San Antonio Zoo San Antonio Zoo News 2025

[The Horse Boy]

The April Fools Day post is even funnier when you read into it.

I took the post very literally lol. They sort of portray as if they'll keep Barkely captive in a nice exhibit that'll be nothing like these so called "prisons". As a lover of the Loud House, it would have been a great post for Luan Loud to make haha.

 

[MidwestFan]

It's also a matter of 'who' and which herd type will live there. I personally hope they'll designate it for bulls only like Denver does. But a matriline split from Houston or White Oak or an European os ALS import would also be legit

Here we go again! I think everyone and their mother is aware of TheHorseBoy's obsession with bull elephant holders! How many threads can the same message appear in?

 

[The Horse Boy]

Here we go again! I think everyone and their mother is aware of TheHorseBoy's obsession with bull elephant holders! How many threads can the same message appear in?

Well I was not saying it will have to be that way. We will never know for sure until they make the announcements

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

A Palm Cockatoo chick has hatched

20K views · 469 reactions | The first baby palm cockatoo of 2025 has arrived, and man do they have a lot to say! . . . #animals #cuteanimals #birds #cute #animal | San Antonio Zoo

 

[WhistlingKite24]

An African pygmy falcon has hatched at San Antonio. It is apparently the only of its kind to have hatched in the past year in a US zoo. This is San Antonio's first pygmy falcon chick since 2004 with the breeding pair being hatched at San Diego in 2021 and 2023 respectively. The pair are off-show only having been together for a year - reported on their FB page.

 

[Milwaukee Man]

Construction update on Congo Falls and the Ralston Event Center:

See how San Antonio Zoo's new gorilla habitat is coming together

 

[PercideRolo]

Construction update on Congo Falls and the Ralston Event Center:

See how San Antonio Zoo's new gorilla habitat is coming together

Looks awsome!

 

[Thomas]

When they start the Asia Section, where would they get their Asian Elephants?

 

[Thomas]

Looks awsome!

It seems they're ahead of schedule, maybe?

 

[snowleopard]

Construction update on Congo Falls and the Ralston Event Center:

See how San Antonio Zoo's new gorilla habitat is coming together

It's interesting to read that "Congo Falls is likely the second or third largest gorilla habitat in the nation", which is a bit surprising to me. Also, does anyone know if all 8 gorillas will be together or will the 4 teenage males form a separate troop from the family (1.3) unit? A previous article mentioned that all 8 would be together and so we shall see if that changes.

 

[Jambo]

It's interesting to read that "Congo Falls is likely the second or third largest gorilla habitat in the nation", which is a bit surprising to me. Also, does anyone know if all 8 gorillas will be together or will the 4 teenage males form a separate troop from the family (1.3) unit? A previous article mentioned that all 8 would be together and so we shall see if that changes.

They certainly won't be keep together! The silverback would not tolerate other unrelated males around his family. I imagine it was a mistake on the author's part - the large size should allow for separate spaces to accommodate both groupings; bachelor group and family group.

 

[Zoofan15]

It's interesting to read that "Congo Falls is likely the second or third largest gorilla habitat in the nation", which is a bit surprising to me. Also, does anyone know if all 8 gorillas will be together or will the 4 teenage males form a separate troop from the family (1.3) unit? A previous article mentioned that all 8 would be together and so we shall see if that changes.

They certainly won't be keep together! The silverback would not tolerate other unrelated males around his family. I imagine it was a mistake on the author's part - the large size should allow for separate spaces to accommodate both groupings; bachelor group and family group.

Gorilla groupings:

The schematic shows an East and West exhibit, so the plan appears to be to hold the family group (1.3) in one; and the bachelor group (4.0) in the other. Presumably the family group would take the larger East exhibit, but rotation is also a possibility.



Source:
https://x.com/SanAntonioZoo/status/1763670961314807897?lang=ar
https://x.com/SanAntonioZoo/status/1763670961314807897?lang=ar

 

[snowleopard]

Thanks @Jambo and @Zoofan15 and I hadn't seen that schematic before. I knew that there was very little chance that all 8 gorillas would be together. It will be fascinating to see the finished product, and how it boosts attendance numbers, as San Antonio Zoo already receives a million annual visitors. The Ralston event center will be a massive source of income as well.

 

[PercideRolo]

Gorilla groupings:

The schematic shows an East and West exhibit, so the plan appears to be to hold the family group (1.3) in one; and the bachelor group (4.0) in the other. Presumably the family group would take the larger East exhibit, but rotation is also a possibility.

View attachment 787660

Source:
https://x.com/SanAntonioZoo/status/1763670961314807897?lang=ar

The Ralston looks to be huge! Shame that humans get more space than the animals being that it is multi-level.

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

according to this post. Ziggy one of the zoos male Black-and-White Ruffed Lemurs was transferred to Zoo de Granby in Canada to be paired with a female there which arrived from the duke lemur center.

Zoo de Granby

 

[reduakari]

The Ralston looks to be huge! Shame that humans get more space than the animals being that it is multi-level.

Also too bad that the exhibits will be loomed over by the event center, which will be the backdrop to what looks like a jumbled playground. Lost opportunity to do something special.

 

[PercideRolo]

Also too bad that the exhibits will be loomed over by the event center, which will be the backdrop to what looks like a jumbled playground. Lost opportunity to do something special.

Agreed and wasted resources when they could have layered the exhibit against the quarry walls. seems Tim likes adding the human elements with new or reworked areas (Giraffe comes to mind).

 

[The Horse Boy]

If I were in charge I'd have the indoor gorilla viewing facilities play the album from the animated Disney movie Tarzan on a loop, at least sometimes, to make it an even more engaging and immersive experience for guests. So should other modern gorilla habitats around the world. The movie and all the Phil Colins songs in it are pretty popular. But the only con with that would be strong copyright protection as a Disney film.

 

[Smaggledagle]

The zoo announced that one of the Gorillas they will be receiving for Congo Falls will be Ajari from Houston Zoo.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1020837006606785

On April 25th, the zoo announced they will acquire a (0.1) western lowland gorilla Merry Leigh from Zoo Atlanta in Georgia in the future.

5.6K views · 215 reactions | Meet Merry! Merry is making her way from Zoo Atlanta to her new home at Congo Falls later this year, where she’ll join our vibrant gorilla troop! To celebrate, we’re giving away Merry trading cards tomorrow, April 26! This is the second release in our 8-part collectible trading card series, with one card for each gorilla arriving in the months ahead. Cards will be available to the first 500 guests near the Project Selva 4D Theater beginning at 9:00 a.m. — don’t miss out! | San Antonio Zoo

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

The zoo transferred 0.1 Sumatran Tiger, Ja'Malle to the Baton Rouge Zoo. The zoo is still home to 1.0 Jeda and stated that they are looking for a female for him.

the post also mentioned that other SSP transfers will be happening over the next few months, specifically mentioning Jaguars, Tigers, Giraffes, and Gorillas

San Antonio Zoo