Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo news 2013

This zoo is probably the most stagnant zoo in the country. The entire zoo feels unchanged with every exhibit featuring those horrid mock rock. The elephants must be first as in 2016 they must have a large exhibit and a new elephant.
 
uszoo said:
This zoo is probably the most stagnant zoo in the country. The entire zoo feels unchanged with every exhibit featuring those horrid mock rock. The elephants must be first as in 2016 they must have a large exhibit and a new elephant.
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I agree with you, uszoo. This zoo has not had any major changes since Apes of Africa, which opened in 1992, with the exception of renovations to other buildings in the past 15 years. Milwaukee has a trio of great complexes (Aviary, Aquatic and Reptile Center, and Macaque Island), but the rest is about average to terrible in my opinion.

I do, however, feel that the Zoo is taking the right step in hiring PGAV to design the master plan. PGAV was responsible for St. Louis' Sea Lion Sound and some of Tulsa's new complexes (like the Lost Kingdom), and based on photos and designs, those look really good. If PGAV can create a great plan for Milwaukee, then I see a bright future.
 
Yes, the nocturnal House is the second half of the Small Mammals building. The last time I visited this section was my November 2012 visit. The species then were:

Owl monkey, fennec fox, sugar glider, kinkajou, armadillo, springhaas, bushbaby, potto, black-footed cat, vampire bat, and fruit bat (don't remember the exact species though). I'm pretty sure I covered them all.

The zoo is looking into redoing the Small Mammals Building as part of their master plan. Because Milwaukee is actually known for being one of the first to have a nocturnal house, I would love for the Zoo to expand and renovate the building to completely dedicate it to nocturnal animals, along with bringing in new animals like the aardvark.
 
Milwaukee Man said:
Yes, the nocturnal House is the second half of the Small Mammals building. The last time I visited this section was my November 2012 visit. The species then were:

Owl monkey, fennec fox, sugar glider, kinkajou, armadillo, springhaas, bushbaby, potto, black-footed cat, vampire bat, and fruit bat (don't remember the exact species though). I'm pretty sure I covered them all.

The zoo is looking into redoing the Small Mammals Building as part of their master plan. Because Milwaukee is actually known for being one of the first to have a nocturnal house, I would love for the Zoo to expand and renovate the building to completely dedicate it to nocturnal animals, along with bringing in new animals like the aardvark.
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Thank you very much for this interesting Information. No ta really large"collction", but better for the animals, and indeed very nice species like the Potto and Blackfooted cat.Once the zoo has kept hog badger, giant pangolin, binturong,genets and Palm civits in it..

It was the fourth Noctunal House in the Usa, opened in 1965, but the first at the Bronx-zoo wasn't a"real"one-it was the"Nocturnal Testing House"which is today known as the"Mouse House", before"World of Darkness" was opened it 1969.

Is Milwaukee keeping some of the nocturnal species together ?

I think, aardvarks ar not doing well in these Houses. They are to big, they need to burrow in and they like real sunlight,mud bathes and all exhibits I know for them in Nocturnal Houses are to defenitely to small.

So I prefer to see them in normal exhibits with access to an outdoor enclosure.

But I hope, Milwaukee can rebuild the Nocturnal House, is it the same style as it was in 1965 ? I can't imagine that.
 
You're welcome. Your info was very interesting to read as well.

The Small Mammals Building was last renovated in 1998, so I'd imagine that it was quite different prior to that year.

As for mixed-species, the bushbabies usually share an exhibit with the springhaas. Sometimes, however, they (meaning the bushbabies) have access to the potto exhibit too.
 
According to a source we spoke to at the Milwaukee Zoo Elephants are going to be the number one focus in the current development of its new 10 yr masterplan.However this does not mean that they have committed 100 percent to keeping them! Its still 50/50, however they will not remain in their current exhibit,either a new new one is built or they'll move elsewhere.

Also rumored to be included in the new masterplan was a two phase hippo exhibit which began with a completed phase 1 (indoor holding) which was finished and the expected private money for phase 2 fell through.There are rumblings that phase 2 could be back in the mix soon.If they run with original plan the outdoor exhibit would renovate the current hippo paddock as well as the bongo paddock and gazelle paddock where a large pool with indoor viewing would wrap around the bend near the cheetahs.It's a shame the money went south because it sounded like the outdoor plans were to be pretty cool.Hopefull this is part of the new masterplan!

Team Tapir223
 
Thanks for this great info about the master plan, TeamTapir!

*I do hope the Zoo decides on keeping elephants - we have the extra space for a new habitat, and I feel like the Zoo really needs a good quality habitat after such a long time without major change.

*About the underwater hippo viewing area plans: It sounds like this would be big improvement over the current outdoor area! But, would this mean that the bongos and gazelle would be shipped out to other Zoos? Or will they move to new exhibits in the Zoo? It would be shame to lose bongos - the next closest ones I believe are in St. Louis, and they are a unique antelope.
 
Milwaukee Man said:
Thanks for this great info about the master plan, TeamTapir!

*I do hope the Zoo decides on keeping elephants - we have the extra space for a new habitat, and I feel like the Zoo really needs a good quality habitat after such a long time without major change.

*About the underwater hippo viewing area plans: It sounds like this would be big improvement over the current outdoor area! But, would this mean that the bongos and gazelle would be shipped out to other Zoos? Or will they move to new exhibits in the Zoo? It would be shame to lose bongos - the next closest ones I believe are in St. Louis, and they are a unique antelope.
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It sounds like those two exhibits would certainly go by the wayside and it remains unclear if the bongos and gazelles would be relocated.Given the current trend in US zoos they would probably be deacquisitioned which we agree would be unfortunate.Our home zoo of Cleveland got rid of its bongo exhibit to make way for Elephant Crossing despite the fact the the Cleveland Zoo was the 1st zoo in the world to ever exhibit them (1959) certainly a shame.

Team Tapir223
 
Note to TeamTapir...Cleveland was certainly not the first zoo to exhibit Bongo,that was Rome in 1935,then London, then Antwerp.Cleveland was the first American zoo to exhibit one[a female on 3.6.59.
 
Yes of course Doreen...ive got the NYZS bulletin about it as well[no34] ! she lived at the zoo for over 18 years-good going by any standards.
 
Intereresting too that Colin Groves[the famed taxonomist] is of the opinion that the two[at one time three] taxa of Bongo are genetically indistinguishable and that the subspecies are therefore probably not valid...all the captive ones are eastern anyway,so at least not a problem there.
 
And im going barmy-the above NYZS bulletin is vol.36 number 2!If it matters to anyone these days.
 
Tim Brown said:
Intereresting too that Colin Groves[the famed taxonomist] is of the opinion that the two[at one time three] taxa of Bongo are genetically indistinguishable and that the subspecies are therefore probably not valid...all the captive ones are eastern anyway,so at least not a problem there.
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Unless Groves has changes his opinion since 2011, he states

"Therefore, we cannot make any secure conclusions about taxonomic variation in this species (or species-group)."

He kind of leaves this taxa open-ended.
 
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