I've been debating showboating here, but as long as we're discussing so much, if anyone has some interest, I started a thread last week
here about Brookfield Zoo's history.
My biggest hope is most of the current collection can at least stay.
I can see them finding ways to keep the Klipspringer and Painting Dogs somewhere in the new African expansion. Then that leaves some like the Bactrian camels having an unclear future. Then there’s other older animals that may never be back (warthogs, aardvarks, etc).
There's nothing to suggest it but I expect camels will be back due to their stubbornly popular nature. They could perhaps end up in Wild Encounters if the caribou are moved out? I think there's a chance klipspringer remain and if they are phased out I feel it may already be on track. Painted dogs are the big question mark but they are listed in conservation framework so I feel hopeful.
As for warthogs and aardvarks well, I think it's possible there may be smaller exhibits to be described... and frankly, I'll keep tooting my horn on the aardvarks as long as possible.
A baby short-beaked echidna was born on June 9 according to the zoos Facebook page.
Lovely news. It's amazing that the zoo has such old echidnas and yet they've become productive recently. Given how long-lived these animals are, it's good to know the captive population may remain for a very long time.
Phase 2 is when things will start rock-and-rolling. I've only been in The Living Coast once in my four Brookfield visits so I don't remember it too well, and other than the underwater viewing, I found Pinniped Point (now "Sea Lion Cove") to be one of the less successful areas, so to hear that a whole new complex dedicated to these animals sounds amazing. With the South American coast theme this section is going for, I wouldn't be surprised if the recent Houston development was one of the sources for inspiration. It even serves as one of the Zoo's first impressions when entering the gate like that Texas zoo!
This is a great point of comparison. Houston's Galapagos exhibit was a big hit and definitely something to imitate. I do think The Living Coast is a great narrative exhibit so I hope they are able to carry some of the smaller exhibits and messaging over.
There's only a few questions I have though: first, what's going to happen to the current Forest building? I see it still standing, but it'd be a shame to lose out on the smaller creatures and immersive details.
I'm confident they'll keep the building there or make smaller changes, ditto the Kopje building. The new pangolin holding may lead to some changes. The zoo did go to the trouble of reacquiring sengi recently.
Speaking of them, lastly, what will become of the African wild dog and okapi? I saw both the wild dog viewing shelter and the non-labeled exhibits behind The Forest building on maps, but the lack of labeling does slightly worry me. The canines can be seen at Lincoln Park, but after Brookfield, it's a long way before the next okapi can be seen; that and the Zoo has had a great history with the species, so I'd hate to see them lose that. I get that the master plan was mostly showcasing the new stuff and not everything is set in stone, but these were all curiosities that arose.
Glad someone else noticed the painted dog viewing shelter still looks present. As said, I'm expecting painted dogs to remain (although an exhibit refresh wouldn't hurt) and both species are listed under the Conservation Framework section.
The Australia House is my favorite part of the Zoo, and I'm glad that it is getting a major upgrade with both an expansion and overhaul. It's just too bad we don't know a whole lot else beyond what's been written.
I have a hunch the Gateway to Africa plans have lead to alterations to the Australia plans due to proximity - it's noticeable the old macropod space is being given over to the Savanna, for example - and that might be why we haven't seen more. I am a little disappointed as I was hoping for some renderings of what was planned for Australia, but I can only assume they are holding back because things aren't in stone yet.
With the hot-topic animals, I'm fairly optimistic about the elephants and hippos coming back, especially seeing how the former's population is doing in recent times; in terms of the others like Congo buffalo and sun bear, a part of me does wonder if something is going on behind-the-scenes with reviving these programs. I had a similar hunch with the rescued polar bear breeding rule being lifted recently, and it turned out to be true. It'll be disappointing though understandable if plans for these animals fall through, but I got my fingers crossed! If Brookfield can pull even half of this off, especially the return of some former animal favorites, then I got a feeling we'll be looking at a zoo that might be competing with Omaha, Bronx, or the San Diegos, if not the very next level down.
I definitely think if this plan is pulled off we'll be back in the top twenty and hopefully higher. The polar bear program is a great comparison as Zoochat seemed to really doubt that such a thing was in the realm of possibility even after there were reports of docents alluding to a change in policy until it seemed official. I think congo buffalo have a strong chance. Sun bear is a lot more curious, but I can imagine a circumstance where a couple members of the species may persist despite the breeding program being over.
The outdoor exhibit space on the south side of the Pachyderm House as it's currently set up from the actual building to the edge of the walkway is around 71,000 square feet. On the new map, they show these exhibits taking up less of that space.
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Comparing the new map to the current setup (not a perfect overlay by any means), Nile crocodile would get the former elephant exhibit, while the hippos would get the remaining two enclosures to the left. Knowing that, the 71,000 square feet is divided up with 40,000 square feet to hippos and 31,000 square feet to Nile crocodile. Now if I measure according to the new map and the new exhibit boundaries, it's around 21,5000 square feet for hippos and 14,500 square feet for Nile crocodile.
I was hopeful that the remaining strip of the West Mall might be included in this space, but it appears from the new map, along with with the Tropical Forest and hippo/Nile crocodile renderings that this is not the case.
My most generous estimate has Cincinnati's hippo exhibit is at 9,000 square feet of outdoor space. Not going to account for their indoor space because I can't account for Brookfield's indoor plans. I'd certainly hope there'd be something other than the current indoor stalls.
Thank you so much for looking up these vital statistics, makes it so much easier to draw comparison. Looking at it, Saint Louis' exhibit has been estimated at 3000 square feet, Milwaukee's Hippo Haven is around 3500 square feet. Still looking for info on Cheyenne Mountain and Dallas, both of which I'm finding total complex acreage rather than square foot space, which is useless as they seem to include other animals in their complexes so it's not a good comparison. In any case, 21,000-40,000 square feet for hippos is better than two fairly respected facilities and whatever want to call Milwaukee. While it may not be as massive as we might hope it still looks like it will be one of the best in the United States.
This may seem unlikely, but I really hope they don't tear down the Olga statue in the new Sea Lion Cove. It still has some historic value, even if we won't get walruses again.
I really hope they keep it. Setting aside the statue being a tribute to an [individual] animal most children will not be familiar with, I think statues of that nature can be a great educational tool for learning about species not kept locally. New signage about walruses, comparing them to the pinnipeds present, would be a smart way to keep the statue but place it in a new context.
