Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Cincinnati Zoo News 2024

[ZooNerd]

Do you have any pictures of the aviary?

This is the pheasant and azure winged magpie aviary they are referencing

 

[ZooNerd]

The African wild dog enclosure that exists is fantastic and should absolutely be kept in place. Perhaps an expansion of the hippopotamus exhibit could be constructed behind Birds of the World and/or Jungle World. The meerkat exhibit isn't that special so I wouldn't mind seeing it removed.

Personally I wouldn’t mind seeing them build a new hippo enclosure where the current giraffe yard is and then put Nile crocodiles in the current hippo enclosure

 

[Smaggledagle]

Piece of August 2024 News Worth Mentioning:

On August 29th, it was announced that the zoo transferred a Brazilian whiteknee tarantula to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Illinois.

Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula | Lincoln Park Zoo

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On October 9th, the zoo announced that 3 cheetahs were born at the facility's cheetah breeding center around June.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

 

[wild boar]

I've seen this suggested a lot since the hippo exhibit opened, but speaking realistically an expansion towards Jungle Trails or Wings of the World would intercept the direct trash and food suppliers route to Base Camp Cafe.

I was assuming that something, now I know a road, was back there (because the hippopotamus exhibit would have been bigger when it was first built if there wasn't something already there) but that its function could be relocated. If it's a road, why can't they remove it and pave a new route to get to the food place?

Also, is the pool that the hippopotamuses have in the public enclosure considered to small or is it adequate and the problem is the lack of an appropriate grazing area?

 

[Moebelle]

If it's a road, why can't they remove it and pave a new route to get to the food place?

There's a flight cage and a bird house (and the entirety of Africa) in the way if there were to be any sort of new route between the Cafe and the service gate AND remain behind the scenes.

I am however, not against the idea of expanding forward towards the faux mulch / hippo statue area.

 

[wild boar]

I am however, not against the idea of expanding forward towards the faux mulch / hippo statue area.

I don't remember that being a big area. Would it make for a sizable expansion?

 

[groundskeeper24]

I was assuming that something, now I know a road, was back there (because the hippopotamus exhibit would have been bigger when it was first built if there wasn't something already there) but that its function could be relocated. If it's a road, why can't they remove it and pave a new route to get to the food place?

Also, is the pool that the hippopotamuses have in the public enclosure considered to small or is it adequate and the problem is the lack of an appropriate grazing area?

I would say that the pool is more adequate than the land area. It's not big by any means. The land area is just tiny.

I've sort of insinuated this before, but I feel like the solution to the hippo issue is becoming more obvious. The main hoofed stock/ bird yard in Africa has declined in species number over it's relatively short life. It's a big-ish piece of real estate relative to the other piecemeal suggestions. You could even split it between hippos expansion and some new yards for the potential rhino reserve cast-off species. I'd love to see something like San Diego where okapi and hippos both appear to be in the same exhibit.

I also agree that the painted dog enclosure is a rare home run for the zoo and should remain intact. The "kopje" is forgettable and would not be missed, nor would the play area/sculptures.

What I'm saying in a rambling kind of way is that I think anything from the hoofed stock yard to the extreme left of Africa should be fair game for hippos with the exception of the dog exhibit.

I love antelope as much as the next zoo dork. I'm darned near obsessed with seeing rare ungulates. That said, that's not what we have here. It's a dwindling collection taking up a lot of valuable space. Surely a home for kudu or gazelles could be found in the new giraffe project up the hill. It's not as if they have massive antelope herds to manage.

As for hippos, if you connected the current antelope yard to the current hippo area, you'd likely save a significant amount of money by avoiding a brand new filtration system and off-exhibit area.

Africa was a disaster for Cincinnati IMO. It was such an exciting prospect when being developed, but the finished product was subpar before it even opened. It's odd that it's ripe for a re-design so quickly, but that's the reality. While I'm at it with lame fantasy zoo spitballing, I'll toss in a desire for the cheetah exhibit to become a baboon enclosure as originally intended. I'd also like to see leopards or hyenas added, but I'm not greedy.

 

[groundskeeper24]

I think they were separate potential projects. I know that Maruska wanted a West African savanna to highlight his beloved giant eland alongside roan antelope, Ugandan kob, and red-fronted gazelles, if I remember correctly.

Yeah almost certainly separate concepts.

 

[Isaac Hicks]

Do we know what the zoo is going to do with the Gibbon Islands now that the Siamangs are getting new homes, and the Buff Cheeked gibbons are in Jungle Trails?

I really missed the monkey island it was one of my favorite exhibits as a kid and i would love to see them return. Also with both gibbon species having a better home I think it is a perfect time to bring back a group of monkeys.

