Cool, how did you get on? We look forward to hearing your findings. Also, do you have any historical info on the tea-party chimp's offspring. I'm aware of: Suzie (1964): Sissy x Charlie Sally (1970): Sissy x Charlie But 'Tiger by the Tail' spoke of at least one more offspring I am unsure as to the parentage. I'm guessing it was born to Josie but am not sure?
Interesting piece of opinion from NZ TRUTH (1928): https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTR19280209.2.2 I was especially interested to read about the polar bear escape. I can only imagine the surprise of the night watchman to encounter a polar bear roaming the zoo at night. For those who don't know, the lion arena, it was found wandering past is now the Sumatran tiger pit.
I seem to rember Doris there when I was little.Do you know when Doris moved out too the Current squirrel monkey/capybara enclosure. BennettL
Found this awesome video of Auckland titled '50 Years Ago.' Would have been late 50s/early 60s. Points of interest: 1.13: Polar bear Natasha with her cub Chimo (born May 1960) 1.16: Chacma baboons housed next to a tiger?! 1.24: Rear view of lion arena (cages) Video dated mid 1950s approx: Points of interest: 1.37: Old hippo enclosure with natural river flowing through it 2.20: Jamuna 3.47: Malayan sun bear
Great videos @Zoofan15. I don't think the baboons are next to a tiger though, looks more like a leopard (or maybe jaguar?). Regardless, they are probably in one of the cages the baboons inhabited until their move to Hippo River, in what is now the otter/tiger exhibits.
yeah it's a leopard. Though there is a jaguar later in the clip (with the black jaguar visible in the cage behind as well).
You're right, it's clearly a leopard! I assume just a happy coincidence the baboons were grouped with leopards from the same biome? Do you, or anyone else remember if there were multiple cages for the baboons or just one? So if I understand correctly, the baboons used to be located on the site that is now the more recent tiger enclosure (built 2006)? This site was also occupied by the golden cat enclosure until recently wasn’t it?
The recent exhibits for tiger and otters were built on the site of a row of cages, which dated to the zoos opening and were originally big cat cages, although the one closest to the lion pit was different in that it was later altered into an open yard (in a similar style to the Zoo's bear pits), and then housed Galapagos Tortoise in the 80s and Red Panda in the 80s?/90s/00s (and potentially other species too). The rest of the row were barred cages, although with concrete back walls. There were probably different numbers of these throughout the years, but the maps from the 1980s and 1997 show the baboons between big cats and red panda (or other species in the yard exhibit), although towards the end of their time in the row probably had access to multiple cages. But space was clearly at a premium in the early 90s, when several males were euthanised due to lack of space. I'm not sure when big cats were last held in here (Jaguar in 1996 according to map), but, yes, Golden Cats were held here for a time as well (I think after baboons though, c. 2002-ish).
Thank you for that information. I was interested to learn the baboons were in the old cages near the current tiger pit enclosure. I’d always assumed they were housed in old cages near where the serval were (before their move to the savannah/hippo river complex). I suppose because the old serval cages were so dated, like the baboon cage. Interesting to learn otherwise. Auckland Zoo’s first Temminck’s Golden Cat was a male named Chi (born 1997 at Melbourne Zoo). He arrived in 1998 and died a few months later in 1999. He was replaced by Hari (born 1990 at Melbourne Zoo). He arrived in 2000 and I believe was on exhibit until a female arrived in 2003 and they were both taken off display for breeding. I recall seeing Hari in a dark, covered enclosure near the tiger pit around 2001-2002 and I assume the cage he occupied was the same exhibit that housed Chi, and later Hari’s son, Saigon (born 2005). Saigon is mentioned as being in an enclosure next to the tiger exhibit in 2006. Being hand raised (more comfortable with people), and not part of a breeding pair, I think Auckland were happy to keep him on public display. I remember the open air red panda exhibit you describe and seeing Maya and her triplets (born December 2002) in it in 2003. I think there was two red panda exhibits around the 2000s with the male (Shimla) occupying another one. I assume the Galapagos tortoise you mention are the four the zoo has currently? Do you have any info on the Chacma baboons kept at Auckland? Especially Nicholas, Nero, Maple, Matthew, Marcus, Cleo and Claudette? Or on how many were euthanised? It appears there is some factual inconsistences with the information supplied by BennetL (who is apparently now no longer on ZooChat) in the baboons thread.
