Perth Zoo Audio Tour

Go Back

Studying or visiting a zoo? Now you can bring the sounds of the animal kingdom alive and make your close encounters with the animals even more memorable. If you enjoy keeper talks, then this is your opportunity to experience interesting and informative talks on over 36 different species. Just choose and download one or more of the FREE audio tracks to your desktop to listen or put on your iPod / MP3 player and Enjoy!

ASIAN RAINFOREST

	ASIAN ELEPHANT Asian Elephants are smaller than African Elephants and have smoother, darker skin and smaller ears. They also have a single, finger-like projection on their trunks, whereas the African Elephant has two. Elephants have large, ridged teeth so they can eat coarse bark, leaves, branches and grass. They use their trunks to pull down branches and strip trees.
	NEPALESE RED PANDA The Red Panda is a reddish-brown colour with white ear rims, cheeks, muzzle and spots above the eyes. Red Pandas have a false thumb on each hand which helps them to hold onto bamboo stems and leaves and have partially retractable claws which help them to climb.
	ORIENTAL SMALL-CLAWED OTTER The Oriental Small-clawed Otter is the smallest of the otters. Its short, sleek coat is dark brown. They have reduced webbing on their feet and hands which gives them greater touch and dexterity. This species of otter can be seen 'playing' with sticks and pebbles.
	SUMATRAN ORANG-UTAN Orang-utans have a coarse, shaggy reddish coat. Males look very different to females. An adult male is larger and has a throat pouch and flanges (cheek pads) on either side of its face. Orang-utans have very long arms that can stretch as far as 2.6 m.
	SUMATRAN TIGER The Sumatran Tiger is the smallest of the tiger subspecies. This smaller size allows it to move through the forest quickly. Its stripes are also thinner than other tigers, assisting with camouflage in the shadows. Unlike other cats, tigers like to swim. Sumatran Tigers have partial webbing between their toes, which makes them very fast swimmers. Sumatran Tigers also have a white 'beard'.
	WHITE-CHEEKED GIBBON Male and female White-cheeked Gibbons have different coloured fur. The male’s body is covered with black fur, with white cheeks and a black crest on its head. The female is a golden colour with a black face and no crest. Babies have a whitish coat that turns black over the first two years of life. When they reach sexual maturity, the males stay black but the females change to the golden colour.

AFRICAN SAVANNAH

	CHEETAH The Cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal and can sprint at over 110 kph for 10–20 seconds. The Cheetah was once widespread across Asia and Africa. Now there are only approximately 60 Asian Cheetahs surviving in reserves in Iran. Only scattered populations survive in suitable habitat in Africa.
	HAMADRYAS BABOON Hamadryas Baboons have a highly organised, unique and complicated social structure. A male will dominate up to 10 females at a time and form a ‘family’. Several families form a clan; several clans form a band; and several bands form a troop. The dominant male maintains these groups or ‘harems’ by threats and force.
	ROTHSCHILD'S GIRAFFE The giraffe is the tallest land animal on earth with a long neck that contains only seven vertebrae (just like humans!). They have a long, strong tongue which is used to pull leaves from branches and is about 45 cm long. Giraffes have a thick spotted coat and a long tail which is useful for brushing away flies. The Rothschild’s Giraffe can have up to five blunt, short horns called ‘ossicones’.
	SLENDER TAILED MEERKAT Slender-tailed Meerkats live in large social groups of up to 30 members. While most of the group are out foraging for food, ‘sentries’ are posted as look-outs for predators such as eagles or cobras. Sentries stand on their hindlegs so they can get a better view of approaching predators. When a threat is sighted, the sentries let out an alarm and the meerkats dive into their burrows.
	SOUTHERN WHITE RHINOCEROS White Rhinoceros aren’t white at all. The name comes from the Afrikaan word ‘weit’ which means wide and refers to the lip. This gives the rhinoceros their other names, the Square-lipped Rhinoceros or Wide-lipped Rhinoceros. The Southern White Rhinoceros has a thick grey hide and two long horns on its snout. Their legs are fairly slim, allowing them to run up to speeds of 45 kpm, which is amazing for their size.
	SPOTTED HYAENA The Spotted Hyaena has a spotted coat and is the largest of the four hyaena species. The hyaena has a large head, large ears, long front legs and shorter back legs with a back that slopes down from the shoulder to the tail. It can be difficult to distinguish the females from the males. Females are also larger than the males.

