@Azamat Shackleford and I took a trip to the Detroit Zoo today. We noticed several changes and highlights from today. There were a lot of no-shows, possibly due to the weather, but it was a great visit otherwise.
1. The
Partula snail display in the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery is gone.
2. There are no more blue-bellied rollers in the aviary.
3. There are now emerald starlings, a sunbittern, and blue-crowned laughingthrushes in the aviary. The sunbittern and laughingthrush were not listed on the sign, so they surprised both of us.
4. There are a few new species to the NACC including, stout salamanders, spotted toads, and Cuban toads. There might've been more but I forgot to record any of them.
5. The sunfish were moved to the former lungfish tank. The sunfish tank is now empty.
6. Some maintenance was being done on the Cotton Family Wetlands boardwalk, but it's still partially open.
7. Somewhat of a new exhibit, part of the camel exhibit has been fenced off for sandhill cranes and white storks.
8. The new gorilla troop is already on exhibit! Wasn't expecting that after the bachelor troop was sent out.
9. The Arctic Ring of Life doesn't seem to be well-maintained. Areas along the path were overgrown with weeds. There was nothing on exhibit either, mainly turkey vultures and feral pigeons flying around.
There are exactly 30 species in the free-flight aviary! Back in 2020, there were only 20. It's great to see this exhibit get filled with more birds. I'm slightly upset the sunbittern and blue-crowned laughingthrush weren't listed on the sign. I'm curious if there might be other species hiding in the aviary that aren't listed on the sign.