Wellington Zoo says some animals will become extinct without zoos

Friday, 30 November 2018

Concrete cages or crucial bastions of animal conservation? Amber-Leigh Woolf looks at the rise of the 'progressive' zoo.

Wellington Zoo CE Karen Fifield talks about progressive zoos, and why we need them in this day and age.

A polar bear pads back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

It retraces its steps - the exact same number to the left, the exact same number to the right - a seemingly endless and mindless march.

If we haven't seen it in real life, we've all seen the heartbreaking images on social media, of animals in zoos looking bored, depressed, deranged.

The images are striking, but are far from the reality of modern zoos, where conservation comes first, and fairground-style animal rides have long been banished.

For Wellington Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield the impact of humans globally is making animals more vulnerable and, as climate change and habitat loss takes over, the importance of zoos will continue to grow,

* Wellington Zoo elephant Kamala dies after 30 years' service

* Lovable lion the pride of the zoo

* $3.5m from council purrs for Wellington Zoo snow leopards**

Wellington Zoo calls itself a 'progressive zoo': a zoo which integrates conservation, learning, animal welfare and sustainability, seeking to reduce human threats.

It wasn't always that way. Before the zoo was even established, Wellington was gifted a one-year-old lion in 1906 - but the loneliness of the zoo's first animal was lamented by the public.

After seeing the half-grown lion King Dick (named after Prime Minister Richard Seddon) in his cage at Newtown Park, a letter writer to The Evening Post said he was 'trying to play with his feed tin', and 'moping for want of a mate'.

An almost one-year-old Ngima, a Red Panda. Ngima was named by Wellington Zoo's Conservation Partner, the Red Panda Network. Ngima means 'Sun'.

At a council meeting it was suggested he might die of loneliness so King Dick was given a ball to comfort him.

It was also suggested a stray dog could be released in the enclosure to befriend him, however King Dick remained alone for years until a lioness was found.

By 1912 the zoo had 500 animals, but it was a far cry from what it is today.

Over a century on, with stricter global ideals for welfare, Fifield said the zoo no longer had elephants, a decision made in the 1980s, but thousands would remember riding an elephant named Kamala around the zoo during 'afternoon ride sessions'.

Now those like Wellington Zoo are focused on conservation.

Fifield herself is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums Animal Welfare Committee.

Despite the widely-held view that people are no longer interested in zoos, Wellington Zoo's visitor numbers are not decreasing. In the 2017-18 financial year, they recorded their second highest visitor attendance ever at 249,701 visitors, topped only by 2015-16, which had 260,809 visitors.

Animal welfare concerns

Around the world, mounting animal welfare concerns mean zoos everywhere are still changing - studies have revealed some animal species are smarter and have more emotions than previously understood.

In 2016, concerns spiked when officials at the Cincinnati Zoo shot and killed 17-year-old gorilla Harambe to protect a child who fell in to the enclosure.

The year before, Iwani the gibbon was euthanised at Auckland Zoo for being severely depressed - Iwani's frequent calling could be heard at homes and parks near the zoo.

Despite the zookeepers' best efforts to keep animals happy in captivity, many ecologists claim an animal's life in captivity is not enough compared to what they'd have in the wild.

Children riding Kamala the elephant, once Wellington Zoo's star attraction. (File photo)

Circus elephants, rodeos, whaling, and even farming have been labelled cruel, and zoos are not exempt.

SAFE head of campaigns Marianne MacDonald said the restricted environment could cause animals deprivation and extreme mental and physical frustration. A typical tiger's roaming range has been estimated to be 18 thousand times larger than the average tiger zoo enclosure.

'No matter how well-meaning the zoo staff are, there's just no way they can replicate the conditions that animals need.' The money would be better spent on conservation directly.

MacDonald said she visited a zoo three years ago to look at the condition of animals.

'I saw concrete … the animals are in unnatural social groups. It's like the animals are just living museum exhibits.'

Fifield said the zoo established an Animal Welfare Committee in 2014 'to keep abreast of the latest animal welfare science and ensure that Wellington Zoo is working to best practice'.

Animal welfare was a growth area of science globally. 'Progressive zoos' were at the centre of research and understanding in that area, and cared for the animals well.

'We have rescued Sun Bear at Wellington Zoo and species breeding and management of genetics such as for critically endangered Sumatran Tigers are also increasingly important.

'Unfortunately for many of the animals we care for at Wellington Zoo, the wild habitats they come from are under threat … decreasing and being degraded.'

In years to come, the design of habitats would change as zoos learnt more about animal welfare, she said. 'It's already happening, there's already innovations out there in terms of how zoos are building those experiences that give the animals the best outcomes, as well as the visitors.'

The Wellington City Council has set aside $3.5 million for snow leopards to complete the zoo's 'Asia precinct' as one of the final pieces in its 10-year capital programme.

Some 'non-releasable' animals must live in captivity

Among animals in the zoo there because they are considered 'non-releasable' are two little blue penguins - Bandit, who has no left flipper after he was found wrapped in fishing line, and Malteser, left with one eye after an encounter with a dog.

They live with Matekai and Harriet, penguins blinded after being hit by vehicles, Squidge, who was an abandoned chick, and Hoki, who was treated in Nelson but became too accustomed to humans and hand-feeding to be released again.

The zoo has 10 chimpanzees - one of the largest troupes in Australasia. In the wild they are widely affected by habitat loss.

This month Wellington Zoo will welcome them in to a new habitat - a more complex environment to give them more variety.

