Zoo Alive - Spring 2011 edition by Auckland Zoo

ZOO Alive

The official magazine of Auckland Zoo

SPRING 2011 // $3.00

Te Wao Nui opens The great giraffe swap Zookeepers in Asia Spring events

events

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Day Event

Night Event

Family Event

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Adult F Event FREE for FOTZ Booking essential Major Event

September

Friends Te Wao Nui exclusive FR EE

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Sunday 11 September (9.30am to 12 midday)

k FRand explore our stunning NZ precinct Te Wao Nui tic As our valued Friends, you’re invited to be the very first to come EE before it opens to the general public at midday. Enjoy it in the morning, but feel free to stay on into the afternoon. There’s no need to register for this preview, just bring your FOTZ pass. Note: additional guests will need FRto EE purchase a Zoo entry RE until midday when Te Wao Nui opens to the public. FR ticket and enjoy the rest of theFZoo E EE FR

Conservation Week - The opening of Te Wao Nui

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Sunday, 11 September – Sunday, 18 September (9.30am to 5.30pm)

Our friends at the Department of Conservation (DOC) will be joining us to celebrateFR Conservation E Week and we hope you’ll come along too! Our new precinct Te Wao Nui offers so muchEto explore FR about New Zealand. You can visit its conservation centre, where DOC staff will be sharing all Ethe E work they do with the Zoo and other conservation organisations and community groups to help protect our stunning wildlife and wild places. Plus, you can meet the very special Biosecurity New Zealand dog Jak and his handler, and find out about the amazing work these dogs do to protect New Zealand.

Zoological Society seminar

FR Thursday, 29 September (6.30pm to 8pm) Cost $5 for students, $10 for adults EE The Zoological Society of Auckland’s September seminar features guest speaker Dr Greg Holwell. A lecturer at the University of Auckland, Dr Holwell will be discussing behaviour, ecology and evolution of the praying cket ti mantids. No booking required. Seminars are held at the Zoo’s Grasslands Theatre (behind the Info Centre). Visit zoologicalsociety.co.nz

October

October school holidays

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Saturday 8 October – Monday 24 October (9.30am to 5.30pm)

Come along to the Zoo these school holidays to discover more about New Zealand’s amazing animals including the kiwi, tuatara, and kea on our Conservation Trail through Te Wao Nui. There will also be special encounters, spot prizes and interactive activities for the kids to take part in. FR EE Visit aucklandzoo.co.nz for more information.

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Jumbo sale at WildZone gift shop

Thursday, 3 November (4.30pm to 9pm)

EE WildZone is holding its annual Jumbo Sale with at least 20% off storewide, and up to 70% off on selected items. All profits on the night will go to the Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund. There will be some great new merchandise in store, including the 2012 Auckland Zoo calendar. FR

Africa Night

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Sunday, 6 November (4.30pm to 9pm)

Take an adventure through Africa without leaving town at the Zoo’s exclusive Africa Night! REE t A fundraiser for the Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund and the Zoological Society of Auckland, this ticke event includes a behind-the-scenes tour to see African animals, an African themed dinner, auction and talk. Visit aucklandzoo.co.nz in October for cost and booking details.

Orangutan Caring Week celebrations

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Saturday, 12 to Sunday, 13 November

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As part of Orangutan Caring Week celebrations, we are holding a special Indonesian-themed Fair with lots of palm oil-free goodies, special orangutan encounters, and plenty of family entertainment. So come and join in FR the activities and celebrate these amazing animals, which are 97% like us. E E

Orangutan Caring Week – The Great Ape Race

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Thursday, 17 November (6pm to 9pm) Cost $25 per adult, $10 per child

FR Get your team or family together for a fun navigation event that raises funds for orangutan conservation. EE This ‘Amazing Race’-like event doesn’t require any orienteering experience F RE – just plenty of energy and a commitment to team work! E

December

Christmas at the Zoo

The Zoo is planning a special Christmas event that will be bigger and better than any we have doneEE before. The finer details are still being confirmed, but if you’re a Friend of the Zoo, make sure you read November’s e-newsletter, and check in at aucklandzoo.co.nz for details from early November.

For more information about all of these events, visit aucklandzoo.co.nz

COVER: A view within The Wetlands habitat of Te Wao Nui - Auckland Zoo’s New Zealand precinct, opening on Sunday 11 September. Photograph by Kathrin Simon.

Our biggest story this issue, and indeed in the Zoo’s history, is the opening of our New Zealand precinct, Te Wao Nui. This $16m development has been many years in the making. Welcome to the Spring issue of Zoo Alive, which comes to you printed on an even more sustainable stock than we’ve previously used. We hope you like the new look. The paper used is manufactured under the strict ISO 14001 standard – the highest international accreditation in environmental management, a standard Auckland Zoo has also achieved. We’re delighted to report that a 12th series of The Zoo TV show has been commissioned, so you may well see the Greenstone crew out and about in the Zoo grounds soon filming stories with our keepers. We’ll bring you more about the show next issue.

Auckland Zoo’s official newsletter Zoo Alive is printed on Sumo Laser paper stock – produced from ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified mixed source pulp, manufactured under the strict ISO 14001 Environmental Management system. It is published tri-annually (Spring, Summer and Autumn/Winter). Contents cannot be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher.

ZOO Friends

It is therefore with great pride and excitement that we can finally invite you in to discover what this 100 per cent New Zealand experience has to offer! We look forward to seeing you all at the Friends exclusive preview of Te Wao Nui on the morning of Sunday 11 September. Details are on page 4.

Warm regards, EDITOR Dozens of Christchurch children on a Break from the Quake trip to Auckland, organised by the charity Youthtown, enjoyed a day at the Zoo in late July. Highlights included meeting elephant Burma and feeding male giraffe, Zabulu. Since the Christchurch earthquake in February, the Zoo has provided free entry to over 3300 Christchurch residents.

EDITOR Jane Healy PHOTOGRAPHY Graham Meadows & Claire Vial DESIGN & PRINTING

PMP Maxum is proud to provide sponsorship to Auckland Zoo to assist with the printing and design of this publication. Designer: Rory Birk Address all enquiries to: The Editor, Zoo Alive, Auckland Zoo, Private Bag, Grey Lynn, Auckland Tel: 09-360-3804, Fax: 09-360-3818 jane.healy@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz www.aucklandzoo.co.nz

Auckland Zoo is a member of the World Association of Zoos & Aquaria, and the Australasian organisation – Zoo Aquarium Association

Auckland Zoo would like to thank the following sponsors and supporters:

Left: Congratulations to nine-year-old Amy Schwalger of Glenfield who won our July holidays energysaving tips competition. Amy (far right), pictured with mum Tracey, sister Holly, and brother Jamie, wrote in about her family having nights together in one room to save on heating, rationing time on PlayStation, using hot water bottles and leaving the oven door open after cooking to help heat their lounge. The Schwalgers won family passes to the Zoo, Stardome and the Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum as well as a toasty night’s accommodation at The Quadrant Hotel in Auckland. Below: July school holidays red panda ranger Jacky Geurts chats to Scarlett Jacques and Caitlin Agnew before they set out on their journey around the Zoo to discover all they can about these beautiful creatures to help them become certified red panda rangers.

