Introduction I will update this thread every weekend with a detailed plot synopsis, following the screening of each of the nine episodes: ‘Wild Heroes’ - Auckland Zoo on screen! | Auckland Zoo News Onsite at the Zoo (now home to more than 2,200 animals and 137 different species), our keeping and veterinary staff and many other specialists share daily life with you – in a way you’ve never experienced before. From the arrival and births/hatches of giraffe, orangutan, rhino, kiwi, and the mighty wētāpunga to caring for wild patients like kākāpō and sea turtles at the Zoo’s vet hospital and introducing you to incredible new habitats like our new swamp forest for Sunda gharial crocodiles, ‘Wild Heroes’ is essential viewing!
Episode One (08/10/2022) Bornean orangutan birth: The episode began with introducing the Bornean orangutan infant, Bahmi. It was explained that Wanita has passed away shortly before his birth and the team chose to honour her by naming the infant an Indonesian name meaning “Noodles” - which was Wanita’s nickname. Charlie the zoo’s male orangutan became depressed as in the aftermath of Bahmi’s birth, Melur didn’t want anything to do with him - a shift from their previously close relationship. By the end of the episode, she was allowing him to sit in close proximity to them and took to the aerial ropes with Bahmi for the first time. Sumatran tiger arrival: Sali the Sumatran tiger was transferred from Hamilton Zoo. Being a hand raised tiger, she’s calm around people - with the growl she gave while being unloaded noted as only the second time in five years her Hamilton keeper had heard her growl. Sali settled into the night house and immediately began eating, indicating she was relaxed. Green sea turtle rescue: After a vet check and faecal sample came back clear, Sali was allowed out on exhibit. Demonstrating her confidence, she immediately began exploring the exhibit - including the overhead tunnels that link the three exhibits. The third story was that of a Green sea turtle that’d been brought into the zoo’s vet clinic at the New Zealand Centre Conservation Medicine (NZCCM). X-rays revealed two hooks lodged in the oesophagus, that the vet was able to remove. The turtle recovered from the procedure and was transferred to Kelly Tarlton’s to continue its rehabilitation prior to release. The zoo works closely with Kelly Tarlton’s and followed the release of three turtles (Green sea turtle, Delta; Eastern Pacific green sea turtle, Taka; and Loggehead sea turtle, Puck) which had been previously treated at the zoo. The turtles were released off Poor Knights Island.
My Rating of the Opening Episode I’d rate the opening episode a 5/10. The series was promoted as step up from the normal zoo TV series, which is something it failed to deliver on. It was exactly like all the others. It promised to show the reality of the day to day life of running a zoo (including the sad parts), but the death of Wanita the orangutan got only a passing mention in favour of celebrating Bahmi’s birth. This was an opportunity to share the realities around the death of a zoo animal (including post mortem, disposal/burial etc). but as usual this was completely glossed over. There was also minimal behind the scenes content around the birth of Bahmi e.g. footage of the birth, which would have been good to have seen included. There was actually a better insight into his mother’s pregnancy/birth via the zoo’s social media channels earlier this year - but this episode focussed more on the cute baby aspect rather than the Science. The interactions between Charlie and Melur in the aftermath of the birth was news to me, so that was interesting to hear about - and I’m glad they didn’t anthropomorphise here. By the time I first visited Bahmi at 12 weeks of age, Charlie was interacting with him and they appeared very close as a family unit. I’ll be watching with interest how this series progresses and review it again midway, but considering this was the opening episode and a chance to wow the viewer with prime content, I don’t have high expectations for the eight remaining episodes.
I’ll be honest, I was definitely expecting more. It was watchable, but nothing more and certainly didn’t hold a candle to early seasons of The Zoo. The content had maximum potential to engage the viewer (i.e. they covered exciting subjects), but for the most part it fell flat. It’d be easy to write it off as expectations built upon the nostalgia of early seasons of The Zoo, but what made those episodes so great was the extensive behind the scenes content that showed the realities of day to day zoo life (including the highs and lows). Social media has also played a part. Auckland Zoo are for the most part fantastic at posting videos, updates on their animals - especially the high profile ones, so in this case I didn’t feel like I was seeing anything I didn’t see in March and April 2022, when this episode was filmed. I’ll post a synopsis for the second episode shortly and will write a midway and final review of the series following the fifth and ninth episodes later this year.
