Wellington Zoo Te Nukuao

Wellington Zoo Te Nukuao Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo is New Zealand’s first Zoo, and Wellington’s oldest conservation organisation, saving wildlife and wild places since 1906.
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Adult: $26/Ch: $14

15/09/2025

Are you ready to be a Wild Explorer?! 🎉

We are so excited to announce that our new immersive Virtual Reality Experience has launched TODAY!

Wild Explorer is a VR experience that transports you around the world and through time to meet some of the world’s most amazing creatures. Choose from 3 epic adventures containing unforgettable encounters and conservation messages: Shark Dive, Gorilla Trek, or Dinosaur evolution 🦈🦍🦖

To celebrate, we’re giving away a roar-some prize pack that includes:

💚 A family Zoo Crew membership – that’s a whole year of Zoo visits for free for two adults and three children!
💚 5 x Wild Explorer passes
💚 A $40 voucher to spend at Rex Tremendous or Banana Bar while you’re at the Zoo
💚 A selection of fun Zoo merchandise and toys

Plus, there are 3 other Wild Explorer prizes including 2x Zoo Entry and 2x Wild Explorer tickets up for grabs – so plenty of chances to win!

To go in the draw, simply click the link below, fill out your details, and tell us what your favourite animal is.

Enter here:
https://forms.office.com/r/uzA0Bu3zG3

We can’t wait for you to give it a go! 🦁 It’s perfect timing to pop down in the schools holidays.

14/09/2025

It’s officially Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori! ❤️🤍🖤

We thought we’d kick off te wiki by sharing our favourite whakataukī that features some of our littlest and bluest residents:

He kororā, he tohu oranga 🐧💙

This whakataukī encapsulates how the wellbeing of the environment is interconnected, and to be able to see our taonga species like Kororā thriving, we must also protect te moana and the places they call home.

What’s your favourite whakataukī about te taiao?

[Trigger warning for squeamish people: a bit of blood in the following photos🩸]Te Kōhanga The Nest looks after its fair ...
12/09/2025

[Trigger warning for squeamish people: a bit of blood in the following photos🩸]

Te Kōhanga The Nest looks after its fair share of birds each day, but none quite so huge as the mighty Ostrich!

Not only are they the largest bird on earth, but their eggs can weigh around 1.4kgs each (that’s the equivalent to 24 chicken eggs.) 🐣 As you can imagine, anything going a bit haywire with these eggs may not be the most comfortable experience.

Kovu, our oldest female ostrich, had been struggling with reproductive issues for some time. She was being treated with a combination of medication, contraception, and TLC, but unfortunately, her condition did not improve. After consultation with Professor Brett Gartrell from Massey University, our Animal Care and Veterinary Teams determined that the best path forward would be to remove her reproductive system entirely.

This is no small feat, but it was the best option for Kovu to ensure her long-term welfare. The surgery went on for over 6 hours as the team discovered that her reproductive tract was very diseased and about triple the size we were expecting it to be! The big red circle structures you can see in the images were follicles (basically pre-eggs) that also needed to be removed 🔴

Kovu is recovering well and is being closely monitored by the Animal Care team, so hopefully she will be strutting her stuff around the Savannah again very soon.

Ostriches have been known to live well into their 30/40’s, and Kovu is only 11, so here’s to many more years without more reproductive pain! 🤞

Her recovery is a testament to the expertise, diligence, and passion shown by every single person involved in this surgery – a huge thank you to Massey, the Animal Care Team and the Veterinary team for their gargantuan efforts, as always.

📸 Comms team and Izzy

Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery

08/09/2025

It’s a bird, no, it’s a plane, no – it's Sasa allllll the way up there!

Sun Bears are arboreal, meaning they usually spend a lot of time in trees and are excellent climbers. In Malay, they are called "basindo nan tenggil," which means “he who likes to sit high” - a name Sasa is clearly living up to!

