By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLE Sanctuary visitors looking for koalas and echidnas will be in for a pleasant surprise, with the old enclosure being replaced by a grand new structure, the Koala Forest.
The area, which opened on Wednesday 22 June, features a new boardwalk around larger koala enclosures, which are raised to eye-level, with information stands along the way.
Healesville Sanctuary director Glen Holland opened the enclosure with Zoos Victoria member, seven-year-old Isaac Busuttil in an event featuring numerous community members and dignitaries.
Mr Holland said the enclosure was the first part in a four-stage redevelopment for areas of the sanctuary, and had cost about $1 million to build.
The next stages, he said, featured a new area for the kangaroos and a theatre that would house a show about nocturnal Australian animals.
“We’ve been right around the sanctuary, we’ve renewed pretty well every exhibit, leaving koalas and kangaroos until last,” Mr Holland said.
“Finally, we’ve got here – as a product for our general visitors, for our tourists, I think we can safely say we’re getting there as a destination, if not quite there yet.”
Isaac told the crowd that the Koala Forest enclosure would feature keeper talks and information about the iconic animal.
“We can learn about these amazing creatures – an experience that kids and adults will never forget,” he said.
Visitors, including Casey MP Tony Smith and Yarra Ranges councillor Maria McCarthy then took the first public walk on the boardwalk and listened to keeper Amie Hindson’s keeper talk.
Life Sciences manager Bronwyn Macreadie said the enclosure would also feature the sanctuary’s maiden dedicated areas for echidnas, where the animals could be viewed year round.
“I’ve worked here since the 80s, and this is the first time the echidnas have had a dedicated exhibit – it’s great,” she said.
She said that seven koalas were currently housed in the enclosure, but that there was room for up to 12 when the final works had been completed.
Mr Holland said he hoped the new enclosure would help to boost visitor numbers towards the sanctuary’s goal of 550,000 annually by 2019.
“We’re on about 400,000 visitors at the moment … and we’re aiming for 550,000, not simply because we think it’s a good figure, or it’s a nice thing to have lots of people, but because we want to grow our conservation upwards from $6 million a year spend to $20 million,” he said.
“Just a week ago, we heard another mammal went extinct in the Northern Territory, Queensland area – we said we’ll make sure that nothing goes extinct in Victoria, and we’ll do our best for the others as well.”
