Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Cincinnati Zoo News 2023

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Milwaukee Man said:
I’ll be visiting Cincinnati within the week (what are the odds, @birdsandbats :p), and had a few questions regarding some animals on display:

- What would be the best time of day for the best chances to see the following: aye-aye, Coquerel’s sifaka, genet, aardwolf (the main target of the trip), okapi, and Visayan warty pigs?
- What would be the best time of day for the best chances to see Fiona and Fritz the hippos?
- Are there any exhibit complexes/buildings that close early?
- Are there still any civets in Night Hunters?
- What is the current population in the savannah habitat in Africa?
- Will construction of the upcoming bear and elephant exhibits by chance interfere with any of the paths?
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Best time to see the aye-aye, sifaka is honestly anytime because they are almost always active. For the genets and aardwolves I would say early morning or around closing. The okapi are almost always out and active and I have no clue about the pigs. The best time to see Fiona and Fritz is early morning or around closing. There are no civets left in Night Hunters. The current population in the African Savannah is 2 ostriches, 3-4 lesser kudu (1 male. 2-3 females), several Guinea fowl, several pink back pelicans, 2-3 Grey crowned cranes, 2 ripple griffin vultures and I believe 3 lappet faced vultures. I don’t believe the elephant construction or the bear hill construction interferes with much of any paths.
 
For whatever reason Discovery Forest has peeked my interest as of recently. Does anyone have a species list through the years of animals held in Discovery Forest (more specifically what was that pair of birds that was known to attack people on the guest paths and eventually had to be moved to the South American aviary in Wings of the World)
 
ZooNerd said:
For whatever reason Discovery Forest has peeked my interest as of recently. Does anyone have a species list through the years of animals held in Discovery Forest (more specifically what was that pair of birds that was known to attack people on the guest paths and eventually had to be moved to the South American aviary in Wings of the World)
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I would say you are referring to what may have been some kind of Toucan - but they never went to Wings of the World. I was told the cock of the rocks in World of the Insect's Butterfly Aviary were bothersome and they were moved to the Wings of the World South America.

I was also told the zoo wanted free roaming tamarins, but I'm not sure if that was ever even attempted.

The big three for awhile were Blue and gold macaw hybrid, Boa constrictor, and Linne's two-toed sloth. Freshwater fish were displayed in the tank upstairs, later taken over by a cane toad, then pitcher plants - now it's not even an exhibit. I believe the macaw is gone - the sloth exhibit was expanded on top of the boa's space, making two sloth habitats combined into one and we said goodbye to the boa. Southern Three-banded Armadillo, Six-banded Armadillo, Screaming Hairy Armadillo rotated in the expanded part - but I'm no longer sure if that's the case. Ever since the Elephant Reserve "expansion" that cut off the easy access to the Discovery Forest, I haven't stopped by since.

Edit:

Found the original or intended species list for the fish tank - copied and pasted from the interpretive guide:

- Black tetra, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
-Bleeding-heart tetra, Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma
- Cardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi
- Bristle-nosed catfish, Ancistrus dolipchopterus
- Leopard corydoras, Corydoras julii
- Marble hatchetfish, Carnegiella strigata
- Royal pleco, Panaque nigrolineatus
- Rummy-nose tetra, Hemigrammus bleheri
- Sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna
- Striped anostomus, Anostomus anostomus
- Swordtail, Xiphophorus hellerii
- Whiptail catfish, Rineloricaria lanceolata
 
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ZooNerd said:
Best time to see the aye-aye, sifaka is honestly anytime because they are almost always active. For the genets and aardwolves I would say early morning or around closing. The okapi are almost always out and active and I have no clue about the pigs. The best time to see Fiona and Fritz is early morning or around closing. There are no civets left in Night Hunters. The current population in the African Savannah is 2 ostriches, 3-4 lesser kudu (1 male. 2-3 females), several Guinea fowl, several pink back pelicans, 2-3 Grey crowned cranes, 2 ripple griffin vultures and I believe 3 lappet faced vultures. I don’t believe the elephant construction or the bear hill construction interferes with much of any paths.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help! When did the Zoo last have civets? I could’ve sworn I saw something about Cincinnati obtaining one recently, unless I’m thinking of Memphis or some other zoo perhaps?
 
