NZ zoo list

22-10-2008

Not yet... I shall make enquires using the medium of the internets and then I'll see if I can get a chance to drive out this Sunday...

07-12-2008

Found a new link for Whitford Bird Park:

Whitford Bird Park Auckland Sightseeing Information, 100 Trigg Road,

Not really sure if it warrants addition to the list though..?

11-12-2008

Hi. Just joined Zoochat, so I thought I'd add what I know.

Marineland in Napier is of course now closed to the public.

Mark Vette's Rescue Zoo was purchased about three years ago, and renamed Franklin Zoo. The present owners of Franklin Zoo are zoo professionals. They are continuing to make upgrades to enclosures, and their focus is most definitely on animal welfare. Their keepers have graduated from the Unitec Captive Wild Animal Management Course. The zoo is in the process of joining ARAZPA. It is a lovely place, with a friendly family feel, and I recommend it for a visit.

Also, there is a private zoo called Pouakai in New Plymouth, which has a number of exotics - including lions, bobcats, zebra, meerkats, rt-lemur, macaques, spider monkeys, gibbons, capuchins.

11-12-2008

I didn't realise Mark Vette's was the same as Franklin Zoo.

And I'd never even heard of Pouakai, but that would explain where some of the missing species in NZ are (macaques etc). Have you been there? I wonder how the two New Plymouth zoos do in competition with each other.

here are some (poor) links to Pouakai:
Pouakai Zoo Park
Taranaki Wiki : Pouakai Zoo which says they have the following animals Lions, Zebra, Ostrich, Macaques, Gibbons, Lemurs, Meerkat, Bobcat, Llama, Tuatara, Emu

12-12-2008

The New Plymouth zoos have very different feels to one another. Brooklands is council-owned and quite-park like and there is no admission fee, so I expect people might go there regularly - as they would the botanical gardens.

Their animal collections are quite different too - with Brooklands having otters and a red panda as drawcards and Pouakai having the lions. So I don't think there's too much direct competition.

20-12-2008

Marineland is open to the public last dolphin at Marineland dies