Orana Park -- Dec 2006 news » Orana Wildlife Park

17-01-2007

its ulli something. i have the zoo company video and she was on that, she has a very special relationship with rigo

17-01-2007

yea is she still there, i hve tht series 2, its great!!!!!!!!!!!!!

back to Orana Park .......
18-01-2007

My only guess as to its (reasonable) "success" for raising enough $$s to do all that they do , would be because it is the only place in the South Island that could accurately be considered as a zoo , rather than a small menagerie .
It therefore capitilises on its uniqueness to the tourism agencies , who then milk the concept for all its worth . Its also the only open range zoo in NZ , so even visitors from Auckland go there , just to see what the fuss is all about .
It used to be the first ( and longest running ) drive through lion safari in NZ , but there were too many near misses from risks taken by stupid people -- the concept of the drive through was ditched before someone got killed or injured
They then decided to turn it into an Open range zoo in order to keep its unique character .

Like most zoos , the staff are totally devoted to the animals -- thats their first love and priority . They also have the advantage of space -- there is still 900 acres of room still available to be developed .
Unfortunately they will refuse to house elephants unless they can be garunteed of the finances that will be needed .
Perhaps Zooboy can give his lotto earnings to Orana Park so they can have elephants in a 796 acre enclosure ?

Why some zoos are successful and not others in breeding various species is probably only a question that the individual animalsd can answer , but to be able to breed/raise 90 orynx that were destined for extinction certainly attests to the fact that they are doing something right ..... I know that the place is hot and dry in summer , but it can get pretty chilly in winter !!

Another thing which is surprising , is that for the most part , Orana Park is just a holding zoo for the region , and is not REALLY big on breeding exotics. However , if animals get pregnant during their stay at Orana , everyone does their best to ensure that the young have a long and healthy life
( perhaps it is the spacious enclosures which encourages the animals to breed ? -- who knows ? )

18-01-2007

as in the case of the hunting dogs? new zealand zoos are actually 'worse off' than australian zoos when it comes to exotic animals. its funny to think of zoos with no gorillas, hardly any orangutans and alot fewer primate and small cat species, elephants (except auckland), bears (except wellington), snakes, crocodiles, etc.
nigel, do you feel this strengthens the position of new zealand zoos by allowing them to concentrate more effectively on a smaller range of species, or do you wish for a broader range of species to dsiplay.
and what species would you like to see turn up in new zealand zoos in the future, either from the australian collection, or in the case of some antelopes with import approval?

18-01-2007

The current CEO of the Park has had amazing success at working with the local Christchurch community to have many products, supplies and services donated to the Park. She and her staff plan their own exhibits, build them, and manage them, with the resources they have, and the support of the local community.

They don't have the ovehead of all the bureaucracy and contract tendering processes that government organisations do. In many of the larger zoos, this accounts for a huge amount of the total cost of exhibit developments.

I'm sure you didn't mean it Nigel, but the implication of this statement is that none of the saff in other zoos are dedicated to their animals. This couldn't be further from the truth. With one or two exceptions (see threads elsewhere on this forum), you'll find that most animal management staff - curators, animal managers and keepers) are TOTALLY dedicated to their animals, and it is working with these animals, and their potential contributions to conservation that leads them to careers in zoos and animal management. It certainly isn't for the money

18-01-2007

yes, even guy cooper donates a substantial ammount of his wage every year to the recovery of, i think, a bettong or some other obscure marsupial species. that guy gets a bit of a bad wrap, alot of the time desservedly so, but i would agree with zoo pro that most ppl working in zoos would be animal lovers.
has anyone ever seen fierce creatures?

18-01-2007

yea they are dedicated, working at mog showed me that, when i was talking to a keeper, she nearly broke down in tears talking about her cats, she was the most amzing woman i ever meet, yea every1 knows dianne, she is the most amazing woman, she knows her stuff, but is so dedecated to her cats, and wow, she was jst so kool, i really carnt descibe it.

18-01-2007

Boy, I wouldn't mind that as pocket money!

