Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden News 2021

Elephant House Update
The zoo has reopened the elephant house to the public after its closure due to COVID-19. Sabu, the zoo’s bull elephant, can now go in the main indoor area so he will be viewable on cold days. On the back part of the building where the huge doors are, the glass around the doors has been covered with bamboo pictures.
 
pachyderm pro said:
Man, it seems many have turned sour on Cincinnati recently. I had no idea the giraffe barn was so tiny. I always thought Milwaukees giraffe barn that dated back to the 50s was small, yet that building is about the twice the size of Cincis relatively recent development. It is genuinely puzzling as to why they thought that would be acceptable. Then again this the same place responsible for hippo cove. The architecture may look a bit baffling, but I would be inclined to agree that moving the giraffes here would be the best option. That doesn't make it any less baffling that an exhibit only about 10 years old is already outdated.

Elephant Trek looks like it will be a fantastic development, but besides that the future looks rather uncertain at Cincinnati. @Moebelle made a comment a little while ago claiming the zoo was going the direction of a glorified children's zoo. I wasn't sure what that meant originally, but I now see what is in reference here. The rope course on top of the former Sumatran rhino yard is rather symbolic of that direction, don't you think?

As an aside, does anyone know if Elephant Trek will be one large yard or several yards? I thought the latter but the rendering appear to show one large space. I wonder how the zoo plans to merge the existing herd with Dublin herd, not to mention future males, if thats the case.


This is something I have actually thought about alot recently. I can understand the reasoning for many zoos wanted a dedicated Herpetarium such as the ones you mentioned above, but I personally like seeing various herps spread throughout a zoo. I think having smaller reptiles and birds alongside the more charismatic megafauna help create a more complete representation of the environment an exhibit complex is themed around, showing how diverse different parts of the world are. In most reptile houses, many species except the exceptionally popular ones - gators, crocs, komodos, large snakes - are often glossed over as to the general public it just looks like lizard after lizard in similar looking exhibits. Same applies to birds, albeit to a lesser extent.
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If you look at the species of reptile that the zoo has spread around outside of the Reptile House, it includes several species you mention as popular. Komodos have always been in a separate area. Alligators and crocodiles have had exhibits in Manatee Springs since it opened. There are more varanids (and now other lizards) in Dragons. Tortoises are spread throughout the zoo. There are big pythons in Manatee Springs as well. Those are the species that visitors go to see and the ones that are the central focus of dedicated reptile buildings. If they have long-term permanent exhibits around the zoo, then dispersing smaller species to various areas to fit theming makes sense.

I will say that the Reptile House did have some nice setups for snakes and lizards. All were well planted and for the most part spacious. The large monitors in too-small enclosures were no longer present. The boa and cobra exhibits were particularly nice. The gator pit is always going to be an issue if in use.
 
I rea
nczoofan said:
An important question is why do so many of the zoos newer exhibits need improvements so soon after being built. The answer to which is unlike many zoos the zoo is not building with a good level of foresight. Also do these changes have much if any impact on welfare?

I think a lot of the argument regarding this zoo on this site was premised around the fact that this more than other zoos is a zoo built for visitors, where animal welfare often is deprioritized. Expanding a giraffe deck does nothing for its inhabitants. Fiona's exhibit looks amazing for visitors, there is no debate but it was inadequate the day it was built and could have been doubled in size if not for crowd pleasing meerkats and a playground. The classic example is the cat house. The zoo was basically like you know if we turn the lights off people won't realize how bad the exhibits are for the cats.

Also if the giraffes move to elephant house one could simply expand what area is "Africa." Its arbitrary anyways but it is next to the existing complex. Zoogeographic theming is fine but we can't let it stand in the way of basic welfare.

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It's easy to lose sight of the fact that the giraffe ridge exhibit was still a large upgrade from what they giraffes had in their previous exhibit. The current yard is undoubtedly larger that what they had there, and even the small barn is larger than the stalls in the elephant house, a building that they shared with both elephants and okapis. It wasn't perfect, but it was absolutely an improvement space-wise. Same goes for the snow leopard photo you included (not sure why). The current exhibit is a vast improvement over what they had before it opened. The cougar exhibit is also well done and major upgrade over what they had. It's not as if there have been no improvements in terms of animal welfare over the course of recent (last decade) projects.

Practically every change made has involved more room for animals with the obvious exception of hippos who were not at the zoo before Hippo Cove. There is more room for giraffes, more room for elephants, more room for okapis, more room for cougars and snow leopards, even rhinos with walls knocked down in the back yards of Rhino Reserve and one less species represented. While changes may not be perfect, the goal of more room to roam is being achieved incrementally even if it's not quite where we'd want it to be when it's finished.

As for too much space being used for people-focused amenities: I would agree absolutely. There are about 3 water features and a playground too many in Africa that serve no real purpose but to entertain guests. However, as you said pertaining to the rope course, zoos need to make money, and money comes from people who want to bring their kids to the zoo to play on hippo sculptures and gawk at superficial waterfalls. I'd argue that the rope course is every bit as egregious as any of the things I just mentioned, as is was once very usable exhibit space in a zoo that has a shortage of it, which is the theme that always comes into play when discussing Cincinnati.

I think we agree on the key points being discussed. My main take away and criticism of the zoo is that they've made very poor use of the space they worked very hard to free up in the late 90's-early aughts. That's what is largely lost in these discussions. The zoo is ancient by American standards. It's physical plant facilities and infrastructure were in disrepair and required significant time and funding to upgrade during that decade. Those are not things that guests see, be they zoo nerds or casual patrons, but they are absolutely critical to continued operation. Barring building an entirely new zoo and closing down the current one (never an option), these obligations had to be met before other projects moved forward.

IMO the zoo did a fine job of weathering these issues. The problem came when they finally reached the point where they could make changes to animal holding and botched key areas.

My perspective is of a patron that's been going to this zoo for 4 decades. I've noticed every change good and bad, year to year, even month to month. Is the zoo where I'd want it to be after the investment/time/work that's been put in? Absolutely not. Is it better from an animal perspective? No doubt whatsoever.
 
Moebelle said:
Sammy, the Salmon-crested Cocktatoo has been moved from Wings of the World to the former Grey Gibbon island in Jungle Trails.
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The prophecy is coming true!:eek: I hope it is just a temporary move and another primate species will be brought in in the future. What happened to the Grey gibbons?
 
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