I miss the awesome frog displays with Lemur Leaf Frog (and other species) as well as the Sugar Gliders and Amazon Tree Boas. The frog displays in the discovery center were some of my favorite exhibits in the zoo.
Henry Vilas Zoo Henry Vilas Zoo News 2022
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AnonGibbon
Active Member
Forgot about those. I definitely enjoyed visiting it too. As always, this zoo offers no indication of what's going on. Frustrating...
On July 29th, the zoo announced that their playground will be closed for a couple weeks as a wild barn swallow has built a nest and had hatchlings inside the large tree structure.
Henry Vilas Zoo
Henry Vilas Zoo
I wondered why it was closed.
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
The baby orangutan's name is Menjadi!
I liked the Lemur Leaf Frogs and Living Wall in the Discovery Center. I believe they had a Cane Toad and Box Turtle on display in there as well?
Henry Vilas doesn't have much room to spare, so taking away the Discovery Center makes the zoo seem smaller than it did already.
The box turtle is still on-exhibit seasonally in the small yard behind the Herpetarium.
Yeah, the biggest loss with the Discovery Center closure besides the Lemur Leaf Frogs is simply making the zoo feel much smaller.
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
Amen to that. At least we have the Aviary back. Once I’m back in Madison, I’ll have to ask the zoo about the state of the Discovery Center.
Totally forgot about their outdoor enclosure!
If the red panda/entrance renovation project ever happens, that'll allow the zoo to exhibit some smaller species again. They could also add some smaller exhibits in the entrance area of the Tropical Building.
On August 8th, it was reported that the USDA upgraded the citation for the capybara incident to an "Official Warning".
https://www.roadsidezoonews.org/post/henry-vilas-zoo-citation-upgraded-to-official-warning
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
The grizzlies got to explore the polar bear habitat for the first time ever!
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Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
Finally back in Madison, and I visited the zoo today! Here's my notes.
- After 2 and a half years, I finally got to go back into the aviary!
Like @AnonGibbon said, the first fish tank is still empty, there's no birds above the Pacu, and there's no stingray under the Turaco (there was a turtle, though). The bat room was cool, though! I'm a sucker for dark exhibits, and it was nice to see bats at Henry Vilas again (and I actually kind of missed the stink of that room, not gonna lie...). I was in there for most of my visit, but mostly because it took me an embarrassingly long time to find their night herons (I kept saying I was going to be "heron-til night" if I didn't find them). The curassows stole the show, though; they were climbing Slothra's climbing structure and messing with her browse, preening themselves on the railing, and just strutting around like they owned the place. While I would've liked some more significant changes, I'm just glad that the aviary is open again! - As for non-aviary-related subjects, the Golden Lion Tamarins are still in the Animal Health Center. Good to know that they haven't left.
- The crane and badger exhibits are extremely lush.
- Saw both Polar Bears! They were enjoying a swim and a poolside lounge.
- Aayla the aardvark now has one of those dog igloos in her exhibit, presumably so she has a more private place to sleep. She usually slept curled up right against the glass, where people could be loud and misidentify her.
One of my friend's visited yesterday, and she said she saw two sloths. Did you also see two?
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
I only saw one. I got to the zoo at around 2pm, was your friend there earlier?
On August 17th, the zoo announced that the playground has reopened today as the birds have left the nest.
https://www.facebook.com/HenryVilas...MAhoTMvtYVH5MCidYUUgVmrneA1aurF3kSpFF4fx6toil
I am not sure what time she went. I am going tomorrow, so I can double-check!
8/19/2022 Updates
- The hornbill in the Children's Zoo didn't seem as stressed as it used to be. I didn't see the meerkats, so maybe that has something to do with it.
- There were tons of zoo camps and educational shows going on. I got a glimpse of the Discovery Center, and it doesn't look much different.
- The lions and tiger switched enclosures today.
- There were only four penguins on display.
- A new enclosure, presumably for some sort of reptile or amphibian, is being worked on next to the piranhas.
- Red-clawed scorpions and two-spotted assassin bugs are on display in the invertebrate tree. There is a sign for peppered cockroaches, but the enclosure was empty.
- The curassows are not shy. I could've touched them!
- The new baby orangutan is adorable!
- The old Gila monster exhibit is still being renovated.
- There was only one sloth!
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
I was right about the sloth!
On the topic of stressed hornbills, this comment from March ended up being an unfortunate case of foreshadowing...
How does a stressed hornbill behave, anyways? I saw both species on Monday, but I'm not sure if the hornbill was stressed or not.
During my previous visits, he would constantly be flying back and forth, and wouldn't sit still for very long. When he did sit still, he could just sit on part of the mockrock and stare at the wall. During my visit yesterday, he was just sitting on the branches and watching the guests walk by, as well as grooming himself.
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
I’d also be hella anxious if I had to share a home with a mob who killed my girlfriend.
Honestly, if I were in charge, I’d move Mosi to the aviary or something if being around the meerkats makes him that stressed. Poor bird…
