by Nick McIndoe
Photos: Orana Wildlife Park
The South Island Zoological Society (SIZS) recently celebrated 50 years and, having achieved its objectives, has decided to wind down its activities. Forming in July 1970, the Society’s aim was to create a major wildlife park in Christchurch, which opened as Orana Wildlife Park at 10am on 25 September 1976.
New Zealand’s only open range zoo, Orana is now a world class facility accredited by the Zoo Aquarium Association Australasia (ZAA), and a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
SIZS vice-president Dave Laughlin says that it is “immensely satisfying” to see what the Park has become today, from very humble beginnings. “By 2pm [on opening day] we had a queue of cars stretching 7km down McLeans Island Road—the last vehicles came through the park in the dark!”
The Society’s vision captured the imagination of the Canterbury people and it didn’t take long for membership to grow from eight founding members to over 100 people. From the outset, SIZS envisioned an open range, drive-through zoo. “Starting with almost unusable land—a dry, stony riverbed—volunteers cleared the site, initially with just hand tools,” says David. “It was backbreaking work! As fundraising results increased, secondhand equipment was purchased, resulting in significant progress.”
Once the Park opened, Orana Wildlife Trust was formed to run and manage the Zoo. The Society took on the role as a supporting organisation and contributed to capital projects over the years with a mix of financial and volunteer labour support.
Orana’s trump card was the drive-through Lion Reserve—the first and only one of its kind in New Zealand. This amazing experience operated until 1995, when a “significant shift in direction” took place. The present administration building and a new, large carpark was opened. This resulted in the entrance of the Zoo moving to the middle of the Park. Visitors could no longer drive their own cars through Orana. Instead, they walked or utilised the safari shuttle. Closing the Park to cars also meant the drive-through Lion Reserve ended.
However, the Lion Reserve had set the tone for the Zoo: providing incredible opportunities for people to connect with wildlife. Today, Orana offers the unique Lion Encounter, where visitors are driven through the lion habitat in a specially modified vehicle, which the lions can climb on—a must do when in Christchurch. This encounter is the only one of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and a ‘historical nod’ to the drive through days and SIZS’s vision.
Another project that symbolised the vison of Orana’s founders was two pairs of Scimitar oryx transferred to the Park in 1979. Declared extinct in the wild in 1984, captive breeding programmes have resulted in oryx being re-introduced to protected areas, and Orana was the first institution in the world to breed the species by artificial insemination. Over 80 have since been bred at the Zoo, and the import health standard has recently been updated to allow the import of cows to breed with one of Orana’s two current bulls.
David also reflects on two significant SIZS/Orana Wildlife Trust achievements that have contributed greatly to the conservation of native species. “The walk-through native bird aviary built 26 years ago, was ahead of its time—an immersive exhibit for visitors to encounter threatened native birds. Over the years, the aviary (currently closed for a well-earned upgrade) has become a key conservation habitat for the Park’s whio/blue duck pair, a species Orana breeds for release to the wild.”
SIZS also made an important contribution to Orana’s latest exhibit, a New Zealand frog research facility for Maud Island/Hamilton’s frog—a significant conservation project with the aim of reliably breeding these native treasures in captivity, something that has not been achieved globally.
SIZS has made a final donation to Orana Wildlife Park where a plaque has also been unveiled, and awards inferred for outstanding service to the Society and Zoo.
Despite Covid-19 doing its best to interrupt Orana’s plans for a new native house and rhino quarantine facility (the Park separately raises 100% funds for capital projects but has had to focus on operational takings [gate, souvenir shop] this year), the future is bright.
A new Zoo School Facility was completed in April 2020. This modern learning space is a key resource for Orana’s formal education programmes, and the previously mentioned Maud Island/Hamilton’s Frogs, a new species for Orana, arrived in May 2020. Public Relations Manager Nathan Hawke says: “We are privileged to join another breeding programme for a key New Zealand native species. The 17 frogs are housed in our purpose-designed research facility, where we have replicated the wild habitat in a laboratory setting. This is a significant conservation project for these unique and ancient creatures.”
Nathan also says some exciting animal transfers will be taking place soon.
The Zoological Society of Auckland (ZSA) congratulates SIZS on its achievements over the past 50 years.
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