The Best of The Zoo

This is the only animal I reckon that gets cuter as they get older, and at this stage they're just starting to get their personalities. So we’re probably looking for a name for these guys very shortly. I like to sort of name them when they earn themselves a name...

– Zookeeper Trent Barclay on the new baby red pandas, in episode one

...Andrew Nelson heads behind the scenes to check on a very special egg. A tiny beak has put a first crack in the shell, and all going well in about two hours time, the zoo will welcome a brand new baby Kiwi. This is all part of Operation Nest Egg, a programme to save Kiwi chicks from predators in the wild.

– Narrator Mike Hall describes the zoo's new kiwi hatchling, in episode three

...we have a hands-off policy for all the animals. So we don't actually go in with our siamangs, and the only reason I'm going in with him is we have the luxury of a little two-year-old, so he's smaller and his teeth aren't as big. I certainly wouldn’t be doing this if we had just the adults.

– Zookeeper Christine Tintinger on entering the siamang enclosure, late in episode four

My main hope today, as it has always been, is that mother doesn’t attack him, doesn’t bite him. Because that’s why we are here in the first place, because that’s what she did a year ago.

– Zookeeper Christine Tintinger on reintroducing mother and baby siamangs, in episode five

A new baby arrived just 20 minutes ago, the first giraffe born at Auckland Zoo for eight years. Mum Kuri and the brand new baby boy are doing fine. He's already trying out those long bandy legs. Although the baby was expected, the timing of his arrival did catch the keepers on the hop.

– Narrator Mike Hall on the zoo's new baby giraffe, in episode five

It's a real illustration of the way zoos have changed. Here they were entertainment . . . And now we are trying to show them in their natural environments, doing natural chimp things.

– Keeper Peter West on how the zoo has changed from the days of chimp tea parties, in episode two

She looked a bit silly in them. She looked a bit daft walking around in them, but sometimes you have to sacrifice image don't you Kash.

– Zookeeper Laurie Pond on Kashin the elephant's custom-made orthotic shoes, in episode 1

For the past week the chimp family has been coming to terms with its new garden furniture. Chimps are easily upset by changes in their environment, and those pipes are a big surprise after 15 years of the same backyard.

– Narrator Mike Hall on the chimps' new enclosure, in episode six

The grand opening's just round the corner, but zoo staff get the first exclusive look. To them it's a winner. And as for the sea lions, well the new home clearly gets their seal of approval.

– Narrator Mike Hall on the sea lions' newly-built habitat, in episode seven

The biggest threat here for Mahoenui giant wētā is fire. Gorse is very very flammable. If a match or a spark got into this, an entire species could become extinct. And so part of the reason we’re doing this transfer to Auckland Zoo is to get other populations; sort of like an insurance policy if you like. So that this isn't the only place that they exist. It's spreading your eggs in many different baskets.

– Department of Conservation staffer Phil Bradfield on giant wētā conservation, in episode eight

In the last couple of months, we've sort of come to the conclusion that Hoi-An is a lot more comfortable with the female keepers than the males. So what we've done is we're going to staff the integration today with some of our female keepers. Hopefully she'll feel a little more at ease with this set-up.

– Zookeeper Trent Barclay on looking after Golden Cat Hoi-An, late in episode nine

Poppy's sudden illness has caused a full alert at the meerkat place, if it is toxoplasmosis then it's very serious. Two wallabies died of the infection just a few days earlier. The parasites that cause toxoplasmosis are bought in by neighbourhood cats that use sandy enclosures as litter trays.

– Narrator Mike Hall on a potential outbreak of illness in the meerkat enclosure, early in episode 10