Oglebay Good Zoo Oglebay Good Zoo (Wheeling, WV)

O

okapikpr

Well-Known Member
One of two zoos in the state of West Virginia, this is a 35 acre facility settled in a small valley of Oglebay Park (a former headquarters for the AZA) that was dedicated in memory of a boy named Philip Good in 1977.

Good Zoo at Oglebay Resort and Conference Center

Originally themed with only North American wildlife, this zoo has slowly allowed exotics in over the years and is now adding more on an even more increasingly pace.

My last visit in 1999 included the following species:

American Black Bear
North American River Otter
White-tailed Deer
American Bison
Red Wolf
Sandhill Crane
Bald Eagle
Red Panda
Ocelot
Cotton Top Tamarin
Slow Loris
Mouse Deer

A current species list now includes:

Spectacled Bear (replaced American)
North American River Otter
Grey Kangaroo, Bennett's Wallaby, Loorikeets (replace WT Deer)
Ostrich (replaced Bison)
African Wild Dog (replaced Red Wolf)
Sandhill Crane
Bald Eagle
Red Panda
Goral
Red Ruffed Lemur
Ocelot
Meerkat
Naked Mole Rat
Mouse Deer
Slow Loris
Cotton Top Tamarin

The majority of the new exotics arrived in just the last two years. This year the Good Zoo will add Bongo to their collection. The zoo also has an impressive model train display and a planetarium.
 
Masterplan

Here is a link with a map of the zoo's future plans:

The Oglebay Foundation


And quoted from the Oglebay Foundation's website are some of the animals involved in the plans:

Bird and Primate Exhibit - Come face to face with monkeys along a new, elevated boardwalk. View these monkeys in the treetops - just as they would be in the wild. As visitors proceed down the boardwalk they will encounter a bird species in a large Aviary

Children's Farmyard Area - In addition to increased landscaping, new to this popular area will be a Subterranean Rodent Exhibit. Resident animals may be prairie dogs or the Rocky Mountain pica. There will be plenty of digging space where the little rodents can burrow.

The Wetlands Exhibit - This exhibit will interpret the wild swamps of North America with sand hill cranes, trumpeter swans, the bald eagle and the river otter. The new otter exhibit will provide plenty of riverbank area for the otters to dig in the dirt, catch a crayfish and play. There will be a place for underwater viewing.

South American Habitat - This new exhibit will house Humbolt Penguins and Spectacled Bears. These endangered animals will participate in an International Species Survival Plan.

Visiting Animal Exhibit Area - This area will be home to visiting animals such as past visitors - tiger cubs, giraffes and white alligators.



Australian Adventure - This area will be divided into two separate adventures: an Aviary for Lorikeet Feeding and a Wallaby Walk-Through. In the aviary visitors will be able to purchase special food for the lorikeets and then feed these beautiful birds. Then, visitors will experience a barrier free stroll through the Wallaby Walk-Through.



Children's Discovery Garden - The traditional playground will be transformed into a colorful, interactive play area featuring numerous outdoor activities for children. Youngsters will be delighted by an outdoor maze, a water play area and a huge sand box. A hands-on garden area will present a fun but educational approach to the connection between plants and animals.

Small Mamals Exhibit - This area will feature a new exhibit of Gibbons on one side of the path, with a boardwalk loop for close viewing and new and enlarged enclosures on the other side of the path for the Ocelot and Lemur exhibits. The old red wolf exhibit will be transformed into an environment for South American Species and the trees will be filled with spider monkeys while the ground area will be alive with capybaras and agoutis.

Veterinary Hospital - All new animals to Oglebay's Good Zoo go through quarantine in the vet hospital and the zoo rehabilitates local injured wildlife. Visitors may enjoy a side trip to this area to view a surgical procedure in progress through public viewing windows. The surgical suite, nursery, treatment room and x-ray room ensure that all the zoo animals have the very best care, in both husbandry and health.

African Habitat - Two spacious enclosures will provide homes for a potential variety of small to medium sized African species. Examples might include the 300 pound Aldabra tortoise or a display of large African veldt birds. The African Grasslands will offer sanctuary to zebras, ostrich and antelope and will provide a spectacular view as a low fence hidden in a shallow moat will safely contain the animals. A new elevated pathway to the African Forests will take visitors into the treetops to see the colobus monkeys.
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okapikpr said:
One of two zoos in the state of West Virginia, this is a 35 acre facility settled in a small valley of Oglebay Park (a former headquarters for the AZA) that was dedicated in memory of a boy named Philip Good in 1977.

