Bronx Zoo Bronx Zoo News 2019

ThylacineAlive said:
-There were two male Lions on-exhibit on Friday.
-Both the sika and Tufted Deer were mentioned on Friday and I saw one individual of each species. There zoo has roughly five Tufted Deer on-exhibit but they are very hit or miss given how seclusive they can be.
-Which enclosure in JW were unsigned? I only remember the newish mangrove tank and the now-empty Mangrove Snake enclosures being unsigned.
-I saw two bushbabies and one spotted skunk on Friday.
-The entire wall of enclosures from Egyptian Tortoise to Gila Monster were all signed on Friday :/ They recently updated the signage, too, for several new species so I don't know why they'd suddenly be gone now.
-The goose is a Cape Barren Goose.
-The hornbills are the zoo's Sanford's Dwarf Hornbill pair, which were also signed on Friday...
-I'm not sure about the curassows. I didn't see any helmeted in the Pheasant Aviary and while Blue-Billed were signed in the main SA walkthrough, I didn't actually see any sign of them.

~Thylo
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That is good to hear that both deer species are in the collection, even though the tufted deer are so small they are hard to get a good look at. I see the cranes and geese did not last long either in the sika/sambar/hog deer exhibit.
In Jungle World- both snake exhibits were now unsigned (timor pythons were removed and it looks like work was being done in the exhibit). The old millipede exhibit was emptied and sign covered. Another exhibit was labeled "spider". There was a beetle and mantis species that I don't recall so must be relatively new.
I am curious to why all the signs were gone two days later, unless they are in process of replacing all the signage. I also noted there were black tree monitors and green tree monitors on exhibit and no green tree pythons of New Caledonian tree skink. The zoo is always rotating exhibits so it's hard to keep up!
 
bigfoot410 said:
That is good to hear that both deer species are in the collection, even though the tufted deer are so small they are hard to get a good look at. I see the cranes and geese did not last long either in the sika/sambar/hog deer exhibit.
In Jungle World- both snake exhibits were now unsigned (timor pythons were removed and it looks like work was being done in the exhibit). The old millipede exhibit was emptied and sign covered. Another exhibit was labeled "spider". There was a beetle and mantis species that I don't recall so must be relatively new.
I am curious to why all the signs were gone two days later, unless they are in process of replacing all the signage. I also noted there were black tree monitors and green tree monitors on exhibit and no green tree pythons of New Caledonian tree skink. The zoo is always rotating exhibits so it's hard to keep up!
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Bizarre indeed, the Timor Pythons were on-exhibit and signed on Friday! I do remember the millipede terrarium sign being covered now, though. The "spider" has been like that for a long time now, just another example of zoos sometimes not properly signing invertebrates. I imagine this is do to the relatively quick turnaround of species. I'm pretty sure no live goliath beetles are on-display anymore as well.
Yes both monitors were on-exhibit and signed properly! Do you mean Solomon Islands Skink?

~Thylo
 
FunkyGibbon said:
Bronx Zoo: Woman who taunted a lion identified as Myah Autry - CNN

This article is, unless I am misreading it, appallingly written. The first paragraph can only lead the reader to believe the woman was 'in' with the lion, and yet the last paragraph walks this almost all the way back.
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Yes, all the coverage of this has been overblown. She could easily has tripped on the plants and tumbled into the moat - which as we all know would not have gone well for her. But as it was she was never in any danger from the lion.... only from her stupidity
 
The actual signage for the dholes has been installed and I've heard that they are doing test releases so I assume that they're gonna be out soon.

