Hamilton Zoo Hamilton Zoo Review 2012

There is no actual "review" per se of Hamilton Zoo on ZooChat, so I thought I would write one up, so all could more clearly understand what is what at this under-rated zoo. The species in bold represent the entire on-display species list.

I visited the zoo on 13 December 2012, which is over a year since my last visit, and had a great time there. I arrived at opening time (9am), paid the $12 student entry fee (adults are $16, making this NZ's cheapest big zoo, and one of the cheapest wildlife attractions overall), and left at 11am, buying the guidebooks on the way out, which must confuse the staff. You could easily spend longer here, but I was by myself, rushing, and know the zoo well enough to know the quickest routes.

The zoo have produced a new guidebook (I think in Dec 2011), which has the species listed in alphabetical order, not taxonomically or by location within zoo. Nice book, with much better use of space than the previous edition, but I would prefer a different arrangement. The map has not changed significantly, so the review can be followed using this: http://www.zoochat.com/313/5-hamilton-zoo-map-june-2011-a-218854/

-Parrot Court: This first part of the zoo was looking pretty tidy, although the number of species on display has declined (e.g. no monals), and there has been some rearrangement of species. The aviaries are all glass-fronted, mesh roof/side enclosures, built in the mid-/late-90s. The first aviary now holds Galahs, Princess Parrots & Musk Lorikeets, with the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo now longer displayed. The next aviary holds Blue & Yellow Macaws & Sun Conures. The following four aviaries are smaller and hold Rainbow Lorikeet; Plum-headed Parakeet & Pygmy Marmoset (http://www.zoochat.com/313/parakeet-amp-pygmy-marmoset-aviary-hamilton-302385/); Yellow-bibbed Lory; and Eclectus Parrot & Bleeding Heart Pigeon. Nearby are two old aviaries holding a pair of Salmon-crested Cockatoos (http://www.zoochat.com/313/salmon-crested-cockatoo-aviary-hamilton-zoo-302386/) and a colony of Masked Lovebirds. It would be great to see a lovebird aviary installed in the African area, perhaps near the rhinos.

-Rainforest: This section is mostly located within tall exotic forest, and is a nice setting, although the cages are outdated now (most probably late-80s, early-90s). The first cage is for a large, busy group of Black-capped Capuchins, who can usually also access a second smaller cage filled with old McDonald's playground equipment, but this was blocked off to them. The second cage holds Black & White Ruffed Lemurs, also in a tall octagonal cage. A massive area on one side of the boardwalk holds the Brazillian Agouti group, in what is quite possibly the best enclosure for this species in the world (certainly in NZ). There were also babies! The third cage here holds Black-handed Spider Monkeys, and was extended for when the siamangs were kept here (http://www.zoochat.com/313/spider-monkey-cage-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302387/).

Further along, a group of Cotton-top Tamarins are kept in a small glasshouse, which is a very poor exhibit. Next are the pair of old cat cages, which have housed a number of species over the years. They currently hold the only Bobcats in the country and a Serval (http://www.zoochat.com/313/serval-cage-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302388/). The bobcats did not move into their old enclosure (the larger of the two), and I presume this is because it was extensively modified for the serval, now being less vegetated and more open, with some sand patches. Intriguingly, the bobcats did not bring their sign with them, suggesting it was left at Franklin Zoo. Next is a large open enclosure for Ring-tailed and Black & White Ruffed Lemurs, which is very good. The large Meerkat enclosure follows, and the last enclosure here is for Red Pandas, which is also top-notch, with a beautiful big old tree for them to climb high in.

This area had a number of new species labels on the viewing areas, as well as standardised general signage, and many of the older signs had been removed.

-South Valley: The path leads down to the excellent Chimpanzee enclosure (built 2004), where the troop where sunning themselves on the wooden platforms or foraging in the bushes. The Chimp House was closed "for work". Past a goldfinch flitting through the ivy, the three cages at the bottom of the chimp enclosure hold Fishing Cats and the Siamangs (http://www.zoochat.com/313/fishing-cat-amp-siamang-cages-hamilton-302389/). These back on to the first waterfowl pond, which featured Mute Swan, Mandarin Duck, Australian Shelduck and Mallards. The hill paddock nearby was empty. The lower waterfowl pond held Black Swan, Carolina Wood Duck and Red-eared Terrapins. The pair of Brazilian Tapirs and their Cape Barren Goose companion were in the hill paddock next to the Kune Kune Pig exhibit.

The next area has the Alpaca pen, and the Red-necked Wallabies in the old lion enclosure opposite. Next to them is the large African Wild Dog exhibit, which is another great enclosure (http://www.zoochat.com/313/african-wild-dog-exhibit-hamilton-zoo-302391/). And next to that is the Sumatran Tiger enclosure. The main enclosure here is superb, plenty of room, with water, trees, logs, rocks and open areas. With the arrival of the new female tiger, a second, much smaller, enclosure has been erected immediately adjacent to the first (http://www.zoochat.com/313/new-sumatran-tiger-enclosure-hamilton-zoo-302392/). There is also a new house/off-display pen here (http://www.zoochat.com/313/new-tiger-housing-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302390/). The tiger in this enclosure (presumably Sali - http://www.zoochat.com/313/sumatran-tiger-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302393/) was pacing along the fence dividing her from the tiger in the main enclosure, the two were very interested in each other. A third tiger was in the main off-exhibit pen.

