Lupa Zoo Lupa Zoo News

Smaggledagle

Smaggledagle

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5+ year member
Recap of 2020 news:

On January 23rd, The zoo announced on their Facebook page that the 17th Annual Winter Fundraiser event was to be postponed due to COVID-19.

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On March 13th, it was announced the the opening date of the 2020 season was postponed from April 4th to April 18th. It was then changed to it’s final date, May 25th.

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On April 4th, the zoo announced the birth of a European mouflon sheep.

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On April 5th, the zoo announced the birth of a ring-tailed lemur.

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On April 22nd, the zoo released a post about Earth day, and included photos from the zoo such as unannounced births for 2 European fallow deer, an eland, and a domestic chicken.

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On April 25th, the zoo made a post about how on the previous night, 2 thieves with flashlights stole several thousands worth of catalytic converters and other parts from their stockyard trucks.

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On May 10th, the zoo made a post about Mother’s Day, and included photos from the zoo such as the unannounced births for an African crested porcupine and a red-handed tamarin.

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On May 19th, the zoo announced that it would be opening for the 2020 season starting May 25th. Restrictions include wearing masks and indoor buildings and rides are temporarily closed. The bathrooms will remain open, as well as some portable restrooms located throughout the zoo. There are new hand-washing and drying stations at the entrance and exit of the zoo as well. The zoo also have a new schedule, with the zoo being closed on most Mondays for deep cleaning.

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On June 13th, the zoo announced that a new filtration system and the waterfall will be ready soon for the Oriental small-clawed otters.

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On June 16th, the zoo announced the birth of an elk.

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On July 13th, the zoo announced the birth of a nilgai.

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On August 28th, the zoo announced the birth of 3 domestic goats.

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On May 5th, 2021 the zoo announced the birth of a baby domestic chicken.

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On May 21st, the zoo announced the birth of 2 (or 3?) ring-tailed lemurs through a photo.

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On June 10th, the zoo announced the birth of a European fallow deer through a photo.

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There might have been more that I missed, but on their Facebook page, they don't list the dates of birth.
 
On August 29th, the zoo announced that there have been some major renovations happening throughout the site, including with the playground. To what extent is currently unknown.

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I just went to Lupa Zoo.

I went just because the Ripley's Bird Conservatory was closing by the time I would've made it over there, and Lupa was right next door to where I was when I went to go visit a friend.

I had my associate, Dyl, report to me about it's existence. I admit, I did not retain that much information on the location aside from the existence of a Giraffe Enclosure, but with that being said, I made the quick choice to take off to attend this location.

The entrance was a lot more quaint than what I would have expected. It consisted of a well-planted driveway and garden over towards the parking lot, adorned by various statues of animals - some were represented in the park, like a deer and a cat, but others, like the Kangaroo, much to my disappointment, were not.

Upon driving into the lot, I was greeted with a swarm of Fallow Deer on my right, along with Mouflon on top of their rock mountain. It was a welcome sight, and I wish more zoos gave you an appetizer beforehand. But nonetheless, I continued on to be greeted at the entrance ticket booth by a kind older lady. She send me regards to myself being alone at the zoo, and gave me some kind words. This was the best part of the zoo for me. She brought up the feed bags I could purchase for either $3 or $5 from what I remember, but I opted out of this as I had no interest to do so.

As I entered the zoo, I was greeted by a quaint, yet harrowing mining town operation. Or at least, that's what the entrance was made out to be. It was a bit unsettling, seeing these old animal rides inside of these dark rooms. I walked into one, and the lights automatically went on, and I was greeted by a picture of a giant owl, never ceasing to watch me, right behind where I was looking. There was also another room with several anvils, set up like a blacksmith shop. First impressions of this area left me feeling a bit of dread, but not of the zoo itself. It just felt like a defunct locale, but the rest of the lot was filled with life. Moving on, I made my way to the first enclosure.

The Himalayan Black Bear enclosure had a separate section inside of it for Macaws. It was a bit weird to see this, but hey, filler animals. The bear was extremely fat, and there were no good viewing areas to see the beast from. I am not sure why the largest carnivore in the zoo is locked behind several hard-to-see-through walls, but go off sis.