Moebelle said:
I would say you are referring to what may have been some kind of Toucan - but they never went to Wings of the World. I was told the cock of the rocks in World of the Insect's Butterfly Aviary were bothersome and they were moved to the Wings of the World South America.

I was also told the zoo wanted free roaming tamarins, but I'm not sure if that was ever even attempted.

The big three for awhile were Blue and gold macaw hybrid, Boa constrictor, and Linne's two-toed sloth. Freshwater fish were displayed in the tank upstairs, later taken over by a cane toad, then pitcher plants - now it's not even an exhibit. I believe the macaw is gone - the sloth exhibit was expanded on top of the boa's space, making two sloth habitats combined into one and we said goodbye to the boa. Southern Three-banded Armadillo, Six-banded Armadillo, Screaming Hairy Armadillo rotated in the expanded part - but I'm no longer sure if that's the case. Ever since the Elephant Reserve "expansion" that cut off the easy access to the Discovery Forest, I haven't stopped by since.

Edit:

Found the original or intended species list for the fish tank - copied and pasted from the interpretive guide:

- Black tetra, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
-Bleeding-heart tetra, Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma
- Cardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi
- Bristle-nosed catfish, Ancistrus dolipchopterus
- Leopard corydoras, Corydoras julii
- Marble hatchetfish, Carnegiella strigata
- Royal pleco, Panaque nigrolineatus
- Rummy-nose tetra, Hemigrammus bleheri
- Sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna
- Striped anostomus, Anostomus anostomus
- Swordtail, Xiphophorus hellerii
- Whiptail catfish, Rineloricaria lanceolata
Click to expand...
The zoo recently renovated the Discovery Forest and added in a new habitat for Radiated and Red-Footed Tortoise. The current species line up stands as the following:

Screaming Hairy Armadillo
Southern Three-Banded Armadillo
Linnaeus's Two-Toed Sloth
Red-Footed Tortoise
Radiated Tortoise
 
groundskeeper24 said:
I'm not sure I've seen a major complex fizzle out as fast as Africa did. The antelope are all but gone, The giraffes are leaving. Save for a nice African wild dog exhibit, it's a poor set of exhibits all around.

I have to wonder if the zoo will re-imagine it a bit when the giraffes leave. The antelope/bird yard is a big piece of land without a lot in it at this point. The okapis will have to go somewhere if/when Rhino Reserve becomes a dedicated rhino complex. The same can be said for bongos and zebras. I look for one or two of those species to slide right into those 2 yards when the giraffes go back up the hill.
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The okapi and bongo will not be going anywhere. The Rhino Reserve renovations are currently on pause due to some financial issues. If they start back up again, the current plans would only affect the black rhino and zebra yards leaving the okapi, bongo, and flamingo yards alone.

After reading over many peoples posts, I have seen the Africa section of the zoo get a lot of unfair criticism recently. The zoo is currently going through a transitional period and figuring out a lot of issues that they are currently facing. The pandemic caused a heck of financial problems which have set the zoo back some. Africa is not losing any of its charm but rather just transitioning to be something better. There are planned renovations and upcoming additions to this section of the zoo that will truly make it a great experience. With the zoos' new prominent focus on animal welfare, there are already changes being made. For example, rather than keeping multiple species of hoofstock on the savanna in tiny social groups, they have sent them all out and brought in a nice sized breeding herd of Lesser Kudu to help out the current SSP. The bird flocks have expanded to improve their social welfare as well. Recent renovations on the meerkat space have created a much better habitat for them to demonstrate their natural behaviors. As for the larger animals, the current giraffe barn is terrible so moving them to the former Elephant Reserve is a wonderful idea that will be really great not only for the zoo but for the Masai Giraffe SSP as well. Last I heard, other larger residents have some future plans but we will have to wait and see how those play out. The Africa project definitely was created with some flaws but overall the future of this section in the zoo seems to be very promising.
 
