Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo news 2021

Reading about how the Adventure Africa renovation will pass over the former Asiatic black bear and Malayan tapir exhibits... completely understandable as the zoo has lost both species but they were two standouts on my original trips so still a sorry thought. I'm looking forward to hopefully making a trip this year or next and seeing all of the improvements, and having a chance to see elephants again :)

Interesting in my mind that Brookfield, Lincoln Park, and Milwaukee all lack any dedicated Asian species area and have cut down on those species in their collections, but all three have put efforts to improving their Polar bear holdings.

Alaska's Gold Coast has potential as some unique North American species went missing during construction... but that said, I watched Great Bear Wilderness be built at Brookfield and the new Polar Bear habitat at Lincoln Park, and in both cases I appreciated the advancements in animal welfare but felt myself wanting. I imagine the secret for LPZ and Milwaukee is the exhibits can probably be flexible for other bears, just as Brookfield rotates grizzlies and polar bears. That said, I really hope if Milwaukee is committed to this, they expand other species. I like the idea of bringing in Stellar's sea lions, not sure it's likely but they'd be a fun addition and stand out a lot.

Does anyone know what the deal with revising the Penguin habitat near the entrance is?

Also fascinating looking through this thread to find Milwaukee once had river dolphins, and seems they might have had them longer than many institutions? Seems like Mulwaukee and the Shedd were among the lucky ones with them.
 
JVM said:
Reading about how the Adventure Africa renovation will pass over the former Asiatic black bear and Malayan tapir exhibits... completely understandable as the zoo has lost both species but they were two standouts on my original trips so still a sorry thought. I'm looking forward to hopefully making a trip this year or next and seeing all of the improvements, and having a chance to see elephants again :)

Interesting in my mind that Brookfield, Lincoln Park, and Milwaukee all lack any dedicated Asian species area and have cut down on those species in their collections, but all three have put efforts to improving their Polar bear holdings.

Alaska's Gold Coast has potential as some unique North American species went missing during construction... but that said, I watched Great Bear Wilderness be built at Brookfield and the new Polar Bear habitat at Lincoln Park, and in both cases I appreciated the advancements in animal welfare but felt myself wanting. I imagine the secret for LPZ and Milwaukee is the exhibits can probably be flexible for other bears, just as Brookfield rotates grizzlies and polar bears. That said, I really hope if Milwaukee is committed to this, they expand other species. I like the idea of bringing in Stellar's sea lions, not sure it's likely but they'd be a fun addition and stand out a lot.

Does anyone know what the deal with revising the Penguin habitat near the entrance is?

Also fascinating looking through this thread to find Milwaukee once had river dolphins, and seems they might have had them longer than many institutions? Seems like Mulwaukee and the Shedd were among the lucky ones with them.
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I believe when Milwaukee finally gets around to renovating the front entrance of the zoo, so you will no longer need to pay for parking and zoo at the entrance to the parking lot, they want to make entrance similar to the west side entrance. Thus creating a larger penguin exhibit that welcomes you as you enter into the zoo. I think since that they got such positive reviews on the west side entrance that they want to do that again now on the east side. Also they want to make the tram go underneath the bridge to the great apes building as well which requires some reconfiguring. They are looking to do this after Adventure Africa phase 3.

I know there is a lot of opinions on Milwaukee not getting polar bears for the Alaskan Gold Coast but I wonder IF they do it right, might be a better fit for Milwaukee then say a zoo in the south. Since Milwaukee has cooler weather for large chunks of the year, wouldn’t that fit polar bears natural habitat more, and MCZ does have a rich history with polar bears. I would hope that they would construct something that could be flexible such as some more recently constructed polar bear habitats (Columbus zoo or North Carolina (not flexible for other bears but could be flexible in which environment they would be in)).

Nevertheless, I really do hope that if they do pursue polar bears that they do it right and not build something similar to phase 1 or 2 of adventure africa, lack luster and looking to be renovated already. Though we have a new director so things may change, and African Coast will be the first large scale project that he’ll be in full control of, so here’s to waiting to see.
 
In regards to a Milwaukee's plan with Polar Bears, they should build the exhibit with Polar Bears in mind, but have Grizzlies or the Alaskan Brown Bear be the residents of it until Polar Bears are available. I think a Bear complex similar to Louisville, Brookfield or Madison would allow for a good Grizzly to Polar Bear change in the future.

Also I completely expect the Master Plan to change, I think the last one was made in 2013 or so. With a new director and a decade of time, it would be good to rereview things. I think phase 3 of Africa is evidence of that. (Hope they keep the Wild Woods idea though, best one imo)
 
PocketCookie said:
In regards to a Milwaukee's plan with Polar Bears, they should build the exhibit with Polar Bears in mind, but have Grizzlies or the Alaskan Brown Bear be the residents of it until Polar Bears are available. I think a Bear complex similar to Louisville, Brookfield or Madison would allow for a good Grizzly to Polar Bear change in the future.

Also I completely expect the Master Plan to change, I think the last one was made in 2013 or so. With a new director and a decade of time, it would be good to rereview things. I think phase 3 of Africa is evidence of that. (Hope they keep the Wild Woods idea though, best one imo)
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I agree with you. I love Henry Vilas Zoo's polar bear/grizzly exhibits. It would be nice to see Milwaukee do something similar. Nothing looks better than a fresh zoo exhibit!
 
