Francis is teaching his young sons Issach, 2, and Gilbert, eight months, the importance of protecting vulnerable wildlife such as birds of paradise so theirs and future generations can continue to see such native animals in the wild
an international zoo educators’ award by the Zoo and Aquarium Association of Australasia. To have successfully managed to breed a Raggiana bird of paradise – PNG’s flagship bird – in the 50th year of the country’s independence made the achievement even more special, the park’s new chief executive officer Johnpaul Houston said. “I am very proud of the wildlife team. It has been a pleasure to see the protocols and procedures developed for
successful introduction of the males to female Raggiana birds of paradise,” said Johnpaul, who was previously head of birds at Blackpool Zoo in the United Kingdom and has had a 20 year career as a zookeeper in British zoos. He described how the team had to develop “a sixth sense” about what the birds would do in order to time things precisely as the male birds of paradise can destroy nests and eggs in order to guarantee their paternity. “Males need to be kept in close proximity
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