Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo News 2019

savetherhino said:
3 camels last I knew. Male Stan, Femles AJ and her mom Sanshi (if I spelled it correctly)
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I’ve been noticing a lot that they have been keeping Stan off exhibit lately or if he is on exhibit the other two are off. Maybe for breeding purposes they need to be separated or lack there of?
 
Coming up on a week out before the first phase of Adventure Africa opens, and I am considering the start of the zoo season, there’s a lot happening around the zoo. They quickly doing a facelift on the wolf outpost building to fit the theme of AA. Also installing the last signage around the area, plus putting the last finishing touches inside the exhibits.

It looks like the hippo side of old Africa area will be pretty empty this year. Bongos and duiker signs removed as they have moved over to AA.

Does look like there will be duplicates on animals, such as the plains zebra both in the impala yard and in the water hole. Those in the water hole exhibit will not be moving over to the new space. New ones will fill the impala yard. I’m not sure about the impala’s but there is male that has been seen staying in the Savannah area. Not sure if he’s moving but would assume that he would be over there by now. Along with the African crown cranes that are suppose be in both exhibits apparently. Maybe I’m wrong about the impalas and cranes but their signs are still up in the exhibits that they used to inhabit.

Not sure what’s going on with the Colobus outdoor exhibit but nothing’s been done to it since last fall. The exhibit is still filled with leaves and fences laying around. The only plus side is that they have a sign holder installed for it.

There looks to be more renovated dinning and beer serving areas, along with renovated gift shops.

Here’s to the year of the Elephants!
 
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MKE Zoo guy said:
Coming up on a week out before the first phase of Adventure Africa opens, and I am considering the start of the zoo season, there’s a lot happening around the zoo. They quickly doing a facelift on the wolf outpost building to fit the theme of AA. Also installing the last signage around the area, plus putting the last finishing touches inside the exhibits.

It looks like the hippo side of old Africa area will be pretty empty this year. Bongos and duiker signs removed as they have moved over to AA.

Does look like there will be duplicates on animals, such as the plains zebra both in the impala yard and in the water hole. Those in the water hole exhibit will not be moving over to the new space. New ones will fill the impala yard. I’m not sure about the impala’s but there is male that has been seen staying in the Savannah area. Not sure if he’s moving but would assume that he would be over there by now. Along with the African crown cranes that are suppose be in both exhibits apparently. Maybe I’m wrong about the impalas and cranes but their signs are still up in the exhibits that they used to inhabit.

Not sure what’s going on with the Colobus outdoor exhibit but nothing’s been done to it since last fall. The exhibit is still filled with leaves and fences laying around. The only plus side is that they have a sign holder installed for it.

There looks to be more renovated dinning and beer serving areas, along with renovated gift shops.

Here’s to the year of the Elephants!
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What's in the Thompson's Gazelle exhibit?
Red River Hogs are still there correct?
 
savetherhino said:
What's in the Thompson's Gazelle exhibit?
Red River Hogs are still there correct?
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The river hogs are still sitting in the elephants old inside exhibit. They haven’t made an outside appearance yet. Currently in the Africa Savannah that I’ve seen are the thompson gazelles (3), impala (1), cinereous vulture (3), and heard the southern ground hornbills haven’t seen them yet.
 
MKE Zoo guy said:
Found this article talking about phase 1 of AA.

Milwaukee County Zoo's elephants pack trunks and move into their new home

Movin' on up: Milwaukee County Zoo's elephants relocate to new digs
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Thank you for this article. Considering there's only just over a week until phase 1 opens, I would like to give some final impressions before opening.

What I like:
  • The pool has turned out much better than I anticipated. The large hose that sprays the elephants in the pool is a great touch. The rock work and small trees also help give this area of the exhibit a much more naturalistic feel than the rest of the exhibit.
  • The Elephant Care Center building looks superb from a visitors point of view. It is perhaps the sleekest most modern building at the zoo and I love that there is a second level. Nothing something you find in most elephant houses. The actual space for the elephants is quite good too, definitely emphasizes functionality (a reoccurring theme here).
  • What the elephant yard lacks in naturalism and aesthetics, it makes up for in pure functionality. Outdoor showers, back scratchers, feeder walls and shade structures will all surely provide benefits to the elephants no doubt.
  • The signage in this section of the zoo seems far superior to the rest of the park. The educational graphics are much better than I had originally expected.
  • The additional plains and forest yards are an addition that definitely helps round out the area and make it feel more like a complete African zone. New species are always a welcome addition.
What I Don't Like:
  • One of the biggest disappointments of the elephant yard is the lake of any sort of grass. The exhibit would about three times better if there was irrigation in place and the dirt and sand filled yard looks much more barren and underwhelming.
  • I really wish there were more live animals in the "African Outpost" educational area. I think it's great there is an area dedicated to teaching the public, but some live species could really help draw people to this area.
  • The ruminates of the old dall sheep exhibit and picnic areas really detract from what is otherwise a nice set of live animal exhibits. I hope these will be replaced soon.
  • While I'm very glad that the hoofstock were moved to new spaces, the viewing for the "Impala Plains" in particular looks pretty unappealing. That black fencing is quite ugly looking I must say.
  • In general, it just is really unfortunate that so much had to be cut from the original design. Halving the space for the elephants, removing the hoofstock bridge and mixed species with the elephants in general, and some smaller species being removed.
Overall, I am just thankful the elephants finally have a new space. Its been a long time coming. It seems like the first phase of Adventure Africa will be a very good, but flawed exhibit complex. I will be uploading photos of everything this complex has to offer, and it will certainly be satisfying to at long last see the long-awaited African habitats. Though it is strange there wont be any additional elephants until later this year.
 