The Serval cage was on the upper level, where (or near where) the NZCCM is now. That was quite a good cage I think, although more so for arboreal cats than servals. There were a row of primate cages nearby too, parallel to the baboon cage row, I think Diana monkeys, macaques, capuchins and squirrel monkeys were later inhabitants of this area. I think Auckland has only ever had the one group of Galapagos tortoises. I don't have any info on the baboons sorry.
Just looked up the Galapagos tortoise. The males are Smiley (1971) and Willy (1971). The females are Snapper (1969) and Chippie (1970). They were hatched at the Honolulu Zoo and arrived at Auckland Zoo in December 1983. They moved to their current enclosure in 1996. Smiley and Willy have both spent time at Ti Point Reptile Park due to conflicts within the group. However, I understand having two males during breeding season can often stimulate mating due to the competition it creates? Hopefully they will breed soon. Aged in their 40s (and capable of living to over 100 years), I’d imagine there’s time yet. Not sure how old the Taronga Zoo GGT were when they bred a few years back. http://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/sites/news/media-releases/Galapagos-tortoises-home-for-Christmas Yes, I vaguely remember the old serval cages and seeing them walk along ledges quite high off the ground. While the cage looked old, the high level of vegetation and the privacy the cats got (combined with the location – on the outskirts of the zoo), probably benefited them. I believe the zoo stated around that time it tried to time breeding to coincide with summer (as offspring would be unable to survive if born in winter) so I’m guessing the old cages weren’t modified to include heated dens. That’s interesting. It sounds like Auckland Zoo had a wide variety of smaller primates back then. The baboons have been especially challenging to research.
Giant Panda Visit (October 1988 to January 1989): Found these two historical videos from the Giant Panda's stay at Auckland Zoo over the summer of 1989. I have used them in a reply to a thread in the Australian forum, but thought I'd add them here for anyone who's interested: Back in the Day: Pandamania has come to NZ with the visit of Xiao Xiao and Fei Fei Back in the Day: Giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Fei Fei get ready for Christmas Auckland Zoo sure went to town with selling Giant Panda paraphernalia.
Leopard Escape 1925 News article from the NZ Herald about the leopard that escaped from Auckland Zoo in 1925. This story was also mentioned in 'Tiger by the Tail.' The H Files: The leopard on the loose in Auckland - city on edge for almost a month Just three days after she had arrived at the Auckland Zoo in Western Springs, a large, female predator was noticed to be missing from her enclosure. Unseen, the stealthy leopard from India had seemingly slipped through the bars covering her enclosure and out of the zoo. Late workers took taxis home, windows were closed, mothers feared for their babies - the city was on edge for weeks after the animal's escape in September 1925. This was less than three years after the Auckland City Council-owned zoo had opened and just one year since the escape - and recapture - of a young sealion. Newspaper readers' fears had been primed by an Indian report of a man-eating leopard being killed, but only after - so the story went - it had done away with 125 people in seven years, often having entered its victims' homes at night, carrying them off into the jungle. Auckland's new leopard measured 1.85m long, including her tail, and she was said to have a "nasty temper", unlike the "extremely tame" male leopard at the zoo. The first news report of her escape, in the Auckland Star on September 17 - three days after her absence was first noted by zoo staff - emphasised that humans need not be alarmed, although a hungry leopard might pose a threat to local dogs, cats and poultry. Such assurances fell on deaf ears. A Herald correspondent signing herself as "Mother" said the mothers and children of "the Ranges" - presumably the Waitakere Ranges - were afflicted by a "reign of terror". "Children of a timid temperament will no longer go to bed alone, will not have their windows or their doors open. Children no longer may sleep on verandahs or sleeping porches. "One mother has a slasher always at hand; another carries an axe; yet another has a loaded gun." Men armed with guns and clubs repeatedly searched in the vicinity of the zoo and the wider area. The strongest evidence of the leopard's presence was