18-01-2007

well i think he should, i mean if he earns more than nay1 on the property when zookeepers and other staff are on minimum wage, some should go back in to conservation.

hes an alright bloke i think, maybe jis public image has been hurt a bit, in those interviews, where he looses the battle on answering some questions, though he gives it a good go

19-01-2007

Zoopro ,
I did not mean that any other zoo in NZ , Australia or elsewhere does not have staff totally committed to the animals . I had just finished reading the threads about that fiasco up in Cairns and I am frustrated about that . I have edited my previous post to eliminate any misunderstandings , and thanks for pointing out the issue to me
I see Orana Park as being somewhat similar to Australia Zoo , and they ( Aust Zoo ) must be the most committed keepers around
Also , as Zoo NSW appears very much to be a commercial venture as well as a couple of ( I believe very good ) zoos , there must be times when there is conflict between commercial interests vs animal interests , which Orana park will have less to deal with . Even Wellington Zoo has to deal with more bureaucracy than it would prefer .
I have only been to one Australian Zoo which I could consider as not very good and that is Alma park . All other ones get very high marks from me .

New Zealand is unique in the fact that it is so isolated from other countries , and has such strict ( though neccessarry ) biosecurity measures , which are alot stricter than Australias .
Not only does a zoo have to work through MAF red tape , but also through ERMA ( which is similar , but deals more with biodiversity )
We are lucky to have what we do have . 30 years ago we didnt have rhinos anywhere -- now 3 zoos display them .
NZ zoos also know that a huge chunk of their income comes from foreign visitors , and they are usually more interested to see kiwis more than anything else . The zoos have tried to portray NZ fauna , which is often difficult to spot even in the wild .
Australian zoos have also wised up to that with all the Americans wanting to see a " koala bear "

If Wellington zoo can get a better image for itself , I am sure it could be successful in breeding more different types of primates . Most of its infrastructure is still trying to work , despite being 100 years old .

However there are animals that I wish the zoos here could display -- more larger lizards , armadillos ,cus cus , camels , sloths ( wombats are coming soon -- yippee !! ) legless lizards , large lizards .......

19-01-2007

actually, i think he's a mixe bag. i think his hearts in the right place, and he led the team that won the funding bid for the overhaul of the zoos, but his leadership has also been marred by ongoing staff disputes, up and down attendances and of course controversy surrounding the elephants. at the end of the day i suppose he is a figure head, one that would feel pressure from the state govt to move the zoos into a more cash flow positive, financially viabel and independent market position, but at times i feel the commercial imperatives rising to the top.
i know its a small start, but i would be alot less cynical at times about guy cooper's commitment to conservation if he unleashed a raft of environmentally friendly procedures accross the zoo-carbon neautralising the zoo's vehicle fleet (H-SPHERE it out-links to www.zoo.org.au), introducing organic food and maybe more water rainwater collection and solar panels. i think when it comes to wholistic envionmental education perth and monarto probably lead the field.

15-06-2007

hi Nigel,

where did you get the idea that Orana is only a holding zoo (or transit zoo as you wrote somewhere else)? If it was from the volunteers, then I wouldn't put too much faith in them, most seem to have their own special views on the world.
Orana holds same-sex groups of a few species (eg small-clawed otters) for the regional programmes but almost all their animals are used for breeding (giraffes, rhinos, sable, zebra, etc etc etc).

Israel

15-06-2007

Thanks Israel
Nice comment about the Vollies!!!
Falco

Transit/holding zoo
16-06-2007

When I last went to Orana Park all the keepers were very busy . The volunteers on the other hand were very eager to try and answer all my questions , and talk about the zoo .
I had no choice but to believe people who work at the zoo , whether they are volunteers or not .

As I do not work for any zoo , but am just a very keen enthusiast , I cannot garuntee that my information is accurate -- it is only what I am told . The views of Orana Park are those which I have gleaned from written material , websites , or what zoofolk have told me ( as well as my personal observations from visits )

16-06-2007

Thanks Nigel, all feed back is greatly appreciated