Spreading the word

We continue to feature the important issues of conservation through our programmes. All keeper talks integrate conservation messages; public statements – media interviews, speeches etc – feature conservation concerns; and several learning programmes are built around conservation concepts. Our aim remains encouraging people to recognise the importance of conservation and sustainability, and to commit to a sustainable future for us and for the species in our care.

Supporting partners

We continue active support of wildlife conservation projects in several ways. We work closely with the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary,for instance, providing veterinary support for their hihi (stitchbird) screening; and collaborate with Department of Conservation and Massey University. We also help collect money from our visitors for projects such as Free the Bears and the ARAZPA Wildlife Conservation Fund. Through the sale of posters and a collection box, we were able to present a cheque for $20,000 to the 21st Century Tiger Fund in December 2004. The fund is a unique, wild tiger conservation partnership between the Zoological Society of London and the Global Tiger Patrol.

Regional collaboration

Our contribution to the regional programme, ASMP, has further strengthened in the past year with many more of the Zoo Crew now playing an active role in this important species-monitoring work. And since 2004 some staff have been involved in the ARAZPA-supported, Conservation Management Group programme which plans to create captive management plans and studbooks for priority native fauna.

Greening the Zoo

Over the next few years we will be implementing an ambitious environmental management plan to minimise both the resources we consume and the pollution we cause. As part of the voyage, this year's annual report will only be available in electronic form, on our website. A Green Team will help educate and motivate staff – and visitors – to be environmentally aware and adopt environmentally sustainable practices. All new measures, including such practical things as installing rainwater collection tanks, additional solar panels, and heat pumps, will be carefully monitored for their impact.

Breeding success

We have contributed to the conservation of biodiversity in the Australasian region by importing completely new bloodlines for the African wild dog, serval, and meerkat populations, and by managing breeding in regionally managed species. Our Hamadryas baboon group and sun bears are examples.

We had a dramatic breeding success with the Campbell Island teal, raising three young of New Zealand's most endangered duck. These birds numbered fewer than 20 individuals in the wild. Due to rat predation and competition for food they were extinct on Campbell Island but were found on nearby Dent Island, a small "rock" in the sub-Antarctic. Fourteen years ago, the Zoo participated in a project to bring birds from Dent Island for breeding at the National Wildlife Centre (Pukaha, Mt. Bruce) and in other locations. While the species has bred elsewhere this is the first clutch for our pair, Sandy and Oliver. Eventually we will reintroduce young teal to Campbell Island.

Even more challenging is our plan to embark on a giraffe artificial insemination programme and an assisted reproduction programme for chimpanzees and, possibly, baboons. Artificial insemination of giraffes is extremely difficult, and in the next financial year a new giraffe house will be built with a more appropriate 'crush' that will help us in our AI efforts.

Sharing the crew

Zoo crew members have increased their contributions to conservation in the field. Katja Geschke and Geert van Eyken assisted in Massey University and Department of Conservation initiatives, and Gerry Whitehouse-Tedd presented a paper on animal behaviour and training at Massey University. Katja also helped with the satellite tagging of three Hector dolphins in the Akaroa area. The tags provide valuable data about this severely endangered species – in a world first for health data on these free-ranging individuals.

In support of the Department of Conservation's vaccination of kakapo against Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae on Codfish Island, Katja spent a week on the island conducting blood sampling and other health assessments. No further clinical cases have been recorded so far. Mark Melville and Michelle Eglinton contributed to the important kakapo recovery breeding programme by participating in the supplementary feeding of kakapo.