Kitui the Zebra!

Kitui was welcomed into the world by Werribee Open Range Zoo staff on Australia Day 2008. She lived at the Werribee Open Range Zoo for 2 years before she began her journey with Jetpets to the Orana Wildlife Park, Christchurch NZ.

A Plains Zebra has broad strips especially towards its rump. Their colouring can range from black to dark brown. Their stripes are like fingerprints, no one Zebra is the same. Plains Zebras are very social animals. They generally form family groups which consist of one Male and numerous mares and foals.

Kitui was getting prepared to begin her journey; When Victoria was struck with flash flooding and Christchurch was hit with an earth quake causing the move to be delayed.

On the 11^th of October 2010, Kitui finally began her journey from the Werribee Zoo to her new home. Firstly she was trucked up to Sydney. Then at Sydney’s international terminal were she was flown to Orana Wildlife Park, Christchurch NZ. She was relocated to help the breeding program amongst Zebras

Kitui was transported in a custom built crate.  Jetpet’s Geoff was there to make sure she was safe and got on the plane without any hassle

The Orana Wildlife Park, Is set on 80 Hectares and houses lots of different animals from all over the world. Kitui has settled into her new surrounds and hopefully will be able to successfully contribute to the Zoo’s breeding program.

For more information on Kitui and all the other Zebra’s and wildlife please visit

http://www.zoo.org.au/WerribeeOpenRangeZoo

http://www.oranawildlifepark.co.nz

Pet of the Week- Ruby

They say time heals all wounds, after losing a family pet sometimes the hardest thing is finding the right time to move on and get another animal. This was the case in my family, After many years of having my ice creams stolen, countless attempts to make my dog come for walks and a move interstate, Our beloved family dog passed away. Lochie was a red heeler; she was extremely loyal and followed my mum everywhere she went. After a couple of years  my mum found an ad in the paper for blue heeler pups, Finally she felt it was right time to get another dog. So mum and I went out to this little country town in Northern Victoria to have a look at these puppies. When we pulled up there was a small stampede of puppies coming at us, all spotty, with blue and black colouring. We managed to pick one out of the bunch. She cried the whole way home. After many discussions on what to call her we settled with Ruby.

Just as every owner thinks, she was the cutest puppy! Bounding around the house with lots of energy and getting into everything she could manage. As Ruby has gotten older it’s very clear that she is not a full blue heeler, we think perhaps she is cross kelpie with her pointed nose.

Ruby is obsessed by anything that bounces. She will lay in wait for someone to kick, throw or even just tap her ball so she can chase after it and she never ever gets bored of it. She also enjoys going swimming, after accidently running down the hill to fast one day and ploughing straight into the dam she has found a love for swimming. Whether it is summer, spring, autumn or winter she will go into the water.

Ruby also enjoys having dog play dates; she has a countless amount of four legged friends that enjoy coming over for a play. Her best friend also has her back; He is a large domestic cat, who has a love/hate relationship with her. Sometimes he enjoys having a smooch with her but like many cats once he has had enough the game will be over. He also doesn’t take to well to Ruby’s friends and has been known to once or twice have beaten up a couple of dogs.

If Ruby was another animal she would probably be a cat, her love of cat food and having a cuddle on the couch makes her seem at times like an oversized cat.

Ruby’s favourite food is ice cream. She will fight the cat for the last part of anyone’s ice cream. She also enjoys eating anything that the cat shows interest in!

Ruby is a loving, happy dog. She has endless amounts of energy. At the ripe age of 3 years old she loves to run around, swim and go for rides in the car. Even if she isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, we all love her and wouldn’t change her for the world!