Hamilton Zoo Hamilton Zoo News 2016

Hamilton Zoo now has two Australasian Brown Bitterns on display, which I found out accidentally while browsing zoo Facebook pages. The one they already had in their walk-through aviary is the female Matuku who went on show at the start of 2015. The more recent one is also a female, named Werowero, but I don't know anything else (the Facebook post was from July). Both birds had been shot and are unreleasable.
 
Chlidonias said:
Hamilton Zoo now has two Australasian Brown Bitterns on display, which I found out accidentally while browsing zoo Facebook pages. The one they already had in their walk-through aviary is the female Matuku who went on show at the start of 2015. The more recent one is also a female, named Werowero, but I don't know anything else (the Facebook post was from July). Both birds had been shot and are unreleasable.
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Cool! Not that they got shot, but that there are now two on display, very exciting. :cool:
 
Hamilton Zoo have named their male White Rhino calf Samburu.
Hamilton Zoo names baby rhino | Stuff.co.nz
Hamilton Zoo names baby rhino
Last updated 10:13, August 10 2016

Hamilton Zoo's latest baby rhino has a name, Samburu

The calf, born on June 28, 2016, joins mother Kito, father Kruger and females Imani, Moesha and her daughter, Jamila.

There are now seven white rhinos at the zoo.

Hamilton Zoo acting curator Catherine Nichols said where possible names are selected with a connection to their natural habitat.

"The Samburu people are pastoralists who live in the Rift Valley province of Northern Kenya, part of the natural range of the white rhino."

The zoo is also running a Trade Me auction for a chance to get up and close to a rhino.

The experience will include footprint artwork from Samburu and his mum Kito, a rhino Eye2Eye encounter and also the opportunity to get up close with Samburu and Kito.

"Samburu is not taking part in the rhino encounters yet so this will be the first chance for a member of the public to get up close to him, which is pretty exciting," Nichols said.

Although still hunted and poached for their horns, there are around 20,000 southern white rhino in captivity.
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Tygo said:
Hamilton Zoo have named their male White Rhino calf Samburu.
Hamilton Zoo names baby rhino | Stuff.co.nz
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I wonder if this was also part in tribute to curator Sam Kudaweh, who tragically died last year. She was the first keeper to discover Kito had been born in 2000 and had been involved in curating this rhino for most of it's life. As studbook coordinator, she arranged for Kito's transfer to Hamilton Zoo in 2004, and when she and Moesha failed to breed with Zambezi, she made the brilliant decision to swap Zambezi for Kruger, leading to both females breeding successfully. Sam Kudaweh wrote several papers on the rhinos at Hamilton, including one on the post natal care of Ubuntu (Kito's first calf), who suffered temporary blindness due to a difficult birth, and one on the rhino breeding programme in Australasia.

The rhinos were one of her favourite animals, in particular Kito, and this calf was likely to have been the last white rhino birth planned by her in her role as species coordinator.
 
Spring babies have begun to appear at Hamilton Zoo, notably the zoo's first ever breeding of pygmy marmosets, as well as meerkats and a ring-tailed lemur.

Story here: Conservation Week - Hamilton Zoo

A bunch of new cuties has arrived at Hamilton Zoo just in time for Conservation Week.

Following a bison calf born in May, a rhino in June and a zebra in July, the zoo welcomed two meerkat pups in August, and two pygmy marmosets and a ring tailed lemur last weekend (3/4 September).

Conservation Week is an important event for Hamilton Zoo, celebrating native species, exotic animals and all aspects of our natural environment, says Hamilton Zoo Curator Catherine Nichols. This year's theme is "Get Into Nature", and Hamilton Zoo's support of the event includes the popular Face2Face encounters with ring-tailed lemurs.

The ring tailed lemur was born very early in the season, bringing the total number in the exhibit to 12.

“It’s really important that we help the endangered ring tailed lemurs wherever we can as their population is still decreasing,” Mrs Nichols says.

“We can’t promise that Mum Noelle will bring her little one to the encounter, as interactions with visitors are always on the animals’ terms, however if you’re patient you should be able to see them.”

The meerkat pups were a particular highlight as they are the first meerkats born at Hamilton Zoo since January 2014. Their birth brings the total number to seven.

“These little guys are already spending plenty of time out in their enclosure, and easily spotted as they’re much smaller than the rest. They’re becoming quite inquisitive already which keeps the rest of the mob on their toes!” Mrs Nichols says.

This is the first time pygmy marmosets have been born at Hamilton Zoo and the zoo team is excited to be helping increase the population of one of the smallest primates in the world. Picchu (Mum) and Salvador (Dad) both share the parenting duties with Dad carrying the twins the majority of the time and only handing them back for nursing.

