Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo news 2015

An Update after my zoo visit yesterday: The Diana Monkey, and Red River Hog exhibits are closed with animals off exhibit. I did not see the badger either, and i did not have time to get to the Aviary for the king vultures. There is work being done in the river hog exhibit; all off the trees have been removed, there are digging shovels all over the exhibit, and part of the back fence of the exhibit is completely gone. I'm going to try to find out some information on what is being done there, and hopefully some information on the diana monkey, badger, and vultures.
 
Upon asking the Milwaukee County Zoo's Facebook page about the Red River Hogs, I got this reply: "The Red River Hogs have very strict guidelines regarding the temperature at which they can be outside. We like to see it staying above 45 degrees overnight on a regular basis before bringing them over from their winter holding area, which is why they are off exhibit for a lot of the year."
Now I'm no weather expert, but I'm pretty sure it's been above 45 degrees overnight for several nights in a row, and they did not answer the question of what work (if any) is being done. When I inquired, I asked about why they weren't out, and what work was being done because as previously stated, there are shovels in the exhibit and all the trees are gone. This all seems very suspicious to me, but then again maybe I'm just a skeptical person. I really hope to see the river hogs again and SOON!
 
Dinosaurs are here for the summer! :D

Meet the Animals: Special Exhibit | Milwaukee County Zoo

On another note, why would they remove all the trees from the red river hog exhibit? Considering they're a rainforest species and the trees provided some decent shade, this seems like a decrease in exhibit quality. :confused:

I might be paying a visit next week, and will try to find out more, along with providing any additional updates.
 
Milwaukee Man said:
On another note, why would they remove all the trees from the red river hog exhibit? Considering they're a rainforest species and the trees provided some decent shade, this seems like a decrease in exhibit quality. :confused:

I might be paying a visit next week, and will try to find out more, along with providing any additional updates.
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The whole thing was all too confusing for me too, I don't understand at all what they're trying to do with the exhibit! I too will be there this weekend and hopefully between the two of us we'll get at least a little bit of information on it.
 
Thanks for keeping us all posted. Hopefully there's a logical explanation. Is it out of the question the hogs are being moved?
 
UPDATE! And i'm really hoping that this is the last exhibit update on the red river hog confusion. I just got back from the zoo and the red river hogs WERE outside! :D Both of them are still on exhibit, however, the back door is open (maybe it's been so long since they've been outside that they have to get used to their surroundings again?) And I was wrong about the trees being removed, only 2 trees have been removed but I still don't understand why the trees that provided excellent shade were removed... maybe they'll plant new ones? Hopefully.
All in all, few changes were made to the exhibit, the red river hogs are back out, and all of the confusion can finally end.
Side note, I saw the two young tree kangaroos mating, hoping for a joey next year :) The diana monkey, badger and king vultures remain off exhibit. I believe the king vultures may be off exhibit for breeding, or possibly have been sent to another zoo.
 
I was at the Zoo twice over the last week; once was a visit, the other was working Zoo Pride volunteering. Here's some updates:

*As of last week, the outdoor gorilla exhibit still sat empty, and it looked like a little bit of work was still being done on the pool.

*The red river hogs are indeed out for the season! :D Last week they were snoozing under their shade structure, while yesterday they were pretty active.

*Francisco the jaguar cub was outdoors on both days, and actually trying out fishing. After a few tries, he succeeded at making a catch.

*Sossy the snow leopard cub will be turning a year old in a few days, and boy did he grow up fast - he's as big as his mother!

*We have two greater kudu calves that were out last week, and they are very cute! One was born in January, the other February.

*A Goeldi's monkey was born earlier this month - I actually almost missed it on mom's back until I could distinguish the little head.

*Ever since our female brown bear, Aurora, passed away in March, the male Borealis has been alone. I saw him last week, and he actually seemed to be doing pretty well since losing his buddy.

*Both the Japanese macaque and American black bear exhibits were empty on my visit last week. :confused:

*I don't know for sure, but I'm taking a guess that we may have a new marabou stork in the African Waterhole exhibit. Yesterday the exhibit was completely empty except for the stork and one of our zebras, so I assumed it was in the process of getting accustomed to its surroundings and just beginning to be introduced to the other residents. The stork I saw looked like it had plenty more feathers and less raggedy than the one I normally see. I probably will look more into this.

*The second entrance project seems to be coming along nicely. Phase 1, which will consist of the parking lot and a temporary admissions area, is planned to open sometime next month. Phase 2, consisting of a brand-new river otter habitat and entry buildings, will open Memorial Day weekend 2016. A sign with information about the project has been posted next to the bridge by the caribou exhibit.
 
Wild Man said:
Any word on what happened to the Diana Monkey? :confused:
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It wasn't out last week when I was there and the lights in the exhibit were off and there was a sign that said "Animals Off Exhibit"
And just throwing a bone here, so I'm not 100% sure, but I do know that she was quite elderly and might have passed away. But I'm not sure.
 
*Both the Japanese macaque and American black bear exhibits were empty on my visit last week.
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When was the last time you saw them? I was disappointed not to see them out during my winter visit.