Weighing an elephant requires a jumbo set of scales. Luckily, scale suppliers Wedderburn had just the right set for Burma’s recent weigh-in. Keepers say at 3400kg, Burma is in great shape. Pictured with Burma are Wedderburn’s Auckland regional manager Bruce Stevenson and the company’s managing director, Vernon Herbert.

Great news for Friends

To coincide with the opening of Te Wao Nui this month, general admission Zoo tickets have increased by 10 per cent to $22 for adults and $11 for children.

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But, as our valued Friends, you’ll be pleased to know that there is no change to FOTZ membership prices, so your annual pass is even better value!

You’ll still receive unlimited daytime entry 364 days a year, exclusive offers and updates, and discounts at our cafes, shop and on evening events. Keepers will also keep an eye out for your FOTZ pass – you might be singled out for special impromptu encounters! To renew your membership, pop in to the Information Centre on your next visit.

News

The great giraffe swap

Two-year-old female giraffe Kiraka from Taronga Western Plains Zoo is due to arrive at Auckland Zoo in early October. Far left. Giraffe Jelani will sail across the Tasman with Pridelands team leader Nat Sullivan and vet and New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine manager Craig Pritchard.

Keeping Jelani comfortable onboard

One of our male giraffes, 18-month-old Jelani, has set sail across the Tasman on his way to Werribee Open Range Zoo in Melbourne. Auckland Zoo is part of an Australasian regional breeding programme, and as Jelani’s dad Zabulu is the Zoo’s breeding male, Jelani is being moved to create enough space to enable the Zoo to continue breeding with Zabulu. Jelani will live in a giraffe bachelor herd at Werribee Open Range Zoo for the time being. As part of the regional breeding programme, some zoos – like Werribee Open Range Zoo – hold bachelor groups to allow other zoos to continue breeding. Heading across the Tasman to New Zealand in early October will be a new arrival for Auckland Zoo –

young female giraffe Kiraka, from Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo. Kiraka was born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo at the end of 2009 and we are hoping that she will breed here. “By getting Kiraka here to breed with our breeding male Zabulu, we are diversifying bloodlines. “This will help to ensure a high-quality gene pool for Australasian zoos to breed giraffes from in the future,” says Pridelands team leader, Nat Sullivan. On arrival at Auckland Zoo, Kiraka will spend a month in quarantine. By early November you can expect to see her out in Pridelands with Zabulu and our other female giraffe, Rukiya.

Fast facts • The red panda is arboreal, which means that it spends almost its entire life in the trees, sleeping, eating and travelling • Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal, India, China, Bhutan and Myanmar • Red pandas are covered in fur, which even extends to the soles of their feet. This helps to keep them warm and grip well in the trees

Female red panda Amber and male Sagar could potentially have a family of little red pandas by early next year.

Amber and Sagar potential parents We hope that you managed to bring in the kids during the July school holidays to become Red Panda Rangers, and learn more about these amazing animals. Auckland Zoo currently has three red pandas, two females – Maya and Amber, and a male, Sagar. Maya lives in the enclosure opposite to the meerkats, and Amber and Sagar live behind the otters, and just up from the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine. Sagar arrived late last year from India’s Darjeeling Zoo, and we are hoping that he will breed with Amber.

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• Red pandas have long, bushy tails, which help them to balance on trees. They also use their tails to cover themselves during the cold winter months – like a cosy blanket! • The red panda’s red and white markings help them to blend in perfectly with the white lichen and red moss that grow on the trees that they live in. These markings help them to hide from their predators

Red pandas are generally solitary animals, but since being introduced, Amber and Sagar are starting to get comfortable with each other and are spending a bit more time together. “Amber’s not in season yet, but if all goes well, she could give birth by early next year. Red pandas often have between one and four cubs at a time, so it would be wonderful to have a family of red pandas here again at the Zoo,” says keeper Sandra Rice. Keep an eye out at www.aucklandzoo.co.nz for updates.

• Jelani is approximately 3.5m tall and weighs approximately 500kg

• The crate weighs 2.5 ton nes, is 4.2m high, 2.8m deep and 2.8m wide – this gives Jelani enough room to sit down if he wants to • Moving giraffes betwee n zoos is a tall order, requiring considerable pre paration both prior to boarding, and during the voyage. Jelani has been ‘crate trained’ to ent er his crate and be as comfortable as possible • Onboard ‘giraffe luggag e’ for Jelani’s trip includes food, enrichment devices like boomer balls, and medical supplie s • Pridelands team leader Nat Sullivan, and Dr Craig Pritchard, veterin ary manager of the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine, will be accompan yingJelani on his trip on the cargo ship, JPO Scorpius. • Red pandas communicate with squeaks, chattering noises and chipmunk-like sounds • The Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund supports Red Panda Network Nepal, an organisation helping to protect and conserve red panda in the wild. We have also sent a female red panda, Khosuva, to Darjeeling Zoo as part of the international breeding programme for this species

Meet a red panda! The Zoom team have been busy getting new tours up and running, so if you’ve ever wanted to go behind-the-scenes to meet a red panda, here’s your chance! On the Red Panda Experience, you get the opportunity to meet and hand-feed one of our gorgeous red pandas, Maya. The Red Panda Experience is $75 per person, and takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1pm. You have to be at least 7 years old to go on this Zoom tour, and there are a few terms and conditions, so visit www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/ experience to find out more.

Friends first to explore Te Wao Nui

Friend of the Zoo and freelance writer Jessica Fowler and two-year-old daughter Luella Pickering of Grey Lynn explore Te Wao Nui’s The Wetlands. Gaining a sneak peek for an article she is writing for an architecture magazine, Jessica describes Te Wao Nui as “stunning” and is looking forward to opening day.

Te Wao Nui has been years in the making. It’s the most significant project in Auckland Zoo’s history, and as our valued friends, you’ll be the first to experience it! From 9.30am to 12 midday on Sunday 11 September Te Wao Nui will be open exclusively for Friends of the Zoo and our Zoo volunteers to come and explore. This expansive New Zealand precinct takes in one fifth of the Zoo’s 17ha footprint so even if you think you know the Zoo like the back of your hand, be prepared for surprises. It’s been a long time – if ever – since many of our new arrivals have been on display at the Zoo. Six new wildlife habitats for native animal species offer a close-up experience of the conservation work we’ve been doing for years with native fauna. You might have to search under damp vegetation for Archey’s frogs in The Night but it should be easier to find tuatara sunning themselves in The Islands.

