. More in the zoos blog article attached below.
I had wondered why so many ZooChatters were sourcing information from USDA inspection reports, assuming that they weren't public. I found the database online. It will be a valuable tool, even if they can be inaccurate at times.
I have another source that suggests that there are five at the zoo. They are all females.
Can confirm they've already started construction on the exhibit, they're currently tearing down the old "Day Exhibit" house. There's barricades and pathways for vehicles, and while I was there today that we're actively taking down and removing the walls and structure of the old Day Exhibit.
I can also confirm I saw at least 3 of what I believe are the Grant's gazelles on the Savana today which was pretty surprising.
The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium seemed to have a pretty large insect collection in the ProMedica Museum of Natural History, even if it was a bit cramped.To answer your question, @Haley, Woodland Park Zoo's Nocturnal House (which closed in 2010) had species such as these: Flying Fox, Vampire Bat, Prehensile-tailed Porcupine, Three-banded Armadillo, Two-toed Sloth, Tamandua, Springhaas, Douroucouli, Slow Loris and Lesser Galago. There would have been a time when all 10 species were inside the Nocturnal House ('Night Exhibit') at once and the building was one of the highlights of the zoo. It is sorely missed, as is the adjacent Reptile House ('Day Exhibit') that closed due to a fire in 2016.
Notes from my 3rd visit since March:
- I saw all 5 female Grant's Gazelles on the African Savanna. They were no-shows during my first two visits this year, but were out and about yesterday.
- The zoo's Gorilla exhibit with the family troop of 7 Gorillas must be the smallest outdoor exhibit of its type in North America. At least this popular area of the zoo has a well-functioning troop and many enrichment items.
The larger Gorilla exhibit, with 4 animals, has a fence around it for the first time ever. Just past the barrier is the construction site for the future "Forests" building. The old Day/Night complex has been completely bulldozed into oblivion.
How the exhibit has looked for decades:
And now there's a fence. Let's assume it's temporary!
The Banyan Wilds playground, built in 2015, has been removed at the height of the zoo's busy summer season. I have no idea why.
An exhibit that held Japanese Serow for many years, then Cheetahs, then Maned Wolves...is currently empty and blocked off:
The zoo's main restaurant has made the curious decision to not have cashiers at the counter. People have been replaced by machines and that's the ONLY way to order food. I'm not sure if it's an improvement or not, but using a touch screen to order 6 meals (like I did) is a bit time consuming compared to simply telling someone what you want to eat.
Woodland Park's slow and steady decline will hopefully be halted in 2026 when the "Forests" house opens to the public, but I'd bet my life on the fact that it will definitely not have the approximately 60 species that the old Night/Day (Reptile/Nocturnal) buildings had. I predict that it will have less than 20 species!
At least one bright spot is that Bug World has reopened. There's only 13 exhibits and 16 species, but I'm just thankful it didn't close down for good. However, the open-concept Orb-weaver Spider exhibit is gone and a section where kids could climb beneath a terrarium is also gone. Those two innovative areas have been replaced by sleek, modern, contemporary graphics that are totally fine if a bit bland. Woodland Park has gone down the Oregon Zoo route, with each facility a big, popular institution with a tiny, barely adequate Insect House. Cincinnati, Saint Louis and San Diego appear to be the only three major zoos in North America that care to showcase a large collection of insects in modern exhibits.
Bug World's new exterior:
New indoor LED lights and graphics:
Bug World contains these 16 species: Giant Thorny Walking Stick, Peruvian Fire Walking Stick, African Mantis, Western Horse Lubber, Darkling Beetle, Flamboyant Flower Beetle, Garden Fruit Chafer, Two-spotted Assassin Bug, Ferocious Waterbug, Simandoa Cave Roach, Sowbug, Giant Glossy Black Pink-leg Millipede, Emperor Scorpion, Cross Orb-weaver, Mexican Red-knee Tarantula and Black Widow Spider.
Again I did a post on what essential species could be in Forest exhibit someone conveniently erased it! I listed reptile species that would of make this a gem on exhibit bringing back to reptile house days. It wouldn't surprise me though that they would go with so few species. Actually under term of zoological it makes me sad absence of acknowingly many species possibilities. Yet given title of Forests for All, and few species housed a lines perfectly with with current environmental practices in many forest n jungles with deforestation or planting new growths, that many of these areas may have many plants but absence of animals that still live there! So there we go the decline continues.To answer your question, @Haley, Woodland Park Zoo's Nocturnal House (which closed in 2010) had species such as these: Flying Fox, Vampire Bat, Prehensile-tailed Porcupine, Three-banded Armadillo, Two-toed Sloth, Tamandua, Springhaas, Douroucouli, Slow Loris and Lesser Galago. There would have been a time when all 10 species were inside the Nocturnal House ('Night Exhibit') at once and the building was one of the highlights of the zoo. It is sorely missed, as is the adjacent Reptile House ('Day Exhibit') that closed due to a fire in 2016.
Notes from my 3rd visit since March:
- I saw all 5 female Grant's Gazelles on the African Savanna. They were no-shows during my first two visits this year, but were out and about yesterday.
- The zoo's Gorilla exhibit with the family troop of 7 Gorillas must be the smallest outdoor exhibit of its type in North America. At least this popular area of the zoo has a well-functioning troop and many enrichment items.
The larger Gorilla exhibit, with 4 animals, has a fence around it for the first time ever. Just past the barrier is the construction site for the future "Forests" building. The old Day/Night complex has been completely bulldozed into oblivion.
How the exhibit has looked for decades:
And now there's a fence. Let's assume it's temporary!
The Banyan Wilds playground, built in 2015, has been removed at the height of the zoo's busy summer season. I have no idea why.
An exhibit that held Japanese Serow for many years, then Cheetahs, then Maned Wolves...is currently empty and blocked off:
The zoo's main restaurant has made the curious decision to not have cashiers at the counter. People have been replaced by machines and that's the ONLY way to order food. I'm not sure if it's an improvement or not, but using a touch screen to order 6 meals (like I did) is a bit time consuming compared to simply telling someone what you want to eat.
Woodland Park's slow and steady decline will hopefully be halted in 2026 when the "Forests" house opens to the public, but I'd bet my life on the fact that it will definitely not have the approximately 60 species that the old Night/Day (Reptile/Nocturnal) buildings had. I predict that it will have less than 20 species!
At least one bright spot is that Bug World has reopened. There's only 13 exhibits and 16 species, but I'm just thankful it didn't close down for good. However, the open-concept Orb-weaver Spider exhibit is gone and a section where kids could climb beneath a terrarium is also gone. Those two innovative areas have been replaced by sleek, modern, contemporary graphics that are totally fine if a bit bland. Woodland Park has gone down the Oregon Zoo route, with each facility a big, popular institution with a tiny, barely adequate Insect House. Cincinnati, Saint Louis, San Diego and Toledo appear to be the only 4 major zoos in North America that care to showcase a large collection of insects in modern exhibits.
Bug World's new exterior:
New indoor LED lights and graphics:
Bug World contains these 16 species: Giant Thorny Walking Stick, Peruvian Fire Walking Stick, African Mantis, Western Horse Lubber, Darkling Beetle, Flamboyant Flower Beetle, Garden Fruit Chafer, Two-spotted Assassin Bug, Ferocious Waterbug, Simandoa Cave Roach, Sowbug, Giant Glossy Black Pink-leg Millipede, Emperor Scorpion, Cross Orb-weaver, Mexican Red-knee Tarantula and Black Widow Spider.
