The Aotearoa Adventure: Pachyderm Pro Goes to New Zealand

[pachyderm pro]

Wellington Zoo

Wellington is largely considered the second most significant zoo in New Zealand or at least the North Island – maybe Orana Wildlife Park would take second overall? It’s also the oldest zoo in the country, opening its doors in 1906. Whereas Auckland is tightly organized with its geographically centered tracks, Wellington plays much more fast and loose in how its grounds are organized. The zoo has areas that are somewhat focused on certain taxa but it’s all much more fluid: African and Australian animals have been congregated near the back of the zoo, Asian carnivores are all grouped together, monkeys near the front, so on and so forth. The landscape of the zoo is stunning with dense vegetation, steep hillsides, and wonderful city views. Very San Diego-esque, which is about as good of a compliment any zoo could receive. I ended up visiting during a public holiday which means the zoo was absolutely packed with families from the moment I arrived (five minutes before opening) to the moment I left (shortly after noon). While that made things rather hectic at times, it did little to diminish my enjoyment as this is a very good zoo.

Things start off strong with a series of primate enclosures. White-cheeked gibbons and spider monkeys are treated to excellent islands packed with live vegetation and tall trees which they were both making full use of. Capuchins, squirrel monkeys and tamarins are found in more traditional cages that could be described as being on the smaller side, but each are packed with vegetation. This set-up allows for direct comparison between the usage of islands versus cages for monkeys and I can safely say I’m more of an island guy. It also just so happened that the windows for the cages all had terrible glare, a recurring problem through much of the zoo. Also in this area is a nice little small-clawed otter exhibit and the kiwi house which is built into the neighboring hillside. However, the zoo is without kiwi at the moment and the house has been closed for some time as a result. Still present inside are Duvaucel's geckos which are found in a highly attractive set of terrariums and are a real rarity.

Black-handed Spider Monkey Exhibit

Brown Capuchin Exhibit

Duvaucel's Gecko

With that said, I was taken aback by just how few native species the zoo keeps in general, at least relative to other collections. Pretty much all of them are congregated around the zoo’s nucleus alongside a few local domestic breeds in an area akin to a children’s zoo. There’s a pleasant walkthrough aviary for kea, a colony of little blue penguins, and some terrariums for geckos and skinks (that all went unseen), but that’s all. Can’t say I was particularly disappointed considering just how much of the local fauna I’ve seen over these last two weeks, but it was certainly a surprise. What was there however was very good with the keas in particular being delightful. A pair of them were tearing apart some enrichment devices provided to them by a keeper and were playfully hopping across the boardwalk. It’s criminal that walkthrough kea aviaries aren't commonplace in zoos worldwide, they make for wonderful displays.

Kea with enrichment box.

Continuing up the hill leads you to the Asian carnivore area. There are a pair of tiger exhibits (one semi-off-show) that are perfectly good, but come with rather awkward viewing and aren't massive by modern standards. Much more impressive is the rather new snow leopard exhibit that opened only a few years ago. It utilizes the existing terrain brilliantly, essentially a steep hillside landscaped with rocks and small trees. It also has architectural quirks that reminded me of the city of Wellington itself, such as the heavy use of concrete which works surprisingly well. The real highlight of this area however is New Zealand’s one and only bear, Sasa, an elderly sun bear. This was the most action I’ve seen from a sun bear in years and it was incredibly exciting. After passing by the exhibit three times, she finally emerged from her den and positioned herself on a log overlooking the guest area. Always a treat to see this species out in the open.

Snow Leopard Exhibit

Sun Bear

The center of the zoo has a number of enclosures including a nice area for red pandas and a mix of Asian birds. The Hero HQ showcases animals with “superpowers” – veiled chameleons changing color, stick insects using camouflage, etc – complete with signage done in the style of a comic book. It’s a neat concept, although the execution is rather simplistic and I didn't actually see a whole lot of the inhabitants. Lots of action at the chimpanzee exhibit however. There was an adorable little baby who was pestering adults much to my amusement. I also caught the afternoon feeding where the adult chimps were catching food out of mid-air. Great show! I also need to mention the excellent view of the city in the background and from certain perspectives you can probably see the chimps from well outside the zoo if they’re high enough.

Chimpanzee Exhibit

Baby chimp plotting his next move.

