Lodz Zoo Lodz Zoo news

Some news from the last few months from the Łódź Zoo.


Arrivials/new species on display:

- in Nocturnal house we have new residents - two northern Luzon giant cloud rats. Mother and daughter from Dierenpark Zie - ZOO. They live in an exhibit with the Palawan porcupine. Previously on that exhibit we had, besides porcupines, few night herons
- male manul from Nordens Ark Zoo
- female European otter
- female pileated gibbon from Thoiry Zoo Safari
- male Blyth's hornbill
- two female guanacos from Usti nad Labem Zoo
- finally after few years on main display, in one aviary in the zoo we have one Bali myna. This species was "behind closed doors" for at least 5 years
- panther chameleons, true fire skinks, orange disco vampire crabs, Indonesia hermit crabs, in Reptile house
- 2 female capybaras from Zoo Zamość
- new fish in Aquarium house - fahaka pufferfish
- common jellyfish in a new tank in Orientarium. However, more exotic species are expected to live there eventually, for example - Phyllorhiza punctata, Chrysaora plocamia, or Sanderia malayensis

Births:
- 1 or 2 red-billed blue magpies
- 6-8 night herons
- 1 northern bald ibis (first time)
- 2 emus
- 1 pygmy hippo (first time)
- 1 persian fallow deer
- 1 lesser kudu
- 1 Cape Barren goose (first time)
- 1-2 red kangaroos
- 1 red-crowned crane (first time)


Miscellaneous:
- crested porcupines left their exhibit. Maybe there are still in zoo but in the backstage
- there are attempts to make mixed exhibit with sun bear and East Javan langurs. At least 2 langurs are already in indoor bear enclosure
- one hamerkop escaped from his aviary. He roamed freely in the zoo area and also in a nearby botanical garden. However, zookeepers managed to bring hamerkop back to his aviary
- Siberian Ibexes were placed in another enclosure. Previously ibexes shared enclosure with few japanese macaques, but monkeys started to be aggressive towards them
 
Yesterday, I spoke with one of the zookeppers about that hornbill, but he didn't know much about that bird.(zookepper was from different animal section)

But according to a article in the newspaper, hornbill is from France, and he was born there. No news about female.

I can only add that hornbill live in the former keas aviary. He also has access to indoor exhibit.
 
Some clarifications to my previous post.
There is still one European otter(male Harry). Previously, zookeeper told me that there is a second otter, but it's not true. According to the other zookeeper there is some kind of CITES issues in our country, and transfers animals to zoo is a little bit problematic in this moment. So no female otter, or for example Southern cassowary male in this year.

Births(few of them according to the news in press):
- 5 Egyptian fruit bats
- 1 Brush-tailed Bettong
- 1 Senegal bushbaby (first time i guess)
- 1 Common Brushtail Possum
- there is also some of Guadeloupe anoles hatchlings(In Reptile House, both youngs and adults share exhibit with Lesser Antillean iguana)
- 2 (male and female) Asian small-clawed otters

New animals in display:
- somehow in Reptile House there is a bird. In one of the bigger exhibit, besides matamata there is a single White-rumped Shama. Previously Common basilisks lived in that exhibition.
Strange choice of species in this place.

You can find another single White-rumped Shama in the western part of zoo. In that place, that thrush share aviary with a single Bali mynah. Previously at least one of these White-rumped Shamas, lived inside Orientarium together with other free roaming birds.
 
New arrivals:
- another addition to Nocturnal House - male Luzon giant cloud rat. In this moment we have 1 male and 2 females. However, male was aggresive towards Palawan porcupines, so porcupines were moved to another enclosure in this pavilon.
- Northern treeshrew (exhibit in Monkey House)


Births:
- at least 1 purple starling
- Rio Cauca caecilians(after some time, some of them already moved to France)
- Four-eyed fish
 
Zoo Lodz has a new director. Michał Gołędowski (vet, but was education dep director in zoo Lodz lately).

He refuses that Lodz continues to keep (only) bachelor herd of Asian elephants. He wants to breed them and will soon try to obtain breeding-age female(-s). He wants that Lodz sees first Polish elephant calf since 1937.

Source
 
Births:
- 1 white-faced saki
- at least 2 cape penguins


In Orientarium, in Sundaic Islands zone there is a new exhibit. It's a large paludiarium. In this paludarium there is a lot of tropical pitcher plants and at least 3 small animal species(2 frogs and 1 lizard). No species signs yet, but i think that one species of frog is a Polypedates otilophus(previously in Reptile house), and the mystery lizard is a emerald tree skink(probably new species in zoo).20250123_134050.jpg 20250123_134510.jpg
 

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Zoo Lodz has a new director. Michał Gołędowski (vet, but was education dep director in zoo Lodz lately).