Jonathan Petersson said:
The okapi and bongo will not be going anywhere. The Rhino Reserve renovations are currently on pause due to some financial issues. If they start back up again, the current plans would only affect the black rhino and zebra yards leaving the okapi, bongo, and flamingo yards alone.

After reading over many peoples posts, I have seen the Africa section of the zoo get a lot of unfair criticism recently. The zoo is currently going through a transitional period and figuring out a lot of issues that they are currently facing. The pandemic caused a heck of financial problems which have set the zoo back some. Africa is not losing any of its charm but rather just transitioning to be something better. There are planned renovations and upcoming additions to this section of the zoo that will truly make it a great experience. With the zoos' new prominent focus on animal welfare, there are already changes being made. For example, rather than keeping multiple species of hoofstock on the savanna in tiny social groups, they have sent them all out and brought in a nice sized breeding herd of Lesser Kudu to help out the current SSP. The bird flocks have expanded to improve their social welfare as well. Recent renovations on the meerkat space have created a much better habitat for them to demonstrate their natural behaviors. As for the larger animals, the current giraffe barn is terrible so moving them to the former Elephant Reserve is a wonderful idea that will be really great not only for the zoo but for the Masai Giraffe SSP as well. Last I heard, other larger residents have some future plans but we will have to wait and see how those play out. The Africa project definitely was created with some flaws but overall the future of this section in the zoo seems to be very promising.
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It's great to hear that the okapi and bongo will be staying.

As far as the rest, I'll take a wait and see approach. I've been going to this zoo for almost 45 years. They seem to dig out of one hole only to find themselves in the same kind of hole in a very short period of time. Africa isn't an old exhibit. It was outdated before it even opened. It's a complex built for visitors, not animals.

Almost everything they've done over the last 15-20 years has been underwhelming at best. Perhaps the new Elephant Exhibit can help them reverse course.

I've got a 2 year streak of not visiting on the clock right now. I used to visit a dozen times a year. I have zero motivation to go back until ET is opened.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
It's great to hear that the okapi and bongo will be staying.

As far as the rest, I'll take a wait and see approach. I've been going to this zoo for almost 45 years. They seem to dig out of one hole only to find themselves in the same kind of hole in a very short period of time. Africa isn't an old exhibit. It was outdated before it even opened. It's a complex built for visitors, not animals.

Almost everything they've done over the last 15-20 years has been underwhelming at best. Perhaps the new Elephant Exhibit can help them reverse course.

I've got a 2 year streak of not visiting on the clock right now. I used to visit a dozen times a year. I have zero motivation to go back until ET is opened.
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I have not been around long enough to see the growth and change in the zoo that you have but I would disagree with your above statement. The zoo has changed a lot over the last twenty years and overall become a better zoo in my opinion. Keeping rare species in small cages is maybe appealing to people just wanting to see a nice collection but is a terrible way to run a zoo. The zoo's current primary focus is education, something that was not as present 20 years ago. The new additions have not only created better welfare for the inhabitants of the Cincinnati Zoo but allowed for more conservation based education and connections between visitors and wildlife.

Take the the new Roo Valley for example which many zoochaters are upset with. Roo Valley allows people to get up close with kangaroos and form connections with them which could not have been made in a line of hoofstock enclosures. Each visit to the walkabout is unique and educational, allowing for visitors to have a fun experience while learning about such charismatic wildlife. Before this the zoo had no habitat that allowed visitors to learn about Australian wildlife so through this the people of Cincinnati can learn all about a new place in the world as well as the threats facing it. Every guest it seems comes out of Roo Valley with a big smile on their face talking to each other about how amazing that encounter was and everything they’ve learned. This incredible educational opportunity also allowed the zoo to provide a better home for their colony of little blue penguins.

