Bronx Zoo Bronx Zoo News 2024

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I'm new to this forum so let me know if I should be asking this somewhere else. Does anyone know what's happening with the Amur Leopards at Jungle World? Are they replacing them with another animal?
 
PotatoChips said:
I'm new to this forum so let me know if I should be asking this somewhere else. Does anyone know what's happening with the Amur Leopards at Jungle World? Are they replacing them with another animal?
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She has been in the back for more than a year. There was apparently an issue with the exhibit glass. An educator told me they heard some mumblings about replacing that habitat with clouded leopards (I would be a huge fan!) but there is nothing official on that.
 
Zoo-Lover-1-2-3 said:
Does the zoo plan to get more or are they planning on fazing out the species?
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At one point - in the former “Great Ape House”, the zoo, simultaneously, exhibited: Western Lowland Gorilla,, Eastern Lowland Gorilla,, Chimpanzee, Bornean Orangutan, Bonobo as well as White Handed Gibbon- in summer on “Gibbon island”, on the former Cope lake.
Should they deacquisition gibbons they shall maintain but one specie of anthropoid ape - the least amount on exhibit in the history of the institution .
Add to that the Central Park zoo also simultaneously exhibited Western Lowland Gorilla, Orangutan and White Handed Gibbon.
Staten Island exhibited White Handed Gibbon, Orangutan and Chimpanzee.
Now none of those exhibit Anthropoid apes .
Yes, the exhibits were woefully inadequate and terrible but, instead , building larger, better environments for those particular species the abandoned they completely .
Diminishing the zoo’s collections, depriving breeding opportunities and SSP participation in the breeding g of critically endangered species.
Each zoo easily have the capacity to house one specie of anthropoid ape : the Bronx, clearly capable of maintaining up to three ( Orangutan originally planned for a facility abutting Jungle World)
I have never heard of public nor political demand to expand any of New York’s zoos
 
Don Majeski said:
At one point - in the former “Great Ape House”, the zoo, simultaneously, exhibited: Western Lowland Gorilla,, Eastern Lowland Gorilla,, Chimpanzee, Bornean Orangutan, Bonobo as well as White Handed Gibbon- in summer on “Gibbon island”, on the former Cope lake.
Should they deacquisition gibbons they shall maintain but one specie of anthropoid ape - the least amount on exhibit in the history of the institution .
Add to that the Central Park zoo also simultaneously exhibited Western Lowland Gorilla, Orangutan and White Handed Gibbon.
Staten Island exhibited White Handed Gibbon, Orangutan and Chimpanzee.
Now none of those exhibit Anthropoid apes .
Yes, the exhibits were woefully inadequate and terrible but, instead , building larger, better environments for those particular species the abandoned they completely .
Diminishing the zoo’s collections, depriving breeding opportunities and SSP participation in the breeding g of critically endangered species.
Each zoo easily have the capacity to house one specie of anthropoid ape : the Bronx, clearly capable of maintaining up to three ( Orangutan originally planned for a facility abutting Jungle World)
I have never heard of public nor political demand to expand any of New York’s zoos
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that’s so interesting! Thanks for the info. I hope that they still keep the gibbons. Just wondering but does anyone know what’s up with their gorillas? They seem to be sending out more than they are breeding. Do they even currently still hold a breeding viable male?
 
Zoo-Lover-1-2-3 said:
Just wondering but does anyone know what’s up with their gorillas? They seem to be sending out more than they are breeding. Do they even currently still hold a breeding viable male?
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I'm pretty sure the reason is since the Western Lowland Gorilla SSP is very stable right now and with the amount of gorillas in the Bronx's population, I'm sure the AZA doesn't want to give them a breeding male anytime soon but instead send the breeding females from the Bronx to other zoos within the AZA population to make sure that every zoo has a stable population of gorillas in their collection.
 
