By ANNE BESTON
Indra, Auckland Zoo's 23-year-old orang-utan, was given a little help for his asthma as the expanded aerial attack on the painted apple moth resumed yesterday.
Indra and Janie the chimpanzee were given medication 24 hours before the blitz by staff worried that the spray could aggravate their asthma.
Yesterday was the first time the zoo was included in the $90 million blitz over 40,400 West Auckland households to kill the moth before it can damage agricultural crops.
Zoo staff turned up for work at 5.30am, hours earlier than usual, to check that orang-utans, chimps and lions were safely shut away indoors.
They kept a close eye on the giraffes and springboks, the "spooky" animals, said zoo veterinarian John Potter.
The springboks cantered nervously as a light plane made its first sweep overhead but the giraffes were too distracted to care - they were given extra rations during the operation.
"They put their heads up but then went back to their tucker," said Mr Potter.
Janie and Indra both appeared unaffected by the Foray 48B insecticide, sprayed in a three-pronged operation by a Fokker Friendship aircraft, light plane and helicopter.
The zoo was given a special emergency hotline that would immediately halt spraying if the animals stampeded.
"I haven't had to use it. Everything seems to have gone well," Mr Potter said.
The third round of spraying started in near-perfect warm conditions, although rising winds meant it was called off at 11.15am because of potential problems with spray drift.
Robert Isbister, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, said: "We were pleased the good weather allowed us to complete a good portion of the zone on the first scheduled date."
The spray zone now covers 8500ha after a caterpillar-infested area was found last month in the Meola Basin, in the city's inner west.
That discovery extended the spray zone by 500ha to include all of Pt Chevalier and Westmere, bordering Grey Lynn and Ponsonby.
Herald feature: Environment
