Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo News 2014

zooboy28

zooboy28

Well-Known Member
Babies to start the year - North Island Kaka chicks hatch in the Forest.

From the Zoo's Facebook page:
We have Kākā chicks in The Forrest (Te Wao Nui) now, so keep an eye out for them...
Click to expand...

This follows news late last year that the Zoo had hatched five Brown Teal ducklings, also in the Forest:
Five little brown teal ducklings (pāteke) have hatched in Te Wao Nui's The Forest!
The Zoo is part of a Brown Teal recovery project to rescue these endangered birds, and now about 200 brown teal bred in captivity are released into predator free environments each year.
Click to expand...

Good to hear of the breeding success of endangered natives at the Zoo, and also that they have added Brown Teal to the Forest aviary (previously only in the Wetland aviary), this will mean there will be some activity on the forest floor and the ponds now!
 
Red Panda twins have been born to second-time parents Bo and Sagan.

See story and photos here: In Pictures: Meet NZ's New Rare Red Panda Twins | Stuff.co.nz

Two rare red panda babies have been born at Auckland Zoo.

The twins, who are yet to be named, arrived in the world on January, 3 each weighing approximately 100 grams.

They are the second and third cubs born to four-year-old mum Bo and 13-year-old Sagar, who also have a boy named Pabu, who was born just over a year ago.

The Zoo says the new cubs are yet to be named or sexed, but are an extremely valuable addition to the international breeding programme for the threatened species.

"We're absolutely delighted Bo has had two healthy cubs and that she's proving once again to be such a confident and attentive mother," says acting carnivore team leader, Lauren Booth.

She says the zoo team have checked and weighed the cubs but are trying to remain hands off.

"They have now opened their eyes and are moving about in the nest box a little more, and will sometimes 'huff' at us," she says.

"Their weights have shot up to 403 grams and 423 grams respectively - above average, so we know they're getting plenty to eat, but they still have a lot more growing to do!"

Booth says that, like one-year-old Pabu who will relocate to another zoo in Australia within the next six months, the cubs will also in time leave Auckland Zoo to contribute to the international breeding programme.

Visitors to Auckland Zoo will be able to catch the cubs' parents and older brother Pabu out on display, but the cubs are not expected to venture out of their nest box until they are at least 12 weeks old, sometime in March.

Their sex will be confirmed in early March when they have their first vet check.
Click to expand...
 
Another impressive first breeding at Auckland Zoo - two endemic Lesser Short-tailed Bats have been born and reared successfully!

Story, photo and video here: Auckland Zoo - Auckland Zoo batty over bat babies

Auckland Zoo is celebrating successfully breeding and rearing lesser short-tailed bat twins - the first time this threatened endemic New Zealand species has ever been bred and hand-reared in a zoo.

The tiny short-tailed bats (pekapeka), a male and a female, born in mid-November weighing just 4 grams (weight of a 20 cent coin!), are now a healthy adult weight of around 14 grams.

New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine (NZCCM) Clinical services coordinator Mikaylie Wilson says that, "while very rare to produce twins (one pup is usual) their mother had given birth to twins earlier but they did not survive. From this experience, we knew she wasn't able to cope with raising two, so the decision was made to pull the first twin at two days, and then at two weeks, the second pup was failing to thrive so we pulled it as well."

Mikaylie, who has experience hand-rearing bats in Australia, set up the programme for the bats, "we had a portable incubator that closely mimicked a nursery in the wild, keeping them warm and secure. The temperature of the incubator was at 28-29 degrees, and we were feeding them every four hours."

Mikaylie Wilson cared for the bats for five days straight, before training bird keeper Debs Searchfield to play 'mum', feeding and caring for them at home.

Debs says, "we were a bit sleep deprived, but it was worth it. It's been such a great success to be part of, it's all very exciting and we've learnt a lot about them. Gaining more husbandry skills, hands on techniques and knowledge will hopefully help the future of this species and other bats in recovery programmes."

The bats parents are descendants of a population from the Tararua Ranges in the lower North Island. They came from a group that were collected and translocated by the Department of Conservation (DOC) to Kapiti Island in 2005/6 however a fungal ear infection meant that this group was not suitable for release and the Zoo now displays the only lesser short-tailed bats in captivity.
Click to expand...
 
wow that is amazing and fantastic news! Well done to Auckland Zoo!!
 
