Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo News 2016

Chlidonias said:
I think they only keep their clawed frogs and fire-bellied newts off general display in the education department as well, which I think is also a shame.
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It is. Many zoos seem to have a lot of species off-display in education departments. Auckland used to have both clawed frogs and newts on display in the old Aquarium. These are both rarely displayed in NZ now, I can think of only Ti Point (newts) and Brooklands (frogs) showing them.
 
Chlidonias said:
actually if the iguana has been there for 18 months then I suspect it might be the same animal which was intercepted by Customs in October 2014 along with the Veiled Chameleons which are now at Wellington Zoo. I'll try to find that out.
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and my supposition there was indeed correct.
 
zooboy28 said:
While its cool Auckland has acquired an iguana, its a shame it is not on public display. An iguana could do quite well in one of the outdoor exhibits in the Rainforest during the warmer months, with a heat lamp. The old Golden Lion Tamarin enclosure would be a good place.
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maybe after winter, and when the iguana is bigger, it may go on display?
 
kiwimuzz said:
I love that when you open this link the picture is of three Capuchin Monkeys. :) Is it a case of the reporter not knowing the difference or Wildlife HQ?
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the photo was taken at the Darling Downs Zoo according to its title, so it is the newspaper's fault not that of Wildlife HQ.
 
vogelcommando said:
Nandi the elephant still in Sri Lanka :
Elephant Nandi stuck in Sri Lanka | NZNews | Newshub
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This must be an infuriating for the staff at Auckland Zoo. I don't understand the objections of these activist groups to sending a young elephant from an overcrowded facility to a cleaner, spacious facility where she will be part of a herd, have a chance to breed and be fully mentally stimulated through a world class elephant husbandry programme.
 
Sad news from Facebook:

We are extremely sad to share with you that our much-loved elderly hippo Faith has died.
Forty-one-year-old Faith had been unwell over the past few days, but deteriorated rapidly yesterday. Exhibiting signs of fatal haemorrhagic respiratory disease, a terminal condition, euthanasia was the kindest and only option.
Faith was born at Auckland Zoo in 1975 and was a dearly loved member of the Auckland Zoo family. Our thoughts go out to all our staff, volunteers and everyone who loved Faith - especially our incredible team of Pridelands keepers who cared for her and enriched every day of her long life.
 
Nisha said:
Sad news from Facebook:

We are extremely sad to share with you that our much-loved elderly hippo Faith has died.
Forty-one-year-old Faith had been unwell over the past few days, but deteriorated rapidly yesterday. Exhibiting signs of fatal haemorrhagic respiratory disease, a terminal condition, euthanasia was the kindest and only option.
Faith was born at Auckland Zoo in 1975 and was a dearly loved member of the Auckland Zoo family. Our thoughts go out to all our staff, volunteers and everyone who loved Faith - especially our incredible team of Pridelands keepers who cared for her and enriched every day of her long life.
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oh that is a real shame, and not something I was expecting to hear so soon after Fudge died! :(

For those not familiar with the zoo, Faith was the last hippo in the country (and Fudge was her son, who died earlier this year).
 
Chlidonias said:
oh that is a real shame, and not something I was expecting to hear so soon after Fudge died! :(

For those not familiar with the zoo, Faith was the last hippo in the country (and Fudge was her son, who died earlier this year).
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This is extremely sad news, and probably the most significant exotic mammal loss in quite some time.

I wonder what this will mean for the hippo exhibit, both in the short and long term?
 
zooboy28 said:
This is extremely sad news, and probably the most significant exotic mammal loss in quite some time.

I wonder what this will mean for the hippo exhibit, both in the short and long term?
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Sad news indeed, especially so soon after the death of Fudge :(

It was my understanding that Auckland Zoo were phasing out Common Hippopotumus since castrating the passing of Kabete, and the castration of the remaining male, Fudge, in 1993. Was/is this still the case?

If so, I wouldn't be surprised if they joined the breeding programme for Pygmy Hippopotamus as zoos in Australia are breeding them, and there are thriving breeding programmes overseas for this species. Zoos such as Melbourne have phased out their Common Hippopotamus for this smaller sub species, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Auckland Zoo follow suit. The current enclosure which is of an adequate size for Common Hippopotamus, would be a decent size enclosure for Pygmy Hippopotamus.

