Wellington Zoo Wellington Zoo news 2021

Zealandiatherium said:
when I was younger I thought they were just pigs at the zoo. I do really wish they brought them back.
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To be fair, most adults thought they were pigs too. Wellington’s last peccaries (Gonzo, Kermit and Animal) descended from a pair imported from Canada in 1969 and were therefore inbred several times over. Still an inbred peccary is better than no peccary imo.

Like many zoos in the region, Wellington have phased out many species over the last two decades - Dromedary camel, African wild dog, Hamadryas baboon and Red kangaroo being their most significant losses. I fear Malayan sun bear will be next, with only a middle aged female and no plans to import more.
 
that exhibit is like themed and looks permanent but i guess when they die they could just remove all that, Thats sad yea.
 
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Wellington Zoo have confirmed that they will be receiving the two young female Snow Leopards from Melbourne, Asha and Manju. From their social media:

"We are excited to announce our community fundraising campaign so you can help us build a new home for Snow Leopards at Wellington Zoo! We’re building a new Snow Leopard habitat at the Zoo which, will be home to the only pair of Snow Leopards in New Zealand – Asha and Manju. Asha and Manju are one and a half year-old sisters who currently live at Melbourne Zoo. Asha and Manju are amazing ambassadors for their species and we can’t wait for you to meet them and learn all about this amazing species! To kick off our community fundraising campaign, we will be running a pop-up ice cream stall on the Wellington waterfront (behind Te Papa, near the Solace in the Wind statue) this Saturday from 10am with our partner, Tip Top Ice Cream with all proceeds going to the Snow Leopard project!"
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Wellington Zoo have confirmed that they will be receiving the two young female Snow Leopards from Melbourne, Asha and Manju. From their social media:

"We are excited to announce our community fundraising campaign so you can help us build a new home for Snow Leopards at Wellington Zoo! We’re building a new Snow Leopard habitat at the Zoo which, will be home to the only pair of Snow Leopards in New Zealand – Asha and Manju. Asha and Manju are one and a half year-old sisters who currently live at Melbourne Zoo. Asha and Manju are amazing ambassadors for their species and we can’t wait for you to meet them and learn all about this amazing species! To kick off our community fundraising campaign, we will be running a pop-up ice cream stall on the Wellington waterfront (behind Te Papa, near the Solace in the Wind statue) this Saturday from 10am with our partner, Tip Top Ice Cream with all proceeds going to the Snow Leopard project!"
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With the only Snow leopards in New Zealand, the only Malayan sun bear in the country and New Zealand’s largest troop of chimpanzees, Wellington Zoo will soon have three high profile visitor drawcards.
 
Animals R AMAZING! said:
I always thought Auckland was NZ's best and most famous zoo but looks like Wellington is a strong competitor for that role as well!
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I’d still rate Auckland Zoo as New Zealand’s top zoo - it has the new South East Asian precinct, the best African precinct, pinnipeds and a flamingo colony; but Wellington will soon be a VERY close second. Hamilton Zoo is a distant third; with Orana Wildlife Park just behind them in fourth place in my opinion.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’d still rate Auckland Zoo as New Zealand’s top zoo - it has the new South East Asian precinct, the best African precinct, pinnipeds and a flamingo colony; but Wellington will soon be a VERY close second. Hamilton Zoo is a distant third; with Orana Wildlife Park just behind them in fourth place in my opinion.
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I saw Auckland zoo back in 1999 and I thought it was very good back then but since has become even better. No mention of Christchurch zoo? @Zoofan15
 
Zorro said:
I saw Auckland zoo back in 1999 and I thought it was very good back then but since has become even better.[/USER]
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Auckland Zoo has always been New Zealand’s best zoo in my opinion. It’s species diversity arguably peaked in the 1980’s - but although phase outs have occurred since then (Jaguar, Chacma baboon, Grant’s zebra, California sea lion, Common chimpanzee, Common hippopotamus); they’ve been replaced with similar species (Sumatran tiger, Cheetah, Hamadryas baboon, New Zealand fur seal) and world class new precincts e.g. the New Zealand precinct and the South East Asia precinct.
 
Wellington now have Springbok Mantis (Miomantis caffra) in Hero HQ. As far as I can see searching previous news threads this species hasn't been mentioned before. From their social media page:

"Thanks to Keeper Dave for this video of a Springbok Mantis (Miomantis caffra) enjoying an afternoon snack. Native to southern Africa, Springbok Mantis have become an invasive species here in Aotearoa and are displacing our native species (Orthodera novaezealandiae) in northern New Zealand. If you’re interested in learning more about the species of Mantid that can be found in your neighbourhood, make sure to drop by Hero HQ next time you visit us here at Wellington Zoo!"
 
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A few pieces of recent news:

News and information - Friday Five: What's new at Wellington Zoo - Wellington City Council

A litter of Slender-tailed meerkat pups were born in August.

Chimpanzee Sally is due to give birth to her eighth infant any day now.

A female Little blue penguin was brought to the zoo by a member of the community after she was caught in a discarded fishing net and severely damaged her flipper. She was unreleasable and is now part of the zoo’s colony. She has been named Ngaru.
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Wellington now have Springbok Mantis (Miomantis caffra) in Hero HQ. As far as I can see searching previous news threads this species hasn't been mentioned before.
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Zoofan15 said:
Chimpanzee Sally is due to give birth to her eighth infant any day now.
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I was at the zoo today. Got some poor photos of a South African Mantis (one below and another in the gallery too).

