On Wednesday 27 May, the Year 7s went on a trip to Auckland Zoo to learn about adaptations and ecology as part of our science learning.
First, my class went to the Australia bush track to learn about adaptations. We learnt about how different animals have different features to help them survive in their natural habitats; for example, Tasmanian devil’s ears change colour to express their feelings. When they are mad, their ears turn red and when they are happy their ears turn pink. The animals we saw were kangaroos, emus, lace monitors, and much more. It was inspiring learning about the different animals and their adaptations.
After that, we went into our assigned groups to explore different parts of the zoo. The first place we went to was the South-east Asia jungle track, which included orangutans, siamangs, otters and Sunda gharial crocodiles. Sadly, we didn’t see the tigers, but we did see the ring-tailed lemurs and were lucky enough to see the red panda up close when it was getting fed. Then we moved onto our next track which was the South American rainforest track. We were fortunate to see the flight school show, where birds flew everywhere above our heads and one almost hit my head but luckily, I ducked.
The third track we went to was the African Safari track and that was one of my favourites because I saw lions and cheetahs, which I usually never see. We also got to go into the meerkat tunnels where you can see the meerkats up-close and it felt like you were inside their habitat. After the Meerkat’s we spent a few minutes looking around the Te Wao Nui area, and we even explored the kiwi habitat; it was dark and I couldn’t tell who was who!
Overall, the Zoo trip was not only enjoyable but educational and inspiring – I really hope we could go there again soon!
