Rangifer tarandus applies to all Caribou regardless of subspecies.
Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo News 2025
- Thread starter Black Footed Beast
- Start date
As far as I know at this point, the new rainforest building is suppose to be a new build, and not a renovation. I know they are in the quiet phase of getting donors before it becomes a public campaign. We shall see what that means for the rest of the buildings and the animals that will be in the Milwaukee collection.
I am hopeful that some good will come of this. I suppose it is right not to renovate a building that is this old and probably more cost-effective to demolish and built a new pavillion!
You got me. I shouldn't have said "renovation". I was using it as a shorthand for which building it would be replacing.
Someone posted about rhinos at the Cincinnati zoo in the black rhino thread. Part of his post said "As for Seyia I saw on facebook she will be moving to a facility which is building a new rhino habitat so that pretty much confirms Milwaukee."
How many rhinos is Milwaukee trying to receive for the new exhibit?
At the very least they are gonna want a potential breeding pair, anything else is up to what the exhibit and space can hold.
Overheard a zookeeper mention that the former jellyfish or more recently plastic pollution exhibit will have geckos in the near future. Not sure the exact type of geckos but interesting news
Also caught the bush babies breeding so maybe some babies soon. Still desperately waiting for that master plan to come out with the rest of the future plans of the zoo!
Nice to see the wolves, moose, and possibly even the polar bears return, but I'll miss the Small Mammal House, I also hope they bring back the kangaroos someday
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Considering Milwaukee was among the first zoos to have a nocturnal building of sorts, I share the same sentiment. Maybe some of this could be retained via some of the animals like in the Jungle or Primate buildings. We shall see…
Anywho, Filly the jaguar has moved down to Big Cat Country, and she’s been exploring her new environment.
Milwaukee County Zoo visitors can now see the zoo's new jaguar, Filly
It would be great to bring back some kangaroos (even wallabies would be something) but I agree with the sentiment that while I love the master plan, I am going to miss the small mammal building. It's overdue to go but it was one of my favorites part of the zoo as a kid.
It definitely seems possible. Sloths, armadillo, Brazilian porcupine, golden lion tamarins, cotton top tamarins and Goeldi's monkey all could be easy adds to a Jungle exhibit and the latter three to the primate building. Ringtail lemurs, Moholi bushbaby and Pygmy slow loris could potentially be added to the primate building as well. We could also possibly see the spider monkeys moved from the primate house to the new jungle building. I don't think it would be a bad idea to try to refocus 'Primates of the World' to Old World primates. It's possible some of these extra primates will get phased out completely though.
The prevost squirrel, dwarf mongoose, vampire bat, fruit bat, and fennec fox are the main Small Mammal House residents who don't have a home in either new building, and I know Morris exhibited some interest in a new bat exhibit, although that doesn't seem to be visible in the master plan. There's a chance the bats could be added to the jungle building but the Belize focus doesn't feel like a good fit.
Maybe if we're lucky, Adventure Africa will have an extra space or two for the foxes and mongoose? ...probably not, I think we'd know by now if they were still doing satellite exhibits.
Ironically, something like Brookfield Zoo's Australia building would be a great addition at Milwaukee - bringing back kangaroos and bats in one swoop.
Whoah, this new updated Masterplan makes all the sense and actually has a long term ambitious vision to it. It will set a totally new dynamic to the MKZ and let it fly unto a path into the Future and be both a state of the art and future proof zoo. I just love the whole concept.... Thank You Morris and MKZ Teams!
Took a stroll around this afternoon. Not a whole lot noteworthy, but here's a few observations:
- I'm not sure if this is new, but I noticed a fair amount of plantings such as tall grasses and even a single small tree scattered around the jaguar habitat. This'll add to the naturalism nicely once the warm temps kick in. On the topic of jaguars, no sign of new female Filly; only male Francisco was in the indoor room.
- Maeve the new female caribou is settling in nicely, peacefully grazing near the viewing area.
