Yeah, last time I was there the former bush dog yard is now used for anteaters.
Detroit Zoo Detroit Zoo News 2021
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
Nice. Were the storks and spoonbills moved back in the African Grasslands?
The Jewish zookeeper whom even PETA loves
Here’s a link to an article about Kagan’s career. The article says that the next animals to be added to the zoo will be snow leopards, and the article was pushlished yesterday, so fingers crossed.
Here’s a link to an article about Kagan’s career. The article says that the next animals to be added to the zoo will be snow leopards, and the article was pushlished yesterday, so fingers crossed.
The title intrigues me, I really hope we can get snow-leopards.
Congratulations mama Madeline! This Japanese macaque gave birth on April 10, 2021. On your next visit, make sure to take a close look to see if you can see the new baby hanging close to her tummy. This was posted earlier, announcing the birth of another macaque at the zoo.
Wow, the third year in a row there's been a macaque baby!
I'm curious where the lions will go IF they still plan to put the snow leopards in the lion exhibit.
They were supposed to go in that large area behind the bear dens between the kangaroos and giraffes, and then the snow leopards would get the current lion yard.
Some polar bear updates emailed to members:
New Information About Polar Bear Anana
DZS recently completed an in-depth review into Anana’s death and, working with veterinary pathologists at Michigan State University, discovered that she died from advanced heart disease. She was not killed by male polar bear Nuka, as was originally believed. The DZS’s Animal Health External Review Panel, a group of experts in veterinary and human health, endorsed this conclusion.
Analysis of Anana’s heart tissues showed that she experienced acute heart failure or a fatal arrhythmia before or during breeding attempts. It was impossible to know that she had a cardiac condition called multifocal myocardial fibrosis, as she showed no clinical signs and a 2020 medical examination noted no abnormalities in her heart function. Wounds on Anana likely resulted from Nuka holding her with his teeth, as is typical during polar bear breeding. He was also observed moving her around the habitat after she became unresponsive, possibly because he was confused by her behavior.
While DZS continues to mourn Anana’s loss, the polar bear staff is focused on caring for Nuka, as well as female Suka and her 6-month-old cubs. Laerke (the cub being reared by staff) is living in the polar bears’ building, but is separated from the other bears while she gets to know them from a distance. Suka and Astra (the cub she is raising in the maternity den) will soon be exploring the Arctic Ring of Life’s Tundra habitat.
Polar Bear Sisters
In January, the Detroit Zoo shared the news of the birth of twin polar bear cubs to mother Suka on November 17, 2020. Two days later, one of the cubs appeared weak and inactive and was moved to the Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex for lifesaving care. Her sibling, also a female, remained with Suka in the private maternity den in the Arctic Ring of Life. Both were closely monitored and given the care they needed to grow and thrive.
The cubs, who were named Astra (a Norwegian name meaning “star”) and Laerke (a Danish name meaning "lark"), are growing stronger and more active by the day. Norway and Greenland (part of the realm of Denmark) are two of the five countries in which wild polar bears are found.
Though Laerke is still behind the scenes, Suka and Astra will be venturing outdoors in the next few weeks.
New Information About Polar Bear Anana
DZS recently completed an in-depth review into Anana’s death and, working with veterinary pathologists at Michigan State University, discovered that she died from advanced heart disease. She was not killed by male polar bear Nuka, as was originally believed. The DZS’s Animal Health External Review Panel, a group of experts in veterinary and human health, endorsed this conclusion.
Analysis of Anana’s heart tissues showed that she experienced acute heart failure or a fatal arrhythmia before or during breeding attempts. It was impossible to know that she had a cardiac condition called multifocal myocardial fibrosis, as she showed no clinical signs and a 2020 medical examination noted no abnormalities in her heart function. Wounds on Anana likely resulted from Nuka holding her with his teeth, as is typical during polar bear breeding. He was also observed moving her around the habitat after she became unresponsive, possibly because he was confused by her behavior.
While DZS continues to mourn Anana’s loss, the polar bear staff is focused on caring for Nuka, as well as female Suka and her 6-month-old cubs. Laerke (the cub being reared by staff) is living in the polar bears’ building, but is separated from the other bears while she gets to know them from a distance. Suka and Astra (the cub she is raising in the maternity den) will soon be exploring the Arctic Ring of Life’s Tundra habitat.
Polar Bear Sisters
In January, the Detroit Zoo shared the news of the birth of twin polar bear cubs to mother Suka on November 17, 2020. Two days later, one of the cubs appeared weak and inactive and was moved to the Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex for lifesaving care. Her sibling, also a female, remained with Suka in the private maternity den in the Arctic Ring of Life. Both were closely monitored and given the care they needed to grow and thrive.
The cubs, who were named Astra (a Norwegian name meaning “star”) and Laerke (a Danish name meaning "lark"), are growing stronger and more active by the day. Norway and Greenland (part of the realm of Denmark) are two of the five countries in which wild polar bears are found.
Though Laerke is still behind the scenes, Suka and Astra will be venturing outdoors in the next few weeks.
Update on the cubs
Suka and Astra are now on exhibit. Laerke is still being cared for by keepers behind the scenes.
Suka and Astra are now on exhibit. Laerke is still being cared for by keepers behind the scenes.
Will they be introducing Astra and Laerke to each other sometime soon? It would allow Laerke to have interaction with another bear, but I'm not sure if they would be able to seperate Suka and Astra for a couple hours. lt would make sense if they introduce the two to one another once Astra is weaned and seperated from Suka since young female pairings seem popular in zoos these days (i.e. Amelia Gray/Neva at Maryland and Nora/Hope formerly at Hogle). But I wonder if they would introduce the two earlier on, like maybe in a couple of months?
It's sea otters going into the old seal exhibit. There's a sign up on the glass of the old seal exhibit that says sea otters coming soon.
Pleasantly surprised, although seals work a lot better in that habitat IMO.
I agree it's gonna be interesting seeing otters under that huge tunnel. The predator-prey design works better for polar bears and seals than polar bears and sea otters.
Spoonbills were still there, along with the white storks. Sorry for the late response, I didn't see the notifications.
There's a baby wallaby at the zoo! The wallaby was born in October and has now started to venture out of the mother's pouch. It's the first wallaby born at the zoo since 2010.
Wallaby Joey Makes Debut at Detroit Zoo - Detroit Zoo
Wallaby Joey Makes Debut at Detroit Zoo - Detroit Zoo
I just found out about the sea otters today thanks to a letter I received in the mail. I have nothing against them, but TBH I’m disappointed they’re replacing the seals for the following reasons:
- The habitat seems like it would be awfully big for just a pair of otters.
- Furthermore, the dynamic the neighboring seal and polar bear habitats had is lost since sea otters are, unlike seals, not a prey item of the bears.
- Finally, they simply don’t fit the Arctic theme.
I mean it's not the worst thing that could possibly have happened. This is one of the only times a species has been phased out and we actually got one in return (yeah it was two species phased out, but still). Sea otters do fit better with a Pacific Northwest theme, but we have seen worse animal placement here.
So it's only a pair of sea otters, not a colony? That does seem ridiculous. I don't think they'll get rid of the sea otters and bring back the seals either.
I am kind of hoping that it starts with a pair and will become home to more rescues because man is it pretty large for just two otters.