Jane Healy , Auckland Zoo
Wild Heroes, the inspiring wildlife documentary series about Auckland Zoo returns to the screen this Sunday 27 April on Three (6.30pm) and threenow.co.nz in a new season of 10 action-packed episodes.
Series 3 follows the Zoo’s highly skilled kaimahi as they help save some of the world’s rarest species, manage wildlife emergencies at the world-class veterinary hospital and provide expert care for animals at the Zoo.
Audiences will get to travel with Zoo staff around the motu, helping endangered species from hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin, pekapeka (bats) and kākāpō to pepeketua/Hamilton’s frog and cobble and Awakōpaka skinks.
Viewers can also look forward to stories as diverse as preparing elephant Burma for her Trans-Tasman move, the vet teams’ intensive efforts to treat sick sea turtles, kororā/little penguin and southern giant petrel and the birth of a southern white rhinoceros.
“This season Wild Heroes takes audiences on exciting new journeys of discovery (from Te Tai Tokerau/Northland to remote locations in Te Waipounamu/South Island) as we reveal largely unknown and remarkable taonga species and those working to help ensure their survival,” says Magnetic Pictures co-founder and Wild Heroes producer, Juanita Edwards.
“As we follow Auckland Zoo and their partners, we lift the lid on the fascinating complexity of conservation mahi, the time, skills and dedication it takes, and see how vital community support is for these conservation efforts to make inroads.”
Follow the vital work being undertaken by Auckland Zoo professionals as they rescue, rehabilitate and protect endangered animals.
In Episode One, viewers are transported to the stunning outer Marlborough Sounds and the beautifully rugged island of Takapourewa, a protected nature reserve not accessible to public. Here mana whenua, Ngāti Koata, as kaitiaki, are working to give one of the world’s rarest amphibians, our endemic pepeketua/Hamilton’s frog, a safe environment to thrive.
In this inspiring iwi led project, the Zoo’s amphibian experts work alongside Ngāti Koata – sharing expertise and practical skills to create extended safe habitat to protect and grow the population of this taonga in an island environment that’s teeming with wildlife that includes the abundant frog-predating tuatara!
Episode One also follows the Zoo’s dedicated team of elephant keepers as they prepare Burma for her big move to Monarto Safari Park and the vet team as they work tirelessly to give a severely injured kiwi a second chance at life.
In Episode Two, viewers get a rare up-close experience with a native sea snake – the yellow-lipped sea krait – that washed up on a Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland beach and fly south to Pukenui/Anchor Island in Fiordland. There Zoo staff work with the Department of Conservation (DOC), scaling challenging mountainous terrain, to carry out important health checks on Aotearoa’s world-famous, flightless (and remarkably fast-moving!) parrot, the kākāpō.
In later episodes, viewers are taken on remarkable journeys with green sea turtles, tara iti/fairy tern (New Zealand’s rarest bird), and exquisite endemic Cobble skinks that after an epic nine-year Zoo project involving a successful breeding programme, are released to the wild.
“In a world filled with uncertainty, turmoil, and conflict, our screens often bombard us with content that leaves us feeling gloom-ridden and exhausted,” says Auckland Zoo Director, Kevin Buley.
“However, Season Three of Wild Heroes is a breath of fresh air. Whether it's the beautiful cinematography in the Zoo and the wild, the selflessness and care of the people involved, or the compelling stories of the animals themselves, you cannot help but feel a surge of optimism and hope."
Of course, not all the stories in this season have happy endings, but the unwavering commitment of everyone involved to always do the right thing for those animals that depend on our help for their survival, is truly inspiring,” says Buley.
“A lot of the critical species conservation work we do at Auckland Zoo often flies under the radar, and many New Zealanders might not even know we’re even involved in this sort of thing where, in some cases now, we have been the difference between survival and extinction for an endemic species. Wild Heroes has therefore been an incredible opportunity for us to showcase this work that we do to the wider world.”
Season Three of Wild Heroes returns to the screen this Sunday 27 April on Three (6.30pm) and streams on ThreeNow, in a new season of 10 action-packed episodes.
