To start off the year, the otter pool in Grizzly Ridge is closed until further notice for refurbishment.
Akron Zoo Akron Zoo News 2023
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Draco the female Komodo Dragon passed away. From the zoo's Facebook:
We are sad to share that our female Komodo dragon, Draco, recently passed away on Sunday, Jan. 8. Draco’s care team observed that she was lethargic, and the our vet team ran tests. Despite medical intervention, Draco passed away.
A necropsy, which is an animal autopsy, was performed and showed that Draco had a reproductive complication called egg yolk coelomitis, which typically has a high mortality rate in female Komodo dragons.
Draco was 12 years old. She was born on Oct. 6, 2010 at the Denver Zoo and moved here to the Akron Zoo in May 2012.
“Draco was a truly special member of the Akron Zoo family,” said Kathleen Balogh, animal care manager at the Akron Zoo. “She had an exceptionally trusting relationship with her care team, which allowed us to develop innovative and outstanding care practices that will be shared with other Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited facilities.”
Our male Komodo dragon, Padar, will remain in the Komodo dragon habitat daily.
We are sad to share that our female Komodo dragon, Draco, recently passed away on Sunday, Jan. 8. Draco’s care team observed that she was lethargic, and the our vet team ran tests. Despite medical intervention, Draco passed away.
A necropsy, which is an animal autopsy, was performed and showed that Draco had a reproductive complication called egg yolk coelomitis, which typically has a high mortality rate in female Komodo dragons.
Draco was 12 years old. She was born on Oct. 6, 2010 at the Denver Zoo and moved here to the Akron Zoo in May 2012.
“Draco was a truly special member of the Akron Zoo family,” said Kathleen Balogh, animal care manager at the Akron Zoo. “She had an exceptionally trusting relationship with her care team, which allowed us to develop innovative and outstanding care practices that will be shared with other Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited facilities.”
Our male Komodo dragon, Padar, will remain in the Komodo dragon habitat daily.
Here is the press release from the zoo’s website.
Akron Zoo mourns loss of Komodo dragon | Akron Zoo
I remember seeing Draco and Charlie back when they rotated with TNT before he passed away. Crazy to think none of those dragons are still here
I miss Contessa. She was the first one TNT’s rotated with. I miss TNT too.
I think Contessa passed away before I started going to Akron, which was around 2005
Contessa died in 2007. TNT and Contessa actually lived at the zoo several years before Komodo Kingdom opened. They were in the hospital.
Next month will see the opening of “Garden View Place,” a flexible animal housing building.
Akron Zoo eyes February opening for flexible animal housing building
I don’t think I’ve heard of anything like this in a zoo before. I know zoos have off-display housing, some of which for breeding cases, at animal hospitals, etc., but are there any examples of this out there?
Akron Zoo eyes February opening for flexible animal housing building
I don’t think I’ve heard of anything like this in a zoo before. I know zoos have off-display housing, some of which for breeding cases, at animal hospitals, etc., but are there any examples of this out there?
It's not unusual for zoos to have some flexible spaces behind the scenes to hold animals as needed. Oftentimes these sorts of spaces serve as seasonal holdings for non-cold tolerant species (e.g. lemurs, tropical birds, etc.), or holdings for animals while repairs/renovations are done on their normal exhibit. Having some behind the scenes areas like this also is beneficial for animal acquisition in new exhibits. Having a space to provide temporary housing allows a zoo to bring in an individual when it's available, and not need to wait for an exhibit to be ready.
@Neil chace Oh, I’m aware of those too. I guess what I was getting at was I don’t think I’ve seen a zoo make these sort of facilities so prominent or bring major attention to (for lack of better words or phrase), let alone one that is in the public eye according to the Zoo’s map.
Anyone know if the Capybara exhibit has been reoccupied? Planning on heading to Akron in the coming weeks and just curious
I don’t expect it to be filled until spring. The bird habitat at Garden View Place will probably not be occupied until spring according to the zoo.
The zoo posted on Facebook the otter pool in Grizzly Ridge has reopened
登录 Facebook | Facebook
Zoo is closed today due to a tree falling on a perimeter fence. No habitats damaged
Zoo is closed today due to a tree falling on a perimeter fence. No habitats damaged
They were sent to other zoos. I am not sure where. They were replaced by tufted deer.
I called them on the phone last month and the operator said the musk deer are in the UK now.
Any word on what is planned for that bird habitat? I saw that and I was curious what we could expect in there
Not yet. They said it will be in the spring.
At the link below, the zoo is keeping everyone updated on habitat closures and other work being done at the zoo. It is under the map.
Zoo Map | Akron Zoo
Zoo Map | Akron Zoo
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