Bronx Zoo Bronx Zoo 2014

I recently visited a few days ago, and the Bronx Zoo still has Slender-horned gazelles in the enclosure across the bridge. I also saw the Grey-Crowned Cranes, Marabou Stork, and Nyala. Though, I saw no Lesser Kudu in the Thomson's Gazelle enclosure. I didn't get a chance to see the Komodo Dragon enclosure, however the Tortoises were outside, and their exhibit was rather nice.
 
Visited the zoo last week and took a few notes on changes that I saw.

Wild Asia Monorail:
- Saw the male Amur Tiger
- No sign of the Nilgai
- Patty and Maxine were on display today.
- The zoo currently is home to 2 White Rhino and 5 Indian Rhino.
- Both Markhor (3,5,+ offspring) and Himalayan Tahr on display.

African Plains:
- No African Wild Dogs on display.

Congo Gorilla Forest:
- The entrance was closed off for what looked like construction, so we had to enter through the exit and double back. The colobus monkey exhibit was the only one blocked off.
There were 2 Red River Hog out.

Reptile House:
- There were only 2 Vulcan Island Tortoise (last time there were about 6).
- The last two exhibits were still under construction as was the aquatic tank that held a Snapping Turtle on my last visit.

Butterfly Garden:
- Saw 2 wild hummingbirds flying around the gardens, which was a first for me.

Children’s Zoo:
- The zoo has soft opened the petting zoo part of the childrens zoo. It was looking great and refreshed. There are new interactive elements such as a water pump and tractor. The exhibits are all larger than they used to be, but are still not that large. The good thing is that there are less animals and now large farm animals (no cows or horses). There were several free ranging chickens around the barn yard area. The second part of the childrens zoo will open after the work, as construction work is still underway and the children’s zoo closes during the winter anyway. Below is a list of the animals on display Mini Zebu (3), Mini Donkey (3), Turkey (3), Pig (2), Goose, Alpaca (4), Chicken, Sheep, Pigeon and Goat.

Zoo Center:
- There seems to be two Aldabra Tortoise exhibits that are very nice. The only thing is that exhibits feel kind of empty, as I wish there were a few more tortoise. There are two outdoor Komodo Dragon exhibits that were not being used on my visit. They are large and lush exhibits, but the large trees that were there before construction are no more. Inside there was one very active Komodo Dragon.

World of Birds:
- For the second time in a row the 2nd floor was closed off, which disappointed me as there are some pretty cool birds up there.

Himalayan Highlands:
- Saw the new Snow Leopard cubs in the largest exhibit that is closest to the Red Pandas. One of the other exhibits is still closed after collapsing last winter, which seems like an easy fix.
 
uszoo said:
World of Birds:
- For the second time in a row the 2nd floor was closed off, which disappointed me as there are some pretty cool birds up there.
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What's the deal with the second floor anyway? I'm not sure where I got this impression, but is it (semi) permanently closed? Does anyone know the story?
 
Ituri said:
What's the deal with the second floor anyway? I'm not sure where I got this impression, but is it (semi) permanently closed? Does anyone know the story?
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- I hope not as that would be very sad. The zoo currently has two bird houses in disrepair, all that is needed is a renovation of the top floor. The bottom floor is in much better shape. I hope that this is the zoos next renovation project after the children's zoo.
 
So I visited today and there were a few changes around. Unfortunately, I still have not seen the Lesser Kudu or the new Markhors but I did see the new crowned cranes, Marabou, Blue Cranes, Crowned Lemurs, and I believe there were a pair of Blue-Winged Geese in the Lowland Nyala enclosure. The new tank at beginning of Jungle World has been filled with Roti Island Snake-Necked Turtle, Weber's Sailfin Lizard, and apparently Northern New Guinea Giant Softshell Turtle (Pelochelys signifera) but I didn't see those. Also, a Sunda Slow Loris has replaced the Red Slender Loris in the nocturnal enclosure with Greater Malay Chevrotain. Also, the large enclosure by the sea lions that used to have eared-pheasant and bamboo partridge now has Red-Legged Seriema and Inca Jay. Finally saw the Maxwell's Duikers again and was able to photograph them.

~Thylo:cool:
 
Chlidonias said:
zebra finches are found naturally on Komodo and the surrounding islands so they are not out-of-place (although I suspect the ones at the Bronx are probably Australian zebra finches and not Timor zebra finches). Java sparrows don't occur naturally anywhere near Komodo, but close enough I suppose.

