Auckland Zoo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giraffe at Auckland zoo
Giraffe at Auckland zoo

Auckland Zoological Park is the main zoo of Auckland, New Zealand. It is situated next to Western Springs, not far from Auckland's central business district.

The zoo has been going through a redevelopment phase recently, creating zones where animals are kept in more natural surroundings instead of the small concrete and wire cages that were standard when the zoo first opened.

The Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund supports a number of conservation programs, both overseas and in New Zealand. The currently supported overseas projects are a turtle and tortoise programme in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam and the Sumatran Orangutan Project, also in Vietnam. Other past projects include the Sun Bear and the Sumatran Tiger.

Local conservation projects include the "Ark In The Park" project in Auckland's Waitakere Ranges and the Waipoua Forest Trust in New Zealand's Northland Region. There are also captive breeding programs to support the Kiwi Recovery program and the Tuatara. Other programmes involve the Weta, the Kākā (one of New Zealand's native parrots), the Kererū (wood pigeon), the Brown Teal, the Blue Duck and Archey's Frog.

The zoo also plays a major role in educating school children about both their own environment and the animal kingdom in general. Another feature offered by the zoo are function facilities including an overnight stay option as well as behind the scenes and twilight tours.

While the zoo is funded by the Auckland City Council, Aucklanders can also support their zoo in a number of ways. People can volunteer at the zoo, can "Adopt An Animal" and become "Friends Of The Zoo".

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 36.86218° S 174.718924° E