That is why I believe that so many of us zoo nerds have not liked Cincinnati’s progress over the last 20 years as it does not appeal to us. What we have to remember though is that a zoo's goal should always be conservation and education which the Cincinnati Zoo has done a great job with over the last two decades. Their mission is to educate the public about wildlife and inspire them to care for our planet. As zoochaters we do not care for this as much but more for unique exhibits and collections. The average zoo visitor is not going to the zoo for this but rather to be entertained, learn about, and form connections with our natural world.

So I would argue that the Cincinnati Zoo has done a great job of turning a menagerie into a educational and fun experience for their primary audience, the general public, which has truly impacted our city and taught people to be better stewards of the earth. Now nothing any zoo does is perfect and I might be biased due to my profession in conservation biology but overall the Cincinnati Zoo's changes have been great for the community, city, and conservation as a whole and maybe it’s just us that need to change our views?
 
Jonathan Petersson said:
I have not been around long enough to see the growth and change in the zoo that you have but I would disagree with your above statement. The zoo has changed a lot over the last twenty years and overall become a better zoo in my opinion. Keeping rare species in small cages is maybe appealing to people just wanting to see a nice collection but is a terrible way to run a zoo. The zoo's current primary focus is education, something that was not as present 20 years ago. The new additions have not only created better welfare for the inhabitants of the Cincinnati Zoo but allowed for more conservation based education and connections between visitors and wildlife.

Take the the new Roo Valley for example which many zoochaters are upset with. Roo Valley allows people to get up close with kangaroos and form connections with them which could not have been made in a line of hoofstock enclosures. Each visit to the walkabout is unique and educational, allowing for visitors to have a fun experience while learning about such charismatic wildlife. Before this the zoo had no habitat that allowed visitors to learn about Australian wildlife so through this the people of Cincinnati can learn all about a new place in the world as well as the threats facing it. Every guest it seems comes out of Roo Valley with a big smile on their face talking to each other about how amazing that encounter was and everything they’ve learned. This incredible educational opportunity also allowed the zoo to provide a better home for their colony of little blue penguins.

That is why I believe that so many of us zoo nerds have not liked Cincinnati’s progress over the last 20 years as it does not appeal to us. What we have to remember though is that a zoo's goal should always be conservation and education which the Cincinnati Zoo has done a great job with over the last two decades. Their mission is to educate the public about wildlife and inspire them to care for our planet. As zoochaters we do not care for this as much but more for unique exhibits and collections. The average zoo visitor is not going to the zoo for this but rather to be entertained, learn about, and form connections with our natural world.

So I would argue that the Cincinnati Zoo has done a great job of turning a menagerie into a educational and fun experience for their primary audience, the general public, which has truly impacted our city and taught people to be better stewards of the earth. Now nothing any zoo does is perfect and I might be biased due to my profession in conservation biology but overall the Cincinnati Zoo's changes have been great for the community, city, and conservation as a whole and maybe it’s just us that need to change our views?
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The problem people have with Roo Valley is that it's just another kangaroo walkabout - which are becoming very common in zoos - without much unique going for it. But yeah, visitors don't really seem to care, the line for this exhibit is unlike anything I've ever seen in a zoo before.

Of course, the waterbird section of Roo Valley is very unique and excellent, so I think these points are somewhat moot.
 
birdsandbats said:
The problem people have with Roo Valley is that it's just another kangaroo walkabout - which are becoming very common in zoos - without much unique going for it. But yeah, visitors don't really seem to care, the line for this exhibit is unlike anything I've ever seen in a zoo before.

Of course, the waterbird section of Roo Valley is very unique and excellent, so I think these points are somewhat moot.
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Oh definitely the kangaroo walk about portion is pretty average in innovativeness when it comes to zoos around America. The point I was trying to make is that it is special and inspiring to the average visitor who does not travel across the country to visit zoos like the rest of us tend to, which in my opinion fulfills its role as a good zoo exhibit.
 
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