I've always thought Komodo dragon enclosures should include more species (small birds, flying dragons and other lizards, butterflies, etc).
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During the late 1980-ties several shipments of Timor zebra finches were imported to Europe ( and prop. North America as well ) and because they breed as good as Australian ones, they are now quite common in Europe an if they came also to America, I can imagenate that the ones with the Komodo dragons are pure Timos zebra finches.
 
What happens in the winter to elephants, rhinos, deer and the other animals at the Monorail?
Anyway, one post showed both white and Indian rhino under Wild Asia. White rhinos are found in Africa
 
Wild Asia

What happens in the winter to elephants, rhinos, deer and the other animals at the Monorail?
Anyway, one post showed both white and Indian rhino under Wild Asia. White rhinos are found in Africa.
 
cloudedleopard said:
What happens in the winter to elephants, rhinos, deer and the other animals at the Monorail?
Anyway, one post showed both white and Indian rhino under Wild Asia. White rhinos are found in Africa.
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They die, then are reborn of their own ashes. After a traumatic childhood, they are forced to go on a journey to return the One Ring to the fires of Mount Kilimanjaro where the evil lord Darth Vader will grant them a Spring revival. It's all part of the zoo's extensive enrichment policy.
 
cloudedleopard said:
What happens in the winter to elephants, rhinos, deer and the other animals at the Monorail?
Anyway, one post showed both white and Indian rhino under Wild Asia. White rhinos are found in Africa.
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As much as I enjoyed JB's response, what really happens is that they go off-show for the winter. And the white rhinos aren't on the monorail, they're displayed at the Zoo Center and can be viewed all year long.


And one more bit of zoo news I forgot to mention, it seems the spotted skunks have gone off-exhibit and there are more Malagasy Giant Rats in their enclosure.

~Thylo:cool:
 
If you mean in the Mouse House, I saw the spotted skunks visiting Bronx a year ago. What type of monkey is in the Mouse House? JB's answer was funny, but that is just the way JB must be.
 
cloudedleopard said:
If you mean in the Mouse House, I saw the spotted skunks visiting Bronx a year ago. What type of monkey is in the Mouse House? JB's answer was funny, but that is just the way JB must be.
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Yes I meant the skunks in the Mouse House. The monkeys inside the house are Golden-Headed Lion Tamarins.

As for other ex-Monkey House species, the zoo has Bolivian Grey Titi, Golden Lion Tamarin, and now Cotton-Top Tamarin inside World of Birds as well as White-Throated Capuchin behind the old Monkey House and nominate ssp Common Squirrel Monkey in the Children's Zoo.

The zoo also seems to have permanently removed the out of place Pygmy Marmosets from CGF.

~Thylo:cool:
 
Went to the zoo today; as other updates posted:

I went into the old World of Darkness. The night of the Jack o lanterns was incredibly well done. However; I felt sad being in a building I loved going into and seeing the exhibits still there...with no animals. I could still recognize each exhibit from the bat cave to the night monkeys.

The animals were very active today and I saw the baby snow leopards, giraffe, gorillas, colobus monkey, nyala etc.

New animals:
I was most excited to see in the Mouse House that galagos are in the old Malagasy jumping rat/dwarf lemur exhibit. The jumping rats are in the old spotted skunk exhibit. Several exhibits were in the process of being renovated too.
I saw the new terrarium in Jungle World with the sailfin lizards and roti island turtles. I also saw a new tortoise species in with the tree kangaroos. And no otters (maybe they will no longer be exhibited?)
World of Birds 2nd floor is still closed as is the end of World of Reptiles. In World of Reptiles I saw a new species of viper (looked like a horned viper), but it was unlabeled. Seems the aruba island rattlesnake is off exhibit now.
Lesser kudu appeared to be gone from African Plains and a few of the female Nyala were with the male so I expect new babies next year.
Went into the farm area of the Children's zoo...seems nice, definitely more space then the old area. The rest of the Children's Zoo is expected to open in 2015.
Lastly- Madagascar seemed empty- no shifakas, some of the reptile exhibits (geckos, mantella frogs) were empty. The pelicans were an interesting and large addition to the Seabird colony. Did not realize how large they were.

