Hunter Valley Wildlife Park, formerly Hunter Valley Zoo, is a zoo in Nulkaba, New South Wales, Australia. It features a wide variety of Australian and exotic mammals, birds and reptiles.
Founded in 2007 as the Hunter Valley Zoo, it went through ownership change in 2021 and in was rebranded as Hunter Valley Wildlife Park in November of that year.Domestic tourism impetus drives Elanor’s Hunter Valley Zoo purchase Australian Financial Review 12 July 2021Australian Wildlife Parks buys Hunter Valley Zoo NBN Television 18 July 2021Hunter Valley Zoo relaunches as Hunter Valley Wildlife Park Cessnock Advertiser 19 November 2021
Ownership change
In July 2021, the park underwent a significant transition when Elanor Investors Group acquired it. This acquisition was driven by the increase in domestic tourism due to travel restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purchase aimed to capitalise on the heightened interest in local travel and the resulting increase in visitor numbers to regional attractions.
Following the acquisition by Elanor Investors Group, Australian Wildlife Parks purchased Hunter Valley Zoo in mid-July 2021. The new ownership brought changes to the park, including a rebranding effort to align it with its sister parks, Mogo Wildlife Park and Featherdale Wildlife Park. This rebranding resulted in the renaming of the zoo to Hunter Valley Wildlife Park, which was officially relaunched under this new name on November 19, 2021.
The relaunch as Hunter Valley Wildlife Park included enhancements and expansions aimed at improving the visitor experience, increasing the park's role in conservation education and better living conditions for the animals.
The park facilitates various interactive up-close animal encounter experiences for visitors who pay the additional 'VIP' fees, that allow those visitors to feed and interact with certain animals under supervision. The park states these encounters are to educate the public about the animals and their natural habitats, in the hopes of fostering a greater appreciation for wildlife conservation.
The park's facilities include picnic areas, playgrounds, and other amenities. Educational programs and presentations are regularly held, focusing on different species and conservation efforts.
As a ZAA-accredited institution, Hunter Valley Wildlife Park participates in breeding programs for endangered species and collaborates with other zoos and conservation organizations to support wildlife conservation initiatives. The park's involvement in these programs underscores its commitment to preserving biodiversity and protecting threatened species.Domestic tourism impetus drives Elanor’s Hunter Valley Zoo purchase Australian Financial Review 12 July 2021Australian Wildlife Parks buys Hunter Valley Zoo NBN Television 18 July 2021Hunter Valley Zoo relaunches as Hunter Valley Wildlife Park Cessnock Advertiser 19 November 2021
Species list The zoo houses the following species:
Birds (native)
Apostlebird Australian bustard Beach stone-curlew Black swan Black-necked stork Black-fronted dotterel Bourke's parrot Bush stone-curlew Cape Barren goose Channel-billed cuckoo Chestnut rail Chestnut-breasted mannikin Chiming wedgebill Cockatiel Crescent honeyeater Crested bellbird Diamond dove Dusky woodswallow Eastern spinebill
Eastern yellow robin Forest kingfisher Galah Glossy ibis Gouldian finch Great bowerbird Great egret Inland dotterel Laughing kookaburra Little corella Long-tailed finch Major Mitchell's cockatoo Nankeen kestrel Noisy pitta Pacific emerald dove Pheasant coucal Pied stilt Plumed whistling duck Purple-crowned lorikeet
Radjah shelduck Rainbow bee-eater Rainbow lorikeet Red-collared lorikeet Red-tailed black cockatoo Regent bowerbird Scaly-breasted lorikeet Spiny-cheeked honeyeater Splendid fairywren Spotted bowerbird Star finch Tawny frogmouth Torresian crow Varied lorikeet Wandering whistling duck White-breasted woodswallow White-fronted chat Wonga pigeon
Birds (exotic)
Blue and gold macaw Ostrich Egyptian goose Indian peafowl (including albino) Red junglefowl Yellow-crowned amazon
Mammals (native)
Agile wallaby Bennett's wallaby (including albino) Common wombat Dingo Koala Quokka Red kangaroo (including albino) Rufous bettong Short-beaked echidna
Tasmanian devil Western grey kangaroo (including albino) Yellow-footed rock-wallaby
Mammals (exotic and domestic)
African lion (including Timbavati white lion) Barbary sheep Bearded emperor tamarin Binturong Black handed spider monkey Black-and-white ruffed lemur Blackbuck Bolivian squirrel monkey Capybara Caracal Common marmoset Cotton-top tamarin Dromedary camel European fallow deer Giraffe Goat Golden lion tamarin Maned wolf Meerkat Patagonian mara Plains zebra
Red-handed tamarin Red-rumped agouti Ring-tailed lemur Serval Sheep Tufted capuchin
Reptiles (both exotic and native)
African spurred tortoise American alligator Lace monitor
Leopard tortoise Rhinoceros iguana
Gallery
References
External links