Willowbank Wildlife Reserve is a

wildlife park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand.Willowbank Wildlife ReserveNew Zealand Tourism Guide
As well as having public displays of various animal species it also carries out

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

of native species including

tuatara Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and m ...

, kiwi, brown teal, and Duvaucel's gecko. Willowbank also holds the only pair of takahe on display in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand outside a Department of Conservation facility. Rata

About

Willowbank houses 95 species that are divided into three sections: exotics, heritage farmyard and New Zealand natives. The exotics section house species from far and wide including blue and gold macaws, scarlett macaws,

capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

, small-clawed otter,

ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ...

black-and-white ruffed lemur The black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata'') is an endangered species of ruffed lemur, one of two which are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Despite having a larger range than the red ruffed lemur, it has a much smaller populati ...

star tortoise A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

leopard tortoise The leopard tortoise (''Stigmochelys pardalis'') is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Stigmochelys'', althoug ...

and green iguana . The heritage farmyard section works alongside the Rare Breeds Conservation Society holding and breeding species of farm animals that are dying breeds including

Arapawa goat One of the rarest goat breeds in the world, the New Zealand Arapawa goat is, according to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, critically close to extinction. A small, dual-purpose animal that was found isolated on the island of Arapawa in ...

Damara sheep The Damara is a Namibian breed of fat-tailed hair sheep, also found in South Africa. The name derives from that of the Damara region of northern Namibia where it is principally found, particularly in the Kaokoveld Desert. Together with the N ...

, Enderby Island rabbits and

zebu The zebu (; ''Bos indicus'' or ''Bos taurus indicus''), sometimes known in the plural as indicine cattle or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in the Indian sub-continent. Zebu are characterised by a fatty h ...

. The New Zealand natives section houses species from around New Zealand including

kea The kea (; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wing ...

, kaka,

North Island brown kiwi The North Island brown kiwi (''Apteryx mantelli''; ''Apteryx australis'' or ''Apteryx bulleri'' as before 2000, still used in some sources) is a species of kiwi that is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island of New Zealand an ...

South Island brown kiwi The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwiDavies, S. J. J. F. (2003) (''Apteryx australis'') is a species of kiwi from South Island, New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered conspecific with the North Island brown kiwi, and still is b ...

, Okarito brown kiwi,

great spotted kiwi The great spotted kiwi, great grey kiwiDavies, S. J. J. F. (2003) or roroa (''Apteryx haastii'') is a species of kiwi endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. The great spotted kiwi, as a member of the ratites, is flightless. It is the larg ...

morepork The morepork (''Ninox novaeseelandiae''), also called the ruru, is a small brown owl found in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and formerly Lord Howe Island. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of t ...

New Zealand falcon The New Zealand falcon ( mi, kārearea or ''kāiaia''; ''Falco novaeseelandiae'') is New Zealand's only falcon. Other common names for the bird are Bush Hawk and Sparrow Hawk. It is frequently mistaken for the larger and more common swamp harri ...

and

. Willowbank supports and works alongside charitable organisations such as the New Zealand Conservation Trust and The South Island Wildlife Hospital.

History

Willowbank Wildlife Reserve first open their doors in October 1974.

References

External links

Willowbank Wildlife ReserveSouth Island Wildlife HospitalNew Zealand Conservation TrustRare Breeds Society
Tourist attractions in Christchurch Zoos in New Zealand Parks in Christchurch Wildlife sanctuaries of New Zealand Nature reserves in New Zealand {{CanterburyNZ-geo-stub

About

History

See also

References

External links