Conservation Week at Wellington Zoo

August 2, 2006

Wellington Zoo will be celebrating Conservation Week 2006, Everybody's Business, with a new twist on last year's successful 'Guess the poop' game, Zoo Learning and Interpretation Manager, Edy Macdonald said today.

'This year we're concentrating on bird poo and Zoo visitors will have the opportunity to examine and identify different types of bird droppings. Poo is a great way for people to learn about the roles birds play in our ecosystem.'

'Bird poo is a vital tool for the dispersal of seeds in the environment. The kererü, for example, is the only bird that still disperses the large seeds of many indigenous trees. We'll also have other poo for our visitors to identify,' said Edy.

'Another fun activity we're planning for conservation week is the naming of a kererü at the Zoo. We're asking Zoo visitors to come up with an appropriate name for our native pigeon. The person who comes up with the best name will get to meet our kererü up close.'

Wellington Zoo is a partner, along with Te Papa, Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, Victoria University of Wellington and Pukaha Mt Bruce, in the Kererü Discovery Project which will have its public launch at Te Papa on Saturday August 12, from 10am.

The 'What's the scoop on kererü poop?' identification game will be at Wellington Zoo this Saturday and Sunday and again on Wednesday August 9th. All visitors to the Zoo during Conservation Week will have the opportunity to name the kererü.

For more information visit www.wellingtonzoo.com.

ENDS

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