Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo News 2016

ZooBoyNZ said:
The whole of the Aussie Walkabout was closed off except for the Tasmanian Devils. There was a sign at the entrance of the walkabout saying 'New Exhibit Coming soon' with a few clues to what animals I think we can expect from the area. There are close-up images of what seems to be a lace monitor tail and claw, some bird tail feathers but I don't know what species, and at the very bottom of the sign a small frog or turtle; again not sure of the species. Construction seems to be going well near the old lorikeet aviary, there were about 20 large wooden posts varying from about 3-4 metres in height, set in concrete, which completely stumped me for what they could be for. They are all placed quite close together, in two rows, and they seem to be at random heights. Other than the posts, there is a few concrete walls but not much else. The lorikeet aviary is still standing. I did take some photos (on my phone as I didn't have my camera with me) of the construction and sign, but they're not very good because viewing was through mesh and tiny glass windows. I can post them in the gallery if anyone's interested.
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do you have photos of the wooden posts construction, and the bird tail sign? If you do you could post them as attachments on this thread (if they aren't good enough to put in the gallery).
 
Here are a few photos of the Aussie Walkabout construction; sorry for the delay in posting them and for the quality of the images! :o The first picture is the sign at the entrance of the wallaby/emu exhibit showing some animals that are likely to be in the development; the second and third show the large wooden posts I talked about earlier in the thread, and the fourth image shows some supplies and plants for the development. Any ideas to what those wooden poles could be for? :)
 

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cool, thanks. The animals on the sign are Lace Monitor (leg and tail), Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, and down the bottom a Snake-necked Turtle's head.

I have no clue what the log uprights are going to become!
 
Chlidonias said:
cool, thanks. The animals on the sign are Lace Monitor (leg and tail), Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, and down the bottom a Snake-necked Turtle's head.

I have no clue what the log uprights are going to become!
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Thank you for the species clarification. I thought it was a Snake-necked turtle down the bottom of the sign :D but I wouldn't have got the red-tailed black cockatoo! At first glance, I thought the wooden poles might have been for an aviary but now I realize there are too many of them, they're too close together and the zoo uses steel poles for their aviary's now; so absolutely no idea what they could be for.
 
That's good the Red-tailed Black Cockatoos are going back on show, although presumably their new aviary won't be as big as the old one.
 
I can say with confidence that Tieke (North Island Saddleback) will be introduced to the Forest at Te Wao Nui sometime in the next month, likely 12th September.
 
One of Auckland Zoo's male rhinos, Mtoto; flew out to his new home at Altina Wildlife Park today. Here is an article from this morning; taken from Auckland Zoo's website.
Auckland Zoo's male rhino Mtoto begins a 2,756km plane and road trip today bound for a new home at Altina Wildlife Park south-west of Sydney.

The genetically valuable male is being relocated as part of the Australasian zoos' regional breeding programme for southern white rhino.

Mtoto is the son of the Zoo's male Zambezi and younger brother of Inkosi, and at 12 years old, has now reached sexual maturity.

"Mtoto is a lovely natured rhino and a very playful adolescent, who's still just a young boy at heart; he loves running around in the rain and through puddles! We are going to miss him, but this is the right time for him to leave, and it's great for the regional programme," says Auckland Zoo Pridelands keeper David Crimp, who will travel with Mtoto and stay on for a few days to settle him in to his new home.

A purpose-built marine aluminium crate will transport 1.7 tonne Mtoto, whose Trans-Tasman flight will be on a Qantas Boeing 767 Freighter. He will travel from Auckland to Christchurch and then on to Sydney, and from Sydney, will be transported by road for the final 600km of his journey.

In preparation for his big trip, David and the Pridelands team have been getting Mtoto familiar and comfortable with his crate over the past few months.

"Mtoto is generally really good with new things, and from day one, with the lure of some lucerne, one of his favourite foods, he happily wandered right in," says David.

To ensure his safety and comfort, Mtoto's crate (4.8m long, 1.58m wide and 2.3m high) is specifically designed so that he has room to lie down and move within a secure area.

On board refreshments for Mtoto will be minimal – just some of his favourite lucerne for the relatively short Auckland-Sydney flight.

David and Auckland Zoo vet manager, Dr James Chatterton, who will be travelling in the cockpit of the 767, will be checking on Mtoto prior to flying, at the Christchurch stopover, on landing in Sydney.

"Once we touch down in Sydney, our Australian colleagues will provide additional food supplies. Throughout the road trip, I'll also have plenty of opportunity to regularly check on him so he’ll also have the security of a familiar face and voice," says David.

Altina Wildlife Park director, Gloria Altin, says she and her team are "elated that Mtoto will be the first rhino to set foot on Altina soil and look forward to meeting him once he lands in Australia".

"We wish to thank Auckland Zoo for all their efforts in making Mtoto's transfer possible, and are delighted to be welcoming him to Australia. Further rhino acquisitions are in the pipeline for Altina, and we will strive to boost valuable contributions to the regional rhino management programme for Australasia," says Mrs Altin.
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Kokakola11 said:
I can say with confidence that Tieke (North Island Saddleback) will be introduced to the Forest at Te Wao Nui sometime in the next month, likely 12th September.
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exciting news (and, relatively speaking, there's not often a lot of exciting bird news from New Zealand zoos). The zoo now has saddleback on display.
The sweet sound of conservation success
5 September 2016

This Conservation Week (10-18 September), Auckland Zoo and the Department of Conservation (DOC) are celebrating the arrival of tīeke (North Island saddleback) to Auckland Zoo's Te Wao Nui forest aviary.

