A finer environment for man and beast

The 83-year-old Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney is to have a $A15 million ($19 million) facelift, which includes a $5.7 million cable-car system to carry 1200 visitors an hour around the animal enclosures.

With the completion date set for August, a Sydney Olympic Bushwalk exhibit is also part of the renovation plans - an enclosure which people can walk through to see animals which were the inspiration for Olympic Games mascots over the years.

Feature ponds in the exhibit will be home to platypus, and visitors can spot echidnas in the undergrowth and kookaburras.