Wild Heroes

Baby orangutan Bhami goes onto the aerial pathways for the first time at Auckland Zoo, two new Sumatra tigers arrive as part of an important breeding programme, and the Zoo team travels to the wild jungles of Sumatra to build a predator-proof farming corral for the local community to help reduce human-wildlife conflict and save endangered tigers.

Auckland Zoo vets work to save a scarce and critically endangered native wetland bird; a Matuku or Bittern. A new orangutan, Daya comes to the Zoo as part of an important breeding programme and the Zoo team travels to the South Island's Southern Alps on vital conservation work with the world's only alpine parrot, the kea.

Baby giraffe Jabali settles in with the herd, Auckland Zoo engages in a local conservation emergency to save a native species on the brink of extinction; the Tara iti or New Zealand Fairy Tern and the vet team treats injured lace monitor; Alf, one of the world's largest lizard species.

Auckland Zoo's sub-antarctic fur seal Orua, gets a habitat makeover, the Zoo team help return hand-reared native birds to the wild in a mobilised effort to save the species and a new zebra to Auckland Zoo receives a life-changing dental procedure.

Auckland Zoo's two Sumatran tigers come together for the first time as part of an important breeding programme.

New orangutan Daya moves from temporary quarantine to her new home in the Zoo's world class primate habitat, the vet team pull all stops to save a critically ill olive ridley sea turtle, giraffe Kiraka gives birth and the Zoo returns rescued native Kapitia skinks back to the wild.

An injured flamingo is rushed to the vet hospital, New Zealand's much loved and last elephant Burma has one of her favourite clay baths and important physiotherapy to help with her aged care and the Auckland Zoo team travels to Rarotonga on vital wild work with the islands much loved endemic bird species the Kākerōri, once highly threatened and now a conservation success story.

An injured albatross bird is rescued and rushed to the vet hospital for treatment, new baby ostriches arrive to join the mixed species habitat that makes up Auckland Zoo's African savannah and the Zoo team join forces to save a critically endangered native lizard on Auckland's wild and rugged West Coast.

Sumatran tiger Zayana gives birth for the first time as part of an important Australasian breeding programme, rhino calf Amali is thriving with the herd and the Zoo team hatch and rear precious native kākāriki karaka chicks for release to the wild.

Sumatran tiger Zayana's cub has a tumble with life threatening consequences, orangutan Daya is finally united with the rest of the family, Bahmi takes a particular shine to the new member of the family. And the Zoo team head to the rugged South Island on a conservation emergency to bring an insurance population of rare skink back to the Zoo in an effort to save a species on the brink.