Good Zoo at Oglebay Resort and Conference Center

Originally themed with only North American wildlife, this zoo has slowly allowed exotics in over the years and is now adding more on an even more increasingly pace.

My last visit in 1999 included the following species:

American Black Bear
North American River Otter
White-tailed Deer
American Bison
Red Wolf
Sandhill Crane
Bald Eagle
Red Panda
Ocelot
Cotton Top Tamarin
Slow Loris
Mouse Deer

A current species list now includes:

Spectacled Bear (replaced American)
North American River Otter
Grey Kangaroo, Bennett's Wallaby, Loorikeets (replace WT Deer)
Ostrich (replaced Bison)
African Wild Dog (replaced Red Wolf)
Sandhill Crane
Bald Eagle
Red Panda
Goral
Red Ruffed Lemur
Ocelot
Meerkat
Naked Mole Rat
Mouse Deer
Slow Loris
Cotton Top Tamarin

The majority of the new exotics arrived in just the last two years. This year the Good Zoo will add Bongo to their collection. The zoo also has an impressive model train display and a planetarium.
Click to expand...


I work at the Oglebay Good Zoo, and I can talk to you about the current animals on exhibit.

About the species list, we do not have any lorises, mouse deer, or bongos in our collection at the moment, and I don't know of any plans to obtain them.

However the talk about getting antelope in the African Plains exhibit is true, and coming soon. We are not sure what kind, but it will probably be gazelles.

Also coming soon is a new pig for the Barn, and renovation being done on the otter enclosure. The curator and her board don't usually announce their plans to us until they are qualified to be referred to as "coming soon".

I can answer any questions you may have about the zoo. Thanks for posting this. :D
 
MrOkapi said:
I work at the Oglebay Good Zoo, and I can talk to you about the current animals on exhibit.

About the species list, we do not have any lorises, mouse deer, or bongos in our collection at the moment, and I don't know of any plans to obtain them.

However the talk about getting antelope in the African Plains exhibit is true, and coming soon. We are not sure what kind, but it will probably be gazelles.

Also coming soon is a new pig for the Barn, and renovation being done on the otter enclosure. The curator and her board don't usually announce their plans to us until they are qualified to be referred to as "coming soon".

I can answer any questions you may have about the zoo. Thanks for posting this. :D
Click to expand...
Sorry for bringing in my home zoo a lot, but how is Joaquin the bear doing? Are there plans to breed him? Does he still perform stereotypical behaviors like he did at Beardsley? Also, welcome to ZooChat!
 
BeardsleyZooFan said:
Sorry for bringing in my home zoo a lot, but how is Joaquin the bear doing? Are there plans to breed him? Does he still perform stereotypical behaviors like he did at Beardsley? Also, welcome to ZooChat!
Click to expand...

The Andean Spectacled Bear? He's doing fine. There are no plans to breed him at the moment. As for stereotypical behaviors, not really. He's usually either playing with his plastic ball or sleeping up against the glass. He's a popular addition to the zoo.

Thanks. :D
 
MrOkapi said:
The Andean Spectacled Bear? He's doing fine. There are no plans to breed him at the moment. As for stereotypical behaviors, not really. He's usually either playing with his plastic ball or sleeping up against the glass. He's a popular addition to the zoo.

Thanks. :D
Click to expand...

Glad he's doing so well.:)
 
I'm glad to hear the zoo is doing so well. I had an internship there a number of years ago and the website isn't the greatest at keeping people updated. Out of curiosity, did they ever get the golden lion tamarins and did the red-ruffed lemurs replace the ring-tailed lemurs?

Thanks
 
fuzbal11 said:
I'm glad to hear the zoo is doing so well. I had an internship there a number of years ago and the website isn't the greatest at keeping people updated. Out of curiosity, did they ever get the golden lion tamarins and did the red-ruffed lemurs replace the ring-tailed lemurs?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, we have 2 Golden Lion Tamarins. A male and a female, Rio and Crista. They are in a separate exhibit in the discovery center, along with the Red Footed Tortoise.

We still have the Ring Tailed Lemurs, though. I haven't heard of anything about getting ruffed lemurs, but it might happen eventually.
 
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