Approaching the very top of the zoo, there are several enclosures that were clearly designed for something different than what they currently hold. Perhaps the most prominent example is the ring-tailed lemur exhibit, which was originally for baboons. It’s perfectly good for lemurs, but would be utilized so much better by a savanna primate. There’s also the former small cat enclosures (serval and caracal) that now have black and white ruffed lemur and weta. A pair of male nyala are kept in an enclosure with imposing fencing meant to keep in a predator of some kind, while there are two ridiculously oversized enclosures with one capybara each. All of these exhibits are great for the inhabitants but it feels as though these spaces aren't being optimized from a guest perspective. Rounding out the African exhibits are several very good enclosures including a steep African savanna (although the space for the giraffes could have been bigger) and a lion exhibit with a large and impressive kopje mountain right by the viewing area.

The more flat half of the mixed-species savanna.

Lion Exhibit

Oversized Ring-tailed Lemur Exhibit

An Australian exhibit intersects the Africa-centric enclosures, essentially a walkthrough macropod enclosure that includes additional enclosures within. Usually I would breeze right through exhibits like this, but these were the chillest, most unbothered kangaroos I’ve ever witnessed. They strolled right in the middle of the guest pathway and had no problem with young kids running up and petting them -- a far cry from pretty much every macropod walkthrough I've seen prior. Didn't find any of the parma wallabies and the Tasmanian devils were off-show unfortunately, but I was welcomed into the exhibit by a pair of howling dingoes which were pretty sweet. There's also a nice indoor/outdoor lace monitor complex designed to look like a house, home to a highly active lizard.

Macropod Walkthrough

Lace Monitor

While Auckland still remains New Zealand’s objectively best zoo without question, the margin between these two isn't nearly as large as I expected. Wellington was an incredibly satisfying visit with so much to appreciate. Not sure if this is intentional or just a matter of circumstance, but I also appreciated the differentiation between the two zoo’s collections. Auckland has orangutans, Wellington has chimps; Auckland has cheetahs, Wellington has snow leopards; etc. Trivial as it may seem, these differences are much more pronounced in a country that’s limited in what it can import. In order for the zoo to reach it's full potential however, they really need to better optimize how they use their exhibits. Much of the very top of the zoo feels like it's just composed of placeholder species that aren't making the best use of the space provided.

And that brings an end to this incredible trip. All that remains is a quick summary post to tie everything together which I’ll get to sometime in the next day or two. What a ride!

 

[Cassidy Casuar]

I also need to mention the excellent view of the city in the background and from certain perspectives you can probably see the chimps from well outside the zoo if they’re high enough.

Indeed you can; I remember seeing some of the chimps while I was sitting in the bleachers at the adjacent Newtown Park years ago.

 

[Zoofan15]

Not sure if this is intentional or just a matter of circumstance, but I also appreciated the differentiation between the two zoo’s collections. Auckland has orangutans, Wellington has chimps; Auckland has cheetahs, Wellington has snow leopards; etc. Trivial as it may seem, these differences are much more pronounced in a country that’s limited in what it can import.

It’s a mixture of intention and circumstance. Wellington historically acquired species like Siberian tiger, Snow leopard and Arctic wolf that were deemed better suited to their climate that Auckland Zoo. Siberian tiger were phased out to concentrate on Sumatran tiger (the regional focus subspecies); while Snow leopard made a return decades later.

Auckland and Wellington historically both held elephants. Both had elephant houses, with Auckland’s having an adjoining yard and adjacent pool. By the 1980’s, the accomodation of both was deemed inadequate. Wellington lacked the space to build an adequate sized exhibit, so when their last elephant died in 1983, she was never replaced. Auckland Zoo built a new exhibit (opened 1992), which had a capacity of three cows and was considered state of the art for its time (as well as the best in the region). It ensured a continuation of this species for another three decades.

Both Auckland Zoo and Wellington Zoo held bears. As with the elephants, the exhibits were deemed outdated by the end of the 20th Century. Auckland Zoo refurbished their bear pits for small mammals (meerkats, red panda, porcupine); Wellington Zoo converted two bear exhibits into one larger one was and imported Malayan sun bear in 1992 (a third exhibit became a maternity annex), with the whole area later redeveloped for Snow leopard.

Auckland Zoo and Wellington Zoo both imported chimpanzees in the 1950’s. Auckland acquired 3.5 between 1956-1959; Wellington acquired 4.3 between 1956-1957. The trajectories of these colonies couldn’t have been more different. Auckland’s yielded two surviving infants that were both behavioural non-breeders; Wellington’s became one of the world’s most successful captive breeding colonies of their time, with most of Australasia’s chimpanzee population descended from them. Auckland established a mother raised troop alongside the remnants of their tea party chimps (the mother raised troop went to Hamilton Zoo in 2004; and the last tea party chimp died in 2013). Wellington Zoo’s troop continue to thrive in the current exhibit (opened 1991).

