''The Zoo'' was a New Zealand

observational documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill N ...

series, made by

Greenstone TV Greenstone TV (or simply Greenstone) is a New Zealand-based television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast ...

, that followed the lives of

Auckland Zoo Auckland Zoo () is a zoo, zoological garden in Auckland, New Zealand, situated next to Western Springs Park not far from Auckland's Auckland CBD, central business district. It is run by Auckland Council with the Zoological Society of Auckland as ...

's animals and

zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

s. The series explored the new arrivals and births of Auckland Zoo, to the fights, illnesses and mating rituals, how the animals are fed and how they live. The series' production crew were based full-time at the zoo, but the series also followed zookeepers overseas on zoo-related trips. ''The Zoo'' returned to New Zealand's TV One in 2013 for its 13th and final season. In the UK, it aired on

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...

Zoo staff

Season 12 staff stars

*Christine Tintinger - Senior

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

keeper *Amy Robbins - Team Leader of Primates *Nat Sullivan - Team Leader of Pridelands *Andrew Coers - Team Leader of Elephants and Sea Lions *Bethany Jackson - Vet-in-residence *Richard Gibson - Team Leader of Reptiles and

Invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

*Natalie Clark - NZ Birds Keeper

Main staff stars

*Sandra Rice - Senior Carnivore keeper *Carly Day - Primate keeper *Laurel Sandy - Elephant & Sea Lion keeper *Richard Gibson- Team leader of reptiles and invertebrates *Richard Jakob-Hoff - Senior Veterinarian - Conservation and Research *John Potter - Senior Veterinarian

Former staff stars

Zoo keepers who have previously starred on the show. *Trent Barclay - Senior Carnivore keeper (departed Auckland Zoo) *Maria Barclay - Senior Vet nurse (departed Auckland Zoo) *Sam Stephens - Senior Pridelands keeper (now working at Hamilton Zoo, appears on Wild Vets) *Mike Harvey - Keeper *Tania Crook - Keeper *Brooke Noonan - Curator *Maria Finnagan - Curator

Animals

Current animal stars (series 12)

*Oz (

Sumatran tiger The Sumatran tiger is a population of ''Panthera tigris sondaica'' on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is the only surviving tiger population in the Sunda Islands, where the Bali tiger, Bali and Javan tigers are extinct. DNA sequencing, Sequ ...

) *Molek (Sumatran tiger) *Berani (Sumatran tiger) *Doris (

alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

) *Osiris (

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

) *Anubis (cheetah) *Janie (

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

) *

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

) *Kaioko (

fur seal Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family Otariidae. They are much more closely related to sea lions than Earless seal, true seals, and share with them external ears (Pinna (anatomy ...

) *Moana (fur seal) *Orua (fur seal) *Atamai (fur seal) *Jelani (

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

) *Zubulu (giraffe) *Rukiya (giraffe) *Kiraka (giraffe) *Nakuru (giraffe) *Faith (

hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

) *Fudge (hippo) *Maya (

red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzz ...

) *Mosi (

meerkat The meerkat (''Suricata suricatta'') or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-body ...

) *Shiloh (

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

) *Charlie (

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

) *Melur (orangutan) *Madju (orangutan) *Wanita (orangutan)

Former animal stars

*Snorkel (hippo)- euthanized 1 October 2010 *Kashin (elephant) - euthanized 24th Aug 2009 *Nisha (sumatran tiger) - *eta deceased May 12, 2006 *Hari (

Asiatic golden cat The Asian golden cat (''Catopuma temminckii'') is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2025, and is threatened by poaching ...

) - departed Auckland Zoo *Hoi-An (Asiatic golden Cat) - departed Auckland Zoo *Saigon (Asiatic golden Cat) - departed Auckland Zoo *Indra (25-year-old

Bornean orangutan The Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') is an orangutan species endemic to the island of Borneo. It belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia and is the largest of the three ''Pongo'' species. It has a coarse, reddish coat and up ...

) - departed Auckland Zoo

Seasons

Season 1 (1999)

The premiere season of ''The Zoo''.

2004

This season premiered on TV2 on Sunday 5 September.

Season 8 (2006)

Season 9 (2007)

Season 10 (2008)

This series aired on TV2.

Season 11 (2010)

Season 12 (2012)

Premiered on Sunday 29 July 2012. Currently airs on TV One at 7pm on Sundays.

Specials

Zoo Babies (2002)

This 1-hour ''The Zoo'' special takes a look at pregnancy, birth and infancy at Auckland Zoo. Explores the successes and failures of trying to breed giraffes, lions, orang-utans, tigers, pink flamingos and the native New Zealand tuatara.

Zoo Babies 2: Raising Baby Iwani (2005)

The story of Baby Iwani, the

siamang The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an endangered arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching i ...

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast Indi ...

, who was rejected by his mother and 'adopted' by zookeeper Christine Tintinger. This 60-minute special leads up to the day Christine has to give him back to Mum.

Spin-off series

''Two By Two At The Zoo'' (2005)

''Two By Two At The Zoo'' is a series made up of ten episodes of specials from ''The Zoo'' series. ''Two By Two At The Zoo'' explores Auckland Zoo's favourite animals and the keepers who care for them.

Episodes

*Episode 1: Red Panda babies *Episode 2: Treating Kashin *Episode 3: Rhino enclosure *Episode 4: tea party chimps *Episode 5: Kiwi Breeding Programme *Episode 6: Kura the Cub of Lion Hill *Episode 7: Emergency care for Siamang Gibbon twin babies *Episode 8: Entertaining a Tiger *Episode 9: Iwani the Siamang Gibbon reuniting with his parents *Episode 10: Hippos changing homes

''Trent's Wildcat Adventures'' (2006)

Popular Auckland Zoo zookeeper Trent Barclay has a passion for wild cats. In this series of ten episodes, Trent travels to South Africa to encounter wild cats up close and personal in their natural African habitat.

''The Zoo: This Is Your Life'' (2008)

''The Zoo'' spin-off series, ''The Zoo: This Is Your Life'', celebrates five special Auckland Zoo animals. The series follows Indra the orangutan, Kashin the elephant, Kura the lioness, Zabulu the giraffe and Kito the rhino. It features archive video footage and photos, and interviews current and former keepers. All stories feature highs and lows including births and traumatic deaths, stressful journeys, life-threatening illness and daring escapes.

Episodes

DVD releases

*Best Of The Zoo: Highlights 1, 2, 3 *Best Of The Zoo 2: Highlights 4, 5, 6 *Best Of The Zoo 3: Highlights 7, 8, 9 *Best of The Zoo 4: The Complete Series 10 (2011) *Best of The Zoo 2012: Series 12 (2012) *Best of the Zoo: Box Set - Highlights from Series 1 - 9; Zoo Babies & Raising Baby Iwani *Zoo Babies & Raising Baby Iwani *The Zoo: This Is Your Life

Awards

Qantas Media Awards

*Winner (2004): Best Information Programme *Winner (2001): Finalist *Winner (2000): Finalist

NZ TV Awards

*Winner (2001): Most Popular Family Programme

TV Guide 'Best on the Box'

*Winner (2007): Favourite Documentary Series *Winner (2006): Favourite Documentary Series *Winner (2005): Favourite Documentary Series *Winner (2004): Favourite Documentary Series *Winner (2003): Favourite Documentary Series *Winner (2002): Favourite Documentary Series *Winner (2001): Favourite Documentary Series

References

External links

TVNZ Official Zoo webpageAuckland Zoo website
The Zoo TV Show {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoo (New Zealand TV series), The Television series about mammals New Zealand documentary television series TVNZ original programming Television series by Greenstone TV