North Carolina Zoo North Carolina Zoo News 2022

Got this months email from the NC Zoo Society, and there is something that is a bit puzzling to me.

There are only 3 main things in this email:

One is the new stop that PART will be making to the zoo.
One is just reminding people that Asia will brake ground soon. (nothing new there)


The other says, "Expect to see some monkey business happening at the zoo in late fall" It then says to check out the zoos social media to learn "If, What, and When"
I have zero clue to what this means. The zoo only has one species of monkey, and that's the baboons. Their exhibit is still being renovated and won't reopen until next year. Is the zoo teasing a new species? I might be thinking too hard about this and it might just be an event or something at the zoo. Does anyone have any idea to what this is referring to?
 
OkapiFan said:
The other says, "Expect to see some monkey business happening at the zoo in late fall" It then says to check out the zoos social media to learn "If, What, and When"
I have zero clue to what this means. The zoo only has one species of monkey, and that's the baboons. Their exhibit is still being renovated and won't reopen until next year. Is the zoo teasing a new species? I might be thinking too hard about this and it might just be an event or something at the zoo. Does anyone have any idea to what this is referring to?
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Maybe part of the baboon habitat will open again? It has been closed for a long time, I did not realize it was not going to be open until next year. It was closed when we went to the zoo last summer.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Maybe part of the baboon habitat will open again? It has been closed for a long time, I did not realize it was not going to be open until next year. It was closed when we went to the zoo last summer.
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That was my first thought and it would be awesome! (and probably more likely than the zoo building a new primate exhibit :p)
 
OkapiFan said:
The other says, "Expect to see some monkey business happening at the zoo in late fall" Is the zoo teasing a new species? I might be thinking too hard about this and it might just be an event or something at the zoo. Does anyone have any idea to what this is referring to?
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The baboons new habitat is opening in fall/winter (construction update):


Details in video - but the architecture will be based on the stone churches of Ethiopia.
 
The zoo just released a new video about the three new sections coming to the park!

The video has new concept art for the crane, and vulture habitats, and the tiger viewing in the cafe. Also the thumbnail confirms cobras with be added in Asia. For Australia, there is new concept art for the tree kangaroo and the play areas. The Amazon section has been revealed to contain Capybaras, Toucans, Tamerins, Jaguars and more!!

It's amazing to see what this zoo will become!

Edit: Asia will brake ground on August 17th!!
 
IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING! LET'S FREAKING GO!

Also, the Amazon exhibit was totally out of left field. I was not expecting a THIRD new complex to be announced, let alone one representing a new continent, especially with the next complex still 4 years away and another complex coming in behind that. It looks like the zoo really wants to fulfill that original "seven continents" plan in one way or another.

I also have to be amazed that the zoo is gearing up for such a massive expansion after almost 2 decades of alternating between minor additions, major removals, and near-stagnation. Now that Asia is definitely happening, I can say for the first time in a while that the future of the zoo is looking good.
 
I am very, very excited for this and to see how it actually gets built out. I am a little disappointed in the actual size of the areas, in particular Australia. Both NA and Africa were done on such a massive scale it makes these feel a little underwhelming, even if they are large expansions for a normal size zoo.

I have always said that once the zoo expanded again it could be the best zoo in the USA, and I still think that to be the case, but I still just feel a little underwhelmed here. Now, if these are just the starting parts for those sections then that is another matter entirely. I know the other parts of the zoo were phased too.

Lastly, the Amazon section is kind of our of nowhere to me - but a very welcome addition to be sure.
 
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It's finally happening. The groundbreaking ceremony for Asia is next Wednesday and there's going to be some dynamite blasting to clear away the rocks during construction. The 1970s saw the zoo open. The 1980s saw much of Africa open. The 1990s saw much of North America open. Lets hope the 2020s sees a new period of expanding continents.
 
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Kind of wish they’d just put the money into a massive take on one of these three, but this is still exciting. I think it would just be cooler to have “Asia with basically everything” than “three kind of typical themed exhibits.” Probably easier to justify building a massive new project in a decade or two than it is to justify expanding old ones. Less excitement / PR buzz.
 
OkapiFan said:
It's possible that Australia will end up being bigger. The zoo said earlier this year that they are still fleshing out the animal list for this section and that it will cost the same as Asia ( which is significantly bigger).
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I'm actually thrilled to see these projects will be on a smaller scale compared to the rest of the zoo. The amount of walking in between most of the exhibits can get tiring real quick.
 
Collecting my thoughts on this, as BOY did the hype train start steamrolling ahead for me!

Asia: A lot of incredible species are being added, tigers/komodo dragons/red pandas (since dropped) have been teased as long as I've been following the zoo's progress online. The other species - gibbons, hornbills, vultures, cranes, cobras, Visayan warty pigs and loads of other species will really round this area out. I hope they do tone down the temple-theming for the final exhibit as the rest of the zoo has generally subtle/tastefully designed architecture, letting the habitats speak for themselves.

Australia: STOKED for cassowaries and tree kangaroos. The actual kangaroo walkabout is standard, but I do have fond memories going through the old Australian Walkabout area they had where KidZone is now. I do hope they expand the species list from just that, Tasmanian devils would seriously trick this region out, maybe throw in some wombats or dingoes as well and we're set!

