Mansfield Zoo

Welcome to the Mansfield Zoo White Lion TQUAL Project Blog
We keep you up to date with pictures and stories of how the development of our White Lion Project is going, as well as the Off Display Visitor Activity Centre and new Entrance area. Hope to fill you in with the Roar of the Lions soon!!

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Project Details:
July 26 2011 Tourism Minister Ferguson announces successful TQUAL grant applicants for 2011
The Mansfield Zoo team was absolutely thrilled to hear that our TQUAL grant application was successful. We thought completing the application was really hard work - but now let the games begin!! Our plan is to have works completed ahead of TQUAL schedule requirements, ready for launch just before Christmas 2012 - 18 months away!

Our project has three components, and we plan to keep you up to date with the progress of each on this blog:
New Lion Enclosure: This is to house the very special White Lions that have been offered to us from another Zoo and are waiting for us to build a home for them. It will also enable us to support Kitui, our remaining tawny African Lion, who lost his lifetime pal, half-brother Monbu, in March 2011 to leukemia. The new lions will provide companions in a safe environment as it is far to dangerous to try to introduce unknown male lions together due to their territorial nature. And Kitui is now old himself - heading toward 20 - and reaching his final years and we don't want him to be miserable.
New Front Entrance: Its important to us that visitors can clearly identify and recognize Mansfield Zoo as a distinctively different environment to the farmland of most of North East Victoria. Our front entry has been sadly letting us down over the years and is very over due for an upgrade. The TQUAL Grant will also enable us to make a more worthy, statement entrance to enhance our visitors 'sense of arrival'.
New Off Display Visitor Activity Centre: This will be a purpose built all-weather area designed to enable visitors to participate in activities such as training of the lions, wombat handling and other programs that are more interactive with our wonderful range of animals.

Next update due soon - see more Photos_on_facebook

December 22
Gates are hung in time for Christmas - they look great. Animal shapes are taking place too - the back wall now has a tree complete with koala, chameleon, owl and other smaller animals. Check them out as you leave!

November 30
Artists at work rendering animal shapes into the wall - they are wisely practising on the back of the wall to test out colours and shapes etc.
November 6 2011
Footings are in, brickwork being laid, gates being built: very exciting for our new entry area!

September 20 2011
Still doing paperwork for the TQUAL Project, with lots of matters to sign off on before we can even start. Wasn't really expecting this end to be so complicated, but hopefully we will get going on the structures soon. Sign off on the design of the lion enclosure will happen in due course - sooner rather than later we hope!