Hopefully when zoos vic open the new elephant complex and the move of the entire herd they can do a better job of it.
That’ll be interesting to see. Zoos Victoria post very little content with regards to news on their social media channels, so even major news stories which receive media coverage at the time will be interesting to see played out. There’s so much scope here with behind the scenes footage and interesting facts - down to the individual personalities of the animals and their reactions to scenarios e.g. births, a transfer to a new exhibit etc.
Episode Two (08/10/2022) It’s Episode Two and Melur is heavily pregnant and Wanita is back from the dead. No, not really. I embarrassingly watched the first and second episodes (which were released simultaneously) back to front. I will therefore post a synopsis of the *real* Episode One here, which will be followed by a brief updated review. Bornean orangutan pregnancy: Melur the Bornean orangutan is seven months pregnant and the staff are undertaking training in the event they’ll need to assist-rear the infant. The training includes getting Melur to present her nipples to the mesh for the purpose of allowing the infant to suckle through the mesh; or for a breast pump to be used. There’s also concern Melur is suffering from anaemia, which the staff are monitoring. At the end of the episode, Melur gives birth to a healthy male infant. As with her last infant, born 17 years ago, Melur is attentive to the infant and keepers are delighted with their progress. Orangutan death: There’s a brief interview with one of Wanita’s keepers mentioning that she passed away. Wanita was found unresponsive and sadly attempts at CPR by her keepers and then the vet team were unsuccessful. Archey’s frog field work: It was mentioned that Auckland Zoo holds the only captive bred colony of Archey’s frog in the world and are also the only institution to keep them in an indoor setting. To assist conservation efforts and increase their own knowledge base, keepers participate in a field survey. They work alongside the Department of Conservation to locate frogs within a designated area and take photographs of each one for identification purposes. They’re encouraged to see young frogs, indicating succession in the population. 47 frogs are counted. Revised Review The *real* first episode rated much higher in my opinion than the second episode. There was some great drone footage of the Bornean orangutan/Siamang aerial pathways, which showed overhead shots I’d never seen before - especially as a visitor, where your view point is from the ground, looking up. It was an innovative idea to showcase the scope of the precinct. There was a reasonable amount of behind the scenes footage. While it would have gone over the heads of 99% of the viewers, I was intrigued to see the self-mulching floor in the orangutan night dens. Very little has been shown - both of this feature and the dens themselves, so that was interesting to see. It wasn’t possible from the angle to film the actual birth, but keeper cameras captured the immediate aftermath, which included Melur holding up the newborn. It was very surreal to see the infant’s face behind the umbilical sac - and again, something I’ve never on a zoo TV series - great content! While there was little coverage of Wanita’s death, it’s clear the suddenness of the event meant the staff understandably had more important things to do than film it for their TV show; and due to the sensitive nature of losing such a well-loved member individual, they felt it was appropriate to limit coverage to a brief interview with one of her keepers - which I fully understand. My revised rating for the real first episode is therefore an 8/10. It was high quality content and engaging the whole way through. I stand by my 5/10 rating for the second episode, which struggled to generate the same impact - though will be interested to see what future episodes hold.
