Indianapolis Zoo Indianapolis Zoo News

[Persephone]

Well, the sand cat is interesting. Might have to visit just for that. Eagle aviary might be a casualty of the new exhibit in the show arena. It’s a shame because the birds are the only large Indiana native species. The only others are in the terraria in the desert dome and the hellbenders / butterflies in White River Gardens, which is currently inaccessible.

 

[Jdindy85]

They had a sign up yesterday advising that Walruses will be back Spring 2023.

The zoo confirmed on Facebook that the former walrus exhibit is now the grey seal exhibit. A new space for the walruses is under renovation, and should be open by Spring 2023. The walruses will remain behind the scenes until then.

Curious to see where the new Walrus exhibit will be. I know there is renovations/construction going on currently in several areas around the zoo.

 

[Persephone]

The zoo confirmed on Facebook that the former walrus exhibit is now the grey seal exhibit. A new space for the walruses is under renovation, and should be open by Spring 2023. The walruses will remain behind the scenes until then.

Curious to see where the new Walrus exhibit will be. I know there is renovations/construction going on currently in several areas around the zoo.

I see two possibilities. The first is that it will be in the same place, just slightly expanded in to the BTS area. The other is that the walruses and sea lions will switch places once the sea lion expansion into the former entry plaza is complete. I wouldn’t have chosen that option myself since the gaps between rock work are a bit small for walruses and they have a history of cracking the viewing glass, which would be disastrous with the indoor window. They haven’t done it at the zoo in a decade+, but it’s still cause for concern.

Or I guess it could go in the forest section between the dog show / eagle / lemur but that would be a very, very weird location.

 

[StoppableSan]

I see two possibilities. The first is that it will be in the same place, just slightly expanded in to the BTS area. The other is that the walruses and sea lions will switch places once the sea lion expansion into the former entry plaza is complete. I wouldn’t have chosen that option myself since the gaps between rock work are a bit small for walruses and they have a history of cracking the viewing glass, which would be disastrous with the indoor window. They haven’t done it at the zoo in a decade+, but it’s still cause for concern.

Or I guess it could go in the forest section between the dog show / eagle / lemur but that would be a very, very weird location.

Only issue with the first possibility is why would grey seals live in what would otherwise be an active construction site?

 

[pachyderm pro]

The first is that it will be in the same place, just slightly expanded in to the BTS area.

Only issue with the first possibility is why would grey seals live in what would otherwise be an active construction site?

It's going to be in the same space. The seals will only be in the exhibit for a few months before construction starts on the area.

Side Note: the replacement for the lemurs is being announced at the beginning of December. Not sure what it could be.

 

[StoppableSan]

It's going to be in the same space. The seals will only be in the exhibit for a few months before construction starts on the area.

Side Note: the replacement for the lemurs is being announced at the beginning of December. Not sure what it could be.

In that case, what's up with the seal/sea lion habitat at the front of the zoo? Is that being expanded?

Edit: seems like it is! All I had to do was just scroll up.

 

[Milwaukee Man]

$1 million was donated by the owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts football franchise team. The money will be going towards the new entrance area, which will not only be open by Memorial Day weekend next year, but also named after the Colts.

Colts owner donates $1 million to Indianapolis Zoo

 

[snowleopard]

Indianapolis Zoo has announced a $53 million fundraising campaign that includes a new entrance and visitor area, several other additions, and a $25 million 'International Chimpanzee Complex'. The chimp exhibit will open in 2024, be functional but not even remotely natural with its giant metal climbing frame, and it "is expected to have as many as 30 adult chimps". There's a lot more information on the link below:

Zoo announcing $53M campaign to fund chimp exhibit, more - Inside INdiana Business

 

[birdsandbats]

Indianapolis Zoo has announced a $53 million fundraising campaign that includes a new entrance and visitor area, several other additions, and a $25 million 'International Chimpanzee Complex'. The chimp exhibit will open in 2024, be functional but not even remotely natural with its giant metal climbing frame, and it "is expected to have as many as 30 adult chimps". There's a lot more information on the link below:

Zoo announcing $53M campaign to fund chimp exhibit, more - Inside INdiana Business

Where are they putting this?

 

[Corangurilla]

Indianapolis Zoo has announced a $53 million fundraising campaign that includes a new entrance and visitor area, several other additions, and a $25 million 'International Chimpanzee Complex'. The chimp exhibit will open in 2024, be functional but not even remotely natural with its giant metal climbing frame, and it "is expected to have as many as 30 adult chimps". There's a lot more information on the link below:

Zoo announcing $53M campaign to fund chimp exhibit, more - Inside INdiana Business

Indianapolis opening another "international" great ape habitat that doesn't bother with naturalism is certainly a move. Not sure if it's a good move or a bad move, but it's certainly a move.

 

[snowleopard]

Where are they putting this?

There's the International Orangutan Center ('The Red Ape Church') in the background of the Chimpanzee exhibit.

 

[StoppableSan]

There's the International Orangutan Center ('The Red Ape Church') in the background of the Chimpanzee exhibit.

Uhh... at least there's grass and bushes? Honestly speaking, this does give off Primate Research Institute (Kyoto) vibes, and they actually do a pretty good job by their chimps...

 

[StoppableSan]

Indianapolis opening another "international" great ape habitat that doesn't bother with naturalism is certainly a move. Not sure if it's a good move or a bad move, but it's certainly a move.

It's definitely an unorthodox move, but as long as they prioritize animal welfare over all (and actually have some elements of naturalism) I'm down.

