Houston Zoo Houston Zoo News 2024

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Thomas said:
The Article reads that the Flamingos in the South American Aviary can now Fly instead of having their wings trimmed, as seen in most Zoos. Hopefully, other Zoos will follow.
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Are flamingos usually clipped or pinioned?
 
I find it an interesting choice the zoo decided to dedicate on of the three avaries in 'Birds of the World' to South America as there are already two South American aviaries in the Pantanal section.
 
pachyderm pro said:
Here is an article on the new Birds of the World exhibit, which opened today.

https://www.chron.com/life/wildlife/article/birds-world-houston-zoo-19725233.php
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Just based off the photos and videos I’ve seen, they’re very well made and love the landscaping. I do wonder what the reasoning behind the second new aviary dedicated to SA birds when they recently renovated the one for the Pantanal complex :oops:

Edit: forgot it’s 2 aviaries in the Pantanal, just saw @ralph comment about it!
 
ralph said:
I find it an interesting choice the zoo decided to dedicate on of the three avaries in 'Birds of the World' to South America as there are already two South American aviaries in the Pantanal section.
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It’s not that weird when looked at from a different perspective. The zoos flamingo habitat was outdated and needed fixing ASAP and it just so happened to fit the theming of a bird exhibit. It could’ve just as easily been an African aviary if the zoo has greater or lesser flamingos. It’s better to look at it as what it is, an upgraded flamingo enclosure that was netted over to be able to house more birds in it. The zoo didn’t decide “Hey you know what we need? More South American exhibits!” they just improved the home of species they already had (Flamingos, Wood Storks, Giant Wood Rail, spoonbill and ibises). Something houston prioritizes over bringing in new species.
 
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It's not a complain (more South American species is always a plus), just an observation. :)

I wonder if there are many duplicate species between the three aviaries.

Anyway, all three enclosures look great on the photo's, especially the South American one.
If I manage to get to Houston Zoo in november, I will dedicate some time to checking out this section. The North American aviary is of special interest to me as it has some species not found in Europe :)
 
Oh no my bad, I wasn’t trying to frame it as you complaining. Just giving the explanation I was told when I asked the same question months back during one of my volunteering shifts for you and several other people watching this thread I’m sure have the same question. There are definitely a few duplicates, the first that come to mind are a few giant wood rails still in the Pantanal Wetlands aviary and a pair of Black Faced Ibises as well as a quartet of white faced whistling ducks in the Pantanal Savanna aviary. All three species are also present in the new South American aviary.
 
ralph said:
It's not a complain (more South American species is always a plus), just an observation. :)

I wonder if there are many duplicate species between the three aviaries.

Anyway, all three enclosures look great on the photo's, especially the South American one.
If I manage to get to Houston Zoo in november, I will dedicate some time to checking out this section. The North American aviary is of special interest to me as it has some species not found in Europe :)
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Oh the North American aviary is by far my favorite when it comes to sounds. A lot of very distinct calls going on in that one all day and it’ll only get better. You being able to visit in November would be perfect, as most of the other species meant to be added to that aviary (Mourning Dove, American Goldfinch, Eastern Screech Owl, Downy and Red Bellied Woodpecker to name a few) are meant to be introduced by the end of October.
 
Daktari JG said:
the vast majority are pinioned
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The article states that the flamingos in the aviary will have the freedom to fly around. Kevin Hodge, vice president of animal programs at the zoo, said the birds' wings no longer need to be trimmed to prevent them from escaping. "Flamingos should fly," said Hodge said. "It's actually part of their mating behavior. So, we're excited that when the next generation of flamingos is hatched here, they'll be flying."
 
So far the two chicks from 2022 (Astro and Orbit) are the only fully flighted members of the flock. They can be easily identified at the moment thanks to their grayish heads. Every flamingo chick from here on out will be fully flighted as well. I’ll have to ask how many of these flamingos are pinioned and how many are just clipped next volunteer shift.
 
TheImmigrant1 said:
Oh the North American aviary is by far my favorite when it comes to sounds. A lot of very distinct calls going on in that one all day and it’ll only get better. You being able to visit in November would be perfect, as most of the other species meant to be added to that aviary (Mourning Dove, American Goldfinch, Eastern Screech Owl, Downy and Red Bellied Woodpecker to name a few) are meant to be introduced by the end of October.
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That's good to know, especially excited about the woodpeckers. Although the birds might not be as vocal in november as they are now.

With the new Birds of the World area now open, I'll really have to set some priorities as to what I want to see in the maximum 3 hours I'll have to visit (if my flight times aren't changed again) but I think I will do BotW, Galapagos, Texas Wetlands and Pantanal first.

@TheImmigrant1 is it ok if I send you a DM?
 
 
ralph said:
That's good to know, especially excited about the woodpeckers. Although the birds might not be as vocal in november as they are now.

With the new Birds of the World area now open, I'll really have to set some priorities as to what I want to see in the maximum 3 hours I'll have to visit (if my flight times aren't changed again) but I think I will do BotW, Galapagos, Texas Wetlands and Pantanal first.

@TheImmigrant1 is it ok if I send you a DM?
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Yes of course, I do not mind.
 
TheImmigrant1 said:
Exclusive: Houston Zoo President and CEO Lee Ehmke announces retirement

Article posted about two weeks ago on Lee Ehmke’s retirement next year.
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A well deserved retirement. Lee was involved in creating some of the greatest exhibits in the country during his career, including but not limited to Congo Gorilla Forest at Bronx, Russia's Grizzly Coast at Minnesota, and everything built at Houston in the last decade. Houston in particular has produced some of the highest quality exhibits of the 2020s thus far and has been elevated to one of the best zoos in the US under his leadership. I wish him well!

With new executive leadership being brought in, the existing master plan will likely be reevaluated as a result. It'll be interesting to see if the forthcoming director will continue down the path of regional conservation focused exhibit complexes or take things a brand new direction. As long as it still includes shoebills, I'll be happy. ;)
 
King of Komodo Dragons said:
So apparently the zoo has Dingos bts as seen in this social media post, not sure if this was already known, but figured I'd share it.

x.com
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Yeah they haven’t been doing ambassador work since around 2020 or so, so they don’t really get seen all that much. Best chance to get a glimpse of them is if you’re able to catch them on their daily walks around the zoo’s perimeter.
 
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