Episode Three (15/10/2022) Asian elephant export: The staff are preparing for the export of Asian elephants, Burma and Anjalee. The reasoning behind the phase out of this species (99 years after the arrival of the first elephant), is discussed with the main reason being the zoo’s inability to build a herd around these females; and having an obligation to ensure Anjalee is able to breed within a multigenerational herd as she would in the wild. It was mentioned the reasoning behind sending her to Australia Zoo was Queensland’s warm climate, though I imagine it was also challenging to relocate a post reproductive cow as we know Taronga Western Plains Zoo declined to take both. Staff are understandably emotional about their departure. The zoo has held elephants for 99 years since the arrival of Jamuna in 1923 and Burma had lived at the zoo for 32 years, since arriving as an eight year old in 1990. They anticipate she’ll find the transfer more unnerving than Anjalee for this reason. The logistics of the move are discussed with contingencies for essential roles e.g. crane operators in case of unavailability (Covid being rampant at that time) and in case of breakdowns. The elephants are crate trained, with Anjalee easily loaded on the day. Burma’s export will follow a month later, but the trailer for the next episode teases a surprise email will pull the rug from under everyone’s feet. I wonder what that could be… North Island brown kiwi conservation: Staff have travelled to Te Mata (west coast of the Coromandel) to search for kiwi eggs as part of Operation Nest Egg. They locate a male kiwi named Nawhiri that was hatched at the zoo himself and is now believed to be sitting on eggs. The team discover an egg and a newly hatched kiwi chick, which is a surprise. The chick and it’s sibling are transferred to the zoo where the second chick hatches. The two chicks are later transferred to Rotorua Island (a predator proof island) to continue their development. Once they weigh 1.2kg, they’ll return to Te Mata to continue the cycle. It’s noted the population of kiwi in this area has grown from 28 kiwi to 250 kiwi in 15 years as a result of Operation Nest Egg. Tasmanian devil enrichment: There’s a brief introduction to Tasmanian devils - Nita and Nawnta. As a male devil, Nita is noted to be larger and more muscular than his sister. The keeper hangs meat from a chain for another devil named Luna, encouraging her to exercise her muscles as part of the zoo’s enrichment programme.
Episode Four (29/10/2022) Asian elephant export cancelled: Anjalee has recently departed for Taronga Western Plains Zoo and following a visit by the director and team from Auckland Zoo, staff are preparing for Burma to leave. They’re shocked to learn days out from her export that Australia Zoo are cancelling her import and Andrew (team leader) speaks about the emotional strain this has had on the staff and the challenges they now face - both in finding a new home for Burma and in keeping her mentally stimulated. Burma enjoys being taken for morning walks where she has the opportunity to see Siamang overhead for the first time. She’s also taken to the bush area of the zoo out back and enjoys foraging through the dense vegetation. The director reports Burma’s happy and engaged and notes the posting here is that New Zealanders will be able to see elephants for a bit longer. Next year, the zoo will celebrate 100 years of keeping elephants. Takahe conservation: The zoo have two Takahe called Bligh (male) and Whito (female) that are held at the zoo for advocacy reasons. The team head to an island (Tiritiri Matangi) that has been predator free since the 1990’s and is home to two families of Takahe (numbering three and six respectively). The carry out an annual health check on the Takahe and fit transmitters to the subadult (18 month old birds) that will soon be dispersing from their family groups. The worldwide population of Takahe is 450 birds. Little blue penguin health checks: The zoo has seven Little blue penguins that share their home with a male Spotted shag named Austin. The penguins are all wild rescues and were deemed unreleasable due to various reasons including missing flippers due to injuries from boat propellors. Two penguins are introduced named Snapper and Roimata. They’ve been at the zoo a couple of years and while Roimata is shy; Snapper is named for his feisty personality and habit of snapping at the keepers if they pick him up. Due to their disabilities, the penguins are reluctant to swim. The keepers are keen to encourage them to spend more time in the water and plan to implement a swim school, which they precede with a health check under general anaesthetic. All the penguins pass their health checks; but shortly after, Snapper develops an infected trachea. He’s successfully treated at the vet clinic for 10 days with medication and nebulisation. Browse collection: The zoo collects browse from a number of plantations across council parks across West Auckland as well community and private gardens. The giraffes are the biggest consumers of browse (18m3). The orangutans are fed predominantly green, leafy browse such as Banana palm, supplemented by fruits and vegetables. Their diets are formulated based on the calories they’re anticipated to use in their day to day lives (climbing aerial ropes etc) and they’re fed separately to control portion size.
