The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore Maryland Zoo News 2022

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IwishIwasatazoorightnow said:
Heading to the zoo in June for a trip. Does anyone have any updates requests/Things to look for? This is my first time going (very excited).
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If you can find an Africa keeper it’d be great to know what is going on with the elephant and giraffe breeding situation. They had originally intended on bringing three new female elephants to the zoo after the renovation was complete but that fell through. Kesi the only female giraffe with a breeding recommendation hasn’t had a calf in five years despite having Caesar to herself for almost a full year now.

The otter are another one that’d be interesting to know the plans for, the pair are wild born and thus genetically valuable. The zoo just redid the space and the female is getting up there in age for a first time mom.

Thank you in advance for anything you learn!
 
Polar bear fan said:
They had originally intended on bringing three new female elephants to the zoo after the renovation was complete but that fell through.
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That is news to me! It’s unfortunate that it’s no longer the plan though. Do you know where they were supposed to come from? Not very many places in the US with surplus breeding aged African elephant cows.
 
IndianRhino said:
That is news to me! It’s unfortunate that it’s no longer the plan though. Do you know where they were supposed to come from? Not very many places in the US with surplus breeding aged African elephant cows.
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It was an importation permit from Zimbabwe, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Zoo. A total of 28 elephants would be imported and split between Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Maryland, Memphis, and Natural Bridge. The permit was dropped in 2020 after the AZA members each backed out. Fish & Wildlife was also not likely to approve the permit after the last importation was contentious.

Pittsburgh Zoo sought to import 28 African elephants.
 
NAIB Volunteer said:
It was an importation permit from Zimbabwe, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Zoo. A total of 28 elephants would be imported and split between Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Maryland, Memphis, and Natural Bridge. The permit was dropped in 2020 after the AZA members each backed out. Fish & Wildlife was also not likely to approve the permit after the last importation was contentious.

Pittsburgh Zoo sought to import 28 African elephants.
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Ah yes, I recall reading about this import now. While more animals would be beneficial for a struggling population, management of the current population is quite terrible at the moment so I doubt a bunch of new animals would help much in the long run. For example, very few of the 2016 imported animals have bred and none of the calves born to the 2003 imports have bred. The population has a sufficient amount of breeding animals, they just need to figure out how to get them to breed at a much better rate.
 
Polar bear fan said:
If you can find an Africa keeper it’d be great to know what is going on with the elephant and giraffe breeding situation. They had originally intended on bringing three new female elephants to the zoo after the renovation was complete but that fell through. Kesi the only female giraffe with a breeding recommendation hasn’t had a calf in five years despite having Caesar to herself for almost a full year now.

The otter are another one that’d be interesting to know the plans for, the pair are wild born and thus genetically valuable. The zoo just redid the space and the female is getting up there in age for a first time mom.

Thank you in advance for anything you learn!
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I have set a reminder for myself, I shall retrieve the answers you seek!
 
Just got back from visiting the zoo for the first time (Loved it, I only really went to the Philly zoo growing up so seeing new zoos makes me so so happy).

1: The plan regarding Caesar wasn't very concrete. They are really pushing for an additional calf in the very near future but haven't had success thus far. He was in a pen all by himself today near the Giraffe building.

2: I unfortunately could not get any info on the otters. Maryland wilderness had no one nearby to ask questions.

Both Aviaries are still closed but birds are slowly making their way back out. Swans were out, as well as all the animals inside the African aviary. No ostriches or Penguins but the Cormorant were out and had some Great White Pelicans with them. Also the zoo had a Snowy Owl in one of the old victorian enclosures. A ton of space, but no signage, so maybe in quarantine?

Does anyone have information on where the Harris Hawk and the American Badger are? They are listed under animals but I imagine they are off exhibit.

Really cool zoo, totally blown away by the African section.
 
IwishIwasatazoorightnow said:
Just got back from visiting the zoo for the first time (Loved it, I only really went to the Philly zoo growing up so seeing new zoos makes me so so happy).

1: The plan regarding Caesar wasn't very concrete. They are really pushing for an additional calf in the very near future but haven't had success thus far. He was in a pen all by himself today near the Giraffe building.

2: I unfortunately could not get any info on the otters. Maryland wilderness had no one nearby to ask questions.

Both Aviaries are still closed but birds are slowly making their way back out. Swans were out, as well as all the animals inside the African aviary. No ostriches or Penguins but the Cormorant were out and had some Great White Pelicans with them. Also the zoo had a Snowy Owl in one of the old victorian enclosures. A ton of space, but no signage, so maybe in quarantine?

Does anyone have information on where the Harris Hawk and the American Badger are? They are listed under animals but I imagine they are off exhibit.

Really cool zoo, totally blown away by the African section.
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The lone make snowy owl has been exhibited in the old tiger cage in Main Valley since they acquired a pair back in 2014. They used to switch back and forth to Wading Bird holding (also farther down in the Main Valley) to suit their needs.

The Harris hawk and badgers are embassy program animals and are not exhibited.

The penguins will be back on exhibit by next week.
 
IwishIwasatazoorightnow said:
Just got back from visiting the zoo for the first time (Loved it, I only really went to the Philly zoo growing up so seeing new zoos makes me so so happy).