I made a quick right and found myself down ""artiodactyl row"". I'm not going to go into too many details about the specifics, but it was cool to see Nilgai, Zedonk, Zebu, Tapir, Capybara, Silver Fox, and Eland. Though the living quarters were not ideal for most of these species, it wasn't heartbreaking as I would describe some of the rest of the zoo.

Signage was another issue from my visit as well. Several incorrectly named species across the board, but nothing absolutely deplorable. Scimitar Horned Oryx was labeled as a normal Oryx, South American Tapir as the Baird's Tapir, Tortoises as Turtles, and I am still questioning whether or not the NORA's displayed were actually ASCO's.

The indoor section of the warehouse was surprisingly themed. For the rest of the zoo was mostly colorful wooden structures, you could tell the management of Lupa really enjoyed theming the interior of this area. I also noticed a Moose and a white Elk mount in the larger area of the building, along with an outdated T-Rex skeleton, for some reason. A few interesting specimens in the indoors as well, with alternative viewing for Squirrel Monkeys, Red-Handed Tamarins, as well as Sugar Gliders, Veiled Chameleon, and some other smaller animals.

It felt like the zoo kept on going on at this point. I was surprised to see African Crowned Cranes displayed alongside various poultry, as Indian Peafowl, Chickens, and Pheasants. However, it seemed like these aviaries were at least a bit large. That was a plus, I guess?

I could go on for a bit more, but I'd rather wrap this up for now and I'll post any more thoughts later, but Lupa Zoo left me feeling confused in such a strange way. They displayed so many creatures that I have not seen yet, which is good for my life list, but the overall displaying of these animals, as well as the treatment of some (Otters were questionably displayed in an exhibit where kids could throw the aforementioned feed meant for the hoof stock right in), the overall animal quality left a sour taste in my mouth. However, they seem to have ample room to take into account what they can do better for the animals, and I hope they do take advantage of that, because these animals deserve a lot better, and frankly, I believe the people of Western Massachusetts deserve a better local zoo as well. I am lucky enough to live close enough to Roger Williams to the point where I could go almost weekly if I wanted to, so I understand what a caring institution can do for their animals. If you're in the area, it's a place you should take the time to go and check out, but I would not recommend actively going to this zoo if you aren't already in the area for another purpose. Cheers y'all.
 
Smaggledagle said:
On October 8th, the zoo announced they have added a "Pulse: Table Tennis" structure to their playground as well as teasing a new cat exhibit (species not given).

Lupa Zoo
Lupa Zoo
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...

They're not teasing a new cat exhibit. The post reads "Working on the new playground but for now it's a cat exhibit..." and then pictures a CAT bulldozer in the future playground space.

~Thylo
 
Smaggledagle said:
On May 13th, the zoo announced that (0.0.5) rheas (species not specified) were born.

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drill said:
They look like Emus
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Certainly look like Emus and not rhea to me. I visited the zoo yesterday and I thought they were Emu in person, I don't think the zoo keeps rhea otherwise.

In other news, the zoo has added Collared Peccary, Temminck's Tragopan, a few domesticated varieties of different quail species (two were Chinese Painted Quail and Northern Bobwhite, unsure on the third), an unspecified ground squirrel species, and what I think are Rosy-Faced Lovebirds.

It appears as though the lone Blackbuck and Virginia Opossum are gone. There was no sign of the Egyptian Fruit Bats either.

At least two Red-Handed Tamarins have been born.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Certainly look like Emus and not rhea to me. I visited the zoo yesterday and I thought they were Emu in person, I don't think the zoo keeps rhea otherwise.

In other news, the zoo has added Collared Peccary, Temminck's Tragopan, a few domesticated varieties of different quail species (two were Chinese Painted Quail and Northern Bobwhite, unsure on the third), an unspecified ground squirrel species, and what I think are Rosy-Faced Lovebirds.

It appears as though the lone Blackbuck and Virginia Opossum are gone. There was no sign of the Egyptian Fruit Bats either.

At least two Red-Handed Tamarins have been born.

~Thylo
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Any sign of Hamlyns monkey?
 
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