Auckland Zoo no longer hold Capybara: Following my visit to Auckland Zoo on Sunday, I can confirm Auckland Zoo no longer hold Capybara. Several deaths reduced their colony to a single female, who was subsequently transferred to Wellington Zoo.
Quite shocking. They only began breeding them just over five years ago, and had quite nice success. The last female i'd imagine would've been one of the offspring of the original trio (1.2). Do Auckland have any plans to receive more in the future? That area may be due for redevelopment soon.
I too was shocked to hear so many had died. I see the average life expectancy is 8-10 years, so at eight years old the founder females (born April 2014) would have been up there in terms of age. A volunteer mentioned a disease had killed some, but was a little vague on details so I can’t confirm this. She thought the surviving Capybara that was transferred to Wellington was called Maria. The zoo previously had two young females born 27/08/2018, so I suspect she was one of them.
Auckland did have quite a successful group. When I visited in 2019 they had about six or seven individuals. Maria definitely wasn't the original two females, although she could've been the female born in 2017. Auckland had all males in 2016; a trio (2.1) in 2017 and then a female pair in 2018. The male died a while back i'd assume, due to a halt in breeding. The first males born were sent away, and the males of the trio (born 2017) were sent away as well. This means the two original females and two of the younger females (and possibly the original male) have recently passed.
The two original females were Rosita (19/04/2014) and Consuela (30/04/2014). A list I have of them from 2020 details no adult male (either transferred out or deceased); the two founder females; two females born 2018; and a male born 03/05/2020. Assuming no further births occurred since then, I’d assume the remaining female was one of the 2018 offspring.
NZ zoos seem prone to viral outbreaks like this, it seems to be related to the number of pests and feral cats/possums that have access to our zoos?
Toxoplasmosis ran rife at Auckland Zoo around the late 90’s with multiple meerkats and wallabies dying from it. It was spread by cats entering their open air exhibits. Both Auckland and Hamilton Zoo lost several otters around this time, though I don’t know if this was caused by Toxoplasmosis or something else. Zoos like Taronga have similarly been afflicted by TB and Encephalomyocarditis, the latter of which was spread by rodents.
Sad but useful information, hope. The capybara didn't experience similar issues. The pest problems we seem to have are a bit inexcusable. Given the proliferation of predator free fencing in NZ it is surprising none of our zoos have adopted it. I guess technically Hamilton is on the comanaged waiwhakareke swamp, but it needs to be extended to the main zoo.
I know the Otorohanga kiwi house is surrounded by a predator free fence since I visited in 2022. but yeah i dont see why larger zoos wouldn't considering how helpful it would be with reducing the spread of these like Encephalomyocarditis
Ring-tailed lemur breeding (Wellington Zoo): Wellington Zoo has bred this species for the first time in their 116 year history. Four sets of twins were born between August and October 2022. The zoo’s succession plan is to source an unrelated male to breed with the founder females and the first generation daughters of the founder male. Wellington Zoo 'in shock' after birth of four sets of lemur twins
Wellington Zoo no longer hold Cheetah: Wellington Zoo do not currently hold Cheetah after their two males were euthanised this morning.
Auckland Zoo have imported 1.1 Sumatran tigers from the USA: Auckland Zoo has imported 1.1 Sumatran tigers from the United States. The male (Ramah) came from the Oklahoma City Zoo and the female (Zayana) came from the Topeka Zoo. This is the first time a New Zealand has imported a Sumatran tiger from outside the region since 1994; and is the first time in the history of the region that an Australasian zoo has imported this species from North America.
Burma will almost certainly be the last elephant ever held in New Zealand. Wellington Zoo phased them out in 1985 due to space. Hamilton Zoo potentially have the space, but lack the resources/funding to exhibit them. Orana Wildlife Park have the space, but lack the funding. From Orana’s website: Orana Wildlife Park is the only major zoo in New Zealand that is not owned and operated by local government. Therefore, its operational costs are not highly subsidised by the rate-payer and all capital developments are separately fundraised for from outside sources.
New Zealand's last leopard at Kamo has died following a rapid decline in health - reported on Kamo's FB page.
Wellington no longer have Serval after the announcement on social media this afternoon their elderly sibling pair have died.
It’s not everyday a species can be added onto the list. Wellington’s Snow Leopards have arrived safely from Melbourne Zoo and are currently completing quarantine before their exhibit opens April 12: Log into Facebook | Facebook
