Things don’t go bump, but rather grunt, in the night at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
The noises come from a nocturnal group of hippopotamuses that “talk” to each other nightly in a series grunts and snorts.
Zoo visitors can listen to the conversations of the massive
herbivores from Friday, when the zoo holds nightly school holiday
“slumber safaris”.
Visitors camp in eight tent lodges that overlook the
zoo’s African savannah where rhinoceroses, giraffes, zebras and other
animals graze.
Safari co-ordinator Sarah Agterhuis said: “It’s like experiencing an African safari, without having to get on a plane.”
Guests enjoy a behind-the-scenes experience in the afternoon that
can include patting the enormous male white rhinoceros, Kapamba or going
into the cheetah enclosure.
“Cheetahs love smells. We spray perfume on things like logs and the cheetahs love it; they rub on the scent, but we found a cheap deodorant had them drooling,” Ms Agterhuis said.
“You hear the lions roaring mostly at sunset and sunrise, at night we do tours to see the nocturnal animals.”
Safari visitors can also handle a Madagascar python that someone
tried to smuggle through customs but ended up at the zoo. After dawn,
slumber safari visitors see animals such as gorillas, lions and cheetahs
have breakfast. The safari costs $300 for adults, $145 children.
» Bookings: 1300 966 784
