Zoo Miami Zoo Miami News 2025

Raikou said:
Will Zoo Miami no longer have gorillas in the future?
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Jambo said:
Not for the foreseeable future.
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All of the apes are being shipped out so that the enclosures can be modified to meet new regulations. The steep moats are currently a safety hazard so filling those in will take priority. It's highly likely gorillas will return to the zoo in a few years time alongside an updated exhibit -- same goes for the chimps and orangutans.
 
pachyderm pro said:
All of the apes are being shipped out so that the enclosures can be modified to meet new regulations. The steep moats are currently a safety hazard so filling those in will take priority. It's highly likely gorillas will return to the zoo in a few years time alongside an updated exhibit -- same goes for the chimps and orangutans.
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Yeah, I was just quoting the zoo themselves in the press release. I do agree Miami will likely re-acquire them eventually once these renovations are complete. The timeframe of that though, is still very much up in the air.
 
It's the last weekend to see the Gorillas at Zoo Miami before they head to Brookfield Zoo:

Zoo Miami | Miami FL

The zoo's Facebook announcement:

This weekend will be bittersweet at Zoo Miami as it will be the last weekend that visitors will be able to see our bachelor gorillas, Barney and Shango, before they depart for Brookfield Zoo Chicago and their new home at the James & Elizabeth Bramsen Tropical Forests. Though we are happy to know that they will be going to a new and beautiful state-of-the-art facility, it will be sad to see them go and realize that this will be the first time in over 40 years that there will be no gorillas living at Zoo Miami.

Shango is a 448 pound, 36-year-old silverback lowland gorilla that was born at the San Francisco Zoo. His 31-year-old brother, Barney, weighs 415 pounds, and was also born at the San Francisco Zoo. Both brothers arrived at Zoo Miami via the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas in May of 2017 as part of an exhibit loan. Their move to Brookfield Zoo Chicago plays an important role in efforts to protect and educate the public about this endangered species through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP).

We are hoping that as many people as possible will come to Zoo Miami this holiday weekend to say goodbye and wish these majestic great apes safe travels prior to their departure next week. As there are presently no plans to bring gorillas back, it may be the last opportunity to see gorillas in South Florida for the foreseeable future.
 
snowleopard said:
We are hoping that as many people as possible will come to Zoo Miami this holiday weekend to say goodbye and wish these majestic great apes safe travels prior to their departure next week. As there are presently no plans to bring gorillas back, it may be the last opportunity to see gorillas in South Florida for the foreseeable future.
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Is it weird that Zoo Miami is sending away gorillas with no plans for a new gorilla exhibit? That exhibit was hardly state of the art, but it wasn't horrible.
 
DavidBrown said:
Is it weird that Zoo Miami is sending away gorillas with no plans for a new gorilla exhibit? That exhibit was hardly state of the art, but it wasn't horrible.
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it wasn't the AZA standards that got the Zoo Miami in trouble but rather the standards of Florida Fish and Wildlife, under their newer guidelines the exhibits for great apes don't make the cut. so likely in the next few months the chimps and orangutans will also be transferred out. Though I could of sworn that the zoo stated that they were only sending them away temporarily to renovate the habitat to be in line with the new regulations, maybe they had to abandon that idea due to costs.
 
King of Komodo Dragons said:
it wasn't the AZA standards that got the Zoo Miami in trouble but rather the standards of Florida Fish and Wildlife, under their newer guidelines the exhibits for great apes don't make the cut. so likely in the next few months the chimps and orangutans will also be transferred out. Though I could of sworn that the zoo stated that they were only sending them away temporarily to renovate the habitat to be in line with the new regulations, maybe they had to abandon that idea due to costs.
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From what I understand the Chimps and Orangutans will however be returning eventually. Financially, it makes more sense to construct new complexes for those two species rather than all three.
 
Other Late 2024/Early 2025 News:
On September 27th, the zoo announced they rehabilitated and released 14 sea turtles (species(s) not specified) back into the wild. On November 12th, the zoo announced that another 5 sea turtles were rehabilitated and released back into the wild. On February 13th, the zoo announced that a further 2 sea turtles (named Gnocchi and Prosciutto) were rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

Zoo Miami
Zoo Miami
Zoo Miami

On September 13th, the zoo announced they were in the process of transferring (1.0) generic giraffe Garbanzo to another AZA facility, which turned out to be Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida*.

Zoo Miami

On December 21st, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (0.1) clouded leopard named Jean to Denver Zoo in Colorado.

Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance

On January 3rd, it was mentioned that the zoo transferred a (1.0) Komodo dragon to San Diego Zoo in California in 2024**.

On January 22nd, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (1.0) North American river otter to Houston Zoo in Texas.

Houston Zoo

On March 21st, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (0.1) North American river otter to Staten Island Zoo in New York.

291 reactions · 45 shares | Meet Rotini, our lively 2-year-old North American River otter! Born at Zoo Miami, she was recently matched up with our male, Lewis, as otters thrive in pairs or small groups for bonding and play. The two look similar, but Rotini is a little lighter in color than Lewis. She’s an active and energetic spirit who enjoys carrying enrichment to her pool, rolling her hard-boiled eggs from her diet before eating them, and trying to get Lewis to join her in the fun. Social interactions are key to her well-being, and here at the zoo, we make sure she’s always surrounded by plenty of opportunities to engage, explore, and display here natural behaviors. Come see Rotini’s playful personality in action! | Staten Island Zoo

On March 27th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a (1.0) giant otter named Panobo to Houston Zoo.

67K views · 1.5K reactions | Who said rainy days can’t be fun? ️ Giant river otters, Marley and her new friend, Panobo, say you should see for yourself. | By Houston Zoo | Facebook

On May 21st, it was mentioned that the zoo transferred (0.2) African wild dogs named Chewie and Kitambaa to Saint Louis Zoo in Missouri***.

On May 26th, the zoo announced they will be starting construction on a new feeding platform in the generic giraffe exhibit in the future, as well as connecting the giraffe and Grevy's zebra exhibits together to create a large mixed-species enclosure.

14K views · 291 reactions | Giraffe Encounter Expansion | Big things are coming to our giraffe habitat! Not only are we building a brand new feeding platform that triples the size of the current one, we're... | By Zoo Miami | Facebook

* Information provided by @Jaxton in the North American AZA Generic Giraffe Population thread.
** Information provided by @Gorilla619 in the San Diego Zoo News 2024 thread (Page 29 Post #570).
*** Information partially provided by @cloudedleopard611 in the Saint Louis Zoo news 2024 thread (Page 8 Post #142).
 
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