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Bordering Australia’s World Historic Royal National Park, the Sutherland Shire, Wollongong City and one of NSW’s newest international attractions Sea Cliff Bridge on Grand Pacific Drive, which showcases some of most magnificent coastline in the world.
Symbio is an Australian family-owned and operated business. Major redevelopment of the park has been undertaken following purchase of the business by the Radnidge family in November 2000.
Symbio is one of the largest privately owned freehold zoos in NSW. Spanning 16 acres of bush and parkland we provide a very personal, relaxed and natural environment for our visitors to roam and enjoy our wildlife.
Symbio has been renowned for its focus on Australian native wildlife but a change in focus over the past three years has seen an expansion into a range of exotic species.
 The management team are committed to continuous improvement and planning continues to focus on contributing to species management programs, supporting local and global conservation initiatives.
Our operations have always been funded by admissions, however in 2004 we successfully applied for a Commonwealth Government grant to build our freshwater crocodile habitat. This project was largely undertaken in house and at completion Symbio was awarded winner of the ASZK Institutional Award for exhibit excellence. This project was a mark of our professional dedication and has displayed to visitors our commitment to providing world class facilities for our wildlife.
Symbio services a diverse audience. Actively involved in school education, group tours and University and TAFE educational excursions.
 In the last eighteen months we have completed our Meerkat exhibit, provided a new home for two red pandas, welcomed two Tasmanian devils back to the mainland, constructed two new exhibits for our marmosets, cotton-top tamarins and introduced many new bird and reptile species. Our planning over the next three years will see substantial growth and contribution to ARAZPA and the ASMP.
As we take visitors on a stimulating adventure into Australia’s flora and fauna, their fascination for animals, the environment and our own native creatures continues to grow. The need to protect, preserve and respect our environment is so important today and Symbio plays an active and important role in educating the public about the world’s special wildlife and the environment in which they need to survive.
Our continuing development will provide exciting new attractions that are educational and that contribute to important conservation strategies and species management programs.
Some ASMP programs Symbio is currently involved in are:
 Meerkats - Red panda
- Cotton-top tamarin
- Tasmanian devil
- White-browed woodswallow
- Bush stone-curlew
- Southern cassowary
Many new initiatives compliment our continued development. Our recently introduced mobile zoo ‘Zoo2u’ has traveled to many schools in Wollongong, Sydney and the Western suburbs enabling school children a fun, interactive learning experience. We also contribute to a very wide range of community fundraising events, charities and special needs events.
We are actively involved in our community with regular presentations being delivered to a wide variety of groups who seek to learn more about our purpose and the role that we play.
We have also launched many fundraising activities and plan to establish a conservation fund focused on contributing to targeted species programs, establishing breeding facilities and educating visitors on the plight of much of the worlds wildlife.
We plan to become actively involved and continue to contribute to future ASMP programs including many native animals, and a range of exotic species. Through continued management and planning, participation in Industry initiatives and development through involvement in conservation strategies will enable us to build on our achievements already established.
 Another major step was the decision to adopt ISIS as our primary record keeping system. This was an important part of our growth as accurate record keeping is critical keeping animal populations sustainable. We speak from experience in this regard as when we took control of Symbio in 2000, animal records were of a very poor standard.
Our most recent highlight was our successful Accreditation with ARAZPA this year. The accreditation process enabled us to further our focus and expertise on business operations. This proved to be singularly the most important facet of our business management since taking over the business. To microscope operations and to involve our team in the redevelopment of practices, procedures and policies was an important investment by us all.
Our commitment to representing our business operations with the professional integrity was further enhanced by becoming an Accredited member. We believe that our purpose for being is to educate, to inspire and to teach people about wildlife and conservation and that we can all make a difference in an increasingly fragile world.
The public expectations of zoos today has never been greater. We believe that by representing our wildlife with integrity and a commitment to our purpose, we will then earn public respect for the importance of, and the critical role, that all zoos represent today. We may be a small zoo in comparative terms but our role and our responsibilities are no less than any other.
The significance of our role, the contribution that we make every day, and the joy that we get from teaching people about what we do – protecting the worlds most precious wildlife and putting smiles on visitors faces is why we do - what we do!
We look forward to the continuing challenges ahead and to working within the zoo community to make a difference.
Phone: +61 2 4294 1244 Web: www.symbiozoo.com.au Email: matt@symbiozoo.com.au
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Previous Featured Member - Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
ARAZPA Institutional members
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