All in all a beautiful day; however walking around I see so much undeveloped land and closed exhibits. I hope to see more changes in the upcoming years.
 
bigfoot410 said:
Went to the zoo today; as other updates posted:

I went into the old World of Darkness. The night of the Jack o lanterns was incredibly well done. However; I felt sad being in a building I loved going into and seeing the exhibits still there...with no animals. I could still recognize each exhibit from the bat cave to the night monkeys.

The animals were very active today and I saw the baby snow leopards, giraffe, gorillas, colobus monkey, nyala etc.

New animals:
I was most excited to see in the Mouse House that galagos are in the old Malagasy jumping rat/dwarf lemur exhibit. The jumping rats are in the old spotted skunk exhibit. Several exhibits were in the process of being renovated too.
I saw the new terrarium in Jungle World with the sailfin lizards and roti island turtles. I also saw a new tortoise species in with the tree kangaroos. And no otters (maybe they will no longer be exhibited?)
World of Birds 2nd floor is still closed as is the end of World of Reptiles. In World of Reptiles I saw a new species of viper (looked like a horned viper), but it was unlabeled. Seems the aruba island rattlesnake is off exhibit now.
Lesser kudu appeared to be gone from African Plains and a few of the female Nyala were with the male so I expect new babies next year.
Went into the farm area of the Children's zoo...seems nice, definitely more space then the old area. The rest of the Children's Zoo is expected to open in 2015.
Lastly- Madagascar seemed empty- no shifakas, some of the reptile exhibits (geckos, mantella frogs) were empty. The pelicans were an interesting and large addition to the Seabird colony. Did not realize how large they were.

All in all a beautiful day; however walking around I see so much undeveloped land and closed exhibits. I hope to see more changes in the upcoming years.
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Well of course the day after my visit they put galagos on-show!:p Do you know which species?
Did you see the softshell turtle that's suppose to be in the new terrarium in JungleWorld? I did not notice a tortoise with the tree-kangaroo, did you take a photo? And yes, it appears the otters are gone. Hopefully something more interesting replaces them.
I saw and photographed that new viper and it appears as though it's a Bitis arietans.
The sifakas have been replaced with Crowned Lemurs and were in the enclosure yesterday.
I didn't get a chance to visit the Aquatic Bird House so did you notice any significant changes in there? New species?

And I, too, hope to see some of the closed and empty exhibits and enclosure be filled in the upcoming years. I at least hope they put some stuff in those three empty enclosures in African Plains. Maybe put the Slender-Horned Gazelles on-show full time there.

~Thylo:cool:
 
The zoo's crowned cranes are East African Crowned Cranes (B. r. gibbericeps), correct?

Also, does anyone know the ssp of Comb Duck?

~Thylo:cool:
 
I am almost 100% sure they are "lesser galagos". There were at least 3 of them jumping all around so quickly. The exhibit was unlabeled. I actually think they would make a good addition to the Congo (where the pygmy marmosets were) since they are actually from Africa.

I saw the softshell tortoise in Jungle World; however I am unsure what tortoise species was with the tree kangaroos. I will post the picture I took, but it was a little dark.
I hope the crowned lemurs do not replace the sifakas since the sifakas were always so active. The 2 crowned lemurs were hiding in a rock ledge this time and in the spring they had them with the sifakas and they interacted.

At the Aquatic Bird Building I think there has been some changes: the first exhibits house the storm storks and then snowy egret, javan pond heron and a duck species. They had at least 8-9 rosette spoonbills in the last exhibit and the 2 anhingas were separated. They also had new birds with the bald ibis (crested coua and a new duck species which I did not write down). The kiwi was hiding and I can't recall any other significant changes.
 
On the signs for the Nyala exhibit they say grey crowned crane and for the thompson's gazelle exhibit they have eastern crowned cranes according to the signs. As you know the Bronx Zoo signs are always 100% accurate.
 
I've looked into it a little more and found out that Prague and Bronx exchanged Mohol Bushbabies some months back in order to keep genetic diversity so it's likely that these new animals are Mohol Bushbabies.

~Thylo:cool:
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I've looked into it a little more and found out that Prague and Bronx exchanged Mohol Bushbabies some months back in order to keep genetic diversity so it's likely that these new animals are Mohol Bushbabies.

~Thylo:cool:
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Interesting. I wonder how many old World Of Darkness animals are behind the scenes...where did you find this out?
 
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