Kansas City Zoo Kansas City Zoo News

Is San Diego the only zoo in the US that is able to keep koalas as part of their permanent collection? I've read that all other American zoos have theirs "loaned" to them by San Diego itself for a limited period of time, similar to how giant pandas outside of China are never permanent residents of the zoos they inhabit. If so, why is this the case?
 
imaginarius said:
Is San Diego the only zoo in the US that is able to keep koalas as part of their permanent collection?
Click to expand...

No, there are a few that keep them permanently; somewhere between 8-12 zoos (not sure exactly which ones currently).

imaginarius said:
I've read that all other American zoos have theirs "loaned" to them by San Diego itself for a limited period of time, similar to how giant pandas outside of China are never permanent residents of the zoos they inhabit. If so, why is this the case?
Click to expand...

San Diego holds a lot of koalas, and regularly loans out bachelor males to other zoos for a few months each. Koalas are expensive to feed and care for, so zoos that don't want to keep them full-time can get a short-term pair loaned from SDZ and use them as a draw to bring in more visitors for the season.
 
Visited Kansas City last Saturday and figured I'd post an update photo of the area where the new aquarium will be. This is the area between as previously reported, between the Tropics Building and the Elephants. This old canyon used to have the bear grottos and the Beaks and Feet Boulevard was. All of the small animal exhibits that were part of Beaks and Feet Boulevard are gone. As you can see, the canyon has been cleared of all the overgrowth from the years, just last year when I visited here this was a dense forest. The flamingo pond at the west end of the canyon is still there though.

IMG_5740[1].JPG

Another note, I finally got to go into the Tropics house for the first time since 1993 as the two other times I've been here it was being renovated and it was closed due to COVID. I got to say, the renovations were not what I was expecting in there and I was a little let down from what I remember when I was little. I didn't look at any photos on here of the renovations as I didn't want to know prior to seeing it for myself. Does any one have any photos of the interior before the renovation? I remember the middle of the room was more or less a pit that had various rain forest species in it like otters and capybara, and vivariums around the outside kind of like what they have now. It seems that the pedestrian access space to this building is less than it was. Am I remembering this correctly?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5740[1].JPG
    IMG_5740[1].JPG
    219.6 KB · Views: 83
WhistlingKite24 said:
Back in February, Kansas City Zoo welcomed a White-cheeked Gibbon birth. The female was later named Leilani. The baby’s mother is Kit (2005) who came from Perth Zoo, Australia. Her parents are wild-born Phillip (1973) and Melbourne-born Viann (1993).

Facebook post: Kansas City Zoo

Full article: KC Zoo welcomes newborn white-cheeked gibbon
Click to expand...
Incredibly saddening news. Leilani the one-year-old White-cheeked Gibbon has drowned in the otter pool. She was the pair's first offspring following the adult female's arrival from Australia: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article252063978.html
 
nczoofan said:
Could the otters have contributed to her death? Like happened at the Bronx Zoo before they stopped mixing asian small clawed otters and langur.
Click to expand...
That was what I was thinking but the zoo have stated the otters were not present: "No external trauma was immediately visible and the small-clawed otter family that shares the exhibit was sleeping peacefully."
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Incredibly saddening news. Leilani the one-year-old White-cheeked Gibbon has drowned in the otter pool. She was the pair's first offspring following the adult female's arrival from Australia: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article252063978.html
Click to expand...
Saddening to hear.

Gibbons and exhibits with water do not mix in my humble view. I am really not fond of these for the fact the great apes (I know ... gibbon is considered the least developed one) are not learned swimmers.
 
A Matschie's Tree Kangaroo has been born:

"A pouch full of joy! The Zoo is excited to announce the birth of a Matschie's tree kangaroo named Popondetta! The little marsupial was named after a city in Papua New Guinea native to its species and has been in mother Nokopo’s pouch for about 24 weeks. On September 2, the young one revealed its head! Popondetta (or Poppy for short) will continue to pop its head in and out of the pouch over the next several weeks as it explores the environment and nurses inside the pouch. We currently don't have confirmation on whether it is a male or female, but we will keep you posted!

The Kansas City Zoo participates in the Tree Kangaroo Species Survival Plan, which focuses on breeding to ensure the survival of this endangered species. Team Australasia’s hard work and dedication to tree kangaroo husbandry and conservation resulted in the first tree kangaroo birth at the Kansas City Zoo in 20 years!"
 
Google Earth has an updated aerial image from April 10th, 2021 that shows the footprint of construction. The waterfowl pond on the west end of the valley is still there, and was still there when I visited in late May 2021.

upload_2021-10-26_9-2-21.png
 

Attachments

  • upload_2021-10-26_9-2-21.png
    upload_2021-10-26_9-2-21.png
    1.3 MB · Views: 68
MGolka said:
Google Earth has an updated aerial image from April 10th, 2021 that shows the footprint of construction. The waterfowl pond on the west end of the valley is still there, and was still there when I visited in late May 2021.

View attachment 515306
Click to expand...

Correct, the flamingo exhibit is still there. I was referring to the larger waterfowl pond which exhibited trumpeter swans and other waterfowl before their new exhibit by the main entrance was constructed. The exhibit had an island in the center and was directly across from the old moated exhibits.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20170326_151744.jpg
    IMG_20170326_151744.jpg
    304.6 KB · Views: 4
The zoo has a detailed website for their aquarium project complete with site plans and some details of species. Looks like it'll be a fairly diverse aquarium with six different aquatic zones from jellyfish, sharks, sea otters, and live corals. This looks like it should compete with other zoo/aquarium paired institutions. One notable absence however are any freshwater exhibits.

https://www.kansascityzoo.org/aquarium
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top