Also, what are all the species in the Monorail and does anyone have an altitude based zoo map that shows all the hills and buildings? I wanna come up with a master plan.
 
tigris115 said:
Also, what are all the species in the Monorail and does anyone have an altitude based zoo map that shows all the hills and buildings? I wanna come up with a master plan.
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Google Earth offers an excellent view of all the indoor holding areas on the Asia side of the river. If you study this very closely and trace the path of the monorail, you'll find that it actually circles the very perimeter of those buildings. Because the monorail cars were deliberately designed to face only one direction (Now, really, who does that? And why? Most aim for maximum seating and viewing), the path literally circles within a hair's breadth completely around the barns looking outward. When the cars pull up briefly in front of the elephant pond, their enclosure and all the others are directly behind you. Yes, at one point, the view behind the monorail is the parkway, but circling the buildings entirely would suggest that seeing big open fields of animals and not their indoor habitats is the motivation. As I mentioned previously, all of these animals are brought inside for the night, and I just cringe thinking of both very large animals and very large herds of large animals all packed into those few barns and fenced areas.

I don't know how you can find a topographical/elevation map of the area that shows the undulations of the pasture terrain, but I don't think any of the Asia species would have a problem with any specific area, even the rocky marquor outcropping back on the home side of the river. I've mulled out loud on here how to find a few acres for an exhibit to house a few non-breeding elephants so they can be visible from a path where people can stop and appreciate them leisurely for more than a few seconds. There has been every possible bit of water thrown on these ideas, from not enough space to terrain being too rocky. In the first place, 3 acres is tremendously more than they have now and is comparable to what many modern elephant exhibits have been able to carve out. Secondly, NZP's website actually describes elephants as being able to climb steep, rocky terrain, and if you have seen their 6-year-old exhibit, the steep drop-off between the upper yards and the Elephant Outpost was designed to be part of their usable habitat. Only a shortfall of funds at the end, to create a way for keepers to get from the top to the bottom, kept this from happening.

ANYTHING that puts the elephants on a walking path with a few acres total would be a vast improvement for their welfare and for showing visitors why elephant conservation is needed. We need a new master plan of that whole area!
 
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I tried Google Earth and while I can see the holding areas well, it's kinda hard to see the main paddocks. Also, I want a list of all monorail animals so I can figure out how to shuffle them around the zoo. I THINK it's...

Axis deer
Barasingha
Blackbuck
Przewalski's horse
Gaur
Brow-antlered deer
Amur/Malayan tiger
Babirusa
Asian elephant
Indian rhinoceros
Sambar deer
Hog deer
Nilgai
Formosan sika deer
Tufted deer
Markhor
Himalayan tahr (maybe phased out, didn't see them today)
Red panda

My ideas are...
Make the Wild Asia Area including the Monorail and the Asia Parking a massive Asian complex for elephants (breeding of course), rhinos, gaur, etc. Have all Amur tigers at Tiger Mountain only and only have Malayan tigers here to create an Asian jungle sorta theme. Then with the South(east) Asian hoofstock, make it so they can walk among the giants ala Dallas. Dholes could also be moved here and have them rotate with tigers ala Denver

Make the Bronx River Parking lot multi-level so you can get rid of Asia and the excess parking by the buffalo. Then use that whole area to create a sorta Yellowstone exhibit that incorporates the river and teaches about human/wildlife conflict in our nation. Get some pronghorns (they gotta share the exhibit with the bison), wolves, cougars, elk, and move the grizzlies here.

The Heads and Horns building is kinda wasted as education IMO. You could easily use it as a zoo museum since a ton of interesting crap happened at the Bronx Zoo.

Make the area around Tiger Mountain, Bears, Himalayan Highlands, etc. a whole Northern Asia thing with better flow, more modern exhibits, and with the displaced Northern Asian herbivores like the markhor (they'd love the grizzly exhibit with a few mods), tufted deer, etc.

With WoD, you could theoretically demolish the building and add a polar bear exhibit with an air-conditioned indoor area.

The African Plains exhibit really needs a spit and shine. I think redoing the layout and making the animal night areas more modern would work wonders. I think more hoofstock like elands, blue wildebeest, etc. could also fit. Also, give the

For the former Rare Animal Range, I have no idea tbh. I heard that the director wanted to do a Latin America exhibit which would hopefully have tapirs, monkeys, jaguars, macaws, etc. but it's likely not concrete.

Monkey house would likely be a copy and paste of the Madagascar concept with another ecosystem.

