Franklin Zoo (Closed) Closure and Animal Transfers

zooboy28

zooboy28

Well-Known Member
Following the death of head keeper/vet/owner Helen Schofield on 25 April 2012 (details here: http://www.zoochat.com/17/elephant-kills-woman-franklin-zoo-269075/), Franklin Zoo closed to the public, and has since announced its pemanent closure.

The ZAA is assisting with the relocation of the animals to new homes. Most of the domestic animals were rehomed very quickly. Franklin Zoo's website (Franklin Zoo | Have A Wild Time) has announced details of where some of the non-domestic animals are headed, but not all animals are mentioned yet. I have listed all non-domestic species below, as well as number of individuals and where they will be/have been transferred to, where this info is available:

Mammals:
-Black-capped Capuchins: Main group of 12 going to Mogo Zoo, Australia in Dec 2012. Future of remaining 1.2 unclear.
-Black-handed Spider Monkey: 1.0 also going to Mogo Zoo, Australia, Dec 2012.
-Cotton-top Tamarins: 1.1.2, future unknown
-Ring-tailed Lemurs: ?, future unknown.
-Pig-tailed Macaque: 0.1, future unknown.
-African Elephant: 0.1, going to a US elephant sanctuary in 2013.
-Zebra: 0.2, going to Orana Park, late Nov 2012.
-Bobcats: 1.1, Returned to Hamilton Zoo.

Birds:
-Brolga: 1.0, returned to Hamilton Zoo.
-Kea: 1.1, to go to Butterfly Creek.
-Emus: Sent to Altura Park.
-Sun Conures: Sent to Altura Park.
-Rainbow Lorikeet, Barraband, Alexandrine Lorikeet to be sent to Unitec.
-Galahs, suphur crested cockatoos, corellas, musk lorikeets, red collar lorikeets, pheasants, diamond doves, love birds, Indian ring necked parakeets, gold finch and zebra finch have all found new homes with people.

Amphibians:
-African Clawed Frogs: ?, returned to Auckland Zoo.
 
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i can help here the bobcats have moved back to hamilton and i saw them in early October also the kea are moving to butterfly creek once they buld a brand new avirery for them
 
kea moving to Butterfly Creek isn't one I would have anticipated. Interesting move for them.
 
Thanks for the info Amimalgeek, I have updated the list above.

@Chlidonias, It is a weird move, as I would have imagined they would now focus on small exotic mammals, not native birds. Kea certainly make an interesting exhibit but not one I would have expected at Butterfly Creek.
 
No probs also Barda the spider monkey has now moved to Orana so he is not going to Mogo but al the other ones u listed are correct.
 
Animalgeek said:
No probs also Barda the spider monkey has now moved to Orana so he is not going to Mogo but al the other ones u listed are correct.
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Interesting, I was just going off the Franklin Zoo website, which says:

Franklin Zoo said:
Barda will be moving to Mogo Zoo in southern NSW in Australia together with his capuchin monkey companions towards the end of December 2013. In the meantime we continue to care for Bada until his new home is ready for him.
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Did you get the info off the Orana facebook page?
 
Chlidonias said:
bobcat is now featured in the Hamilton Zoo animal list: Bobcat - Hamilton Zoo, the Zoo with Personality

I like that they have put them on display and not just shuffled them off into an off-show cage where nobody can see them.
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They've quite possibly gone back into the cage they came from, which they might appreciate I guess. As far as I know this has been empty/used by the serval for the last couple of years (there are two small cat cages adjacent to each other, the serval has been rotated through both, although spent more time in one I think). I wonder if they took their sign back with them :)
 
No the bobcats are now in the old golden cat enclouser as the fishing cats are in the old bobcat enclouser and in franklin zoos facebook page there is a photo of barda in his crate saying that he is going to orana so he will probaly almost be there now. :)
 
Animalgeek said:
No the bobcats are now in the old golden cat enclouser as the fishing cats are in the old bobcat enclouser and in franklin zoos facebook page there is a photo of barda in his crate saying that he is going to orana so he will probaly almost be there now. :)
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So where is the serval? The serval was being rotated through the two small cat enclosures (which previously housed leopard cat, golden cat and the bobcats). The fishing cats were held in one of the enclosures down by the Chimpanzees, adjacent to the Siamangs.

I've seen the photo of Barda, thanks for that. I wonder why they changed that plan?
 
Animalgeek said:
No the bobcats are now in the old golden cat enclouser as the fishing cats are in the old bobcat enclouser and in franklin zoos facebook page there is a photo of barda in his crate saying that he is going to orana so he will probaly almost be there now. :)
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possibly going to orana for quarantine?
 
