On 25 April, Franklin Zoo director and veterinarian Dr Helen Schofield was fatally injured by African elephant Mila.

Helen’s family & the team at Franklin Zoo sincerely thank everyone for their messages of support and love. Helen was incredibly passionate about the welfare of animals, and your sentiments are a reflection of how giving and selfless she was.

We have already noticed a number of kind donations to the Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust.  We are grateful for donations already received and if you would like to donate you can via the following link, or post a cheque with your full name and address details. These funds will greatly assist with the continuation of the animals’ welfare.

Thank you in advance.

Franklin Zoo & Wildlife Sanctuary
83 Ridge Rd
RD4 Tuakau
Auckland 2694
New Zealand

http://www.franklinzoo.co.nz/donations/

We have one lion “Ruby” at 20 years of age she is a darling. Ruby does miss her best friend Jade, and we are doing our best for Ruby keeping her company and busy, we give her cuddles through the wire and groom her and hide treats and interesting toys in her enclosure. She has friends coming soon. Lions tend to sleep for 20 hours of every day, so don’t be surprised to find Ruby lying around! Her natural habitat is the grassy plains and semi-deserts of Africa.

Find out more about our Ruby at our daily Wild Encounters at 2pm.

Eddie, ex circus lion with Dr Helen Schofield

To become a Zoo director, zoo operator, zoo keeper and zoo veterinarian all at the same time is not for the faint hearted and even less so for someone who is very uncomfortable about keeping animals in captivity.
But for Dr Helen Schofield, it became a reality five years ago when she purchased what was then the Mark Vette Rescue Zoo in Whangarata, south of Auckland.

Read (or listen to) the rest of this article by clicking here.

Xenopus African Clawed frog female

Its name is derived from the three short claws on each hind foot, which it uses to tear apart its food. The word Xenopus means “strange foot” and laevis means “smooth”. They are tongueless, toothless and completely aquatic.

Habitat: The species is found throughout most of Africa, and in isolated, introduced populations in North America, South America, and Europe. In the wild, Xenopus laevis are native to wetlands, ponds and lakes across arid/semiarid regions of southern Africa.

Diet: Xenopus frogs are scavengers and will eat almost anything living, dying or dead and any type of organic waste.

Xenopus African Clawed Frog

Eddie Gypsie Queenie first day in new enclosure

Franklin Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary is a very special place. It is a privilege to have our wonderful supporters, help us, to make it possible to care for our special needs  birds, reptiles and animals. The circus lions, and now Jumbo (Mila) the African elephant, have been able to retire and rehabilitate from circus life, because we – the sanctuary – exists. Providing sanctuary for these animals is not, and has never been, easy. The challenges finding funding, managing animal health & care and dealing with the political and human elements are very real and sometimes soul destroying. However we are here primarily for the transformation of these magnificent creatures  and it is so very worthwhile. They are an absolute joy!

Click here to view complete newsletter for October 2010

A year ago we said a sad farewell to Gypsy and Queenie the last circus lions ever in NZ.  We had been nursing Queenie with her Feline aids for 7 months and the time had come. Gypsy, totally blind and dependant upon her sister for everything, was euthanized at the same time.  It was a dignified and kind end. Our priority when taking over the sanctuary in November 2005 was to facilitate the retirement of the exotic mammals from the circus. In 2006, at our expense, we retired the circus lions Eddie and the girls. What followed was a transformation of the three lions from sadness and inactivity to active and fun loving lions. Once the girls had passed, it was then time to think about Jumbo (Mila) again!

There are several projects being undertaken by the Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust which require funding, sponsorship or donations.

Mila playing with mud

The elephant: Grumpy’s Barn – Mila’s (Jumbo’s) barn is up and she is enjoying her large indoor space anytime she likes including a nice big sand pit to play and stand in. All that is needed now are funds to complete drainage plumbing and earth moving work around the barn. We have managed to get generous discounts on the steel and galvanizing, and other work however The Charitable Trust still needs to raise  $35K to complete the facility.

The second is a new enclosure for the spider monkey, Barda, to create more space and height so that he can have a friend to come and share it with him. Approximately $25,000 for this project.

Barda, Spider Monkey

The Charitable Trust needs to raise  $25K to refurbish this enclosure.

If you would like to contribute to any of these projects, you can donate directly on this web site or by direct credit to the Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust. BSB: 060401 Acc: 0327303 00 or by phoning us on 09 236 8686.  Please be sure to send us all your address details so that we can send you a Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust receipt for your taxation purposes.

Bingarra, an Australian Brolga crane, has recently moved in to Franklin Zoo & Wildlife Sanctuary from Hamilton zoo.  He was hatched at Auckland zoo on June 2005. The Brolga is a gregarious wetland bird species from tropical and eastern Australia, well known for its intricate mating dance. This mating dance involves beautiful movements such as flapping of wings and bobbing up and down; very like ballet in fact. It is the official bird emblem of the state of Queensland.  Their numbers are threatened by their wetlands gradually drying up and the closer encroachment of mankind.