I'd do something a bit more interesting with the white rhino yard. Idk what that would be. It could be another kind of megafauna, reptiles, etc. but I'm sure someone here has a hot idea. I have a soft spot for black rhinos so seeing the yard expanded for a breeding group would be great.

That should be it for now.
 
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You have a great memory. I didn't remember them all lol. Someone pointed out that the tigers, rhinos, and red pandas are also seen at other locations within the zoo, so excepting the elephants and technically the babirusa, everything else on Asia Trail is hoofstock. While they all have different features, except for the markhor, at least their terrain doesn't differ markedly, which might make your challenge more manageable.
 
AmbikaFan said:
Because the monorail cars were deliberately designed to face only one direction (Now, really, who does that? And why? Most aim for maximum seating and viewing)
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Because on the other side is a major intersection/buildings that would spoil the feeling of being in an Asian wilderness. I have a few ideas in mind for revitalizing Wild Asia into something even greater...

In terms of JungleWorld, mainly updated signage (keeping the gorgeous watercolor and the slightly exotic font but merely giving it a shine) as well as updated species for different habitats. The current tree kangaroo exhibit could be used as a nursery for young komodos, and the current otter exhibit would be a good place for civets, leopard cats, etc. (With netting, of course). Proboscis monkeys could be brought back and the otters transferred over to their original exhibit (in with the monkeys, of course). Consultants from Zoorasia and/or the Singapore Zoo would be great to help with any issues regarding husbandry. Amur leopards would be replaced with a rotating exhibit for binturongs and clouded leopards, and all major megafauna (tapirs, leopard/binturong, silver leaf langur) would have access to the outdoors via underground (or cellar-level) chutes. There should be sufficient space on the banks of the Bronx River, where exhibits similar in style to how the painted dog/warthog exhibits at Regent's Park were constructed with views of the canal (or in this case, river). The "python in the tree" exhibit could be replaced with a "tarantula/spider in the tree". All other aspects of the exhibit would be maintained. As for the final gallery, instead of an "exit garden" (that'll come in the main Asia Plaza) the real highlight would be a brand new exhibit for Sumatran orangutans, in an indoor gallery that realistically stimulates the challenges and complexities of a rainforest canopy. Essentially, the concept of Topeka's "Discovering Apes" exhibit for orangs but with far more detail. Essentially, this'd be the Asian equivalent of Congo. Once one heads outside, the Plaza would be enhanced with a similar "free-ranging orangutan" concept much like Singapore, where the orangs can spend time in the treetops as per their natural proclivities.

As for the Monorail, other species can be added to the exhibit along with enhancements for the Zoo's current charges. The highlights as of today are Asian hoofstock, tigers, elephants, rhinos and red pandas. Once Happy and Patty live out the rest of their days, an expansion could occur where the elephants could hypothetically cross over (or in, depending on water treatment) the Bronx River, with structural engineering on par with Denver's Toyota Elephant Passage to boot. There, a new indoor facility on par with Zürich's Kaeng Krachan and Oregon's Forest Hall could be constructed, with the ability to house a multigenerational herd of elephants. (Maybe some mixed-species opportunities could be created to pay tribute to the original name of the exhibit, Khao Yai? With sambar deer, crested porcupines, pig-tailed macaques? That last option could be unlikely). The original exhibit could be enhanced, and the existing holding modified to have natural substrate. As for other exciting species, why not sloth bears in the current tiger exhibit? Sloth bears and golden jackals could work hypothetically given the space allocated, perhaps a rotation policy could be put in order between the bears/jackals and the Malayan tigers they have on exhibit. Takin could also be added to the final exhibit, in a fenced-in portion of the current markhor/tahr yard. (Maybe some long-tailed goral?) Finally, (in terms of the monorail experience itself) maybe some ambient music native to the regions portrayed by the exhibits? (Thai music near elephants, Himalayan music near tahrs/pandas, Russian music near tigers, etc.) with organic transitions.

IDK, I'm sure there are plenty more charismatic endangered Asian species out there I can't name off the top of my head, feel free to analyze and suggest.
 
