What is the best Zoo in NZ

[The Alligator Lad]

This is to judge which of NZ's 4 major zoo's (Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington & Orana) is the best. Feel free to share and discuss your opinions in the thread, I would love to hear them. May the best zoo win!

I have included some images from the gallery to refresh people's opinions, and to give an idea of these zoo's to those who haven't been, though I would reccomend looking at other gallery images and going online before casting your vote!

Auckland

@Zoofan15

@Zoofan15

@Chlidonias

@Chlidonias

@Zoofan15

Hamilton

@Zoofan15

@Zoofan15

@Zoofan15

@Zoofan15

@Zoofan15

Wellington

@Chlidonias

@Chlidonias

@Chlidonias

@joe99

Orana

@WalkingAgnatha

@WalkingAgnatha

@Tygo

@alexkant

@alexkant
(I couldn't find many good shots of orana as it is quite unrepresented in the gallery)

 

[Zoofan15]

I would hands down assess Auckland Zoo as the best zoo in New Zealand for the following reasons:

International prestige:

Auckland Zoo has world class precincts and would arguably be considered to be in the top three most prestigious Australasian zoos internationally (along with Taronga and Melbourne).

Quality of exhibits:

Auckland Zoo receives the most funding of New Zealand’s four zoos and it shows in the quality of the exhibits. The South East Asian precinct cost $62 million and features an aerial pathway for the orangutans; a Sumatran tiger breeding complex; and the region’s only tropical dome.







Nationally unique exotics:

Auckland Zoo has many species that are unique within New Zealand zoos - Asian elephants, Hamadryas baboon, fur seals and Greater flamingo. Their flamingo flock is in fact the only one within the region.



History:

What I love most about Auckland Zoo is it’s rich history. It opened in 1922 and still has historical features from its early years - the Elephant House (1923), which is now a restaurant; the Giraffe House (1926) which houses tarantulas; and a bear pit from 1922, which currently houses Nepalese red panda. There’s also historic bridges; and as time marches on, what were considered modern exhibits for their era (the 1987 Orangutan Park) are demolished, with aspects such as the perimeter walls retained for inclusion in new exhibits.

 

[USZOOfan42]

My vote is for Auckland! In a close second for me is Wellington, I just love the zoo.

 

[Nile Hippo Expert]

I think we can all agree that Auckland is 100% the best zoo in New Zealand, there's really not much to say.

 

[The Alligator Lad]

I think we can all agree that Auckland is 100% the best zoo in New Zealand, there's really not much to say.

I agree, though I am biased as I live very close to it!

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

Casting my vote for Auckland, also, although I do like NZ's other zoos a great deal and am particularly fond of Hamilton Zoo's "bush walk" type of experience when walking around the zoo. The Southeast Asia precinct in Auckland is one of the most amazing and unique zoo exhibits I've ever seen, and that's only one of the many things I love about Auckland Zoo.

 

[Zoofan15]

Casting my vote for Auckland, also, although I do like NZ's other zoos a great deal and am particularly fond of Hamilton Zoo's "bush walk" type of experience when walking around the zoo. The Southeast Asia precinct in Auckland is one of the most amazing and unique zoo exhibits I've ever seen, and that's only one of the many things I love about Auckland Zoo.

Although most of my previous points regarding Auckland Zoo taking the top spot will still stand (funding, quality of exhibits, history etc). it’s worth noting that much of Auckland’s acclaim with the general public is around seeing species they can’t see at the other zoos, namely:

Bornean orangutan
Pinnipeds
Elephants
Flamingos
Baboons
Serval
Hippopotamus (formerly)

Hippopotamus are gone; and elephants, baboons, serval and pinnipeds are going. Their departure from the collection (as well as the anticipated phase out of Cheetah) will surely have a degree of impact on visitor perception, if only a minimal one.

 

[Nile Hippo Expert]

Although most of my previous points regarding Auckland Zoo taking the top spot will still stand (funding, quality of exhibits, history etc). it’s worth noting that much of Auckland’s acclaim with the general public is around seeing species they can’t see at the other zoos, namely:

Bornean orangutan
Pinnipeds
Elephants
Flamingos
Baboons
Serval
Hippopotamus (formerly)

Hippopotamus are gone; and elephants, baboons, serval and pinnipeds are going. Their departure from the collection (as well as the anticipated phase out of Cheetah) will surely have a degree of impact on visitor perception, if only a minimal one.

Well elephants will be gone from Auckland for good sometime in the next year though.

 

[Zoofan15]

Well elephants will be gone from Auckland for good sometime in the next year though.

Yes, their remaining Asian elephant (Burma) is being exported to Australia (Monarto Safari Park) in October/November 2024.

