Henry Vilas Zoo Henry Vilas Zoo News 2023

TinoPup said:
Some further info: the AZA will be paying $2.3 million to the victim, and Dade County (who runs the zoo) will be paying $500,000. Schwetz cannot attend the AZA conference for 5 years and had to leave her committee posts. The AZA needs to do way more than this, IMO.

Henry Vilas Zoo director, national zoo group settle lawsuit
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I would be incredibly surprised if Henry Vilas regains accreditation. Outside of that I’m not sure there’s much the AZA could actually do.
 
Persephone said:
I would be incredibly surprised if Henry Vilas regains accreditation. Outside of that I’m not sure there’s much the AZA could actually do.
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I'd be crushed if they didn't regain their accreditation, but not surprised, honestly. :( A classic example of how a few cruddy people at the top can ruin a good thing for everyone else.
 
Persephone said:
I would be incredibly surprised if Henry Vilas regains accreditation. Outside of that I’m not sure there’s much the AZA could actually do.
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I mean I suppose they could refuse to reaccredit unless HVZ and Dane County completely and utterly cease to do business with Schwetz. Dane County doing that is kind of a no-brainer to me. I know stuff is always more complicated than it seems to the layperson, but from a PR perspective alone it seems like the right thing to do.

Corangurilla said:
I'd be crushed if they didn't regain their accreditation, but not surprised, honestly. :( A classic example of how a few cruddy people at the top can ruin a good thing for everyone else.
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I would also be crushed. I'd hope at the least they could regain it at some point, or that they'd continue to hold themselves to AZA standards and hopefully maintain some relationship with the AZA. The fact that Henry Vilas is AZA is one of the major selling points honestly.
 
I don’t think it would be fair to Henry Vilas to be unable to get reaccredited over it. If she’s gone, I think it would make a drastic different.

I’m assuming this will postpone the construction of the new African area.
 
They knocked out Columbus even though they’d fired the readership leadership. Columbus didn’t even cost them millions in damages. It would probably be a short eviction, but I can’t imagine they’ve made many friends in the organization over this.
 
A rare homework-free weekend gave me the opportunity to visit the zoo today. As usual, here’s the report:
  • Menjadi is pretty popular! With the size of the crowd in the primate house, you’d swear there was a Giant Panda in there!
  • I only saw one Macaw in the aviary, but I could hear another from behind a wall.
  • Grizzlies were finally awake!
  • Boa constrictor habitat is still dark, as is the massasauga exhibit.
  • Flamingos were outside!
  • Saw Mr. Amazing (or some similar name) the Standing’s Day Gecko for the first time!
  • Tom’s foot is healing, and he didn’t have his boot!
  • And now for the biggest news: Guest Services are open and all the animals who were previously housed in the Discovery Center (save for the millipedes) are now living here! It wasn’t open today (something about not enough staff today), but it’s good to know that the denizens of the discovery center/ambassador animals are still at the zoo and viewable!
With the weather warming up, it looks like I’ll be able to volunteer at the zoo again, so there should be more frequent updates coming soon. Until then!
 
Corangurilla said:
I only saw one Macaw in the aviary, but I could hear another from behind a wall.
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I only saw one when I visited too! I wonder what's going on with them. The massasauga when in the exhibit, so I wonder if it passed away during our two visits?

Is the Guest Services building the one next to the gift shop?
 
I was at the zoo today. I wasn't there for long, and didn't see all that much, but I do have some notes:
  • Kuza the Amur Tiger was off-exhibit today.
  • Boa and massasauga tanks are still dark, and the reptile house door that faces the flamingoes was taped off inside and out.
  • Eddie the giraffe was outside, and the box turtles have woken up from their hibernation! Aldabra tortoises and gators are still inside, though.
  • Still no signage for the penguins, but their pool was filled, unlike the last time I went.
  • All 3 orangutans were displayed together! Datu was more active than I've ever seen him, and baby Menjadi crawling to her mother, Chelsea was the serotonin boost I needed today!
That'll be all for now. Going forward, I will try to keep my observations more concrete, with less speculation/assumptions. See ya next time!
 
Three black and white ruffed lemurs born to mom Morombe

"OH BABY!! We are thrilled to announce the birth of three critically endangered black-and-white ruffed lemurs. Mom Morombe gave birth on April 25th just three days after her 13th birthday. All three infants weighed less than 100 grams, which is approximately the weight of a medium sized tomato, at the time of their birth. Morombe gave birth to one male and two females."