...

Auckland Zoo's curator of ectotherms and birds, Richard Gibson, says the fact they call frequently and are noisy foragers, makes them great birds for people to engage with.

"Having tīeke at Auckland Zoo means that visitors now have the opportunity to see, hear, learn about and connect with these unique birds that were almost lost forever. We believe that when people have personal experiences with wildlife like this, they're more likely to care for and act to protect them. Tīeke are a great conservation success story, and we want to ensure they continue to thrive. This can only be done with everyone's commitment to conservation."

The tīeke have been sourced from Tiritiri Matangi Island, one of the many pest-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf (Tīkapa Moana). The island is bursting with unique native treasures thanks to one of the most successful community-lead conservation projects in the world.

...
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So is there any update on whether Auckland will be importing/receiving female Rhinos again following the departure of Mtoto?
 
Nisha said:
So is there any update on whether Auckland will be importing/receiving female Rhinos again following the departure of Mtoto?
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I'm not 100% sure if they'll be receiving new females, but Orana Wildlife Park are receiving a male white rhino from Auckland Zoo soon, most likely Zambezi as he is a proven breeder and Orana have three females that have had issues breeding in the past. I doubt they'd combine these females with an inexperienced breeder like Inkosi.

This move would leave Inkosi at Auckland Zoo. I wouldn't be surprised if Moesha (1994) and Jamila (2012) then moved from Hamilton Zoo to breed with Inkosi.

Moesha has had two calves with Kruger now, and Jamila is Kruger's daughter and will require relocation as she reaches maturity in the next couple of years.

Moesha failed to breed with Zambezi during his time at Hamilton Zoo, so it's unlikely they'd be paired again.

There's still a lot of unknowns in rhino breeding, including whether or not females (especially related females) suppress each other's reproduction. If they were confident this could be addressed at Orana, they might even consider relocating Moseha and Jamila there for breeding and sending the two older Orana females (that are highly unlikely to breed) to Auckland Zoo to form a non breeding herd with Inkosi. This would allow Orana to hold a breeding herd of four females and two or more breeding males (with the aquisition of Zambezi).
 
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Imani and Inkosi are full siblings - the exchange of Kruger and Zambezi took place just before she was born
 
Nisha said:
the exchange of Kruger and Zambezi took place just before she was born
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Correction: the exchange took place when Imani was almost two months old. Imani was born March 2007; Kruger and Zambezi were exchanged in May 2007. :D
 
The saddlebacks aren't actually on display yet. they have been in quarantine for the past week and will be properly welcomed tomorrow. It is either 8 or 10 birds and they will go into the forest aviary.
 
Hi. I'm new to this forum, but I'm a massive fan of the zoo. I like to update on the Aussie Walkabout renovation, as I was at the zoo yesterday.
1) The poles (sadly with no proof/photos) is one of the two new aviaries to house the Australian birds.
2) There is this greenhouse looking building but with metal walls between the original aviary and the new built wooden poles aviary. No idea what its for, but my guesses are that it's for the lizards and freshwater turtles.
3) Can't see anything that resembles a wombat enclosure yet, or I just can't see it through that glass window.
Everything else looks about right. Hope it's completed by February 2017 :)
ZooBoyNZ said:
Here are a few photos of the Aussie Walkabout construction; sorry for the delay in posting them and for the quality of the images! :o The first picture is the sign at the entrance of the wallaby/emu exhibit showing some animals that are likely to be in the development; the second and third show the large wooden posts I talked about earlier in the thread, and the fourth image shows some supplies and plants for the development. Any ideas to what those wooden poles could be for? :)
Click to expand...
 
ZooNZ said:
Hi. I'm new to this forum, but I'm a massive fan of the zoo. I like to update on the Aussie Walkabout renovation, as I was at the zoo yesterday.
1) The poles (sadly with no proof/photos) is one of the two new aviaries to house the Australian birds.
2) There is this greenhouse looking building but with metal walls between the original aviary and the new built wooden poles aviary. No idea what its for, but my guesses are that it's for the lizards and freshwater turtles.
3) Can't see anything that resembles a wombat enclosure yet, or I just can't see it through that glass window.
Everything else looks about right. Hope it's completed by February 2017 :)
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Welcome to the forums! I am also a massive fan of Auckland Zoo. Thanks for the update on the development; will be interesting to see how it looks when complete. I think the monitor lizards need an indoor display house as well as an outdoor exhibit so that could explain the 'greenhouse' looking thing. I assume that you are referring the master plan which was updated 2014. I don't have a more recent version (allthough I would really like one!) but the 2014 plan for the Australian area doesn't really match up with the construction and placement of the Tasmanian devil exhibit. Did you see any sign of perhaps the main Aussie Walkabout part with the emus/wallabies being turned into a walkthrough aviary? Becaue that is in the 2014 master plan. I guess we will just have to wait and see how it turns out! :)
 
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