How exactly do you X-ray a native tuna? What kind of skills and equipment are required to health check a giraffe, or give a dental exam to a cheetah? 

Auckland Zoo’s veterinary team are trained in animal medicine and wildlife conservation science, and contribute to ethical animal research. They provide proactive veterinary care to the animals at the Zoo, as well as endangered native and endemic species in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

This can be everything from a wild kororā /little penguin tied up in fishing line, sick or injured honu/sea turtles that wash up on our beaches, a kiwi suffering from a dog bite, a malnourished toroa/Salvin’s albatross or a tūturiwhatu/ northern New Zealand dotterel chick found abandoned by an inner-city rail line! 

Our veterinarians and veterinary nurses are also involved in conservation fieldwork; heading to Dunedin to help with hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin vaccinations, or taking a helicopter to sanctuary islands to care for kākāpō chicks during the breeding season.  

Filter stories