Henry Vilas Zoo Henry Vilas Zoo News 2018

Despite my last plan to go to the zoo got canceled, I may be going tomorrow. This will allow me to check out all of the new construction, getting pictures of the new renovations as well as view the baby lemurs.

I could also check in on how Yuri is adjusting to going on exhibit.

Last time I was at the zoo, the Prairie Dog exhibit wasn't allowed to be viewed. I am pretty sure the rodents had given birth to new babies. I saw some pictures on Instagram of them, there were obviously some babies in the exhibit - that is if the photos are recent, which I assuming they are.
 
I was just at Henry Vilas Zoo this afternoon, I sadly didn't get to see the baby lemurs as the building was closed when I arrived. (I got there terribly late :( )

All of the insect/invertebrate species were moved from their wall exhibits to the center table exhibits. One of the table exhibits was under renovation.

The old Emerald's Tree Boa exhibit now housing Standing's Day Gecko. The old boa exhibit is still under renovation.

The new bathroom building looks very, very nice. The new flamingo viewing also isn't bad. They have a few rows of small plants that will either grow into bushes or trees.

All but two spots on the Somali Wild Ass exhibit were covered with black cloth. The barbado sheep and ostrich signs were taken down, I feel like the exhibits there may be renovated very soon. (Hopefully, the Barbado sheep were never out and the ostrich just isn't an interesting species.)

The prairie dog exhibit was opened again to the public, they do in fact some new babies. They cannot be over a few months in age. There was also only a single bison on exhibit, I couldn't see the other in the stalls and they have no other off-show area. I wonder what may be wrong? I do not know much about the bison at Henry Vilas Zoo.

I have a few photos I could post. I also don't have any knowledge on the baby lemurs or on anything inside the aviary, as it was closed.
 
As much as I adore Henry Vilas Zoo, it is surprising how much I don't actually know about the zoo. I've got a few questions that I'd like to know if the answers to, if anyone knows them.

1. Is Chelsea the orangutan going to be allowed to breed with Datu? I don't know if they have any relations, or if Chelsea has over-represented genes.

2. Does anyone have access to behind-the-scenes news about the zoo, like records of deaths, births, transfers, etc. ? I know a few members have access to some of those things for other zoos.

3. What are the names and breeding plans for the Red Pandas at the zoo? I know they've got four pandas, two on-show and two in the Animal Hospital quarantine.

4. What are the relations of the zoos North American River Otters? All I know is that they've got a male named Dragon.

5. What is up with the zoo's Bison? What are their names and genders? (Also, a little extra bit, how do you feel about the exhibit for bison and prairie dogs? I feel like the exhibit should be demolished and replaced with a better exhibit.)

6. What are the names and breeding situation of the zoo's Golden Lion Tamarins? I know they've got them in an exhibit in the Animal Hospital for breeding purposes, they also moved the sloth for the tamarin breeding purposes.

7. Wasn't Piper brought to the zoo to breed with the other Harbor Seals?

8. What are the names, gender ratio, and relations of the Ring-Tailed Lemurs? Are they going to allow them to breed?

9. Does anyone know the names, gender ratio, and breeding situation of the penguins?
 
People don't seemed attracted to the exhibits. I never see people there, at least not in bulk. The prairie dogs are popular, but the bison aren't anything to shake a stick at.

I think the zoo would be better if it replaced them with a better North American exhibits.
 
EsserWarrior said:
People don't seemed attracted to the exhibits. I never see people there, at least not in bulk. The prairie dogs are popular, but the bison aren't anything to shake a stick at.

I think the zoo would be better if it replaced them with a better North American exhibits.
Click to expand...
Perhaps you are right ..., but you are more local than most on here:
To put it back into some perspective: Is there any development plan in place at all?
Second: I can imagine the zoo is not in the most affluent part of the state of Wisconsin .....
So, back to square zero!

BTW: your query as to orang female "Chelsea" - she arrived some time in 2016 from Greenville Zoo - is a negative one.
 
EsserWarrior said:
People don't seemed attracted to the exhibits. I never see people there, at least not in bulk. The prairie dogs are popular, but the bison aren't anything to shake a stick at.

I think the zoo would be better if it replaced them with a better North American exhibits.
Click to expand...
Bison aren't very popular anyway. It is almost impossible to make people attracted to exhibits with animals they don't care about seeing. Besides, it's not like they have to go out of their way to see bison. You can see them from Arctic Passage.

Or maybe people aren't aware that the prairie dogs are there. They just see the bison and think that's it.
 
They are pretty hidden, you've got to go up the walkway to see them. You have to have past knowledge of them to know they're there.

They could put a decently sized exhibit in place of that area. The actual size of the exhibit is bigger than it seems. They have a lot of potential to what could be put there. A possible new exhibit for species like Mexican Gray Wolf or Red Wolf would be nice.

Going over to expansion plans the zoo has, I saw in an article that they want a new Asian and African area. I also saw in an older interview that they want Snow Leopards and Clouded Leopards.
 
EsserWarrior said:
As much as I adore Henry Vilas Zoo, it is surprising how much I don't actually know about the zoo. I've got a few questions that I'd like to know if the answers to, if anyone knows them.

1. Is Chelsea the orangutan going to be allowed to breed with Datu? I don't know if they have any relations, or if Chelsea has over-represented genes.

2. Does anyone have access to behind-the-scenes news about the zoo, like records of deaths, births, transfers, etc. ? I know a few members have access to some of those things for other zoos.

3. What are the names and breeding plans for the Red Pandas at the zoo? I know they've got four pandas, two on-show and two in the Animal Hospital quarantine.

