The Auckland Zoo turned 100 in 2022. Part of the centennial celebrations includes a book featuring 100 stories from 100 years of wildlife in the city. Here are a few of the stories from one of Auckland’s most loved landmarks.
Kiwi tunes and festival vibes
24/100 - Making beautiful music at the zoo
Events manager and promoter Jackie Sanders set up the first Zoo Music events, running from 2004 to 2011, featuring high-profile musicians. They were hugely popular and raised awareness and funds to support conservation projects.
With a brief to revolutionise the events programme and bring in a less traditional and younger audience, Sanders looked overseas for inspiration.
Zoo Music was a new way for people to connect with the zoo that eventually built into a great way to communicate the conservation message – relaxed and happy audiences are more receptive to a few words from a popular artist.
The conservation theme became increasingly important, with artists brought in to meet with keepers and to connect with species. Initially they wanted to meet lions and tigers, but gradually came to appreciate the uniqueness of our native species.
The first concert featured just one act: south Auckland R&B duo Adeaze. Their manager said they could play for a couple of hours but, on the night, they only had 10 songs. They played three 45-minute sets playing songs two or three times and their number one hit Getting Stronger four times.
That concert attracted modest numbers but by the third, featuring Dave Dobbyn, there were 5000 people – “That was it, we were off and running,” Sanders said.
Many big names have played at the Zoo: Katchafire, the Black Seeds, Phoenix Foundation, Che Fu, Greg Johnson, Don McGlashin, Liam Finn. And others have gone on to bigger things, having played support: Opshop supported Greg Johnson and Ladi6 was first up for Little Bushman.
“It was a way of creating really powerful advocates for the zoo,” Sanders said.
Getting the artists to talk about conservation projects in the media ahead of the concerts was really effective.
“It really hit a nerve at the right time with the public... this was one of the first events to have high-profile and up-and-coming New Zealand musicians play in a beautiful environment like the zoo.”
Blazing a trail
26/100 – Auckland Zoo’s first female zookeepers
Felicity Lamm and June Mayor were the first female keepers at the zoo, appointed by curator Graham Meadows in 1975.
Lamm was brought up thinking zoo life was normal with a father who was director of birds at San Diego Zoo, then the director of Melbourne Zoo.
She completed a business degree and was a founder of the New Zealand Values Party, a precursor to the Greens.
When she got the job at Auckland Zoo in 1975 she says, “it was like winning Lotto”.
Women working in zoos was situation normal for Lamm, reinforced by the family’s opportunities for travel. The first experiences at Auckland Zoo were a little awkward, however - there were no women’s toilet and Lamm and Mayor had to use the public toilets.
They both started in the Children’s Zoo, but soon moved around all areas as part of the regular keeper roster.
Lamm was drawn to birds and migrated to working alongside Trevor Bright on the kiwi breeding programme, where they also bred native whio (blue duck) and pāpango (NZ scaup).
She was a bird keeper for most of her time at the zoo, looking after a wide range of birds – Australian red-tailed black and sulphur-crested cockatoos, ostrich, rhea and emu. A standout was a cockatoo named Popeye. He came from a paddle-steamer on the Murray River and would “swear like a trooper” at anyone he didn’t like, but for those he did “he would whisper in your ear”.
Lamm relates that everyone was afraid of the polar bears - “everyone who worked with them had a recurring nightmare that they were chasing you”.
Auckland Zoo was ahead of its time on conservation, says Lamm. Many of the keepers had gained knowledge of animals working on farms or in circuses and there were some real characters – “a very eye-opening place for a young person to work.”
Lamm didn’t experience any prejudice and coped with the physical side of the job by using her brains rather than brawn.
She says it wasn’t glamorous work but the long hours and hard nature of the job fostered a real community.
65 kilos of bouncing baby
28/100 – The birth of rhinoceros calf Nyah
Ungulates team leader Tommy Karlsson has overseen a mini rhino baby boom since coming to Auckland Zoo from Sweden in 2018.