Among animals in The High Country (Whenua Waotu) will be the whio (blue duck) – an endangered species that the Zoo breeds for release into the wild. In The Islands (Moutere Rahui) be sure to check out the Northland green gecko.

In The Wetlands the big eel tank may bring back memories of childhood creeks, and a walk-through, glass-fronted aquarium puts the spotlight on normally reticent native fish such as banded and giant kokapu, koaro and inanga. Zoo director Jonathan Wilcken acknowledges the role the thousands of Friends play in Te Wao Nui’s future. “Friends of the Zoo are our mainstay,” he says. “The Zoo couldn’t thrive without them. Membership fees go into everything we do – from breeding to feeding. The continuing support of Zoo Friends is critical to the work we’ve started with Te Wao Nui and I can’t thank them enough for helping to make this exciting new precinct possible.” There’s no need to register for the preview on 11 September, just bring your FOTZ passes with you when you arrive.

This special pre-opening is only available for Friends of the Zoo with a valid membership pass. Any additional guests will need to purchase a Zoo entry ticket and enjoy the rest of the Zoo until midday when Te Wao Nui will open to the general public.

Win a behind-the-scenes Te Wao Nui experience To celebrate the opening of Te Wao Nui we’re offering a young Friend and their parents the chance to win a behind-the-scenes experience of Te Wao Nui that will include meeting some animals up close. Just email a photograph you’ve taken in Te Wao Nui to zoofriends@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and tell us something you love about this NZ precinct. Entries close 25 October.

New platforms and pathways enhance orangutan precinct The orangutans have had front row perches to watch Te Wao Nui take shape over the past year. But in recent months the viewing platforms and pathways that take you as a visitor into the world of these magnificent great apes have been under the spotlight, with a significant upgrade taking place. To separate their entranceway from the one into the Te Wao Nui precinct, we’re creating a new entrance – away from the former Sea Lion and Penguin Shores entry and over to the other side of Central Lawn. Along the new pathway to both orangutan precincts you’ll find a series of loosely Indonesian-styled thatched huts. Besides providing a viewing space, the huts will feature up-to-date information about conservation issues facing these primates in the wild. gives his Aunty ng orangutan Madju Our irrepressible you ctionate kiss. affe an y, pla he loves to Wanita, with whom . ber vem No ly rs old in ear Madju turns six yea

“It’ll be like a themed village, providing lovely spaces to be in and great views into both orangutan areas,” says capital works manager Michael Batty.

Orangutans are 97.4 per cent the same as humans. Their name in Malay means “man of the forest.” Both Bornean and Sumatran orangutans are endangered, with the fastest destruction of their habitats occurring from conversion of vast areas of tropical forest to oil palm plantations. Buying products that are palm oil free is one way to help save these highly intelligent primates. Use the link aucklandzoo.co.nz/conservation/buy-palm-oilfree to download our Buy Palm Oil Free shopping guide and find out more about the power of public pressure. Auckland Zoo will also be getting in the spirit of the international Orangutan Caring Week from 12 – 20 November. It’s a week to celebrate orangutans and also focus on what we can do to help ensure their future. See the Events Calendar in this issue for further details. In the meantime, remember you can get along to orangutan encounters here at the Zoo every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 12.30pm. Spring 11

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Virus found in kakariki on Tiritiri Matangi

Dr Bethany Jackson on Tiritiri Matangi with one of the kakariki being tested for PBFD disease.

Zoo keepers and vet nurses are volunteering on the kakariki virus research project, which is not only great training in field work skills, but also offers the chance to meet with Tiritiri Matangi people and to feed back what’s happening with the research to the general public during Zoo encounters.

DNA decoding is helping an Auckland Zoo research team understand how a potentially life-threatening disease has found its way into the kakariki native parakeet population on Tiritiri Matangi Island.

The team of researchers, including Zoo staff volunteers, also found avian malaria during the field work in April. The first set of samples was sent for DNA testing with Dr Arvind Varsani at The University of Canterbury. Dr Varsani is an expert in viruses such as PBFD, which can cause chronic feather loss and immune system depression, leaving parrots vulnerable to other diseases. PBFD has been present for some time in exotic parrot species, and particularly the Eastern rosella which can fly from the mainland to as far as Tiritiri Matangi and other islands in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. “What’s so valuable about sequencing the virus though,” says Bethany, “is that we can start to build a clear picture of how it’s moved historically through populations and countries. The more we can learn about the virus the more we can understand if it’s a big issue for our native birds or not.”

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Conservation

Zoo resident vet Bethany Jackson is leading the three-year study into the spread of the virus and the kakarikis’ general health, as part of a PhD project with Murdoch University in Western Australia. “It’s more useful to look at changes in the population over time than just take a snapshot,” she says. “Most of the birds we examined looked healthy. Those that had the virus weren’t sick but they could be carriers to vulnerable sections of the population, such as chicks, and we won’t know that without further monitoring over breeding seasons.”

An anaesthetic machine ensures the kakariki are examined with minimal stress. During the colder mornings they were kept warm with a heat pad and a fleece pouch, and given fluids under the skin.

The import of parrots into New Zealand is banned, to help protect our six unique native parrot species from exotic diseases. Illegal international trading of birds is lucrative and still occurs, with pairs of valuable parrots fetching as much as $50,000. It is likely PBFD came into New Zealand through traded Australian parrots, and illegal trading still poses a disease threat. The conservation process in New Zealand can also create an issue. Moving endangered native birds from one habitat to another to support their recovery can potentially expose the birds to new and unknown diseases. The option to return kãkãpõ to Little Barrier where they were previously held may be in jeopardy whilst a disease like PBFD is present in the environment. Bethany and the team are now back on Tiritiri Matangi for further field work. They will be catching Eastern rosellas from all over Auckland during the summer months, to test for the virus, as well as looking at nesting kakariki on the island. The kakariki project is supported by the Murdoch University Research and Development Division, Auckland Zoo’s Conservation Fund, Landcare Research, the Department of Conservation and Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi, with sponsorship of ferry tickets from 360 Discovery Ferry Services and a GPS and other gear from Bivouac Outdoor. Results will feed directly into DOC’s national management programme for BFDV.

PHOTO: Department of

Psittacine beak and feather disease or PBFD was first found in red crowned kakariki on Hauturu (Little Barrier) Island in 2008 and has now been confirmed in three of the 53 kakariki examined on Tiri.

New Zealand’s only surviving native owl, the ruru, can be seen in Te Wao Nui’s The Night (Te Po).

