A Safe Place


	A sanctuary is a place where endangered animals and plants live. There they can be safe from predators, pollution, and hunters. A sanctuary can be big or small. It can be in the middle of a city or in the wilderness, miles away from anywhere.



		The City Wildlife Sanctuary is in the middle of Wellington City. It's as big as four hundred football fields. It has been built to protect plants and animals that are threatened. The sanctuary is surrounded by a fence that is 5 miles long. The fence is the most important part of the sanctuary. It was built to keep out pests - including people! It's 8 feet high, and is dug 15 inches into the ground. This is to stop animals such as rats or rabbits from digging or burrowing into the sanctuary. The fence is made from strong wire mesh. It has a metal cap that hangs over the top to keep animals from climbing over. There are no trees growing by the fence. They were cut down to keep pests from jumping into the sanctuary from overhanging branches.


		Once the fence was built, the area inside it had to be made safe. Pests such as cats, dogs, rats, mice, pigs, and rabbits were taken away. This work is done by volunteers. So far, eleven different kinds of pests have been removed.

			Birds like the kiwi, the saddleback, and the takahe can live safely in the City Wildlife Sanctuary.



		The City Wildlife Sanctuary has strict rules for people. No one can go into the sanctuary on their own. All visitors tour the sanctuary with a staff member, and no pets are allowed. Visitors have to keep to the trails. They can't touch any of the plants or animals or take anything out of the sanctuary. They should be quiet when they are in the sanctuary. The animals shouldn't even know they have visitors.



		Now, the animals and plants that the sanctuary was built for can live and grow in peace, without the danger of being eaten or damaged.