Another squirrel monkey has been born, to Romy on Tuesday night (from the zoo's Facebook page).
 
The red panda cubs have been sexed:

Our two-month-old red panda cubs had their first vet check and it's confirmed, we have a boy and a girl! They need names and we want your help. All you need to do is head to the nzherald.co.nz Facebook competition page: http://a.pgtb.me/facebook/app/163031/ , enter your suggestion and you're in to win a red panda experience. Easy!
Click to expand...
 
Chlidonias said:
slow internet speed so I can't watch it (and also it's Power Rangers so I can't watch it :p) but I skipped to some sections and it is Auckland Zoo. I didn't know they filmed that in NZ.
Click to expand...

I haven't watched the video either (my mighty morphin' days ended long ago! :p) but am also surprised to learn it was filmed in New Zealand, I just assumed it was filmed in America!
 
Brum said:
I haven't watched the video either (my mighty morphin' days ended long ago! :p) but am also surprised to learn it was filmed in New Zealand, I just assumed it was filmed in America!
Click to expand...

It was until 2003 when Disney bought it and they have filmed it in New Zealand ever since. Only now Saban bought it back from Disney in 2010 that is why it is on Nick now.
 
Just a snippet on the future of the Japanese Garden.

Push for new friendship garden - national | Stuff.co.nz

An Auckland councillor has been appointed as chairwoman for a group planning to re-establish the Fukuoka Friendship Garden, which was demolished in January.

The garden, a gift from Japanese city Fukuoka to Auckland Zoo 25 years ago, was removed to make way for an enclosure for a breeding programme for endangered Tasmanian devils.

Mayor Len Brown has apologised to the city for the demolition of the garden.

Councillor Cathy Casey has been confirmed as the chairwoman of the Fukuoka Friendship Garden steering group.

The focus over the next few months would be on the most appropriate location design and management options for the future of the garden, she said.

"It's time for us to move on from the events of the last few months and turn this unfortunate situation into an opportunity for more people to enjoy this special gift from Fukuoka City for many years to come," Casey said.

Options include a reinstatement at the Auckland Zoo site.

The Fukuoka Friendship Garden steering group is made up of three Auckland Council councillors, a member from the Independent Maori Statutory Board and two members of the Friends of Fukuoka Gardens.

A recommendation is expected to the governing body in August.
Click to expand...

For previous information on this topic see here: https://www.zoochat.com/community/posts/728887
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tasmanian Devils to go on display

The Tasmanian Devils are going on show tomorrow, according to the Zoo's Facebook page:

Our four Tasmanian devils arrived in the country yesterday and Tineke (our registrar) was given the important job of picking them up from Auckland Airport. Come explore their new home and try and spot them at the Zoo from tomorrow!
Click to expand...

The zoo last held this species in the 1980s, and Auckland will become the second zoo in the country (after Wellington) to display them this year. Frustratingly the zoo map has not been updated online recently, so its hard to tell exactly how big the exhibit is, or if any of the bird species moved for the exhibit will return to display.
 
Here is après release on the Devil's arrival from the Auckland Zoo website: Auckland Zoo - The devils are coming...

Four Tasmanian devils are making their way to Auckland Zoo this week, just in time for April School Holidays.

One female and three male Tasmanian devils are moving to Auckland Zoo from Australia's Healesville Zoo to be part of an insurance population for the endangered species.

Auckland Zoo director, Jonathan Wilcken says that Auckland Zoo is excited to be a part of this important conservation programme to help save the iconic Tasmanian devil.

"People may be surprised to learn that the Tasmanian devil is a delightfully curious and engaging creature - a very different animal from the one portrayed in the famous cartoon. We're looking forward to visitors being delighted by the new exhibit; it really is a fantastic environment for the devils to live and for visitors to learn," says Mr Wilcken.

Once widespread throughout Australia, devils are now only found in Tasmania and are threatened with extinction due to the deadly Devil Facial Tumour Disease - a devastating disease that emerged in 1996 and still has no cure.

In response to the emergence of this disease and the alarming decline in Tasmanian devils, the Australian and Tasmanian governments teamed up and created the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program. The programme includes a global zoo-based initiative lead by the Zoo and Aquarium Association, which manages a disease-free population of devils for future release in to the wild, should the wild population further deteriorate.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top