Ruru arrive for Te Wao Nui While the Zoo’s New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine (NZCCM) is a busy environment during the day, two new nocturnal arrivals from Otorohanga have been checking the place out after dark. The two young male ruru (New Zealand’s native morepork), yet to be named, have been in quarantine at the centre for a thorough health exam before joining their brown kiwi cousins in Te Wao Nui’s The Night (Te Po). Known for its haunting melancholic call, this bird’s Mãori name, ruru, reflects its song. Don’t forget you can watch vets in action from the public viewing gallery of the NZCCM from 9.30am to 4pm daily. On Mondays and Tuesdays at 1.30pm the vets are in the gallery for encounters and to answer any questions on the centre’s work.

Competitions

Great books that celebrate our birds Two new books on bird calls made us prick up our ears. Zoo Alive is offering you four chances to win copies by naming any two of the native birds that will live in Te Wao Nui’s The Forest habitat. Email entries to zoofriends@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. Include your name, FOTZ number, a contact phone number and which book you prefer. Deadline for entries: 25 October.

Call of the Kokako by Maria Gill and Heather Arnold “The kokako is worth saving for its song alone,” writes Maria Gill. For “…a taste of what our ancient forests used to sound like.” This book for children aged 7-12 years is an ode to the 780 pairs of North Island kokako, which are the last species of the wattlebird family to survive on the mainland. Rich in personality, the 36-page, beautifully illustrated book tells the story of various heroic rescuers of kokako and of recovery efforts. The

South Island kokako was declared extinct in 2007. North Island (blue wattle) kokako have been translocated from the Hauraki Gulf islands to the Waitakere and Hunua ranges, with the goal of increasing numbers to 1000 pairs by 2020. This is Maria Gill’s ninth conservation-themed book for children. It’s published by New Holland, Retail price $29.99.

New Zealand Bird Calls (book and DVD) Despite decades of Radio NZ National’s Morning Report bird, how many of us can actually tell the difference between a guttural graaw and a highpitched wrank? This book and CD of 60 birds is a joint project between writer Lynnette Moon and her late husband bird photographer Geoff Moon, and sound recordist John Kendrick and his daughter Karen Baird, who prepared his calls.

From the Director Jonathan Wilcken Dear Friends As Zoo Alive goes to print we’re just a few days away from opening Te Wao Nui. On Saturday 10 September, we are looking forward to the Mayor of Auckland Council Len Brown officially opening this New Zealand precinct. We’re delighted that it’s taking place on the eve of Conservation Week (11 to 18 September) – a nationwide Department of Conservation (DOC) celebration that invites us all to show how we love New Zealand. It’s a love for New Zealand’s extraordinary animals and plants, many of them found nowhere else on this earth, and a strong belief that the Zoo must continue to play a key role in helping to ensure their future, that has driven the creation of Te Wao Nui. For years, we’ve been working with our conservation partners to help conserve New Zealand native species, but a lot of this work has gone on behind the scenes. Now with Te Wao Nui, we can really open the door on this work, and display species such as the short-tailed bat and Archey’s frog that up until now, we’ve had to house off-display.

New Zealand Bird Calls includes a fascinating memoir of John’s long friendship with Geoff Moon. Each bird entry contains factual information and photos while the CD tracks include up to three different calls: alarm, territory and courtship. It’s a package to fall in love with and take on your next bush walk or when you come to visit Te Wao Nui’s The Forest. Also from New Holland, it retails at $29.99.

the Zoo, who have helped to make Te Wao Nui a reality. Auckland Council has contributed $9.4m to this $16m project, and under the leadership of its chair, Penny Whiting, the Auckland Zoo Charitable Trust has raised the remaining $6.6m – an incredible effort.

But what the Zoo is doing is only part of what Te Wao Nui is about. Everyone can play a role as kaitiaki (guardians) for our unique wildlife and wild places, and Te Wao Nui invites us all to get involved. Already, whether you’re a day visitor or a Friends of the Zoo member, you’re helping us in the work we do. We’re working to return native species to the wild and are providing the expertise of our staff and our resources to help our conservation partners monitor and manage wild populations. And where we can’t help, we’re contributing to fund the work of those who can. An example of this is our funding of tracking devices to record the movements of New Zealand sea lions to help DOC find ways to protect and grow the population of this endangered marine mammal (see page 10). Te Wao Nui will see us grow these efforts. For kids like mine, and no doubt yours, Te Wao Nui will offer a fascinating and dynamic experience of this country’s natural treasures. With six very distinct environments, there really is that sense of an outdoor adventure through New Zealand, and we hope it contributes to inspiring our next generation Jonathan with daughters 10-year-old Jess (right) and eightof conservationists. year-old Zoe, whose favourite things in Te Wao Nui are the The Wetlands waterfall and The Islands swing bridge. My thanks to the many organisations and individuals, including my fantastic team here at Spring 11

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Feature

Te Wao Nui a vision realised

Key Zoo staff involved in Te Wao Nui (pictured in The Islands). From left: NZ Birds section team leader Andrew Nelson, curator of horticulture Hugo Baynes, capital works manager Michael Batty, curator of NZ Fauna Ian Fraser, Zoo director Jonathan Wilcken, and Jamie Bell, who has coordinated all of Te Wao Nui’s interpretative signage, displays and artworks.

In December 1992, Auckland Zoo opened the New Zealand Aviary - a mini bush walk on the Zoo’s northern slopes that today has a new life as Te Wao Nui’s The Forest. The creation of this aviary almost 20 years ago reflected the Zoo’s vision to increase visitors’ experience of New Zealand’s own natural treasures and engage people about Zoo efforts to help conserve them. Five years later in 1997, designer Logan Brewer produced concept drawings for a major New Zealand precinct, concepts that remained a vision on paper for some time while other Zoo developments were progressed. Last August, following years of intensive planning, construction company NZ Strong moved in to start the Te Wao Nui build across a massive 20 per cent of the Zoo’s 17ha footprint. discover animals In The Wetlands (Nga Repo) n (matuku), brown hero ced e-fa whit the ding inclu – an endemic and eel fin long and eke) (pat teal one of the world’s endangered species that is . eels est larg

The name Te Wao Nui encompasses the natural, unique habitats and environments of Aotearoa New Zealand. On Sunday 11 September, as Friends of the Zoo, you’ll be the first to experience the scale and beauty of Te Wao Nui – a $16m project that is by far the largest and most significant in Auckland Zoo’s 88year history. Te Wao Nui’s six distinct habitats offer a stunning mini outdoor journey through New Zealand, and the chance to discover many animal species you may never have seen or known about before. The habitats include The Coast (Takutai), The Islands (Moutere Rahui), The Wetlands (Nga Repo), The Night (Te Po), The Forest (Te Wao Nui a Tane) and The High Country (Whenua Waotu). Fifty of Te Wao Nui’s 60 animal species - from short-tailed bats and longfin eels to a rich diversity of birds, reptiles and invertebrates, will have moved in by opening day. Throughout their environments are thousands of plantings of New Zealand native plant species, huts to explore, bridges to cross, dynamic interactive displays, and outstanding Mãori artworks by world-renowned artists (see back cover). “The Zoo has created a truly unique experience of New Zealand’s animals, plants and culture in a way that you won’t find anywhere else. It is an amazing opportunity for everyone to discover and celebrate what is special to this country. It’s also, very importantly, an active showcase for the ongoing work we’re doing alongside our conservation partners to help conserve New Zealand native species,” says Auckland Zoo director, Jonathan Wilcken. “As a visitor, you can now do things like explore a Department of Conservation (DOC) hut within The Night and find out how we help kiwi and kakapo, or take a trip to The Islands to see our unique and ancient tuatara and learn about the breed-for-release programme we’re part of.”

