Expanding Werribee Open Range Zoo into a world-class destination in the heart of Melbourne’s west.
Werribee Open Range Zoo is one of Australia’s most unique wildlife experiences — a vast savannah just 30 minutes from Melbourne, where visitors can encounter animals in expansive, open habitats. As part of a major redevelopment led by Zoos Victoria, ARM and TCL have designed and delivered new spaces for animals, staff, and visitors — reimagining how people connect with wildlife and how the zoo supports world-leading care, conservation, and research.
The purpose-built Elephant Sanctuary provides a spacious and enriching environment for its newest residents — a family of Asian elephants who successfully relocated to Werribee in February 2025. The elephants are thriving in their new home, and the keepers and Zoos Victoria team are overjoyed with the result.
Masterplan.
The 21-hectare elephant habitat is a world-leading facility for animal welfare and research — a place of distinction and public pride.
Image: Zoos Victoria
Image: Zoos Victoria
Image: Zoos Victoria
Image: Zoos Victoria
“Our herd of nine beautiful Asian elephants have settled in so well into their new home. They’ve explored 21 hectares of their state-of-the-art home, they’ve walked many kilometres, they’ve swam in 3.5-metre-deep pools, enjoyed grazing in the pastures throughout their habitats and slept in purpose-built deep sand bed barns. They have settled in so quickly and we really couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
—Erin Gardiner, Werribee Open Range Zoo Life Sciences Manager, Elephant Trail
From early childhood, Australians learn about magnificent African animals, although their home is far from ours. Werribee Open Range Zoo brings them up close in a savannah setting that replicates native habitat. Across the Zoo, African design, art, and landscape enrich that experience.
A memorable zoo experience will fascinate you, touch you, surprise you, make you laugh, make you curious to learn more. Above all, it will bring you back.
Image: Zoos Victoria