Animal encounters and more at Rockhampton Zoo these school holidays

Published on 30 March 2023

There’s plenty to see and do at the Rockhampton Zoo these school holidays including animal encounters, our new Junior Zookeeper Experience and daily educational talks.

Parks, Sport and Public Spaces Councillor Cherie Rutherford said there really was something for the whole family to enjoy at Rockhampton Zoo.

“We’re very excited to now offer otter encounters and a Junior Zookeeper program, in addition to the ever-popular meerkat encounters and daily education talks,” Cr Rutherford said.

“Otter encounters involve getting up close and personal with our favourites; Tomio and Misumi. You can feed them afternoon tea through the mesh and spend some time learning about them with a private zookeeper.

“Our brand-new Junior Zookeeper Experience is exclusive to school holidays and gives children between the ages of 8-15 the opportunity to go behind the scenes and create enrichment items, feed selected animals, and help clean out animal enclosures.

“We want to show children what a day in the life of a Zookeeper really looks like away from the cute and cuddly photos they might associate zookeeping with.

“Our goal for this program is to inspire our next generation of zookeepers, zoologists, ecologists or conservationists who wish to make a difference in our natural world. To reconnect children with their innate love of animals and nature.

“The ever-popular meerkat encounters will also continue throughout the school holidays as usual and is a great experience for the whole family to enter an enclosure and feed the meerkats.”

Tickets for animal encounters and experiences can be purchased online at www.rockhamptonzoo.com.au. 15% of all Animal Encounters and Junior Zookeeper Experiences are donated to support animal conservation programs.

Rockhampton Zoo is open to the public 9am to 4.15pm every day excluding Christmas Day, and only operates from 1.30pm to 4.15pm on Anzac Day.