John Ball Zoo John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI)

On August 9th, the zoo announced they bred and released 1,200+ Poweshiek Skipperling butterflies into the wild.

https://www.facebook.com/JBZoo/post...3c1eecsXxDCKHEmG8zTjKbPHtSYifzaDuQM6JGKRipzcl
Nile Hippo Expert said:
Three Magellanic Penguins have hatched.
Three Baby Penguins Born At John Ball Zoo
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On August 12th, the zoo announced they named the penguins Pebbles, Phil, and Pinkie.

https://www.facebook.com/JBZoo/post...k2FGNQDjFZ9stxWCETYGCaU5bSaSXEPDJmgsjQ6iewhVl

Nile Hippo Expert said:
Three lynx kits were born on May 23rd to Thor and Becca.
Lynx kits born at John Ball Zoo | wzzm13.com
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On August 14th, the zoo announced the lynxes' sexes (3.0) and names; Jasper, Rocky, and Yukon.

https://www.facebook.com/JBZoo/post...ieNq9tx5YMvAynkfLDFrtbTp3yTsLcnZtTcCTsT8v2Fpl

On September 1st, the zoo announced that 7 Taylor's shield-tailed agamas hatched on July 13th, the first successful breeding of the species at the facility.

https://www.facebook.com/JBZoo/post...2xazFAUFwYcx9msHmQ7pigHxHRcEfFNHsLit14znVksRl

IndianRhino said:
A female snow leopard cub was born on June 6th to first-time parents, Mylo and Yuki!

Baby fever: Snow leopard cub arrives to John Ball Zoo | WOODTV.com
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On September 19th, the zoo announced the snow leopard's name, Mera.

https://www.facebook.com/JBZoo/post...u1rokrQ546fjEgc61q6q3yuWRKB4FEdnzo5pVgDwm9v5l

* There was also a report about a seasonal employee getting fired though I'm not gonna detail it here for obvious reasons.
 
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Smaggledagle said:
On November 21st, the zoo announced the red pandas' names, Dawa and Mina.

John Ball Zoo
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On September 21st, the zoo announced that Dawa and Mina were transferred to other facilities.

23K views · 792 reactions | Nima and Dawa are red-y for their next adventure Our one-year-old red panda siblings will soon be on the move as part of a recommendation from the Red Panda Species Survival Plan (SSP). Red panda cubs tend to stay with their mothers until they're fully grown, at about one year old. Wasabi's youngsters are now old enough to go off on their own to further help their species. You still have a chance to see Nima and Dawa in the Red Panda habitat through Wednesday, September 25th. ❤️ | John Ball Zoo

On November 5th, the zoo announced their (1.0) African lion named Kiume will be transferred to another unspecified facility in the near future.

John Ball Zoo
 
Totally random question: does anyone know when the zoo phased jaguars out? Obviously it was sometime after 1985 but I can’t find a source as to when. Apparently the enclosure that (I think still?) holds maned wolves was originally built for them, and I think arguably it would still fit a cat better.
 
evilmonkey239 said:
Totally random question: does anyone know when the zoo phased jaguars out? Obviously it was sometime after 1985 but I can’t find a source as to when. Apparently the enclosure that (I think still?) holds maned wolves was originally built for them, and I think arguably it would still fit a cat better.
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I don’t have an answer for the jaguars, but I can confirm that exhibit didn’t hold maned wolves when I went back in September. From what I heard, it’s been a few years since John Ball has had the species.
 
The zoo has released its master plan of the next ten years, which includes, a expanding the Africa section featuring a giraffe habitat, one of north america’s largest indoor rainforest with a South American focus featuring animals of each class, and a new entry plaza with a sea lion exhibit with underwater viewing and much more! There is also a proposed new parking area and a rooftop cafe.Giraffes, sea lions coming to John Ball Zoo under 10-year master plan and You are Invited to Preview John Ball Zoo's Updated Master Plan
Edit- This isn’t the full plan, but it should be showcased within the next week.
 
