Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo News 2019

pachyderm pro said:
It very possibly could be a matter of cost, but I still disagree with the use of these old structures in new exhibits. Sure they will work at the moment, but considering that they all already date back to many decades ago and are already outdated, how will they look another 50 years for now? If the zoo keeps these in upcoming exhibits they will only become worse and even more outdated overtime. That is a common theme with some of the zoos recent exhibits, they are perfectly good -sometimes great - but have elements they make the areas feel like a refresh of something old rather than something brand new.

While we are on the topic of old school zoo design - not news, just a couple of neat details - I recently received a zoo guidebook dating back to 1973. It was a lovely little read and I was shocked to see how the zoo was arranged back then. For anyone interested, here are some of the highlights.

Africa, Asia South America Groupings:
  • Africa still has elements from then still standing today. White rhinos were originally present were the red river hogs are now, between the old elephant and hippo yards. Secretary birds, springbok and hartebeest were present in the African hoofstock yards.
  • The Asian section was much different. Asian elephants in the current large black rhino yard, with Indian rhinos in the current smaller black rhino yard. The existing camel yard contained axis deer, blackbuck, demoiselle crane and sarus cranes.
  • South America sounded like it was absolutely packed with species at the time. The following are all listed. Tapirs, llamas, capybara, giant anteater, pacas, caves, agouti, flamingos, rheas, humboldt's penguins, king vultures, red-footed tortoises and a small section with clipped macaws on a display of sticks. So many species all in the same exhibit, absolutely incredible!
North America:
  • The modern day caribou and elk paddocks are grassy and well planted, but they were once essentially just large patches of dirt and bison were in the existing caribou paddock.
  • Stellers sea lions were in the now harbor seal exhibit and visitors could purchase fish to throw to the animals from a distance.
  • Wolverines were at some point present in this area.

Primates:
  • The old primate building was about half the size the current pair of primate complexes, but the collection will make any primate enthusiast start drooling. Species of interest include, lar gibbons, proboscis monkeys, barbary apes, lion-tailed macaque, black macaque, patas monkey, crested mangabey, scatter's guenon, syke's guenon, geladas and red uakaris. All of these alongside the present day assortment of gorillas, orangutans, colobus monkeys, mandrills, siamangs and spider monkeys.
  • The monkey island now home to about a dozen Japanese macaques, was originally home to roughly 125 rhesus monkeys.
Reptile and Aquatic Center:
  • During this time - and they could be fit into this building is beyond me - there were at least two amazon river dolphins in a 51,000 gallon tank.
Small Mammal House:
  • The exhibit that currently holds a two-toed sloth and an agouti, formerly river otters, once held harbor seals. Horrifically small but a fantastic blast from the bast for zoo history buffs. Other former residents of the day room included caracles, squirrel monkeys, black-backed jackels, bat-eared foxes, fishers, jaguarundis and even a grison.
  • The collection in the nocturnal room is even more impressive with palm civets, bearcats, hog badgers, pale fox, giant pangolins, ferret badgers and bush-tailed galagos. Its astonishing how such an immense collection was able to fit into such small exhibits.
Deer Park:
  • This was an exhibit that existed on the site of the current west entrance and otter exhibit. It was essentially a large walkthrough exhibit where guests could buy food for over 100 fallow deer. I am unsure when this area closed down, but it looks like quite a spectacle.
The zoos collection at this time seems to be unmatched to just about any other American zoo out there. Of course, the exhibits at this time were even less appealing than the ones we have today and many of the rarer species had to be phased out. Alas it was a real surprise to see some animals on the list, and perhaps some will will return some day.
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A few of these changes happened not that long ago. I can recall from the early 2000s many of the species listed for the South America paddock, including the wing-clipped macaws. Wolverine was also present until the 2000s. As stated by @savetherhino they were near the brown bears. The exhibit was a smaller grotto similar to the badger exhibit in the other chunk of "North America".

Regarding the river dolphins, I never visited the zoo while they had them but my understanding is that they were in a tank on the back wall exactly opposite of where the front doors are. Later on in the 80s, like quite a few other zoos, amusement parks, and other attractions, they had performing bottlenose dolphins in their sea lion show stadium.