 

[Moebelle]

According to a sign posted on Facebook, a red-tailed hawk will or has replaced the Grey fox.

 

[Birdman02]

I really missed the monkey island it was one of my favorite exhibits as a kid and i would love to see them return. Also with both gibbon species having a better home I think it is a perfect time to bring back a group of monkeys.

I had this same idea! I’d love to see the zoo build an exhibit similar to the one at Lincoln park.

 

[ZooNerd]

It’s worth noting that the zoo on the zoo today tab on their website says the bongos will be off habitat until further notice and that Birds of the World will be closed until further notice.

 

[Jonathan Petersson]

It’s worth noting that the zoo on the zoo today tab on their website says the bongos will be off habitat until further notice and that Birds of the World will be closed until further notice.

Quite interesting that Birds of the World is closed, the zoo replaced the skylights in the building a couple months ago and redid the whole house a few years ago so I am unsure what else they could be working on at the moment? The bird house itself is a facade of what it used to be with the collection and habitats having gone down hill over the last decade. There are still some nice rarities to see like the Guam Rail and others at least. Hopefully they will put some of their bird-of-paradise on habitat again as they are quite the memorable bird to see and the zoo has quite the large flock of them behind the scenes. As for the bongo I would assume a new male has arrived to breed with the zoos current mother daughter pair?

 

[ZooNerd]

Quite interesting that Birds of the World is closed, the zoo replaced the skylights in the building a couple months ago and redid the whole house a few years ago so I am unsure what else they could be working on at the moment? The bird house itself is a facade of what it used to be with the collection and habitats having gone down hill over the last decade. There are still some nice rarities to see like the Guam Rail and others at least. Hopefully they will put some of their bird-of-paradise on habitat again as they are quite the memorable bird to see and the zoo has quite the large flock of them behind the scenes. As for the bongo I would assume a new male has arrived to breed with the zoos current mother daughter pair?

If I remember correctly my past couple of visits to the bongos they’ve had a male with the mother, daughter duo. I could be mistaken though. As for the Birds of the World, it’s most likely closed to work on the South American aviary which has been closed for months on end now.

 

[Panda_Fan]

How is the construction of the bear and otter enclosure? And siamang point?

 

[AndrewH100]

How is the construction of the bear and otter enclosure? And siamang point?

Im headed to the zoo today, I will upload some pictures of the construction throughout the zoo.

 

[AndrewH100]

Went to the zoo today and it was picture perfect weather, mid 60s. Because the weather was so great I would say 95% of animals were out on exhibit! I’ll exclude some highlights from my trip and construction photos.
To start, the old elephant exhibits path is blocked off, unless you go around the back by the discovery forest. They have not touched anything in this exhibit, I would say it will stay like this for a bit with the other projects they have going on around the zoo. I also found this interesting sign on the door around the back side of the old elephant exhibit and thought I would share. It’s going to be interesting to see how they turn this into a giraffe exhibit.

Wolf Woods- the 4 Mexican wolfs were very active today. The small exhibit on the right hand side before you get to the otters was empty and looked to be getting remodeled. Not sure if they will put another animal in this space or not.
Free flight aviary - was under construction and actively being worked on, not exactly sure what they are doing. Also, birds of the world was open but the South American aviary was closed off and their were no horned puffins on exhibit.

flamingos- the flamingo exhibit in the Rhino reserve is being renovated.

As for the new exhibit In the jungle trails, it looks like it is in the final stages of being complete. This exhibit is pretty big, I am very intrigued to see what animal they will use this for. Hoping for a clouded leopard, I think it would fit perfectly.



The construction (or lack of) for the New Mexican wolf exhibit (where the white lions use to be) has not started yet.

 

[AndrewH100]

For the bear ridge and sea otter coast construction, they were working all day on it. Looks like they are making progress but not very quickly. I will share several photos below. The old fox exhibit looks like it will be staying too.

 

[AndrewH100]

As for Elephant Trek.. wow!!! I was absolutely blown away with how amazing this exhibit was. Pictures do NOT do it justice. The attention to detail and signs throughout the exhibit were phenomenal! I can’t say enough great things about this exhibit. I can’t wait to see it when siamang point is completed!






As far as Siamang point construction goes, you could not get close enough to see much but I did notice a few things. First off they were working all day, you could hear and see them working.


One last thing, if you look veryyy closely you can see what looks to be where there will be an overhead passage for the siamang to go from their exhibit to the building. I am so ready for phase 2 to open!!!

If you are an elephant lover I highly recommend making a trip to the Cincinnati zoo as this is one of the best elephant exhibits in the country!! Hopefully in a few years they will have baby elephants!

 

[Nile Hippo Expert]

2 new gars named Busta Slimes & Dolly Garton have arrived.
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden