{"id":179630,"date":"2025-12-12T04:51:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T04:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/179630\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T04:51:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T04:51:12","slug":"much-loved-animals-at-auckland-hamilton-zoos-farewelled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/179630\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Much loved’ animals at Auckland, Hamilton zoos farewelled"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been a difficult day for New Zealand zoos as two much-loved animals have been farewelled: Auckland Zoo\u2019s last remaining fur seal, \u014crua, and Hamilton Zoo\u2019s elderly giraffe Masamba.<\/p>\n

Auckland Zoo today euthanised \u014crua, the last remaining seal or sealions held in any New Zealand zoo, marking the end of a significant chapter in the country’s captive marine mammal history. <\/p>\n

Subantarctic fur seal \u014crua was 20 years old, a near maximum age for his species, and lived almost his entire life at the zoo after being rescued as a malnourished pup in 2006. <\/p>\n

The zoo said its specialist marine habitat had deteriorated beyond repair and could no longer provide the environment required for the elderly animal\u2019s welfare.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s been an extremely difficult decision for our carnivore and veterinary teams who have been so instrumental in providing \u014crua with the dedicated care and a life he would not otherwise have had,” said Auckland Zoo director Kevin Buley. <\/p>\n

\"Fur<\/p>\n

Fur seal \u014crua (Source: Auckland Zoo)<\/p>\n

“However, in these circumstances, this decision to euthanise him is absolutely the correct one, giving \u014crua the dignified and peaceful end of life he so deserves.” <\/p>\n

\u014crua had several age-related health issues, including severe visual impairment. His keepers said despite those challenges, he remained an engaging, charismatic presence who formed deep bonds with animal care staff. <\/p>\n

Carnivore team leader Nick Parashchak said caring for the “wonderfully smart and curious” fur seal over nearly two decades had been a privilege.<\/p>\n

“In his over 19 years at the zoo, he has been an incredible ambassador for marine life and marine conservation,” Parashchak said. <\/p>\n

“As the last seal or sealion in a zoo or aquarium in New Zealand, the loss of \u014crua marks the end of an era. He leaves behind a very special legacy.”<\/p>\n

\"Masamba<\/p>\n

Masamba the giraffe lived to 23 years of age. (Source: Hamilton Zoo)<\/p>\n

Hamilton Zoo also today announced the death of Masamba, its elderly giraffe, following what staff described as a compassionate and heartbreaking decision.<\/p>\n

In a post shared to Facebook, the zoo said Masamba\u2019s health had been steadily declining due to his age, despite intensive care and monitoring.<\/p>\n

“As many of you know, Masamba\u2019s health had been declining. Unfortunately, no amount of love and care could have changed the inevitable outcome,\u201d the zoo said. <\/p>\n

“Today, we acted on the heartbreaking but humane decision to assist his passing.”<\/p>\n

The zoo said Masamba died surrounded by the keepers who had cared for him for years, a team who were \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d by the loss.<\/p>\n

“Masamba was an incredible soul who taught us so much. Today, we say farewell, holding close every memory and every moment he shared with us,” <\/p>\n

“Thank you for loving him alongside us.”<\/p>\n

Masamba celebrated his 23rd birthday last month \u2013 a milestone the zoo called “amazing” for a giraffe, who have an average lifespan of around 20-25 years. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been a difficult day for New Zealand zoos as two much-loved animals have been farewelled: Auckland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[50,51,9001,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-179630","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-auckland","10":"tag-hamilton-waikato","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-top-news","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-topnews","16":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}