A roarsome Happy Birthday to our gracious queens Meeka and Leah(🎥) who turned 21 today (in human years they would be 100yrs old!*).
They may be “old ladies” but they are both super sassy and are cubs at heart; Meeka likes to play fight in the morning with her son Mambila - especially if she can manage to trip him up! However she is very protective of him, if anyone tries to take a photo she will give a wee growl, Leah is the loudest of the two and lets everyone know she is in charge and always gets the last roar in the dens.
They were treated to a few surprises in their present and cake this morning in front of our team and a few lucky visitors. If you look closely you’ll see their 21st keys in the background which have been signed by our team 🥰
These gracious old ladies have grown beautiful flowing manes in their old age which we think really adds to their personality!
*Calculation is based on cat to human years, however it is thought that lion to human years would be more!
Our little squish is six months old today! Berani, along with her parents celebrated her 1/2 birthday today with some extra special treats!
Berani is very active, using the ropes and her parents to climb, swing and spin. The team have set up a safe area within one of our transfer tunnels that she can learn these important life skills without any fear (from Mum or the team!).
Berani watches everything happening around her, to take in how her parents do things, she is trying more solids - her favourite is capsicum, she is becoming more independent spending more time off Mum and trying to walk around, she takes after her Dad eating with her feet and she loves to spin!
🎥: Berani’s six month birthday feast and showing off her new found climbing skills.
When the sun finally comes out and you can enjoy your favourite activity, chewing logs 🪵
Porcupine, like other rodents have continuous growing teeth so they chew on wood to keep them trimmed and sharp.
Have you managed to spot the porcupette duo? These boys are very shy but are becoming a little braver in the late afternoon when the Park is quieter.
They have both grown a lot, with Kahari taking after Mum as he is the bigger of the two, Asari is quite small like his Dad.
🎥: Porcupine Mum Kali and porcupette Kahari
Have you noticed all of the bird babies around the Park lately? Our team have seen a huge increase in the survival rate of the offspring of native waterfowl and wading birds around the Park. Our site wide pest control programme along with an increase in riparian planting this season has had a massive impact on their survival rates.
In our last bird survey there were 17* different native or endemic bird species seen around the Park grounds including; Australian coot (🎥), sacred kingfisher, scaup and paradise shelduck.
Next time you visit the Park, bring your binoculars and see how many you can spot!
You can help protect these precious species as well, consider joining a trapping group, plant native stems and create safe spaces in your garden for birds, invertebrates and reptiles. For more information visit our website https://www.oranawildlifepark.co.nz/conservation/conservation-at-home/
*This number varies throughout the year, the 2024 survey was completed in January.
Thank you to our wonderful visitors who came out to the Park and celebrated Christmas Eve with our team and amazing animals today.
If you didn’t make it, here’s a snapshot of the day 🎥
How did you stay cool today? It was a hot 30°C in Christchurch today 🏖
Berani has been testing her arm strength, under the watchful eye of Mum, who is quick to grab her when she gets a little too close to the edge.
Berani is certainly living up to her name meaning (daring or fearless)as there is a two metre drop under the platform they are on 😱
Siamang gibbons are built for swinging, their arm span can be up to 1.5m! These extra long arms enables them to cover up your 3m in a single swing. Their arms are also used for balance when walking along tree branches and ropes/vines.
❓FUN FACT FRIDAY❓ Ostriches are the largest birds in the world, males can be up to 2.8 meters tall and weigh up to 145 kg.
Resident ostrich’s Mojo Jojo(in the video), Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles moved habitats recently and seem to be enjoying their new habitat. You can find them opposite The Great Ape Centre.
Happy Halloween 👻 There were a few tricks and treats happening around the Park today and a lot of pumpkins sniffed, chomped and played with.
Today is International Gibbon Day! So we thought we would share a video of our youngest resident gibbon Berani 🥰 As you can see Mum Basuki is very patient while being used as a jungle gym!
There are 20 different species of gibbon and sadly all of them are regarded as threatened on the IUCN Red List. Our resident gibbon family are siamang gibbons, they are the largest of the species.
To help gibbons and other animals in the wild please ensure you don’t purchase souvenirs made from animal products.
When you are so excited to see your best friend that you almost crash into them 🤣
🎥: 🦏 Tamu charging down the hill to Katala
