Auckland Zoo New Auckland Zoo Exhibits

NZ Jeremy

NZ Jeremy

Well-Known Member
Just to let every one know there are two new exhibits opening on the 30th December (2007)...

One for the Small Clawed Asian Otter and the other for the Red Panda (with a Pheasant species)...

As a FOTZ I shall be there at 8.30am on the 30th, (they are having an early opening for FOTZ)...

I asked why the move (these are not new species to the zoo), the Otters are being moved to make way for the zoo's huge development (Te Wao Nui) and the didn't really have an answer about the Red Pandas (one of their two old adjacent exhibits now contains Cotton Topped Tamarins)...
 
Surely...

Te Wao Nui is the biggest development in Auckland Zoo history costing $16.2 Million and will redevelop approximately 1/3 of the zoo's footprint...

It will focus on NZ species and contain about 3 Nocturnal houses an Insect house and numerous small free flight aviaries...

For more info I included a section about it when I updated Auckland Zoo's page on wikipedia:

"Due to open in Early 2010. Te Wao Nui, (meaning the living realm in Te Reo Maori), will have five distinct ecological areas and take up almost a third of the Zoo's area.

It aims to provide visitor's a chance to Explore, Connect and Protect. It also aims to be a living record of New Zealand's history, integrating key facets of early European settlement, such as the North Island's kauri log dams, New Zealand's whitebaiting culture, and pioneering work in predator control.

Te Wao Nui will be home to over 75 native species and over 100 plant species."

You can also refer to Auckland Zoo's webpage (although there is not much more info)...

It will be based at the rear of the zoo (furtherest away from the entrance) and will include the removal of the old aquarium, hippo enclosure and NZ aviary...
 
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Tourists will love the expensive and expansive new exhibit at Auckland Zoo. An individual visiting from the other side of the globe can be immersed in the culture, flora and fauna of an exotic country like New Zealand. I actually think that it sounds like a wonderful idea. Locals might prefer to see exhibits constructed of animals that aren't found in their nearest park, but overall the project sounds quite promising.
 
Update:

The zoo e-mailed today stating the exhibits will now be opening on the 6th of January @ 0830...

I'll give an update after attending...
 
Snorkel

The development sounds fantastic...but what will happen to Snorkel the old hippo who was separated from Fudge and Faith becuase of bullying? Have they managed to reintegrate her? Has she died? Or ar ethey hoping that by the time the new thing is built she will have shuffled off?
 
I asked them yesterday as a matter of fact, (I was on a ZOOM tour, behind the scenes, awesome!)...

If Snorkel hasn't passed on the are going to build her an off exhibit area behind the elephant enclosure... Its her 50th birthday coming up soon, not bad for a little Hippo..!
 
I forgot to mention I went to the opening of these two exhibits on the 6th...

Both of them looked fantastic... However the otters were pretty cautious about coming out of their den, one would peek out and go for a bit of a stroll, then other would gain confidence before they all rushed back inside...

I'll try and get down there in the next week or so to take some photos...
 
@NZ Jeremy: your historical photos are fantastic, and the polar bear shots from the 1920's showcase an exhibit that allows for close quarters with zoo patrons. No wonder a bear escaped from that low-lying barrier.

The red panda exhibit at Auckland Zoo appears lush and typical of the majority of red panda enclosures in zoos around the world. They are an easy species to contain, and yet remarkably hardy in all types of weather conditions.
 
Thanks Snowleopard... I've just finished a pretty big edit of the Auckland Zoo page on Wikipedia...

I've made it bigger and better than the San Diego Zoo page on the site, just, (I've used that as my yard stick while editing), if your interested in Zoo history (especially Auckland's) check it out...
 
I just went and checked out the Auckland Zoo page on Wikipedia...great stuff! The amount of history is impressive, and I can't wait to hear about the $16.2 million New Zealand native section when it is completed in 2010. I see that it is listed on the zoo's website as taking up a third of the entire zoo, but is that new land that has been attained or are current sections of the zoo being shifted?
 
They will using some of the area already in use by (outdated) exhibits which will be redeveloped and part of the zoo which has been a plantation since the zoo opened in 1922.
 
I see from your Wikipedia updates that several of the exhibits have sponsorship names, Animal Planet and Paddlepops being two of the companies supporting parts of the zoo. Do they contribute a substantial amount of funding for new enclosures?
 
Truthfully Snow leopard I'm not to sure, I'll ask next time I'm there (I may go take some photo's this week as my camera ran out on the last visit, there are advantages to living so close to the zoo..!)

I know that when first opened the Rainforest was the McDonalds Rainforest (it is now the NewsTalkZB Rainforest), the Kiwi house opened in 1972 or 73 and I think it had another sponsor... Animal Planet only recently sponsored the Elephant (within the last year), the Sea Lion area is sponsored by Bluebird an NZ chips company (I think you guys call them crisps..?), the orang and lemur area is sponsored by Just Juice, a juice company, many areas are sponsored by one company or another... Is this not common in Canada/US..?

On the topic of the Elephant Clearing it was pretty progressive when it opened in 1990... A few acres for two Elephants, rubber floors (although thin) in the house, a pool where the Elephants can completely submerge, daily log "exercises" and walks around the zoo...

The exhibits which will be removed for the new Te Wao Nui are:
NZ Aviary (already closed)
Aquarium (already closed)
Old Hippo enclosure (currently holding Snorkel, a 50 year old feamle Hippo)

The aviary is quite large and I'm not sure if it will be incorporated into the new development, Snorkel is getting a small off exhibit area built behind the Elephant encloure to live out her retirement years (probably which can be changed to quarantine when she passes I'm guessing), and the aquarium is nothing more than 15 to 20 small tanks and terrariums...

The NZ Aviary opened in 1990 or 91,
the Aquarium in the early 1980's and
the old Hippo enclosure in 1980...
So these are not ancient exhibits getting replaced... There are some much older areas especially around corner in Motions Road which need redevelopment (50's enclosures), if they were to replace this with a tropical aviary the zoo would be one of the best small zoos in the world without question...
 
@NZ Jeremy: Sponsorship of exhibits is a rare thing in North America, and I can think of only a handful of examples. At the Atlanta Zoo they have the "Ford" African Rainforest, and there are a few more that currently slip my mind. I was simply surprised to see a list of sponsors at Auckland Zoo, and usually major zoos might have at the very most one or two corporations putting money behind a specific enclosure. But I suppose that every little penny helps, even though that old adage doesn't really work in New Zealand as you guys have eliminated both pennies and nickels. Must be nice.
 
I see Auckland have announced the birth of 3 meerkat, to one of the females brought in from Wellington.
 
Wow, I didn't know it was so soon... One of the keepers I was chatting to a couple of weeks ago said one of the girls was pregnant...

Believe it or not that is the first successful birth at the zoo in over 17 years exhibiting them...
 
From your pictures, NZ Jeremy, and all the information found in the threads...the Auckland zoo sounds very interesting and wonderful.

With the addition of Te Wao Nui, how much of the zoo would be affected with the movement of New Zealand species from other parts of the zoo into the new exhibit?
 
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About a third of the zoo's footprint or 15 acres...

After this project is completed there is only one area of the zoo (small consisting of avaries and stone walled enclosures for small mammals) which would not have been completely renovated since 1987...
 
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