I saw the new Ring-tailed Lemurs for the first time (they weren't out at all on my previous visits). Some photos in the gallery. They look great running about in such a large enclosure!

There was a baby chimp there as well. No photos because there were too many people at the windows, and I'm not interested in chimps anyway.


 
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WhistlingKite24 said:
Do they still have the Australian Giant Mantis? What species are currently exhibited in Hero HQ?
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I don't think so. There haven't been any mantids on display for quite a long time (the tank has been sitting empty with an "animals back soon" type sign) - I suspect they died out and the South African Mantis were eventually got in as replacements (they are common over a lot of the North Island so are an easy replacement, although they look extremely similar to the native NZ Mantis).



I'll list the current species below with photos of each side of the building to show how the signage looks (i.e. confusing for visitors - these photos are from 2013 but the artwork has changed little despite changes in species on display). You can click on a photo to go to it in the gallery for the full version.


Side one:
*Goliath Stick Insect
*Migratory Locusts (in the tank where the chameleons were previously housed - originally Jackson's Chameleons and then Veiled Chameleons)




Side two:
*Madagascar Day Gecko
*South African Mantis
*African Giant Millipede (originally both right-hand tanks were for Giant Mantis as in the photo below, although just labelled as "mantis")




Side three:
*Scheltopusik




Side four:
*Bolivian Blue-legged Tarantula (in a tank originally holding Leopard Gecko, which is what the artwork still shows. I have literally never seen this spider as she is always inside her burrow)
*Emperor Scorpion
*Emperor Scorpion (these tanks originally held Australian Rainforest Scorpions from memory, despite the desert setting of the artwork)




Side five:
*Pink-toed Tarantula (this one is always in her burrow as well, so I have never seen more than a leg-tip or two)
*Goliath Bird-eating Spider
*Brazilian Black Tarantula (a King Baboon Spider had been in here originally)
*Red-kneed Tarantula




Some of the tanks have no backings (just glass), allowing viewing inside the building where there are loads more tarantula tanks - although the labels are too small to see what is what for most of them - as well as several Scheltopusik tanks. I've seen a tank for Blind Cave Fish in there on a few occasions, and I used to be able to see the Lace Monitors but they aren't in there any more (no idea if they are still kept elsewhere, or if they are gone).

Separate to the Hero HQ building - off to one side, facing the side where the mantis and millipedes are - is the enclosure for the Wellington Green Geckos:

 
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The imminent arrival of the lions from Europe wasn't the only news from Wellington today. The zoo provided an update on their snow leopard exhibit as construction officially started today. An image of what the future exhibit will look like can be found on their social media:

"Today is an exciting day for all of us here at Wellington Zoo, as construction starts on our new Snow Leopard habitat! Our designer has provided us with this render of the habitat to get everyone’s imaginations rolling. As the first step in construction, boarding will be put up around the building site. Over the next year, we will be building a brand-new habitat to house the only two Snow Leopards in New Zealand. This is an exciting time and it will involve a few changes to the layout of the Zoo.

Starting from today, the pathway from our Wild Theatre to our Asia Precinct will be closed for your safety. To ensure that you can still get around the Zoo to see all of our amazing animals, we have re-opened an alternate pathway that connects the Asia Precinct to Grassland Cats– please note this path is quite steep so it may take you a little longer to get around the Zoo .Our wonderful Zoo staff will be on-hand as always to answer any questions and explain the changes at the Zoo. We are very excited to get this new project underway!"
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Lions will be making a return to Wellington Zoo this week. Two young males will be arriving from Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark on Friday: Lions return to Wellington Zoo
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The lions arrived this morning and have now entered quarantine. From their social media:

"Lions are officially back at Wellington Zoo! The two brothers arrived in the early hours of the morning and are now completing their mandatory quarantine period. Our amazing Carnivore team and vets have been monitoring the situation and are pleased with their progress so far. Whilst both Lions complete their quarantine period, visitors will be unable to see our new arrivals. But make sure to keep an eye on this page for more updates!"
 
Wellington Zoo has received a new male Black-banded Spider Monkey from Hamilton Zoo. He has been integrated into the group and the island has undergone renovations:

"Have you missed our Spider Monkeys? It’s been a busy few months for our troop of Spider Monkeys with the introduction of a new male, Aranyo, renovations to Monkey Island, and a deep clean of the surrounding moat. Today our Primate team released the troop into their new/renovated home and have been monitoring them as they explore their surroundings. The troop are looking settled and have been entertaining visitors with their acrobatic abilities. Make sure to swing by Monkey Island next time you visit us at Wellington Zoo!"
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
The lions arrived this morning and have now entered quarantine. From their social media:

"Lions are officially back at Wellington Zoo! The two brothers arrived in the early hours of the morning and are now completing their mandatory quarantine period. Our amazing Carnivore team and vets have been monitoring the situation and are pleased with their progress so far. Whilst both Lions complete their quarantine period, visitors will be unable to see our new arrivals. But make sure to keep an eye on this page for more updates!"
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Wellington are considering names for their two new males.

We’re looking for feedback on names for these wonderful boys! After some discussion, our carnivore team have come up with two sets of names:
Jua & Sadiki (Sun & Loyal)
Jelani & Mzinduzi (Great/Powerful & Adventurer)

Judging from the comments on their instagram post so far it apears Jua and Sadiki are the favourites.
 
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