With Taronga’s magnificent view of the Sydney skyline, many visitors ask what happens to our animals on New Year’s Eve and during other celebrations which involve fireworks on the Harbour. Naturally us keepers are always alert to anything that bothers our animals but fireworks have never been a problem for these wonderful creatures.All our animals are given access to the comfort of their night dens and inside areas. They can choose  to be either inside or out and  it’s not uncommon for some of animals to be outside. One of our oldest Chimps,  Lulu, used to refuse to come into the night dens on  New Years Eve when she saw  that boats were anchoring  on the harbour. Whatever the keepers would try, Lulu was quite content sitting high up in the tree to watch the show. She would patiently sit there for both sets of fireworks and at the conclusion happily come down to rest. Staff in the Zoo during the New Year celebrations and other night events, also check on the animals too, but in reality, the noise and light of the fireworks is nothing compared to nature’s own thunderstorms which can generate thunderclaps as loud as 120 decibels or 10 times louder than a jackhammer.Unit Supervisor, Simon Brown