Detroit Zoo Detroit Zoo News 2020

TZDugong said:
The obvious space to build a new exhibit in my opinion is the far-too-large Camel exhibit. You could build a small but nice exhibit complex on that site. You could also build an animal house near the Reptile House if you need too.
Click to expand...

There's no need for the zoo to construct new buildings on top of other exhibits if they wanted to develop things like a small mammal house or invertebrate house. They already have numerous underutilized indoor spaces. The Wildlife Interpretive Gallery could easily house more live animals in place of things like their Science on a Sphere gallery. Invertebrate-wise, that building already has live butterflies and a Partula interpretive display (no live snails). There's also the old penguinarium that will be available for redevolopment once the repairs to Polk Penguin Center are completed, the Ford Education Center that houses several non-animal attractions which I don't think get much visitor use (4D theater, simulator ride, photo gallery), and some indoor holding like the old hippo barn that were publicly accessible once upon a time. However, the reality is that Detroit Zoo's emphasis on animal welfare has seen it move away from attempting to display a large collection. The Polk Penguin Center epitomizes this, as a $32 million major exhibit development consisting of exactly one enclosure. I'll be happy if they attempt a conversion of the old penguinarium, but anything more than that is probably wishful thinking.
 
Gondwana said:
There's no need for the zoo to construct new buildings on top of other exhibits if they wanted to develop things like a small mammal house or invertebrate house. They already have numerous underutilized indoor spaces. The Wildlife Interpretive Gallery could easily house more live animals in place of things like their Science on a Sphere gallery. Invertebrate-wise, that building already has live butterflies and a Partula interpretive display (no live snails). There's also the old penguinarium that will be available for redevolopment once the repairs to Polk Penguin Center are completed, the Ford Education Center that houses several non-animal attractions which I don't think get much visitor use (4D theater, simulator ride, photo gallery), and some indoor holding like the old hippo barn that were publicly accessible once upon a time. However, the reality is that Detroit Zoo's emphasis on animal welfare has seen it move away from attempting to display a large collection. The Polk Penguin Center epitomizes this, as a $32 million major exhibit development consisting of exactly one enclosure. I'll be happy if they attempt a conversion of the old penguinarium, but anything more than that is probably wishful thinking.
Click to expand...
Yeah I know that, I was just stating that there is space for the the zoo to develop on without planning a huge expansion.

I remember hearing something about Detroit turning the old Penguinarium into a bat exhibit, not sure if that is still planned.
 
TZDugong said:
Yeah I know that, I was just stating that there is space for the the zoo to develop on without planning a huge expansion.

I remember hearing something about Detroit turning the old Penguinarium into a bat exhibit, not sure if that is still planned.
Click to expand...
Yeah, a bat conservation center was the initial renovation plan for the old Penguinarium, but it’s been nearly four years since the PPCC opened, and there have been no major updates on the renovation as far as I know
 
Gondwana said:
There's no need for the zoo to construct new buildings on top of other exhibits if they wanted to develop things like a small mammal house or invertebrate house. They already have numerous underutilized indoor spaces. The Wildlife Interpretive Gallery could easily house more live animals in place of things like their Science on a Sphere gallery. Invertebrate-wise, that building already has live butterflies and a Partula interpretive display (no live snails). There's also the old penguinarium that will be available for redevolopment once the repairs to Polk Penguin Center are completed, the Ford Education Center that houses several non-animal attractions which I don't think get much visitor use (4D theater, simulator ride, photo gallery), and some indoor holding like the old hippo barn that were publicly accessible once upon a time. However, the reality is that Detroit Zoo's emphasis on animal welfare has seen it move away from attempting to display a large collection. The Polk Penguin Center epitomizes this, as a $32 million major exhibit development consisting of exactly one enclosure. I'll be happy if they attempt a conversion of the old penguinarium, but anything more than that is probably wishful thinking.
Click to expand...
The wildlife interpretive gallery could fit in two new exhibits, one in the Science on a Sphere and the art gallery opposite of it. They could possibly have two-story viewing also. The old penguinarium will be a bat conservation center. I actually think it's pretty difficult to fit in an exhibit in the Ford Education Center. The whole building in theaters, a photo gallery, classrooms, and offices. I don't know about the hippo barn, I don't know where it is. If we look at the poorly used land, there are a few options. There is a huge portion of land near the entrance of the Australian exhibit that could fit one or two new exhibits. The smaller grizzly bear exhibit could fit a small mammal from North America like a bobcat, lynx, or fox. The pudu exhibit never should've been removed. It was a good spot for another small mammal. The dinosaur trail only gets used once every other year. This could fit two or three new exhibits. Probably Asian small-clawed otters, snow leopards, and another small Asian animal. All the picnic sites are way too large and don't seem very popular. They definitely get used, but not very well. The only ones that get used a lot are the events pavilion and main picnic site. So yeah, I guess they don't need to expand at all.
 
There are two new male pronghorns that will be moved into the bison exhibit once they're grown. The Bat Conservation Project sounds like a bust. When the Polk Penguin Center flooded they had to expand the Penguinarium exhibit into the guest area to make room for all the penguins so that building is likely not going to be a bat center. They do still have the bats from that Ann Arbor rescue if I remember right, so we'll see what they do with the bats. The zoo has also been doing a lot of exhibit renovations in the Amphibian and Reptile houses, which are coming out nicely.
 