AUSTRALIAN BUSHWALK

	DINGO Dingos have a strong resemblance to domestic dogs. Pure breed dingos usually have a red-ginger or sandy- yellow coat with black, white or tan patches on their cheeks, ears and legs. The dingo’s bushy tail is 26–36 cm long. Dingos with other coat colours or patterns usually indicate breeding with domestic dogs.
	EMU Emus are large flightless birds with strong, powerful legs and three toes on each foot. They live in small groups but can form flocks of thousands when migrating. Emus pair up in late summer in a relationship that lasts about five months. Once the eggs are laid, females wander off, leaving the male to incubate the eggs. During this time, he does not leave the nest, not even for food or drink. When the eggs hatch, the young stay with the male for up to six months.
	KOALA Koalas have grey and white fur. Their feet are adapted for tree-climbing with thumbs on all four feet and sharp claws. Females have a backward-facing pouch. They are mainly active at night, making loud grunts or squeals to communicate with one another and they spend most of the day sleeping or resting.
	NUMBAT The Numbat is one of two Australian marsupials that are strictly diurnal (active during the day) and feed exclusively on termites, with adults eating up to 20,000 a day. Perth Zoo, as part of its Native Species Breeding Program, is breeding Numbats for release into protected habitats. To date, over 100 Numbats have been bred for release into the wild.
	KANGAROOS Kangaroos are the largest living marsupial. Red Kangaroos are reddish-brown in colour with a white belly. They are distinguished from Grey Kangaroos by the black and white markings on their muzzles and their white-tipped tails. Their strong, muscular tail is 64–100 cm long.
	SHORT-BEAKED ECHIDNA Short-beaked Echidnas are covered with long, brown-black and golden spines. Under the spines, the echidna’s body is covered with fur. Echidnas are one of only two mammals that lay eggs. The baby hatches after 10 days and is carried around by the mother for two months in a pouch-like skin fold. This baby is called a ‘puggle’.
	SOUTHERN HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats are similar in size to Common Wombats, but have softer, silkier, grey fur; longer ears and a much broader nose. Females (like all wombat species) have a backward-facing pouch. Wombats dig large burrow complexes within which they sleep during the day.

AUSTRALIAN WETLANDS

	ESTUARINE CROCODILE The Estuarine Crocodile is the world's largest living reptile. Although occasionally seen in the open ocean, this species is mostly estuarine (meaning it tends to remain in the estuaries where river meets ocean). The crocodile’s back is covered with ridges that provide protective armour and act to conceal the crocodile’s movement below the surface of the water.
	FRESHWATER CROCODILE Freshwater Crocodiles are more timid than Estuarine Crocodiles. They are typically not man-eaters and there is no record of an unprovoked attack on humans by a Freshwater Crocodile. On land, crocodiles move slowly but in the water they use their tail as a paddle and move very quickly. When under threat, Freshwater Crocodiles raise their bodies and race off into the water.
	LITTLE PENGUIN Little Penguins are the smallest of all penguins and the only species to live permanently in Australian waters. The Little Penguin has a streamlined body, small wings modified as flippers and a tail that acts as a rudder. The feathers provide excellent waterproofing and insulation.
	WESTERN SWAMP TORTOISE The Western Swamp Tortoise was feared extinct for over 100 years. By chance they were rediscovered in 1953 and found to still live in two small habitats in the Swan Valley. Western Swamp Tortoises have a brown or black shell, a short neck covered by tuberacles (knobbles), webbed toes with five claws on each foot and they are yellow with black dots underneath. Perth Zoo breeds this critically endangered species for release into the wild.