“The tiny twosome weighed around 13 grams each at birth and with a keen eye, you may be able to spot them on Dad’s back, camouflaged into his fur,” Mrs Nichols says.

Conservation Week runs from September 10 to 18 with the zoo offering a 25 per cent discount for bus travellers to the zoo. For the full range of activities, which include extra native species focussed keeper talks and encounters, go here.
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Zoofan15 said:
I wonder if this was also part in tribute to curator Sam Kudaweh, who tragically died last year. She was the first keeper to discover Kito had been born in 2000 and had been involved in curating this rhino for most of it's life. As studbook coordinator, she arranged for Kito's transfer to Hamilton Zoo in 2004, and when she and Moesha failed to breed with Zambezi, she made the brilliant decision to swap Zambezi for Kruger, leading to both females breeding successfully. Sam Kudaweh wrote several papers on the rhinos at Hamilton, including one on the post natal care of Ubuntu (Kito's first calf), who suffered temporary blindness due to a difficult birth, and one on the rhino breeding programme in Australasia.

The rhinos were one of her favourite animals, in particular Kito, and this calf was likely to have been the last white rhino birth planned by her in her role as species coordinator.
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indirectly relating to the above:

Rhino sculpture unveiled on anniversary of zoo curator's death - National - NZ Herald News
20 Sept 2016

A bronze sculpture of a baby southern rhinoceros was unveiled at Hamilton Zoo today - exactly one year after curator Samantha Kudeweh was killed by a Sumatran tiger.

Kudeweh's mother Judy Stephens unveiled the bronze sculpture and a plaque either side of it which lists her contributions to the zoo sector, her career, her death at the zoo and the subject of the sculpture.

The 43-year-old's extended family and Hamilton City Council staff attended the private ceremony.

Hamilton Zoo Director Stephen Standley said the baby rhino sculpture was considered an appropriate way to mark the anniversary of Kudeweh's death. She was an experienced and long-serving manager.

"Sam committed a huge amount of time and energy to conserving the southern white rhinoceros and we felt this was the right way to honour her."

The rhino calf was made by Taupo artist Murray Matuschka and the subject was chosen because of Kudeweh's involvement in leading an international captive breeding programme for the endangered species.

It represents the baby calf Ubuntu which was born at the zoo in 2010.

Kudeweh was killed on 20 September 2015 when she re-entered the outside enclosure to get food for the red pandas and was attacked and killed by the male tiger Oz. The gates between the den and enclosure had been left open allowing him to roam.
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Mr Branco the Brazilian Tapir at Hamilton Zoo has been put down due to age-related arthritis and kidney and liver function issues.
Farewell Mr Branco - Hamilton Zoo
Farewell Mr Branco
ZOO NEWS - Posted 28 September 2016

Hamilton Zoo staff have farewelled one of the zoo's most popular animals, male tapir Mr Branco.

One of two South American tapir exhibited at Hamilton Zoo, the 25-year-old Mr Branco had developed age-related arthritis and kidney and liver function issues.

The decision to end Mr Branco's suffering was made after discussions with Hamilton Zoo staff and the zoo's veterinarian. He was euthanized earlier this week.

At 25, Mr Branco was into the very latest stages of his natural life.

Hamilton Zoo Director Stephen Standley says staff were becoming concerned about Mr Branco's welfare as his health deteriorated and with it his quality of life.

"Mr Branco had been under veterinary treatment for some time," Mr Standley says. "His ailments were age-related and we didn't want him to suffer any further."

"These decisions are never easy," Mr Standley says. "Mr Branco was one of our most well-known and popular animals and he was a favourite among the team here, too."

Mrs Branco, who is also 25, will remain at Hamilton Zoo and her health and well-being will be closely monitored by staff.

Mr Standley says Mr Branco will not be replaced as importing the species is no longer permitted.

Hamilton Zoo is the only zoo in New Zealand to exhibit tapir, a species found in the jungles of South America, Central America and some parts of Asia. Tapir are the size of a common domestic pig, and are odd-toed ungulates, part of the same broader group of animals as horses, zebras and rhinoceroses. Tapirs are herbivores with a noticeable snout protruding from their faces.
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that is sad. There are quite a few old remnant mammals in NZ zoos which will probably be disappearing over the next few years.
 
Very sad indeed :(

Also sad that the director say there will be no more imported, I guess tapirs are fairly far down the priority list.
 
Extremely sad news to hear. :( I think that tapirs would be a great addition to NZ zoo collections, and very nice exhibits could easily be made for them, but so unfortunate that importation of tapirs is currently prohibited.
 
Another zebra foal has been born at Hamilton Zoo this week, to mum Marbles and dad Malawi. News via Zoo's Facebook page (with photos).
 
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