He refuses that Lodz continues to keep (only) bachelor herd of Asian elephants. He wants to breed them and will soon try to obtain breeding-age female(-s). He wants that Lodz sees first Polish elephant calf since 1937.

Source
Interesting. I guess if he wants to have a breeding matriarchal line ..., he will have to find ways to expand / extend the exhibitry devoted to Asiatic elephants. These days zoos only get a breeding recommendation if they have space for A) a matriarchal herd exhibit; B) a separate breeding bull exhibit AND C) are willing to maintain a bachelor herd on site ... . I guess the new director needs a reality check!
 
Births:
- 7 Matamata tortoises

In my opinion, one of the TOP births in Zoo Lodz in last few years. After many, many years finally a success with this species. Hatchlings are already on display in Vivarium.
Additionally, a few eggs are still in incubator.
 
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Births:
- 7 Matamata tortoises

In my opinion, one of the TOP births in Zoo Lodz in last few years. After many, many years finally a success with this species. Hatchlings are already on display in Vivarium.
Additionally, a few eggs are still in incubator.
Breeding matamata is rare in European zoos. A quite noteworthy breeding success.

I seem to remember that Blijdorp - Rotterdam Zoo has in the past also bred matamata when the Riviera Hall was still a herp palace ....
 
Some news and observations from few visits(march-april).

Births:
- 1 male lesser kudu

Departures:
- pair of Cape Barren goose plus their young from last year. In zoo still there is a second pair of this species.

New species:
- straw-coloured fruit bats - in Nocturnal house, together on the same enclosure with Seba's short-tailed bats and Egyptian fruit bats
- 1 demoiselle crane - exhibit next to cassowaries. 3 different cranes on the same exhibit - demoiselle, 1 white-naped and 1 red-crowned(born last year)
- garden tree boa, koch's giant day geckos and Standing's day geckos - all in Reptile House. Geckos as additions to Magadagascar theme exhibitions, boa in a former emerald tree monitor enclosure
- in Orientarium, next to oceanic zone, there are a few new small tanks for small species. Among these species there is a green bush ratsnake, theloderma frogs, Yellow-spotted tree toads, Giant Hooded Katydid and probably Hillstream Loaches with Vietnamese Cardinal Minnows
- zebra bullhead sharks in Orientarium, in oceanic zone
- lemon cichlids, Cyprichromis leptosoma and masked julies in the new Tanganyika tank in Aquarium House

Miscellaneous:
- zookeepers suspects that one night one of female sharks could have given birth, but the young one didn't live long(other sharks, groupers, etc)
- zookeepers still waiting for male cassowary, there was some recommendation from the coordinator(male from Portugal), but the specimen is supposedly to be "crazy one"
- outdoor enclosure is being prepared for Northern three shrew
- pair of Steller's sea eagles have been in the nest on eggs for some time now. Not many breeding attempts from this pair(two previous in two different aviaries), but maybe this year will be a success.
- there is some issuses with a infomation signages. Since february we have some new species in various places in the zoo, but 90% of them still don't have any even slighty information about them. Some of new species I can identify, but regular visitors can't. We have already situations when visitors don't know what animal they should look for in some enclosures. Especially, in the smaller ones in Orientarium.

As addition, some photos(new species, outdoor and indoor exhibit for three shrew and little matamata)
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Some news and observations from few visits(march-april).

- in Orientarium, next to oceanic zone, there are a few new small tanks for small species. Among these species there is a green bush ratsnake, theloderma frogs, Yellow-spotted tree toads, Giant Hooded Katydid and probably Hillstream Loaches with Vietnamese Cardinal Minnows

Good to read this as I thought that this section was underused.

Have these terrarium been replaced or have they added more?

upload_2025-4-22_20-30-53.jpeg

- pair of Steller's sea eagles have been in the nest on eggs for some time now. Not many breeding attempts from this pair(two previous in two different aviaries), but maybe this year will be a success.

Are they still in the aviary near the Africa House? The pair last year certainly wasn't shy during my visit, as they came close to the visitor area.
 

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Have these terrarium been replaced or have they added more?

4 more added. There is still room for more of them.
And I would throw out those Megalodon jaws. Sometimes, Zoo Lodz still advertises the Orientarium with Megalodon/Great white sharks images...



Are they still in the aviary near the Africa House? The pair last year certainly wasn't shy during my visit, as they came close to the visitor area.
Same place. They have a nest above visitor area, and because of that, direct alley to them is closed for visitors.
 
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