TARONGA ZOO

Twice in the last week I have visited Taronga Park Zoo. My purpose has been to learn to use a telephoto lens and to practice using the setting on a digital SLR camera. The camera is a Nikon D90 and it has three lens. The main lens is a Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR. The second lens is a macro lens for shooting very small things. It is a Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di Macro 1:1. The third lens is the telephoto, and the one I am trying to learn to use correctly. It is a Sigma 150-500mm F/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM. Each lens has an ultra violet filter on it.

So what does all this mean? Well I guess it means I have a lot to learn because I know very little about these lens and my job is to learn how to use them. They do take splendid pictures, almost without me.

One of the first enclosures is that with the giraffes. This giraffe I am sure knew that it was my first time with the camera and is almost smirking over the top of the enclosure.

The chimps make a good subject matter, especially the young who are always finding some antic to get up to. This photo was taken through the glass.

There are over two and a half thousand individual animals at Taronga Zoo. The zoo is spread over 21 hectacres and after a report on the zoo in 1967 it updated many of its facilities and got rid of "attractions" such as the elephant ride and the merry-go-rounds. Pictured about is one of these animals, the Binturong, commonly known as the Asian Bearcat. It is neither a bear or a cat but belongs to the a family similar to the better known civet. The Bearcat is nocturnal and lives in trees in rain forests across Asia. The Bearcats' enclosure at Taronga allows the visitor to get so close that they can almost reach out and touch the animal. Its diet consists of fruits, insects and small animals. The keeper told me that they only became dangerous if you tried to pick one up or if the animal felt threatened.

One of the new enclosures built in response to the 1967 report was the walk-through rainforest. A pair of Red Lory parrots were breeding in one of the walk-through bird enclosures. Its nest was under a rock where it had dug out a tunnel. The young had only recently left the nest. The Red Lory comes from Indonesia. Pheasants, doves and quails also shared this enclosure.

Meerkats have become very popular zoo exhibits. Some people stand and watch their antics for hours. While one of their number stands watch the others forage for food, dig in the sandy soil or sun themselves.

The sea lion and seal enclosures were interesting places for taking photographs. Inevitably the inquisitive animals come to the surface to investigate what you are doing. A challenge in the future will be to try to photograph these animals while they are swimming. This can be done through the glass viewing windows which give an amazing view of the animals world beneath the water.

Pictured are some wild Rainbow Lorikeets who live in the area and visit the zoo picking up scraps left by the bigger animals in their enclosures. Taronga Zoo was officially opened in 1916. The name Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful view'. This is still true today. Located at Mosman the zoo has wonderful views of the harbour, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. These views are even more evident now as visitors can ride above the zoo in a cable car.


The Red Panda is not as recognizable as the traditional black and white animal. They would still make cute pets. It is about the size of a large cat and is often known as 'the shiny cat'. It comes from the Himalayas in Nepal and China. There may be as few as two and a half thousand individual animals left in the wild.

Tigers always make dramatic pictures. This is probably because they are so powerful. This one almost looks like it is posing for the camera.

Each afternoon the zoo has a bird show where eagles, owls and parrots fly in to the arena. The finale is to be seen to be believed! The Black-breasted Buzzard, pictured above, is native to Australia. It uses a rock to break open emu eggs. Those used in the demonstration are not real emu eggs.

Here is another bird used in nthe open air bird show. This was shot using the sports function on the camera, so everything is captured in a snap except the extremely fast moving wings.

Barbary sheep are natives of Northern Africa. However they are difficult to find there now. There numbers are thriving in southern Europe and America where they were introduced.

Zebras are a popular animal. It was interesting trying to photograph them as their lines played havoc with the focus system in the camera, it kept zeroing in and out unable to focus. However when it does focus the zebra does take a nice photograph.

This is probably my favourite photograph. The Indian myna bird is an introduced species to Australia and in many places they are considered a pest. This bird was scrounging food around the zoo. It stopped and sat up nicely for me. Maybe it is the contrasting colours which make it such a nice photograph.

Gorillas are always interesting. It is probably their human-like qualities that make us so fascinated by them.


I spent some time photographing the lions. Using the telephoto lense pressed against the class, and being there at feeding time, really produced some good close-up photographs.

The zoo was a good place to start using a camera because the opportunities for good pictures are so frequent. Now I need to work on making them technically better. If youn would like to see some superb photographs taken at the zoo there is currently a free exhibition being held at Parliament House in Sydney. It features zoo photographs by Rick Stevens. Rick was a photographer with the Herald for a period spanning over forty years. During this time he spent many, many hours at the zoo patiently waiting for the perfect shot. The exhibition finishes on 26 August.