Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Columbus Zoo Updates for 2009

Hello everyone, I'm sorry I wasn't able to inform everyone so quickly - thanks okapikpr! Unfortunately I was at a conference and the hotel I was staying at had broken wifi! And of course, I learned of the birth the moment I left Columbus.

The baby weighed in at 303 lbs. which is 18 lbs. heavier than Bodhi. I'll add some photos that have been released of him to the gallery. I also will be there the first day he goes on exhibit so I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures.
Here is another press release on the website:

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium » Press Release: Columbus Zoo Baby Elephant Napping and Nursing

Next on the waiting list - baby Mandrills!
 
Hello everyone, I'm sorry I wasn't able to inform everyone so quickly - thanks okapikpr! Unfortunately I was at a conference and the hotel I was staying at had broken wifi! And of course, I learned of the birth the moment I left Columbus.

The baby weighed in at 303 lbs. which is 18 lbs. heavier than Bodhi. I'll add some photos that have been released of him to the gallery. I also will be there the first day he goes on exhibit so I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures.
Here is another press release on the website:

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium » Press Release: Columbus Zoo Baby Elephant Napping and Nursing

Next on the waiting list - baby Mandrills!

When are the baby mandrills due?
 
Is there any news about the wolverines? Is the female pregnant? Also did you say that both of the female mandrills were pregnant? Or is there only one at the Columbus Zoo?
 
I have not heard anyword on our possibly pregnant Wolverine. She should have had kits by now if she was pregnant. I will know on Saturday. And we know one mandrill (Kumi) is definitely pregnant and are fairly sure the other one is as well (Saba).
 
When I was there Friday, there was a teenager in the Woverine cabin doing some observations. I asked her where the pregnant one was and she said she was off exhibit with her babies... :)

@ColumbusZoo001: Are you familiar with the Mexican Wolves? I know at one time it was the mother, father and I think 4 boys. Friday I could only see three. Were the others just incognito or have we lost some?
 
@ColumbusZoo001: Are you familiar with the Mexican Wolves? I know at one time it was the mother, father and I think 4 boys. Friday I could only see three. Were the others just incognito or have we lost some?

Very good to hear about the wolverines - I'll get a date and genders on Saturday. Our Mexican Wolves are all female. There is a mother (born ca. 1997) and her four daughters who were part of a litter born on April 23, 2005. The two you missed were probably in the den. The mother and one of her daughters was off exhibit for a while and so they are spending lots of time in the den in the yard, out of view.
 
Just found two photos that a zoo visitor took right after the birth of the elephant. According to the visitor, he (or she?) got to witness the birth and only managed to get two photos.

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aireson/3389923793/in/photostream/"]Elephant Gives Birth on Flickr - Photo Sharing!@@AMEPARAM@@http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3466/3389923793_9f5de13210.jpg?v=0@@AMEPARAM@@3389923793@@AMEPARAM@@9f5de13210[/ame]
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aireson/3390734442/in/photostream/"]Elephant Gives Birth on Flickr - Photo Sharing!@@AMEPARAM@@http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3584/3390734442_17e6c9183b.jpg?v=0@@AMEPARAM@@3390734442@@AMEPARAM@@17e6c9183b[/ame]
 
Very good to hear about the wolverines - I'll get a date and genders on Saturday. Our Mexican Wolves are all female. There is a mother (born ca. 1997) and her four daughters who were part of a litter born on April 23, 2005. The two you missed were probably in the den. The mother and one of her daughters was off exhibit for a while and so they are spending lots of time in the den in the yard, out of view.

Any intention for some of the offspring to be candidates for reintroduction in the Blue Mountains or somewhere down south or Mexico way?
 
So many fantastic things have been going on! I am glad to have a way to stay updated on the Columbus Zoo while I am down here in Florida for college.

I asked a volunteer that was in front of the Matschie's Tree-kangaroo exhibit last time I was at the Columbus Zoo if they had any success in breeding them, but they said that they had not. Are you trying to breed them? If so is there anything that helps promote breeding behavior?
 
UPDATE: Read carefully - lots of great news!
~
1) @Kifaru Bwana: Almost all of our pups have been re-introduced in the wild (in fact one of our males is the alpha male of one of the most successful re-intro groups). So I'm sure the girls will be as well. I also think there is a shortage of females in the re-introduced groups.