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Now both of these are exactly the kind of thinking many of us were saying was missing early in this thread. I love nearly all the aspects of both of these proposals. The current situation is like a student asking, "Well, how long does this essay have to be?" Akin to how little can we do to get by? Overarching new views like these are so exciting and involve more diverse species, and are indeed like the students who never ask what the minimum us, but rather do all they can to provide the best they can. This is what needs to happen to Asia.

I had become resigned to aspiring only for a few elephants to be exhibited somewhere in the heart of the zoo, and I'm so encouraged that both of you think breeding herds should be the goal. Ironically, to make the kinds of sweeping changes proposed by either Wyman or Tigris115 in most zoos would entail a complete "recarving" of limited zoo footprints into new configurations. With so much acreage and so many behind-the-scenes areas that are much easier to adapt to new usage than bulldozing anew, exhibits like those described would be more easily realized at the Bronx. I remember Thylo once saying that there were restrictions to keep some significant portion of the river watershed undeveloped--and that could very well be a delimiting factor--but with the Treetop Adventures now in a space I thought would be unavailable and the albeit temporary brown kiwi breeding "quontset hut" directly across the River south of Asia, it seems these whole areas may well not be off limits.

Kudos to both of you for rich and complex ideas for a rich and complex (ie, not all hoofstock) way to really represent the diverse species of Asia.
 
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AmbikaFan said:
If you study this very closely and trace the path of the monorail, you'll find that it actually circles the very perimeter of those buildings. Because the monorail cars were deliberately designed to face only one direction (Now, really, who does that? And why? Most aim for maximum seating and viewing), the path literally circles within a hair's breadth completely around the barns looking outward. When the cars pull up briefly in front of the elephant pond, their enclosure and all the others are directly behind you. Yes, at one point, the view behind the monorail is the parkway, but circling the buildings entirely would suggest that seeing big open fields of animals and not their indoor habitats is the motivation. As I mentioned previously, all of these animals are brought inside for the night, and I just cringe thinking of both very large animals and very large herds of large animals all packed into those few barns and fenced areas.
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Why would they design the monorail to face the indoor housing? The focus should be on the animals both for interest and immersion's sake. I really don't understand the benefit of showing the buildings in your eyes. I haven't even heard of a zoo monorail that has seating facing in multiple directions, as that'd accomplish nothing but ensure that people are going to miss something. And where would you put the doors to get in? Also, as mentioned before, the buildings were designed to house large herds and you have no idea what their size is so I don't know why you keep insisting the quarters aren't appropriate for the animals.

AmbikaFan said:
I've mulled out loud on here how to find a few acres for an exhibit to house a few non-breeding elephants so they can be visible from a path where people can stop and appreciate them leisurely for more than a few seconds. There has been every possible bit of water thrown on these ideas, from not enough space to terrain being too rocky. In the first place, 3 acres is tremendously more than they have now and is comparable to what many modern elephant exhibits have been able to carve out. Secondly, NZP's website actually describes elephants as being able to climb steep, rocky terrain, and if you have seen their 6-year-old exhibit, the steep drop-off between the upper yards and the Elephant Outpost was designed to be part of their usable habitat. Only a shortfall of funds at the end, to create a way for keepers to get from the top to the bottom, kept this from happening.
Click to expand...

You've yet to find 3 acres to put a new elephant habitat in.. Regardless, as pointed out before by I believe several people now that amount of space for the entire complex of yards and housing is not going to give them anything better than what they have currently given the current elephant complex is already about 3 acres in size total. To give the elephants themselves a new 3 acre yard, you'd need to find probably about 6 acres total for the house and keepers area. If you wanted a secondary yard you might need another acre or two. Add on at least one more acre for the visitor space (which the current 3 acres doesn't need to factor in due to the monorail) and in total you'd need at least 9 acres to build the kind of exhibit you want for them. Again, I due agree that it'd be great for the elephants to have an exhibit in the main zoo but we need to be realistic in what that means and how that could even happen. The zoo is huge, yes, but apart from the monorail I don't really see a free 9+ acres of land available to them if they even wanted to build a new complex.

