Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo news

zooboy28 said:
Ooooh, exciting! I hope they are being moved to Pridelands! Any work anywhere that suggests a new exhibit driftaguy?
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I went there yesterday, and the porcupine are now in... the old kiwi house!

Different species of birds are now in the enclosures next to the exit.
 
driftaguy said:
I went there yesterday, and the porcupine are now in... the old kiwi house!

Different species of birds are now in the enclosures next to the exit.
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where is the old kiwi house? And does that make it a nocturnal porcupine exhibit?

Do you know what the birds are? (also, the exit to what? The zoo, or the old kiwi house?)
 
Chlidonias said:
where is the old kiwi house? And does that make it a nocturnal porcupine exhibit?

Do you know what the birds are? (also, the exit to what? The zoo, or the old kiwi house?)
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Yes, I took photos of the new signs so I could post the names on here.
They are the Mallee Ringneck Parakeet, Australian King Parrot, Musk Lorikeet and Red-tailed Black Cockatoo. As well as these, there are also Little-red Flying Foxes. The enclosures are next to the exit of the old kiwi house.

The glass enclosure seemed empty, and there were no signs attached to it.

Yes, the enclosure is nocturnal. The path is more lit up now than it used to be. The old kiwi house is located between the toilets and the Information Centre.
 
good the bats are back on display again. And doubly good the porcupines are in a nocturnal display!! They are such awesome critters and all most visitors see of them is a sleeping pile of spikes.
 
A Red Panda has been born!
An otter is now in the old porcupine enclosure.
 
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I visited Auckland Zoo on 30 December 2012, here are some of my observations.

-There is a new map (still free) which is good. One thing it cleverly does, is to colour each animal's exhibit according to continent of origin (NZ, Australia, Asia, Africa), although the exhibits in the Tropics area haven't been coloured for some reason.
-Upon entering the zoo, you are now encouraged (strongly) to be photographed, which makes one feel a little like a common SeaLife visitor.
-The new Porcupine exhibit is really quite good, the animals weren't visible on arrival when the zoo opened, but when I re-entered the house at 12.30 they were active and ambling around. They are so big! Extensive and excellent signage.
-The old native bird aviaries now holding the Australian parrots and bats are nothing stunning, I don't really undertand the point of moving them (except the bats). The cockatoos definitely have less room. New signs here too.
-There has been a baby Red Panda born to Bo.
-The main otter enclosure was empty, with all signage removed. One otter is now displayed in the old porcupine enclosure (http://www.zoochat.com/14/new-otter-exhibit-auckland-zoo-2012-a-303971/).
-Te Wao Nui was pretty much the same, still no Archey's Frog, although interesstingly the old frog house is having some extensive work done. Not clear what this will become. Stick Insects and NZ Praying Mantis have moved into The Night, but still couldn't see the lone Short-tailed Bat. Sea Lions and Fur Seals very active (http://www.zoochat.com/14/fur-seals-sea-lion-auckland-zoo-303972/)
-The walkthrough lorikeet aviary was closed, with no birds visible. Some of these (Mallee Ringneck, King Parrot) have moved to the old native bird aviaries, while others (Rainbow Lorikeet, Crested Pigeon, Masked Lapwing) have moved into the old Black Cockatoo aviary.
-The Kookaburra and Monal are no longer on display, nor listed on the census.
-Bolivian Blue-legged and Andean Stripe-knee Tarantulas are on display in the old giraffe house, no Mexican Red-knees.
-The Flight Aviary is looking bare and poor, only the Blue and Gold Macaws, and a pair of Eclectus Parrots are displayed here. The Scarlet Macaw cross is gone.
-The Flamingoes have built nests, and were hanging around these, some sitting on eggs. I don't know if these are real eggs or not, hope they are (http://www.zoochat.com/14/greater-flamingoes-nesting-auckland-zoo-2012-a-303973/).

Overall, the zoo was looking great, the only disappointment being the cull of interesting species (especially birds) and the confusing relocation of Australian birds without apparent reason.

I have photos of almost every exhibit, so if you want to see something let me know.
 
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driftaguy said:
The enclosure next to the tigers?
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Yes. There were no species labels anywhere, no "talk" about otter conservation playing in the viewing hut and no other signs at all. I think the map was still on the wall in the hut.

I wonder if they have lost one of the female otters that was in the exhibit (either it died or went elsewhere), and so they moved the other female into the porcupines and are going to do some revamping of this exhibit. Hopefully they will then relocate the otters from the Tropics here.
 
When I was there last week we saw none in there, then passed again on the way back from the playground and they were out and swimming together. Presumably hiding or off display for some brief reason.
 
Auckland giraffe to begin trip to Melbourne - National News | TVNZ
15 April 2013

A giraffe born and raised at Auckland Zoo will begin a five day journey to Melbourne today to be part of an Australasian breeding programme.

Nakuru, who stands at 3 metres tall and weighs nearly 500 kilograms, will depart the zoo this morning and travel through the streets of Grey Lynn and Mt Eden before arriving at the Auckland Port around 2pm.

Pridelands team leader Nat Sullivan said residents might be able to catch a glimpse of the African-native during her travels, as the crate she is in has an open roof for her to stick her head out.

"She's a really confident animal, she's not scared of much.

Sullivan said while the 15-month-old would be missed at the zoo, she was sure Nakuru would be taken care of at her new home.

"I know she's going to another really good zoo, and I know she'll be really well looked after there."

Nakuru has been undergoing crate-training for the past month to prepare her for the long journey, as well as being vaccinated and fitted with a micro-chip containing identification information.

"We will be spending a lot of time with her and checking on her regularly, which will hopefully help her feel secure," said Sullivan.

The zookeeper will accompany Nakuru onboard the ship to Australia, where she will spend her first in month in quarantine at Weribee Open Range Zoo before heading to Melbourne Zoo.
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Giraffe Trip Drama!

Nakuru's trip from Auckland to Melbourne got exciting this morning: Nakuru The Giraffe Joins Rescue Mission | Stuff.co.nz

The crew of a ship transporting a giraffe from Auckland to Melbourne stuck their neck out to try and rescue a Russian sailor this morning.

Fifteen-month-old Nakuru is on her way to Melbourne Zoo, aboard the container ship JPO Scorpius, for a breeding programme.

Early this morning the Russian sailor, who is understood to be on a round-the-world yacht trip, activated a distress beacon and vessels in the vicinity were asked for help.

An Auckland Zoo spokeswoman said the Scorpius joined the search for the struggling yachtsman for about an hour before being stood down because of their precious cargo.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said they had two aircraft searching for the man since 1.30am local time.

The HMAS Melbourne joined the search party temporarily but had to pull out because of terrible conditions, which made for 10-metre swells.

Nakuru is expected to reach port in Melbourne at 6.30am tomorrow.
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:eek:
 
oh thats good she will be glad to get out of that crate and strech her legs hope the guy is ok wonder if they found him
 
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