Krystal Thompson and Jasper Hayward feed the lemurs at Wellington Zoo. Photo / Supplied
Krystal Thompson and Jasper Hayward feed the lemurs at Wellington Zoo. Photo / Supplied
A cheetah paces back and forth at the corner of its zoo enclosure, eyes fixed intensely on approaching visitors.
No, it's not hungry. The truth is much cuter.
It's nearly time for its "Close Encounter", where a group of lucky guests can spend time in the habitat and pat it- if the cheetah allows it.
According to observational research, wild animals at the zoo enjoy these interactions as much as the humans do.
"It's a very, very positive experience for the animals because it allows the animal to express all natural behaviours," Wellington Zoo animal care manager Jo Richardson said.
The encounters are held in a designated area inside the animal's habitat, so they can interact with people in their own territory and on their own terms.
In the zoo's past financial year, 5265 visitors got up close and personal with animals through its Close Encounter programme, 10 per cent of whose price goes to the zoo's conservation fund.
Katie Smith pats a cheetah during her encounter at Wellington Zoo. Photo / Supplied
Wellington woman Katie Smith was one of the visitors contributing to the number, with a cheetah encounter.
She said the cats purred loudly as they walked amongst the guests receiving pats and having their photos taken.
"One of the boys even rolled over on my feet, belly up," she said.
"Of course I was told to not pat him, as this was him trying to play - and while cheetahs are docile towards humans, rubbing his belly wouldn't have been wise."
Meanwhile, the keepers told us stories about the cheetahs, explained their behaviour, and shared knowledge about the species.
Smith has also had a meerkat encounter. She was asked to sit still with a box of grubs and let the meerkats climb over her and jump in and out of the box.
"We weren't allowed to pat them but I had one who loved sitting on my shoulder and that was the coolest feeling," she said.
Wellington Zoo tailors the encounter experience to the animal and makes sure it is set up in a way that allows the animal to choose whether it wants to interact with the visitors.
"When we give animals choice, it becomes a very positive experience for them," Richardson said.
They had conducted "pre-encounter" observational behavioural research, watching the excitement build for the animals as encounter time approached.
The way they display this varies through species. Some may start "vocalising", some wait by the encounter area for the guests and the keeper to turn up, and social species may start acting differently around other members of their group.
Katie Smith said she wasn't allowed to pat the meerkats but they were allowed to climb on her. Photo / Supplied
Animals appeared to find the encounters engaging and stimulating as it allowed them to spend time with their keepers as well as new people.
Close Encounters were "a really, really brilliant way for us to promote the conservation work that we're involved with," Richardson said.
"It allows people to build that personal connection with a species . . . often when somebody builds a connection with an animal it builds passion in them."
The zoo's most popular encounter is with the red pandas. It is often booked out months in advance.
It currently also offers encounters with giraffes, lemurs and capybara.
In the past financial year the zoo put $122,474 into its conservation fund through Close Encounter payments, conservation donations, proceeds from Open Weekend visitation and a percentage from a few products sold in the zoo shop.
The zoo supports 14 conservation partners around the world with expertise and funding, and allows staff to go on "conservation leave" to work with these partners.
The zoo also contributed $594,415 directly to field conservation.
The numbers
• 504 injured native animals treated at the zoo hospital, The Nest Te Kōhanga
• 252,973 people visited the zoo, making it the second highest visitation ever
• Seven staff members went on conservation leave
• 2221 students participated in The Warehouse Zoofari programme at Wellington Zoo (a programme to give children at low-decile schools access to the zoo, and help them connect with nature)