Link
 
6/4/2023 Visit Updates
  • Is there an elderly Red Panda in the collection? From what I could recall, the only individual that they had was the new male. The individual that was on exhibit was looking quite frail and old.
  • The Eastern Massasauga exhibit was still empty. I think it will be filled soon.
  • Both Aldabra Tortoises are together again.
  • It appears they have been adding new furniture to the exhibits in the Herpetarium. It looks nice in there. The Green Anaconda, Rattlesnake, and the now-empty Boa exhibits have had some touch-ups.
  • It looked like they were mapping out an area and had started digging in the area between Wisconsin Heritage and the Bison exhibit. Could they possibly be planning for a new Prairie Dog exhibit? It didn't look large.
  • There were native bird feeders in the former Badger exhibit.
  • The bird cage that was out in front of the pavilion thing is now gone.
  • It appears there are only two Harbor Seals now. They were previously at four.
  • The Golden Lion Tamarins are still not in the veterinary building.
  • The enclosure next to the Piranhas in the aviary is still empty.
  • All of the things from the pool in that mixed fish exhibit that used to house birds have been taken out. Now only some of the fish remain. Hopefully, they will do something with that exhibit soon.
  • Many new branches and plants seem to have been added to the aviary.
  • Chelsea the Bornean Orangutan did not appear to be a fan of Datu, the male, coming near her baby. She was actively avoiding him in the enclosure.
  • The new baby Black-and-White Ruffed Lemurs may be the cutest things I have ever seen in my entire life.
 
EsserWarrior said:
6/4/2023 Visit Updates
  • Is there an elderly Red Panda in the collection? From what I could recall, the only individual that they had was the new male. The individual that was on exhibit was looking quite frail and old.
  • The Eastern Massasauga exhibit was still empty. I think it will be filled soon.
  • Both Aldabra Tortoises are together again.
  • It appears they have been adding new furniture to the exhibits in the Herpetarium. It looks nice in there. The Green Anaconda, Rattlesnake, and the now-empty Boa exhibits have had some touch-ups.
  • It looked like they were mapping out an area and had started digging in the area between Wisconsin Heritage and the Bison exhibit. Could they possibly be planning for a new Prairie Dog exhibit? It didn't look large.
  • There were native bird feeders in the former Badger exhibit.
  • The bird cage that was out in front of the pavilion thing is now gone.
  • It appears there are only two Harbor Seals now. They were previously at four.
  • The Golden Lion Tamarins are still not in the veterinary building.
  • The enclosure next to the Piranhas in the aviary is still empty.
  • All of the things from the pool in that mixed fish exhibit that used to house birds have been taken out. Now only some of the fish remain. Hopefully, they will do something with that exhibit soon.
  • Many new branches and plants seem to have been added to the aviary.
  • Chelsea the Bornean Orangutan did not appear to be a fan of Datu, the male, coming near her baby. She was actively avoiding him in the enclosure.
  • The new baby Black-and-White Ruffed Lemurs may be the cutest things I have ever seen in my entire life.
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Great updates!

The only red panda as of now, that I know of, is Bandit, a young male.

The construction between the bison and American heritage may be related to the new signage and sculpture planned for that area. Maybe not though, because that signage was supposed to be at the top of the ramp at the bison exhibit.

There have been three harbor seals for the past couple years, but the young female, Sammye, had an eye injury and was off exhibit for a while. That may still be the case.
 
AnonGibbon said:
Great updates!

The only red panda as of now, that I know of, is Bandit, a young male.

The construction between the bison and American heritage may be related to the new signage and sculpture planned for that area. Maybe not though, because that signage was supposed to be at the top of the ramp at the bison exhibit.

There have been three harbor seals for the past couple years, but the young female, Sammye, had an eye injury and was off exhibit for a while. That may still be the case.
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I believe Sammye and Piper were the ones on exhibit. They had a sign discussing their eyes.

I thought they only had Bandit was well. He was looking extremely odd. I wonder if they go through a large molt of their fur?
 
EsserWarrior said:
I thought they only had Bandit was well. He was looking extremely odd. I wonder if they go through a large molt of their fur?
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Yes, they go though a shedding process in the spring/summer. Potawatomi Zoo made a good post about this process on Facebook a couple weeks ago.
 
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