Wellington Zoo News for 2012

zooboy28 said:
Other info to note from that report: the reptile rotunda and dingo/wallaby/serval enclosures, which will presumably include a Australian walkthrough, have been deferred until the Asia precinct is completed.
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I'd overlooked that bit actually (I got to the "Animal Collection additions" and forgot to keep going :D). I think the Asian area must be nearing completion though (I think it said August in that plan but I don't know if that is still the case or not).

I figured you'd probably have also liked the list of species and numbers which had gone through The Nest in the past year.
 
zooboy28 said:
-Nyala seem much more confident in the African Savannah now, much more visible, although it appears one of the imported males has died, leaving 1.3.
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I think you must be right about one of the males dying. Arvicola's link in the post above says there are five nyala at the zoo (which is two females, one male, and the two calves born there).
 
This weekend is the last time the Sun Bears will be visible in their old home. From Monday, their enclosure, and the Roost, will be blocked off, and will not be open again until September 29, when the Asian precinct will open to the public.

The Green Zoo exhibit will open on 17 September.

Has there been any recent indication of a replacement species for this old exhibit? They were talking tahr, but I'm not sure if that is still the plan.
 
zooboy28 said:
Has there been any recent indication of a replacement species for this old exhibit? They were talking tahr, but I'm not sure if that is still the plan.
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nothing firm, but it looks like the snow leopard idea might still be in the running: http://www.wellington.govt.nz/havey...rt_3_Appendix_12_Wellington_Zoo_Trust_SOI.pdf (this is the Statement Of Intent for 2012-2013)

Page 21: "...the proposed Snow Leopard project ticks many boxes by improving an exhibit which is old and tired and has safety issues for staff. This exhibit will be unused once the sun bears move to the Asia Precinct."

Page 22: "Snow Leopards are endangered Asian animals which live in the Himalyas in the same environment as Red Panda. They are perfectly suitable for the space vacated by the Sun Bears when they move into their new exhibit in 2012. This area will be left vacant until we can acquire Snow Leopards and build this new exhibit in the Asia Precinct." [the date for this is given as 2018-2020]
 
Chlidonias said:
nothing firm, but it looks like the snow leopard idea might still be in the running: http://www.wellington.govt.nz/havey...rt_3_Appendix_12_Wellington_Zoo_Trust_SOI.pdf (this is the Statement Of Intent for 2012-2013)

Page 21: "...the proposed Snow Leopard project ticks many boxes by improving an exhibit which is old and tired and has safety issues for staff. This exhibit will be unused once the sun bears move to the Asia Precinct."

Page 22: "Snow Leopards are endangered Asian animals which live in the Himalyas in the same environment as Red Panda. They are perfectly suitable for the space vacated by the Sun Bears when they move into their new exhibit in 2012. This area will be left vacant until we can acquire Snow Leopards and build this new exhibit in the Asia Precinct." [the date for this is given as 2018-2020]
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Well they may as well stick some Tahr in the exhibit for at least the next six years until they get Snow Leopards. Rest of the report was quite good reading, cheers.
 
zooboy28 said:
Well they may as well stick some Tahr in the exhibit for at least the next six years until they get Snow Leopards. Rest of the report was quite good reading, cheers.
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that's what I was thinking! Don't pay too much attention to the projected dates though (note the one they give for the Australian area for example), they could change at any time.
 
Thanks for all of the links, and for a small zoo it looks like a very good new precinct. There are far more images of the sun bear exhibit in comparison to the tiger habitat, but the overall theme seems to be fairly consistent. Incidentally, the word "precinct" pops up quite a bit in relation to Australian and New Zealand zoos but it is rarely used in North America. Interesting.
 
The new exhibits look really nice. I just don't really like the theming. It seems that the theming concentrates more on "Chinese/Tibetan mountain" rather than "south-east Asian rainforest" (if you know what I mean?). I think the theming would suit species such as himalayan thar, red panda, snow leopard, etc. than Sumatran tiger (I looked up the geographic range of sun bear and it seems they are found in southern Chinan among other countries so the theming might be right for them?).

But then again, I don't then Wellington specified that the new precinct would concentrate on south-east Asian animals.
 
@Snowleopard, Maybe there are less photos of the tiger enclosure because that has had much less work, it already held tigers, but has been renovated (apparently mostly on the outside). The bear enclosure, in contrast, was previously a giraffe paddock.

