Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo news 2015

Milwaukee Man

Milwaukee Man

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10+ year member
Even though this document is from December 2013, scroll down to pages 79-82 to find more details about the Zoo's master plan projects.

http://media.jrn.com/documents/ppf-report-121213.pdf

My thoughts: while I am skeptical about the elephant portion, the African Plains complex sounds awesome and overdue at this major zoo; the outdoor underwater hippo habitat sounds like it will be a huge improvement over the current one (though the possible loss of bongos is disappointing); improved exhibits for primates and sea lions are long overdue (the atrocious exhibits for orangutans, mandrills, Diana and colobus monkeys have got to go); this is the first time I heard mention of an island-themed complex - should be interesting to hear further details. (Hope this also means Komodo dragons...:))
 
Once again, I kicked off a "New Zoo Year" with a visit to my home Zoo. Here's some updates:

*In Big Cat Country, the caracal exhibit was closed with all the lights being shut off. I have no idea what was going on, but the sign in the building's kitchen still indicated the caracal was still there. The two cubs (Sossy the snow leopard and Francisco the jaguar) were both asleep during my visit, much to my disappointment.

*Over in Primates, the gorilla outdoor exhibit is undergoing renovations (as previously mentioned on here); so far, several wooden beams put together into a climbing structure make up the renovation job. The rest of the project will be done by March. Several of the bonobo babies were interacting with each other, MJ and Tommy the orangutans were goofing around in the exhibit together, and the spider monkeys were constantly moving about without stopping.

*There's two species to add to those that I have seen enjoy the Milwaukee winters: red panda and spotted hyena. Dash the red panda was moving all around the habitat, and Nyota the hyena was resting on a heated rock. Seeing a hyena in the winter is unique because it just seems like watching a whole different species (like something out of the Ice Age). Other fun winter animals to be seen included elk, camels, tigers, penguins, wolves, and cheetahs (more below).

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Watching Kira and Imara the cheetahs frolic and plow through the snow was the best part of the trip. I knew our previous cheetahs were usually outdoors in winter, but considering the girls' age and the fact the temperature was only around 15 degrees on my visit, I wasn't sure if this would be too much for them. They were just a ton of fun to watch! :D

Photos may be up soon.
 
Exciting news. All of us up in Toronto have been just dying to hear when Shalia would have her first baby.
 
Great to hear about some babies. Did the zoo ever begin construction on the new parking lot yet?

It's a shame there's not much detail on the African Plains project. I hope they don't cut too many species to accommodate it.
 
JVM said:
Great to hear about some babies. Did the zoo ever begin construction on the new parking lot yet?

It's a shame there's not much detail on the African Plains project. I hope they don't cut too many species to accommodate it.
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I agree. I always thought there was some sort of revival taking place with the animal collection since around 2009 after remaining quite dormant. 2014 really sky-rocketed though!

New parking: I haven't heard a thing about construction starting. I read that it, along with the second entrance, would be ready by either Memorial Day or September, but I honestly don't see it happening.
 
Thanks for the updates! The new plan for an entrance seems feasible enough. Looking forward to seeing how they develop the area. The Humboldt penguin exhibit is always such a great way to be welcomed into the zoo so I'm sure whatever they place here will be fantastic.
 
For the past couple of days, the King Vultures, American Badger, Red River Hogs, and Diana Monkey have been off exhibit.
 
savetherhino said:
Do You know why?
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I too have not seen those animals all spring! I have no idea about the king vultures, badger or red river hogs (I hope they're alright, the red river hogs are my favorite part of the zoo!) :confused:
I do know that the Diana monkey was quite elderly, and I fear the worst about her :(
 
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