Zoological Parks Authority - Parliament of Western Australia - The ...

Zoological Parks Authority ANNUAL REPORT 2012
Agency Performance – Report on Operations
Directorate Reports
Community Engagement Directorate continued
Teachers accompanying school groups to the
Zoo for education experiences provided very
positive feedback on the content, relevance and
connection to the natural environment for their
students. They were also very positive about
the trend away from indoor Discovery Room
experiences to greater use and exploration of
the Zoo’s outdoor exhibits.
The preschool program A to Zoo has shown
steady growth since its inception in 2009 and
will be expanded in 2012-13. In addition to
providing a positive learning experience for
children under five years, this program facilitates
positive family and social experiences in a safe
and relaxed environment.
Online Media, Interpretation
and Publications
The Perth Zoo website continued to be a
well-used portal for accessing the Zoo’s online
resources with a 7% increase in visits, up from
490,680 in 2010-11 to 525,393 visits in 2011-12.
The Zoo’s social media channels continued to
grow and develop as an avenue to promote the
Zoo’s conservation and recreational activities to
the online community. The Facebook page had
12,621 fans at year end (up 162% from 2010-
11) and the Twitter account had 2,218 followers
(up 132%). Monitoring of Twitter for Perth Zoo
references is undertaken regularly to help
identify visitor issues or concerns with the Zoo
or its services.
In June 2012, Perth Zoo posted a series
of tweets live from the health check and
vaccination of seven African Painted Dog pups.
A total of 32 tweets including eight photographs
documenting the pups’ sex and markings were
posted over an hour. Photographs of the pups
received the biggest response and while the
exercise didn’t increase Twitter followers, it
was a good learning experience and will inform
other similar ventures in social media.
Kids meet a Radiated Tortoise
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