Saint Louis Zoo Saint Louis Zoo news 2008-2012

O

okapikpr

Well-Known Member
There appears to be some whispers on google news regarding a big announce regarding a new capital campaign for the zoo. Their last development brought some great exhibits:

River's Edge
Replaced the Aquatic and Pachyderm Houses, this expansive exhibit cover about 1/3 of the zoo. The collection includes Asian Elephants, Cheetah, Mongoose, Hyena, River Hippos, Black Rhinoceros, Missouri Freshwater Aquarium, Bush Dogs, Giant Anteaters, and Capybara. This is probably the best large mammal exhibit in the US.

Insectarium
A good sized building with many invertebrates and a seperate greenhouse dome for butterflies.

Penguin and Puffin Coast
This exhibit allows visitors to get chilled right with the penguins and puffins. Built into three former bear grottos this exhibit is divided into an outdoor humboldt penguin exhibit, a North American Alcid exhibit, and a sub-Antarctic penguin exhibit.

Fragile Forest
Finally two outdoor enclosures for the chimpanzees and orangutans who previously were held only indoors.
 
kare11.com :: KARE 11 TV - Rare tiger litter born at St. Louis Zoo

The births of 5 amur tigers is a little shocking, particularly because of the fact that tigers often only have 1-2 kittens at a time. I'm sure that this will boost the attendance slightly once they go on public display, but the zoo doesn't charge admission and already receives over 3 million visitors annually. They don't need any boosting...

In the 2008 book "America's Best Zoos" both the "River's Edge" and "Penguin and Puffin Coast" exhibits were included in the 25 best zoo exhibits in the U.S., and the "Insectarium" was called the #2 best of its kind in the country. However, like most zoos nowadays there are still bear grottoes (I'm fairly sure that grotto is grottoes when pluralized), and these pits were built in 1921. The 5 bear species here all live in older enclosures, which makes me wonder why bears always seem to be the last in line for new exhibits at zoos. It is rare to find a zoo without ancient grottoes for either bears or big cats, but hopefully the trend towards newer, more modern exhibits for polar and grizzly bears in zoos continues for all of the world's 8 bear species.
 
snowleopard said:
...However, like most zoos nowadays there are still bear grottoes (I'm fairly sure that grotto is grottoes when pluralized), and these pits were built in 1921. The 5 bear species here all live in older enclosures, which makes me wonder why bears always seem to be the last in line for new exhibits at zoos. It is rare to find a zoo without ancient grottoes for either bears or big cats, but hopefully the trend towards newer, more modern exhibits for polar and grizzly bears in zoos continues for all of the world's 8 bear species.
Click to expand...

As a lover of old zoos (for history if nothing else) these Hagenbeck exhibits are a pleasure. They have hardly changed in 80 years, and the rockwork (which struck me as odd when I saw it - because I am not familiar with local geology) was made from casts of local outcrops.

I wish the old exhibits here and elsewhere could be preserved, AND the bears have new digs! From time to time various zoos discuss turning such old exhibits into picnic areas or whatever, but it never happens.

For decades, the Cincinnati Zoo preserved the original bird cage from its parent organization "The Society For The Acclimatization of Birds". It is long gone. I recall TLZ had old Regents Park bird cages, too. I wish such things still existed
 
It's bizarre that the zoo has announced a new capital campaign, but they don't have any dollar figures required, and they have said there won't be any new animal exhibits for 5-10 years. Disappointing...
 
Cincinnati did this a few years ago...this marks the "quite phase" of the fundraising campaign to find major individual and corporate supporters before announcing financial plans to the public. Saint Louis Zoo may also want to hit up the local government for support also without announcing clear financial costs. It's just a fundraising strategy to get people thinking about the improvements and not worry about the costs just yet to capture support.
 
okapikpr said:
KSDK NewsChannel 5 - St. Louis Zoo Announces 25 Year Plan For Zoo's Future

The zoo anounced its new set of capital expenditures including:

*A renovation of the sea lion pool
*Renovations to the bear grottos
*Expanded elephant exhibit
*Increased security
*Improving and Updating infrastructure

However, any new animal exhibit would come for another 5-10 years.
Click to expand...

As I read it, there will be a new polar bear exhibit and new grizzly exhibit...perhaps sea lions (or perhaps just a re-working of the existing pool?). The elephant yard is fairly spacious as I recall, so they would just add to it.
The "no new exhibits" refers to the length of the capital campaign and design/construction.
It is still intended as a plan to re-imagine a historic zoo. They are already working on a new entrance, I believe. So there will be plenty new to see in the coming years.
 
