Zoo makes room for local attractions

Jonathan Wilcken says Te Wao Nui will help people gain a sense of wonder for native habitats. Photo / Brett Phibbs

This is a story about a large new $16 million state of the art native exhibit planned for Auckland Zoo. It's not a story about elephants.

Oh, well, maybe just a little.

"Look behind you," says the zoo's director, Jonathan Wilcken, as he is photographed with Toa, one of New Zealand's seriously endangered tuataras.

Tuataras are extraordinary creatures which date back to the dinosaur era and are found nowhere else in the world. They once inhabited the North and South islands but since the arrival of man and the introduction of predators, these days they are found only on predator-free offshore islands, and not many of them at that.

They are one of the many New Zealand species which are unique to the country often referred to as the extinction capital of the world.

Wilcken has this particular endangered creature on his hand as he stands inside the aviary, which has been shut for a year awaiting the start of Te Wao Nui, the visionary but yet-to-be-built native exhibit described in zoo publicity as the largest and most important project in the zoo's 85-year history.

Kashin and Burma lumber by. The elephants are the zoo's biggest drawcard species and they command attention.

So, during this stroll around the zoo with Wilcken to see where the new native exhibit will go, questions inevitably slide towards elephants.

They are the type of animal that captures headlines and this month became more topical than usual because we don't know for sure what's going to happen to them.

Kashin has health complaints and is expected to die within five years, and Burma cannot be left on her own.

Elephants are sociable and intelligent and she needs the company of other elephants. Keeping a solitary elephant isn't the way of zoos any more. These days there are world standards specifying how many elephants zoos should have, and the space needed for them.

Wilcken is lobbying for a herd of replacement elephants, one with a natural family structure and plenty of land so the animals are taken care of, not just physically but also psychologically.

His philosophy is: we either have elephants and care for them properly, or we don't have them at all.

Auckland City Council has agreed in principle to a herd but the reality is that getting the land and money required is a long way off. Not to mention sorting through the red tape of import standards.

This talk about elephants has come at a tough time economically and while the council's zoo board chairman, Graeme Mulholland, has said a herd is a step closer, he has also said funding for the expected $13.5 million cost should come from a combination of sources - not just the Auckland City ratepayers.

After all, the council has been promising to keep rates as low as possible.

Wilcken hopes this story is more about Te Wao Nui than elephants. The two projects are separate, he says, and the council has long committed around $9 million for Te Wao Nui.

Further fundraising is necessary from outside sources, but Wilcken is confident the project will get under way later this year despite the recession.

The elephant saga, though, begs a question. Without elephants - or an equally iconic species with the power to pull in the punters - will the people come to see eels and wood pigeons, tuatara and geckos?

Wilcken thinks so, though he concedes the pulling power and importance of elephants is great.

Elephants get people through the gates and once they're in "you've got 'em," he says, "you've got 600,000 people a year that we can influence".

Influencing people about conservation and getting them to care, is a lot of what good zoos are about these days.

Elephants provide the "wow" factor but this new native exhibit is just as important as the pachyderms, the director says.

Te Wao Nui translates as The Living Realm and will take up nearly a third of the zoo.

It will bring together the zoo's conservation work with native species, much of which is now behind the scenes, in what is envisaged as a total experience for the visitor.

You will move through New Zealand seashore areas, wetlands, night life and offshore islands seeing animals and invertebrates in their natural environments.

If you think eels aren't very exciting, think again. At Te Wao Nui you will be able to view them underwater and they're pretty spectacular, says Wilcken.

If you think you've seen kereru (native wood pigeons) before, you probably haven't seen them up close and personal in an aviary with a boardwalk up into the treetops.

Many endangered species will be on display and the Te Wao Nui experience will also be rich with Maori legend.

Visitors will learn of the impact early people and settlers have had on wildlife.

Wilcken hopes people will gain a connection with their land, plants and animals and a sense of wonder for native habitats.

Given the number of extinctions New Zealand has already seen, there is a real need for New Zealanders to value and protect their unique species, habitat and fauna a lot more, he says.

An urban zoo is the perfect place to showcase all these elements.

"There's a growing disconnect between people who live in urban environments and their understanding of the natural environment and the degree to which our lifestyles now are dependent on the natural environment, so it's our job to fill that for them."

Te Wao Nui will showcase species not normally in the public eye, and for Wilcken, an Australian, under-the-radar New Zealand species are as exciting than the big drawcard species.

The zoo recently hosted a meeting of a Department of Conservation giant land snail recovery team who are keen to work with the zoo on breeding programmes, Wilcken says.

"Now, not many people know about that. Not many people know there are threatened species of giant land snails and not many people know that some of these species are really special to New Zealand."

When asked would people come to the zoo to look at a snail, Wilcken replies good naturedly they are not being asked to come and look at a snail.

"We're asking them to come and experience a whole series of habitats, and to get some sense of what's really important to a habitat you need to have a whole range of the elements that make it work, including the plants and all the animals.

"We need to do our best to make people understand and really value all of the odd-

ities and all of the wonderful things that you only find here, that you don't find anywhere else."

The only hiccup is the funding. The council's $9 million has been rolled over from the last 10-year plan and is in the current draft 10-year plan which goes out for consultation shortly.

The Auckland Zoo Charitable Trust had to find the further $7 million required and is just under $1 million short.

The anticipation was that money would have been raised by late last year, but along came the economic slow-down.

Zoo board member Leila Boyle, who is a big fan of Te Wao Nui, describes the project as internationally ground-breaking. She's also a big fan of elephants.

She, too, expects Te Wao Nui to go ahead and says consultation over the previous 10-year plan showed the public were behind Te Wao Nui.

She is hopeful the money will be found for elephants, too, but says Aucklanders need to make their views known.

The point of having the council's draft 10-year plan go out for public consultation is for councillors to hear what the community thinks.

And though the future of the elephants has just come up and is not officially in the draft plan, she hopes people will think about them and whether they believe it worthwhile to continue down the path to raise the money needed to do it properly.

Elephants have long been part of Auckland Zoo, she says, and Kashin and Burma are the only ones left in New Zealand.

"I'm hoping for lots of individuals to say 'hey, we can't let the elephants go, we're going to help a little bit financially'."

1923 Jamuna was Auckland Zoo's first elephant, and its earliest superstar. The area outside the old elephant house is named Jamuna Plaza after her. She died in 1965.

1973 Kashin, funded by the ASB, arrived as a 5-year-old. Though showing her years, she remains a star.

1990 Burma, another Asian elephant, joined Kashin. Her future at the zoo is tied to Kashin's fate.