*The second entrance project seems to be coming along nicely. Phase 1, which will consist of the parking lot and a temporary admissions area, is planned to open sometime next month. Phase 2, consisting of a brand-new river otter habitat and entry buildings, will open Memorial Day weekend 2016. A sign with information about the project has been posted next to the bridge by the caribou exhibit.
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Glad to hear they're moving along well on this project, I can't wait to see it. Any clues what might be in the old River otter exhibit in the Small Mammal House when it's complete?
 
JVM said:
When was the last time you saw them? I was disappointed not to see them out during my winter visit.


Glad to hear they're moving along well on this project, I can't wait to see it. Any clues what might be in the old River otter exhibit in the Small Mammal House when it's complete?
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I last saw the Japanese macaques last August; to be fair, though, I didn't go by their exhibit from that time until my latest visit. As for the bears, I believe it was last November that I last saw them (both females are pretty old).

No one knows what's going to happen to the current otter exhibit. I have two wishes:

1. I would love to see it redesigned for a different species, it's the largest exhibit in the building. Either make a great mixed-species exhibit with some current species already there, or bring in a new species (aardvarks, aye-ayes, or tamandua would be awesome).

2. Nothing, as I can't stand the Small Mammal Building. It is awful for the animals; too small exhibits, minimal detail, and lack of outdoor access for the day creatures (aside from the lemurs).
 
Milwaukee Man said:
I last saw the Japanese macaques last August; to be fair, though, I didn't go by their exhibit from that time until my latest visit. As for the bears, I believe it was last November that I last saw them (both females are pretty old).

No one knows what's going to happen to the current otter exhibit. I have two wishes:

1. I would love to see it redesigned for a different species, it's the largest exhibit in the building. Either make a great mixed-species exhibit with some current species already there, or bring in a new species (aardvarks, aye-ayes, or tamandua would be awesome).

2. Nothing, as I can't stand the Small Mammal Building. It is awful for the animals; too small exhibits, minimal detail, and lack of outdoor access for the day creatures (aside from the lemurs).
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Both the macaques and black bears are still there and I see them from time to time (the macaques however, have access to an air conditioned building and that's probably usually where they are, being from a cold climate) and YES having an aye-aye or tamandua exhibit would be GREAT!!! But I feel as though they might just leave it empty and depressing looking until they renovate the Small Mammal Building (I would HOPE that renovations to the building are included in the recently finished master plan)
 
6/9/2015 Update:
While volunteering as a Zoo Pride member I noticed several new things about the zoo. First and foremost, the King Vultures are back on exhibit. (I assume they were off exhibit for so long because they need warm overnight temperatures because they don't really have an indoor area) The birds in the Aviary have really moved around! The White-faced Whistling duck is now in the exhibit with the Pale-mandibled Aracari. I only saw 1 Whistling Duck (there are usually 2 but maybe the other one was hiding) and the Grey-winged Trumpeter that is usually in that exhibit with the Aracari was not there and the signage for it was down. In the Plush-crested Jay exhibit (where the white-faced ducks used to be) is now the Laysan Teals and the Crested Jays. Nicobar Pigeons are once again on exhibit. A female Guam Kingfisher is one exhibit (it is usually a male) and a Luzon Bleeding Heart Dove is in the exhibit with her.
The new outdoor gorilla exhibit was finished/open with Maji the gorilla outside, however the new pond had no water in it.
Cammy the Caracal who arrived last summer is finally getting comfortable in her exhibit and with people. She was up on a wooden platform for al to see, sleeping. Francisco the jaguar "cub" is so big! I can't believe he's only 10 months old!
King Julian the harbor seal just turned 1 year old on June 8, and there is a sign in front of the exhibit wishing him (and his father, Ringo, who was born in the wild and has lived at the zoo since June 28, 1979) a happy birthday. June 28 is when they celebrate Ringo's birthday because, being wild born, we don't know his exact date of birth. Ringo will be turning 37 years old this year! In the Animal Hospital on a whiteboard with daily procedures ("what's written on the whiteboard is public information" I was told by another Zoo Pride member) I saw that a seal was to get an ultrasound. This COULD be a sea lion from the Oceans of Fun show, but I believe they would have written "Sea Lion" and not just "Seal" if that was the case. Could the zoo be expecting another baby harbor seal? Only time will tell, but I personally hope so :)
Just an unorganized day of notes to update everyone on the goings on at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
 
Thanks for all the updates, Wild wolverine! :)

It sure does sound like a lot going on in the Aviary. Glad to hear about the outdoor gorilla exhibit finally reopening too - can't wait to check it out.
 
Wild wolverine said:
6/9/2015 Update:
In the Animal Hospital on a whiteboard with daily procedures ("what's written on the whiteboard is public information" I was told by another Zoo Pride member) I saw that a seal was to get an ultrasound. This COULD be a sea lion from the Oceans of Fun show, but I believe they would have written "Sea Lion" and not just "Seal" if that was the case. Could the zoo be expecting another baby harbor seal? Only time will tell, but I personally hope so :)
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On the Zoo's FB page someone posted that they were at the seal "keeper talk" recently and the keeper said that Sydney is indeed pregnant and due in a couple of weeks.
 
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