West County Journal | News | Zoo prepares for next evolution

This latest press release discusses many of the proposed new exhibits, including the now obligatory polar bear enclosure. What is puzzling is that local philanthropists are expected to provide most of the funding for this evolving zoo, but the extent of improvements will require a vast fortune to implement. With over 3 million annual visitors in this free establishment, perhaps the St. Louis Zoo should charge each individual a couple of bucks as an entrance fee. Two dollars a person probably wouldn't affect attendance, and that would mean $6 million a year in the bank for the zoo.
 
What is puzzling is that local philanthropists are expected to provide most of the funding for this evolving zoo, but the extent of improvements will require a vast fortune to implement. With over 3 million annual visitors in this free establishment, perhaps the St. Louis Zoo should charge each individual a couple of bucks as an entrance fee. Two dollars a person probably wouldn't affect attendance, and that would mean $6 million a year in the bank for the zoo.
Click to expand...

That's not quite possible. Missouri state law dictates that the Saint Louis Zoo remains free to the public. However, they do charge an admission to their children's zoo. They also charged admission to its insectarium, but removed this due to lack of attendance for the facility.
 
A little more insight into the zoo's future plans

The plan calls for a new exhibit for grizzly bears and underwater viewing of polar bears. It would combine the sea lion basin and sea lion show into one exhibit, move the spectacled bears to the River's Edge, update the Malayan sun bear exhibit and expand the area for the Asian elephant herd, which grew by two in recent years with the births of calfs.
Click to expand...

Kirkwood-Webster Journal | News | Zoo prepares for next evolution
 
I saw two of these birds in the bird building on May 22nd 2008. There is a heavy screen in front of the display, so you have to press your nose against the screen in order to see into the exhibit.
 
The news link SnowLeopard provided is titled "rare tiger litter born." Does anyone else think the term "rare" is used WAY TOO MUCH for these kinds of things? Sure, tigers are endangered in the wild, but how "rare" is a birth in captivity? For tigers, not at all. It also seems to lessen the meaning of the word when it is applied to a truly rare birth, like the sumatran rhino at Cincinnati.
 
Blackduiker

I was at the St. Louis Zoo the first week of November 2008. While walking through the Reptile House I saw an empty exhibit for the Tuatara's. I remember reading somewhere years ago that they were always kept off exhibit, and only shown by special request. Does anyone know if that's still the policy with them? Has anyone ever seen the Tuatara there?

I was also surprised at how small the exhibit space was for them, a very rarely exhibited and unique species.
 
Can anyone close to St. Louis Zoo tell me what is the score on the black rhino pair here? Are the too old to breed (I have been told the female is rather valuable in terms of genetics)? What are the plans at St. Louis for black rhinos?
 
Arizona Docent said:
The news link SnowLeopard provided is titled "rare tiger litter born." Does anyone else think the term "rare" is used WAY TOO MUCH for these kinds of things? Sure, tigers are endangered in the wild, but how "rare" is a birth in captivity? For tigers, not at all. It also seems to lessen the meaning of the word when it is applied to a truly rare birth, like the sumatran rhino at Cincinnati.
Click to expand...

A litter of 5 for a tiger is very RARE in the wild and captivity.

I understand what your trying to say, but it doesnt quite apply in this situation.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Can anyone close to St. Louis Zoo tell me what is the score on the black rhino pair here? Are the too old to breed (I have been told the female is rather valuable in terms of genetics)? What are the plans at St. Louis for black rhinos?
Click to expand...

From my records, their rhinos may just be to young yet. They will both turn 5 years old in the fall. Be patient, calves will come with time.
 
Blackduiker

Blackduiker said:
I was at the St. Louis Zoo the first week of November 2008. While walking through the Reptile House I saw an empty exhibit for the Tuatara's. I remember reading somewhere years ago that they were always kept off exhibit, and only shown by special request. Does anyone know if that's still the policy with them? Has anyone ever seen the Tuatara there?

I was also surprised at how small the exhibit space was for them, a very rarely exhibited and unique species.
Click to expand...

Correction, my wife just reminded me that we were in St. Louis the first week of October, not November. I would argue old age, but I'm only in my mid-50s.:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top