Auckland City Council

Media release

31 March 2009

Holiday mission: Operation pachyderm at Auckland Zoo

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to gather intelligence on Auckland Zoo’s elephants and help solve the de-coding game as part of the zoo’s ASB April School Holiday activities (10 April – 26 April).

Mammoth holiday fun for the whole family includes free daily shows, extra elephant encounters and the chance for kids to take part in ‘Operation Pachyderm’, including activity sheets, the chance to learn about the zoo’s elephants Kashin and Burma, and elephant conservation.

Kids keen to recruit for Operation Pachyderm should hotfoot it to Operation Pachyderm headquarters’ in the zoo’s main plaza.  Here, secret agent staff will brief future agents on their mission and equip them with the necessary tools to complete the fun tasks.

Commencing with ‘initiator training’ at the two daily free shows (10.45am and 11.45am) potential agents will receive a set of instructions and a code word to assist them with future elephant surveillance. A secret handshake and elephant facts complete training and recruits can begin fieldwork for Operation Pachyderm.

Located at Elephant Clearing, recruits will be tested on their elephant knowledge through a series of tasks including observation, agility and intelligence.  Once all three tasks are complete, recruits can help solve the de-coding puzzle and succeed in their mission. 

Recruits will have the opportunity to see the zoo’s elephants Kashin and Burma each day of the holidays as they take a walk around the zoo and see them in action at the elephant encounter or spending time in their enclosure (listen to PA for announcements).  Scheduled elephant encounters take place on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays (Good Friday and Easter Monday) at 12noon.

Operation Pachyderm recruits also have the chance to be real-life conservation warriors by purchasing an ASB Kashin Dollar. Each dollar purchased enters them into a prize draw and all proceeds support elephant conservation in the wild via the Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund.

ENDS

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