1: The plan regarding Caesar wasn't very concrete. They are really pushing for an additional calf in the very near future but haven't had success thus far. He was in a pen all by himself today near the Giraffe building.

2: I unfortunately could not get any info on the otters. Maryland wilderness had no one nearby to ask questions.

Both Aviaries are still closed but birds are slowly making their way back out. Swans were out, as well as all the animals inside the African aviary. No ostriches or Penguins but the Cormorant were out and had some Great White Pelicans with them. Also the zoo had a Snowy Owl in one of the old victorian enclosures. A ton of space, but no signage, so maybe in quarantine?

Does anyone have information on where the Harris Hawk and the American Badger are? They are listed under animals but I imagine they are off exhibit.

Really cool zoo, totally blown away by the African section.
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Thank you for the info! It’s very frustrating that Caesar isn’t having more calves, the deaths of Juma and Anuli really screwed up the breeding program. I do know that he is actively paired with Kesi though so if they got their timiming right after the renovation then we could very well be expecting an unannounced calf very soon. I’m glad to hear some more good news. Glad it’s not just me seeing no one in Maryland Wilderness lol, thank you for your efforts.
 
The penguins went on exhibit about a week ago. The only birds currently off-exhibit for HPAI are the peafowl in the Farmyard. The African and Marsh aviaries are closed to the public at this time, but visitors can see the birds from the outside
 
Other 2022 News:

During the month of January and into February, (3.1.4) African penguins were named Brookie, Churro, Mochi, Strudel, Cannoli, Custard, Eclair, and Pound.

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On January 12th, the zoo announced that a (0.0.1) African penguin was hatched. On February 4th, the zoo announced its name, Beignet.

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On February 8th, the zoo announced that another (0.0.1) African penguin has hatched. It was later named Croquembouche.

African Penguin Chick | Oh—big yawn! Another endangered African penguin chick has hatched at Penguin Coast. This sweet chick brings our total to 10 hatchlings for the breeding... | By The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore | Facebook
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On March 2nd, the zoo announced that they have renovated the center island in the Giraffe House which adds new fencing, a water feature, and plants.

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On March 5th, the zoo announced that a (0.0.1) African penguin has hatched, bringing the total of penguins born up to 11. On April 12th, it was named Kuchen.

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On March 29th, the zoo announced they have installed a new flagpole in the giraffe exhibit to more easily refresh browsing and enrichment opportunities for the giraffes.

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On April 3rd, the zoo announced that the pool in the African penguin exhibit has been drained in order to repaint the bottom of the pool.

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On April 21st, the zoo announced they have moved their (0.0.2) lionhead rabbits named Honey and Cinnamon to a new exhibit on the upper floor of the Alpaca Barn.*

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On May 7th, the zoo announced that (0.0.2+) black-tailed prairie dogs were born.

Prairie Dog Pups at The Maryland Zoo 2022 | Pups are up! This year's black-tailed prairie dog pups recently popped up on exhibit after spending about the first 6 weeks of their lives in underground... | By The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore | Facebook

On July 7th, the zoo announced that they have installed a new metal sign out in front of the facility for photo opportunities.

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*I wanted to give more context to @red river hog's post.
 
Minor Updates:
- The crane barn is being redone and the hornbills have been moved to the main sitatunga exhibit. Crowned cranes also moved back to the yard.
- Felix looks very round and distended, more so than usual. The elephants still appear to all be separate.
- The new Northern passage exhibits are coming along nicely, the old eagle exhibit is almost fully transformed and the old ravens exhibit is fully disassembled. New signage has replaced everything related to polar bears except the polar bear enrichment sign, alas that will probably be gone soon too.
- At least 6 prairie dog pups have been born recently.
- Penguins are being fed inside and don’t come out until about noon now, except the juveniles who spent the morning swimming.
- 1.0 juvenile penguin is being monitored by staff and volunteer after he was found not using his right wing or flipper. The keeper didn’t seem particularly concerned though, chocked it up to most likely being a cry for attention.

On a different note I feel slightly worried about the zoo’s elephants. The males should both be breeding as Tuffy now mounts Felix successfully and Samson is 15. Felix is 39 and hasn’t calved since Samson so chances are low, though I’m hoping I’m wrong as she appeared very dissented and had visible mammary glands development (which was only slight and may just signal hormone changes). The program is in such a shattered place right now but Mike McClure seems confident and says he wants a girl calf pretty badly. If anyone has any updates about the program at all it’d be good to here of movement.
 
SharkFinatic said:
The zoo has released its new master plan.

https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/maryland-zoo-releases-master-plan-revealing-future-goals
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WHAT!?!? I really hope this pans out well and we can get more info soon. The old gift shop is where I’m guessing the new reptile/amphibian exhibit is going with PGF and Gila monsters since it’s already being redisgned. NEW RAPTOR EXHIBITS FINALLY. The North American Porcupine exhibit is almost done too. GIBBONS TOO. And new bear exhibit space too WITH WOLVERINES. Wow. The crane barn must fit into this somehow too. They have a building rehab team working on it and the Abyssinian ground hornbills moved to African Journey. Maybe the new rapper exhibit.
 
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