at a tannery - an animal-hide processing plant - near the zoo. It appeared the leopard had fallen into a vat of toxic tanning liquid and left footmarks leading through the building and out to the surrounding vegetation. Claims were soon made of a series of sightings of the leopard and her footprints, and a usually-present cat and seven hens were said to be missing. These reports were from properties about 2km from the tannery, in the northeastern quarter of Mt Albert: Malvern Rd, St Luke's church and vicarage, the property opposite on New North Rd, the Baptist chapel, and Salisbury (now Sainsbury) Rd. Herald agent J. Delugar was leaving "Rhodesia", the house of J. Ferriday opposite the church, when from a distance of about 10m he spied the leopard. Virtually hidden, she was eyeing him up from the long grass. Delugar stood for a moment, then took a step towards her. The animal moved off in a leisurely fashion towards a hedge and vanished without moving a twig. That afternoon, R. Williams, a coal carrier, spotted the leopard crossing Salisbury Rd, 6m in front of his vehicle, before she headed towards a nearby quarry and disappeared. "It moved like lightning, crossing the street in about five bounding leaps," Williams said. Under pressure to recapture the potentially dangerous animal, the council posted a reward for her return: £20 ($2424 today) alive, £10 dead. However, it was not until October 11 - 27 days after she was last seen - that the leopard was found, floating and drowned, about 50m off Karaka Bay beach in Glendowie. Four young St Heliers men had found her while they were fishing from a boat. A large crowd formed when they landed her at their home beach. The zoo's curator, L. T. Griffin, believed the leopard became stuck in the mud of Motions Creek at the back of the tannery, got caught in the rising tide and was washed out into the Waitemata Harbour. Under threat of losing the zoo's leopard licence, the council said it had thoroughly investigated the escape. The outer cage's bars were mostly 11.4cm apart, including overhead where they met the back wall, the town clerk said in a report to Internal Affairs. "There is, however, one small place where the bars meet the wall and where the width of the bars expands to 5-in [12.7cm]. This is the only place it is considered the animal could possibly have forced its way through, but this is very much doubted. Steps are now being taken to have the top portion of the cage lined with heavy netting." Other zoo escapes: • 1917 - A lion cub ventured out of the Royal Oak Zoo in Onehunga. Chased by a cow, it took shelter in a hedge and was lassoed and returned. • 1924 - A young sealion fled Auckland Zoo. Recaptured in Whau Creek. • 1967 - Two tigers escaped from Wellington Zoo after their enclosure's door was not closed properly. Both were shot dead. • 2004 - An Auckland Zoo elephant, Burma, dropped a log on to an electric fence and walked into neighbouring Western Springs park. Staff walked her back to the zoo 25 minutes later. • 2006 - Jin the otter was free for 26 days after escaping from Auckland Zoo. • 2014 - A cheetah cub at Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch swam a moat and entered a public area after an electric fence was turned off because of flooding. Staff quickly returned the animal to its cage. Other high profile escapes at Auckland Zoo include a polar bear (1928), six wolves (1964), a hippopotamus (1977) and an orangutan (1994) -@Zoofan15
Came along this very intresting video on the net which was made around 1925 - 1930 : https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=304699393705753
Wow, great video @vogelcommando. Very comprehensive! Does anyone know what type of monkeys they were? They look liked Rhesus macaque? Or perhaps Bonnet macaque (as Auckland Zoo did used to have a phase out population of these). It’s a shame the camera didn’t step back from the lion cages. I understand they were adjoined to the lion pit and fully viewable by the public. I’d love to see a photo or video of this area of the zoo, which has always been inaccessible in my time. That was a decent hippo exhibit (especially for it’s time). I have to wonder though, do the hippo keepers have a death wish?
Does anyone know any details on Auckland Zoo's Dromedary Camels in the 1980s/1990s. All I know of is a male named Larry (born early 90s) who died 1998/1999.
The two adult camels there in the 80s were Ali and Sesame. I think there may have been one called Baba as well.
I agree, it was a great watch when I watched it last year. His death was pretty emotional. Also, he died in 1999.
