The 29 year old female chimp who passed away in July was Hope, who moved to LA from Tulsa earlier this year with her daughter, Vindi.
Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens Los Angeles Zoo News 2020
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The 29 year old female chimp who passed away in July was Hope, who moved to LA from Tulsa earlier this year with her daughter, Vindi.
Hemker Park Zoo is getting a ton of animals from Los Angeles. The gibbons surprise me.
While the zoo has somewhat improved, according to the pictures I have found. Its still average at best for most animals and some of the primate exhibits are still abysmal. Barely any of the exhibits seem to have winter holding, which given the climate of the area probably means they are locked up in one of the barn buildings. They do have a great collection though much of it seems to be surplus male hoofstock or unmanaged species.
I'd much rather see the surplus hoofstock go to a facility like Hemker - which provides the hoofstock with grassy paddocks - instead of being euthanized. Hoofstock are relatively easy to care for and most of them seem to acclimate well to colder temperatures. It is - like you mentioned - the primates that I worry about as well.
Another gerenuk calf was born!
Jungle Man
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The gibbons are a phase-out species so it's no surprise really.
The only thing that confuses me about Hemker is that it appears to be a pretty small zoo so I don't understand how they squeeze all these animals into it.
The sad news people seem to be overlooking is the loss of yet another Black Duiker from the US population. This taxa's time is numbered I'm afraid.
~Thylo
So I don't know if this site has been shared yet but I just found a pdf describing the new master plan and there were some animals listed that almost made me scream (Indian Rhino, Island Fox, and pangolin). I also noticed in one of the concepts for the Asain area that there was the Olympic symbol in the sky meaning we could have that section +the African area, treetops, and California by the Olympics which would be great.
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Thanks, I just notice that symbol in the concept art of the Asia treetops Terrance, plaza, and elephants of Asia.
The Upcoming Winter 2020 Meeting will be on Decision-maker Hearings. Of course there has be designing, consulting, fundraising for the cost of the projects, and construction along with relocation of animals where the construction will be taking place.
Also for some of the animals like Quokka and Pangolin could show up since the Saitama Children’s Zoo is the first International zoo outside Australia to have them and had a Joey, so it’s most likely with agreement with the Australian government they’ll be coming to the U.S..
For the pangolin for the Asia section most likely be the Chinese Pangolin, since the Taiwan Zoo has kept and breed them and two European zoos the Leipzig and Prague Zoos have them. Since Tree Pangolins Showing up in U.S. Zoos like Brookfield Zoo so it’s most likely the Chinese Pangolin would join in.
Keep in mind that the master plan is only a guideline, not a concrete plan of what will be at the zoo. Quokkas and pangolins are aspirational species, and there is little chance that they will be at the zoo unless somehow quokka and Asian pangolin populations are established in the American zoo world at the time that the Asian and Australian exhibits envisioned in the plan are built. That could be 20 years from now, or never.
Much more likely Indian rhinoceros will return to the zoo someday, seeing as they were a star species at the zoo until recently with the death of the last one. It is more likely that an African rhino species exhibit will be built first though if the sequence of the master plan plays out as planned.
The current economic collapse and pandemic have probably set the master plan back several years unfortunately. It would be nice if a major exhibit complex or two could be completed before the Olympics, but that all depends on fundraising in a very tough economic environment.
The African Rhino Species mostly Likely for the Africa area would be in the multi-species Savannah exhibit would be the white rhino.
I read in a zooview rhino edition, In the zoo’s early history that the white rhinos were the first rhino species brought to the zoo.
I read in a zooview rhino edition, In the zoo’s early history that the white rhinos were the first rhino species brought to the zoo.
I think that you are probably correct that a white rhino exhibit will be part of the African savanna area. The parts of the new master plan that are almost assured to happen are the native California zone and a new Africa area. The giraffes, lions, hippos, etc. need modern exhibits, and the zoo has needed a California condor exhibit and modern bear exhibits for decades.
That's what I thought but if you actually look at the planned phasing the design phase for the first exhibit won't end until 2021 and construction can't start until after that so the only problem would really be the zoos monetary situation
Surprising the least that in spite of recommendations from Rhino TAG city zoos continue to choose white rhino over the admittedly very much more endangered black rhino.
I would wish that LA Zoo create a combination Elephant House Asiatic elephant with Indian rhino. But these are just personal preferences. Allthough, I must admit that a first priority will be to get the bull Asiatic elephant some female counterparts to breed.
It also seems to me that more and more zoos go "the easiest" way by keeping White Rhinos instead of Black Rhinos (look also at Zurich). I know that the former have IN GENERAL a sober mind and so do better on "Savanna" enclosures with other animals. But there are zoos like Magdeburg and Doué la Fontaine that have demonstrated that Black Rhinos can also be kept in multi species exhibits. Further more, the Black Rhinos are more endangered in the wild. So the focus should go one them in zoos, while Safari Parks can concentrate on White Rhinos.
I think we're forgetting that Black Rhinos are significantly less numerous and therefore less available than Southern White, and that the latter breed more often in captivity. Additionally, it takes a lot more to make a mixed savanna safe to use Black Rhinos in than Southern Whites.
~Thylo
~Thylo
You're right in both points. However: It will not change when more zoos switch to Southern Whites, even when they had good keeping (and sometimes also breeding) results with Black Rhinos.
And who else if not big/experienced zoos with necessary financial power should care about a rhino species that is a little difficult to handle? (Beside that: Who said that good Black Rhino exhibits must be mixed savanna exhibits? There can be good once with any other species and you can still have a good "Africa" theming as zoos like Hannover, Honolulu or Caldwell demonstrate).
And who else if not big/experienced zoos with necessary financial power should care about a rhino species that is a little difficult to handle? (Beside that: Who said that good Black Rhino exhibits must be mixed savanna exhibits? There can be good once with any other species and you can still have a good "Africa" theming as zoos like Hannover, Honolulu or Caldwell demonstrate).
Or Zoo Atlanta before they decided to do away with black rhinos, build a new elephant exhibit on that site and take away any sense of immersion with tall fences rather than moats for both the elephants and the giraffe/ostrich/zebra mix.
Oh of course you can have solo Black Rhino exhibits, but the question was why are whites more common and the given answer was their ease of mixing them into savannas, something that's not anywhere as easily done with Black.
~Thylo
~Thylo