Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo news 2021

Went to the zoo the other day and some positive news. The small mammals building is now open!

In other news, it appears that the Whooping cranes either had an egg or were given one again, the area is blocked off.

It appears that the ostrich is stressed out again, feathers are missing from their backside again.

Update with the small mammals building… there is a lot changed. The mongooses are no longer being displayed, exhibit says under construction. The armadillos have taken over the fox area. The foxes are gone. Lots of empty exhibits on the left side of the night portion.

I know I’ve mentioned this in the past but walking around the zoo, there seems to be not as many animals displayed as there once was. I realize that they are gearing up to work on the rhino exhibits in phase 3, so that might have something to do with it.

Speaking of phase 3 I feel like if it was done right would be almost a bigger transformation then the original one, looking at everything that needs to be changed or updated.
 
Went to the zoo the other day and some positive news. The small mammals building is now open!

In other news, it appears that the Whooping cranes either had an egg or were given one again, the area is blocked off.

It appears that the ostrich is stressed out again, feathers are missing from their backside again.

Update with the small mammals building… there is a lot changed. The mongooses are no longer being displayed, exhibit says under construction. The armadillos have taken over the fox area. The foxes are gone. Lots of empty exhibits on the left side of the night portion.

I know I’ve mentioned this in the past but walking around the zoo, there seems to be not as many animals displayed as there once was. I realize that they are gearing up to work on the rhino exhibits in phase 3, so that might have something to do with it.

Speaking of phase 3 I feel like if it was done right would be almost a bigger transformation then the original one, looking at everything that needs to be changed or updated.
Is there any part of the zoo still closed?
 
Is there any part of the zoo still closed?
The only area that I forgot to check was the other side of the great apes building. That would be the only area that was still previously closed. However, I can assume if the small mammals building was open that, other portion of great apes would be open too.

They still had the viewing platform of the Macaque island blocked off though.
 
The only area that I forgot to check was the other side of the great apes building. That would be the only area that was still previously closed. However, I can assume if the small mammals building was open that, other portion of great apes would be open too.

They still had the viewing platform of the Macaque island blocked off though.
Which side the “the other side”?
 
It seems so weird that the zoo would open Apes of Africa but leave Primates of the World closed.
Primates of the World had a different ventilation system than Apes of Africa which means the animals in that building are more likely to be exposed than the gorillas or bonobos are. Same applies to the small mammal house, which is why those two buildings in particular have been shut down for longer than the others.
 
Is there any part of the zoo still closed?
So I went back to figure out what is all open and closed still and to see if there was anything I missed the first time around

Like previously mention small mammals building is open, however at limited capacity. As for the Primates of the world, that area is closed, along with the deck to see gorillas and bonobos, guess I need to take the train to see them outside. The outdoor area for the siamang and Columbus monkeys is open but at a distance.

The animal hospital is still closed but no sign telling you so, it just is.

Both ostrich’s are showing sign of stress.

Macaque observation deck is now open.

Also found it interesting overhearing a zoo keeper mention that the last remain cheetah we have is one of the oldest in North America.

I think that’s all the updates I have.
 
What does this mean for the zoo? Could the set Master Plan be revamped?
Absolutely. I imagine the future rhino/hippo complex is already in motion so I doubt we will see any major changes there, but besides that he could really change whatever he wants. I really do hope Mr. Morris has a more ambitious vision for the zoo. No offense to Mr. Wikenhauser but under his watch the zoo went over two decades without any major new developments, only in his last few years really starting to change things. Not to mention many of the new additions under his watch were a bit underwhelming and the master plan that had been in place has also been seen as more of a fresh coat of paint instead of something entirely new. Again, I hope to see some more creativity and drive for the zoo other than "Its better than it used to be" under this new guy.
 
Given the track record of the new director I would think some changes both in leadership and zoo innovation may be expected. His tenure at the Fresno Zoo which has seen a flurry of activity of reinventing itself and developing their zoo along zoogeographical lines with their masterplan in hand and the fact he already served as director at both Mesker and Evansville does given me some confidence it may be a turning point for local zoo fans.
 
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