The Zoo
The National Zoo and Aquarium is privately owned by Canberra businessman Richard Tindale, and is maintained as a predominantly family-run business. The zoo receives no Government or Commonwealth support, and relies on entry fees from the public to continue operations. The zoo also relies on a large number of volunteer recruits to aid in the management of its grounds and the animals residing there.
The Zoo is the only combined zoo and aquarium in Australia. The zoo has both Australian endemic species and introduced species including the largest collection of big cats in Australia, including, until recently, the only tiglon in Australasia. The zoo is also involved in a number of breeding programs for endangered species.
The National Zoo and Aquarium plays host to many educational programs and specially designed tours for various groups; including school tours, family groups, Walk on the Wild Side, daily information sessions and children's birthday parties. The zoo runs children's activities during ACT public school holiday periods and a hands-on educational program for children from 8–16 years of age on weekends during the term.
Read more about this topic: National Zoo & Aquarium
Famous quotes containing the word zoo:
“The zoo cannot but disappoint. The public purpose of zoos is to offer visitors the opportunity of looking at animals. Yet nowhere in a zoo can a stranger encounter the look of an animal. At the most, the animal’s gaze flickers and passes on. They look sideways. They look blindly beyond.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)