Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo news -- FoZ news April 2008

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Nigel

Well-Known Member
Recieved a few days ago . Some interesting articles in this issue , as well as the usual stuff for younger readers . Unless otherwise stated , I will be passing on information as it is written by them . I am not the editor :)

There are a few pages dedicated to frog conservation . Auckland Zoo built a frog research centre a few years ago , but it is not open to public . It is located next to the native bird aviary , which is in the region for redevelopment into the NZ theme

" We have 4 species of Native frogs " it is not clear if "we" means the zoo , or NZ as a country . However ......

Archeys frog ( Leiopelma archeyi ) -- the zoo has a breeding/research programme for ( as above )
Hochstetters frog ( Leiopelma hocstettori ) -- the most widespread
Maud Island frog ( Leiopelma pakeka )
Hamiltons frog ( Leiopelma hamiltoni ) -- of which there are thought to be less than 300 in the wild

None of these 4 species lay eggs or have tadpoles -- they bear young on dry land

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The Sumatran tigers have been mating over the past few months , heres hoping for a successful pregnancy .
The zoo also supports in situ tiger conservation through the 21st Century Tiger Project at Kerinci Seblat National Park in Sumatra , by funding rapid response anti poaching teams

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A pair of Asiatic Golden cats have arrived ex Adelaide , bringing Aucklands population to four 2.2
But they are housed in an off display area , hoping that they will successfully
breed .

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A soon to screen documentary on TV2 , " the Zoo , This is your life "
This uses alot of archival footage of numerous animals and keepers , past and present .

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A rare Haast tokoeka kiwi chick ( sex unknown ) was airlifted to Auckland Zoo vet team for intensive care medical treatment . During major endoscopic surgery , the chick wnt into cardiac arrest . Zoo vets preformed CPR and saved its life . It has since been returned to Willowbank ( near Christchurch )
and is recovering well . When it reached adulthood , it will be released back into the wild .

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8 January 2008 saw 3 female meerkats born to first time parents
Dad is Mbembe and Mum is Umi .
A photo of father and one of the daughters .

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There is also a large article about health care for Kashin , the 40 year old female Asian elephant .

The treatment for arthritis includes ;
Glucosamine ; to help rebuild cartilage and lubricate joints
Celery and Willow Plant ; Both great for arthritis . Willow plant has a natural paracetamol effect .
PBZ granules and Previcox ; given for pain relief as required
Equissage ; helps drain the lymphatic system , takes pressure off the joints
Daily scrub downs ; with warm H2O
Water therapy ; non weight bearing exercise . This is done in the lions moat , when the lions are locked up . Both elephants have this

Apple Cidar Vinegar footbaths , 3 x weekly ; a natural antibiotic and anti fungal treatment .

Daily pedicures .

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All in all , a good issue
 
hi,
just re the native frogs, it would be good if they have all four species, especially if they could put representatives of all on display (although they don't make very good display animals being nocturnal and shy). I THINK all four are in captive breeding situations at various places around NZ. The Archey's and Hochstetter's certainly are (I've caught both myself on the Coromandel for a research programe at the Canterbury University several years ago; I don't know if they still maintain them there, but other places do). Not sure if Maud and Stephen's Island are (they most probably are, but DoC mainly use translocations between islands to preserve these species).

Also (minor point, at odds with the info in the FoZ news), all species do lay eggs, which bypass the tadpole stage, hatching instead into little tailed froglets. In probably all the species the male guards the eggs until hatching and then carries the young on the back until they have absorbed the tail. (I thought I'd read in the past that the eggs of Hochstetter's hatch into non-feeding tadpoles but I can't find that info anywhere so I must have been mistaken)
 
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copy of email that I sent to Auckland Zoo

Hi Abigail ,

This last issue has been very informative , a good mix between news aimed for children , and news for us older viewers .

A couple of points that have come up from this and other queries in Zoobeat Forums ;

Can you give details about the recent zebra birth/s ( earlier in 2008 ) info requested ; sex of baby , who was parents

Can you please confirm that there really was 169 kiwi chicks that have been incubated , reared and released by AUCKLAND ZOO
since 1996 -- this figure has been questioned

Can you elaborate on the new encounters involving the alligator and blue/gold macaws . Are these just animal talks , or are they going to be housed in the same enclosure , or ....... ? I didnt understand that article at all

Does the Zoo have all 4 species of native frogs in its Frog research centre ?( I understand that it is not open to the public at large )

Keep up the good work at the zoo , and may more excellent newsletters be published

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I hope to get a reply in the next couple of days -- Abigail is pretty good at getting me information .


re the frogs , eggs etc ..... the newsletter could be considered a little misleading on this , so thanks for the clarification . It says that" unlike most frogs , they ; dont lay their eggs in water or have tadpoles like most frogs "
This is exact quote from the newsletter . It misled me into thinking that they dont lay eggs at all ..... ( thankyou for your correction )
 
Nigel said:
Can you please confirm that there really was 169 kiwi chicks that have been incubated , reared and released by AUCKLAND ZOO
since 1996 -- this figure has been questioned
Click to expand...

just for clarification, I wasn't questioning that 169 kiwi chicks had been reared from incubated eggs at the zoo, but rather that 169 kiwi chicks had been BRED at the zoo.
 
from the horses mouth ......

Hi Nigel,
The NZ Fauna team at Auckland Zoo has incubated, reared and release 169 kiwi chicks as part of the BNZ Operation Nest Egg kiwi programme. These eggs have been transferred into the Zoo from threatened wild nests site in the Northland region.

A milestone this year for the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust and the 6 captive facilities nation wide, that are involved in this programme, has been the hatching of the 1000th chick.

The NZ Native frog facility at Auckland Zoo focuses on maintaining and breeding only the Archey's frog.


Cheers,
Andrew

Andrew Nelson
Team Leader, New Zealand Fauna

so there we have it from the Zoo itself . May Operation nest Egg continue to be successful and breed many more kiwis !! ( Regardless of which zoo they are cared by )

Another point I asked my good contact at the zoo was elaboration of blue/red macaw and alligator encounter -- I didnt understand what exactly the newsletter was saying . the response came back ......

The new encounters are simply new keeper talks at the different
enclosures, not together. They fly the macaws
 
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