The collection sounds like it was quite a lot bigger back in the 70s, but I suppose that's the trend with most zoos.
 
pachyderm pro said:
It very possibly could be a matter of cost, but I still disagree with the use of these old structures in new exhibits. Sure they will work at the moment, but considering that they all already date back to many decades ago and are already outdated, how will they look another 50 years for now? If the zoo keeps these in upcoming exhibits they will only become worse and even more outdated overtime. That is a common theme with some of the zoos recent exhibits, they are perfectly good -sometimes great - but have elements they make the areas feel like a refresh of something old rather than something brand new.

While we are on the topic of old school zoo design - not news, just a couple of neat details - I recently received a zoo guidebook dating back to 1973. It was a lovely little read and I was shocked to see how the zoo was arranged back then. For anyone interested, here are some of the highlights.

Africa, Asia South America Groupings:
  • Africa still has elements from then still standing today. White rhinos were originally present were the red river hogs are now, between the old elephant and hippo yards. Secretary birds, springbok and hartebeest were present in the African hoofstock yards.
  • The Asian section was much different. Asian elephants in the current large black rhino yard, with Indian rhinos in the current smaller black rhino yard. The existing camel yard contained axis deer, blackbuck, demoiselle crane and sarus cranes.
  • South America sounded like it was absolutely packed with species at the time. The following are all listed. Tapirs, llamas, capybara, giant anteater, pacas, caves, agouti, flamingos, rheas, humboldt's penguins, king vultures, red-footed tortoises and a small section with clipped macaws on a display of sticks. So many species all in the same exhibit, absolutely incredible!
North America:
  • The modern day caribou and elk paddocks are grassy and well planted, but they were once essentially just large patches of dirt and bison were in the existing caribou paddock.
  • Stellers sea lions were in the now harbor seal exhibit and visitors could purchase fish to throw to the animals from a distance.
  • Wolverines were at some point present in this area.

Primates:
  • The old primate building was about half the size the current pair of primate complexes, but the collection will make any primate enthusiast start drooling. Species of interest include, lar gibbons, proboscis monkeys, barbary apes, lion-tailed macaque, black macaque, patas monkey, crested mangabey, scatter's guenon, syke's guenon, geladas and red uakaris. All of these alongside the present day assortment of gorillas, orangutans, colobus monkeys, mandrills, siamangs and spider monkeys.
  • The monkey island now home to about a dozen Japanese macaques, was originally home to roughly 125 rhesus monkeys.
Reptile and Aquatic Center:
  • During this time - and they could be fit into this building is beyond me - there were at least two amazon river dolphins in a 51,000 gallon tank.
Small Mammal House:
  • The exhibit that currently holds a two-toed sloth and an agouti, formerly river otters, once held harbor seals. Horrifically small but a fantastic blast from the bast for zoo history buffs. Other former residents of the day room included caracles, squirrel monkeys, black-backed jackels, bat-eared foxes, fishers, jaguarundis and even a grison.
  • The collection in the nocturnal room is even more impressive with palm civets, bearcats, hog badgers, pale fox, giant pangolins, ferret badgers and bush-tailed galagos. Its astonishing how such an immense collection was able to fit into such small exhibits.
Deer Park:
  • This was an exhibit that existed on the site of the current west entrance and otter exhibit. It was essentially a large walkthrough exhibit where guests could buy food for over 100 fallow deer. I am unsure when this area closed down, but it looks like quite a spectacle.
The zoos collection at this time seems to be unmatched to just about any other American zoo out there. Of course, the exhibits at this time were even less appealing than the ones we have today and many of the rarer species had to be phased out. Alas it was a real surprise to see some animals on the list, and perhaps some will will return some day.
Click to expand...

I am completely fascinated to learn that Milwaukee had both Bottlenose and Amazon River Dolphins. I did a bit of searching and if you go to PG. 71 (I think the link should open right to it) of the link below you will see a diagram of what the ARC looked like, along with a picture of the Amazon River Dolphins with a turtle that the book says is still in the collection. There are also images of other things you mentioned in the post. The book is on google books.

Milwaukee County Zoo
 
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We're taking a trip to Milwaukee Zoo for Zoology class in November, but I've actually never been there in colder temperatures before. I also haven't been there in a few months, so I haven't seen the Red Panda cub or the new facilities they built for the elephants and others.
What should I expect to see? (Or especially look forward to seeing due to them being more active in cooler temps.) And what should I expect not to see in such cold temperatures?
(I'm assuming that the North American species and large cats won't mind the temperature too much.)
 
