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Orana Park map, c.1994

Orana Park map, c.1994
Chlidonias, 17 Nov 2018
UngulateNerd92 likes this.
    • Chlidonias
      Map from circa early 1990s, probably 1994 based on the species labelled. As is usually the case with zoo maps, there is no date printed on it. The text on the back talks in the present tense of "ten years" after the official opening of the park in September 1976, but there are numerous species on the map which did not arrive at or leave Orana until the 1990s.

      Top left is the drive-through lion enclosure (which was closed as a drive-through in 1995), and to the right of that the separate lion and tiger enclosures (the tigers were hybrids bred at the park; three were put down due to old age in 1993 and two others were kept, although I don't know when they eventually died).

      The left-hand area labelled on the map for Addra Gazelle, Sitatunga and Springbok is now the site of the enclosures for Sumatran Tigers which arrived in 2006. The Addra were imported in 1990, and the last one died in about 2011. The Sitatunga were at Orana until about 1996. The Springbok were imported in 1989, and they are still kept at Orana in the far-left paddock labelled here for Grey Kangaroo and Emu. The paddock for Addra Gazelle was originally where the Giraffes were held, but by the time this map was made the Giraffes had moved to the African Plains area.

      The far left enclosure is labelled for Grey Kangaroos and Emus, and bottom left is Red Kangaroos - neither kangaroo species is at Orana any more. Currently there are Tasmanian Devils and wallabies down this end of the park. Note also the old entrance at the left of the map - the current entrance is at the right end of the park where (on this map) there is a label for "Service Entrance Only". There are no wolves labelled on the map (their enclosure was south of the Springbok paddock and the lake): the last elderly wolves here were put down in 1993 at the same time as three of the elderly tigers.

      The left-central area of the park is pretty much the same as now (NZ bird aviaries, kiwi house, reptile house, farmyard, walk-through NZ aviary (here "under construction" - it was eventually opened somewhere around 1995). The islands on the lake are still home to Ruffed Lemurs and Geoffroy's Spider Monkeys. The small round enclosure below the Spider Monkeys is for Small-clawed Otters (unlabelled here, and this enclosure no longer exists). A more recent addition since this map is a walk-through Kea aviary (opened in 2009) next to the other walk-through aviary.

      The string of paddocks across the top of the map are basically the same as now, although with some changes in species. The last camel died in 2003. The last remnant Scimitar-horned Oryx were moved firstly to the bottom-right area (labelled here as "under development") and then off-show, and I'm not sure if there are any left alive now. Sable Antelope have come and gone again. Currently the left three paddocks (here labelled for camel, zebra and oryx) hold Yak, American Bison and Zebra. The Waterbuck labelled at the far right were a pair which came from Auckland Zoo in 1987 and survived into the 1990s (the Waterbuck stock currently at Orana was imported from Australia in 2004). The lemur island below the camel and zebra paddocks still holds Ring-tailed Lemurs - first arriving in 1993.

      The island for Patas Monkeys to the right is now home to Siamang, the first of which arrived in 2005 (the Patas were first imported in 1981, and the last two were exported to New Caledonia in 1997). The "under development" areas to the right of the island became more paddocks, and there is also an enclosure here for Hunting Dogs (originally for lions, and I think now unoccupied). More recently (2015) the area directly below the paddocks labelled for Ostrich & Rhino, and Waterbuck, became enclosures for Gorillas and Orangutans. As mentioned earlier, the entrance to the park is now at this end near the restaurant, and there are also enclosures here for Small-clawed Otters, Crested Porcupines (imported in 1995), and Meerkats (imported in 1991).
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  • Category:
    Orana Wildlife Park
    Uploaded By:
    Chlidonias
    Date:
    17 Nov 2018
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