Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo News 2024

ApeLadyNZ

ApeLadyNZ

Well-Known Member
I visited Auckland Zoo yesterday and noticed that keepers were monitoring the tiger habitat and was informed that Zayana, the female Sumatran tiger, had given birth yesterday morning. I was unable to find out the number of cubs or any further news, only that visitors were encouraged to be quiet when passing the habitat and that male tiger Ramah still had access to the outside area. No official announcement has been made as yet on the zoo's social media.
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
I visited Auckland Zoo yesterday and noticed that keepers were monitoring the tiger habitat and was informed that Zayana, the female Sumatran tiger, had given birth yesterday morning. I was unable to find out the number of cubs or any further news, only that visitors were encouraged to be quiet when passing the habitat and that male tiger Ramah still had access to the outside area. No official announcement has been made as yet on the zoo's social media.
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Fantastic news! They now have the birth announcement posted on their website:

Zoo welcomes 2024 with birth of Sumatran tiger cubs | Auckland Zoo News

Zayana had 2 cubs.
 
Zoofan15 said:
That’s great news both cubs are doing well. A male and female would be ideal for socialisation of the cubs with opposite sex siblings; and to potentially supply Orana with a female for their male Reggie, who is closely related to all the other young females in the region.
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Amazing news. I too hope for a male and a female, or two females. I was wondering how Orana would find a female for Reggie, and this would be an ideal way for this to happen.
 
Giraffe calf due any day:

An update on socials notes Kiraka is days away from giving birth.

This will be the zoo’s 40th giraffe calf:

Three calves born to Anita between 1965-1970
Four calves born to Willoughby between 1974-1980
Six calves born to Kinshasa between 1984-1992
Four calves born to Manyara between 1989-1991
Four calves born to Kiri between 1989-2002
Six calves born to Kay between 1991-2007
Seven calves born to Rukiya between 2006-2018
Five calves born to Kiraka between 2013-2022
 
That's amazing news! I guess the zoo wants to keep things hush-hush for now. Maybe they want to make sure everything's going well with the new tiger cubs before they share the details. I'll keep an eye on their social media, I'm sure they'll make an announcement soon. How exciting!
 
Zoofan15 said:
Giraffe Birth:

Kiraka gave birth to a female calf on January 13:

Auckland Zoo giraffe Kiraka gives birth to a healthy 6-foot calf | Auckland Zoo News

This is Kiraka’s sixth calf and the 40th calf born at Auckland Zoo. The calf is 1.8 metres, which is an impressive height for a female calf.
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This is excellent news! Auckland Zoo is really doing well with its giraffe breeding programme. Any word on a name yet? I haven't seen any announcements on socials yet regarding this.
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
This is excellent news! Auckland Zoo is really doing well with its giraffe breeding programme. Any word on a name yet? I haven't seen any announcements on socials yet regarding this.
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They’ve been really successful with breeding giraffe. Of the 40 calves born at the zoo, 18 have been born since 2002 and only three have died as neonates. That’s an impressive survival rate!

Regarding a name, the article from the zoo said :

In the coming weeks, along with updates, the Zoo will announce details of a naming competition for Kiraka’s calf – so be sure to keep any eye on our social channels.
 
Zoofan15 said:
They’ve been really successful with breeding giraffe. Of the 40 calves born at the zoo, 18 have been born since 2002 and only three have died as neonates. That’s an impressive survival rate!

Regarding a name, the article from the zoo said :

In the coming weeks, along with updates, the Zoo will announce details of a naming competition for Kiraka’s calf – so be sure to keep any eye on our social channels.
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Thanks for the updates - and naming competitions are always exciting! That is certainly an impressive record for giraffe births.
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
Thanks for the updates - and naming competitions are always exciting! That is certainly an impressive record for giraffe births.
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I hope it’s a freeform naming competition. I appreciate it takes time to sift out the Giraffey McGiraffeface’s; but it’s a chance for the whole zoo community to have a say versus the more rigid vote from four pre-selected names - where everyone votes for the same type of names each time (Malkia, Zara, Asali etc); despite more original options being offered.

The first giraffe calf born at Auckland Zoo in 1965 (also the first in New Zealand) was named via a public naming competition according to A Tiger by the Tail, with an overwhelming number of entries for the Olympic gold medalist Peter Snell. People names were common in that era and it was an interesting reference to the times nonetheless.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I hope it’s a freeform naming competition. I appreciate it takes time to sift out the Giraffey McGiraffeface’s; but it’s a chance for the whole zoo community to have a say versus the more rigid vote from four pre-selected names - where everyone votes for the same type of names each time (Malkia, Zara, Asali etc); despite more original options being offered.

The first giraffe calf born at Auckland Zoo in 1965 (also the first in New Zealand) was named via a public naming competition according to A Tiger by the Tail, with an overwhelming number of entries for the Olympic gold medalist Peter Snell. People names were common in that era and it was an interesting reference to the times nonetheless.
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I like freeform naming competitions too, though my own preference would be for an African name of some kind, or perhaps a Maori one to reflect her NZ birthplace. Names not from animals' countries of origin seem to be coming back into vogue, for example, Orana Wildlife Park's giraffe calf being named Kevin and the recently born Columbus Zoo orangutan being named Clementine, but I personally prefer names from the part of the world where the animals originate.
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
I like freeform naming competitions too, though my own preference would be for an African name of some kind, or perhaps a Maori one to reflect her NZ birthplace. Names not from animals' countries of origin seem to be coming back into vogue, for example, Orana Wildlife Park's giraffe calf being named Kevin and the recently born Columbus Zoo orangutan being named Clementine, but I personally prefer names from the part of the world where the animals originate.
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I really like the idea of naming Auckland Zoo’s giraffe calves in Māori. Many of them are sent overseas and it’s a nice link to their country of birth. Two calves have previously been named in Māori at Auckland Zoo - Kahiroa (1975); and his daughter, Kiri (1984).