EsserWarrior said:
We're taking a trip to Milwaukee Zoo for Zoology class in November, but I've actually never been there in colder temperatures before. I also haven't been there in a few months, so I haven't seen the Red Panda cub or the new facilities they built for the elephants and others.
What should I expect to see? (Or especially look forward to seeing due to them being more active in cooler temps.) And what should I expect not to see in such cold temperatures?
(I'm assuming that the North American species and large cats won't mind the temperature too much.)
Click to expand...
Tigers, Snow Leopards, reindeer, polar bear, maquaqes, penguins and harbor seals I'd expect to be active. Other bears might be in their den.
 
EsserWarrior said:
We're taking a trip to Milwaukee Zoo for Zoology class in November, but I've actually never been there in colder temperatures before. I also haven't been there in a few months, so I haven't seen the Red Panda cub or the new facilities they built for the elephants and others.
What should I expect to see? (Or especially look forward to seeing due to them being more active in cooler temps.) And what should I expect not to see in such cold temperatures?
(I'm assuming that the North American species and large cats won't mind the temperature too much.)
Click to expand...
It’s one of my favorite times of the year. Yeah there will be several species in winter housing but the animals that enjoy the cold are much more active due to not many people there and the colder weather. The snow leopard and red pandas come to mind right away, although the snow leopard may be hiding due to the hippo construction but hopefully you’ll get to see them.

What’s the class that is bringing you to the zoo?
 
I paid a visit to the zoo over the weekend. Nothing new to report besides the ongoing construction of the new hippo exhibit. However, I feel like that in itself is worth a disscussion.

I tried to invision what the final product will come out to be based on what I saw in person, and call me a pessimist but I simply cannot see how this area will come out to be anything good. It may seem to be a decent size at first glance, but based on whats being depicted it seems to new path to the underwater viewing plaza will take up the former hippo exhibit, and it seems that the actual space going to the hippos won't be much bigger than their old 1950s exhibit. In fact, based on the rendering on the Window to the Wild website, the land area may be even smaller than before in favor of a larger pool. It's so bizarre that this new area doesn't look like much of an improvement at all. Don't get me wrong, underwater viewing is great and this will obviously be better than that dreadful old yard. However, this exhibit - similar to the likes Cincinnati, Dallas and a few other recent hippo exhibits - looks like it will underwhelm and all suffer from the same issue, not enough land space. A grazing space is extremely important for hippos and this would have been a great addition. The hippos aren't even getting a new indoor area despite the existing one being terribly outdated. It's absolutely shocking how the zoo is going about this and is really missing several crucial points of a hippo exhibit. It really is dissipointing that this won't be something great at least from whats being depicted.

On a more positive note, while were on the topic of Adventure Africa I also wanted to add that the first phase of exhibit complex has improved significantly since it's opening. When it first opened I had some reservations about the exhibit as a whole, and since then its aged pretty well. The elephant yard is significantly less barren than it was at opening, now filled with dozens of logs and a large mound of sand. Not to mention the grass has grown in and it improves the look of the exhibit greatly. The addition of another elephant next month will of course be great and will also help the exhibit look more complete. Speaking of which, the Impala Plains yard also feels much more spacious now that all of the species are actually on display. My opinions on this exhibit have also changed for the better. The only exhibit I still feel the same about is the African Forest. I still can't stand that a third of the viewing area is blocked off for the service path behind the impala plains. Why not just move it next to the barn? I also loath that new wired fence they added. The exhibit itself however is just as good as it was at opening, probably a little better now that plants have grown in.

Overall, I consider myself satisfied with phase 1 despite a few gripes here and there. However, my feelings towards the new "Hippo Haven" are that the exhibit looks like it will leave a lot to be desired, and hopefully phase 3 can deliver something more exciting. I mean out of the big three rhinos surely have to be the easiest to design an exhibit for. They don't need large pools with underwater viewing or incredibly strict regulations. I suppose we will wait and see.
 
pachyderm pro said:
I paid a visit to the zoo over the weekend. Nothing new to report besides the ongoing construction of the new hippo exhibit. However, I feel like that in itself is worth a disscussion.

