Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Columbus Zoo News - 2012

Two male Amur tiger cubs were born on June 28th and 29th. They are the first Amur tigers to ever be born at the zoo, and they are the first tigers of any subspecies to be born at the zoo since 1990.

Do you by chance know the father and the mother of the cubs. I hoping its mars she was born at the Pittsburgh zoo and brought to the Columbus zoo I think for breeding purposes if I'm not mistaken. Thks Matt
 
Do you by chance know the father and the mother of the cubs. I hoping its mars she was born at the Pittsburgh zoo and brought to the Columbus zoo I think for breeding purposes if I'm not mistaken. Thks Matt

The parents are five-year-old female, Mara, and nine-year-old male, Foli.
 
Some sad news from the zoo's facebook page:

"It's a sad day at the Columbus Zoo - Bubba black bear passed away today due to inoperable tumors on his liver. Please keep the team members that have loved and cared for him for the past 28 years in your thoughts. We're certain they would appreciate your memories of Bubba."
 
a New Press Release says the currently planned are will take up 43 acres. It also say they are considering doing the second phase which would consist of 67 acres

I know they mentioned elephants, but since lions, cheetahs, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, and other antelope included on Phase 1's 43 acres. What other African Savannah megafauna would be included in Phase 2? Hippos are the only major one I could think of
 
It is very sad news to hear that Bubba, an iconic and longtime zoo resident, has passed away. Many of the zoo's most iconic animals have been lost in the past several years. It will be interesting to see what will become of his enclosure. Last I heard, the zoo planned to build a new black bear enclosure on the site of Bubba's and Ginger's enclosures once they both had passed away. With Ginger still living, I wonder if she will have access to both enclosures.

@Jaguarundi- No other species have been mentioned for a phase two other than elephants. Previous plans, however, have called for hippos, buffalo, hyenas, wild dogs, a kopje, and aviaries. Whether or not any of the species make an appearance in a phase two is unknown at this time.

In other news, the zoo recently received two new bald eagles.
 
Does anyone know what the zoo will do with the black bear exhibit? If I recall I remember hearing something bout maybe converting into another grizzly bear exhibit? Or is this where the newly acquired snowy owls will be?
 
With Akron's decision not to have a black bear exhibit in Grizzly Ridge and the fact they already had black bears named Laurel and Libby being kept for them at the Erie Zoo, I am wondering if Laurel and Libby could end up at Columbus since they will not be need at Akron anymore. I would prefer this then them staying at Erie. I asked Akron and their has not been any decisions on Laurel and Libby's final destination.
 
Twin female pronghorn calves have arrived from the Minnesota Zoo to be hand-reared by the zoo's staff.
 
Zoo?s last black bear, Bubba, dies; bonobo has baby | The Columbus Dispatch
Here's a nice little article about the birth of the bonobo (including a video of the baby), the birth of the Amur tiger cubs, the acquisition of the two female eagles, and the death of Bubba the black bear. One interesting note about the article is that it states that the zoo is left with only five bears: two Alaskan brown, two polar, and one grizzly; the article makes no mention of the sun bears... The article also states that no decision has been made on whether or not the zoo will acquire black bears again.
 
I wonder if they will give acess to both the old grizzly and old black bear exhibit to the lone female grizzly.
 
Is there still a wolf in one of the 3 old bear yards? I was hoping it was just temporary... looks to be a terrible fit.
 
Both sun bears were on exhibit as of our most recent visit about a month ago.

Team Tapir

I figured it was just an error made by the reporter, as I had not heard anything about the sun bears leaving; I just wanted to make sure.

@PREMiERdrum- The timber wolf moved to Brutus and Buckeye's former enclosure when its enclosure was demolished for the construction of the bull moose/reindeer yard, the entrance to Polar Frontier, and the OSU solar decathlon house, so its likely permanent until the wolf passes away.
 
The timber wolf probally be permanent since I last visited over a year ago and the timber wolves were in that exhibit. I wonder if the zoo is phasing out the timber wolves since there is only two and they are siblings. Also I wonder if the zoo is focusing more on the mexican grey wolves since they are critically endangered and the zoo has 5 females and over the years has had Twenty-nine pups.
 
The timber wolf probally be permanent since I last visited over a year ago and the timber wolves were in that exhibit. I wonder if the zoo is phasing out the timber wolves since there is only two and they are siblings. Also I wonder if the zoo is focusing more on the mexican grey wolves since they are critically endangered and the zoo has 5 females and over the years has had Twenty-nine pups.

The latter no doubt (and too right that is).
 
Here's a video of the zoo's new baby bonobo:

Grouchy the tortoise's morning stroll:
 
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Jack Hanna just posted the map of the new african safari section of the zoo on his Pinterest account. Thought we would share. Hope the attachment works. :confused:

Team Tapir
 

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Thank you very much for the map, team tapir. My only problem with the plan is that the viewing for the mixed hoofstock and rhino enclosures are very limited for such massive enclosures...
 
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