No pandas for Wellington, but snow leopards, wombats and ring-tailed lemurs are on the way

Thursday, 23 June 2016

Giant pandas - adorable, but unlikely to be making an appearance in Wellington in the near future.

Snow leopards, wombats and ring-tailed lemurs are all in Wellington Zoo's future, but don't expect to see giant pandas chewing bamboo in the capital any time soon.

The zoo has revealed its priorities for the next decade in a report to Wellington City Council – and conspicuous by its absence was any mention of getting a deal done to acquire giant pandas from China.

Prime Minister John Key has talked up giant pandas for Wellington in the past, but was not commenting on the idea on Thursday.

Chief executive Karen Fifield said on Thursday that the zoo had plenty of rare animals on its wish-list, but it was not preparing a business case or engaging in talks with the Government about giant pandas.

Talk of bringing pandas to Wellington caught fire last year after it was revealed Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee had delivered a city council pitch for the bears to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu while there on unrelated business.

Bronagh Key got to cuddle a baby panda during a visit to a giant panda breeding park in Chengdu, China.

The arrival of snow leopards appears to be a more likely prospect for Wellington.

* John Key gives nod to kiwi-panda swap

* Wellington investigates business case for giant pandas

Ring-tailed lemurs are also on Wellington Zoo's wish-list.

* Snow leopards could be on their way to Wellington**

Prime Minister John Key added his endorsement to the idea, saying pandas would be a great tourism boost for the capital. He also promised to discuss the idea with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Wombats could be strutting about Wellington Zoo in 2022.

'Personally, I think New Zealand will get there … but there are costs. Eventually I think a couple of pandas will turn up,' Key said at the time.

He declined to comment on pandas when approached by Stuff on Thursday, suggesting the animals had fallen well down the Government's list of priorities.

Plans are afoot to give Wellington Zoo's entrance a $5 million facelift.

The cost of bringing pandas to Wellington has been hotly debated, with estimates ranging from $10 million to $100m.

Fifield said that if the Government was of a mind to cover the bulk of the costs, then Wellington Zoo would find space for giant pandas. But it was not actively pursuing the prospect.

Cincinnati Zoo were forced to kill 17-year-old Harambe the gorilla after a 4-year-old boy fell into his enclosure. Wellington Zoo says it would not necessarily taken the same action.

'Giant pandas are an icon around the world … but Wellington Zoo and the city council can't fund that.'

Much more likely was the aquisition of rare snow leopards, which could happen in 2018 if the zoo can find $3.5m to bring them here.

With only 7000 or so of the big cats left in the world, the zoo would join the international effort to save them, Fifield said.

Wellington Zoo is also planning to replace its baboon exhibit with rare ring-tailed lemurs from Madagascar.

Fifield said the lemurs could potentially arrive sooner than the snow leopards if the zoo can secure the $500,000 needed to bring them here.

Wombat were also on the zoo's wish-list. The zoo is planning a $2m refresh of its Neighbours exhibit, which would see all its Australian birds moved into a new enclosure with the wombats, but this is not likely to happen before 2022.

The zoo is also keen to start drawing up plans for a $5m 'welcome plaza' complete with a new admissions area, retail space, staff offices, a cafe and a learning/discovery space.

Three new keepers will also start work at Wellington Zoo from July 1, after the zoo decided to increases staffing levels to improve safety in the wake of Hamilton Zoo curator Samantha Kudeweh being mauled to death by a tiger in September.

The zoo's future plans have been revealed as it prepares to record the highest annual visitor total in its 110-year history.

It has already welcomed 257,954 through the doors since last July and expects to surpass 260,000 before the end of the financial year on June 30. The previous financial year generated 225,927 visitors.

GORILLA TACTICS

Harambe the gorilla might have stood a chance if he had been a resident of Wellington Zoo.

Harambe was shot and killed by staff at Cincinnati Zoo in the United States in May after a child climbed into his enclosure.

The decision to shoot rather than tranquillise the gorilla caused controversy across the world, with many feeling the zoo acted too harshly.

Prime Minister John Key even weighed in on the debate, saying he would not have shot Harambe.

In light of the incident, Wellington city councillor Nicola Young asked zoo chief executive Karen Fifield on Thursday whether she took a 'stun or bullet' approach to such incidents.

Fifield said those decisions were made on a 'case by case' basis. But she reminded councillors the zoo's priority was to protect human life, and that chimpanzees were considered a more immediate threat than lions and tigers.

'People think the lions and tigers are the things you need to worry about. But no, it's the chimps … the lions and tigers would likely go to ground.'

Wellington Zoo has previously revealed that chimpanzees sit atop its hit-list in the event of mass escape, because they can be 10 times the strength of a person and are known to hunt other primates in the wild.