The Melbourne Zoo wants large parts of Royal Park dug up to create 1000 extra parking bays, and indicated it wanted the plan included as part of the East West Link bidding process.

The zoo has also started a long-term study of six species – elephants, giraffes, tigers, mandrills, cassowaries and Pygmy hippopotamuses – to monitor what, if any, effects construction of the road has on them.

The information is contained in a freedom-of-information request released to a campaigner concerned about the impact of the East West Link on the zoo.

The East West Link is a new $14-18 billion freeway planned to link the Eastern Freeway in Clifton Hill to CityLink in Flemington. The road would pass near the zoo.

The documents released as part of the request show Melbourne Zoo in January this year renamed their ‘‘Expansion Committee’’ the ‘‘East West Link Project Committee’’.