Ricky has nowhere to go as zoo closes

HELEN MURDOCH/The Press

HOMELESS: keeper Jo Turton cradles Ricky, a special-needs capuchin monkey.

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Ricky the special-needs capuchin monkey has already beaten the odds but his number may be up with the closure of his Nelson zoo.

The 15-year-old monkey and a tame 18-year-old possum called Cheeks are among the animals facing an uncertain future after the decision to close Nelson's Natureland family zoo.

Natureland staff said Ricky suffered brain damage when he was a few weeks old, after his brother, Denis, attacked him in a fit of sibling jealousy.

His life was in the balance when he also suffered a cold, but a paediatrician helped care for him, and a roster of nurses fed him around the clock to restore his health.

Natureland curator Gail Sutton said Ricky had been hugely popular with children.

However, because he needed special care, including chopped-up food, his own cage, and protection from the weather, it might be difficult to find a new home in other zoos.

As an exotic animal, he must be looked after by an organisation with a zoo licence.

Ten staff will lose their jobs when the 44-year-old zoo at Tahunanui closes at the end of the month, after the Nelson City Council's corporate governance committee decided it was too expensive to run.

Most of Natureland's 650 animals, birds and fish were expected to find other homes.

The zoo's managing body, the Abel Tasman Gateway Trust, earlier told the council that it could not continue to manage the facility without more money.

Council staff said losses averaging $25,000 a month and the need for increased council funding of up to $270,000 a year were predicted if Natureland continued operation.

The zoo's financial records to last June showed the council contributed $115,000 of its $270,000 income, and the operation lost $60,000 for the year.

Sutton said the council was considering only the cost of the unique facility, not its value to the community.

The zoo was a community institution and the animals were Nelson icons that would be very hard to rehouse.

"A lot of the animals have been here so long they are our family," Sutton said.

Public opposition to the closure was mounting, with several petitions under way and a public demonstration organised for tomorrow ending at the city council offices.

- © Fairfax NZ News