What do you mean by a rhino/hippo complex?
I'm referring to phase 3 of Adventure Africa. I know Rhinos are the focus but the hippos are getting a new indoor exhibit in the same building so they are both technically part of the same complex.
I’m curious on once they start building the last phase are they removing the hippos and rhino while they finish construction or are they going to some how retain the animals during construction. Last I heard from a zookeeper is that the rhino was leaving but never mentioned if the hippos were.
The rhino is definitely leaving, but the hippos will be almost certainly stick around. Thanks to the "hippo home" or "hippo spa" the hippos will still have an existing holding area that will be retained during the construction of the new building. It would be pretty silly to send them away even temporarily after just opening a new exhibit last year.
From what I've seen, the elephant/antelope areas an architectural mishmash of obvious fencing and barely hidden holding areas, and that doesn't evoke the ideal of an "Adventure" so to speak. As for hippos, while underwater viewing is exciting, there are one too many missed opportunities for more space (can you say grazing area?) That said, I hope more can be done to turn Milwaukee's "Adventure Africa" into Fresno's "African Adventure".
I’m glad to see more space for the animals, however they also seem a bit more stressed, especially in the summer when crowds are larger. Specifically talking about the Impala yard.
I think that is correct. They plan to move the current black rhino elsewhere and start renovation afters. On completion, I think they are holding out for breeding pair (???).
I would hope so too, however the design for the new exhibit should have been finished this month. So going back and editing it now I’m not sure they will, especially since they have been campaigning on this whole $25 million in for AA, and trying to stick to that even if they really should expand that to make the exhibits better. Example is the first phase, so many cuts were made to maintain their predetermined amount they wanted to spend on it.
If I were the project manager, I would be flexible with changes to the project building and renovation phase. In these matters, flexibility is key to deal with unexpected alterations as well as being practical what works for the animals, keeping staff and is a service to the general public.
I get that, I feel like I would be the same, however sadly I don’t think that’s what will happen. So I look forward to the next big project to see what they come up with.
Just as a hypothetical, what kind of alterations would you see for Adventure Africa?
I've always thought they could keep the existing building if its cheaper that way, but use it as off exhibit holding. Then rebuild the current guest space as indoor exhibits and the current gap between the malls as a new guest area. The zoo has done this type of re-use renovation/construction before in the big cat and monkey buildings where former exhibit space is now of-limits holding.
If I’m not mistaken, I believe that is what they are going to do. They are going to modify the center area but keep the outside building in tack. Updating where they need to but keeping as much to the exterior the same.
