Wellington Zoo Wellington Zoo News 2024

Adélie penguin to remain at the zoo for a bit longer following unsuccessful release attempt:

From socials:

Today, our team, along with Department of Conservation, attempted to release the Adélie Penguin on Wellington’s South Coast.

She stepped out of her crate, paddled in the shallows, but then decided to head back up onto the beach. We gave her space and time to make her choice, watching quietly from a distance. As the sun grew stronger, she began showing signs of heat stress, so for her safety, we brought her back to Te Kōhanga in a crate lined with ice packs to keep her cool.

We’ll be re-evaluating her release with DOC and plan accordingly, but for now she will be staying at the Zoo a little bit longer. She won’t be visible to visitors at this stage.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Adélie penguin to remain at the zoo for a bit longer following unsuccessful release attempt:

From socials:

Today, our team, along with Department of Conservation, attempted to release the Adélie Penguin on Wellington’s South Coast.

She stepped out of her crate, paddled in the shallows, but then decided to head back up onto the beach. We gave her space and time to make her choice, watching quietly from a distance. As the sun grew stronger, she began showing signs of heat stress, so for her safety, we brought her back to Te Kōhanga in a crate lined with ice packs to keep her cool.

We’ll be re-evaluating her release with DOC and plan accordingly, but for now she will be staying at the Zoo a little bit longer. She won’t be visible to visitors at this stage.
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Personally, I do think they should go for release way deeper into her natural habitat area. I do find the distance to the nearest Antarctic Adelie penguin colonies absurdly ... huge (the main reason this individual actually ended up on New Zealand coastline in the first place).

Information on New Zealand's research into Adelie pinguïn distribution in Antarctic, please go here:
1) Adélie Penguin Census | Antarctica New Zealand
2) Trends in the Breeding Population of Adélie Penguins in the Ross Sea, 1981–2012: A Coincidence of Climate and Resource Extraction Effects
(sadly no. 2 is a PLOS no open source / restricted access - the fact that research and science continue to be stymied by non or restricted access is somewhat concerning. I don't mind paying a fee, just not the exorbitant pricings that private individuals no longer attached to some university can access and read. Further POV: I paid thru taxation and paying taxes et cetera for the university education system and so others can also study at university so why should I not have had access here ... now!!!! Just a major peeve of mine and fellow researchers/ex education system people)
 
Council to consider cutting funding to zoo intended to upgrade African lion exhibit and giraffe area:

Stuff

$12.6m is ring-fenced to upgrade its nearly 40 year old lion habitat, with $1.15m set down to revamp the area housing the giraffes and create a glamping experience.

“Some of our infrastructure is getting to a point where it’s not about repair and maintenance, it’s about potential replacement or reconfiguration,” Jamie Tuuta told councillors.
 
Steve Robinson said:
Is this a mis-quote?
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The wording threw me off too as I thought it was referring to the world’s most expensive fencing.

I believe it refers to the upgrade of the habitat as a whole, including an expansion into the area that includes the old Cheetah exhibit. Wellington’s current lion facilities don’t currently allow them to effectively manage more than one pride, which has been an issue over the past couple of decades with multiple prides having to be housed separately. An upgrade could even see them become a breeding facility.
 
Adélie penguin released:

From socials:

Wellington’s favourite Adélie Penguin was released on the Cook Strait yesterday afternoon with the help of the @newzealandpolice and the @docgovtnz.

Keeper Jess went along to help with the release, and as soon as she opened the crate, the Adélie dove straight into the sea! Like the seabird she is, this Penguin took off in the right direction straight away, ready to make a dent in her journey back home to Antarctica.
 
This lengthy article discusses how Wellington Zoo is the first net carboNZoo certified zoo in the world, as well as touching on a few other topics. It's interesting to note that in this report, as well as in the Auckland Zoo history book (published in 2022), there's a lot of Indigenous Maori language and that should be applauded.

Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo: inside the world's first carboNZero certified zoo
 
Earlier this month, Staglands announced that they are sending two young kunekune sows to Wellington Zoo, following the death of Wellington Zoo's kunekune boar (their only remaining pig) earlier this year. That boar also came from Staglands.

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If the young sows are on the Wellington Zoo grounds, then they are not currently on display. Here is some other information that I learned from my visit to Wellington Zoo today:

-The enclosure at The Nest housed a Little Blue Penguin. I know that a Black-browed Albatross was held in this enclosure earlier this year, but in my personal experience, this was my only visit this year in which I saw that enclosure being occupied. It makes me wonder whether that enclosure could become either disused or just made private.

-All three of the surviving Kea have been returned to the Kea walk-through aviary. This appears to be a recent change and the Kea were being closely watched by zoo staff during my visit. I watched one of the Kea trip over while it was walking; hopefully this Kea's physical condition will improve.

-The whiteboard at the entrance said that new Kiwi are soon going to be placed in the nocturnal house; presumably this means that an actual plan for the zoo to hold Kiwi again is in motion.

Wild bird sightings that happened during my visit today included a (distant) Kākā flying over the Australian walk-through enclosure, a fledgling Tūī near the Wild Theatre, and a juvenile Kererū near the (currently unoccupied) otter enclosure.
 
Wellington Zoo updates:

From socials:

Some exciting updates from the front of the Zoo this weekend.

The Otters are back in their habitat, now featuring a brand-new den, with a viewing window that lets you peek inside to see how they’re settling in!

And next door, we’ve extended the Gibbons’ viewing deck, bringing you even closer to Robyn and Vilson. Perfect for watching their playful swinging up close!
 
Zoofan15 said:
Wellington Zoo updates:

From socials:

Some exciting updates from the front of the Zoo this weekend.

The Otters are back in their habitat, now featuring a brand-new den, with a viewing window that lets you peek inside to see how they’re settling in!

And next door, we’ve extended the Gibbons’ viewing deck, bringing you even closer to Robyn and Vilson. Perfect for watching their playful swinging up close!
Click to expand...

That's great news too both with the Otters and the WC Gibbons (great to know Robyn & Vilson are still there doing well).
 
Wellington Zoo Update

Update from my visit (28/12/2024):

Malika the chimpanzee is off contraception; and her older sister Keza is now back on contraception due to management of her health issues (high blood pressure). I will be posting a more detailed update in the Australasian chimpanzee population thread.

I saw one Kea in the aviary.

Nia the giraffe calf is now 13 months old. The birth interval between surviving calves of this species can be as little as 16 months; but Zuri is on contraception, so the zoo aren’t expecting another calf next year.

I only saw one Capybara. The zoo’s colony seems to have dwindled significantly from the formerly large group they used to hold.

At least one of the adolescent nyala is growing horns (is a male). A mature male lives separately from the herd in the old Cheetah exhibit.
 
Luna the Capybara has died:

From socials:

We’re sad to let you know that Capybara Luna passed away a few days ago.

Luna had been unwell for the past few weeks with gastrointestinal issues. She had been closely monitored following a veterinary procedure, but was found dead in her habitat a few days ago. We are waiting for test results to see if we can conclusively determine the cause.

Luna was born at the Zoo in 2019. She was a particularly friendly Capybara that loved the Keepers and getting scratches from them.
 
Capybara update:

Fight led to death of zoo’s beloved capybara

Wellington’s Captbara population has indeed been reduced to a single Capybara, a female named Dia. Luna died as a result of injuries sustained in a fight between her and Dia upon their reintroduction (Luna was removed to investigate her health issues).

Wellington Zoo plan to continue with Capybara. A male named Fernando is coming from Brooklands and will be introduced to Dia this month in the hope of breeding.
 
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