Henry Vilas Zoo Henry Vilas Zoo News 2023

New year, new thread, and I've got some stuff to report! Not a whole lot of stuff, but juuust enough to get this thread going!
  • The Boa Constrictor habitat is still dark and empty. Is the boa dead? Are they simply off-exhibit? The world may never know.
  • Tom the male Aldabra Tortoise had a boot or a cast or something on his right front foot, and there was a sign saying "animal under medical surveillance" or something like that in front of their indoor exhibit. It was a little disheartening to see him like that, I'll be honest. Tortoises may live a long time, but it's easy to forget that they aren't invincible. Stay strong, Tom.
  • It appears that Steve the Agouti is no longer with us. I hadn't seen him for months, but today there was no signage for him, and there were two tortoises and a duck in his part of the aviary. RIP, Steve. Your name will never not be hilarious.
  • I only saw one macaw in the aviary.
  • The tank next to the piranhas is still empty.
  • On a more positive note, I may have caught Aayla the aardvark dreaming? She was asleep, but then she jolted without waking up. I just found that cute, and I have to see how my favorite animal at Henry Vilas is doing!
That'll be all for now! When the weather starts being more tolerable, I'll be at the zoo more frequently for volunteering. See you then!
 
According to the zoo’s Facebook, Tom the Aldabra Tortoise was diagnosed with progressive osteomyelitis and had foot surgery, which explains the boot he had on his foot when I saw him (poor guy also had a toe amputated). I don’t know if this information is outdated, but apparently the other Giant tortoise, Rickie, was moved into the primate house with the ruffed lemurs to let Tom recover quietly.
 
Corangurilla said:
It appears that Steve the Agouti is no longer with us. I hadn't seen him for months, but today there was no signage for him, and there were two tortoises and a duck in his part of the aviary. RIP, Steve. Your name will never not be hilarious.
Click to expand...

He may have also been transferred, as they have been trying to send him elsewhere for some time! That would make it a little less sad! Steve was the best.
 
Squeezed in a brief visit to the zoo before class today. I’ve got three things to report:
  1. Rickie the Giant Tortoise was indeed with the ruffed lemurs in the primate house. Ring-tails were in the center with the hyraxes, so I guess that means the colobus is off-display until Rickie moves back in with Tom.
  2. Glacier Grill is closed for renovations.
  3. There was no sign of the African Penguins, and there was no sign for the African Penguins. Will they get Gentoos? Could the fabled beavers be held here? Who knows.
 
I stumbled upon the page below and figured it would be of interest. It appears the zoo has completed a new master plan which was done by CLR and it varies quite a bit from the plans posted here last year. Some of the proposed developments include a new African savanna exhibit, big cat complex, penguin exhibit, new entrance and education center upon other projects.

Henry Vilas – Heart of the Zoo - CLR Design
 
pachyderm pro said:
I stumbled upon the page below and figured it would be of interest. It appears the zoo has completed a new master plan which was done by CLR and it varies quite a bit from the plans posted here last year. Some of the proposed developments include a new African savanna exhibit, big cat complex, penguin exhibit, new entrance and education center upon other projects.

Henry Vilas – Heart of the Zoo - CLR Design
Click to expand...

Interesting. The new tiger exhibit seems quite large!
 
pachyderm pro said:
I stumbled upon the page below and figured it would be of interest. It appears the zoo has completed a new master plan which was done by CLR and it varies quite a bit from the plans posted here last year. Some of the proposed developments include a new African savanna exhibit, big cat complex, penguin exhibit, new entrance and education center upon other projects.

Henry Vilas – Heart of the Zoo - CLR Design
Click to expand...


Very interesting. I can't quite figure out what order they're planning to do things... At first it looked like the African exhibits would be constructed concurrently. But then later in 2022 it seemed to shift toward a piecemeal approach, doing the new giraffe exhibit first. And then with these new plans, I don't know what the order is. Looks nice regardless.


In other news:

The zoo was "on track" to receive a new bison in February but I'm not sure if that materialized. The zoo also wanted to get a new camel months ago, and I'm not sure what ever came of that either.

The capybaras are living in the animal health center for the winter (not visible to public, AFAIK), and the golden lion tamarins have not been in the exhibit in AHC for the past few weeks.

The number of visitors returned to normal in 2022 with almost 700,000.

Also, very sad that Steve the agouti is no longer there!
 
AnonGibbon said:
Very interesting. I can't quite figure out what order they're planning to do things... At first it looked like the African exhibits would be constructed concurrently. But then later in 2022 it seemed to shift toward a piecemeal approach, doing the new giraffe exhibit first. And then with these new plans, I don't know what the order is. Looks nice regardless.
Click to expand...

