Zoo owners Mark and Lisa Treweek, with their two sons Cooper right and William left.
Location &
History
Situated three hours from Melbourne and a mere 7 km from Halls Gap town the zoo is well sign posted and easily accessible off the Halls Gap/Ararat road.The zoo is set on 52 acres of land, and features over 120 species and 500 animals from all over the world, from tiny marmosets to gigantic giraffe and everything in between. Nestled under the shadows of the Grampians Mountains as the backdrop the zoo is well vegetated with large enclosures. Halls Gap Zoo was started by Colin and Liz Konig as Wallaroo Wildlife Park and was opened to the public on Boxing Day 1982. In 1988 it was taken on and branded the Halls Gap Zoo by Daryl and Barb Panther. In 2006 the Wildlife Park & Zoo was saved by the fire fighters when a large fire that started by lightning within the Grampians National Park spread into private land. During the several days of the fire many injured animals such as Koalas, Goanna’s and birds were brought to the park for treatment and rehabilitation and when ready reintroduced back into the wild. In 2007 they sold the Zoo to Greg and Yvonne Culell who were responsible for a wide range of upgrades and new exhbits and a new front entry facility for visitors.
Recognition of the Zoo’s importance to the region was acknowledged in 2011 being the recipients of “Outstanding Contribution to Tourism” and “Outstanding Product or Service” in the Powercor Business Achievements Awards. This was followed up with success in the state wide competition “Victorian 2014 RACV Awards”, being a runner up Tourist Attraction. The Zoo has now joined a number of the regional breeding programmes including Cheetah, Rhino and is one of the most prolific breeders of Spot-tailed Quoll. In July 2023 the Zoo was taken over by Mark and Lisa Treweek, with their two sons Cooper and William, who in their first few months have already invested significantly in animal welfare upgrades and a new exhibit for the saltwater crocodile. An immediate winner for visitor welfare has been a food and beverage outlet onsite that includes a good coffee.
Purpose
Halls Gap Zoo aims to contribute to conservation through immersive experiences, education, and endangered species breeding programs, whilst promoting and implementing contemporary animal welfare practices in accordance with guidelines issued by the Zoo and Aquarium Association of Australasia, and daily utilising the five-domain model in animal husbandry practises.
OUR
TEAM
Mark and Lisa Treweek are the directors and owners of the zoo who together with their two sons, Cooper and William, have made the Zoo their life. “We bought a zoo” and we are very proud of what we have managed to achieve since buying the zoo in July 2023. Our two boys speak so casually about their parents owning a zoo, and they love every minute they get to spend here with us. We have a great team of staff who are passionate about sharing their animal care with our visitors and are constantly improving on the best standards of care we can achieve for our wildlife.
The Zoo employs about twenty staff over a range of areas including our visitors, animals and the grounds which includes maintenance and horticulture. Being a small team, many of the team are cross trained and able to undertake the work across different areas including the husbandry of the animals.
Mila
Keeping Team SupervisorI have been working in zoos just over 10 years and started with my passion which is reptiles. I now have the amazing opportunity to lead our animal care team in providing the best care possible and looking to constantly improve on this. Sharing our wildlife and educating our visitors is at the center of what we focus on for our team and species.
Sherrin
Primate KeeperSince I was little, I wanted to work with primates and big cats, and I started working with primates in 2007. I love sharing our cheeky troops with our visitors, creating enrichment and training our primates as part of great animal care.
VACANCIES
Work with us
While the Zoo employs staff across all the areas of operation mentioned above, the animal keeping team make up the largest portion of staff. Keeping jobs are highly sought after and the Zoo has created a Trainee Keeper position which allows for young people entering the industry to work across a variety of areas of the operations including admissions before being trained on animal keeping. This results in staff who have a wider awareness and view of the operations including customer service and visitor needs, while they gain valuable experience for their career as a zoo keeper. The number of trainees is carefully balanced with experienced staff.
While we are not currently hiring, we encourage potential applicants to send in their resumes for future considerations.
Volunteer
Volunteers are an important part of the team, and we welcome their involvement and enthusiasm. Volunteering at Halls Gap Zoo is a great way to gain experience and further your knowledge within the zoo keeping industry.
You will get the chance to work alongside our dynamic, hard-working team, from whom you can expand your knowledge base and develop your own professional and personal skills.
Register to become a volunteer
OUR
PARTNERS
We work closely with our regional partners and stakeholders across fields such as tourism, animal care and education.
Follow us @hallsgapzoo
Thankyou so much to a Family from Horsham who so generously donated 5 family yearly memberships to some deserving local families saying that “The Halls Gap Zoo has brought so much joy to our lives over the years and after everything they and the local community have been through, especially with the challenges of the fires, we wanted to give something back to the zoo and hopefully bring some joy to local families through a zoo membership.”
So wonderful to have such kindhearted people in our community so Thankyou again.
#kindness #hallsgapzoo #familymembership
Happy World Vet Day!!
Today we celebrate the dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to protect the health and welfare of animals everywhere.
We would like to thank our vets from Stawell veterinary clinic who help us when our animals need them and after the recent fires were amazingly kind enough and wiped our bill which was such a big help to us.
We would also like to thank the vets from Werribee Zoo who take on our animals when they need specialist veterinary care especially when they make the trek out to see our animals on site.
We appreciate each and everyone of you for your commitment to the animals you work so hard to care for.