Nyah was the first rhino born at the zoo for 20 years, but mum Jamila wasn’t finished
Jamila, a southern white rhino from Hamilton Zoo, was identified as a good genetic match for the male rhinos at Auckland Zoo. She was introduced to Zambezi and soon became pregnant, creating quite a bit of excitement at the zoo.
She was monitored regularly throughout her 16-month term, with more thorough checks increasing a few weeks before she was due.
A remote camera was set up in Jamila’s stall and Karlsson set an alarm to wake every few hours to check the cameras. That increased to every half an hour nearer the day.
Karlsson was watching the camera from home at midnight one night - “I just had a feeling that something had changed. She was behaving a little bit differently, so I decided to go into the zoo,” he said.
The rest of the team started arriving at 7am and they went to check on Jamilla just as her waters broke. The vet was called for, but the calf popped out in just 20 minutes with no problems.
“It was such a joy to see the healthy calf, after all the anticipation and planning.”
The 65kg female calf was standing after 25 minutes and suckling from Jamila, who took to motherhood very well.
The calf was gradually introduced to the outside world: to dad Zambezi and his adult son Inkosi after a few days, then to the main habitat after a few weeks, with Jamila keeping a watchful eye over her daughter.
“[It] was both exciting and a little bit scary... she was soon zooming around.”
The calf was born during the Covid-19 lockdown so the public didn’t get to see her for some time. But when the zoo’s doors were reopened, the public were invited to help name the calf. After more than 1000 submissions, Nyah was chosen, meaning ‘goal’ or ‘purpose’ in Swahili.
Nyah grew to 700kg after 18 months and will keep growing until 5 or 6 years old. She enjoys having her feet scratched and her belly rubbed, part of the relationship-building that helps keep a check on her health.
Jamila got pregnant again just 6 months after giving birth.
“Normally, a female rhino might not start to cycle again until their first calf is 18 months old, but Jamila is obviously a super-breeder.”
Double giraffe joy
34/100 – An unforgettable week with two calves born within five days
November 2002 will live long in the memory of Auckland Zoo, when two giraffes were born just five days apart.
After eight years without a giraffe birth at Auckland Zoo, keepers were considering artificial insemination, but Zabulu, a young male giraffe, beat them to it.
“We’d thought he was a bit too young and too short,” laughs Suzie Keith, a keeper with Pridelands at the time.
The giraffes were seen mating on several occasions and the females Kiri and Kay were monitored for weight gain with Kay going from 740kg to over 1 tonne during her pregnancy. The due dates were estimated for any time between November and January, and all eyes were on the giraffes for any tell-tale signs.
“We all wanted to be there when it happened,” said Keith.
It was an eagle-eyed bird keeper who spotted baby giraffe legs emerging from Kiri on November 27.
Keith rushed back to the enclosure to see Kiri and her newborn calf standing up in full view of visitors and a film crew who captured the birth for The Zoo TV series.
“It was a fantastic experience for the visitors but nerve-wracking as hell,” said Keith. “What if something went wrong?”
It’s a long drop for newborn calves, but the fall works like a doctor smacking them on the bottom and cues them to start breathing.
The male calf was given the African name Masamba, meaning leaves.
Just five days later, Kay gave birth in a more private setting. Keith was there to see another male born, this one dubbed Jabari, meaning brave.
“Keepers and staff can go through their whole career and not see something like this, I feel so lucky,” relates Keith. “It’s wonderful when our visitors also get to see and share these once-in-a-lifetime moments.”
New Zealand’s national bird
38/100 – Creating a home for kiwi
Nocturnal, secretive and threatened in the wild, few of us get to see the most recognisable symbol of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Kiwi were wanted at the zoo from its earliest days – curator E.R. Sawer repeatedly requested a permit for the bird that had been protected by law since 1922 along with the majority of native birds, bats, frogs and tuatara.
A request in 1938 and several more were declined by the Department of Internal Affairs who were concerned that the nocturnal bird would be stressed if displayed in daylight.
