By XAVIER SMERDON
VISITORS to the Werribee Open Range Zoo will be able to see exactly what it is like to be a ranger with the launch of a new program.
A new indoor space has been set up where kids can become a wildlife ranger or a vet end explore life in an African village with a range of dress-ups and props to play with.
Once the kids have finished caring for their chosen animals they are taken outside to see the real thing.
Director of the zoo, Sally Lewis, said that the permanent new play area was designed to help nurture a love of nature and wildlife in young children.
“From fuelling up the helicopter for a field survey to scrubbing up for surgery on a lion, Ranger Kids will not only give kids a hands-on experience of what it’s like to be a ranger or a vet, they’ll also have a huge amount of imaginative fun,” Ms Lewis said.
“Ranger Kids is incredibly interactive, which makes it a very powerful way for kids to connect with wildlife and to learn about the threats to these animals in the wild.”
These school holidays visitors can also help the zoo in its mission to preserve wildlife habitat and save the critically endangered Grevy’s Zebra through the Beads for Wildlife campaign.
The program has so far raised more than $300,000.
For more information on school holiday activities at the zoo visit www.zoo.org.au/werribee