✨✨✨FAST FACT FRIDAY✨✨✨
Today is about Black Capped Capuchins
🐒 They do what is called urine washing so they will pee into their hands and feet and rub it all over them to leave their scent as they travel through the forests.
🐒 They are very intelligent and will use tools to help them break open food sources.
🐒 They have semi prehensile tails and only juveniles can hang their whole body weight from their tail while adults will still need to support themselves with their arms or legs
Pictured is Marko and Polo the cheekiest father and son duo you ever did meet.
Today we pause to remember the courage and sacrifice of all who served not only the men and women but also the animals who helped our soldiers.
We remember and thank all of them, your sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Just a reminder that we are open everyday this long weekend 10am-5pm everyday.
#hallsgapzoo #visitmelbourne #grampians #longweekend
Thank You for Hopping By!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who joined us for our Easter Bunny Hunt at the zoo! It was great to see so many smiling faces and families enjoying the day together. Your enthusiasm made the event extra special!
The total count of bunnies hidden around the zoo was 26, did you find them all?
We hope you had as much fun finding bunnies as we did hiding them.
#hallsgapzoo #easter #visitmelbourne #grampians
Happy Easter from all of us at the Zoo.
We’re sending warm wishes your way for a day filled with love, laughter, and maybe a few bunny hops!
Enjoy the sweet treats and some wild moments with the ones you love.
Our animals clearly had fun with some Easter themed enrichment.
#grampians #grampiansvictoria #visitmelbourne #longweekend #Easterhunt #easterbunny #visitmelbourneaustralia #zoo
Don’t forget our Easter Bunny Hunt is on all weekend!
Keep an eye out, count all the bunnies you see and put your guess in our raffle box that will be drawn at 3.30pm everyday.
Make sure to follow our social media pages to find out the correct answer on Tuesday.
Here is a little hint to get you started:
“The bunny’s journey has just begun,
Snuggling close with more than one.
Fluffy friends with button eyes,
That’s where the first surprise lies!”
#Easterhunt #easterbunny #longweekend #grampians #visitmelbourne #visitmelbourneaustralia
✨✨✨FAST FACT FRIDAY✨✨✨
These little legends love hanging out motionless on tree trunks like it’s a full-time job. They’re not fire-breathing, but they do give serious “forest guardian” vibes and they will judge you silently from a branch…
BOYD’S FOREST DRAGON
They are quite different compared to other reptiles in the fact they do not rely on basking in the sun to regulate their body temperature.
Babies are independent straight after they hatch from the eggs.
They are masters of camouflage and use this to protect themselves from predators.
They are native to rainforests in northeastern Australia with the Daintree rainforest being a good place to try and spot them.
#grampians #schoolholidays #easter #nationalpark #hallsgapzoo #zoo #boydsforestdragon
This Easter on all 4 days we’re turning the zoo into a bunny-filled adventure! Count all the hidden bunnies scattered throughout the zoo for your chance to WIN an exclusive Lizard or Dingo encounter *conditions apply.
#hallsgapzoo #easter #schoolholidays
🎉🎉 We are OPEN every day this weekend 10am-5pm so hop on over to the zoo for some Easter fun! 🎉 🎉
We are celebrating with some Egg-stra special activities, lots of encounters, keeper talks, our food van is open and our keepers can’t wait to share some Easter fun with the animals.
Stay tuned for details of our Easter themed activity with a prize that we have planned for each day of the long weekend.
Don’t forget to pre-book encounters to avoid disappointment.
#hallsgapzoo #grampians #schoolholidays #grampiansnationalpark #visitmelbourne #longweekend
✨✨✨ FAST FACT FRIDAY✨✨✨
Today is all about Red Pandas
🍁 Red Pandas are not related to Giant pandas.
🍁They are classed as a carnivore even though their diet mainly consists of bamboo.
🍁 They are an arboreal species meaning they live up in the trees and they rely on the trees for camouflage to protect them from predators.
If you want to see just how cute they are in person now is your chance, you can get up close with our 2 red pandas as you feed them some tasty treats they will walk over you lap and pose for a photo with a paw on your shoulder.
Book an encounter by visiting our website
#hallsgapzoo #visitmelbourne #grampians
#grampiansnationalpark #redpanda #schoolholidays
✨✨✨FAST FACT FRIDAY✨✨✨
Today we are looking at the Southern White Rhino:
🦏 Their horns are continually growing and is made from keratin just like our hair and nails.
🦏 They are grazers
🦏They can run up to 40kmh per hour
🦏 They weigh up to 2700kgs and babies are born weighing around 60kgs
Photo of the handsome Kapamba celebrating his 29th birthday with some presents. #grampians #nationalpark #visitmelbourneaustralia
Today is also International Tasmanian Devil Day.
We have 3 devils here at Halls Gap Zoo and you may see our new boys Messi and Knuckles out exploring their enclosure or Arti next door trying to suss out what the new boys are up to.
Messi and knuckles came from Aussie Ark who do an amazing job of breeding Tassie devils to help conserve this endangered species. In the wild devil populations have significantly reduced due to the Devil facial tumour disease, it is unfortunately a contagious cancer which is spread when they interact with each other primarily through biting but through breeding programs like Aussie Arks we are able to breed animals that are tumour free and have a healthy population of devils to conserve the species while scientists work on how to stop the disease spreading.
📸 keeper Darci