People names remain common across the US zoos and are frequently given to animals bred at Australia Zoo. They seem to resonate more with the public (with people tagging friends and family with the same name on socials).

I imagine a naming competition for Auckland’s Sumatran tiger cubs will follow in due course.
 
Upcoming Development (2025)

Auckland Zoo announced on socials today that construction on their “Nature Play” area will commence in 2025.

As indicated in the masterplan, this will require the demolition of the Hamadryas baboon exhibit, Cheetah exhibit and Serval exhibit, suggesting these species will be phased out during the course of the next year. Incredibly disappointing news imo.

Nature Play | Auckland Zoo

The article includes a link to a survey on the “Nature Play” area; as well as an email address for those who don’t wish to take the survey.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Upcoming Development (2025)

Auckland Zoo announced on socials today that construction on their “Nature Play” area will commence in 2025.

As indicated in the masterplan, this will require the demolition of the Hamadryas baboon exhibit, Cheetah exhibit and Serval exhibit, suggesting these species will be phased out during the course of the next year. Incredibly disappointing news imo.

Nature Play | Auckland Zoo

The article includes a link to a survey on the “Nature Play” area; as well as an email address for those who don’t wish to take the survey.
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If this is indeed the plan, this is disappointing news, as those species, especially the baboons, are popular. The births of Iniko and Jabari have revitalized interest in this exhibit, and I think that nearby Western Springs Park already embodies a lot of what the zoo wants to achieve with the nature play area.

That said, a Facebook post indicated that the new play area would be located near the Te Wao Nui and South East Asia Jungle Track areas, but did not mention demolishing any exhibits as yet.
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
If this is indeed the plan, this is disappointing news, as those species, especially the baboons, are popular. The births of Iniko and Jabari have revitalized interest in this exhibit, and I think that nearby Western Springs Park already embodies a lot of what the zoo wants to achieve with the nature play area.

That said, a Facebook post indicated that the new play area would be located near the Te Wao Nui and South East Asia Jungle Track areas, but did not mention demolishing any exhibits as yet.
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This could be achieved if they redeveloped the area the sea lion pool was located on (which we know is up for redevelopment when the last fur seal passes/leaves).

When I asked last year, I was told penguins would be the replacement for this exhibit. If these plans have been revised, then it’s possible that’s where the playground is going. I’m not interested in seeing a massive playground built at Auckland Zoo full stop (especially if it requires the demolition of animal exhibits); but I’d resent it less if it replaced a penguin exhibit rather than two felid exhibits and a baboon exhibit!
 
Zoofan15 said:
I really like the idea of naming Auckland Zoo’s giraffe calves in Māori. Many of them are sent overseas and it’s a nice link to their country of birth. Two calves have previously been named in Māori at Auckland Zoo - Kahiroa (1975); and his daughter, Kiri (1984).

People names remain common across the US zoos and are frequently given to animals bred at Australia Zoo. They seem to resonate more with the public (with people tagging friends and family with the same name on socials).

I imagine a naming competition for Auckland’s Sumatran tiger cubs will follow in due course.
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Yes, I remember Kahiroa and Kiri, and I think a similar name for the new calf would be a good choice if they don't go for an African name.

I'm in two minds about people names. On the one hand, I can see the appeal, but on the other, it can broaden curiosity and spark research into the name's origin and the culture of the animal's country of origin if, say, the tiger cubs are given Sumatran names. I love that all orangutans born at Auckland Zoo, for example, were given Indonesian or Malay names - the only one of our orangutans with a "people" name is of course Charlie (a volunteer told me he was named for the former Prince Charles, now King Charles, when he was born at Singapore Zoo).

It's odd that the old zoo tradition of naming zoo babies with names that started with the mother's initial seems to have fallen out of use. To use the great apes as an example, Bahmi's name (a tribute to Wanita whose nickname was "noodles") as opposed to his older brother Madju's.
 
Zoofan15 said:
This could be achieved if they redeveloped the area the sea lion pool was located on (which we know is up for redevelopment when the last fur seal passes/leaves).

When I asked last year, I was told penguins would be the replacement for this exhibit. If these plans have been revised, then it’s possible that’s where the playground is going. I’m not interested in seeing a massive playground built at Auckland Zoo full stop (especially if it requires the demolition of animal exhibits); but I’d resent it less if it replaced a penguin exhibit rather than two felid exhibits and a baboon exhibit!
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I too heard rumors that penguins would replace the seal exhibit, but I also heard that the pool was very costly to keep up and might be too large for the little penguins' use. Using that area would indeed be preferable to phasing out a lot of animal exhibits, but I agree with you that a large playground isn't an optimal use of zoo space. The zoo already has 2 play areas, plus the Kid Zone.
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
I too heard rumors that penguins would replace the seal exhibit, but I also heard that the pool was very costly to keep up and might be too large for the little penguins' use. Using that area would indeed be preferable to phasing out a lot of animal exhibits, but I agree with you that a large playground isn't an optimal use of zoo space. The zoo already has 2 play areas, plus the Kid Zone.
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Despite efforts by their keepers to encourage use of the pool, the penguins won’t set foot in it. Unless they’re going to drastically increase the flock size (I believe they have nine penguins), then housing them in an exhibit that size would be a massive waste, even more so if they don’t use the pool.

I agree the play areas the zoo has are more than sufficient (especially when taking into account Western Springs next door). In any case, parents take their kids to a park for free to play on playgrounds; and pay to go to a zoo to see exotic animals they can’t see in their backyard.
 
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