Episode Five (29/10/2022) Sumatran tiger health check: The episode opens with shots of the South East Asian precinct, which is nearing completion - with the finishing touches being put to the tropical dome ahead of the arrival of the False gharial. Keepers have observed 14 year old Sumatran tiger Sali is exhibiting stiffness in her joints in the morning (consistent with arthritis) and plan to conduct a health check under general anaesthetic. The preliminary bloods taken under sedation come back clear and X-rays are sent for in depth analysis to determine the cause/treatment. The episode features Sali’s training (presenting paws at the mesh, laying down on command etc) as part of her husbandry routine to perform checks and administer medication (via hand injection). Little blue penguin swim school: The Little blue penguins have begun a swim school routine to assist in encouraging them to use the pool - both for their fitness and for maintaining waterproof feathers. The keepers block access out of the pool and use brooms to discourage the penguins from leaving for an hour - to encourage them to swim, with the goal of building this up to independent/voluntary use. A sign is placed in the exhibit advising the reason keepers are sweeping penguins with brooms. Several weeks on, use of the pool (and preening) has increased. The keepers are pleased with their progress and hope the colony’s only breeding pair (Snapper and Roimata) will be successful in producing a chick in the near future. Cobble skink conservation: In 2016, a major cyclone event on New Zealand’s West Coast destroyed the habitat on Cobble Beach of the endemic Cobble Skink. The Department of Conservation removed all the skinks they could find and 35 were relocated to Auckland Zoo. Today, the zoo’s colony numbers 100 of these skinks - with 33 bred during the past year. With their wild habitat still unsuitable for their return, staff visit a half-way house that will assist their reintroduction onto a different beach. The goal is to transfer all the skinks at the zoo to this facility within the next 12 months.
Episode Six (19/11/2022) Giraffe birth: Kiraka the giraffe is pregnant. Each day she participates in husbandry training where she’s led into a crush crate and keepers monitor the calf’s heart rate. The undulates team are busy preparing for the birth. Feeders are installed in each area of the giraffe house (which can be divided into four) and staff monitor CCTV cameras from home overnight. Kiraka subsequently delivers a healthy male calf following a textbook labour and birth one morning. Giant weta conservation: We’re taken back of house to the zoo’s insect room where a Giant weta is laden with eggs. The eggs are laid into soil and incubated in containers for around a year before the translucent hatchlings are transferred into vivariums post hatching. After a few months, they’re released into the wild. The ectotherms team travel to a privately owned offshore island in Hauraki which is predator free. Giant weta are now becoming established with over 1600 released to date on this island. The team count several Giant weta, including some adults breeding. Galapagos giant tortoise hatchlings: The hatchling that hatched in March 2022 is introduced to the hatchling from November 2021. They live off display; while the elder four hatchlings from January 2021 are displayed in a crèche in the main tortoise exhibit.
Episode Seven (26/11/2022) Giraffe calf: Kiraka’s calf is thriving and is ready to meet the herd. The zoo’s eldest giraffe (and the calf’s great grandmother), Rukiya is introduced first; followed by half sister, Kabili. Kabili has never seen a giraffe calf before and is initially cautious of the calf. With introductions complete, Kiraka and her calf are let out on exhibit with the herd for the first time. The other species that share their exhibit (zebra and ostrich) are taken off display to allow the calf to acclimatise. The giraffe calf is named Jabali, an African name meaning “strong as a rock.” New otter exhibit: The zoo’s group of five Asian-small clawed otters are moving to their new exhibit located in the South East Asian precinct. Keepers are wanting to ascertain if the exhibit is escape proof and surround the perimeter as the otters are allowed out for the first time. This episode implies the exhibit was escape proof. Northern striped gecko conservation: New Zealand has 48 species of gecko, of which eight are held at Auckland Zoo. The zoo’s ectotherm team are wanting to study a population of Northern striped gecko, which numbers 99 known individuals - with a 100th they’re hoping to locate/identify. The Northern striped gecko live in a 600ha reserve, owned by 24 land owners and is the only location in the world where this species is found. The staff weigh the previously recorded gecko as part of this annual survey and are delighted to locate the 100th gecko. Each gecko can be identified by its unique pattern and a photograph is taken for future identification throughout its 20 year lifespan.