MIZOOenthusiast070128 said:
There are two new male pronghorns that will be moved into the bison exhibit once they're grown. The Bat Conservation Project sounds like a bust. When the Polk Penguin Center flooded they had to expand the Penguinarium exhibit into the guest area to make room for all the penguins so that building is likely not going to be a bat center. They do still have the bats from that Ann Arbor rescue if I remember right, so we'll see what they do with the bats.
Click to expand...
what species?
 
MIZOOenthusiast070128 said:
There are two new male pronghorns that will be moved into the bison exhibit once they're grown. The Bat Conservation Project sounds like a bust. When the Polk Penguin Center flooded they had to expand the Penguinarium exhibit into the guest area to make room for all the penguins so that building is likely not going to be a bat center. They do still have the bats from that Ann Arbor rescue if I remember right, so we'll see what they do with the bats. The zoo has also been doing a lot of exhibit renovations in the Amphibian and Reptile houses, which are coming out nicely.
Click to expand...
Maybe the Penguinarium could be repurposed to house some type of smaller seabird such as puffins or other auks?
 
I think the building is going to be an eatery people can rent out for events. There are the African straw-colored fruit bats in the 'Hang-out Area' with the two-toed sloth and the African rock python.
 
Bisonblake said:
The wildlife interpretive gallery could fit in two new exhibits, one in the Science on a Sphere and the art gallery opposite of it. They could possibly have two-story viewing also. The old penguinarium will be a bat conservation center. I actually think it's pretty difficult to fit in an exhibit in the Ford Education Center. The whole building in theaters, a photo gallery, classrooms, and offices. I don't know about the hippo barn, I don't know where it is. If we look at the poorly used land, there are a few options. There is a huge portion of land near the entrance of the Australian exhibit that could fit one or two new exhibits. The smaller grizzly bear exhibit could fit a small mammal from North America like a bobcat, lynx, or fox. The pudu exhibit never should've been removed. It was a good spot for another small mammal. The dinosaur trail only gets used once every other year. This could fit two or three new exhibits. Probably Asian small-clawed otters, snow leopards, and another small Asian animal. All the picnic sites are way too large and don't seem very popular. They definitely get used, but not very well. The only ones that get used a lot are the events pavilion and main picnic site. So yeah, I guess they don't need to expand at all.
Click to expand...

The lion exhibit was built with snow leopards in mind, so snow leopards are still part of the plan. It will be some time though since they have to move the lions and likely move the eland, ostrich, and other birds and the tortoise in the watering hole exhibit.
 
MIZOOenthusiast070128 said:
I think the building is going to be an eatery people can rent out for events. There are the African straw-colored fruit bats in the 'Hang-out Area' with the two-toed sloth and the African rock python.
Click to expand...
AKA the former Meerkat Digs. Although the new sloth/bat habitat is cool, this reminded me that I miss having meerkats at the zoo.
 
evilmonkey239 said:
Where would the new lion habitat be built?
Click to expand...
When I saw the masterplan it showed the lions being in the area around the back of the grizzly bear dens with a new exhibit for them, but I talked to someone a few days ago and the lions may be put in the watering hole exhibit. The watering hole exhibit currently has two elands and an ostrich along with a few smaller animals like a saddle-billed stork and a sulcata tortoise, and these animals would likely be moved into the giraffe and zebra areas. The giraffe and zebra areas may be expanded, there is room for some expansion in that area, but that's speculation. I'm not sure what would happen with the flock pf pink-backed pelicans though, that usually reside in the watering hole exhibit, but are currently in the old Chilean flamingo exhibit.
 
Also worth mentioning is that the barn owls are gone. They died of old age if I recall right. Their old exhibit area has become an expansion of the hen area in the barn. The idea of jaguars and pygmy hippos was thrown around for a bit but those ideas are highly unlikely now. New species are being considered though, I'm just not sure what they are yet.
 
MIZOOenthusiast070128 said:
Also worth mentioning is that the barn owls are gone. They died of old age if I recall right. Their old exhibit area has become an expansion of the hen area in the barn. The idea of jaguars and pygmy hippos was thrown around for a bit but those ideas are highly unlikely now. New species are being considered though, I'm just not sure what they are yet.
Click to expand...
Jaguars and pygmy hippos probably aren’t coming to Detroit after all? That sucks. No zoo in Michigan currently displays either species and when I heard about the plans for them I was looking forward to their eventual arrival at one of my “home zoos”.
 
MIZOOenthusiast070128 said:
Also worth mentioning is that the barn owls are gone. They died of old age if I recall right. Their old exhibit area has become an expansion of the hen area in the barn. The idea of jaguars and pygmy hippos was thrown around for a bit but those ideas are highly unlikely now. New species are being considered though, I'm just not sure what they are yet.
Click to expand...
That exhibit wasn't there in August, either.
 
evilmonkey239 said:
Jaguars and pygmy hippos probably aren’t coming to Detroit after all? That sucks. No zoo in Michigan currently displays either species and when I heard about the plans for them I was looking forward to their eventual arrival at one of my “home zoos”.
Click to expand...
Pygmy hippos may still be a possibility. When they said unlikely, that was much more for the jaguars.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top