An important exhibit within the Lion Pride Lands gives people a chance to get up-close-and-personal with an unusual roommate. The Australian Miniature goats are part of the Goat Kraal which is an immersive exhibit that consists of three areas, two that provide the goats room to wander freely and play, while the third is an enclosure that allows visitors to meet, pet and feed members of the herd.
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The exhibit is encompassed within the Lion Pride Lands facility and helps to provide a natural environment for the animals, while also educating and reminding guests about Taronga Western Plains Zoo’s vital conservation message.
Mel Friedman has been a keeper with Taronga Western Plains Zoo for 11 years, and has always had a natural affinity with animals, having grown up in various regions of Australia and in South Africa where she was able to spend time at game parks.
She said the goats have been a great success at the zoo, both for the guests and as part of the zoo’s overall breeding programs.
“We’ve had five new kids born here including a little female born on May 16, who is yet to be named. Each goat has its own individual personality and character with a name that matches including ‘Little Red’, ‘Jelly Baby’ and ‘Caramello’,” she said.
Having the miniature goats as part of the Pride Lands gives visitors a great insight into real life conservation.
- Mel Friedman, zoo keeper
The Goat Kraal was created as part of the Pride Lands to replicate the way in which the Maasai people people look after their livestock in Africa. Goats are vital to the Maasai as they provide meat, milk and hides, and with lions viewing goats as a convenient food source, the Maasai needed to find new ways to protect herds other than simply killing the lions.
Mel says she does have to occasionally remind visitors that the goats aren’t there as lion food, but instead they help to teach people about how wildlife, livestock and humans can co-exist in natural environments.
“One of those ways was actually discovered by an 11-year-old Maasai boy who had been looking for a way to help keep his goats safe,” she said. “After discovering that the lions were deterred by the flickering of his flashlight one night he connected a series of lights up to an old car battery and this simple yet effective innovation kept the lions away.”
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