Tasmania Zoo in Riverside, TAS: Prices & animals

Tasmania Zoo in in Riverside, near Launceston, has a large collection on native Australian and exotic animals. You can see lions and tigers, but also have your photo taken with wombats and Tasmanian devils.

Tasmania Zoo in Riverside, just west of second largest Tasmanian city Launceston, boasts that it has the “largest collection of native and exotic wildlife in Tasmania”. It is the state’s only accredited zoo, although there are several other wildlife parks and reserves. These include the Boronong Wildlife Sanctuary near Hobart and the Raptor Refuge in Kettering.

Animals at Tasmania Zoo near Launceston

Tasmania Zoo hosts more than 1,000 individual animals, from more than 100 species. Many of these are native Australian species such as quolls, Tasmanian devils, common wombats and kangaroos. There are also plenty of Australian birds, including the tawny frogmouth, mallee parrot, laughing kookaburra and Major Mitchell’s cockatoo.

There are also some bigger, more menacing Australian creatures, such as the saltwater crocodile and southern cassowary.

Lions, tigers and meerkats at Tasmania Zoo

But what elevates Tasmania Zoo above most Australian wildlife parks is the number of species it has from overseas. Some of these are relatively cute and small, such as the ring-tailed lemurs, meerkats and red pandas. Others, you really don’t want to be messing with. The Sumatran tiger and African lion have terrifyingly big teeth…

Tasmania Zoo works feeding times into the visitor experience. Feeding times for the big cats, cheetahs, Tasmanian devils and meerkats are at set times, and visitors can gather round to watch.

Tasmania Zoo entry prices

Tasmania Zoo tickets cost $33 for adults and $19 for children. For more information, visit the zoo website.

There are also animal experiences on offer, which ramp up in price largely based on how big, exotic and dangerous the animal is. So it’s $25 for a photo with a Tasmanian devil, wombat or snake, and $60 to get close to marmosets and capybaras. Shell out $80 for a red panda, $90 for a caracal and $150 for a behind-the-scenes cheetah experience.

More Tasmania travel

Do the Tahune Airwalk near Geeveston.

Take a psychedelic ride on the Mona Ferry in Hobart.

Swim at Splash Devonport.

Check out the strangely vivid Little Blue Lake, Tasmania.

Go trout fishing in Lake Burbury near Queenstown.