*Apologies to Zooboy 28, who I see has also proposed the possibility of Pygmy Hippos. Please be assured I sourced this idea from my previous post on this thread (from when Fudge died) regarding Pygmy Hippos and was not attempting to pass your independent idea off as my own. #greatmindsthinkalike
 
Very sad news. :( New Zealand is now a hippo-less country! :( At least Fudge & Faith both had happy, enriching and enjoyable lives in a great exhibit with an exceptional team of keepers and carers. :) I was also wondering what will happen to the hippo exhibit zooboy28, I actually have plans to visit Auckland Zoo this Saturday, so I will keep everyone informed on what's going on with the enclosure. It was in Auckland Zoo's plans to create a shared waterhole exhibit for common hippos and baboons, and that was to be completed around the end of the 10 year plan. I wonder if that development will be pushed forward to the coming years, to either fill in the hippo exhibit to accomodate an entirely different species, or minor adjustments to the exhibit for Pygmy hippos which are breeding well in Australia and would be very suitable for the area. Of course I would prefer the latter of the two options, (getting Pygmy hippos) because hippos are a fascinating species regardless of size. Unfortunately I don't think bringing common hippos to Auckland Zoo is likely because of the current Australasian population.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Sad news indeed, especially so soon after the death of Fudge :(

It was my understanding that Auckland Zoo were phasing out Common Hippopotumus since castrating the passing of Kabete, and the castration of the remaining male, Fudge, in 1993. Was/is this still the case?

If so, I wouldn't be surprised if they joined the breeding programme for Pygmy Hippopotamus as zoos in Australia are breeding them, and there are thriving breeding programmes overseas for this species. Zoos such as Melbourne have phased out their Common Hippopotamus for this smaller sub species, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Auckland Zoo follow suit. The current enclosure which is of an adequate size for Common Hippopotamus, would be a decent size enclosure for Pygmy Hippopotamus.

*Apologies to Zooboy 28, who I see has also proposed the possibility of Pygmy Hippos. Please be assured I sourced this idea from my previous post on this thread (from when Fudge died) regarding Pygmy Hippos and was not attempting to pass your independent idea off as my own. #greatmindsthinkalike
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Sorry Zoofan15, I was typing when you posted and I seem to have mentioned similar thoughts on the Pygmy hippo situation. :o Not copying you!:D
 
ZooBoyNZ said:
Sorry Zoofan15, I was typing when you posted and I seem to have mentioned similar thoughts on the Pygmy hippo situation. :o Not copying you!:D
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All good! :D:D

It seems Pygmy Hippos are the most likely scenario in my opinion, given the situation.
 
I was just browsing the Facebook comments of the photo Auckland Zoo posted about the passing of Faith the hippo :(and I thought I would share something that I read.
Someone asked if the zoo will get more hippos in the future and Auckland Zoo replied:
"Hippos are part of Auckland Zoo's long term collection plan, but at the same time there is no legal mechanism to import the species to New Zealand. In order to do this, we will need to develop an Import Health Standard for the species, working with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) - but right now, we are grieving the loss of our much-loved Faith."
Most of this is already known, but I just wanted to share because it confirms that hippos are in the zoos long term collection plan; not specified common or Pygmy hippos though. :)
 
ZooBoyNZ said:
Most of this is already known, but I just wanted to share because it confirms that hippos are in the zoos long term collection plan; not specified common or Pygmy hippos though. :)
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long-term collection plans don't mean much. They change all the time. Hippos are in the collection plan because they already had hippos. It doesn't mean they will make any attempt to get hippos again - and if they did it would literally be years away before it would be possible.
 
The ex-hippo exhibit would be ideal for Sitatunga (Marshbuck), but sadly these were phased out of ZAA collections. Egyptian Geese.... probably none left in the country. Looks like it will have to be Capybara.
 
I visited Auckland Zoo yesterday (20.8.16) and I wanted to share some updates and a few things that I noted. :D

- On the zoo map I was given on entry, the hippopotamus icon is still displayed, as well as the red 'hippo river' label. Also the wallaby & emu area of the Aussie Walkabout is shown as open, with only the old lorikeet aviary being under construction.
- I didn't notice any changes to the hippo enclosure apart from a few signs around the exhibit about Faith's passing, and a large chalkboard for visitors to sign in memory of the hippos. Everything thing from the flamingo exhibit down to the servals is still signposted as 'hippo river' however I didn't expect anything to have changed yet because Faith only died this week. I was thinking about what the zoo could call the area because obviously hippo river isn't appropriate any more. The best I could come up with was 'African Wetlands' and yes I know that's not completely accurate because of some of the species in the area but it's just an idea. Maybe the zoo will just call the whole African area Pridelands.
- I saw three springbok in the rhino exhibit; but still no sign of nyala being on display. Strange how they removed the springbok from the map when they are still on display.
- 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.
- Overall the zoo is looking good as always, and hopefully they are thinking about how to re-sign the hippo river area.
*EDIT* This morning while on Auckland Zoo's website, I noticed they have updated the map since I went yesterday. http://www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/explore-the-zoo/Documents/auckland-zoo-map.pdf The whole of the Aussie Walkabout is now shown as being under construction and opening 2017, the hippo icon and hippo river sign has gone, the kid zone building is shown to be undergoing renovation and reopening 2017, and the springbok icon is back in the place where the nyala icon was! I think maybe visitors were getting confused as to why it says nyala on the map when there is springbok in the exhibit. Hopefully when the nyala eventually go on display, they will leave the springbok icon on the map and just add the nyala to it. If anyone wants to know any more information or ask me a question about my visit, please feel free to ask! :)
 
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