Elephants being able to climb uneven terrain is different from being able to climb the near sheer rock face that's at the front of Markhor habitat. And rocky terrain is different from a space that's dominated by majority boulders sticking out of the ground. Even if they would maneuver their way through that, from a husbandry perspective the zoo definitely shouldn't let them. That's beside the point, though, because (again) that area of land includes an important service road for the staff, a couple of small staff buildings, and one of the zoo's parking lots.

tigris115 said:
I tried Google Earth and while I can see the holding areas well, it's kinda hard to see the main paddocks. Also, I want a list of all monorail animals so I can figure out how to shuffle them around the zoo. I THINK it's...

Axis deer
Barasingha
Blackbuck
Przewalski's horse
Gaur
Brow-antlered deer
Amur/Malayan tiger
Babirusa
Asian elephant
Indian rhinoceros
Sambar deer
Hog deer
Nilgai
Formosan sika deer
Tufted deer
Markhor
Himalayan tahr (maybe phased out, didn't see them today)
Red panda

My ideas are...
Make the Wild Asia Area including the Monorail and the Asia Parking a massive Asian complex for elephants (breeding of course), rhinos, gaur, etc. Have all Amur tigers at Tiger Mountain only and only have Malayan tigers here to create an Asian jungle sorta theme. Then with the South(east) Asian hoofstock, make it so they can walk among the giants ala Dallas. Dholes could also be moved here and have them rotate with tigers ala Denver

Make the Bronx River Parking lot multi-level so you can get rid of Asia and the excess parking by the buffalo. Then use that whole area to create a sorta Yellowstone exhibit that incorporates the river and teaches about human/wildlife conflict in our nation. Get some pronghorns (they gotta share the exhibit with the bison), wolves, cougars, elk, and move the grizzlies here.

The Heads and Horns building is kinda wasted as education IMO. You could easily use it as a zoo museum since a ton of interesting crap happened at the Bronx Zoo.

Make the area around Tiger Mountain, Bears, Himalayan Highlands, etc. a whole Northern Asia thing with better flow, more modern exhibits, and with the displaced Northern Asian herbivores like the markhor (they'd love the grizzly exhibit with a few mods), tufted deer, etc.

With WoD, you could theoretically demolish the building and add a polar bear exhibit with an air-conditioned indoor area.

The African Plains exhibit really needs a spit and shine. I think redoing the layout and making the animal night areas more modern would work wonders. I think more hoofstock like elands, blue wildebeest, etc. could also fit. Also, give the

For the former Rare Animal Range, I have no idea tbh. I heard that the director wanted to do a Latin America exhibit which would hopefully have tapirs, monkeys, jaguars, macaws, etc. but it's likely not concrete.

Monkey house would likely be a copy and paste of the Madagascar concept with another ecosystem.

I'd do something a bit more interesting with the white rhino yard. Idk what that would be. It could be another kind of megafauna, reptiles, etc. but I'm sure someone here has a hot idea. I have a soft spot for black rhinos so seeing the yard expanded for a breeding group would be great.

That should be it for now.
Click to expand...

Blackbuck
Indian Gaur
Nilgai
Bukharan Markhor
Himalayan Tahr (about 0.3 or 0.4 left)
Chital Deer
Indian Hog Deer
Formosan Sika Deer (about 0.2 or 0.3 left)
Western Tufted Deer
North Indian Muntjac
Burmese Brow-Antlered Deer
Western Barasingha
Indian Sambar
North Sulawesi Babirusa
Western Red Panda
Amur/Malayan Tiger
Przewalski's Wild Horse
Indian Rhinoceros
Indian Elephant
Indian Peafowl

No offense to you or anyone else wanting to discuss fantasy plans for the zoo (can't say I haven't indulged in that myself in the past), but perhaps that sort of discussion, given that it is all imaginative, should be taking place on it's own separate thread as opposed to the news/discussion thread. Perhaps the thread you already made @tigris115 could be repurposed for such discussion.

Thank you for the link to that video btw, I look forward to watching it!

~Thylo
 
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