REPTILE ENCOUNTER

	CHAMELEON DRAGON While the Chameleon Dragon is named for it resemblance to the chameleon, it does not have the ability to rapidly change colour. The Chameleon Dragon varies in colour from reddish brown to pale grey or yellowish mustard. It is sometimes marked with dark brown spots and patches and has two long, narrow brown bars down the nape of its neck.
	DUGITE Dugites are venomous snakes. They may be found sheltering beneath logs or rocks or living in abandoned burrows or hollow logs. When disturbed, Dugites are very shy and will often slither away, however, they will defend themselves if cornered.
	FRILLED DRAGON This lizard is the largest of Australia’s ‘dragon’ family of lizards, or agamids. It is most commonly known because of the large frill around its neck that extends when threatened. The lizard’s skin colour and pattern matches tree bark and makes it very difficult to spot.
	OLIVE PYTHON The Olive Python is one of Australia’s largest snakes. It is usually a single colour of olive, greenish-brown, reddish-brown or off-white. Olive Pythons are usually found in rocky areas and gorges, especially those associated with water courses. These ground-dwelling snakes often inhabit rocks, caves and can be found in hollow logs.
	PERENTIE The Perentie is Australia’s largest lizard. When Perenties feel threatened, they rise up, their throat swells and they hiss. If this fails to scare the predator away, they run away. Its powerful tail may also be used as a means of defence.
	RETICULATED PYTHON The Reticulated Python is considered the longest snake in the world and has been known to reach over 10 metres in length. The python has a complicated, black, net-like pattern, yellow-edged with large pale spots on the sides.

LESSER PRIMATES

	COTTON-TOP TAMARIN Cotton-top Tamarins have a distinctive white mane which tapers to a 'mohawk' above their head. They have white underbellies and a dark brown back and tail. They are omnivores and eat insects, fruit, spiders, sap, blossom, leaves, nectar, birds' eggs, lizards and small tree frogs.
	RING-TAILED LEMUR The Ring-tailed Lemur has a white face with a dark nose and eye patches. Its underbelly is whitish-grey and its upper fur is brown-grey to rosy-brown. The lemur’s tail is very distinctive with black and white rings all along its length, hence the name ‘ring-tailed’. Its tail is used for visual and scent communication.

MAIN LAKE

AUSTRALIAN PELICAN

The Australian Pelican is widespread across Australia, Papua New Guinea and western Indonesia. It is mostly white with a large elongated bill and throat pouch. The pouch isn’t used to store food but acts in a similar way to a net when the pelican dives below the surface of the water to scoop fish.

NOCTURNAL HOUSE

	GHOST BAT The Ghost Bat is Australia’s It is Australia's only carnivorous. Much of this prey is captured on the ground. Ghost Bats use echolocation to find their food. Echolocation is a sensory system where the bats emit a high-pitched sound and listen to the echo to determine how far and in what direction objects are.
	SQUIRREL GLIDER The Squirrel Glider has soft grey fur above and yellowish-white on its belly. There are distinctive black marks on the face and a bushy tail that is 22–30 cm long. Squirrel Gliders have an area of loose skin connected from wrist to ankle. When they jump between trees, they extend this skin which allows them to glide. They can glide for up to 90 m.

WORLD OF BIRDS

	BLUE-and-GOLD MACAW These are large, amazingly coloured birds with predominantly blue and gold feathers. They also have green and white in their plumage and a black beak. At dusk Blue-and-Gold Macaws form large, noisy flocks at nesting sites to preen and chatter. These birds do not mature until they are six to eight years old, and spend the first two to three years with their parents. Pairs bond for life and maintain a permanent nest site.
	BLUE-WINGED KOOKABURRA Blue-winged Kookaburras live in family groups of up to eight individuals consisting of a breeding pair – who mate for life, their current brood of young and their offspring from previous years. Young Blue-winged Kookaburras normally live with their parents for several years and help with caring for younger siblings, building nests and defending their territory. This helps them to perfect the skills they need to find a mate and establish a territory of their own.