The zoo has some new additions in the form of a 33,600-piece puzzle called 'Wildlife' which was assembled by Anne Tempest.

"The problem with a puzzle of this size - 6m x 1.6m - is finding a wall space big enough to hang it," Anne said. "Luckily the zoo found a suitable space in their cafeteria and giftshop."

The massive project took three and half years to complete and Anne's explanation for the length of time is that she would not let anyone help. A hiccup also occurred half way into the project - the jigsaw lovers' worst nightmare - a missing piece.

But after interrogating the family, the two dogs and visitors past and present, Anne found a 'jigsaw doctor' who recreates missing pieces.

"However, after completing the next bag of 3360 pieces there was a piece left over ... You guessed it, the missing piece had found its way into the next bag!"

Finally, with jigsaw completed Anne's husband John cut five backing boards, built a frame for each and glued the puzzle to the boards. It was then wrapped and packed into a trailer for the trip to Canberra.

It took six people to lift the jigsaw, which weighs over 100 kilograms, onto a metal bar and the puzzle was secured to the wall.