the 1,000 hectare free range sanctuary that is Monarto Zoological Park. Between the mallee ridges roam threatened species of Africa and Asia, breeding up again and helping us to understand nature at its most exotic. Now, the newly introduced ' Working with Wildlife Experience' gives you the chance to go hands on - eye to eye.
Our honorary assistant keeper group is off to a dramatic start, getting personal with a rhino that was a feral bull in Kruger National Park just two years ago. With a keeper nearby and only a bar of his "race" between us, the rhino eats clover out of my hands. You couldn't get a more graphic idea of what working with the wildlife is about than that.
It's an intimate experience, working alongside the keepers and the veterinarians as they go through their day to day activites with these magnificent creatures. And, although the animals may appear fearsome, many are quite timid and so each outing with the staff is limited to just four people.
Park keeper, Colin, turns the myth of, 'tough as a rhino's hide' on its head. Colin was giving the rhino a bit of a tickle and he seemed to enjoy it but, as Colin says, the trust takes some time to build up.
“ I just started off hand feeding him, then started to touch him on the horn and worked down?rhinos don't really like being touched on the skin. They're very sensitive on the skin but eventually you can touch him around the face and now we can work round his feet and take blood samples from his ear.”
Conservation efforts and breeding such as the work being done at Monarto, are increasing the numbers of the Southern white rhinoceros again from just 100 to around 10,000. Hard to imagine we might have lost this fella.
We were worried our presence was causing his female companion to look agitated. Colin explained she was fussing over the mother-to-be that was out of our view next door. That's just one example of the keepers' wisdom and knowledge that is part and parcel of this new Monarto experience. I asked Colin about the time spent talking to and seemingly reassuring the animal.
“You’ve got to talk to them, let them know where you are and what you’re doing - he doesn’t say much back though”.
When you see the rhino’s released from their enclosures to the open areas you’ll be surprised at how fast and agile they are but wait till you meet the cheetahs! The fastest land animal, they can sprint at up to 100 kilometres an hour.
Unfortunately, these beautiful big cats haven't been fast enough to escape fur traders or disease and they're currently on the highly vunerable species list. Today we're helping cheetah keeper Michelle check their weight and general health and she explains just how we do it,
“This is the crush facility within the raceway," she explained, showing us the gates that create a temporary box cage. "The animals come up from the exhibit into the raceway into the crush and the scales are actually built into the crush and we hook them up to the monitor. The animals are taught to make their way into the crush and I spoon feed them and give them a reward so being in here is a good experience not a bad one."
Animal health and management is a priority at Monarto and veterinarian Ian Smith, who hosts the Working with Wildlife Experience, talks us through one of the more unusual methods of administering animal medicine.
“This is one of the darts we'll be using today, what we do is we put the drug in that end and seal that with a needle and it'll have a plug on it.”
Ian always practices the art of the blowdart before trying the tranquillizer delivery system and we’re encouraged to have a go as well. It's all a bit of fun, but in the back paddocks we leave it to the expert. And this day he’s targeting a Barbary sheep, a North African species, that needs shifting out of the main group - it’s too hard to get close to this wily beast so today he uses an airpowered rifle rather than a blowdart. Unfortunately, the windy conditions and the constant swirling of the flock proved too tricky even for Ian’s eagle eye. The hits and misses are all in a day's work at Monarto.
Feeding time is another opportunity to get close to the animals roaming the mallee scrublands. We drop off some tucker for the African Painted Dogs (actually, they drag it off the back of the ute). Unfortunately, these exotically spattered canines are also on the endangered list. Breeding success has come slowly here at Monarto. Only the dominant alpha male and female of the pack tend to breed. Now, one pair have produced the first successful litter at Monarto. Once they've had their fill, they call their puppies from out of their underground den to feed on the meat specially regurgitated for them. It’s not my idea of a tasty meal but no one here seems to be complaining.
Heavyweight lions, Leroy and Levi, are also looking forward to fatherly duties with the future introduction of three females. Until then, these handsome giants have this African veldt bachelor pad to themselves. Late in the day they’re keen to head for their night quarters.Why? Home delivery! Tonight, I get to deliver a slab of meat down the feeding chute as Levi lunges impatiently on hind legs against the enclosure.Close!
It’s very much hands on at times.To feed the giraffes, we drive out into a patch of mallee scrub, find a big growth of mistletoe on a tree and bring into the Africa exhibit to handfeed it up to these very gentle giants. Where else could you get this close to some of the greatest living treasures of the natural world?
I’m offering leafy treats to Tambo, the big male giraffe, and this is really what it's about at Monarto. If you get the chance, please take it. Work with the wildlife - it's a wonderful experience...and one that you will definitely find unforgettable.
For a full day of talking to the animals and sharing lunch with the keepers the introductory rate is $350 per person. It's the opportunity of a lifetime and a lot cheaper than airfares to the Safari Parks of Africa!
Working with Wildlife Experience
Advance Bookings essential. $350 per person.Monarto Zoological Park
Princes Highway, Monarto, S.A.Ph: (08)8534 4100