 

[Chlidonias]

With that said, I was taken aback by just how few native species the zoo keeps in general, at least relative to other collections. Pretty much all of them are congregated around the zoo’s nucleus alongside a few local domestic breeds in an area akin to a children’s zoo. There’s a pleasant walkthrough aviary for kea, a colony of little blue penguins, and some terrariums for geckos and skinks (that all went unseen), but that’s all.

That's because of Zealandia, to avoid "competition". The whole native section at the zoo is disappointing, especially if you knew it several decades previously when almost that whole area was aviaries called "Bird Valley". They were all wiped out and replaced with basically a farmyard and the Kea aviary.

Much more impressive is the rather new snow leopard exhibit that opened only a few years ago. It utilizes the existing terrain brilliantly, essentially a steep hillside landscaped with rocks and small trees. It also has architectural quirks that reminded me of the city of Wellington itself, such as the heavy use of concrete which works surprisingly well.

That enclosure is actually the old bear pits so it's about a hundred years old now. They were originally simply steps of concrete up the hill, later made to look more "natural" with mock-rock. But that's why there is so much concrete there.
This thread shows the progression (albeit from before it was renovated for the Snow Leopards): Wellington Zoo's Sun Bear enclosure, in photos [Wellington Zoo]

The current Sun Bear enclosure, by the way, is on the site of the old Giraffe paddock.

Approaching the very top of the zoo, there are several enclosures that were clearly designed for something different than what they currently hold. Perhaps the most prominent example is the ring-tailed lemur exhibit, which was originally for baboons. It’s perfectly good for lemurs, but would be utilized so much better by a savanna primate. There’s also the former small cat enclosures (serval and caracal) that now have black and white ruffed lemur and weta. A pair of male nyala are kept in an enclosure with imposing fencing meant to keep in a predator of some kind, while there are two ridiculously oversized enclosures with one capybara each.

The top area of the zoo used to be mainly small paddocks for hoofstock, kangaroos, etc, probably because it was easier to put up simple fences on the steep hillsides than to build anything more substantial. The baboon enclosure was only created up there in 2000 I think it was. I think it's a great enclosure for the lemurs, especially because there is a big troop of them. Reception probably does depend on how active they are though - if they are quiet then it does seem a waste of space, but when they are active it is great.

The male Nyala enclosure was the Cheetah cage.

There should be more Capybara than that, but the viewing of that enclosure is such that often the animals simply aren't visible because they are up the back or where-ever. One of the two adjoining paddocks (the one on the left) seems to be used as a sort of a "holding" paddock, so may have different animals at different times, and is often just empty, but the viewing of it is awkward as well.

Didn't find any of the parma wallabies

There is only one Parma Wallaby, and it is rarely seen. There are some Swamp Wallabies in there as well, though.

In order for the zoo to reach it's full potential however, they really need to better optimize how they use their exhibits. Much of the very top of the zoo feels like it's just composed of placeholder species that aren't making the best use of the space provided.

If you have been visiting the zoo for a long time it is easy to see all the "covered up" enclosures and empty spaces where cages used to be. They went through a really good patch of importing animals about 15 years ago or so, but since then it all seems to have been left to dwindle away.

 

[pachyderm pro]

That's because of Zealandia, to avoid "competition". The whole native section at the zoo is disappointing, especially if you knew it several decades previously when almost that whole area was aviaries called "Bird Valley". They were all wiped out and replaced with basically a farmyard and the Kea aviary.

Makes sense then why the only native birds they have (kea, little penguin) are ones that don’t occur in Zealandia or the surrounding area. I actually saw wild kaka and wood pigeons around the Australian exhibit, but even having just a few additional species would go a long way. The local breeds section is a neat idea, but I found the whole thing lackluster and just sped through it.

I think it's a great enclosure for the lemurs, especially because there is a big troop of them. Reception probably does depend on how active they are though - if they are quiet then it does seem a waste of space, but when they are active it is great.

Perhaps my assessment was overly harsh. It is indeed a very good exhibit for the lemurs and the large group was fun to watch. Baboons just feel like they would make the best use of the enclosure since it was designed specifically for them. It’s similar how I feel about Nashville’s white rhino exhibit; objectively great, but elephants suited the space much better and it’ll always feel like missed potential to no longer exhibit them there.

