NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS
FEATURE
National Zoological Gardens FOCUS TRAVEL
MASTERS OF THE
More widely known as the Pretoria Zoo, the National Zoological Gardens in Boom Street, Pretoria, is South Africa’s largest zoo and the only one with national status. By Ian Armitage
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he National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG) is one of the world’s great zoos. Nestled in the heart of downtown Pretoria, it is South Africa’s largest and the only one with national status. It is home to thousands of animals, the largest inland marine aquarium in the country, a reptile park, and large collection of exotic trees. NZG also has two biodiversity conservation centres in Lichtenburg and Mokopane. “We are a national research facility functioning under the auspices of the National Research Foundation,” Craig Allenby, Business Development Manager, tells a South Africa Magazine. “We are the only zoo in South Africa with national status. The zoo is made up of the main facility in Pretoria and two other satellite locations in Lichtenburg and Mokopane and in 2004 we were declared a national research facility.” The zoo’s primary focus, he says, is on educating the public and trying to reconnect people to the ecological world and the importance of sustaining wildlife. It gets a whopping 600,000 visitors per year of which around half are children. “We are part-funded by the Department of Science and Technology and the rest is raised commercial, via visitors and businesses operations within the zoo,” says Allenby. Visitor numbers continue to rise and in December and January they increased by 53 percent. “For many of the visitors who enter the zoo every year this is the only way of coming face-to-face with some of www.southafricamag.com
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National Zoological Gardens FOCUS TRAVEL
BILD Architects BILD Architects are proud to have been involved with various projects at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa over a number of years,which range from the refurbishment of the existing Animal Farmyard, restoration of the Historical Birds of Prey Enclosure, upgrade of the Night Room Facilities at the Gorilla Enclosure, completion and commissioning of Stormy Bay, an existing structure for the Fur Seals, refurbishment of the Main Entrance Gate, refurbishment and upgrade of Offices and the conversion of an existing Historical House into Offices and various other projects. Currently BILD Architects are also involved with the upgrade and refurbishment of the existing Necropsy Room and adjoining Laboratories.
the world’s most enchanting and beautiful animals. Zoos are no longer a glorified list of rare and unusual animals held in cages. Today they play an important role in the conservation and protection of threatened species and as a facility of National Research Foundation, we are very proud of the role we play.” You may remember that the world’s first white rhino born in a zoo was born at NZG and it is the only zoo in Africa. There is an ‘adopt an animal scheme’ that helps provide support for the animal’s food and care for a full year. There are also aquarium tours, camping tours and 4
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night tours, which are perfect for spotting owls, elephants, lions and red pandas. It is a great adventure for the whole family and is always a brilliant day out. “We are currently finalising the “stormy bay” Development, for Southern African fur seals and African penguins,” says Allenby. “We have depicted a derelict harbour with a beach area for the seals. African penguins are endangered but the zoo has a successful breeding area. The African penguin is possibly South Africa’s most rapidly declining bird at the moment and in the last eight years alone its population has halved.
Each of the above projects and especially those where animals were involved, had unique challenges, most importantly the welfare and conservation of the animals within suitable enclosures as an educational vehicle for visitors, this also taking into account our Client’s expectations, existing structures, heritage, site constraints, budgets and programs.
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Every month we have a focused event. During quieter months we do host lectures and some business meetings. This is an interesting part of the package here and we have innovative plans for the future
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National Zoological Gardens FOCUS TRAVEL
Today fewer than 21,000 pairs remain. So this is a superb project.” As well as being a zoo, doing all the wonderful things we’ve described, it is also host to several prestigious events and lectures – mainly for conservation. For instance, it will host the11th ICEE conference in the summer of 2013. “Every month we have a focused event,” Allenby says. “During quieter months we do host lectures and some business meetings. This is an interesting part of the package here and we have innovative plans for the future.” Back to the fun stuff! In April, NZG hosted (and this is great) one of the largest Easter Egg Hunt events ever staged on the continent. More than 35,000 Easter eggs were hidden around the zoo in an event supported by South Africa’s most loved chocolate, Cadbury. “It was a super bit of fun,” Allenby says. “All day access to the zoo was R40 for children and R60 for adults. The initiative formed part of a string of family actitivities designed to attract visitors. The zoo has become a family urban leisure destination attracting interest from across the province, and beyond. A significant segment of the South African market now seeks local escape and leisure where value underpins activity and we are inspired by the growing interest in the National Zoo; our response to sustain this growth is to continue offering on-going family programmes and value-add attractions. “The role played by zoos in preservation across the globe cannot be underestimated and a zoo’s utility as an urban leisure destination fulfils an important commercial aspect which ultimately helps fund conservation.” Pretoria Zoo is fantastic zoo and deserves its reputation as one of the world’s best. For more information, prices and opening times visit www.nzg.ac.za. END
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