2) @Smeegs: We have only bred a single tree kangaroo that survived to adulthood. And while we moved our breeding male to another zoo, our female bred with the new male within a few days of his arrival.

3) Speaking of Tree Kangaroos - Kiah did not give birth on 2/14 but they bred about two weeks later so we could potentially have a baby tree kangaroo on our hands in about a week.

4) The Baby Elephant was out in the community room today for a hour with Phoebe. It wasn't announced or publicized but I managed to get out there today. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera so if the baby is out Thursday or Saturday I can post some more pictures.

5) We are receiving a third mandrill female. Jezebel, was a female who has been at Columbus before and was scheduled to come back with Charley. However an illness delayed her so we received Kumi and Saba. Well because they became pregnant near instantaneously, Jezebel will be arriving to join our group within the month. Kumi and Saba continue to maintain their pregnancies.

6) Lion introductions have begun again however tiger introductions have been delayed due to some remodeling of the indoor space.

7) No news on wolverine babies yet.

8) One of our Muntjacs have died.

9) Last years Fishing Cat babies have gone to Jackson. The male and female have been put back together.

10) Polar Frontier is, as always, well underway. Rockwork and buildings should be done by June, leaving only exhibit space and visitor amenities to be completed during the summer. Of course, the hardest part will be getting the polar bears!

Births So Far:
2.1 Pallas' Cat (DNS) 2/14
0.0.2 Humboldt Penguin 2/24 and 2/26
1.0 Asian Elephant 3/27
0.0.? Wolverine 3/?
 
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Wow that is a lot of news. Thank you for all the information. Has Columbus secured any polar bear loans yet? if not does this mean that while everything could be done by fall 2009 it might not be open with polar bears until spring 2010?
 
All the Polar Bear loans that had been worked out have been cancelled. We currently do not have any loans worked out. So yes, Polar Frontier probably wont open until Spring 2010.
 
That is awesome! I know at the zoo I am a student at it has been very hard to get the tree kangaroo's to breed. At least a facility has had success :)
 
Can't wait to see the mandrills. Looks like PF will open this fall. Perfect for a Saturday of partying at the Horseshoe and a Sunday of walking it off at the zoo.
 
Animal Birth/Update

1) Yesterday one of our keepers arrived to a baby Siamang. We have a recommendation but we hadn't seen a lot of breeding. We don't have a gender yet. This is Olga's sixth offspring and the second for the Columbus Zoo. We currently have 2.1.1 Siamang.

2) Jezebel Mandrill is already here - she's across the street in Quarantine. Speaking of mandrills - Saba unfortunately started swelling again, so we only have one pregnant Mandrill. Oh well, with the way Charley breeds Saba and Jezebel will be knocked up in no time!

3) We will be receiving a female Red Crowned Crane to replace the male we lost within the month. We will probably also replace the Muntjac we recently lost - for now the remaining muntjac has been taken off exhibit.

4) I still dont have a confirmation of a Wolverine birth - I will talk to the North America keepers tomorrow.

Here is another article on the baby elephant:

Ohio zoo's baby elephant ready for the spotlight - Science- msnbc.com
Ignore the age of Phoebe - it says she's 23 but she is 21.

FYI - The wait to see him today was over two hours - unfortunately he is only out for two hours! I love angry guests and crying children!
 
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Quick Animal/Polar Frontier Update

While construction will probably be done by fall - we are opening Polar Frontier in the spring - no question. We dont want to risk a false date and have to push it back due to lack of Polar Bears (the star attraction)!

Babywise - Baby elephant weighs 310 and is gaining about 4 lbs a day. Baby siamang continues to do great. There are no baby wolverines - we'll try again next time. The problem is probably with the male (he was on antibiotics when he was young which can lead to a low sperm count). We continue to anticipate the birth of a mandrill which could happen anyday now. The pregnant Red Kangaroo named Fiona, is maintaining her joey to the best of our knowledge. One of the penguin chicks has decided to begin explore his surroundings.

Today was Eggs, Paws, and Claws - I'll try and post a few pictures.
 
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