The plan for the new giraffe exhibit was for it to stretch from the current giraffe exhibit to the rhino exhibit, right? Does this mean that they will send Harmon and their remaining giraffe to other facilities? It was noted that HVZ may notify the coordinator when they are ready to transfer their giraffe away, so I'd expect him to be transferred soon if they plan on renovating the area.

AnonGibbon said:
The zoo was "on track" to receive a new bison in February but I'm not sure if that materialized. The zoo also wanted to get a new camel months ago, and I'm not sure what ever came of that either.
Click to expand...

I'm curious to see if they will bring in another pure bison. (The remaining bison is the pure female, correct?)

The note about the new camel is interesting. If they plan on doing construction in that area, I would think that bringing in a new animal that is next to the construction area would be an odd choice. For as long as I can remember, HVZ has always had two camels, so it'll be interesting to see three.

On a side note, Rhonda was not on the International Woman's Day post, so I am assuming that she is no longer on the team. Did anything ever come up from those investigations?
 
Corangurilla said:
They only have one camel at the moment. Booger bit the big one around the time I joined Zoochat last year, so it’s been Altain all alone for about 9 months.
And yes, Wilma is a pure American Bison.
Click to expand...

You're right! It completely slipped my mind that Booger passed away. :(
I need to visit the zoo sometime soon.
 
After visiting today (3/12/2023), here are a few of my thoughts, as well as some updates:
  • Little Menjadi is growing up so fast! Today, she and Chelsea were at the top of their indoor climbing structure, and Menjadi was climbing around all by herself by using one of the ropes that were tied at the top.
  • There are new circular signs on many of the enclosures, and they are way better than the previous signs. Many of them include personal information about many of the animals as well. I will upload some of them to the gallery soon.
  • It appears that they have not received their second colobus yet, as "Sammy" was in the enclosure by themself... as well as the two hyrax! (Who were not pleased when I come up to the glass to enthusiastically greet them!)
  • Rickie the Aldabra Tortoise is still in the Primate Building. Tom's foot still appears to be healing.
  • Pelo and Shakura the African Lions were active today! They were walking around and having fun in the beautiful weather.
  • Altain the Bactrian Camel has access to the former Barbados Sheep exhibit as well. I'm not sure if she did before, but she does now! Having the extra room is great for them.
  • The flamingo flock was having quite a few arguments today! No one seemed to be getting along! I bet they are excited to get back out in the yard once it gets warmer outside.
  • Eddie the Reticulated (Zoomix) Giraffe's barn is not a pretty sight. I think it'll be great to see a new giraffe exhibit and holding area coming in the near future.
  • There does not appear to be any progress on the former African Penguin exhibit. I'm glad to see that they finally moved them out of that old exhibit and into an appropriate flock situation.
  • There are only three Geoffrey's Marmosets in the Aviary (noted on the sign at Iris, Pip, and Miguel). This aligns with plans that I saw for them online, so they should be breeding Iris and Pip (?) soon. The third individual in the enclosure is their offspring from a previous litter.
  • The new Gila Monster exhibit in the Herpetarium looks fantastic!
  • I don't know if they redid the rattlesnake exhibit recently, but it looks better than I remember. There was no overhead sign for the snake, but there was one of those new circular signs on it.
  • Aayla the Aardvark and the Meerkats now have sand in their enclosures! It looks like they have had a fantastic time digging in it. I only saw two Meerkats on exhibit, but I believe they had three at one point.
  • The Von der Decken's Hornbills seems much less stressed, and he even has a new nest box! I wonder if they plan on bringing a new female companion for him.
  • Bandit the Red Panda was extremely active! He seems to be a spry young man! Does anyone know if they were planning on bringing in a new partner for him? I know Henry Vilas has had success with their breeding in the past.
On a side note, does anyone know if anything came from the investigations? It appears that Rhonda is gone, but I believe the problem was more than just her, correct?