Brolgas are omnivorous and eat a variety of wetland plants, insects, invertebrates, and amphibians. They also eat seeds, molluscs and crustaceans. Here at the Sanctuary Bingarra enjoys a wide variety of food, and is settling in well living beside Eugene the Tammar Wallaby and also is visited frequently during each day by our seven free ranging Peacocks.

Mila in mid purrrrrr!

African elephant retired from the circus, enjoys playing in the rain loves her variety of mud, dirt and sand wallows around her new enclosure at Franklin Zoo & Wildlife Sanctuary.  The Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust has built her new elephant house thanks to some very generous donations and still needs funds or sponsorship to complete her drainage and plumbing to her new winter barn.

If you would like to contribute to the care of Mila and work to complete her barn you can donate to the Franklin Zoo Charitable Trust, Account No: 06-0401-0327303-02 and let us know your name and address so that we can send you your receipt. info@franklinzoo.co.nz or ph +64 9 236 8686

Mila in front of her new barn

Sanctuary director and veterinarian Dr Helen Schofield says Jumbo has settled in to her life at the Sanctuary well and has developed close and affectionate relationships with her team of keepers.

“Jumbo is responding well to her operant conditioning and protected care management. The program allows keepers to manage her through a protected wall, and is based solely on positive feedback. She is responding well by presenting feet for care, all parts of her body for washing, rub downs and other health care procedures.”

“Our dream for Jumbo is to get her in a situation where she can have other African elephants for company; most elephant sanctuaries around the world manage their elephants using these procedures so she will understand them if and when it comes time to move.”

“Our program is designed to ‘future proof’ Jumbo by giving her skills so that if it becomes possible to move her to a social situation in the future she will be able to cope well. Not only has she learnt to work with more than one keeper, she has also developed more physical fitness and confidence, she has perfected her mud wallowing and sand bathing techniques, not to mention her ability to knock down pretend trees (telegraph poles), blow water and other natural elephant behaviours. All these activities will help her in the future”

Work has nearly finished on Jumbo’s (Mila) winter barn, including an indoor area providing under cover protection for when the weather gets cold, heaters for those frosty mornings, warm water for wash downs and areas for training and indoor activities. Included in the design is an area to place her travel crate. It will become part of the entry chute, so if and when the time comes she will be very familiar with it. Part of the barn area is a deep sand pit, allowing for soft footing, sand baths and a comfortable place to lie down.

“The Franklin community has been hugely helpful in caring for Jumbo, mostly by delivering wonderful browse (branches and trees) for her to eat. Our visitors are overjoyed to see her as she gains more confidence moving around her parkland enclosure or watching her play and sand bathing” says Schofield.

“It is a tremendous privilege to take care of Jumbo (Mila), I feel personally humbled and flattered by the big ear flapping purrs she gives me as a greeting when I return to see her from other activities in the sanctuary. She is so affectionate and responsive. It will be a joyful day to see her develop friends of the elephant kind in the future. This is a short way off now.”

Keeping an elephant is a significant financial commitment. Dr Schofield says she set up the Franklin Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary Charitable Trust in November 2008 to assist in the care of exotic and native animals being retired or re-homed. The Sanctuary successfully purchased and retired the last circus lions in New Zealand in 2006, the Sanctuary is also home to over 300 birds and animals including Zebra, Bobcats, and Lemurs, Capuchin monkeys, Kea and many others. Donations are very much needed and can be made at the Sanctuary or here on the website

The Franklin Zoo and Wildlife Sanctuary is open every day (including all public holidays as well as Easter Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and New Years Day) 9am to 5 pm. There are interactive keeper talks each day, Monkeying Around talk at 11am and Wild Encounters at 2pm.

Junior Zoo Keepers course

Our Junior Zoo Cub and Junior Zoo Keeper courses give young people a chance to experience our exotic and indigenous wildlife up close and personal, whilst learning to provide for the animals and birds physical and behavioral needs in captivity.

The classes are facilitated by a registered teacher and / or our Zoo Veterinarian. They are targeted towards fun, whilst building an understanding of animal needs in the wild and in captivity, and introducing the sciences of zoology, animal behaviour and veterinary Science.

Courses are run each school holidays, and through term time in the weekends. We have students who have gone on to study Zoology, Veterinary Medicine and become Zoo Keepers.

Please download and complete the application form to apply now.

Zoo Cubs & Zoo Keepers Brochure and Application Form

Dates of the next courses:

Junior Zoo Cub courses (8- 11 year olds) half day course $57.50 incl gst

Saturday 19th May 2012 – (mid term) – 9am to 1pm

Monday 2nd July 2012 – (school holidays) - 9am to 1pm

Monday 9th July 2012 – (school holidays) –  9am to 1pm

Ay & Merida cotton topped tamarins

Merida has lived at the Sanctuary for over 5 years now, sadly she lost her beloved friend Flossy about 10 months ago. Ay a very handsome male Cotton topped tamarin has come to live with her from Auckland Zoo. The two hit it off straight away with much grooming of each other.