“Since the men of the New Zealand forces fighting overseas have been given the name ‘Kiwi’, interest in this remarkable native bird has been greatly heightened and, it is held, should add a still further reason for authority resisting any application which might interfere with the close protection of the kiwi,” the ministry wrote in one response to Sawer.
The first kiwi, David, came to the zoo in 1949 to be rehabilitated after losing a leg in a trap. David was fashioned an artificial limb by the Disabled Servicemen Re-establishment League.
League representative J.D. Bennet said, “There have been a large number of Kiwis fitted with artificial limbs, having suffered war injuries and it would give me great pleasure to fit a real kiwi.”
David was a hit, with many children bringing tins of worms as a treat.
More injured kiwi arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, but most did not survive long. They were popular, however, especially with overseas visitors.
Their less-than-satisfactory display was withdrawn in 1967 as scientific understanding improved along with their management and survival rates.
In 1971 two pairs of kiwi, sanctioned by the Department of Internal Affairs, were housed in a nocturnal house paid with sponsorship from the New Zealand Insurance Company, using reverse lighting to enable the birds to be seen with artificial ‘moonlight’.
A successful breeding programme ensued under Trevor Bright, who retired in 1989 after 35 years’ service, and the zoo is now at the forefront of kiwi care and conservation.
Panda-monium!
47/100 - Two very special visitors to Auckland Zoo
About 300,000 visitors came to see giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Fei Fei as Auckland went panda-mad in 1988.
The pandas arrived in October as part of a tour down under that included Sydney’s Taronga Zoo and the Melbourne Zoo.
Three keepers were tasked with their care - Sandra Rice and Sarah Anderson, just 18 years old, alongside senior keeper Maria Finnigan - to complement their three travelling companions that included a vet and a translator.
A special habitat was built with a climbing frame, bamboo screening, a glassed sunroom, individual sleeping dens, a refreshing pool and a sports-style grandstand for the daily crowds who came to see the bears.
The visiting throngs were managed by red-jacketed volunteers to ensure as many people as possible could view the incredible animals during their three-month stay.
“There was such a lot of hype,” remembers Anderson. “People couldn’t get a car park and were standing in a line that stretched around the zoo, just to get a glimpse.”
The heat and humidity of Auckland meant the pandas slept a lot, especially in the middle of the day, which didn’t enthuse people, Anderson said.
The keepers, however, got to see more of the animals and experience their personalities.
“Fei Fei had a lot of energy and was very active and playful, while Xiao Xiao was a bit older and wasn’t quite so fun-loving,” said Anderson.
The keepers were tasked with cooking rice cakes and collecting large quantities of fresh bamboo. A special call went out to anyone with bamboo in their backyards and a truck was sent all over town to bring back a big load every couple of days before it wilted.
“We were extremely lucky to get to work with them,” said Rice. “When we went to see them off, we were all crying on the way back from the airport.”
A unique conservation partnership
60/100 - The Zoo and Neureuter whānau join forces for good
On a small group of islands in the Hauraki Gulf, a unique conservation partnership is helping to ensure the future of a stunning and vulnerable invertebrate – the wētāpunga.
The Neureuter family have owned The Noises, a small group of islands northeast of Motutapu and Rakino islands in the Hauraki Gulf, since the 1930s. They are predator-free and rich in native vegetation.
The family formed the Noises Trust in 1995 and worked with volunteers to eradicate mammalian predators and most pest plants and to restore native vegetation providing a rich habitat for endemic species.
A 2011 zoo survey of one of the islands, Motuhoropapa, led to the Trust applying for and being granted $8500 for a biodiversity plan for the islands.
“That foundation plan really linked the islands to the sea,” said Sue Neureuter. “The health of these islands is hugely impacted by the health of the ocean that surrounds them.”
Seabirds need a thriving ocean and the islands rely on the birds to fertilise the ground for vegetation, which in turn supports insects and reptiles.
The zoo suggested the release of zoo-bred wētāpunga in what was considered an ideal habitat.
“Motuhoropapa is covered in big pōhutukawa,” said Neureuter, adding it’s great for hiding places for wētāpunga and food sources like mahoe and kohekohe.
