Aust., N.Z. zoos join forces

Press, 29 October 1981, Page 1

Aust. , N.Z. zoos join forces

Zoos in Australia and New Zealand are starting to work together in a campaign to save certain endangered species of animals as a result of an Australasian zoo directors’ conference held at the Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, New South Wales. The director of Orana Park, Mr Paul Garland, who attended the conference, said concern was expressed about the decreasing numbers of wildlife throughout the world.

Australian and New Zealand zoos decided to select certain endangered species and build up breeding groups so that the species could continue.

Mr Garland said Orana Park hoped to fly three young giraffes from Toronto about February next year. A $50,000 “giraffe appeal” would be opened soon to pay for the animals and their transport. “These will be the first giraffes in the South Island.” Mr Garland said.

Giraffes were becoming endangered in Africa because of pressures on their feeding grounds. It was hoped that some of the offspring of these three giraffes would be sent to Australia as giraffes in zoos there were becoming in-bred. Another endangered animal which the park, with Wellington Zoo, would import next year would be Sitatunga antelopes. These animals were facing increased pressure in their East African homelands. Other topics discussed at the conference were zoo administration and animal husbandry.

Mr Garland said delegates had agreed that the future of zoos was bright.

"There is more leisure time available and more cultural and recreational facilities are needed.” he said. But he felt that the face of zoos was changing. People wanted to see animals in their natural environment, and no longer demanded to see every species of animal in a zoo.

He said that zoos were starting to specialise in certain types of animals and that these were housed in parks rather than cages. Zoos in Australia received more help from the local and central governments than did their New Zealand counterparts. Mr Garland said. The conference had been worth-while because it led to increased communication between zoos in New Zealand and Australia, he said.