What do you think she’s thinking about as she admires her view? 🖼️

🎥 Alysha

Two new baby Moko Kākāriki Wellington Green Geckos have just been born at Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo! Unlike most other r...
07/09/2025

Two new baby Moko Kākāriki Wellington Green Geckos have just been born at Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo!

Unlike most other reptiles, NZ Geckos give birth to live young, which makes them extra special (and being born during Conservation Week makes them extra, extra special!)

Wellington Green Geckos can be identified by their vibrant green colouring, deep blue/black mouth and tongue, and the curious barking noise they are known to make. While we are lucky to have them in our region, their populations are declining rapidly, so the addition of 2 new members to the population is a small win for us 💚

We’re hoping for a future where you can spy these striking native reptiles in your very own backyard. To protect these Welly Greens, here are some things you can do to help:

🌳Grow native plants in your garden! Coprosma berries are their personal favourites...

🐈‍⬛ Keep your cat safe inside to help protect native wildlife.

👀 Record any sightings of Gecko in the wild by letting DOC know.

🐀 Keep on top of introduced pests like rats and mice by setting and checking traps regularly.

Doing these things can help make a beautiful home chock full of native plants and wildlife - a win for both us and the Geckos!

📸 Animal Care Joel & Keeper Ellen

05/09/2025

Coming soon: Wild Explorer, our brand new VR Experience!! 👀🎉 Take a peek to see what it’s all about…

Here are 8 ways you can help make a difference this Conservation Week 🌱 By protecting the planet, the plants, and the ka...
05/09/2025

Here are 8 ways you can help make a difference this Conservation Week 🌱 By protecting the planet, the plants, and the kararehe around us, we can help them to stick around for many years to come.

Try giving these ideas a go and getting stuck in this weekend! 🌸👩‍🌾🌳🐕‍🦺♻️

We now care for 28 Whitaker’s Skinks here at the Zoo, out of a total population of only 59 Skinks from the Pukerua Bay p...
03/09/2025

We now care for 28 Whitaker’s Skinks here at the Zoo, out of a total population of only 59 Skinks from the Pukerua Bay population!

We are so proud of being involved in the Whitaker’s Skink Recovery Programme and of all of the strides we are making together in conservation, thanks to the deep passion our team share for protecting wildlife in wild places.

Don’t forget, no conservation effort is too small to make a difference 💚

📸 Keeper Kate, Animal Care Joel, and Calvin

01/09/2025

It’s Conservation Week! Which means there’s no time like the present to learn about Kaitiakitanga and what it means to care for our beautiful native species here in Aotearoa 🌱Ngā mini nui to Educator Cat for breaking it down for us! Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua // Care for the land, care for the people, go forward 💚

If this Lizard looks familiar to you, no, it’s not the Monitor you saw in the Robert Irwin Bonds ad – Instead, you would...
28/08/2025

If this Lizard looks familiar to you, no, it’s not the Monitor you saw in the Robert Irwin Bonds ad – Instead, you would have seen him lounging around in the Neighbours area of the Zoo!🦎

Jannali is a 7-year-old Lace Monitor who recently took a trip down to Te Kōhanga The Nest for a general health check. Lace Monitors are some of the biggest lizards in the world, and Jannali weighs around 6kgs, so manoeuvring him can take a bit of co-ordination.

The Ectotherms & Birds Team helped to transport him down in a large tube for a quick and smooth journey (Thanks for choosing Air Zookeeper) ✈️ The tube also came in handy to place him on while taking x-rays to help spread out his torso to get the best results.

With animals like Lizards who are often “less vocal” if they are in pain, it’s important to do regular check-ins to assess their weight, behaviour, and the temperature of their habitats to make sure they are thriving.

Ka pai to our wonderful Vets and Keepers who help us look after lovely Lizards like Jannali!

Address

200 Daniell Street, Newtown
Wellington
6021

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5pm
Friday 9:30am - 5pm
Saturday 9:30am - 5pm
Sunday 9:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+6443816755

Website

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