About Us

Auckland Zoo is a not-for-profit wildlife conservation science organisation dedicated to its mission ‘to bring people together to build a future for wildlife’, and proud to be part of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) within the wider Auckland Council whānau.

1. Since opening on 16 December 1922, Auckland Zoo has evolved to become an active conservation organisation and has welcomed over 28 million visitors.
    
2. We focus on seven key commitments to achieve our goal:

• Excellence in animal care and welfare – we will continue to develop and implement exemplary practice in the care of the animals for which we are responsible. We will seek to provide an overall quality of life for them that exceeds that experienced by equivalent members of that species living in the wild. We will be clear about the role of each species in our care and how they help deliver our mission.
• Enhancing the well-being of our communities – we will connect with as many people as possible, from as diverse a range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds as we can. As a Zoo, we will embrace diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusivity in our communities and the people of our organisation. We will engage in programmes and activities that help to foster a deeper connection with Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and those that contribute to enhancing social, physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
• Nurturing a lifelong connection with nature – we will offer our visitors and our wider audiences exceptional, inspiring and transformational experiences with Auckland Zoo. We will be absolutely compelling and consistent in our storytelling and in our calls to action for wildlife and the environment. We will motivate, mobilise and support our communities to become powerful wildlife conservation advocates and to develop a lifelong connection with nature.
• Conserving wildlife in the wild – we will grow the resources we commit to our field programme and we will ensure that these resources and our skills that we dedicate to conserving wildlife in the wild are allocated strategically and effectively to achieve measurable conservation impact.
• Science, learning and training – we will take a science and research-based approach in our activities that uses the best available data, our skills, our experience and our unique potential as a good modern Zoo. We will be an incubator for future conservationists and a vocational training hub for current wildlife professionals. We will help build conservation science understanding and skills for people who want to build a career in conservation and for those who just want to do their bit for the environment.
• Strengthening our relationship with te ao Māori – we will recognise te reo Māori and te ao Māori in our Zoo’s past and incorporate it into our present and future. We will develop our Zoo as an Asia-Pacific organisation in modern Aotearoa New Zealand that is distinctively of this land. We will develop increasingly meaningful and productive relationships with tangata whenua and the mana whenua of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
• Evolving our organisation sustainably – we will optimise the opportunities to enrich life in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland by working as part of Auckland Unlimited and in partnership with other organisations to increase our efficiency, reach and impact. As a not-for-profit organisation, subsidised by the people of Auckland, we will ensure that we use our money wisely and responsibly to deliver on our commitments. None of our financial activities will conflict with our mission or our values. We will continue to operate, maintain and renew our infrastructure in a way that seeks to minimise our environmental impact.  

1. Auckland Zoo is a winner of national and international awards and is at the leading-edge of wildlife research, conservation work and innovative zoo design.

Everything we do at Auckland Zoo directly contributes towards our conservation efforts - how we care for the wildlife at the Zoo, our Wild Work and Conservation Fund, our environmental impact, and how we connect people with wildlife conservation science, here at the Zoo.

Our Values

1. We share our love for wild places and wild life. Ka aroha nui ki ngā wāhi puihi, ki ngā kararehe puihi hoki. 
    
   1. We are passionate about wild places and wild life. We are continually seeking new knowledge through our research work and sharing what we learn with visitors.
2. We are conservation optimists. Whakanuia te taiao.
    
   1. We lead efforts to protect the world's natural environments and the animals that live in them. We educate people on living more sustainably by showing them how.
3. We are all kaitiaki of the Zoo and the environment. He kaitiaki tātou katoa.
    
   1. We take our roles in the sustainable management of the Zoo and in the Auckland region's environment seriously, as we cherish and protect them for future generations.
4. We stand together. Ka tū kotahi tātou.
    
   1. We are at our best when we work together as a team with positive intent. Through our ingenuity combined with strong relationships built on trust, we actively support each other to tackle any challenge we face.
5. We welcome visitors as friends. He kaha nō mātou ki te manaaki i ngā manuhiri.
    
   1. ​We welcome visitors to the Zoo as we would our friends. The relationship we build is one of respect for the different reasons visitors have for visiting the Zoo, the role they play in funding the Zoo's work and earning their respect for the work of the Zoo.

Transforming our zoo

Our $130 million, ten-year development plan will serve to further transform into a world-leading modern Zoo. We are building exceptional habitats for all our animals, creating extraordinary experiences for everyone who visits us, as well as facilities for our staff and future conservationists.

Learn more about our recently finished South East Asia Jungle Track >

We are designing more Nature Play spaces at Auckland Zoo >