Australia on show at Budapest Zoo
10 July 2015
Mr David Lewis, Deputy Head of the Australian Embassy in Vienna, visited the Australia Exhibit at Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden earlier this month, including the new Koala Exhibit, which was opened in March 2015.
Mr Lewis said it was fitting that Hungary, which had such warm relations with Australia, was home to one of nine European zoos that exhibit koalas.
„For Australians, few gestures could better symbolise the warm ties that exist between two peoples than entrusting another country with one of our most precious natural assets”, Mr Lewis said.
„Koalas are uniquely Australian and are natural diplomats. They have come to represent our warmth, our openness and our friendship as a nation.”
Mr Lewis received a briefing on Budapest Zoo’s successes in the management, breeding and exhibiton of Australian fauna, including its successful program of breeding wombats.
He also received a briefing on plans for future development of the Australia Exhibit.
The curator of the Australian Exhibit, Mr Zoltan Molnar, underlined the commitment of the the Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden to Australian fauna:
„Australian animals have always been an attraction at Budapest Zoo. We have been proud to display Australian animals for almost 150 years, as long as the Zoo has been here.”
The Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden has displayed Australian animals since it opened in 1866. It has a strong commitment to exhibit Australian animals, including kangaroos and wallabies, other Australian marsupials, monotremes, birds, reptilies, amphibians and fishes and various invertebrate species.