I had a lovely visit to Milwaukee on Sunday July 9th, my first in nine years. I'm tempted to write a review - so much is the same and yet so different!
I'm going to start with some stuff that may or may not be more news based on what I've seen discussed in the thread:
- Leopard shark have left the Pacific tank at the Aquatic and Reptile building. This has very probably been previously reported, but it surprised me.
- I can affirm that I did not seen any Aracari or Mandarin Duck in the aviary. I did see the chevrotain, which were adorable!
- There is indeed a grizzly bear in the former polar bear exhibit, and it appears the animal has been slightly integrated into the 3PM seal demonstration; a fish was thrown to the bear, who seemed to sit in expectation of the treat.
- There is no longer prehensile-tailed procupine in the Small Mammal House day room; they are still signed in the nocturnal house but appeared to be off-exhibit while I was there.
- I did not see the fly river turtle.
- There was a golden lion tamarin/cotton top tamarin mixed exhibit in the Small Mammal House, in addition to the golden lion tamarin still held in Primates of the World.
- I believe I did see the swans briefly.
- The Pheasantry currently has Kenyan guineafowl in one exhibit and whooping crane in the other. How long have the pheasants been gone?
- Hippo Haven was empty, and to my surprise, I subsequently saw one of the zoo's common hippopotamus inside one of the old Pachyderm dayrooms!
- Maji Maji was outdoors in the gorilla yard, as were some of the zoo's bonobos using their outdoor... thing. Multiple visitors expressed surprise and claimed the apes were rarely outside. There was also at least one gorilla indoors and at least two bonobos. Alex the orangutan was also outside, while Tommy remained indoors.
- I had the pleasure to see Oscar the badger as well! Several guests were surprised to see him and remarking how he, too, is never out. He ran around the exhibit a few times. A photographer stopped to capture him as well.
- The agouti is still signed but was not visible in Small Mammal House. Also more of a fun note, but several guests expressed confusion why the sloth had such a large exhibit when they're so inactive.
- The Dall Sheep exhibit is still there, just boarded up. This has also been previously reported, but I'd overlooked it and was surprised.
- A small outdoor exhibit near the Jaguar is boarded up. I have no idea what used to live in that habitat. I know it's been mentioned there was a viewing window there but this looked like a separate cage?
Some more observations of the day:
- I did not see waterbuck, greater kudu, thomson's gazelle, southern ground hornbill, or baird's tapir; I was especially disappointed to miss the three African hoofstock. They're fairly common species but I'd still like to see them! The vulture, pelicans, crane and zebra were still outdoors, as were alpaca and rhea. In terms of hoofstock, Do these animals head in early or anything? I was able to see Impala in the distance at least at their exhibit.
- I also missed lion, serval, red river hog, goeldi's monkey/callimico, prehensile-tailed porcupine, and armadillo. I can handle missing the lion, porcupine and hog which I see regularly in Chicago... but I love armadillos!
I would have liked to see the callimico better as well.
- Some of the above cases may be due to me reaching the area around 4PM?
- It was wonderful to see Spotted Hyena and Cheetah again! The hyenas were indoors and active, while the Cheetah was relaxing but nonetheless seemed in high spirit. I also saw an active tiger for what felt like the first time in forever - the kids ate it up!
- Alex the orangutan had a book or magazine in her habitat, I wonder what she was trying to read?
- The Asiatic black bear exhibit is still empty, huh?
- Do the yak, tapir or any other animals have access to the former east pachyderm stalls? It's clear the west remain in some use by the hippopotamus and oryx.
- There is still wild turkey on the zoo grounds, or a domestic free-roaming turkey!
New Exhibit Impressions...
- Otter Passage is fantastic. This is the best North American river otter exhibit I have personally seen (not a high bar, per se, but still) with plenty of room to watch the animals in the water or on land, sufficiently lush, with multiple viewing spaces. It will make a great first impression for someone!
- The west entrance amenities complement Otter Passage well enough, although on a hot day it was disappointing there was only one on line for ice cream.
- Hippo Haven looked great, although it felt hard to appreciate fully without the animals being there. The signage was informative - glad we're making bloat more of a thing - and I liked the little area discussing the water filter. There is PLENTY of viewing room for the underwater areas which are very impressive in person, plus some viewing to see the land area for the hippos as well. I can see this being a very popular exhibit.
- Wow, wow, WOW!! The elephant exhibit at Adventure Africa was impressive. This is my second modern elephant complex (I'm sure there are better, but I've not visited yet) and the sense of scale was very apparent. Ruth, Brittany and Belle. The indoor accommodations had tremendous scale and there was ample signage, and it was fun seeing them use the enrichment wall. The keepers had plenty of interesting information about the three individuals and they were active enough to move around the yard a lot. It's a huge improvement on what they had before.
- The impala/ostrich yard is not as attractive as it could be. It was a little too barren in my opinion and the fencing too obtrusive.
- The Bongo/crane exhibit was also very effective, although I do wish it hadn't forced me to backtrack, it drew a lot of fresh attention to the beautiful antelope and felt forested with few trees without making the animals hard to see.
General observations on Milwaukee County Zoo:
- I love the signage at this zoo. It's a little overwhelming at points but I appreciate it especially in the small, indoor exhibits; they really help these animals stand out and convey a little more personality than a name and distribution chart. 'Meet the Flockers' was popular when I sent it to some people. The best example as Aquatic and Reptile Center, which had a ton of signage compared to the reptile exibits at Lincoln Park.
- Related and unrelated to the above, I really appreciate how open the keepers are about the animals' names and individual stories. I do feel the Chicago zoos lean more on species information but I think building the relationship between the guests and local animals is very positive.
- The aviary is still a massive highlight and my favorite bird house I've yet visited, although in a week I think it will be very challenged.
- I paid much more attention to the wooded feeling of the zoo and you know what? I love it. I still think they can afford to develop into some of that land but I hope they never lose that 'in the woods' feeling. It adds so much to the atmosphere.
- The debrazza/former mandrill exhibit and golden lion tamarin exhibit start off Primates of the World so impressively, coming off Apes of Africa which put some solid effort into theming relative to its time, and then you reach the spider monkey exhibit and everything becomes barren and sterile. It's a little more jarring coming off those first few exhibits.
- The caribou and elk exhibits are still fantastic. It's jarring jumping between those two excellent habitats and the concrete grottos.
- The new exhibits - Adventure Africa, Otter Passage, Hippo Haven - all turned out rather impressive while still feeling true to the spirit and style of Milwaukee County Zoo, and Macaque Island stood out better on this front as well. I really think this zoo has the potential for a lot more positive growth.
- I want to see Oceans of Fun next time!
- The zoo does desperately need more canids though, as well as psittacines and maybe an on-display eagle or owl? We obviously need Australia back as well, and hopefully moose...
Overall, I think Milwaukee County Zoo is an underrated facility. There are some good and even excellent habitats hidden around the deservedly infamous ones and a surprisingly strong collection despite significant losses.
