The arrival of spring has also meant the arrival of several baby animals at Hamilton Zoo - with the facility celebrating the recent birth of twin ring-tailed lemurs and the hatching of two morepork chicks.
The ring-tailed lemurs, whose genders are not known, were born to mother Yetta on October17, with zoo curator Samantha Kudeweh reporting the pair is doing well.
"The twins are quite active and have been out and about, socialising with the wider lemur group," she says.
The morepork chicks, believed to have hatched on October 12, are yet to venture out of their nest box.
"Morepork chicks tend to leave the nest around five to six weeks but they might possibly be seen peering out over the next few weeks," said Mrs Kudeweh.
"With morepork being New Zealand's only surviving native owl species, it is exciting to welcome the chicks to Hamilton Zoo and I am sure they'll steal the hearts of zoo visitors once they decide to venture out of the nest."
The chicks' parents are wild birds taken into Hamilton Zoo by the public after being found injured - the female sustained an eye injury and the male fell out of a nest as a young bird.