Wētāpunga are the largest of 11 species of endemic giant wētā, once found throughout Northland, Auckland and Aotea/Great Barrier Island. By the mid-1900s they were restricted to only one island – Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier – but are prolific breeders once protected and Auckland Zoo has incredible success in the regeneration.
There have been six releases of more than 3000 of the creatures since 2015 and, after several generations, the whole population is island-born.
The Neureuter family hope more species can be translocated to the islands to help restore the ecological diversity that once thrived there, and plan to continue to work closely with the zoo.
“The Noises have a great potential to be used to generate a source population for species that can then be transitioned to other islands,” said Rob Neureuter. “We’d be happy to work with the zoo long into the future.”
“It’s fantastic to have access to these people who have so much knowledge and expertise,” said Sue Neureuter. “One of the coolest things about this project has been seeing how enthusiastic the zoo staff are about the species that they are breeding and releasing. You can see it means so much to them being able to release these animals into the wild.”
The extraordinary power of elephants
86/100 - From Jamuna to Anjalee – elephants at Auckland Zoo have awed and inspired generations of visitors
Auckland Zoo’s Andrew Coers has worked with elephants for 23 years and vividly recalls first seeing Kashin as a 3-year-old at Auckland Zoo in 1983.
“I was sitting on my dad’s shoulders, and Kashin came walking around the corner towards us with her keeper,” said Coers. “She was only a few metres away and I remember feeling stunned at her sheer size – a moment I’ve never forgotten.”
The first elephant inhabitant at Auckland Zoo was Jamuna, arriving in 1923 from Calcutta Zoo. She was good-natured and much-loved over her 40 years at the zoo and her death in 1965 was met with great grief.
Of the other elephants that followed in Jamuna’s large footprints, Kashin was the most iconic and adored. She arrived as a 4-year-old in 1972, a gift from the Auckland Savings Bank (ASB).
Kashin is Hindi for compassionate, and was so named after an ASB schools naming competition that also launched their hugely-successful elephant-shaped money box – a play on words, “cash in”.
Kashin was renowned for her sweet nature, love of people, swimming and food. Her death in 2009 saw 18,500 people pay their respects at a memorial day to celebrate her life.
Coers joined the zoo in 1996 and gained a permanent role with the Pridelands section a year later, at the time allied to looking after the pachyderms.
Elephants have been Coers’ world ever since, and like his wife and colleague, senior elephant keeper Corryn, his passion for and fascination with the animals has grown over the years.
“There are very few species that innately have their own ability to connect with people on an emotional level,” said Coers, who has been the zoo’s elephant team leader for 16 years. “It’s this connection that makes them such a powerful flagship species to inspire people to care about wildlife and the environment.”
The elephant team have built an environment that fosters a caring and healthy place for elephants Burma and Anjalee, who arrived from Sri Lanka in 2015. Play is a big part of the programme and Coers is amazed by the spectacle of elephants using their natural strength, agility and flexibility.
“Just recently, Burma, who’s 40, was running around, playing in the sand and swimming in the pool like a 5-year-old,” he said. “This is a testament to our programme and the relationship we have with her and makes us all very happy.”
The tough but necessary decision to find new homes for Anjalee and Burma was made in 2020 to give them an elephant family for their long-term wellbeing.
Anjalee has started a new life in Australia and there is a lot of sadness that once the right home for Burma is found, visitors will no longer see elephants at Auckland Zoo. There is a sense of pride, however, that the zoo’s efforts have helped conserve Asian elephants in the wild.
Coers said, “We can’t imagine a world without wild elephants, and hope that the community will continue to join the zoo to support CCR [Centre for Conservation and Research] and the other conservation projects we partner with, to help ensure their future.
“We feel so privileged to be in the presence of such amazing animals. They have taught us so much and we continue to learn from them every day.”
Auckland Zoo 10 years 100 stories - A century of wild life at Auckland Zoo, by Sarah Eli, Aja Pendergrast and Jane Healy, and is published by Auckland Zoo and Sherlock and Co.