-Waikato Wetlands: This area doesn't appear to have changed much, and is looking rather old and tired. The main wetland holds NZ Scaup, NZ Shoveller, Paradise Shelduck, Grey Duck, Mallard, Brown Teal, Grey Teal, Pukeko and Black Swan. At one end is a decent aviary for the pair of NZ Falcon (http://www.zoochat.com/313/nz-falcon-aviary-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302394/), followed by a nice little swampy paddock with pond for the Sitatunga. A herd of Blackbuck were just visible in the paddock behind this area. At the opposite end is an area for the Cape Barren Geese. Leaving the wetlands and heading back up the hill, a large grassy paddock holds the Brolgas.

-Savannah: The first encloure here, a large paddock with small trees and large kopjes, holds the two Cheetah. Past this, a gravel path leads down along the main Savannah perimeter, to a viewing area from which the Giraffe, Waterbuck, Blackbuck, Zebra, Ostrich and Helmeted Guineafowl can be seen. On the opposite side is another paddock for American Bison and Fallow Deer. Returning to the top of the hill, there is a small enclosure for two African Hunting Dogs. Leaving this area, there is my favourite enclosure, a big fenced area surrounded by gum trees, with a viewing platform protruding in over the pond, beyond which lives the main Black-handed Spider Monkey group.

Continuing up the hill, the wooden boardwalk winds up along the White Rhino enclosure, which is as good as ever, and brimming with the seven-member herd (http://www.zoochat.com/313/weka-walk-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302396/). A small hut has been built at the top, from where visitors can feed the rhino when participating in encounters. The Reptile House is located up here too, but this was closed, with only the external Tuatara enclosure viewable. A sign on the door said "New Aussie Exhibit Coming Soon", though it was not clear whether this would be here or elsewhere in the zoo.

-New Zealand Natives: The first exhibit here is a shaded owl house, with Moreporks and chicks. Next is the Weka Walk (http://www.zoochat.com/313/weka-walk-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302396/), a large area with free-ranging North Island Weka & Blue Duck and a number of other exhibits. First of these is a small aviary for Antipodes Island Parakeets (http://www.zoochat.com/313/antipodes-island-parakeet-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302395/), followed by a larger one for North Island Kaka and Buff Banded Rail. Nearby are a small, dark aviary for Little Owls, and an exhibit complex for Hochstetter's Frog. At the end of this path are the native reptile exhibits; Falla's Skink, Robust Skink, Shore Skink, Northland & Auckland Green Tree Geckos, Common Gecko, Forest Gecko, Duvaucel's Gecko and Northern Tuatara are displayed here (http://www.zoochat.com/313/northern-tuatara-hamilton-zoo-2012-a-302398/). Turning back, a second path leads past a small aviary for Brown Teal and Yellow-crowned Parakeets to the large Kea aviary.

The Freeflight Aviary is the last enclosure here, and is the largest aviary in NZ (largest in Southern Hemisphere when opened). A variety of habitats, including forest, clearings, grasslands, streams and wetlands are represented, and there are seventeen bird species present: Tui, North Island Kokako, Sacred Kingfisher, NZ Wood Pigeon, Blue Duck, Buff Banded Rail, Red-crowned Parakeet, Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Antipodes Island Parakeet, North Island Kaka, Bellbird, White-faced Heron, Grey Duck, Grey Teal, NZ Scaup, NZ Shoveller and Paradise Shelduck. This was as good as always, and I saw most species, notably the Kaka and Antipodes Parakeet, both of which landed on me.

Overall, the zoo was looking tidy, but needs to start thinking about how to best present its collection, as it is a rather scattered collection, with few biogeographical groupings. As noted before, there are many common species missing which could be sourced easily enough (e.g. otters, lions, emu) to create new exhibits, but Hamilton also has a number of "unique in NZ" species (e.g. tapir, fishing cat, bobcat, sitatunga, kokako) which are very special to see.

 

Yes, you must. They actually had quite a good number of agouti, maybe 6-8.

I forgot that review, I do remember it, but its not tagged as a Hamilton Zoo thread, so when I checked I didn't see it.

Are Kokako at Mt. Bruce? They no longer list on the ZAA census, so I can't check there. Their 2009 listing said just one female. Their website does not explicitly state that they have kokako, they aren't mentioned on the captive bird list.

 

I'm not sure exactly how many, but it looks like at least 6 adult agouti in my photos, and 2-3 young.

I thought the marmoset/parakeet mix was a bit unusual, I don't think I ever saw them housed with birds in Europe (can't remember anyway). The eclectus/dove mix has been going for quite a while (well over 5 years).

The zoo has previously held both lions and otters. The lions were elderly in the late 90s, and presumably died around that time (their exhibit now holds wallabies). The otters were wiped out by disease ~7-8 years ago, and were never replaced (meerkats now live in their exhibit).

 

Lions at Hamilton zoo wow I never knew that I never knew that wonder why they didnt replace them?

 

Looks like Hamilton zoo kept alot of other cats aswell below is a paragraph from there websote

As well as birds, the Zoo housed some rare animals, including jaguars, pumas, rhesus monkeys and ex-circus lions, "When the Council took over the Zoo in 1984, they decided that the big cats were too expensive to keep and wanted to get rid of them. The Friends of Hilldale Zoo was formed, and a petition was made to keep the cats alive. It was good, as not only did it save the cats lives, but it made people aware of the Zoo."