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In Te Wao Nui’s The High Country are engineer Andrew Steele of Thorburn Consultants NZ Ltd, the project’s engineers, and designer Logan Brewer.

Designer Logan Brewer Designer of Te Wao Nui, Logan Brewer, specialises in designing aquariums and attractions with strong theatrical elements. He particularly loves the theatricality created throughout the six distinct habitats and the way they link together. An innovative first for Logan, working alongside creative fabric engineers, Fabric Structure Systems, has been the design of the Wetlands, Islands, and High Country walkthrough aviaries. These feature a stainless steel mesh that for the first time has been used as a tensile structure. This has involved placing the mesh under tension to create the distinctive shapes of the aviaries, making it integral to the overall design. A special chew-resistant ‘Phantom Mesh’ has even been designed for the High Country aviary that houses the very inquisitive and strong-beaked kea! “Te Wao Nui is one of the most important projects I’ve ever been involved in,” says Logan. “It has a very strong New Zealand narrative that contributes to our national character, and very importantly, it’s a place that will influence young New Zealanders.”

Curator of Horticulture Hugo Baynes, who has worked at the Zoo for over 16 years in Te Wao Nui’s The Forest – his favourite place in the Zoo. “Our company is proud to be contributing to a very New Zealand Auckland-based community project of lasting significance,” says NZ Strong managing director, Shane Brealey.

Builders NZ Strong

Landscape design

Construction company NZ Strong engaged a workforce of approximately 500 to build Te Wao Nui. Many specialist contractors were employed – from Otahuhu Welding who spent five months crafting the koru, leaf and flax design balustrades, to Shotcrete and Rock who did the rock face in The High Country.

The Zoo’s curator of Horticulture, Hugo Baynes, is responsible for Te Wao Nui’s landscape design, which he’s implemented with his own Zoo team and the landscape company Natural Habitats.

“Te Wao Nui is exactly the sort of project NZ Strong was born to do. We’re a group of proud Kiwis that wanted to contribute to a very New Zealand, Auckland community-based project of lasting significance,” says NZ Strong’s managing director, Shane Brealey. Shane is proud of the 8m rock wall in The Wetlands that replicates a scene from a wetlands area in Northland, the beautifully crafted High Country hut, and The Islands replica kauri log dam. “The built environment of Te Wao Nui aside, the other major reward has been getting to know the Zoo staff well. They are fellow Kiwis, by birth or choice, with a passion for contributing more than usual, and using their unique talents,” says Shane.

Kia kaha te tiaki, te manaaki nga mea katoa o te rangi o te whenua me te moana, hei oranga mo tatou katoa. Be strong in looking after and caring for everything from the sky to the land to the sea for the benefit of all.

Fast Facts

The project has been a labour of love for this passionate horticulturist who has lived and breathed it for the past year. Plants have been sourced from all around New Zealand, including one 30-year old Hound’s Tooth fern (a 3m x 2m carpet) from the roof of his mother’s woodshed on the Kapiti Coast! “We were having a family working bee on mum’s property and the Zoo got lucky. I’m still deciding where it’ll go, maybe on the roof of The Wetlands eel tank,” says Hugo, who with his team will be planting right up until opening. With the exception of three exotic trees, the thousands of plants in Te Wao Nui are all New Zealand natives. “One of the fabulous things about Te Wao Nui is its northern location. It has great existing geological, botanical and topographical features that have made it an ideal canvas for the six habitats. It also has brilliant historical features like the Zoo’s original old stone bridges,” says Hugo. And he loves the fact that Motions Creek has pride of place through its centre. An open flight path for birds, the creek’s banks are now planted with a corridor of kowhai trees.

• Te Wao Nui is a $16m project that has been funded by Auckland Council ($9.4m) and through funds raised by the Auckland Zoo Charitable Trust, led by Trust chair, Penny Whiting, MBE • Key Te Wao Nui partners include the Department of Conservation and Ngati Whatua o Orakei • Some new or never before displayed NZ animal species in Te Wao Nui include the short-tailed bat,

NZ Birds section zookeeper Debs Searchfield feeds little blue penguins in Te Wao Nui’s The Coast.

Zookeepers and volunteers If you’re wondering why this article hasn’t featured the passionate people that are so key to Te Wao Nui – our zookeepers, it’s because they’re just too busy settling their animals in to talk! Our December issue will feature the NZ Fauna team and some of our great volunteers who are also involved in Te Wao Nui.

longfin eel, Campbell Island teal, Antipodes Island parakeet, flax snail and Otago skink • Te Wao Nui’s The Night will house the most animal species – from birds and fish to bats, a New Zealand native frog and weta and snails. Its night sky (6.5m high) is lit by the stars of a Matariki sky – created by 5,500 LED lights operated through a special ‘show control system’.

Spring 11

ZOOAlive

Tiaki

“

to look after, conserve,

PHOTO: Louise Chilvers

Rare New Zealand sea lion needs our help

A female New Zealand sea lion. There are just 10,000 of these magnificent marine mammals remaining, with the species now listed as ‘nationally critical’ – New Zealand’s highest endangered listing.

Adult male sea lions can weigh between 250 – 400kg, and be up to 3.5m long, while adult females weigh in between 100 – 160kg, and grow up to 2 metres.

The New Zealand sea lion, also known as Hooker’s sea lion, is one of the rarest sea lion species in the world.

This research will help DOC to find ways to protect and grow the New Zealand sea lion population.

Once found all the way up to the top of the North Island, extensive hunting made them almost extinct by the mid-1800s. The population is now estimated to be less than 10,000, but is currently in decline.

In the meantime, Joel encourages people to find out more about them.