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USZOOfan42 said:
The zoo has released its master plan of the next ten years, which includes, a expanding the Africa section featuring a giraffe habitat, one of north america’s largest indoor rainforest with a South American focus featuring animals of each class, and a new entry plaza with a sea lion exhibit with underwater viewing and much more! There is also a proposed new parking area and a rooftop cafe.Giraffes, sea lions coming to John Ball Zoo under 10-year master plan and You are Invited to Preview John Ball Zoo's Updated Master Plan
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This is exciting news! I like the fact that John Ball Zoo's master plan is looking ahead only 10 years, which makes the projects more attainable and realistic. Giraffes, sea lions and a big South American Forest complex is big news for this zoo that recently broke their attendance record with more than 800,000 visitors. Adding TWO places to eat is also a fantastic way to boost revenue.
 
snowleopard said:
This is exciting news! I like the fact that John Ball Zoo's master plan is looking ahead only 10 years, which makes the projects more attainable and realistic. Giraffes, sea lions and a big South American Forest complex is big news for this zoo that recently broke their attendance record with more than 800,000 visitors. Adding TWO places to eat is also a fantastic way to boost revenue.
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In terms of 10 years this seems impressive, I just hope to see a more detailed plan after the event. I hope there’s more to Africa like originally planned, like the okapi, African Wild Dog and the other ungulates. It seems like the future is bright for JBZ!
 
The zoo has added a much more detailed plan. It includes much more details which I will note:

Entry Valley- The zoo will add a new flamingo pond at the entrance with feeding opportunities. There will also be a new river otter habitat which doesn’t have too many details yet. There will also be a new entrance and gift shop. The entry plaza will have a theme of Waters of the World. I also saw somewhere plans to add sea eagles.

African Expansion- The zoo has not mentioned to much information of this section but currently there is only plans for giraffes. The zoo wants to get around 5 giraffes and breed them. The director particularly prefers the Masai Giraffes. This also includes a sizable indoor area. On the master plan map there is a possible Gorilla habitat which could also be a chimpanzee expansion. The giraffe habitat will be multi species and it’s also noted the giraffes will be a backbone for more species like Rhinos and Ostriches. There will also be more habitats.

Central Plaza- This section will include 4 habitats. The headliner will be sea lions replacing the monkey island. It will take advantage of the height difference and add underwater viewing, a tunnel and higher viewing. There will also be sea lion shows.

South American Rainforest- This was noted by the directed to be the largest biome dome in North America! There is shown to be Jaguars, Capybaras, Toucans, Howler Monkeys, and various South American herps and fish.
There will also be a full service restaurant and a wonderful waterfall ;).

My Thoughts-
I think this plan is very impressive and ambitious for 10 years! The SA dome will likely get downsized but still seems wonderful! The Africa section hopefully includes more species and gorillas! The other habitats will likely be animals relating to water or African species. I hope to see no animals cut or any animals lost in the process (mainly SA animals currently at zoo). Overall I wish them luck and am very excited for the next 10 years! Here are the best articles:
Giraffes? Sea lions? 30-foot waterfall? John Ball Zoo looks toward the future

Master Plan Presentation | John Ball Zoo
 
USZOOfan42 said:
+1 cat species to michigan
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What even are the species? Are they, cougar, snow leopard, Amur Tiger, African Lion, cheetah, Canadian lynx, Pallas cat for the AZA facilities and African Lion, “Bengal” Tiger, Bobcat, Siberian Lynx, Serval, and possibly caracal and “African” Leopard for the Non Aza facilities.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
The director particularly prefers the Masai Giraffes.
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It’s already great to hear of the director’s intention for Masai Giraffes over the non-specific hybrids; but it will be even greater for the zoo to serve as a new breeding holder for this species longterm!

Also, even as a non-local, I am rather excited for the future of this zoo, and we can all hope for the best that the majority of these announcements will successfully follow through.
 
It would definitely be a strong contender for having an equal or even better collection if the majority of the master plan becomes a reality! In particular, the possible addition of jaguars would mean they’d have five big cats (using the term as a weight class), in contrast to Detroit only having two which are their only felids, period.
 
Detroit’s collection is really weird and basic. They accel at amphibians (duh) and are pretty good at reptiles and birds to a stretch. None of their habitats are horrible just one bad one (sloth bear). But 2 cat species (generic two), one canid, 1 rodent, 8 primates (gained 4 within 3 years), and are decent with ungulates (could use more African and Asian) and mustelids.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
Detroit’s collection is really weird and basic. They accel at amphibians (duh) and are pretty good at reptiles and birds to a stretch. None of their habitats are horrible just one bad one (sloth bear). But 2 cat species (generic two), one canid, 1 rodent, 8 primates (gained 4 within 3 years), and are decent with ungulates (could use more African and Asian) and mustelids.
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Yeah, Detroit’s collection definitely leaves a lot to be desired in certain areas, but overall I would say it’s improved a lot over the past few years since they got the new director. Its single biggest shortcoming IMO is probably the lack of cats beyond the big two, but that’s just my personal bias. Them getting sloth bears (even if it’s in a subpar enclosure) elevates their collection a fair amount in my book, as not only is it a third bear species but it’s a tropical one very different from the other two, that adds some nice diversity to their relatively small collection of Asian megafauna.
 
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