Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Columbus Zoo News 2018

[John Marchwick]

Does any one know if any of the giraffes gave birth yet?

 

[John Marchwick]

A zoo employee got attacked by one of the bison

Columbus Zoo employee injured by bison

 

[Amnesiac]

Good news: there is finally activity on the sea lion exhibit construction site. Concrete may have actually been poured. Maybe it will open sometime next year after-all.

 

[arastis21]

At an animal encounter last week, a keeper said it was opening in 2020. They didn’t specify when in 2020. It unfortunately seems like it may have been delayed.

 

[TigerValley98]

At an animal encounter last week, a keeper said it was opening in 2020. They didn’t specify when in 2020. It unfortunately seems like it may have been delayed.

A delayed exhibit opening at Columbus. It is not like this has not happened before. It seems to be the running joke. It would have been a shock if it opened on time.

 

[arastis21]

Yesterday noticed the Langur exhibit in Asia Quest was closed for refurbishment. Will be interesting to see if there are major changes to the enclosure.

 

[Kudu21]

Masai giraffe, “Zuri”, gave birth to her first calf early this morning. Mother and calf are both visible on the zoo’s giraffe cam.

 

[Kudu21]

The neonatal exam was performed on Zuri’s calf, and it was confirmed to be a female!

 

[Kudu21]

0.1 Masai giraffe calf has been named "Ubumwe", meaning "togetherness" or "unity" in Kinyarwanda, the official language of Rwanda.

 

[SharkFinatic]

Lee made it to Columbus.

Columbus Zoo welcomes Lee, an adult male polar bear

 

[Echobeast]

Masai giraffe calf born on Oct. 30 has passed away.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Another hit in a real poor year for giraffe calves around the nation.

 

[Kudu21]

Masai giraffe calf born on Oct. 30 has passed away.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Another hit in a real poor year for giraffe calves around the nation.

I was just about to post this. This absolutely tragic news. My heart goes out to the amazing and dedicated Heart of Africa team. We can only hope that things go better with Cami's calf.

 

[SharkFinatic]

Masai giraffe calf born on Oct. 30 has passed away.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Another hit in a real poor year for giraffe calves around the nation.

What is happening this year? Has there been a single giraffe calf born this year that's still alive?

 

[m30t]

What is happening this year? Has there been a single giraffe calf born this year that's still alive?

Off the top of my head, Hogle Zoo and Tulsa Zoo both have giraffes born this year that are doing fine. That of course does not make the losses any less tragic.

 

[Milwaukee Man]

What is happening this year? Has there been a single giraffe calf born this year that's still alive?

Another calf doing well is Marlee’s daughter Maya, born in May, at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

 

[SharkFinatic]

Another calf doing well is Marlee’s daughter Maya, born in May, at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

What species of giraffe is she? Reticulated?

 

[John Marchwick]

I think it’s kinda odd that Udume passed away at such a young age. Was there a cause of death?

 

[Kudu21]

What species of giraffe is she? Reticulated?

Generic... But labeled “reticulated”, yes. There were also three healthy generic calves born at the Audubon Species Survival Center, and that’s the thing— All of the thriving calves mentioned so far have been generic. The Masai population has been experiencing unusually high infant mortality rates, and no one is exactly sure why.

I think it’s kinda odd that Udume passed away at such a young age. Was there a cause of death?

Infant mortality isn’t entirely uncommon, but the rate at which it is occurring in Masai giraffes is unusual. The cause of death is yet unknown, but hopefully they will have more answers after the necropsy is performed.

 

[John Marchwick]

Generic... But labeled “reticulated”, yes. There were also three healthy generic calves born at the Audubon Species Survival Center, and that’s the thing— All of the thriving calves mentioned so far have been generic. The Masai population has been experiencing unusually high infant mortality rates, and no one is exactly sure why.


Infant mortality isn’t entirely uncommon, but the rate at which it is occurring in Masai giraffes is unusual. The cause of death is yet unknown, but hopefully they will have more answers after the necropsy is performed.

Ok. I hope the zoo has better luck with Cami. Also I think zoos should stop having live cams for giraffe births now as baby giraffes dying in zoos seems to be more of a common thing now unfortunately.

 

[Kudu21]

Ok. I hope the zoo has better luck with Cami. Also I think zoos should stop having live cams for giraffe births now as baby giraffes dying in zoos seems to be more of a common thing now unfortunately.

I definitely agree, and if you asked, I think you’d find that these public birth cameras are not anything that most keepers would ever want themselves. Unfortunately, after the phenomenon that was April the Giraffe, it has become almost expected and sometimes the keepers don’t have the final say.