This means that they are listed as ‘nationally critical’, which is New Zealand’s highest endangered listing, and puts them at the same level of risk as the kiwi, kakapo and Maui’s dolphin. New Zealand sea lions only breed in a few places; the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island, which are in New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic waters, and a small breeding colony on the Otago Peninsula. Unfortunately, New Zealand sea lions have the lowest reproduction rate of any sea lion, and pup production at the Auckland Islands has declined by 40 per cent since 1998. Auckland Zoo keeper Joel Milicich has been working closely with the Department of Conservation’s Marine Threats unit head, marine scientist Louise Chilvers and her team, who are researching the New Zealand sea lion.

Win a Zoom Coastal Experience for 4 people!

“Unfortunately not many people know about the New Zealand sea lion and confuse it with the New Zealand fur seal which isn’t as endangered.

On our Zoom Coastal Experience, you get the chance to meet our little blue penguins and other shore birds, and learn about how they came to live at Auckland Zoo.

“But New Zealand sea lions are in trouble, and they’re extremely interesting and beautiful animals, so we should be doing all we can to ensure their survival,” he says.

You will also go behind the scenes to meet our New Zealand fur seals and Californian sea lions, and watch a training session from inside their enclosure. This is an experience you will not forget!

Auckland Zoo does not have any New Zealand sea lions at The Coast within Te Wao Nui; however, we have two New Zealand fur seals, one sub Antarctic fur seal and two Californian sea lions. If you’d like to meet them up close, along with our little blue penguins, book yourself on to a Coastal Experience Zoom tour on 09 360 4700.

If you’d like to win 4 places* on this tour on Sunday, 6 November 2011 at 2pm, email zoofriends@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and tell us one of the biggest threats facing New Zealand sea lions in the wild. *Please note that you need to be at least 8 years old to go on this tour and other terms and conditions apply. Visit aucklandzoo.co.nz/experience for more information.

“One of the biggest threats facing the New Zealand sea lion is commercial fishing operations, which operate during the New Zealand sea lion breeding season. Both the sea lions and commercial trawlers go after the same food, so it’s pretty common for sea lions to be caught up in trawl nets. “Female sea lions are often pregnant at the same time as they are feeding a pup on land, so if one female sea lion gets caught up in a net, then that effectively means that three New Zealand sea lions are taken out of the population,” says Joel.

Through the Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund, Auckland Zoo is supporting ongoing research efforts by the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Otago University. This includes using GPS and other tracking devices to record the movements of lactating females as they feed. Auckland Zoo has just supplied funding for two more tracking devices.

ZOOAlive Spring 11

Auckland Zoo keeper Joel Milicich, picture in Te Wao Nui’s d The Coast with fem ale New Zealand fur seal, Moana, wants m people to learn ore about our amazing m arine mammals.

protect, save Saving tigers in Sumatra

Sue Mills (at left) with 21st Century Tiger’s Rapid Response Unit members in Kerinci Seblat National Park.

By Sue Mills, Auckland Zoo carnivore keeper

Photo: NZ Herald

Recently I was very fortunate to be able to travel to Kerinci Seblat National Park in Sumatra in Indonesia to work with 21st Century Tiger, a project supported by the Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund.

I was here to evaluate the programme and gain first-hand experience at the coal face of tiger conservation. After an eight-hour taxi drive to the park - over many bumpy roads and through many small villages, I was met by members of one of the Rapid Response Units with whom I would be spending the next five days in the jungle. These incredibly dedicated RRU teams work to implement conservation law and reduce tiger poaching and trafficking. The Sumatran tiger is critically endangered, with fewer than 400 animals remaining in the wild.

The first morning four RRU patrol men and I met at base camp where food was rationed out and all the bags were packed. It was really important to pack light, given we’d be carrying our bags for days. On average, we’d walk close to six hours a day. It was tiring as I was always concentrating on where I was walking, careful not to trip over vines or slip on rocks, while keeping an eye out for leeches – that seemed to be everywhere! Most days we would cross rivers or streams so we would quite often be up to our knees in water. While the trekking was tough, the scenery was majestic. Every night we spent at a different location. We would always set up camp beside a river so that we had fresh water to drink and to wash in. Once reaching our camp, the patrol team would build a shelter. I couldn’t believe how resourceful these people were. Almost everything we used, including our sleeping shelter, was made from what was around us. Two fires were lit each night; one to keep mosquitoes and tigers away (a nerve-wracking thought especially when one needs to visit the toilet during the night!) and another smaller fire for cooking. The aim of patrolling in the jungle was to look for any signs of tigers and any other animals as well as patrolling for poachers and removing snares. Each member of the patrol unit carries a pair of handcuffs should they come across poachers. Their biggest task is to take down snares. Snares are put up by poaches to catch anything from birds to tigers. On one day, we took down 52 deer snares. Unfortunately these snares are not selective and will trap many other animals. I learnt an incredible amount while patrolling with the unit. These men dedicate their lives to help protect the tiger while sleeping rough for days on end in the jungle, only eating rice, and being away from their families. I have huge admiration for them, and thank them for trying to save the last of the Sumatran tigers. To find out more visit: 21stcenturytiger.org

Helping elephants in Sri Lanka Auckland Zoo’s Andrew Coers (centre) with Dr Prithivaraj Fernando, chair of trustees for the Centre for Conservation and Research Sri Lanka (left) and Jayantha Jayewardene, managing trustee of the Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust on the border of Yala National Park in southern Sri Lanka.

By Andrew Coers, Auckland Zoo team leader, elephants Sri Lanka is a small island nation with a land area of 65,000 km2 (just over half the size of New Zealand’s North Island), 20 million people and between 4,000 – 6,000 elephants. With so many people competing with wildlife for limited resources, the inevitable conflict between humans and elephants is at crisis point. Unfortunately elephants have become a socio-economic, political and conservation issue. In the past four years, this conflict has resulted in 1031 elephant deaths and 353 human deaths in Sri Lanka alone. It’s with these sobering statistics in mind that I recently travelled to Sri Lanka to meet with key government officials and conservationists to investigate how we can play our part to help mitigate this conflict and assist with elephant conservation. Collaborating with prominent researchers, through the Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund, we will be providing funding to continue to GPS-satellite track animals in conflict hotspots. Understanding how elephants use their home ranges is the first step in informing conservation policy as well as solutions such as identifying and protecting natural habitat corridors. An important part of our future involvement will be to support indigenous education programmes that highlight the importance of biodiversity (including elephants) within rural schools. Children are growing up with an attitude that elephants are these big scary beasts that raid crops, push houses down and kill people in the darkness of night. It’s crazy to think with so many elephants, you just don’t see them through the day…it’s true! They have many behavioural adaptations to avoid people. In most cases they do except for a select few we’re talking about – around 100 problem elephants, generally male. If kids can gain a better understanding about the ecology of elephants, and the fact that they are very similar to humans in many ways, they will hopefully become a generation that are a lot more tolerant and willing to look for solutions to conflict issues. They will hopefully also realise that we’re all ultimately better off if we can learn how to live in harmony with all wildlife. This visit to Sri Lanka has been truly amazing. I’ve met great people who have dedicated most of their lives to Asian elephant conservation. They have taught me so much about the long history of human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, elephant biology, politics around elephants and just the enormous complexities of this issue. The problem was, the more I learnt, the more questions I had, and the more I realised I didn’t know! However, what I do know for sure is that it’s more important than ever that we do all we can to ensure a future for Asian elephants. Spring 11

ZOOAlive

K is for

Kukupa

beak Kukupa are birds. They only live in New Zealand. Kukupa is the Maori name for New Zealand wood pigeon. Another name for them is kereru. Kukupa are the biggest pigeon in New Zealand. Have you seen any flying near your house?

