Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo news 2016

I payed a visit today and here are some updates:

*The winter guide mentions the following: first the upcoming expansion consisting of the elephants and another mixed-species exhibit. The only species confirmed thus far on the guide is brand-new to Milwaukee. It is (drum roll please)...yellow-backed duiker!!! Second, 2017's summer special exhibit will be Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out. Third, the map now highlights where the elephant construction area will be. Sadly, it seems like Australia will go down with the moose, brown bear, and wolf exhibits too.

*Speaking of construction, there was none yet that I could see in the area. I didn't notice any significant progress with the second entrance area either.

*The second young snow leopard has arrived, and she has been in Milwaukee for a few months now. According to the cat house kitchen board, her name is Orya, and she came from Switzerland (I think specifically Zurich). Why the Zoo hasn't announced this yet, I don't know.

*The sandhill cranes seem to have settled in nicely with the caribou. No sign of Borealis the Alaskan brown bear in the black bear area yet - probably not till spring at this point due to hibernation.

*The tiger cubs have been named: the male now being hand-raised is Kashtan, and the females are Eloise and Bernadette. When I was there, Kashtan was in the former caracal exhibit, and mother Amba was in the indoor tiger room, with the cubs nowhere to be seen.

*Despite being one degree above freezing and a very light snowfall on my stroll, there were two animal species that caught me by surprise by enjoying the outdoors. The African elephants were foraging, and even the giraffes made an appearance galloping around their enclosure!
 
Milwaukee Man said:
I payed a visit today and here are some updates:

*The winter guide mentions the following: first the upcoming expansion consisting of the elephants and another mixed-species exhibit. The only species confirmed thus far on the guide is brand-new to Milwaukee. It is (drum roll please)...yellow-backed duiker!!! Second, 2017's summer special exhibit will be Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out. Third, the map now highlights where the elephant construction area will be. Sadly, it seems like Australia will go down with the moose, brown bear, and wolf exhibits too.

*Speaking of construction, there was none yet that I could see in the area. I didn't notice any significant progress with the second entrance area either.


*The sandhill cranes seem to have settled in nicely with the caribou. No sign of Borealis the Alaskan brown bear in the black bear area yet - probably not till spring at this point due to hibernation.

*The tiger cubs have been named: the male now being hand-raised is Kashtan, and the females are Eloise and Bernadette. When I was there, Kashtan was in the former caracal exhibit, and mother Amba was in the indoor tiger room, with the cubs nowhere to be seen
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Bongos are also planned to be in the new elephant exhibit. Yellow backed duikers are unexpected. Still is nice surprise. Sad to see some of the best exhibits (moose, wolf, Australia.) go. Won't miss the ugly sheep mountain, or the hot concrete slap that is supposedly the brown bear exhibit.

Of topic but what's the deal with the zoos Tayras?
 
Any chance giraffes will be included in the expansion? That would be great. Also a new meerkat exhibit is needed.
 
GraysonDP said:
Any chance giraffes will be included in the expansion? That would be great. Also a new meerkat exhibit is needed.
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That is a great idea! A easy way to get the meerkats out of the their pair of disgusting Janitor closets (As stated by you:rolleyes::rolleyes:)
 
GraysonDP said:
Any chance giraffes will be included in the expansion? That would be great. Also a new meerkat exhibit is needed.
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I doubt there will be any expansion for the giraffes, their exhibit got an expansion and remodel (along with a feeding deck!) back in 2006. It would be great to see a new meerkat exhibit included though! The entire Small Mammal building needs an overhaul if I'm being honest.
 
Took a walk at the zoo this morning. There was a sign at the booth to the parking lot saying the bonobos would be off exhibit until further notice (the booth worker didn't know why). However, when I walked through the primate building there were 4 or 5 bonobos in the exhibit including 1 or 2 of the babies. Several trucks and heavy machinery around the {former} brown bear exhibit moving to and from the area behind the Dall Sheep exhibit. The three tiger cubs were on exhibit (sleeping soundly) in the former caracal exhibit across from the lions.
 
I forgot to mention that I talked to one of the Family Farm keepers and he mentioned that the Ayrshire heifer calf, Kylie, who was born last Fall will be leaving tomorrow. She'll be going to the farm where her Mom was born.
 
Stopped by the Zoo this afternoon to drop off my Giving Tree gifts and decided to take a quick walk while I was there. There is now a construction company trailer parked on the east side of the Wolf Woods and they were digging around the Wolf Woods observation building. There are also numerous utility flags (those flags they stick in the ground to designate where there are gas lines, etc.) inside the enclosure.
 
Haven't been to the zoo in a couple of weeks due to the weather, but went this morning for a walk. Wow...the wolf woods and moose yard are basically gone (although the wolf structure is still standing). I know it was necessary for the plans they have, but I found it kind of sad. The path from the wolf woods to the Australia building is now blocked, but you can can walk around the other way (by the dall sheep) to get to it. I took pictures, but still haven't figured out how to add them to a comment.
 
KatMom56 said:
Haven't been to the zoo in a couple of weeks due to the weather, but went this morning for a walk. Wow...the wolf woods and moose yard are basically gone (although the wolf structure is still standing). I know it was necessary for the plans they have, but I found it kind of sad. The path from the wolf woods to the Australia building is now blocked, but you can can walk around the other way (by the dall sheep) to get to it. I took pictures, but still haven't figured out how to add them to a comment.
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If the pics are on your phone you just have to get them from your photo collection in your phone.
 
Of topic but what's the deal with the zoos Tayras?
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I believe previous discussions suggested they had been gone from the zoo for some time?

I'm shocked elephant construction has gone so quickly when the new otter habitat was delayed for eons and eons and the hippo exhibit even longer! I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to see the moose or wolf exhibits one more time.
 
They haven't even released the concept art yet. Boy am I glad I got to see the moose one last time. I will be going to the zoo after Christmas so expect pics of the now demolished Moose and Wolf exhibits (This will be my first ever Winter trip to Milwaukee:))
 
@JVM: the tayras are actually still there. They're living behind-the-scenes of the Big Cat building; they're listed under the kitchen board. Very rarely when a keeper enters that area have I gotten a brief peek at them.

@pachyderm pro: Enjoy your first winter Milwaukee zoo trip! It's pretty cool (no pun intended) to see some of the North American animals, and even a few surprise exotics, plow through the snow. :)
 
Milwaukee Man said:
@JVM: the tayras are actually still there. They're living behind-the-scenes of the Big Cat building; they're listed under the kitchen board. Very rarely when a keeper enters that area have I gotten a brief peek at them.

@pachyderm pro: Enjoy your first winter Milwaukee zoo trip! It's pretty cool (no pun intended) to see some of the North American animals, and even a few surprise exotics, plow through the snow. :)
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Will the tayras ever come back on exhibit? Its not like I want to see them in the small mammal house but hey I will take what I can get.:D

Thanks Milwaukee Man. I will taking a lot of pics, Mainly of the tiger cubs and upcoming elephant exhibit construction:).
 
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