- On the prep kitchen board in Big Cat Country, only female Nyota was noted under the hyena section. Considering his age, I wouldn't be surprised if male Scruffy has passed away.
- Construction for Phase 3 of Adventure Africa is progressing. From what I saw, land is being cleared to build the new pathway from the outdoor rhino and camel, to the red panda and tiger (where the old Asian black bear and Malayan tapir exhibits were). Also, the hippo side of the building (facing the cat house) looks to be close to completion; walls have been put up and presumably await detailing, and holes for the entrance doors are temporarily filled with wood awaiting the actual doors.
- Signs for the red panda and snow leopard habitats have been added. Good idea as I'm sure they can be easy to miss at times.
- Penguins of the Pacific: I think I'm the first to give an opinion on the upgraded Humboldt penguin habitat, but I could be wrong. Having seen it a couple times now, I'll say that while it would've been nice to utilize the plaza to give even more space to the aquatic birds, the update is a welcome one. The budget for this renovation was rather small, and mostly focused on improving the filtration system, so the final outcome is a bit understandable. On the habitat side of things, the pool was not only enlarged in size and volume, with tons of nooks and crannies beneath the surface, but at last, some of the railing was removed to allow guests to come up to the glass. There is also a bubble view to one side, which proved to be very popular with kids. Most of the rock work was also updated to include marine life like starfish, urchins, etc. that made for some nice touches. Finally, a wooden shade structure is draped over a portion of the habitat adorned with the habitat's logo that adds a rustic feel to the space. On the whole, it's a project that simply gives a small but necessary boost. A whole new penguin habitat on the level of Otter Passage would've been cool, but for the budget available and what was needed to be accomplished, at least it does the job.
Photos coming soon!
- I'm not sure if this is new, but I noticed a fair amount of plantings such as tall grasses and even a single small tree scattered around the jaguar habitat. This'll add to the naturalism nicely once the warm temps kick in. On the topic of jaguars, no sign of new female Filly; only male Francisco was in the indoor room.
- Maeve the new female caribou is settling in nicely, peacefully grazing near the viewing area.
- On the prep kitchen board in Big Cat Country, only female Nyota was noted under the hyena section. Considering his age, I wouldn't be surprised if male Scruffy has passed away.
- Construction for Phase 3 of Adventure Africa is progressing. From what I saw, land is being cleared to build the new pathway from the outdoor rhino and camel, to the red panda and tiger (where the old Asian black bear and Malayan tapir exhibits were). Also, the hippo side of the building (facing the cat house) looks to be close to completion; walls have been put up and presumably await detailing, and holes for the entrance doors are temporarily filled with wood awaiting the actual doors.
- Signs for the red panda and snow leopard habitats have been added. Good idea as I'm sure they can be easy to miss at times.
- Penguins of the Pacific: I think I'm the first to give an opinion on the upgraded Humboldt penguin habitat, but I could be wrong. Having seen it a couple times now, I'll say that while it would've been nice to utilize the plaza to give even more space to the aquatic birds, the update is a welcome one. The budget for this renovation was rather small, and mostly focused on improving the filtration system, so the final outcome is a bit understandable. On the habitat side of things, the pool was not only enlarged in size and volume, with tons of nooks and crannies beneath the surface, but at last, some of the railing was removed to allow guests to come up to the glass. There is also a bubble view to one side, which proved to be very popular with kids. Most of the rock work was also updated to include marine life like starfish, urchins, etc. that made for some nice touches. Finally, a wooden shade structure is draped over a portion of the habitat adorned with the habitat's logo that adds a rustic feel to the space. On the whole, it's a project that simply gives a small but necessary boost. A whole new penguin habitat on the level of Otter Passage would've been cool, but for the budget available and what was needed to be accomplished, at least it does the job.
Photos coming soon!
Glad to hear about the improvements to the Jaguar habitat. It'd be a shame about Scruffy going, here's hoping he's still kicking.
