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NEWS FROM THE ZOO
Here's the latest goings on at Franklin Zoo  Tommy, our cute otter, is soon to be joined by another friendly otter named Paddles. Read about it in our August Zoo Diary. |
Zoo Diary August 2008
Zoo Diary August 2008Despite a lot of rain, the zoo was busy with visitors over the July school holidays. The popular Zoo Cubs and Junior Zoo Keepers were held during the second week fortunately over four days when the weather was relatively dry. Proving to be a big hit with visitors were Miracle and Chaska, the cotton-top tamarins enjoying their new rainforest home next to the capuchin monkeys. The tamarins love to explore their new home, mainly looking for insects to eat among the bromeliads and other vegetation.
The bobcats are settling into their new home. The viewing area is officially not finished yet, one of the reasons being that we wanted to give them some privacy to settle in. However, visitors can catch glimpses of them and by late afternoon they became quite active after keepers have hidden their food around their enclosure. Their viewing area, which also gives another view over the large lion enclosure, will be completed in the coming months.
Our thanks go to Kelvin Cruickshank of TV2s Sensing Murder programme and his big band of helpers who generously had a working bee at the zoo enabling us to complete the bobcat enclosure in time for their arrival. A digger and truck were also donated for the day which enabled us to move large trees and also create a small hill inside the bobcat enclosure.
By the time this article goes to print, we should have another otter at the Franklin Zoo. Paddles was born at Brooklands Zoo in New Plymouth and has lived there with his sister for many years. Now a new male otter is coming from Australia to be paired with his sister so it is time for Paddles to leave home. From what we have seen and know of Paddles, he is a very calm and friendly otter. After an initial quarantine period, when vet Helen can go through a number of veterinary tests with Paddles, we will then slowly introduce him to Tommy, our resident otter at Franklin Zoo. It is much easier introducing male to female otters as they form pair bonds, than introducing two males. However, as both otters have good natures the chances of the otters accepting each other is high.
Both Tommy and Paddles are Asian short clawed otters and part of the Australasian Species Management Programme. They are threatened in the wild not only because of habitat destruction but also through pollution of the waterways in which they live. Unfortunately human waste is disposed of in waterways along with the most serious threat, mercury, which is used in extracting gold from the rivers. In New Zealand the importance of keeping wetlands and rivers clean is now being recognized and hopefully this will became a worldwide trend.
We hope you will come and visit Paddles and Tommy and all the other fascinating animals that live at the Franklin Zoo in the coming warmer Spring months.
We are open every day 9am 5 pm with Wild Encounters at 2pm. come and join us.
Graeme Strachan
Manager Life Sciences
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| Sun conures |
| Please stop and have a chat to these fabulous birds. One has been hand-reared and has quite a lot to say for himself. |
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