This follows on from the export of Anjalee in March 2022.

Burma was originally scheduled to leave (for Australia Zoo) in April 2022, but the move was cancelled last minute.

Following Burma’s departure, there will be no more elephants in New Zealand.

 

[The Alligator Lad]

Surely "no more" is a harsh and matter of fact term. I do believe they will not be seen for some time, maybe even a decade or two, but I also believe that they will eventually return to one of NZ's zoo's, probably Hamilton or Orana seeing as they have the most available space.

 

[Zoofan15]

Surely "no more" is a harsh and matter of fact term. I do believe they will not be seen for some time, maybe even a decade or two, but I also believe that they will eventually return to one of NZ's zoo's, probably Hamilton or Orana seeing as they have the most available space.

Respectfully, I disagree. Neither Hamilton Zoo or Orana Wildlife Park have the resources to hold a multigenerational herd, which is widely recognised as desirable from a welfare point of view. Even holding a pair of bachelor bulls would be extremely costly and frankly, beyond their reach. Given the information we have available (the funding those facilities receive; their lack of interest in holding elephants etc), I don’t foresee this changing in the future.

When you consider Auckland and Wellington have phased out (or are phasing out) elephants and have no intention to go back into them, it’s not reasonable to believe we won’t see elephants in New Zealand again.

 

[The Alligator Lad]

Thanks for providing this additional information, either way it will be sad to see them go.

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

Although most of my previous points regarding Auckland Zoo taking the top spot will still stand (funding, quality of exhibits, history etc). it’s worth noting that much of Auckland’s acclaim with the general public is around seeing species they can’t see at the other zoos, namely:

Bornean orangutan
Pinnipeds
Elephants
Flamingos
Baboons
Serval
Hippopotamus (formerly)

Hippopotamus are gone; and elephants, baboons, serval and pinnipeds are going. Their departure from the collection (as well as the anticipated phase out of Cheetah) will surely have a degree of impact on visitor perception, if only a minimal one.

I hope they will add some species to replace the ones they plan to phase out, and not rely on playgrounds and educational facilities, as they've indicated they intend to do.

 

[Zoofan15]

I hope they will add some species to replace the ones they plan to phase out, and not rely on playgrounds and educational facilities, as they've indicated they intend to do.

I agree. Many of the Australian zoos have drastically down sized their collections (Melbourne Zoo with felids and primates for example). If the rationale behind the phase outs is to improve welfare for the remaining species (larger exhibits etc). then fair enough; but not to build playgrounds and visitor amenities.

The Cheetah exhibit is small; nobody ever sees the Serval; and the baboon exhibit isn’t equipped to manage a large troop, but I’d be happy seeing the space these exhibits occupy combined to build a larger baboon exhibit.

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

I agree. Many of the Australian zoos have drastically down sized their collections (Melbourne Zoo with felids and primates for example). If the rationale behind the phase outs is to improve welfare for the remaining species (larger exhibits etc). then fair enough; but not to build playgrounds and visitor amenities.

The Cheetah exhibit is small; nobody ever sees the Serval; and the baboon exhibit isn’t equipped to manage a large troop, but I’d be happy seeing the space these exhibits occupy combined to build a larger baboon exhibit.

I'd agree with this. I think they should retain at least one of the species slated for phase-out or displacement by this nature playground or replace it with something else noteworthy (for example, colobus or vervet monkeys would be a good substitute for baboons).

 

[Zoofan15]

I'd agree with this. I think they should retain at least one of the species slated for phase-out or displacement by this nature playground or replace it with something else noteworthy (for example, colobus or vervet monkeys would be a good substitute for baboons).

It’s interesting to compare the evolution of New Zealand’s four main zoos as per their opening date:

Wellington Zoo - 1906
Auckland Zoo - 1922
Hamilton Zoo - 1969
Orana Wildlife Park - 1976

The first two have followed very similar trajectories to the Australian zoos (Taronga, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide) in terms of their development and subsequent phase outs; while Hamilton in particular has been more in line with a start up/private zoo considering they weren’t council owned until the 1980’s and progress from there has been incremental as opposed to Auckland/Wellington, who opened near full scale on opening day.

 

[snowleopard]

Certainly, Auckland Zoo looks to be a fantastic facility and a must-see attraction for anyone visiting New Zealand. The Te Wao Nui complex appears to be an excellent overview of endemic fauna. The quality of the exhibits, which are impressively covered in the ZooChat gallery, are extremely high and the zoo seems to lack any major flaws. Even their history book is terrific!

I'd be curious to know the annual attendance figures for Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Orana. One would imagine it would go in that order in terms of popularity with the general public.