 
EsserWarrior said:
After visiting today (3/12/2023), here are a few of my thoughts, as well as some updates:
  • Little Menjadi is growing up so fast! Today, she and Chelsea were at the top of their indoor climbing structure, and Menjadi was climbing around all by herself by using one of the ropes that were tied at the top.
  • There are new circular signs on many of the enclosures, and they are way better than the previous signs. Many of them include personal information about many of the animals as well. I will upload some of them to the gallery soon.
  • It appears that they have not received their second colobus yet, as "Sammy" was in the enclosure by themself... as well as the two hyrax! (Who were not pleased when I come up to the glass to enthusiastically greet them!)
  • Rickie the Aldabra Tortoise is still in the Primate Building. Tom's foot still appears to be healing.
  • Pelo and Shakura the African Lions were active today! They were walking around and having fun in the beautiful weather.
  • Altain the Bactrian Camel has access to the former Barbados Sheep exhibit as well. I'm not sure if she did before, but she does now! Having the extra room is great for them.
  • The flamingo flock was having quite a few arguments today! No one seemed to be getting along! I bet they are excited to get back out in the yard once it gets warmer outside.
  • Eddie the Reticulated (Zoomix) Giraffe's barn is not a pretty sight. I think it'll be great to see a new giraffe exhibit and holding area coming in the near future.
  • There does not appear to be any progress on the former African Penguin exhibit. I'm glad to see that they finally moved them out of that old exhibit and into an appropriate flock situation.
  • There are only three Geoffrey's Marmosets in the Aviary (noted on the sign at Iris, Pip, and Miguel). This aligns with plans that I saw for them online, so they should be breeding Iris and Pip (?) soon. The third individual in the enclosure is their offspring from a previous litter.
  • The new Gila Monster exhibit in the Herpetarium looks fantastic!
  • I don't know if they redid the rattlesnake exhibit recently, but it looks better than I remember. There was no overhead sign for the snake, but there was one of those new circular signs on it.
  • Aayla the Aardvark and the Meerkats now have sand in their enclosures! It looks like they have had a fantastic time digging in it. I only saw two Meerkats on exhibit, but I believe they had three at one point.
  • The Von der Decken's Hornbills seems much less stressed, and he even has a new nest box! I wonder if they plan on bringing a new female companion for him.
  • Bandit the Red Panda was extremely active! He seems to be a spry young man! Does anyone know if they were planning on bringing in a new partner for him? I know Henry Vilas has had success with their breeding in the past.
On a side note, does anyone know if anything came from the investigations? It appears that Rhonda is gone, but I believe the problem was more than just her, correct?
Click to expand...

Great updates! I've seen the new signage myself and concur. Most of these changes have happened throughout the past few months, however, I believe Altain has had access to that other yard throughout her whole time at HVZ (and Booger had access before).

The third meerkat, Tinker, died somewhat recently. Only Donald and Franklin are left. As I understand, it is difficult to add new adult members to an existing meerkat colony. Besides, that's a fairly bad exhibit for meerkats and hornbills... two species that should never be together either. On a related note, they likely will not bring in a female hornbill. I believe that species is being phased out by the AZA, correct me if I'm wrong, and it's not a good space for hornbills, particularly a breeding pair.

They likely will bring in another red panda but I've seen nothing to suggest when.

As for the investigations... Ronda still works at HVZ. The latest investigation turned up nothing particularly concerning.


Judge Bailey-Rihn’s recent findings from the independent investigation include the following:

  • No evidence of discrimination based on the legal standard
  • No evidence of hostile work environment based on the legal standard
  • No violations of the Dane County Employee Handbook
  • Some evidence of isolated past issues with animal treatment that have been investigated and/or are being resolved
However, she still should have been fired long ago for her first "incident". And fired again after the zoo's terrible COVID reopening. It's really a stain on the zoo and the county to keep her working there.
 
AnonGibbon said:
The third meerkat, Tinker, died somewhat recently. Only Donald and Franklin are left. As I understand, it is difficult to add new adult members to an existing meerkat colony.
Click to expand...

I have heard this as well. I wonder if it would be easier to introduce a new female to the two males, or if they will wait until the two boys pass to try and form a new colony.

Does anyone know where they planned on putting the wallabies they inquired about? I assumed they would be in the Children's Zoo area.

AnonGibbon said:
As for the investigations... Ronda still works at HVZ. The latest investigation turned up nothing particularly concerning.


Judge Bailey-Rihn’s recent findings from the independent investigation include the following:

  • No evidence of discrimination based on the legal standard
  • No evidence of hostile work environment based on the legal standard
  • No violations of the Dane County Employee Handbook
  • Some evidence of isolated past issues with animal treatment that have been investigated and/or are being resolved
However, she still should have been fired long ago for her first "incident". And fired again after the zoo's terrible COVID reopening. It's really a stain on the zoo and the county to keep her working there.
Click to expand...

This is interesting. I'm surprised they wanted to keep her around after all of the scandals.

Henry Vilas Zoo is a facility that I'd love to work at after I graduate college in two years, but I wouldn't want to try and work somewhere that doesn't have an ideal work environment, or somewhere that has animal mistreatment issues.
 
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