Conservation projects and improving animal welfare will be the focus of a memorandum of understanding between the National Zoo and Aquarium, Wellington Zoo and Singapore Wildlife Reserves.
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On Monday, Chief Minister Andrew Barr attended the first international agreement between Canberra, Singapore and Wellington for animal conservation.
Mr Barr said the memorandum understanding created an unprecedented level of cooperation and sharing between the three wildlife organisations.
It will focus on animal conservation and environmental security. The institutions have agreed to eight key activities, including to cooperate to deliver staff training, offer staff exchanges, share information such as animal care manuals, conservation and sustainability processes, partner in conservation projects of mutual interest and conduct joint workshops or roadshows to promote animal welfare.
National Zoo and Aquarium director Richard Tindale said the partnership would allow the institutions to work together in achieving the goals they have set.
"When you've got three significant zoos all binding together to achieve a common goal, I think we can achieve quiet a bit with it," Mr Tindale said.
"All our staff are very keen to go and see how things are done elsewhere because we're a little isolated here in Canberra.
"It will be good to be able to put people into two very significant zoos and let them experience what they do over there and bring back the knowledge that they'll gain from it."
Guest got to meet Solo the cheetah cub and playmate Zama, a border collie-Belgian Malinois cross. The unlikely pairing has been a great success for both Solo and the Zoo’s cheetah breeding and preservation program.
Park Holdings Group chief executive from Singapore Mike Barclay said the collaboration would allow them to share their expertise in running open zoo exhibits.
"In turn, we look forward to learning best practices from Canberra and Wellington with respect to animal welfare, sustainable operations, education programmes and enhancing guest experience.
"The National Zoo property here is a real leader in terms of guest experience so from our perspective I think we can learn a lot from the Tindales and what they've done with their zoo here."
