Lisa Argilla

Lisa Shelley Argilla is a South African–New Zealand wildlife veterinarian who leads a wildlife hospital in Dunedin. Argilla is director of the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital. In 2021 Argilla was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to animal welfare and conservation.

Early life and education

Argilla was born in South Africa, and grew up in Durban; she always wanted to be a bird veterinarian. She failed to get a place to study veterinary medicine at the University of Pretoria, so took a degree in animal and wildlife science.

Career Argilla was manager of Wellington Zoo's veterinary hospital for five years, where she treated an emperor penguin that became known as Happy Feet. The hospital often treats and hand rears kākāpo, and partners with AgResearch to access equipment such as CAT scanners for diagnosis. In 2022, the hospital achieved a world first in successfully incubating and hatching eggs from the endangered yellow-eyed penguin, the hoiho.

Argilla is president of the New Zealand Veterinary Association’s Wildlife Society.