Zoo-Lover-1-2-3 said:
Just wondering but does anyone know what’s up with their gorillas? They seem to be sending out more than they are breeding. Do they even currently still hold a breeding viable male?
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The Bronx Zoo is home to three separate gorilla troops. One of the three troops is a geriatric troop in which all individuals are non-breeding and above the age of thirty. One of the troops is a male bachelor group containing Johari, Babatunde, Barraca, and M'domo. All four of these males are 17-18 years old, and nearing the age they *could* become a silverback (whether at Bronx or another institution) if it is genetically beneficial to the SSP. Their third group was once led by silverback Ernie, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 37. This group contains all of the viable females at the Bronx Zoo, as well as three younger males born in 2014-2015.

squid boy said:
I'm pretty sure the reason is since the Western Lowland Gorilla SSP is very stable right now and with the amount of gorillas in the Bronx's population, I'm sure the AZA doesn't want to give them a breeding male anytime soon but instead send the breeding females from the Bronx to other zoos within the AZA population to make sure that every zoo has a stable population of gorillas in their collection.
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This post shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Gorilla SSP and gorilla social structures work. Having a silverback gorilla in a troop is essential for troop stability, however the process of introducing a new silverback into a troop can be difficult. Even in cases where a zoo does not have any breeding recommendations, typically a silverback male is included in the group as this helps with conflict mediation between females and mirrors the natural social structure of wild lowland gorillas. Gorilla birth control is well-established (the same as human birth control!), so unwanted breeding is not a major concern in housing a silverback in a troop.

That said, introducing a new silverback into a troop is especially complicated when that troop includes younger male gorillas. As such, it is unlikely that Ernie's old troop will receive a new silverback gorilla until the younger males are transferred into a bachelor troop. Given their age, it seems likely a move into a bachelor troop could occur in the near future. At this point, Bronx Zoo will either acquire a new silverback or transfer one from their bachelor troop into the main troop. The decision of what silverback will be primarily based on genetics and the stability of existing bachelor troops.

Furthermore, introducing a new silverback into a troop will typically be easier with a troop of a smaller, more manageable size. Currently, Bronx's troop is on the large size, meaning transferring out some females will make the eventual transition to a new silverback easier and more conflict-free. 3-5 females is the typical size of a lowland gorilla troop, so I'd imagine Bronx will plan to transfer out additional females until this target number is reached for a new silverback.
 
Neil chace said:
The Bronx Zoo is home to three separate gorilla troops. One of the three troops is a geriatric troop in which all individuals are non-breeding and above the age of thirty. One of the troops is a male bachelor group containing Johari, Babatunde, Barraca, and M'domo. All four of these males are 17-18 years old, and nearing the age they *could* become a silverback (whether at Bronx or another institution) if it is genetically beneficial to the SSP. Their third group was once led by silverback Ernie, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 37. This group contains all of the viable females at the Bronx Zoo, as well as three younger males born in 2014-2015.


This post shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Gorilla SSP and gorilla social structures work. Having a silverback gorilla in a troop is essential for troop stability, however the process of introducing a new silverback into a troop can be difficult. Even in cases where a zoo does not have any breeding recommendations, typically a silverback male is included in the group as this helps with conflict mediation between females and mirrors the natural social structure of wild lowland gorillas. Gorilla birth control is well-established (the same as human birth control!), so unwanted breeding is not a major concern in housing a silverback in a troop.

That said, introducing a new silverback into a troop is especially complicated when that troop includes younger male gorillas. As such, it is unlikely that Ernie's old troop will receive a new silverback gorilla until the younger males are transferred into a bachelor troop. Given their age, it seems likely a move into a bachelor troop could occur in the near future. At this point, Bronx Zoo will either acquire a new silverback or transfer one from their bachelor troop into the main troop. The decision of what silverback will be primarily based on genetics and the stability of existing bachelor troops.

Furthermore, introducing a new silverback into a troop will typically be easier with a troop of a smaller, more manageable size. Currently, Bronx's troop is on the large size, meaning transferring out some females will make the eventual transition to a new silverback easier and more conflict-free. 3-5 females is the typical size of a lowland gorilla troop, so I'd imagine Bronx will plan to transfer out additional females until this target number is reached for a new silverback.
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wait the Bronx Zoo does not hold a bachelor group too? I thought that they did alongside the females.
 
Hey everyone I’m a bit new to zoochat, so this is pretty unrelated but does anybody know if the Bronx zoo has any grown male geladas left? Whenever I go I never see the big males.
 
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