Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo News 2023

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I’m surprised that we got a new male giraffe so quickly though. We have three lions that we received during lockdown and still no male lion yet.
 
MKE Zoo guy said:
I’m surprised that we got a new male giraffe so quickly though. We have three lions that we received during lockdown and still no male lion yet.
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I wonder if it has to do with space. If there were no facilities ready to make in the cubs once they are mature (as with Henry Vilas Zoo's situation), I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have enough room to house them all separately. That is my best guess.

From what I can gather, the program is waiting for Milwaukee to mention that they are ready to receive a male. They may be waiting for the hyenas to pass away?
 
Perhaps new management wants to change the collection so that different species do not need to rotate on exhibit? Making new enclosures for hoofstock species was mentioned in the recent interview, so maybe they'd like to expand the enclosure or build a new one before they acquire more zebras?
 
MKE Zoo guy said:
If anyone is interested in reading the old 2013 master plan for the zoo, they posted links to where you can read it in full. They don’t have the new one finished yet, but hope to complete it in 2024.

https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.co...007&GUID=FE2E32F1-4D84-4629-AB7C-91388D576F1B
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I remember when this plan was first made available many years ago. Time really does fly...

In hindsight, I'm glad only a little of this master plan came to fruition - just the west entrance, otters, hippos and a scaled-back elephant complex. It's strange really; while reading through the plan again it seems the zoo acknowledges a lot of their core problems, yet the plan itself didn't really do a whole lot to fix them. The layout would still be awkward, there would still be large gaps between many exhibit areas, the forest property still wouldn't be utilized, and leaving most of the big cat and ape enclosures unchanged is puzzling. That isn't to say there weren't some neat ideas here: Wild Woods and Escape to the Islands could've been excellent. As has been said in the past however, it all felt like more of a fresh coat of paint rather than a complete overhaul. For a zoo as visually dated as Milwaukee, the latter is absolutely necessary for it to reach its full potential.

Very much looking forward to seeing what comes in the future. New management has already demonstrated greater ambition than before and after a few quiet years it looks like the zoo is starting to gain some momentum again. Fingers crossed the new master plan will deliver.
 
Personally, I would prefer they keep development in the forest to a minimum, given habitat that high quality in Milwaukee County is getting quite rare, there's a lot of wildlife that depends on the zoo property, too.

There's a heavily declining state Threatened bid species (Acadian Flycatcher) that's known to nest on the zoo grounds. This species may actually be the reason they haven't developed the wooded parts of the property already - they don't want to disturb a species that isn't doing well in the wild.
 
I was never a huge fan of the older master plan, to be honest. Islands is a pretty awesome concept and I hope it comes back, but the various North America areas while individually charming felt very jumbled and unfocused as part of a final product by dividing the animals over a larger area w and it was clear Milwaukee continuing polar bears was not feasible at all. The Jungle felt like it was pencilied in as a placeholder for when they got around to it.

I'd love to see Islands back, I'd love to see wolf and moose return in a future North America renovation, sea otters would be neat, and we definitely need some Australia representation back, but I think completing Adventure Africa and renovating Small Mammals are already really rewarding projects. I would honestly suggest they renovate primates after that's done with, as it is much more glaring and antiquated than the reptile and aquatics building, which could use work but isn't as noticeably out of date to the average guest.

There's also the bear dens, which really need to go, of course, but the elk and reindeer exhibits are solid. Adding new bear and wolf habitats, and if possible moose, to the North America area would be a winner.

As much as the Africa/Asia/Big Cats/South America section could use improvement, it will be colossally expensive to interact with the inner big cat sections, construction will threaten the core of the collection, and the changes to Adventure Africa have just happened, so I would recommend they take a break from that area and come back later on. I think they should consider finding space for the remaining Asia or South America animals elsewhere in the facility so they can narrow the focus of renovations.
 
Other 2023 News:

On April 18th, the zoo announced that a (0.0.1) Jersey cow named Brandy was born on October 17th, 2022 and is on exhibit. The zoo also announced that a (0.0.1) Brown Swiss cow named Bailey and a (0.0.1) Holstein cow named Harper were born on January 17th and March 10th respectively which are on exhibit.

Say Hello to the Zoo’s New Calves - Milwaukee County Zoo

On June 2nd, the zoo announced that their (0.1) Arabian horse named Gypsy passed away on May 18th at ~30 years old due to an acute episode of colic.

Arabian Horse, Gypsy, Euthanized - Milwaukee County Zoo

On August 8th, the zoo announced that they acquired a (1.0) Norwegian Fjord horse named Nelson from a private farm in mid-July, and is now on exhibit.

Welcome Nelson | Meet Nelson! We already adore this handsome Norwegian Fjord horse, his mane & dorsal stripe, and that he's a breed of the Vikings! Learn more:... | By Milwaukee County Zoo | Facebook
A Norwegian Fjord Horse Joins the Family Farm - Milwaukee County Zoo

On October 25th, the zoo announced that a (0.1) Holstein cow named Martini was born on September 19th and is now on exhibit.

Our New Calf is One-Month-Old and Mooooving About! - Milwaukee County Zoo

On March 6th, the zoo announced that they acquired (0.0.10) Amazon milk frogs from the Colombus Zoo & Aquarium in Ohio which are on exhibit in the Aquatic & Reptile Center.

I Spy … Amazon Milk Frogs - Milwaukee County Zoo

Zoofan15 said:
A Gentoo penguin hatched December 17:

https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/baby-gentoo-penguin-hatches-at-the-milwaukee-county-zoo
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On March 10th, the zoo announced the penguin's gender (0.1) and name, Pepper.

Spot the Gentoo Penguin Chick - Milwaukee County Zoo

savetherhino said:
New Victoria Crowned Pigeon Chick
New Victoria Crowned Pigeon Chick | NEW! We have a Victoria crowned pigeon chick! The animal care team is human-assisted rearing it after there was difficulty with the egg hatching. The... | By Milwaukee County Zoo | Facebook
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On May 9th, the zoo announced that the pigeon was sexed as (1.0).

A Sneak Peek of Our Newest Chick - Milwaukee County Zoo

On June 29th, the zoo announced that a (0.0.1) northern spider tortoise hatched between April 10th and April 12th. This is the first time the facility has successfully bred the species.

Rare Northern Spider Tortoise Hatches - Milwaukee County Zoo

On July 26th, the zoo announced that a (1.0) Egyptian plover hatched on March 26th which is now on display in the Kopje exhibit of the Mahler Family Aviary.

Zoo Raises Elusive Crocodile Bird - Milwaukee County Zoo

On September 1st, the zoo announced that a (1.0) prehensile-tailed porcupine named Guillermo was born on July 30th which is on exhibit.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=329231079566564

On December 15th, it was reported that the zoo proposed a reconfiguration of the admission kiosks, moving them closer to the actual zoo entrance to avoid traffic jams. The proposal was voted unanimously in favor by the Committee of Finance and will go to the full city council board on December 21st.

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2023/12/15/mke-county-supervisors-support-new-zoo-entrance/
 
This is a lesser thing than zoochat's usual but I definitely think moving admission closer would be smart. I was surprised on my last solo visit, where I went by on foot, how much more awkward it actually is. Definitely a traffic jam waiting to happen.
 
JVM said:
This is a lesser thing than zoochat's usual but I definitely think moving admission closer would be smart. I was surprised on my last solo visit, where I went by on foot, how much more awkward it actually is. Definitely a traffic jam waiting to happen.
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And has happened! There have been multiple occasions on busy zoo event days where traffic is stopped all the way to the freeway. This would be a smart move.
 
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