Vet Hospital

The Auckland Zoo Vet Hospital is where our talented team of vets and vet nurses care for our zoo animals, treat sick and injured wildlife, work on vital conservation projects, and undertake important research on conservation medicine.

With a viewing area for visitors, you can watch procedures unfold and experience a real vet hospital in action. You might get to witness such sights as a tiger getting a root canal, an injured little penguin getting an X-ray, or a Lace monitor lizard undergoing an ultrasound examination. You can also see the in-house veterinary laboratory in action, such as the microscopic examination of samples for parasites. We are open during Zoo hours, so be sure to visit and see all the ways in which the zoo vet team contribute to conservation.

Here at the Auckland Zoo Vet Hospital, we are home to the first national conservation centre in the world, the New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine (NZCCM). Opened in 2007 by former Prime Minister Helen Clark, this centre allows our team to not only treat sick animals and develop preventative health plans, but also  provide vet care for endangered wild species such as kākāpō, and undertake important conservation medicine research.