Bearded dragons, alligators and skinks evacuated as Auckland Zoo flooded

Monday, 30 January 2023

A zebra finch and a kōtare died in a flood at Auckland Zoo this weekend, but the other animals were unhurt.

Alligators, bearded dragons and skinks had to be moved to higher ground before water rose to chest height and flooded Auckland Zoo.

The zoo, in Point Chevalier, was hit hard by the storm that ravaged Auckland on Friday night, killing four people, shutting the airport and flooding hundreds of homes.

In a statement, the zoo said its most impacted areas were close to Motions Creek, which normally “flows calmly” through the New Zealand and South America precincts.

However, by Friday afternoon, the water was rising and zoo teams “took a proactive decision” to evacuate the animals near the creek to higher ground.

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Flooding at Auckland Zoo after the massive storm on Friday.

That included skinks, sheltopusiks (glass lizards), bearded dragons, alligators and New Zealand reptiles.

“The creek continued to rise and in the early evening flowed over the top of its stone wall boundary and caused major flooding to the lower-lying part of the zoo,” the statement said.

Concrete enclosures and chimpanzee tea parties were once common, but 100 years after its founding the zoo is now a bastion of conservation.

In places, it reached 1.5m in depth, “so our zoo team actions to move the animals was critical to ensuring that no animals were negatively affected by the flood water”.

The rest of the zoo had “remarkably” been relatively unaffected, despite “massive” rainfall, the statement said.

The bodies of two small birds – a zebra finch and a kōtare (kingfisher) – were recovered on Monday.

They appeared to have been “overwhelmed by the volume of rain and waterlogged”, the statement said.

Lower-lying areas of the zoo had sustained significant damage, with bins, picnic benches and other furniture moved around, buildings flooded and equipment and office supplies lost.

“Vital” hay had also been destroyed and was being restocked and debris and ripped-up vegetation was being removed.

The zoo said it hoped to reopen in a limited capacity from Tuesday.

Meanwhile, at Auckland Art Gallery, hundreds of artworks had to be relocated after the basement flooded on Friday.

Gallery director Kirsten Lacy said groundwater came up through the walls and floor of the basement following hours of torrential rain.

A team of 30 had been working Saturday and Sunday to relocate 300 artworks and assess any water damage, she said.