You can see kukupa in The Forest in Te Wao Nui here at Auckland Zoo.

These are karaka berries

wings

Kukupa are the only birds in New Zealand that can eat karaka berries, because karaka berries are too big for other birds. What colour are these karaka berries? Here is a clue : karaka is the Maori word for this colour. Kukupa help to spread the seeds of karaka trees and also taraire trees. They swallow the seeds whole. Then they fly away and poop them out! The seeds start growing in the poop, and slowly the seeds grow into trees.

legs

feathers

ZOOAlive Spring 11

These are taraire berries

A kukupa wants to eat this pile of berries. How many taraire berries will it eat? How many karaka berries will it eat?

The kukupa has lost this feather. Which part of its body did the feather come from?

ZOOAlive

Auckland Zoo would like to thank the following sponsors and supporters:

Auckland Zoo is a member of the World Association of Zoos & Aquaria, and the Australasian organisation – Zoo Aquarium Association

Address all enquiries to: The Editor, Zoo Alive, Auckland Zoo, Private Bag, Grey Lynn, Auckland Tel: 09-360-3804, Fax: 09-360-3818 jane.healy@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz www.aucklandzoo.co.nz

PMP Maxum is proud to provide sponsorship to Auckland Zoo to assist with the printing and design of this publication. Designer: Rory Birk

DESIGN & PRINTING

PHOTOGRAPHY Graham Meadows & Claire Vial

EDITOR Jane Healy

COVER: A view within The Wetlands habitat of Te Wao Nui - Auckland Zoo’s New Zealand precinct, opening on Sunday 11 September. Photograph by Kathrin Simon.

EDITOR

Dozens of Christchurch children on a Break from the Quake trip to Auckland, organised by the charity Youthtown, enjoyed a day at the Zoo in late July. Highlights included meeting elephant Burma and feeding male giraffe, Zabulu. Since the Christchurch earthquake in February, the Zoo has provided free entry to over 3300 Christchurch residents.

Warm regards,

We look forward to seeing you all at the Friends exclusive preview of Te Wao Nui on the morning of Sunday 11 September. Details are on page 4.

It is therefore with great pride and excitement that we can finally invite you in to discover what this 100 per cent New Zealand experience has to offer!

But, as our valued Friends, you’ll be pleased to know that there is no change to FOTZ membership prices, so your annual pass is even better value!

To coincide with the opening of Te Wao Nui this month, general admission Zoo tickets have increased by 10 per cent to $22 for adults and $11 for children.

Great news for Friends

Below: July school holidays red panda ranger Jacky Geurts chats to Scarlett Jacques and Caitlin Agnew before they set out on their journey around the Zoo to discover all they can about these beautiful creatures to help them become certified red panda rangers.

To renew your membership, pop in to the Information Centre on your next visit.

ZOO Friends

We’re delighted to report that a 12th series of The Zoo TV show has been commissioned, so you may well see the Greenstone crew out and about in the Zoo grounds soon filming stories with our keepers. We’ll bring you more about the show next issue.

Welcome to the Spring issue of Zoo Alive, which comes to you printed on an even more sustainable stock than we’ve previously used. We hope you like the new look. The paper used is manufactured under the strict ISO 14001 standard – the highest international accreditation in environmental management, a standard Auckland Zoo has also achieved.

Our biggest story this issue, and indeed in the Zoo’s history, is the opening of our New Zealand precinct, Te Wao Nui. This $16m development has been many years in the making.

ZOOAlive Spring 11

Sagar arrived late last year from India’s Darjeeling Zoo, and we are hoping that he will breed with Amber.

Maya lives in the enclosure opposite to the meerkats, and Amber and Sagar live behind the otters, and just up from the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine.

Auckland Zoo currently has three red pandas, two females – Maya and Amber, and a male, Sagar.

We hope that you managed to bring in the kids during the July school holidays to become Red Panda Rangers, and learn more about these amazing animals.

Amber and Sagar potential parents

Female red panda Amber and male Sagar could potentially have a family of little red pandas by early next year.

Heading across the Tasman to New Zealand in early October will be a new arrival for Auckland Zoo –

Jelani will live in a giraffe bachelor herd at Werribee Open Range Zoo for the time being. As part of the regional breeding programme, some zoos – like Werribee Open Range Zoo – hold bachelor groups to allow other zoos to continue breeding.

Auckland Zoo is part of an Australasian regional breeding programme, and as Jelani’s dad Zabulu is the Zoo’s breeding male, Jelani is being moved to create enough space to enable the Zoo to continue breeding with Zabulu.

Keep an eye out at www.aucklandzoo.co.nz for updates.

“Amber’s not in season yet, but if all goes well, she could give birth by early next year. Red pandas often have between one and four cubs at a time, so it would be wonderful to have a family of red pandas here again at the Zoo,” says keeper Sandra Rice.

Red pandas are generally solitary animals, but since being introduced, Amber and Sagar are starting to get comfortable with each other and are spending a bit more time together.

• The red panda’s red and white markings help them to blend in perfectly with the white lichen and red moss that grow on the trees that they live in. These markings help them to hide from their predators

• Red pandas have long, bushy tails, which help them to balance on trees. They also use their tails to cover themselves during the cold winter months – like a cosy blanket!

• Red pandas are covered in fur, which even extends to the soles of their feet. This helps to keep them warm and grip well in the trees

• Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal, India, China, Bhutan and Myanmar

• The red panda is arboreal, which means that it spends almost its entire life in the trees, sleeping, eating and travelling

Fast facts

On arrival at Auckland Zoo, Kiraka will spend a month in quarantine. By early November you can expect to see her out in Pridelands with Zabulu and our other female giraffe, Rukiya.

“By getting Kiraka here to breed with our breeding male Zabulu, we are diversifying bloodlines. “This will help to ensure a high-quality gene pool for Australasian zoos to breed giraffes from in the future,” says Pridelands team leader, Nat Sullivan.

Kiraka was born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo at the end of 2009 and we are hoping that she will breed here.

young female giraffe Kiraka, from Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.