Amazon: I share the sentiment that this is a left-field announcement that is 100% welcome. It does seem a bit weird to me that North Carolina's doing an Amazon-focused area rather than a general South American area (given the naming conventions of the other zones), but given the quality of the other habitats throughout the zoo, they'll knock an Amazon section out of the park BIG time. They really are doubling expanding their big cat collection as well, especially from just lions and cougars to tigers and jaguars. I'm excited to see where this goes!
 
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Lots of big news out of NC today! The local fans must be elated to finally hear this exciting news after years of anticipation. As a Brookfield fan I can't relate... yet.

While it would have been incredible to have an all encompassing Asian zone similar to the Africa and North America regions, I really can't complain with what we're getting. It would have been nice to have one more big hitter like orangutans or tapirs (latter could've easily been mixed with the warty pigs), but for most zoos. Also happy to see some smaller things get focused on, mainly the Asian reptile house and the crane/vulture exhibit. Also, I know it was reported a while back that red pandas were dropped, but are we sure about this? The rendering shown in the video still shows them on the plan. Interestingly, unless I'm missing something I also see no mention of the gibbons on the site plan even though they have been confirmed for the exhibit which is strange.

The Australian zone is shaping up to be a lot like San Diego Zoo Safari Park's Walkabout Australia, E.I kangaroo walkthrough with tree kangaroo and cassowary sub-area. It all looks good without anything particular distinct. I would definitely like to see one more big species here (koalas, Tasmanian devils, wombats, etc.) and hopefully that will happen with the species list being recast and many more years of development to go.

Don't have much to say about the Amazon zone since there aren't any renderings or plans, but this will be a very good opportunity for the zoo to expand its primate collection. Some new world monkeys would be really good to see.

I have high expectations for all of this. The zoo does all of their design work in house so I'm confident they can deliver something fantastic for all of these exhibits. The collection will be much more well-rounded once all of this it done with additional big cats, monkeys, marsupials, birds and many others. Once all of this comes to fruition, I think North Carolina may secure its place in the list of what's generally considered the top five American zoos alongside San Diego, Bronx, Omaha and Saint Louis.
 
pachyderm pro said:
Lots of big news out of NC today! The local fans must be elated to finally hear this exciting news after years of anticipation. As a Brookfield fan I can't relate... yet.

While it would have been incredible to have an all encompassing Asian zone similar to the Africa and North America regions, I really can't complain with what we're getting. It would have been nice to have one more big hitter like orangutans or tapirs (latter could've easily been mixed with the warty pigs), but for most zoos. Also happy to see some smaller things get focused on, mainly the Asian reptile house and the crane/vulture exhibit. Also, I know it was reported a while back that red pandas were dropped, but are we sure about this? The rendering shown in the video still shows them on the plan. Interestingly, unless I'm missing something I also see no mention of the gibbons on the site plan even though they have been confirmed for the exhibit which is strange.

The Australian zone is shaping up to be a lot like San Diego Zoo Safari Park's Walkabout Australia, E.I kangaroo walkthrough with tree kangaroo and cassowary sub-area. It all looks good without anything particular distinct. I would definitely like to see one more big species here (koalas, Tasmanian devils, wombats, etc.) and hopefully that will happen with the species list being recast and many more years of development to go.

Don't have much to say about the Amazon zone since there aren't any renderings or plans, but this will be a very good opportunity for the zoo to expand its primate collection. Some new world monkeys would be really good to see.

I have high expectations for all of this. The zoo does all of their design work in house so I'm confident they can deliver something fantastic for all of these exhibits. The collection will be much more well-rounded once all of this it done with additional big cats, monkeys, marsupials, birds and many others. Once all of this comes to fruition, I think North Carolina may secure its place in the list of what's generally considered the top five American zoos alongside San Diego, Bronx, Omaha and Saint Louis.
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Addressing your points about Asia, the zoo's had about 3 or 4 publicly available site plans as far as I know. Official mentions about red pandas were dropped a while ago, and with the gibbons, the zoo's always had a "primate exhibit" within the site plan, and it's good to get official confirmation that these are the primates we're getting. I'm honestly not sure if white-cheeked gibbons or lar gibbons are more likely, or if they decide to go with siamangs.

Australia, now that you mention it - I do see the resemblance with Walkabout Australia. My money's on North Carolina getting Tasmanian devils and/or dingoes since there is wiggle room (insert Wiggles joke here) for the species list to grow.

Amazon, I am hopeful that they go all out with the species roster, or also highlight animals from the Andes as well. Andean bears would be an absolutely fantastic addition as well, in addition to other highland species like Andean condors and llamas/alpacas. But that's just pure speculation - either way, by the time all this is done, North Carolina would truly be an absolute JUGGERNAUT. Not that it isn't already, but these zones would definitely seal the deal.
 
Regarding the Asia section, I too find it underwhelming. Tapir, Rhino, Asian Bear and ORANGS, any single or combo of these species would have me more excited. If they really wanted to nail it the addition of the other species of big gray slugs would be incredible. I'm sure it still will be great exhibitery wise but the lineup leaves me wanting more
 
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