I'm glad they added some signage, last two visits I almost missed them both. Glad to hear about the hippos area.
It's really bittersweet to me to lose the Malayan tapir/Asiatic black bear corridor, but I understand why and totally concede it's necessary, the exhibits are too small as it is and the corridor will help getting around. It's a big part of the zoo's history that is changing with Adventure Africa's final phase but the exhibits are dated. As a child that was one of the most fascinating parts of the zoo for me - both animals were elusive and not visible in Chicago. I'm excited to see Adventure Africa at completion though and perhaps the current South American yard after renovation will be turned into a larger second Asia yard to parallel these lost exhibits.
Looking forward to the photos. It definitely sounds like an improvement and probably a really good update considering budgetary concerns.- Penguins of the Pacific: I think I'm the first to give an opinion on the upgraded Humboldt penguin habitat, but I could be wrong. Having seen it a couple times now, I'll say that while it would've been nice to utilize the plaza to give even more space to the aquatic birds, the update is a welcome one. The budget for this renovation was rather small, and mostly focused on improving the filtration system, so the final outcome is a bit understandable. On the habitat side of things, the pool was not only enlarged in size and volume, with tons of nooks and crannies beneath the surface, but at last, some of the railing was removed to allow guests to come up to the glass. There is also a bubble view to one side, which proved to be very popular with kids. Most of the rock work was also updated to include marine life like starfish, urchins, etc. that made for some nice touches. Finally, a wooden shade structure is draped over a portion of the habitat adorned with the habitat's logo that adds a rustic feel to the space. On the whole, it's a project that simply gives a small but necessary boost. A whole new penguin habitat on the level of Otter Passage would've been cool, but for the budget available and what was needed to be accomplished, at least it does the job.
Photos coming soon!
MKEbonoboluv
Active Member
es Looking forward to seeing the last part of Adventure Africa this year said:
MKEbonoboluv
Active Member
MKEbonoboluv
Active Member
[QUOTE="
On the topic of jaguars, no sign of new female Filly; only male Francisco was in the indoor room.
As to Filly, she is now in big cats but she has not been on habitat when the public is there. It will be a while or so we volunteers have been told as she acclimates to both the indoor and especially outdoor habitat. About a week or so ago on the Zoo's Facebook Page they placed a video of her exploring the outside habitat that you can probably see.
- On the prep kitchen board in Big Cat Country, only female Nyota was noted under the hyena section. Considering his age, I wouldn't be surprised if male Scruffy has passed away.
He was humanely euthanized in January, at the age of 26 he was having mobility issues so they felt there was nothing more the vet staff could do for him as it was a quality of life issue.
- Construction for Phase 3 of Adventure
- Signs for the red panda and snow leopard habitats have been added. Good idea as I'm sure they can be easy to miss at times.
Lots of new, good quality (for our winter) signage throughout the zoo. The new panda and snow leopard are very welcome by us volunteers.
On the topic of jaguars, no sign of new female Filly; only male Francisco was in the indoor room.
As to Filly, she is now in big cats but she has not been on habitat when the public is there. It will be a while or so we volunteers have been told as she acclimates to both the indoor and especially outdoor habitat. About a week or so ago on the Zoo's Facebook Page they placed a video of her exploring the outside habitat that you can probably see.
- On the prep kitchen board in Big Cat Country, only female Nyota was noted under the hyena section. Considering his age, I wouldn't be surprised if male Scruffy has passed away.
He was humanely euthanized in January, at the age of 26 he was having mobility issues so they felt there was nothing more the vet staff could do for him as it was a quality of life issue.
- Construction for Phase 3 of Adventure
- Signs for the red panda and snow leopard habitats have been added. Good idea as I'm sure they can be easy to miss at times.
Lots of new, good quality (for our winter) signage throughout the zoo. The new panda and snow leopard are very welcome by us volunteers.
