THE Peel region is going wild with the recent opening of the $2.5 million Peel Zoo on seven acres of leasehold land in the Murray River Estate at Ravenswood. Peel Zoo director and amateur zoologist Tony Greenwood used to run the Marapana Wildlife Park north of Mandurah and sold out five years ago to start building his Peel Zoo on the former Bellawood Aviaries site. Mr Greenwood told The Note he had been in the animal game for 28 years, having built wildlife parks and zoos in South East Asia and throughout Australia. "We have an extensive collection of native and exotic birds and visitors can get up close and be ‘hands on’ with animals such as koalas, kanagaroos and spotted tailed quolls," he said. The zoo also has a dedicated snake and reptile enclosure with scaly friends, including black headed pythons, western stimson’s pythons and ridged tailed monitors (not to mention the golden pheasant pictured above). Mr Greenwood and wife Narelle are planning to meet potential investors next month about possibly expanding the zoo.