Wellington's meerkats will be warm year round thanks to the installation of solar panels as part of the zoo's work in reducing its carbon emissions.
The installation of 48 monocrystalline PV modules began this week which is expected to save the zoo the amount of power used by one-and-a-half households per year.
It is part of a wider programme at the zoo to cut its carbon footprint and already includes large-scale composting and waste reduction and collecting more than 300,000 litres of rainwater a year.
Conservation Manager Daniela Biaggio says electricity use was their biggest contributor to carbon emissions so the installation of the panels will help reduce that further.
"Animals like the meerkats are great at soaking up the sun but in winter they might need a little help.
"Throughout the year,the zoo uses a lot of enery to use cooling systems and heating systems for our animals," Ms Biaggio says.
Since becoming the world's first CaboNZero-certified zoo in 2013, the zoo has cut its emissions by ten tonnes.
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