Join Ectotherm and Birds curator Richard Gibson on a sneak peek tour through our new Strangely Beautiful Australia.
Auckland Zoo's new $3.2million exhibit is to open on Saturday, featuring some of the weirdest and wildest species from across the ditch.
The Strangely Beautiful Australia development connects the zoo's well-known Aussie Walkabout - home to wallabies and emu - with the Tasmanian devil exhibit. A new brolga enclosure will complete the Australian precinct when it opens next year.
Curator of ectotherms and birds, Richard Gibson, said the precinct is the most biodiverse region of the zoo with more than 20 species and 30 Australian native plants species.
Auckland Zoo curator of Ectotherms and Birds, Richard Gibson holds a goliath stick insect. Photo / Dean Purcell
"Its going to range from insects through to fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and of course our piece de resistance, our key species in this new exhibit is our lovely giant lace monitor lizard, which will be hanging around in the trees and their state-of-the-art new exhibit.
"It's going to be the most strangely beautiful exhibit in the zoo."
The Australia precinct will eventually be home to more than 23 species and about 1200 animals. Eighteen of these species will live in the new "Strangely Beautiful Australia".
Those with a fear of eight-legged friends beware - redback spiders and huntsman are among creepy crawlies introduced into the new enclosure.
Arachnophobes beware: a redback spider is among the creatures it Auckland Zoo's Auyssie-themed enclosure. Photo / Dean Purcell
The new exhibit offers a highly immersive experience with close-up and underwater viewing, large walk-through aviaries and a verandah looking out to where giant lizards lurk.
High-tech features of the multi-million dollar development include a sprinkler system that mimics the rain, right down to the droplet size lace monitor lizards would experience in the wild.
Auckland Zoo's new exhibit called Strangely beautiful Australia. Photo / Dean Purcell
The nine-month build followed the opening of the African savannah exhibit at the zoo in March this year, as part of a $120 million, 10-year redevelopment programme funded by Auckland Council.
A Tasmanian devil is one of the inhabitants of the new exhibit. Photo / Dean Purcell
Animals to look out for:
• Reptiles:
lace monitors (Australia's second largest monitor and one of the world's largest lizards), eastern water dragons and eastern snake-necked turtles.
• Invertebrates:
Redback spiders, social huntsman spiders, goliath stick insects (Australia's heaviest stick insect), and Gisborne cockroaches.