pachyderm pro said:
Thank you for this article. Considering there's only just over a week until phase 1 opens, I would like to give some final impressions before opening.

What I like:
  • The pool has turned out much better than I anticipated. The large hose that sprays the elephants in the pool is a great touch. The rock work and small trees also help give this area of the exhibit a much more naturalistic feel than the rest of the exhibit.
  • The Elephant Care Center building looks superb from a visitors point of view. It is perhaps the sleekest most modern building at the zoo and I love that there is a second level. Nothing something you find in most elephant houses. The actual space for the elephants is quite good too, definitely emphasizes functionality (a reoccurring theme here).
  • What the elephant yard lacks in naturalism and aesthetics, it makes up for in pure functionality. Outdoor showers, back scratchers, feeder walls and shade structures will all surely provide benefits to the elephants no doubt.
  • The signage in this section of the zoo seems far superior to the rest of the park. The educational graphics are much better than I had originally expected.
  • The additional plains and forest yards are an addition that definitely helps round out the area and make it feel more like a complete African zone. New species are always a welcome addition.
What I Don't Like:
  • One of the biggest disappointments of the elephant yard is the lake of any sort of grass. The exhibit would about three times better if there was irrigation in place and the dirt and sand filled yard looks much more barren and underwhelming.
  • I really wish there were more live animals in the "African Outpost" educational area. I think it's great there is an area dedicated to teaching the public, but some live species could really help draw people to this area.
  • The ruminates of the old dall sheep exhibit and picnic areas really detract from what is otherwise a nice set of live animal exhibits. I hope these will be replaced soon.
  • While I'm very glad that the hoofstock were moved to new spaces, the viewing for the "Impala Plains" in particular looks pretty unappealing. That black fencing is quite ugly looking I must say.
  • In general, it just is really unfortunate that so much had to be cut from the original design. Halving the space for the elephants, removing the hoofstock bridge and mixed species with the elephants in general, and some smaller species being removed.
Overall, I am just thankful the elephants finally have a new space. Its been a long time coming. It seems like the first phase of Adventure Africa will be a very good, but flawed exhibit complex. I will be uploading photos of everything this complex has to offer, and it will certainly be satisfying to at long last see the long-awaited African habitats. Though it is strange there wont be any additional elephants until later this year.
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Why couldn't a small species be added to the outpost building is my thought.
 
MKE Zoo guy said:
As we are getting set for the first phase of AA, the next phase is about to start. They’ve updated their window to the wild website for it. If you’re wanting to see a fly through, check it out.
https://hippos.win2wild.com/hippo_gurl.html?SessionGuid=d1166619-899b-4cd4-9785-fc2e147e8613
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Some first impressions. Overall, this looks to continue Adventure Africas' theme of being very functional, yet also very simplistic. Guest viewing looks very good, the underwater viewing area will hopefully have many more graphics than whats depicted in the renderings. For the hippos themselves, it looks good but also a bit awkward in some areas. That stretch of space behind the underwater viewing area for example. I will say, the only area of this plan that I am truly disappointed by is the fact that the "Hippo Home" is still being used as the indoor space. I was hoping it would be converted into an off exhibit space and a new hippo house would be built.
 
I'm honestly a bit lost with how the hippo exhibit will be oriented. Where will the glass viewing be with regards to the position on the map?
 
Wyman said:
I'm honestly a bit lost with how the hippo exhibit will be oriented. Where will the glass viewing be with regards to the position on the map?
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The project looks to be taking up the old bongo/duiker habitat and current hippo enclosure. If you were to look at the Zoo map, the visitor areas and underwater views (which are underneath the shelter) are on the bottom half (hippos) and the upcoming hippo exhibit will be on the top (bongos). So essentially the visitors will view the hippos underwater from the right wall of the current hippo exhibit. Sorry if this sounded confusing.

Having seen the site a couple weeks ago, it seems like a pretty small area for what’s being planned. Hopefully the main path will be narrowed down, and maybe the visitor area a bit smaller than what is shown. It also isn’t visible much, but I got my fingers crossed that the original indoor area will receive an upgrade too. All this being said, it’ll be a real treat to finally see one of Milwaukee’s longest brewing plans come to life, and will surely be an improvement for the river horses. :)
 
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