4. What are the relations of the zoos North American River Otters? All I know is that they've got a male named Dragon.

5. What is up with the zoo's Bison? What are their names and genders? (Also, a little extra bit, how do you feel about the exhibit for bison and prairie dogs? I feel like the exhibit should be demolished and replaced with a better exhibit.)

6. What are the names and breeding situation of the zoo's Golden Lion Tamarins? I know they've got them in an exhibit in the Animal Hospital for breeding purposes, they also moved the sloth for the tamarin breeding purposes.

7. Wasn't Piper brought to the zoo to breed with the other Harbor Seals?

8. What are the names, gender ratio, and relations of the Ring-Tailed Lemurs? Are they going to allow them to breed?

9. Does anyone know the names, gender ratio, and breeding situation of the penguins?
Click to expand...

I can help out with a few:

Chelsea was brought in to serve as a mentor to the breeding female, Kawan, if Kawan were to breed again (https://www.channel3000.com/news/local-news/26-year-old-orangutan-new-at-henry-vilas-zoo/213832965). I haven't seen anything yet about plans to involve Chelsea in breeding.

Piper, aka King Julian, arrived from Milwaukee in 2016, to breed with one of the females (Henry Vilas Zoo welcomes new harbor seal).

I'm not sure about the specifics, but I know that Henry Vilas had a penguin chick in 2013 (at the time, their first in 16 years - Henry Vilas Zoo Welcomes New Penguin Chick in Ce... - Dane County Press Releases).

Lastly, in my opinion, the prairie dog exhibit is quite good - it's large, has plenty of digging areas, and many of the little rodents running around. If I remember the bison exhibit right (it's been a few years), it's about so-so in size, and would benefit from a replant - this may be hard with a grazing species like bison though.
 
Would a multiple species exhibit work for the bison area?

BTW: I really would like to see more US zoos to go into prarie dog species way out from the regular black-taileds Cynomys ludovicianus.
 
The Prairie Dog exhibit is quite nice. I think it would be a good idea if the zoo just renovated the entire area, though. They could make a better Prairie Dog exhibit, add some new species to the zoo, as well as get rid of the old badger exhibit. ;)
 
I'll be visiting the zoo today, so I'll upload any photos I take. I'll also be uploading old photos (from all zoo's I've been to) to clear up space on my phone, so I'll specify on new ones.
 
Henry Vilas Zoo has announced that Yuri the Amur Tiger is finally going out into the exhibit. They're also combining their Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur families back together.

I'd also got complete species lists for some buildings at the zoo:

Herp. Building
Cane Toad
Western Fox Snake
Rat Snake
Boa Constrictor
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Emerald Tree Boa
Painted Turtle
Common Map Turtle
Blanding's Turtle
Green Anaconda
Yellow-Banded Poison Dart Frog
Yellow-and-Blue Poison Dart Frog
Red-Eyed Leaf Frog
Golfodulcean Poison Dart Frog
Strawberry Poison Dart Frog
Green-and-Black Poison Dart Frog
Standing's Day Gecko
Lichenose Leaf-tailed Gecko -- NEW SPECIES
Desert Tortoise
Gila Monster
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
Aldabra Tortoise
(A few species of Freshwater Fish from Wisconsin are also on display.)

Aviary
(These are all species on display inside the building, Capybara and North American River Otters are outside.)
- There are a few species at the beginning of the aviary that I forgot to get the exact names of, but there are piranhas and a few insect species.
Laughing Kookaburra
Red-Tail Catfish
Barred Catfish
Plecostomus
Spotted Pimelodus
Clown Knife Fish
Pacu
White-Cheeked Turaco (??)
Emperor Tamarin
Blue-Crowned Motmot
Brazilian Tanager
Red-and-Yellow Barbet
Red-Vented Bulbul
Yellow-Rumped Cacique
Blue Ground Dove
Orange-Rumped Agouti
Red-Capped Cardinal
Red-Crested Cardinal
Chestnut Teal
White-Faced Whistling Duck
Sunbittern
Blue-and-Gold Macaw
Geoffroy's Marmoset
 
Henry Vilas Zoo's director, Ronda Schwetz, is now in charge of orangutan conservation through SAFE. This was announced on the zoo's Facebook.'

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On another note, could the zoo possibly be establishing the Asian and African portions of the zoo? The African Lions had been shifted into the old Amur Tiger exhibit, which is right next to the White Rhino (an exhibit that will be getting renovated) and the Reticulated Giraffes.

The Barbado Sheep and Ostrich, two species that are near the giraffes, have also been off-exhibit with "Pardon our Dust" signs in their exhibit, despite surrounding construction being done. The Flamingos also got another viewing area added to their exhibit. The Somali Wild Asses are also newer additions to the zoo's collection.
 
UPDATES
  • There are new Cane Toad and Ornate Box Turtle exhibits, will post photos soon
  • The Ostriches and Barbado Sheep are still off-exhibit with "Pardon our Dust" signs
  • The Lichenose Leaf-Tailed Gecko and Standing's Day Gecko have new signs. Will post a photo of them.
  • The Black-and-White Ruffed Lemurs are not combined together yet. They were broken down into groups of four instead of one big group of eight.
  • The old Emerald Tree Boa exhibit is still under construction. The exhibit is huge so I really wonder what the zoo will put in there.
 
I also forgot to mention that the zoo has a fourth meerkat. It is confirmed to be a male, I saw the evidence, haha. This is interesting as I heard the zoo was waiting for the two older females to die before adding more meerkats. I wonder if the zoo would like to breed?
 
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