One other thing I wanted to mention about Wellington. The zoo has some of the funniest signage I've ever seen. These two got a kick out of me:

 

[pachyderm pro]

And that brings an end to this incredible trip. All that remains is a quick summary post to tie everything together which I’ll get to sometime in the next day or two. What a ride!

Well, better late than never I suppose…

Summary

I meant to do this as I was wrapping up this trip, but life quickly became busy again and this slipped to the back of my mind. With another big trip quickly approaching however I’ve been reflecting on my time in Aotearoa and figured I should bring this to a proper end.

It was a whirlwind couple of weeks traveling across the north island bookended with major zoos. I now feel as though I have a significant understanding of both New Zealand wildlife and its zoological collections, as though I’ve really done the country if that makes sense. I visited the two best zoos, two aquariums, two endemic wildlife centers, two protected sanctuaries, a museum, a national park, and a rearing facility for the national bird. That’s a solid lineup. Obviously I’d still love to see places like Hamilton Zoo, Orana Wildlife Park, Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, Otorohanga Kiwi House, and do some penguin watching around the South island, but I remain absolutely satisfied and filled with immense gratitude. When it comes to the species themselves I could not have gotten more lucky. Unless I miraculously see a kakapo someday, it’s the takahe that will remain my favorite of New Zealand’s avian residents. Such an awesome species!

My top three highlights would have to be the following:

1.) Auckland Zoo: Where do I even begin. A native species section consisting of some of the best aviaries and vivaria you’ll see in a zoo, stocked with some of the most interesting inhabitants. Brilliant orangutan exhibit that blows the competition out of the water. Other personal favorites like Tasmanian devil, sunda gharial, brolga, etc. It’s a place of immense quality and one of those zoos where you can tell an effort is made to make everything look perfect or close to it. Getting back-of-house tours through the vet hospital, quarantine facility, giraffe barn and Te Wao Nui was just gravy.

2.) Hiking to the top of Kapiti Island: I didn't give this stop much thought considering it was highly weather dependent, but this was such an amazing experience. Getting a few feet away from a wild (albeit still managed) takahe was awesome. Nothing felt better though than making it to the island’s summit after hours of hustling and taking it to a spectacular view. The way back down killed my knees which left limping in agony at Zealandia the next day, but I wouldn't change a thing.

3.) Observing kiwi chick health checks in Napier: Just to quickly reiterate, few people anywhere get to see kiwi chicks, but even fewer get to see them up-close in broad daylight. Can only be described as once in a lifetime.

And so much more: the kaka and eel feedings at Pukaha, the Zealandia night tour, the best view I’ve gotten of a sun bear in years at Wellington, etc. So many remarkable experiences that many could only dream of.

Something I only briefly touched on was the series of lectures I attended through Massey University in Palmerston North. Various experts in the field covered some great topics such as captive kiwi breeding, aviary enclosure design, wildlife rehabilitation, pathology, oil spill responses, sustainability in aquariums and more. We also were able to check out the Wildbase Hospital in which we saw a number of recovering patients. This included a number of species we’d seen prior such as Northern brown kiwi, kea, morepork, and several wood pigeons. However, there was also a little spotted kiwi who was preparing to be released, which is another lifetick I can cross off my list (which made missing them at Zealandia less unfortunate). The most notable resident of the hospital however was a rescued little blue penguin who earned the nickname Little Blue Bastard. He insisted on making life difficult for staff by being afraid of everything and refusing to swim.

I spoke about Auckland as a city in the beginning of this thread, but sorta skimmed over Wellington since it was at the tail end. Looking back however, it might be the place I remember most fondly. It’s an extremely quirky city with lots of character that may not appeal to everyone – certainly more rough around the edges than Auckland or Napier. The first full day there was spent meandering along Oriental Bay where I discovered a food truck festival and farmers market behind Te Papa. Walking along the bay were some of the coolest, most distinctive houses I’ve ever seen. I only regret not taking the cable car up to the botanical gardens at some point, but otherwise it was a lovely time even beyond the zoo, museum and Zealandia.

That’s about all there is to say. Hopefully I was able to provide some insight considering some of these collections are not visited by users here frequently. Also not aware of another travel thread on this site that covers New Zealand in depth and so this could be a beneficial resource to those planning a similar trip. Originally I wasn’t sure if I’d grace this country with my presence ever again following this trip. Logistically it’s so isolated for pretty much everywhere and these flights are not for the faint of heart. Now however, I’m certain I will return one day. Here are the latest additions to my ever growing zoo magnet collection.