• Jelani is approximately 3.5m tall and weighs approximately 500kg

Keeping Jelani comfortable onboard

Far left. Giraffe Jelani will sail across the Tasman with Pridelands team leader Nat Sullivan and vet and New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine manager Craig Pritchard.

Two-year-old female giraffe Kiraka from Taronga Western Plains Zoo is due to arrive at Auckland Zoo in early October.

You have to be at least 7 years old to go on this Zoom tour, and there are a few terms and conditions, so visit www.aucklandzoo.co.nz/ experience to find out more.

The Red Panda Experience is $75 per person, and takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1pm.

On the Red Panda Experience, you get the opportunity to meet and hand-feed one of our gorgeous red pandas, Maya.

The Zoom team have been busy getting new tours up and running, so if you’ve ever wanted to go behind-the-scenes to meet a red panda, here’s your chance!

Meet a red panda!

• The Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund supports Red Panda Network Nepal, an organisation helping to protect and conserve red panda in the wild. We have also sent a female red panda, Khosuva, to Darjeeling Zoo as part of the international breeding programme for this species

• Red pandas communicate with squeaks, chattering noises and chipmunk-like sounds

The great giraffe swap

One of our male giraffes, 18-month-old Jelani, has set sail across the Tasman on his way to Werribee Open Range Zoo in Melbourne.

News

Coral

korora / little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor)

TOP auckland

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Visit us by bus and be in to win!

ry rt Ga lle

Catch the bus to visit Auckland Zoo during the busy international rugby tournament and the opening of Te Wao Nui and you can enter a draw to win your next year’s FOTZ membership for free.

THE ED GE

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Since 21 August, a new network of bus services has started running between the Zoo and the central city and suburbs, which makes leaving the car at home and getting here by public transport even easier. Catch either:

me A u ck

la n d

M u se

• 030 to Great North Road (Motions Road stop) every 30 minutes in peak hours • 005 Outer LINK to Meola Road every 15 minutes, stopping outside MOTAT’s Aviation site where a tram will take you to the Zoo. For more details on routes, tickets and timetables visit myhop.co.nz and maxx.co.nz Auckland’s new HOP smartcard is good for travel on all North Star, Waka Pacific, Go West, Metrolink and LINK bus services.

riti m e M Voy a g e r M a

u se u m

M O TAT Make sure you visit some of Auckland’s must see attractions. Engage with seven of our city’s most loved spots today. Visit auckland2011.com/attractions to find out more.

Got visitors staying with you during September and October? Let them know about the special day travel pass called The A-Pass which is valid for almost all Auckland buses, trains and inner harbour ferries, and costs just $15 a day. A-Pass holders receive great discounts at top Auckland attractions, including here at the Zoo, Auckland Art Gallery, The Edge, Stardome, Auckland Museum, Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum and MOTAT. To enter the competition, catch the bus to the Zoo, write your name, FOTZ membership number and a contact phone number on the back of your bus ticket. Place your ticket in the entry box at the Zoo’s main entry gate.

Entries close 5:30pm on 31 October and the winner will be drawn on 1 November.

Full competition terms and conditions are available on our website at aucklandzoo.co.nz

At Matatina Marae’s Ahi-ka-roa workshop, master carver Lyonel Grant chalks out an outline of his Tane Nui a Rangi design while friend and carver Mike Taniere and his son Irirangi look on.

Tane Nui a Rangi is portrayed in a stylised humanistic form, with the entire face and body adorned with a surface design known generically as Pataki. Lyonel chose this whakairo (meeting house) design in honour of the entity being portrayed.

At Matatina Marae in Waipoua, sculptor and designer Lyonel Grant is transforming a mighty slab of totara into Tane Nui a Rangi – a three metre high carving that will live in Te Wao Nui’s The Forest.

their home. Kuia Auntie Gracie, the kids, dogs running about, a group of us from the Zoo – we’re all able to be part of it.

felled here for the extraordinarily beautiful carved meeting house he has created at Unitec, just up the road from the Zoo.

Tane represents a life giver and Lyonel says it’s good that there’s lots of people involved, connecting with the process and life of this work. Bernard Makoare is helping, and under Lyonel’s guidance others are also carving.

Lyonel says the Zoo space, staff, visitors, animals and plants within Te Wao Nui will continue to add to this carving’s life journey and wairua, or spirit.

Carvers deepen beauty of Te Wao Nui Both artist and athlete, Lyonel uses adze, chisels and other tools of trade like musical instruments, playing to the grain of his onetonne canvas with such energy and precision it takes one’s breath away. Before our eyes, this entity of the forest, Tane, the son who forced his parents Ranginui (sky father) and Papatuanuku (Earth mother) asunder to allow light to fall upon the earth, is coming to life as each woodchip flies. It’s communal. Fellow world-renowned carvers Bernard Makaore and Manos Nathan are present, as are other friends and local Te Rorora people to which Waipoua Forest is

The life of the wood itself dates back over 1000 years. From the central North Island where Lyonel (of Te Arawa descent) is also from, it was among many totara felled for commercial interests in the 1960s to make way for harvestable pine forests. “We’re really pleased that this timber can be reinstated and utilised in this way, and the fact we’re fashioning it on the doorstep of the Waipoua Forest adds to the power of the work,” says Lyonel. He’s also used timber Designer and carver Bernard Makoare works on the maihi – part of a sculpture that will be installed over the entrance to The Forest. These carvings depict the paraoa or sperm whale. The design was often used for pataka (food store houses), as the whale represents both abundance of food and a protector of sustenance for people.

He and his fellow carvers suspect the kaka and other forest birds will enjoy making their mark on it, and that’s just fine with them. In fact, they’re even adding a bird feeder to the back of it! “For early Maori voyagers, along with the rich coastal sea life, the forest became one of the primary sources of sustenance and survival. The Ngahere trees (children of Tane) sustained large bird numbers, and the myriads of plants also provided everything from alternative food sources to utilitarian materials for building and fashioning functional objects. “The forest was a pataka (food store) and a place that housed boundless treasures, so the forest and the principal entity who was responsible for it, were afforded great respect and mana by Tangata Whenua. I’d like to think we’re honouring that same notion in our approach to this work,” says Lyonel. Lyonel Grant (of Te Arawa), Bernard Makoare (of Te Rarawa and Ngãti Whãtua) and Manos Nathan (of Te Roroa, Ngãti Whãtua and Nga Puhi) collectively form the team of collaborative artists called TuWao who are creating over a dozen artworks for Te Wao Nui. They are a stunning and integral part of the Te Wao Nui experience – a journey on which everyone is invited to slow down, reconnect with nature and, we hope, be inspired to be kaitiaki (guardians) for our unique natural treasures.

Words: Jane Healy Photographs: Kathrin Simon