 

[pachyderm pro]

Indianapolis Zoo has announced a $53 million fundraising campaign that includes a new entrance and visitor area, several other additions, and a $25 million 'International Chimpanzee Complex'. The chimp exhibit will open in 2024, be functional but not even remotely natural with its giant metal climbing frame, and it "is expected to have as many as 30 adult chimps". There's a lot more information on the link below:

Zoo announcing $53M campaign to fund chimp exhibit, more - Inside INdiana Business

This is absolutely hilarious to me. After so much divisiveness about the orangutan center, the sequel has finally arrived! Based on the plans, it seems this may be a rare time where the sequel is better than the original. At least they've learned to give the apes proper outdoor exhibits this time.

Where are they putting this?

It looks like it's going to span all over the zoo. At least three primary enclosures will all be connected via overhead transfer shuts that cross over visitor pathways through the grounds: by the new entrance pavilion, the old dog show stadium, and the former lemur exhibit. There may be more enclosures being added as well.

Here is another article with some additional renderings of the new entry and chimp complex: Indianapolis Zoo announces $53M project for new entryway, chimpanzee facility

 

[Jambo]

Indianapolis Zoo has announced a $53 million fundraising campaign that includes a new entrance and visitor area, several other additions, and a $25 million 'International Chimpanzee Complex'. The chimp exhibit will open in 2024, be functional but not even remotely natural with its giant metal climbing frame, and it "is expected to have as many as 30 adult chimps". There's a lot more information on the link below:

Zoo announcing $53M campaign to fund chimp exhibit, more - Inside INdiana Business

And we await the international gorilla complex next!

In all serious, this was a very unexpected move but does seem to be really interesting, i'll definitely be following this development. It'll be intriguing to see what specific features this complex will include too. Overhead pathways sounds really cool and would be a first for chimps worldwide.

25 million for a chimp complex gives high expectations; and so I do hope they seriously reconsider that climbing frame which looks like a children's playground. Otherwise, this is very exciting. Can't wait to see it all pan out over the next few years.

 

[snowleopard]

And we await the international gorilla complex next!

25 million for a chimp complex gives high expectations; and so I do hope they seriously reconsider that climbing frame which looks like a children's playground.

I immediately thought of gorillas too!

As for the climbing frame, it’s already been built:

 

[Jambo]

I immediately thought of gorillas too!

As for the climbing frame, it’s already been built:

View attachment 591738

That's a big shame, hopefully it turns out better than it looks in the design. I'd love to see it look a little more naturalistic at the very least.

 

[birdsandbats]

Honestly - as someone who firmly believes in functionality over naturalism and is fine with the orangutan center, this looks like it has a lot of potential. Indianapolis is a bit of a generic zoo without which to call its own, but this chimpanzee center looks really interesting and could give the zoo its much-needed uniqueness, assuming the exhibit turns out fine from a welfare point of view.

 

[ZooElephantMan]

Honestly - as someone who firmly believes in functionality over naturalism and is fine with the orangutan center, this looks like it has a lot of potential. Indianapolis is a bit of a generic zoo without which to call its own, but this chimpanzee center looks really interesting and could give the zoo its much-needed uniqueness, assuming the exhibit turns out fine from a welfare point of view.

I actually felt like Indianapolis already had a lot of uniqueness and personality when I visited this summer! I certainly agree that the addition of the chimpanzee center will contribute to this personality though. I see the three main components of Indianapolis' personality as:

1. Focus on ABC animals. Indianapolis has tons of star ABC animals, and fewer smaller / lesser-known species outside of Deserts and some of the parts of Oceans.

2. Focus on interaction. Indianapolis has tons of interactive experiences for their guests, from keeper chats where visitors can touch their elephants, to the flamingo mingle, to the macaw flights, to the dolphin experience, to the kangaroo walkthrough, the budgie feeding area, and shark touch tank. In a similar vein, Indianapolis has way more keeper talks than most zoos I've been to. When I visited in the summer it was really hard to pick and choose which talks to attend, since there were so many options and they all looked so appealing!

3. Their newer, third personality element seems to be a focus on mega-sized unnatural-looking exhibits for their great apes, as we can see through the International Orangutan Center and now the Chimpanzee Center that is already under construction.

 

[Zoofan15]

Indianapolis Zoo has announced a $53 million fundraising campaign that includes a new entrance and visitor area, several other additions, and a $25 million 'International Chimpanzee Complex'. The chimp exhibit will open in 2024, be functional but not even remotely natural with its giant metal climbing frame, and it "is expected to have as many as 30 adult chimps". There's a lot more information on the link below:

Zoo announcing $53M campaign to fund chimp exhibit, more - Inside INdiana Business

It’s exciting to hear they plan to hold a large community of chimpanzees. A community of this size will be a fascinating source of data for behavioural and reproductive studies.

I was surprised to hear their current population numbers just five (thanks to @EsserWarrior for this list):

0.1, Lucy - July 29, 1987 - Jimmie x Crazy
0.1, Sue - February 19, 1989 - Unknown x Unknown
0.1, Lela “Cotu” - September 1, 2007 - Joshua x Kioja
1.0, Billy - February 13, 2006 - Unknown x Unknown
1.0, Ben - April 8, 2012 - Unknown x Unknown

With an adult male and an adolescent male in the troop, it’d be challenging to integrate new adult males; so I’m assuming they’ll be looking to source young, reproductive aged females in the near future.