Buttonwood Park Zoo Buttonwood Park Zoo News

notes from my visit today:

- there were no fish in the Columbia exhibit in Rainforests, Rivers & Reefs except for the stingrays
- The zoo currently has two night monkeys (one of which was castrated at its previous home), two golden-headed lion tamarins, two cotton-top tamarins, three pygmy marmosets (all males), four Goeldi's monkeys, six titis, and ten emperor tamarins. The latter three have breeding recommendations at Buttonwood Park Zoo.
- sloths, guira cuckoos, and emperor tamarins have been hatched or delivered this past summer. There have been multiple emperor tamarin births in the past year.
- The zoo still has a single bare-eyed pigeon at the zoo who is behind the scenes. I have recently spoken to the deputy director of the zoo about making a large donation in exchange for viewing of the pigeon and other species that are behind the scenes. I am working to arrange a date.
- cotton-top tamarins were in the Colombia enclosure while golden-headed lion tamarins, guira cuckoos, the older Hoffmann's two-toed sloth that was born at the zoo, a sun conure, and the Nancy Ma's night monkeys were in Brazil. Peru was housing Goeldi's monkeys, the other three sloths, and both pygmy geese species. In the Bolivia exhibit, there was a single sora rail, one Montezuma quail, one green aracari, and all of the marmosets and titis.
- the female pudu passed away
- the beavers are gone as previously noted
- there are more American black vultures on exhibit with the eagles than before
- all waterfowl in the deer enclosure have been added back to the exhibit and I saw about 70 mallards fly into the pond as a keeper walked out into the enclosure and the deer seem very content with their captive lives
- Emily and Ruth had access to their yards for the day, but chose to spend it inside. It was nice to see that Ruth has recovered and both are well.
 
Are there any updates on the black bear exhibit? I know that in September they said they wanted to take some time to make upgrades to the exhibit before acquiring new bears.
 
Are there any updates on the black bear exhibit? I know that in September they said they wanted to take some time to make upgrades to the exhibit before acquiring new bears.

I'm hoping replacements for the bear and beaver exhibits will be announced soon. Any insights are appreciated.

I did not speak about the bear enclosure but beavers will be returning to the zoo in the next couple of months. The enclosure one again has water in it. Not all of the birds have been added back to this exhibit.
 
I visited today, and had several observations:


- Signage was up by the nature play area about a new Fennec Fox exhibit coming soon. It seems like the exhibit will be built into the side of the barn building, in the area marked "Education Complex" on the Masterplan. The zoo already has Fennec Foxes as animal ambassadors, so this exhibit would add them for the public to see regularly.
- The white-tailed deer were off-exhibit. Their massive habitat looked very empty, as it only had cranes and waterfowl.
- Three Trumpeter Swans were on exhibit in the former bear habitat.
- The elephants had outdoor access, but I only saw one outside at a time. I wonder if they were intentionally separated from each other for some reason?
- The Emperor Tamarins were off-exhibit
 
- The white-tailed deer were off-exhibit. Their massive habitat looked very empty, as it only had cranes and waterfowl.
I'm honestly surprised the zoo hasn't gotten more bison for this exhibit yet. The zoo had a long history with the species, being the second US Zoo to ever keep the species (after Bronx), and even if the deer were on exhibit I'd assume it still would look rather empty. My last visit was shortly before the last bison passed away.

- Three Trumpeter Swans were on exhibit in the former bear habitat.
I suppose that's a way to fill the exhibit for now. Hopefully something more "exciting" will come to this exhibit in the future, whether it be the return of bears or something completely new to the zoo.

The Emperor Tamarins were off-exhibit
During warm weather; they've often had one or two primate species in the outdoor exhibits. I wonder if during the winter there is perpetually one species off exhibit since those exhibits can't be used?
 
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