Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo News 2025

[aramacao]

Hello everyone.

I have a question. For those of you who have experience visiting this zoo, how much time do you think is needed to visit it properly, at a relaxed pace, and take photos?

I know everyone has different amounts of time; some might be able to visit in two hours and others might need five, but I would appreciate an estimate.

 

[Zoofan15]

Hello everyone.

I have a question. For those of you who have experience visiting this zoo, how much time do you think is needed to visit it properly, at a relaxed pace, and take photos?

I know everyone has different amounts of time; some might be able to visit in two hours and others might need five, but I would appreciate an estimate.

Auckland Zoo is New Zealand’s only zoo I’d consider a full day out. For a first time visit where you want to take lots of photos and see everything at a relaxed pace, I would recommend six hours. That will allow you ample time to see everything and revisit exhibits if needed.

The exhibits I would most reccomend revisiting:

Sumatran tiger: The tigers rotate between the exhibits, though usually Zayana and Cahya (mother and 22 month old cub) are in the larger exhibit. Visibility varies.

Bornean orangutan: The orangutans may have access to the aerial lines, so I’d advise visiting multiple times to see them on the aerial lines and in the exhibit (including up by the viewing window).

False gharial: There’s a viewing window the False gharial frequent as you come in. Revisit a few times throughout the day and you might see one of them there (usually Sumpit).

 

[aramacao]

Auckland Zoo is New Zealand’s only zoo I’d consider a full day out. For a first time visit where you want to take lots of photos and see everything at a relaxed pace, I would recommend six hours. That will allow you ample time to see everything and revisit exhibits if needed.

The exhibits I would most reccomend revisiting:

Sumatran tiger: The tigers rotate between the exhibits, though usually Zayana and Cahya (mother and 22 month old cub) are in the larger exhibit. Visibility varies.

Bornean orangutan: The orangutans may have access to the aerial lines, so I’d advise visiting multiple times to see them on the aerial lines and in the exhibit (including up by the viewing window).

False gharial: There’s a viewing window the False gharial frequent as you come in. Revisit a few times throughout the day and you might see one of them there (usually Sumpit).

Thank you so much for this detailed response. It's exactly what I was looking for. However, to narrow things down a bit more, I want to clarify that my interest is primarily in Oceania's wildlife. Obviously, I'll visit the entire zoo, enjoy it, and take photos, but I most likely won't visit the African, Asian, or South American animal areas more than once. I think this will allow me to move around a bit faster and not spend the whole day at the zoo, so I can enjoy the city (I'll be in Auckland for four days, but I have to dedicate a day and a half to Tiritiri Matangi, I have a whale-watching trip planned, and I want to visit both the zoo and the Kelly Tarlton Aquarium), so I need to try to find time to see at least the basics of the city.

 

[Jambo]

Thank you so much for this detailed response. It's exactly what I was looking for. However, to narrow things down a bit more, I want to clarify that my interest is primarily in Oceania's wildlife.

There's a small Australian trail, and the much larger native NZ trail 'Te Wao Nui'. The Australian Trail can be done easily in fifteen minutes or so. Te Wao Nui may take some more time, especially if you spend a lot of time observing the birds in the aviaries; the Forest Aviary is a great place where you can easily lose track of time searching for the birds.

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

Hello everyone.

I have a question. For those of you who have experience visiting this zoo, how much time do you think is needed to visit it properly, at a relaxed pace, and take photos?

I know everyone has different amounts of time; some might be able to visit in two hours and others might need five, but I would appreciate an estimate.[/QUOTE

Personally, I would say at least 2 to 3 hours, perhaps more if you intend to have lunch there (the cafes are good). And it will depend if you have a favorite animal or part of th zoo you like to concentrate on and what are the best times to view these animals. Since you've shown interest in Te Wao Nui, at least an hour or two.

 

[Zoofan15]

Thank you so much for this detailed response. It's exactly what I was looking for. However, to narrow things down a bit more, I want to clarify that my interest is primarily in Oceania's wildlife. Obviously, I'll visit the entire zoo, enjoy it, and take photos, but I most likely won't visit the African, Asian, or South American animal areas more than once. I think this will allow me to move around a bit faster and not spend the whole day at the zoo, so I can enjoy the city (I'll be in Auckland for four days, but I have to dedicate a day and a half to Tiritiri Matangi, I have a whale-watching trip planned, and I want to visit both the zoo and the Kelly Tarlton Aquarium), so I need to try to find time to see at least the basics of the city.

There's a small Australian trail, and the much larger native NZ trail 'Te Wao Nui'. The Australian Trail can be done easily in fifteen minutes or so. Te Wao Nui may take some more time, especially if you spend a lot of time observing the birds in the aviaries; the Forest Aviary is a great place where you can easily lose track of time searching for the birds.

In addition to visiting the New Zealand precinct (Te Wao Nui) and the Australian precinct, I would firmly recommend attending the Hidden New Zealand presentation (check times on the day, but it’s showing at 1pm everyday for the next week).

Hidden New Zealand gives you the opportunity to see an array of New Zealand native species, many of which are not on display. Last time, I saw Barn owl, Giant weta, Tuatara and New Zealand harrier.

 

[Smaggledagle]

Piece of Late September News Not Mentioned:

On September 25th, the zoo announced they will construct a new exhibit inside the Tarantula House for a Goliath birdeater (that is kept off-show) in the future.

60K views · 563 reactions | A new creature has crawled into the Zoo – but you won’t be able to spot it just yet! Known as the ‘king of spiders’, the Goliath birdeater is the largest arachnid on the planet – weighing up to 170 grams (roughly the weight of your smartphone) and with a leg span of more than 30cms! Funnily enough this tarantula doesn’t usually eat birds, but they are big enough to do so! In South American rainforests like the Amazon, this nocturnal ambush-predator would usually consume insects, as well as frogs, rodents and occasionally lizards. Goliath birdeaters use venom to subdue and digest their prey but this is not a serious risk to humans. These arthropods have some amazing adaptations – they liquefy their prey before eating it, consuming everything except the skin and skeleton. They use their rear legs to flick off urticating hairs from their abdomen, which act like little barbs when directed at predators, and female spiders will use these hairs to cover their egg sacs and protect them from harm. In the future we will be creating a new habitat for this species in our current tarantula house, but until then you can enjoy this amazing video! | Auckland Zoo

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Spoiler: Rehabilitation News

On October 16th, the zoo announced they rehabilitated and released a Salvin's albatross back into the wild.

Auckland Zoo

On December 5th, the zoo announced they acquired a little blue penguin egg from International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch in October, which hatched on November 11th and is off-show.

Auckland Zoo