African elephant, Nile hippo and black rhino are the 3 species of pachyderm that share similar holding areas, but this photo does not show all of the space allocated to the animals.
Seeing Brittany and Ruth, Milwaukee's elephant duo, in these tiny stalls gives me goosebumps. At least they're a little better than the ones that were in National Zoo's elephant house (I saw it in 2009 before it closed for renovations).
Seeing Brittany and Ruth, Milwaukee's elephant duo, in these tiny stalls gives me goosebumps. At least they're a little better than the ones that were in National Zoo's elephant house (I saw it in 2009 before it closed for renovations).
The fact that Milwaukee County Zoo, an establishment that I have often been rather negative about on this forum, has only two elephants is sad enough, but their exhibit is easily one of the absolute worst of its kind in all of North America. In fact a good chunk of the zoo is outdated and there has not been a major new animal habitat in almost 20 years!
Does anybody know what the Milwaukee Zoo's plans are for their elephant program? Are they planning to build a new elephant exhibit and get additional elephants to meet the new AZA standards, or are they planning to close their exhibit like Detroit and Toronto did?
We beleive that some minor renovations have been done recently to this facility.However there is still much to be desired here.The zoo had planned a new hippo exhibit but work on that has stalled as well not really sure where this Pachyderm area as a whole stands.
Team tapir is right about the hippo exhibit. Hippos, elephants, and rhinos are the zoo's next focus in terms of new exhibits. Also, according to the Zoo's 2008 Annual Report, there are plans for a new elephant facility. I just hope that it's a whole new exhibit built somewhere in the Zoo's forests. I don't know when that's gonna begin though, or if another elephant will be quickly brought in before 2016 comes, or if Milwaukee will be temporarily "elephant-less.". I'm planning on visiting soon, so I'll try to find more out.
The major problem with Milwaukee County Zoo is that there is a plethora of outdated exhibits scattered in all directions. The snow monkey island was built in 1960; the Mahler Family Aviary is from the same time period; the Small Mammals Building is from 1965; the Aquarium & Reptile Building is from 1968; the Feline House is from the late 1950's; the Bear Grottoes are from the zoo's opening to the public in 1961; and the Pachyderm Buildings (elephants, rhinos, hippos) are all from 1960's as well. Essentially a huge portion of the zoo was built 55 years ago and still stands today. That might well be interesting in terms of historical archives but in terms of animal welfare things could be considerably improved.
Seeing Brittany and Ruth, Milwaukee's elephant duo, in these tiny stalls gives me goosebumps. At least they're a little better than the ones that were in National Zoo's elephant house (I saw it in 2009 before it closed for renovations).