I tried to invision what the final product will come out to be based on what I saw in person, and call me a pessimist but I simply cannot see how this area will come out to be anything good. It may seem to be a decent size at first glance, but based on whats being depicted it seems to new path to the underwater viewing plaza will take up the former hippo exhibit, and it seems that the actual space going to the hippos won't be much bigger than their old 1950s exhibit. In fact, based on the rendering on the Window to the Wild website, the land area may be even smaller than before in favor of a larger pool. It's so bizarre that this new area doesn't look like much of an improvement at all. Don't get me wrong, underwater viewing is great and this will obviously be better than that dreadful old yard. However, this exhibit - similar to the likes Cincinnati, Dallas and a few other recent hippo exhibits - looks like it will underwhelm and all suffer from the same issue, not enough land space. A grazing space is extremely important for hippos and this would have been a great addition. The hippos aren't even getting a new indoor area despite the existing one being terribly outdated. It's absolutely shocking how the zoo is going about this and is really missing several crucial points of a hippo exhibit. It really is dissipointing that this won't be something great at least from whats being depicted.

On a more positive note, while were on the topic of Adventure Africa I also wanted to add that the first phase of exhibit complex has improved significantly since it's opening. When it first opened I had some reservations about the exhibit as a whole, and since then its aged pretty well. The elephant yard is significantly less barren than it was at opening, now filled with dozens of logs and a large mound of sand. Not to mention the grass has grown in and it improves the look of the exhibit greatly. The addition of another elephant next month will of course be great and will also help the exhibit look more complete. Speaking of which, the Impala Plains yard also feels much more spacious now that all of the species are actually on display. My opinions on this exhibit have also changed for the better. The only exhibit I still feel the same about is the African Forest. I still can't stand that a third of the viewing area is blocked off for the service path behind the impala plains. Why not just move it next to the barn? I also loath that new wired fence they added. The exhibit itself however is just as good as it was at opening, probably a little better now that plants have grown in.

Overall, I consider myself satisfied with phase 1 despite a few gripes here and there. However, my feelings towards the new "Hippo Haven" are that the exhibit looks like it will leave a lot to be desired, and hopefully phase 3 can deliver something more exciting. I mean out of the big three rhinos surely have to be the easiest to design an exhibit for. They don't need large pools with underwater viewing or incredibly strict regulations. I suppose we will wait and see.
Click to expand...

In terms of Hippo Haven, what'd really make it a "Haven" would be to give the hippos access to one of the rhinos' yards at night for grazing. Hippos need to graze. (Maybe some mixed species opportunities in the name of Egyptian geese, White-faced whistling ducks, hottentot teals, Cape teals, maybe Speke's gazelles in with the rhinos (and potentially hippos at night))? I dunno. I know San Antonio, while having a typical hippo exhibit with underwater viewing, allows their hippos to graze at night in the neighboring painted dog yard.
 
pachyderm pro said:
It may seem to be a decent size at first glance, but based on whats being depicted it seems to new path to the underwater viewing plaza will take up the former hippo exhibit, and it seems that the actual space going to the hippos won't be much bigger than their old 1950s exhibit. In fact, based on the rendering on the Window to the Wild website, the land area may be even smaller than before in favor of a larger pool. It's so bizarre that this new area doesn't look like much of an improvement at all. Don't get me wrong, underwater viewing is great and this will obviously be better than that dreadful old yard. However, this exhibit - similar to the likes Cincinnati, Dallas and a few other recent hippo exhibits - looks like it will underwhelm and all suffer from the same issue, not enough land space. A grazing space is extremely important for hippos and this would have been a great addition. The hippos aren't even getting a new indoor area despite the existing one being terribly outdated. It's absolutely shocking how the zoo is going about this and is really missing several crucial points of a hippo exhibit. It really is dissipointing that this won't be something great at least from whats being depicted.
Click to expand...
I have to say I widely agree with you here. It was my thought/hope that the gazelles, all the impala, and maybe even the vultures left in the African savannah exhibit would move to Impala Plains, and then that space (which is pretty close to empty as it is right now imo) would also be used for at least some of the hippo exhibit to give them more space. Improvement is improvement and new is new, but I'm wondering how much better the Hippo Haven will be for the hippos and not just the people who see them...
 