Possibly Jarkari i will ask Oranna soon.

But so the 3 small enclousers next to the chimps use to hold the siamangs then the leopard cat then bobcats
Now they house siamngs and fishing cats in the other 2

Then there are 2 other enclousers ( cant qute renember where they are but they are next to eatch other) and they use to house the serval and the golden cat now they house the serval and the bobcats

Hope that makes sense lol
 
Animalgeek said:
But so the 3 small enclousers next to the chimps use to hold the siamangs then the leopard cat then bobcats
Now they house siamngs and fishing cats in the other 2

Then there are 2 other enclousers ( cant qute renember where they are but they are next to eatch other) and they use to house the serval and the golden cat now they house the serval and the bobcats

Hope that makes sense lol
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The three enclosures down by the chimps have only ever held Fishing Cats, Siamangs and Harrier Hawks. These are quite new exhibits. This is the only place the Fishing Cats have lived.

The two enclosures in the rainforest area are quite old, and used to hold Leopard Cat, Aisatic Golden Cat and Bobcat (but only ever two at once). Once all these species had gone, the serval moved in. Now the bobcats are back, and it sounds like they have moved into their old enclosure, or possibly the one next to it.

So, in conclusion, the bobcats are back in their old enclosure, as the fishing cats never replaced them there. Hope that makes sense!
 
yes u r right he fishing cats never lived there but the leopard cat lived where the fishing cats live now then he diedf then they arrived to like fill his space i think u might be right thoe :)
 
Animalgeek said:
yes u r right he fishing cats never lived there but the leopard cat lived where the fishing cats live now then he diedf then they arrived to like fill his space i think u might be right thoe :)
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No, the leopard cat never lived down there. She died in 2008 I think. Those exhibits were built in 2009, and Fishing Cats have been the only felines to live there.
 
zooboy28 said:
No, the leopard cat never lived down there. She died in 2008 I think. Those exhibits were built in 2009, and Fishing Cats have been the only felines to live there.
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that is correct, in the first half of 2008 (not sure which month though)
 
Oh ok thnaks for clearing that up i understand now :) I very mutch hate the 3 enclousers by the chimps they are rather small asspecaly for the siamngs its small for them.
 
Auckland Zoo Animals Moved To New Homes After Death... | Stuff.co.nz
20 Feb 2013

All 430 of Franklin Zoo's animals have found new homes - apart from Mila the elephant, as keepers agonise over which of three facilities in the US to send the elephant to.

Franklin Zoo closed its doors last year after owner Helen Schofield was crushed to death by former circus elephant, Mila.

Rehoming many of the animals proved difficult, Schofield's sister and zoo trustee Jenny Chung said.

''It was really hard because Franklin Zoo was a sanctuary that was the last port of call for these animals because no-one else wanted them.

''We're very grateful to all the facilities that have put themselves out there so that these animals can continue to live good lives.''

Like Mila, many of the animals came from circuses and displayed strange, ''humanised'' behaviour, Chung said.

''Some are elderly, some are blind, one-eyed, three-legged - they've got all sorts of physical and behavioural problems.''

The zoo's keepers have been reluctant to announce which facilities they are choosing between for Mila but said they would start fundraising soon to pay for the cost of rehoming Mila.

In the meantime the Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust has hired a world-class elephant programme manager to help look after Mila.

Among animals that have found new homes are four cotton-top tamarins that have been rehomed at Butterfly Creek, near Auckland Airport.

The tamarins - Ay, Chaka, Merida and Miracle - were all moved last week.

The cotton-top tamarins were sent to the sanctuary because they were not part of a breeding programme, Chung said.

The decision to exclude the four from the gene pool was made by the Zoo and Aquarium Association, which co-ordinates zoo breeding programmes across Australasia.

The tiny monkeys are critically endangered and it's estimated there are only 6,000 of them in the wild, all in the Central American country of Colombia.

They weigh, on average, just 430 grams and live to about 22 years old in captivity.

Butterfly Creek animal manager Amy Keller said the pint-sized primates have very distinct personalities.

''Chaska is a very friendly little critter - she's the dominant one. Miracle is a lot more cheeky and mischievous.
''Merida loves her food and Ay is just a calm, relaxed dude.''

The four are living in two separate enclosures in Butterfly Creek's tropical butterfly house, where they're fed a diet of fruit and insects.

''Because they're such small animals they do need a lot of energy so they need food constantly,'' Keller said.
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