Animals at Auckland's Zoo are revelling in the quiet of lockdown and despite not having visitors, they've been getting extra attention.
Zookeepers who would usually be on conservation trips during spring are home for the lockdown, including zookeeper Sonia Murray.
"Myself and a colleague were supposed to be down in the South Island looking for some skinks at the moment, that we're helping with DoC," she told Newshub.
Restrictions are paramount at Auckland Zoo to keep COVID-19 out because, as Murray explains: "It's quite hard to get someone to fill our shoes if we get COVID."
But Richard Gibson, the head of animal care and conservation at the zoo, says the safety measures aren't only for staff - they're also for the animals.
"Those risks exist, for some of our primates and some of our cats but they are very small and we manage them very effectively," he says.
Monday is International Zookeeper Day and Richard Gibson says keepers play a vital role in looking after the planet.
"They're scientists, they're animal carers, they're writing up papers, they're doing research in the wild."
They're also educators and as spring brings new life at the zoo, they're eager for doors to open once again.
