An unforgettable experience awaits families at the Werribee Open Range Zoo – with construction reaching the halfway mark on Victoria’s new home for the majestic Asian Elephant herd.
The construction consists of two new Elephant Barns and a 21-hectare habitat that is set to welcome a family of Asian elephants from Melbourne Zoo later this year.
The herd will benefit from seven different yards,elephant overpasses connecting the yards, two mega pools and a visitor walking trail.
The weather-proof barns will have ceilings towering over 9-metres and luxurious two-metre deep sandpit providing elephants with comfortable sleeping mounds.
The barns have also been designed to support ongoing elephant healthcare and wellbeing, with a training facility at the back to allow keepers to deliver regular elephant health checks – including blood tests, weigh-ins, and oral health procedures.
Visitors will be able to view all areas of the barn while two dedicated overpass bridges will allow Asian elephants to pass over visitor walking trails.
The Werribee Open Range Zoo expansion covers an area of elephantine proportions, equivalent to the size of five MCG stadiums and the entire Melbourne Zoo.
The experience is expected to open to visitors in early 2025 after the entire Asian Elephant herd moves to their new home in Melbourne’s west in late 2024.
