Indianapolis Zoo Indianapolis Zoo

reduakari said:
What other primate can be successfully exhibited outdoors in the winter in places like Indy, Detroit, Minnesota, Calgary and Toronto?
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I think those are the only species of primate that can tolerate winter temperatures. Cut-offs for great apes is normally 50 and above. The only primate species that might do well in colder temperatures are langurs (remember some are native to the Himalayan foothills).
 
Yeah, my question was rhetorical, since it's very unlikely we'll ever see these northerly langurs in US zoos. I'd much rather see a troop of Golden Monkeys than a bunch of Japanese macaques, but it ain't gonna happen!
 
Couple of Notes

- The great ape area was originally intended to be near the entrance of the zoo. However, with management wanting at least 2 ape species, that space is not nearly big enough.

- The Oceans bonnethead shark tank represented the best and worst of touch tanks. On one end, it was a beautiful display that brings people as close as humanely possible to a vastly misunderstood and fascinating creature. However, this close interaction created many problems at the zoo, they just weren't publicized like the death of more than 30 stingrays in a similar type enclosure at the Calgary Zoo. Several sharks had to be removed from the tank after being injured by visitors. In one specific example, a man picked up one of the sharks by the dorsal fin which subsequently broke off and the shark died a few days later. Even though the deaths were caused by staff error and not poison, these increasingly popular exhibits have inherent problems that one might expect when you mix wild animals and a naive public.

As for the future of that pool, I'm hoping they go with a stingray/shark mix. They should have done this in the first place.

- okapikpr, yes the zoo had plans of adding a tropical rainforest building and even a North American savannah. These were planned to go along with the zoo's theme of Biomes. More and more it's looking like management is going away from that.
 
Budorcas said:
The Oceans bonnethead shark tank represented the best and worst of touch tanks.
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Wait, did they move the bonnetheads to the touch tank? Because when I was there the bonnetheads were in the first tank and spiny dogfish were in the touch tank. Did they switch? (Because I've seen bonnetheads used as a touch tank species)
 
Whoops!

Wow, what a colossal oversight on my part!!! I guess I find so much frustration with people at the touch tank that I was too quick to assume that's where the problem occurred. I can't believe I mixed that up. Very sorry everyone!

The bonnetheads were not in the touch tank, rather in a big rectangle shaped pool, the first enclosure seen inside the building. Prior to the renovation the tank had nurse and black tipped reef sharks. I haven't the slightest clue what they will put in there next but I'll try to find out. Jellyfish would be cool but the tank is probably a little too big unless there are a huge number of them.
 
jellyfish husbandry

yes they do, and it would not be easy or cheap for the zoo to do it. Brookfield had a tank in the Living Coast, but more often than not there were problems with the tank and the jellyfish were off exhibit. A more realistic and interesting alternative would be sea turtles. The tank is an appropriate size and it would be something new and different. An even better option might be mixing the sea turtles with bonnetheads. As soon as I hear some progress on the new residents, I'll post.
 
Hopefully they're just going to get more bonnetheads. They've already got a moon jellyfish tank a little bit to the left of this big tank. And you're right, the large touch tank with "dog sharks" is a separate exhbit in the next room. Another sad story coming from that exhibit is that some punk kid purposely broke the dorsal fin off of a shark. This kid was literally chased out of the Zoo by keepers (who were trying to catch him for arrest). Finally, the plans for a North American Plains exhibit ended when they built the great new elephant exhibit in the place where it would have been.
 
Obviously it will be in the Savannah section, but I wonder where, considering there is barely any room left. Also, interesting they are interested in exhibiting six cheetahs.
 
Cheetah Exhibit Location

The cheetahs are going across from the elephants, in place of the kangaroos and lorikeets, which are now gone.
 
ColumbusZoo001 said:
Obviously it will be in the Savannah section, but I wonder where, considering there is barely any room left. Also, interesting they are interested in exhibiting six cheetahs.
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I'm pretty sure I know where this exhibit will be -- where the present Australian animals (kangaroos, emus, and black swans) are. I was told by and Indianapolis Zoo keeper that they will soon be closing the Australian yard and, she was guessing then, replace them with cheetahs. Thus, the entire Plains area will then be entirely African animals. They might, however, keep the Aussie lorikeet aviary. Don't know, though.
 
I've got mixed feelings on this. While I'm sure the cheetah exhibit (with accompanying other animals) will be excellent, I really do miss the Australian area -- which I considered one of the best in the nation. Back when it first opened, the walk-through Australian exhibit had dozens of cute little wallabies, hopping all about, some even on the visitor path. My children loved it! Even without the wallabies, the very active hopping kangaroos, friendly emus, and other Aussie creatures were a real treat! But I suppose this new cheetah exhibit will make Indianapolis one of the better zoos for seeing African animals -- though it won't quite be at the level of Kansas City, North Carolina, San Diego WAP, or the Bronx.
 
"Cheetah: The Race for Survival" opens on Memorial Day weekend and contains over 100,000 sq. feet of exhibit space. There will also be a separate enclosure featuring bat-eared foxes and hornbills, as well as a demonstration area with Kangal guard dogs:

Welcome to the Indianapolis Zoo
 
Cheetah...Race for Survival is now open. There are 2 separate yards. It turned out very nice. The Bat-Eared Fox/Hornbill exhibit also has Guinea Fowl and Crowned Cranes.
 
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New in 2011-
-Bats
-Redo of the Tiger exhibit
-Warthogs/African Crested Porcpines

2013/2014
Great Apes

A redo of another area biome is in the works for 2012.
 
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