Next on the list is the arrival of snow leopards, for which Wellington City Council has set aside $3.5 million. They will complete the zoo's 'Asia precinct' as one of the final pieces in its 10-year capital programme.

Why go there?

Fifield said research showed people had positive emotional responses to seeing animals in the wild or in zoos.

'In order for people to want to make a difference, they must first be engaged with, and love, the cause.'

Asian Small-Clawed Otters are the first animals on show at Wellington Zoo. In the wild, they would be found in freshwater rivers, swamps and wetlands of southern and southeastern Asia, but the species is being subjected to habitat loss.

The future of the zoo would not be screens. 'I don't think you will ever replicate seeing another living creature actually choosing to engage with you, it's quite profound.

'As humans we are curious beings, we shouldn't dismiss that as part as being human.'

Zoo general manager of communication, experience and conservation Amy Hughes said zoos had a responsibility to link the experience of the zoo to how people could help animals in the wild.

'I would totally say that the reason behind zoos has changed.'

In the future there would be species that were reliant on zoos, Hughes said. 'There is no part of the world that is untouched by humans and as the human population keeps growing, the impact on animals is just going to be huge.

'We're seeing it already, there's tigers in parts of India that are encroaching more in to villages because their habitats are being destroyed.' They were looking for food and places to live.

'I can't see, without real concerted worldwide effort to increase wildlife habitat, how certain animals will survive without zoos.'

In the early days after King Dick, people were bringing animals to Wellington in ships, she said. Within five years they'd collected hundreds of animals.

It wasn't about having as many animals as possible anymore, she said.

As early as the 1910s, the Wellington Zoological Society was calling for the conservation of kiwi and tuatara. 'Even in those days they were identifying animals that needed help.'

In 2017-18, the zoo's animal 'hospital' The Nest Te Kōhanga treated 492 injured native animals in the same period, and 76 per cent of animals were able to be returned to the wild.

In future, the focus of the zoo would be conservation.

Wellington Zoo supports 14 global and national conservation partners. In 2017-18, it raised more than $470,000 as a direct contribution to field conservation, and in a single busy weekend at the zoo raised more than $31,000 for field conservation work, its annual report says.

It also has a carboNZero certification, which it has retained for more than six years.

Transparent animal treatments

Treatment to animals used to be kept secret, Hughes said. Now visitors can watch animals being operated on at 'hospital' The Nest Te Kōhanga.

The animals know their zookeepers, and keeper Amy Saunders (pictured) said this showed when some animals didn't recognise the keepers in their new zoo uniform introduced last year.

'We really turn the zoo inside out. All that work used to happen behind the scenes.'

Fifield said museums had also changed. 'Over the time it became about the science behind those curiosities. It became about protecting things that were important.'

In 2017-18, the zoo treated 492 injured native animals in the same period, and 76 per cent of animals were able to be returned to the wild.

Keeping animals happy

At the zoo, paper mache balloons are filled with material, including turmeric, beef stock and coffee grounds, for them to hunt down and shake out. These female lions weren't interested in the treat, but may have investigated later in the day.

Animal care manager Jo Richardson takes care of the feeding for more than 500 animals.

A single day of food for the animals costs $770 - $281,000 a year.

Each day, zoo staff gather in a kitchen to make meals from fresh vegetables, fruit and meat, and a large pantry full of oils and spices - the same things we have in our own pantries.

The idea is to mimic the textures, variety and natural behaviour that the animal might enjoy in the wild.

What's considered right for the animals is always changing, Richardson said. Any changes to an animal's diet have to be made gradually.

Horse blood and spices are sprinkled around the otter and meercat enclosure, so that they can rub themselves in it and explore new scents.

Volunteers work in the zoo's 'enrichment' centre to create treats and new experiences for the animals.

For the lions, paper mache balloons are filled with material, including turmeric, beef stock and coffee grounds, for them to hunt down and shake out.

Malayan Sun Bear Sasa completing basic training with Wellington Zoo Keeper Amy Saunders.

The zoo also keeps a stack of pizza boxes for the lions to enjoy - they like the smell.

'Enrichment' allows animals to use their senses, keep their bodies and brains active, and enhances their physical, social, and psychological wellbeing.

'The important thing about our cats is that we're replicating the wild as much as possible,' Richardson said.

'We're not going to be able to give them the actual food they would eat in the wild, but we're able to give them the food which is the same nutritional content and also replicates the way they would catch the food in the wild.

'It stimulates their natural behaviour so that they have to hunt for their food.'

In the wild a big cat would typically only eat two to three times a week. 'They're gorgers, so they'll spend time eating and then take longer to digest the food.'

On a global scale zoos were always learning more about nutrition, she said.

'The more it's being evaluated and researched, it's going to add to good animal welfare in the zoos.'

Malayan sun bear Sean was rescued from Cambodia in 1996.

Zoo keeper Amy Saunders said the cub was chained up outside a ship in Phnom Penh and was rescued by an Australian businessman who took him away on the back of a motorbike.

Sean lived at the man's house, before he was sent to Perth Zoo, and then Wellington Zoo in 2004 to breed.

He and other animals are 'trained' to recognise basic signs, which means he can help a zoo keeper by showing them his chest or paws.

The training reduced the risk of examining the bears if they were to become unwell, Saunders said.

Sean became uncertain and agitated when asked to perform the tasks in front of Stuff's visual journalist.

However, Saunders gave him the space he needed to be alone, and instead Sean's daughter sun bear Sasa performed the tasks for small treats.