New Bronx Zoo Blog

The website will be down for about 2 days as I am currently redoing it and fixing up alot of the features and enhancing old blog posts for the new format. It will be back by Monday at the latest. The blog will start posting again in june.
 
- The blogs website is now back and redone but no new articles will be posted until mid june. There may be minor changes occurring over the next few days with the blog but it is online again. In other news we are now on Facebook please follow us for blog posts and other information.
Bronx Zoo Fan | Devoted to Zoos around the Globe
 
I really hope you decide to do polar bears for your next animal exhibit project!
 
I had articles for polar bears and gorillas done before i had to stop posting but am enhancing them right now for a later date. I will be releasing polar bears followed by gorillas.
 
uszoo said:
Part 7 of the Elephant Exhibit Series is now up showing zoos in Pennsylvania, ohio, indiana and Wisconsin. Next week is the final article and the week after is a summary of all the elephant articles.
Us Elephant Exhibits Part 7 | Bronx Zoo Fan
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Very interesting and well done indeed. However, this post seems to have a lot more inaccuracies than your posts in the past.

Indianapolis - you seemed to have implied that their breeding success is based on having a bull on property. However, every single birth at this zoo has been the result of AI using semen from a bull quite a distance away.

Cincinnati - The 26 year old elephant in question has had a calf before with the zoo's current bull back in 1998.

Columbus - I don't believe that black rhinos have been confirmed for inclusion into the zoo's new Africa Savanna exhibit. It would make sense if they did.

Toledo - The zoo did bring in an unrelated female (the "rescue female") to breed with their bull, who isn't much of a calf anymore.
 
gerenuk said:
Very interesting and well done indeed. However, this post seems to have a lot more inaccuracies than your posts in the past.

Indianapolis - you seemed to have implied that their breeding success is based on having a bull on property. However, every single birth at this zoo has been the result of AI using semen from a bull quite a distance away.

Cincinnati - The 26 year old elephant in question has had a calf before with the zoo's current bull back in 1998.

Columbus - I don't believe that black rhinos have been confirmed for inclusion into the zoo's new Africa Savanna exhibit. It would make sense if they did.

Toledo - The zoo did bring in an unrelated female (the "rescue female") to breed with their bull, who isn't much of a calf anymore.
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Indianapolis zoo- Thank uou for telling me that I will change it. The zoo has had a bullbon site for much of its history so I wonder why all birth were due to AI.

Cincinnati Zoo- Yes but it has been so long that the chance of another birth is extremly low.

Columbus Zoo-I will change that when I get to my conputer later, i thought they were in the original plans.

Toledo Zoo- I had thought that I read that she was having bad health and was not a good candidate for breeding.
 
The Indy zoo has only had a bull pen since they built the new elephant complex. The former elephant exhibit is where the white rhinos are currently. If zoos are going to breed elephants, they need to be responsible for the animals they produce. Having a bull pen, doesn't necessarily equate to have a breeding bull. But it may be necessary in the event a zoo produces a male calf and is unable to send it to another zoo in the future.
 
About Toledo:

Newsmakers: Tembo Trail makes splash at zoo
Written by Maggie Dziubek | | news@toledofreepress.com

According to her landlord, Renee, a single mother with two sons, Louie, 10, and Lucas, 1 1/2, is settling in nicely with her family into their new home at Two Hippo Way in Toledo.

In the eight months since the Tembo Trail African elephant exhibit opened at the Toledo Zoo, the elephant herd, zookeepers and visitors have enjoyed the exhibit’s new facilities.

“It’s been very well-received. We’ve received lots and lots of compliments about the exhibits,” said Andi Norman, director of marketing and public relations. “People love how close they can get to the animals.”

Baby Lucas at the Toledo Zoo. Toledo Free Press File Photo by Joseph Herr.

The new trail, which replaced the older African Savannah exhibit, wraps around the elephants’ enclosure and offers more space, with 37,680 square feet outdoors. This extra space was added with the growing size of the herd in mind.

Twiggy, a female elephant, was integrated into the Toledo herd after being rescued from an Indiana circus in 2010. So far, Twiggy has been forming a successful bond with Lucas, and with the extra space the zoo is open to exploring breeding opportunities.

With the new space comes new opportunities for educational programs working with the elephant herd. One event, “Trunk and Bunk,” which occurred over the summer, gave youth groups the opportunity to spend the night at the zoo making enrichment items for the elephants.

The enrichment activities provide challenges for the elephants, presenting them with obstacles that allow them to hunt for their food. For example, food will be placed in overhead feeders above the elephants’ eyeline.

“The overhead feeders, they’re on remote controls, so they don’t know where they’re going to be during the day,” Norman said “The keepers can move them throughout the day. It encourages them to move about and to exhibit natural behaviors.”

Zoo trainers use only positive reinforcement with the animals.

“If they don’t want to do something, they don’t have to, but if they participate, they get a treat,” Norman said

New features on the trail include an indoor viewing area and an outdoor concrete pad where zoo visitors can watch trainers working with the elephants.

“Visitors are actually learning a lot as well. We try to sneak that in there when we can.” Norman said.

In response to concerns by animal rights groups that captive elephants should be moved to larger wildlife sanctuaries, Norman said, “We receive tremendous support for [our elephant program] from the community. When animal rights extremists say they don’t think elephants should be in zoos, the public says, ‘Don’t get rid of the elephants.’”

“We actually have one of the best elephant programs in the country.”

Tags: Andi Norman, Tembo Trail, Toledo Zoo

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 at 9:50 pm
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Cincinnati Zoo- Yes but it has been so long that the chance of another birth is extremly low.
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There is some truth to this, but I wouldn't say Jati's chances of pregnancy are "extremely low". There have been many other elephants who have gone long intervals between births and have been successful breeders. However, with this said there is a chance that Jati could have developed cysts in her reproductive tract that may prevent her from conceiving because of her reproductive inactivity. The Cincinnati zoo has reproductive specialists on staff. I'd assume the zoo would have said something regarding Jati's health by now if this was the case.
 
uszoo said:
Part 8 of the elephant exhibit series is up. Next weeks post will be a ranking of the exhibits by there size along with a few other statistics.
Us Elephant Exhibits Part 8 | Bronx Zoo Fan
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uszoo, awesome job. defintely appreciate roger williams being done. the eles share that building with masai giraffes. it is really a shame, as the giraffe exhibit is ridiculously small. I agree with you on expanding the ele exhibit, but would go even further to the Grant's zebras and Eastern white-bearded wildebeests exhibt. I'd also call for the giraffes to be moved or sent away.
 
Which post number is for Texas elephant exhibits? Also, you forgot Cheyenne mountain zoos new Encounter Africa Elephant exhibit.
 
Texas is in post number four and thank you for telling me I forgot the cheyenne mountain zoo i guess that since when i took the photos it was not complete so I forgot it. I will just throw it in with next weeks update.
 
Excellent blog posts. I do have one comment though. On the Columbus zoo post you mention that the barn is only 22,000 sq ft where according to the zoo it is actually 41,000 sq ft (Columbus Zoo and Aquarium). Are you saying that the barn space for the elephants only totals 22,000 or was that supposed to be the total area of the barn?
 
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