Wellington Zoo - taking us from Braindead to Kong...

It is a little known fact that Weta has enjoyed a long relationship with the Wellington Zoo spanning over 20 years. Richard and Peter Jackson called on the Zoo to film scenes from Braindead.

“We all love the guys at Weta because they love the Zoo”, says Wellington Zoo Marketing and Fundraising Manager Beth Houston. “You could call it [the relationship] the mutual admiration society really!”

It is a little known fact that Weta has enjoyed a long relationship with the Wellington Zoo spanning over 20 years. Richard first started visiting in 1985, to paint and draw the animals. “My mother has a spider monkey painting on her wall at home from one of my earliest visits”, he remembers. “The zoo keepers at the time were very kind and let me access various spots around the zoo and from this I was able to build up a good relationship for later film work.” Richard and Peter Jackson later called on the Zoo to film scenes from one of Peter’s first feature films, Braindead (pictured). Peter later returned to sample animal noises for King Kong. After the King Kong shoot wrapped up, some of the Weta team offered to help out with the Zoo’s ‘Ape Week’. “We are lucky to have Weta as a really good friend, they seem to have a real love for what we do here at the Zoo”, explains Beth.

Earlier this year, Wellington Zoo approached Weta to create an installation to mark both the opening of the new chimp facility and also as a tribute to long serving Keeper Frank Coles, who has recently retired after serving in the position for 52 years. Frank has enjoyed a special relationship with the chimps and as a new home is built for the animals, it seemed appropriate to mark his leaving with a special plaque.

Frank started work at Wellington Zoo as a labourer in 1954 aged 14, his father was head keeper. Within a year of starting work Frank became a zoo keeper and later on a senior keeper. When the first chimpanzees arrived in 1956, Frank and his father Ken Coles were their keepers and trainers for the chimp tea parties. Frank eventually became full time keeper for the chimps and was involved in all areas of chimp care, including hand raising some young chimps who were rejected by their mother.

The current chimp night quarters have been the home of chimpanzees at Wellington Zoo since the first chimps arrived in 1956. The chimps lived in the indoor block until an outdoor park was opened in 1991. The new chimp block has a large indoor area which provides a warm environment for the animals in the colder months. The new block has a day room, two night quarters, two hospital wards as well as fantastic views across Wellington city.

For more information, log onto: www.wellingtonzoo.com