Question: Does anyone know if Milwaukee has a male Guam Kingfisher? Been wondering this for awhile since they say it’s extinct in the wild and know only lives in a very limited number of zoos.
 
MKE Zoo guy said:
Question: Does anyone know if Milwaukee has a male Guam Kingfisher? Been wondering this for awhile since they say it’s extinct in the wild and know only lives in a very limited number of zoos.
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birdsandbats said:
I know that had a pair a few years ago, I don't know the status now.
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From my limited knowledge on the subject, to me it seems likely that they have a breeding pair off exhibit and then the one female on exhibit in the first aviary. Not 100% sure though, but I know it's a common practice for the zoo to hold breeding pairs of birds off exhibit so it's less stressful for the birds.
 
savetherhino said:
What animals are out in the cold?
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Depends on how cold it is when you visit, and if there is snow on the ground. Otherwise you may see zebras, cheetahs, snow leopards, elephants, tigers, elk, caribou, bears (depending on hibernation), otters, llamas, camels, macaques, lions, and/or hyenas to name a few.
 
Been muling some of these thoughts about the future of the zoo with the current happenings over for sometime now. Trying to understand what Milwaukee is envisioning for the future has been extremely difficult, even with the knowledge of their master plan.

I would agree, I am kinda concerned on how things are shaping up to be with these new improvements to the zoo. I am glad to see the hippos getting a new outdoor area where we can now see them while in the water but yet I have been having a hard time seeing it as a real improvement since it seems like the size is similar to what already exist. Yes, the outdoor exhibit is becoming 3x bigger but yet the original exhibit wasn't that big to begin with, so promoting it like they are seems more like a gimmick than true expansion.

I am trying to be hopeful of phase 3 in this build but there's a lot of work that needs to be down in order to tie everything together and I am not sure if the zoo has the confidence to do it, the right way. Phase 3 of this looks to be, if not the most intense overhaul to the area; The mallway (the area between the hippos and rhinos indoor exhibits) needs to be enclosed and renovated, and the outdoor rhino exhibits and other exhibits need to be renovated, just to name some of the larger projects. The zoo seems to be struggling to find donations for the first 2 phases, my hope is that they are going to do the final phase that wraps everything together well, although my hope for that is dwindling. Not to mention it looks like they are putting phase 3 off a year so it won't be done till 2022. Not sure if that is also due to events that are happening in Milwaukee next summer that might hamper the start of construction or not.

Now that phase 1 has had some time to settle in, I still feel like it's a meh to disappointing phase. Yes the elephants have more room to roam, however there is a lot left to be desired. There is nothing to "write home to mom" about with these exhibits. The Impala Plains and African Forest exhibits are just eh, and the elephants exhibit is very sterile looking as well. At least in the past there was some vegetation that made the exhibit look more natural of sorts. In the Impala yard, the one ostrich was/is overly stressed out by the exhibit that it over pruned its backside to where there was very little feathers left. Not to mention with the chain link fence that does nothing really for the exhibit I feel, sure you can get "closer" to the animals but at what costs? People can't even get clear photos of animals unless they have a really good lens that can shoot through the fence. That African Forest area as well, its been hard to see the animals and people can now only travel around half the exhibit. The overall area doesn't feel as welcoming as I was expecting, especially when you walk past the the elephant center and around to where the former dall sheep were. Its a lot of fencing in that area and makes me personally feel a bit claustrophobic and that's not something I deal with.

I really want to be optimistic about the changes that the zoo is making but they don't seem to making the changes that will positively impact and last years before they need to redo the exhibits. I keep hoping that something big and positive will happen that will change this trajectory but nothing is coming. Just looking at the master plan and seeing that by the time they finish Adventure Africa, the current timeline in the master plan would have been finishing up the first half of the master plan, Adventure African, Alaskan Gold Coast, renovation to the farm, and the main entrance area. I can't help look at other zoos, like the Omaha zoo, where in the same time frame that have rebuilt so much of their zoo and made exhibits that will last, that are both enriching to the animals and to the guest. Milwaukee just seems to be existing or trying to just meet the minimum requirements to retain their accreditation.
 
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