a major earthquake has just hit NZ's South Island again, with (according to media) serious damage in Christchurch and Wellington among other places, and a small tsunami already having hit the northeast coast of the South Island. There may be some damage to be reported from some of the zoos (at the moment it is the middle of the night in NZ).
Doesn't sound good ( earthquake and tsunami ). Lets hope no major damage is happened to humans and to the zoos in the mentioned cities.
no human casualties reported which is good. I'd imagine the zoos in Christchurch and Wellington would be closed for at least the first day to assess any damage to enclosures and perimeters.
It has unfortunately been reported now that there are at least 2 fatalities. I still haven't heard any news regarding Orana park or Wellington Zoo after the earthquake, hopefully all the animals and keepers are ok.
Wellington Zoo posted on their Facebook page that they and animals are all fine, and are open today as usual. No word from Orana yet.
Hamilton Zoo (~500 km from the epicentre of the main earthquake) has also posted an update on their Facebook page: "Good morning, we can confirm that Hamilton Zoo is secure and open as usual. The earthquake did mean some animals like the siamangs were however very noisy during the night - sorry neighbours!"
Willowbank in Christchurch reports on their Facebook that they are open as usual, so that is good. No word on Orana but it is not far from Willowbank so it should be fine. I would assume they'd have been closed today for checking fences of the predators. I've been through all this before personally, but it is sickening reading about the same thing all over again from the other side of the world. Kaikoura is completely cut off with massive slips and road damage either side of the town, possibly to take months to get open - they have been hit by 246 quakes in the last eight hours. Wellington CBD is deserted. Christchurch still hasn't recovered from the 2011 quake, and this one (from an overseas perspective) seems much worse with damage much more widespread.
A little piece of good news from the earthquake-area : Stranded cows rescued from quake island near Kaikoura
Still no news from Orana, but presumably all is well there. Would probably have made the news if not. In other wildlife+earthquake news, some parts of the seabed along the east coast of the South Island (near Kaikoura) were lifted out of the water by up to 2m. This has exposed lobsters, molluscs and fish, as well as lots of kelp. DIvers and volunteers have been moving animals back into the water: Sea creatures thrown out of water A seal breeding ground near Kaikoura was also destroyed, the Ohau Point colony has gone, and the stream and waterfall where young seals used to frolick may have been destroyed by landslides. The seals had not yet pupped, and a colony is expected to be re-established in the future. There are also concerns for the endangered shearwater colony that nests in the mountains above Kaikoura, landslides may have damaged that area too: Seal breeding ground destroyed Kaikoura is famous for whale-watching, but all whale-watching boats are out of action. The earthquake threw the seabed upwards by almost a metre at the port, dumping the boat hulls onto the sea floor. Tourists staying in the town (now isolated as all roads in are blocked) are currently being evacuated via a NZDF frigate, although to reach that they have to take a small inflatable boat out, transfer to a landing craft, then take that out to the frigate: Relief for stranded tourists
One further piece of news regarding the impact of the earthquake on New Zealand's national museum - Te Papa - in Wellington. Te Papa is one of the most earthquake resistant buildings in the capital, and sustained only minor damage to nine objects, six on display and three in storage. The most affected object was a suspended skeleton of a pygmy blue whale, which appears to have swayed in the quake, with the skull bumping into the main body, and the tongue bone and two vertebrae falling to the ground. That gallery (the main natural history section, Mountains to Sea) is temporarily closed while the skeleton is removed for repairs: Te Papa survives earthquake
