Wellington Zoo update » Wellington Zoo

Wellington Zoo update
09-02-2007

I went to the zoo yesterday -- possibly not the smartest decision as it was unseasonably hot ...... never mind .....

Approx 20 % of the zoo was cordoned off for long overdue redevelopment
so it is good to see some more century old cages being demolished .

The new chimp night facilities are almost finished , and so hopefully the old quarters will be demolished and more room will be provided .....
The new Africa Plains exhibit ( Girraffe , zebra , ostrich etc ) is starting to be built near the old kangaroo and bison region .
The old steps next to the meerkats are being turned into a close encounters amphitheatre .
These last 2 developments are in the very early stages ( 1 week into development ) so they will be ready later this year .
There are 3 enclosures that house agoutis -- the zoo will have at least 10 of these . The collared pecarries are being phased out permanently from NZ

Recent births are a boy and girl from the Servals , and about 4 rare skinks from Otago ( NZ ). Wellington Zoo is also fortunate in that the adult servals actually enjoy each others company most of the time ( they usually are solitary animals )
What I find really frustrating is the number of small enclosures housing small Australian lizards scattered throughout the zoo -- why cant they be together in one reptile house ?

60 seconds of animals at Wellington zoo
09-02-2007

YouTube - Wellington Zoo: 60 Animals in 60 Seconds

you tube of Wellington Zoo

09-02-2007

hey nigel, thanks for the update. from what i have heard from you and seen of your photos wellington zoo has always been a bit of an underdog in the zoo world. whilst you have mentioned many improvements it sounds as though it needs to do a lot with a tight budget and a inconvienient site.

would it be right to assume that the enclosures are okay for the animals, but pretty dull from a visitors perspective. it looks as though their is a lot of standard cyclone fencing etc and that the zoo is yet to have the finances to utilise the kinds of expensive materials most immersion exhibits require.

but it sounds like thats slowly changing. an african savannah sounds like a good start to me. will it incorporate any existing african exhibits? the lion and baboon exhibits at wellington look like two that stand out above the rest and i belive they recently did a new serval enclosure too..

they should put their hands up for holding male rhino.

and whats to happen with the chimps when the new night quarters are finished. is there any plans to do anything with the outdoor area? now that is one exhibit that looks pretty dull from the photos!

Wellington Zoo
10-02-2007

The zoo is now 100 years old , and lots of the zoo hasnt really changed the structures too much . There has been alterations to old structures , and integration of adjacent cages etc , and small animals are housed in cages that once housed larger ones .
In the last few years there has been serious attempts at landscaping the zoo to make it more attractive to people , and it is starting to bear fruit .
Up to a decade ago , it was quite dull , drab , or downright ugly .
From the master plan model at the zoo , it looked like that 80% of the zoo will be relocated to a new site ( within the zoo ) and get a total new enclosure . The chimps , baboons and tigers are the only animals that will stay put . Everything else is planned to shift location .
I hope that the old chimp quarters will be demolished , and thus create a little more space for them . The building is about 25 years old and is well past its due by date . The new building is 99% finished .
The new hospital is at the planning stage and will be across from the otters . I am not happy about the fact that the general public will be able to watch the surgeons go about surgery on the animals -- this is something which should really be observed by people who have a keen interest in , rather than the general public .... most people still think that windows at the zoo are for tapping on !!
I feel that the old concrete sunbear enclosure is far too small and long overdue -- as sunbears are solitary animals ..... they are due to go where the giraffes are now housed .
The "new " serval enclosure was basically two old cages that have been joined together and slightly heightened . It still looks like a 99 year enclosure , but the zoo figured that this is better than nothing , and it doesnt cost as much as to make a brand new enclosure for what are relatively small animals .
The other 3 zoos in NZ all have decent rhino enclosures , and so I doubt if Wellington is really interested , as it tends to want a large enclosure of flattish land ( those are luxuries the zoo has very little of )
and that is something that Orana can achieve .
My guess is that the zoo will concentrate alot more on primates and birds , as well as any future breeding successes in sunbears , tigers , giraffe etc

10-02-2007

great to hear! around the world, these old zoos like wellignton and london, which can teeter on the edge of bankruptcy with a backlog of maintenance and no new exhibits, get a new funding injection and next thing theres nothing stopping them.
its optimistic to think that when the new exhibits at wellington open, there will be a surge in both attendanc eand public interest in the zoo which will help the zoos financial viability.
zoos are public institutions, like art galleries and botanic gardens. they should be supported or at least subsidised in some way. i think a good zoo can bring an enormous ammount of good to any community.

10-02-2007

hay nigel, can u expand any on the new african savannah exhibit?

11-02-2007

wellington zoo had plans to aquire a range of unsual antelope species that would be new to the region. you would have thought the priority would have been species already managed in australasia... there are no kudu or eland in NZ and if the long-term plans is for australia to try to lift restrictions on the import of artiodacyls via new zealand (which i'm guessing is the idea) then you would have thought zoos like wellington will be primarily asked to start stocking up on species areay found in both our countries that desperately need new blood...

i look forward to seeing how they list their plans for 2007...

11-02-2007

i cant understand wellington zoos plan to import maned wolves and leopards. well i mean, i can, theyre both gorgeous animals but you would think for their sake they would just stick to the reccomended animals, if only to save on the cost of importing new animals from overseas everytime things get a little bit too inbred

11-02-2007

well thats the thing though. species only become recommended when enough zoos either do, or intend to hold the species that a managed program can be considered. if wellington zoo house maned wolves that will be welcome news to dubbo and melbourne who both want to continue to maintain the species. if enough spaces can be offered - they will become a recommended species. likewise with leopards, but so far there appears to be some disagreement between the zoos as to wether our "other" spotted big cat species is cloudeds, (african?) leopards or jaguars...

11-02-2007

Did someone say Jaguars, hehe

11-02-2007

pat can u elaborate, what species, and what facilities, or mayb nigel

11-02-2007

bontebok, bushbuck - cant remember what else..

11-02-2007

Wow, I can just see a heard of Bontebok running around the huge paddocks at Monarto zoo, what a sight that would be.

11-02-2007

Wellington's relatively new curator is an ex-South African, with some good contacts in the wildlife world in South Africa. This probably has something to do with why they suddenly are showing interest in a load of antelope species that have not been seen in other zoos collection plans. Hopefully, common sense will prevail!

Wellington Zoo
12-02-2007

The head of Life Sciences ( fancy name for animals department ) is a South African man from Pretoria . I am sure he was responsible for getting the porcupines -- they were asleep on the day I was there ..... They will be moving somewhere when the new Africa section is opened , but i am not sure of exact location .
My understanding is that the main African exhibit will ( initially ) be giraffes , zebra , sitatunga and ostriches together . The exhibit is due to be completed July 2007 , and is currently well under way . I am hoping that they will also integrate some cattle species .... I believe that this new exhibit will be made to look more attractive than the current ( neighbouring ) enclosures , which are practical , but somewhat unattractive to the public . There is a news article about this project in the zoo website ( look under NEWS )
The zoo would prefer smaller , rather than larger creatures ; hence the ideas to have felines and wolves etc -- at a latter stage they hope to get Brazilian tapirs . As they are starting to have success in breeding cats , my guess is that they will try and diversify in that region .
I have sent off some questions to a volunteer that I met there -- I have yet to hear back from him .