EsserWarrior said:
I'm thinking that Snow Leopards will be bred again once their current cub is transferred. I don't think they'll breed Tigers or Lions again soon. I don't know about Jaguars.
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I know that they will likely bred the snow leopards again because their genetics is to valuable. They will bred the lions once we gets male lion again, only time will tell when we will get a new male.
 
Listening to Dr. Amos talk about his career as he begins the formal approval of becoming the Milwaukee Zoo director, one thing he spent some time on that may be an indication on where he wants to take the zoo. At his former zoo the had a tax initiative just for the zoo alone, that dealt with mega-projects and zoo operations. Possibly looking into that to start funding some of his projects for the zoo. Can’t wait to hear (if he does) share about his vision for Milwaukee and where he wants to take it.
 
Always sad to see an elderly animal go, but I for one am relieved. Watching Snow Lilly lethargically pace at the edge of the moat for seemingly endless amounts of time was never fun and I am happy that she no longer has to endure the brutality of that ancient grotto. America's worst polar bear exhibit is now empty, probably for good until its demolished, and it will be very interesting to see If Milwaukee will attempt to construct a new exhibit for them in the future despite the shortage.
 
The Columbus Zoo announced today that young male polar bear, Kulu, will be moving to "another midwest zoo accredited by the AZA" in fall. I'm fairly certain I know the answer- most likely no- but with the timing of Snow Lilly's passing I'm wondering if there's a chance they're sending him to Milwaukee? I don't know the polar bear situation at any other midwest zoos apart from Henry Vilas (maybe he's going there?) but I'd assume they're going to try and breed him. Could be just a coincidence with timing. Thoughts?
 
Wild wolverine said:
The Columbus Zoo announced today that young male polar bear, Kulu, will be moving to "another midwest zoo accredited by the AZA" in fall. I'm fairly certain I know the answer- most likely no- but with the timing of Snow Lilly's passing I'm wondering if there's a chance they're sending him to Milwaukee? I don't know the polar bear situation at any other midwest zoos apart from Henry Vilas (maybe he's going there?) but I'd assume they're going to try and breed him. Could be just a coincidence with timing. Thoughts?
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I don’t think Milwaukee is going to get a polar bear anytime soon. The previous zoo director even agreed that the exhibit isn’t up to par with current polar bear needs. Though because Snow Lilly was so old that moving her to another facility was out of the question.
 
Just going to back up the sentiment that I am all but certain the bear will NOT be coming to Milwaukee. There is no way any well respected zoo would put another bear in that exhibit. Plus, this move has likely taken some time to plan out and Snow Lilly only died two days ago, so no way could they have arranged the move this quickly even if they wanted to move Kulu here.
 
Took a trip to the zoo today and well it was interesting to say the least. The zoo feels even more empty and confusing then it ever has before. Also some interesting things came out today while I walked around.

First the updates
  • American pelicans mixed in the savanna exhibit
  • The last cheetah is currently under vet supervision
  • The male Impala has died
  • The milk frogs are no longer on display
  • Cuttlefish are now gone
  • “Bean” is the new male caribou
  • The back half of the small mammals building was roped off. You still can enter and get to the mammals of the night just not the back of the building.
  • The ring tailed lemurs have part of the exhibit blocked off.
  • Several exhibits have new trees planted in them (Caribou, Impala Yard, and Camel Yard).
As for interesting info
  • Apparently earlier this year we had a young 16 month female caribou died.
  • Not sure what is happening with the Savannah exhibit. It’s becoming an exhibit of mixed birds and a pair of Thompson Gazelle.
  • Snow Lilly back in August was left out during a really bad storm, she fell into the ravine and wasn’t found for 12 hours. She was then tranquillize and removed and replaced into her holding.
  • Rumor has it that a bear will be moving into Snow Lilly’s exhibit.
Random questions
  • To those who have traveled to other zoos or know the field, is it normal for zoos…
    • To schedule a time to euthanize an animal?
    • To have as many vehicles driving around with public around?
 
MKE Zoo guy said:
Took a trip to the zoo today and well it was interesting to say the least. The zoo feels even more empty and confusing then it ever has before. Also some interesting things came out today while I walked around.

First the updates
  • American pelicans mixed in the savanna exhibit
  • The last cheetah is currently under vet supervision
  • The male Impala has died
  • The milk frogs are no longer on display
  • Cuttlefish are now gone
  • “Bean” is the new male caribou
  • The back half of the small mammals building was roped off. You still can enter and get to the mammals of the night just not the back of the building.
  • The ring tailed lemurs have part of the exhibit blocked off.
  • Several exhibits have new trees planted in them (Caribou, Impala Yard, and Camel Yard).
As for interesting info
  • Apparently earlier this year we had a young 16 month female caribou died.
  • Not sure what is happening with the Savannah exhibit. It’s becoming an exhibit of mixed birds and a pair of Thompson Gazelle.
  • Snow Lilly back in August was left out during a really bad storm, she fell into the ravine and wasn’t found for 12 hours. She was then tranquillize and removed and replaced into her holding.
  • Rumor has it that a bear will be moving into Snow Lilly’s exhibit.
Random questions
  • To those who have traveled to other zoos or know the field, is it normal for zoos…
    • To schedule a time to euthanize an animal?
    • To have as many vehicles driving around with public around?
Click to expand...
The answer to both of those questions is not usual but not exact unusual either.
 
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