Auckland Zoo 2007 » Auckland Zoo

hi Abi
26-06-2007

Thanks for joining the forum , and answering the Auckland Zoo questions .
I couldnt find anything on the zoo website about conservation of kakapo , so thats why I assumed that places like Mt Bruce was dealing more in that field .

It is good to have someone that works for one of the best zoos in the Southern hemisphere , come onto this forum .
I havent been to every zoo , but I would still put Auckland Zoo on par with Melbourne Zoo ( and I have visited Melbourne zoo twice , and both times I enjoyed it very much )

26-06-2007

Hi Nigel. We are in the process of redeveloping our website to hopefully launch in Oct 2007. Once we have redeveloped it will have more up-to-date information on it. In the meantime, I will send you a CD of our Annual Report that covers all areas of Auckland Zoo, including all in-situ and ex-situ conservation work.
Glad you rate Auckland Zoo so highly - I agree!

26-06-2007

i would love to come over to nz and see all the zoos, maybeome1 could givelittle tour hehe


l maybe come over next year, i will be travelling a bit nexr during my gap year, am hopefully workig with firnds of thailand, at an elephnat sanctaury, ad wildlife rehab centre.

and maybe as well south africa.

so maybe a new zealand stop over wont be to bad hehe

11-07-2007

me to its a brillant zoo - any futher news on their orangutans and how there chimps getting on ?

Aucklands chimps and orang utans
12-07-2007

It is school holidays here , and Abigail is very busy , so I offered to answer the questions on her behalf during this time ;

Chimpanzees ; Auckland Zoo still houses the last of the Tea Party chimps (Janie ) that could not be re integrated with the others due to behavioural differences

Please note that the zoo stopped the chimps tea parties way back in the early 60s or even before .....

The other chimps have all been transferred down to Hamilton where they are enjoying a far bigger and newer enclosure

The following is about the orangs

All are Borean Orang-utans except for one
hybrid orang-utan
We have 9 orang-utans ranging from
1.5 years (Majdu)to 30
years. We have 4 males and 5 females
any breeding successes ? Yes! Madju is 1.5
years. Also Isim (M) and
Intan (F) were born at Auckland Zoo

Hope this is helpful

13-12-2007

The last tea party was May 1964.

14-12-2007

Are there any places in NZ where the general public can view kakapos? Or takahes?
Thanks

14-12-2007

kakapo no. Unless you do a volunteer stint for several weeks on Codfish island during the breeding season when they provide supplementary feeding, monitor the nests, etc. Last year a spare bird was put on Ulva Island (off Stewart Island) for a month or so and the public could view him for a few hours each day). Unfortunately I was in Asia at the time :-(

As for takahe, they are on display at the DoC breeding facility at Mt. Bruce (north of Wellington) and at another facility near Te Anau (in Fiordland). There are no current plans for advocacy birds to be displayed at other zoos. Wild birds can be seen on various islands to which they have been relocated (the easiest are Kapiti off Wellington and Tiritiri Matangi off Auckland). The true wild population in Fiordland is in an area off-limits to the general public.

14-12-2007

here's a picture I just took the other day of one of the "original" takahe (from 1898), which is on display at the Otago Museum in Dunedin

14-12-2007

That is an amazing bird!! The beak is so beautiful and shiny.

14-12-2007

its actually a really well-preserved specimen for its age. But live birds are fantastic, really vibrant green and purple plumage

14-12-2007

When I get to make the big trip to NZ I definitely want to see takahes, I remember reading about the first eggs being taken which were transported under highly tenacious bantams on the backs of ponys. Have you seen any live ones? How do they compare in size to swamp hens, which to my European eyes are like huge aggressive moorhens?

14-12-2007

D'oh! Obviously you have seen live ones, I must read more carefully in future

14-12-2007

I think Auckland zoo used to breed Kakapos

15-12-2007

nope, Auckland zoo has participated (probably still does) in the artificial incubation of kakapo eggs, with the chicks being returned to Codfish island when a bit older.

EDIT: I just read in this same thread (page two I think) that Auckland Zoo doesn't rear kakapo anymore. DoC does this at Burwood Bush near Te Anau (also where the takahe are bred, as I mentioned earlier).

The only place that has kept and tried tried breeding kakapo in captivity (apart for the many kept in captivity in past centuries, including birds that were sent over to England) is the DoC breeding facility at Mt. Bruce, which was originally set up for the takahe with their bantam foster-mums. Unfortunately all the kakapo turned out to be male and only one survived more than a year (this was in the early 1960s when the only known remaining birds were in Fiordland, and all of these were male as it transpired).