@Jabiru96, they did a really good job of theming their Himalayan Precinct, which holds red panda and some birds, it is like a little Nepalese temple. This new precinct, however, is some distance from the Himalayan area, although they could potentially be joined long-term by converting the old Sun Bear enclosure to one for Himalayan Thar (as suggested by the zoo) or Snow Leopards (as suggested by zoochatters). While other recent precincts (African Savannah, natives) have been themed well, some smaller exhibits, notably those for the meerkats/porcupines and tamarins/marmosets have had very childish theming.

Its a bit weird just calling it "Asia Precinct", most zoos would come up with a slightly more alluring name, maybe this will change in time when/if it is expanded.
 
zooboy28 said:
@Jabiru96, they did a really good job of theming their Himalayan Precinct, which holds red panda and some birds, it is like a little Nepalese temple. This new precinct, however, is some distance from the Himalayan area, although they could potentially be joined long-term by converting the old Sun Bear enclosure to one for Himalayan Thar (as suggested by the zoo) or Snow Leopards (as suggested by zoochatters). While other recent precincts (African Savannah, natives) have been themed well, some smaller exhibits, notably those for the meerkats/porcupines and tamarins/marmosets have had very childish theming.

Its a bit weird just calling it "Asia Precinct", most zoos would come up with a slightly more alluring name, maybe this will change in time when/if it is expanded.
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yes the Himalayan area is very well themed, and I actually like the porcupine/meerkat enclosure (I won't mention the marmoset doll-house any further though ;)). I'm not entirely sold on this new area, I like parts of it but not so much the childish aspects. Overall I do think it will probably look much better in real life. It's just a pity the zoo did the usual zoo thing of opening the exhibit immediately rather than letting the vegetation get established. (I completely understand them doing this, but I always think it's a shame). It looks very bare and I hope the bears actually let it take hold.

Interesting that "precinct" is rarely used in America, I had assumed that's where it came from. I intensely dislike its use. It sounds very harsh. Perhaps due to "Assault On Precinct 13". And just calling the exhibit "Asia Precinct" is neither imaginative nor compelling. Although names like "Sun Bear Forest" are a bit of a cliche, they are still nicer than "Asia Precinct"!

p.s. small point, both the tahr and snow leopard ideas were directly from the zoo (the latter not originally a Zoochatter idea).
 
zooboy28 said:
But the zoo never suggested that enclosure for snow leopards, did they?
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post #45 of the current thread:

Page 21: "...the proposed Snow Leopard project ticks many boxes by improving an exhibit which is old and tired and has safety issues for staff. This exhibit will be unused once the sun bears move to the Asia Precinct."

Page 22: "Snow Leopards are endangered Asian animals which live in the Himalyas in the same environment as Red Panda. They are perfectly suitable for the space vacated by the Sun Bears when they move into their new exhibit in 2012. This area will be left vacant until we can acquire Snow Leopards and build this new exhibit in the Asia Precinct."
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Also from the original press article in 2011 when snow leopards were mooted by the zoo: Wellington Zoo eyes snow leopards | Stuff.co.nz
If leopards were acquired by the zoo they would be housed in the sun bear enclosure, which would become vacant when the bears moved to a new enclosure in March next year.
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zoo-bred kaka being released. Boundary Stream and Cape Sanctuary, both near Napier, are "mainland islands" (fenced reserves) into which the kaka are being released.
Wellington Zoo birds relocated for breeding - National - NZ Herald News
15 November 2012

Five Wellington Zoo kaka are taking flight, relocating to the Hawke's Bay to breed.

Three of the birds are heading to Boundary Stream, where they will join three others to form part of a national breeding programme.

The parents of the trio, who have proved a successful breeding pair, will go to the Cape Kidnapper's Cape Sanctuary.

Wellington Zoo now has a newly established kaka pair that is expected to breed next year.

The zoo will also receive another female in the future to pair with another male and both pairs will be able to contribute to the breed for restoration project.

"It is incredibly rewarding to see more kaka released to help boost population numbers across the North Island," said zoo chief executive, Karen Fifield. "We have now bred 20 kaka for restoration here at Wellington Zoo since 2007."
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Chlidonias said:
zoo-bred kaka being released. Boundary Stream and Cape Sanctuary, both near Napier, are "mainland islands" (fenced reserves) into which the kaka are being released.
Wellington Zoo birds relocated for breeding - National - NZ Herald News
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I've been to both these sanctuaries, they are pretty cool places. Boundary Stream has quite a lot of native forest stuff, including kiwi, robins, etc. Its pretty much original forest, which would make it ideal for Kaka nesting. Cape Sanctuary is pretty much planted farmland (kind of like Tiri), and I doubt there are many hollow old trees there.
 
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