Australia Zoo

On the Queensland Sunshine Coast of Australia, lies the Australia Zoo. Sitting on about forty-five acres of verdant rainforest amidst the surrounding area of the Sunshine Coast and the Glass House Mountains scenery, the Australian Zoo is the abode of conservation which lives through inspiring education. More than seven-hundred-fifty exotic and local animals rescued including reptiles such as crocodiles, has made the Australia Zoo its home.

The Australia Zoo goes way back in 1970 for its beginnings, when Bob and Lyn Irwin, the parents of the famed Discovery Channel's "Crocodile Hunter", Steve Irwin, decided to create a sanctuary for wildlife. That time, their home just became too small for a family of five and the gathered saved reptiles, prompting them to move to Sunshine Coast, and buying four-acres of land where they started the "Beerwah Reptile Park"; entrance rates were at fifty cents for adults and five cents for children.

Ever since the start of the Australia Zoo, its main endeavor has been to encourage conservation through education. By deciding to exhibit preponderate reptiles, the zoo was always battling public opinion, and never retreated from the challenge. Bob and Lyn carried the task of educating Australians regarding local reptiles, and soon became popular for their understanding of native wildlife. Bob Irwin became renowned and respected internationally as a herpetologist who assisted in leading the way for Australia's reptilian husbandry. On the other hand, Lyn Irwin became one of the foremost individual to rehabilitate injured and unwell wildlife in southeast Queensland.

All through the years, the park expanded and finally became known as the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. The year 1992, brought another change to the zoo as Bob and Lyn retired, entrusting facility supervision to their son Steve Irwin and wife Terri, who gave the park its new name, today's Australia Zoo.

The couple was fast to follow in the footsteps of Bob and Lyn, dedicating their life to promoting conservation as well. Steve and Terri involved themselves in various zoological associations, paving the way to breeding programs and conservation endeavors, including the institution of the Australia Zoo Endangered Species Unit and the Wildlife Rescue& Rehabilitation Unit.

The Endangered Species Unit was created to increase and put into practice breeding and management programs for species that are in danger of extinction not only those in Australia but across the world as well. The Australian Zoo has been a witness to first-ever birth of some of the extinct species such as an exceptional canopy goanna, the bilby, and the crested iguana.
The Australia Zoo is an impeccable reflection of how conservation of the wildlife plays an important role in the balance of nature, for people to better appreciate species of the wild. As what the zoo has always promoted from the very start, "Conservation through exciting Education", it'll be no surprise if the park further expands in the future and continues its legacy from generation to generation.