Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo News 2024

Any idea if a male bongo is still in the plans
Viz the last bongo that arrived was fairly youngish. The male is the same age ... just will arrive from another. I suspect the move may already have happened... (or MWZ is awaiting untill the latest female is well integrated into their own herd.
 
visited the Milwaukee Zoo and a few things I noticed while I was there
  • the exhibit that once exhibited the gaboon viper now reexhibits the false water cobra whose exhibit was replaced with a copperhead
  • there are renovations underway for a new animal display in the circular tank that was between the grand Cayman blue iguana and the kelp forest tank that once exhibited moon jellyfish and cuttlefish exhibit that was displayed as a trash display, the early progress shows tree bark like things on the wall insisting that this exhibit could be used for a lizard or snake species
  • when I was in the small mammal house I did notice some keepers with "animal observation" green vests, I asked what was going on and they said that they had received a new golden lion tamarin female in hopes of being exhibited with their female goeldi's monkey female which I believe is the first time they are trying to put two different monkey species together
  • i do not know if it has been mentioned or not but just to reassure you, the two yaks that were exhibited in the former rhinoceros yards have returned to safari lake Geneva where they had originally come from in the first place
  • I did see Kendi and it looks like he is okay by himself and is recovering fine
 
  • when I was in the small mammal house I did notice some keepers with "animal observation" green vests, I asked what was going on and they said that they had received a new golden lion tamarin female in hopes of being exhibited with their female goeldi's monkey female which I believe is the first time they are trying to put two different monkey species together
I believe they have mixed Cotton top and Golden lion tamarin in the past but this is still the first time they mixed these two monkey species together :)
 
For a long time, the "Primates of the World" building had an mixed exhibit with several species of Tamarin and Marmoset as well as Cavy or Agouti (I don't remember which for sure).
 
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For a long time, the "Primates of the World" building had an mixed exhibit with several species of Tamarin and Marmoset as well as Cavy or Agouti (I don't remember which for sure).
I would love to hear more about this. Do you know what time period it was? My first visit was around 2001 and I want to say this exhibit was over by then but I also know I might not have memorized signed but unseen animals that young.
 
Definitely more recently than that, but it was probably gone by 2019. Sometimes multiple visits can blur together in the brain. It definitely had the feeling of being out of place. Almost like a large glass fronted, reptile or bird habitat. I'll see if i can dig up some pictures or something.
 
Definitely more recently than that, but it was probably gone by 2019. Sometimes multiple visits can blur together in the brain. It definitely had the feeling of being out of place. Almost like a large glass fronted, reptile or bird habitat. I'll see if i can dig up some pictures or something.
Was it possibly this exhibit?

I know it recently had a currosaw/monkey mix and has held Goeldi's monkeys and more recently Golden lion tamarin.
 
for a while now this exhibit where this image has been taken is said to be abandon because the last few times I have visited it always had the signs that said "animal not on exhibit"
 
Quite a bit of news from my visit yesterday! Apologies if some of this has been reported on already:

  • The Kenyan Crested Guineafowl are now fenced in to their own small portion of the forest yard, separate from the cranes and bongos.
  • The elk yard was notably empty.
  • The Reindeer yard has been split in two.
  • The agouti appears to be gone.
  • The former Golden Lion Tamarin and Callimico exhibits in the Small Mammals Building have been given over to the lemurs. These two species were almost nowhere to be seen, but one of each had been crammed in together in the old Meerkat exhibit.
  • Signage has been updated heavily throughout the AARC, including signage on the Lake Wisconsin, Kelp Forest and Flooded Forest tanks. Yay! Although the Lake Wisconsin signage is clearly imcomplete.
  • The "pollution tank" is drained with a "New Exhibit Coming Soon" sign.
  • The octopus tank was empty.
  • The Shallows appears to no longer have fish in it, but there were two unsigned prawns.
  • The Fly River Turtle is back in the Lake Tanganyika tank, the catfish appeared to be gone though.
  • Baja Blue Rock Lizard, Copperhead, and Eastern Indigo Snake have all been added to the AARC collection.
  • The Hellbender exhibit now contains a single hatchling Spider Tortoise.
  • Lots of changes around the aviary, as per usual. Some species lost, others gained. You can see my species list thread for more details on these, but I do want to highlight one in particular. White-throated Laughingthrush is now signed in the Rhinoceros Hornbill exhibit, alongside the hornbills. I did not see them, and it feels weird they would be in there because I would think the hornbills would kill them (especially as they prepare for nesting, as I noticed the pair exhibiting breeding behavior). BUT, if there truly is a White-throated Laughingthrush in there, then I believe Milwaukee is the only holder in North America.
 
Quite a bit of news from my visit yesterday! Apologies if some of this has been reported on already:

  • The Kenyan Crested Guineafowl are now fenced in to their own small portion of the forest yard, separate from the cranes and bongos.
  • The elk yard was notably empty.
  • The Reindeer yard has been split in two.
  • The agouti appears to be gone.
  • The former Golden Lion Tamarin and Callimico exhibits in the Small Mammals Building have been given over to the lemurs. These two species were almost nowhere to be seen, but one of each had been crammed in together in the old Meerkat exhibit.
  • Signage has been updated heavily throughout the AARC, including signage on the Lake Wisconsin, Kelp Forest and Flooded Forest tanks. Yay! Although the Lake Wisconsin signage is clearly imcomplete.
  • The "pollution tank" is drained with a "New Exhibit Coming Soon" sign.
  • The octopus tank was empty.
  • The Shallows appears to no longer have fish in it, but there were two unsigned prawns.
  • The Fly River Turtle is back in the Lake Tanganyika tank, the catfish appeared to be gone though.
  • Baja Blue Rock Lizard, Copperhead, and Eastern Indigo Snake have all been added to the AARC collection.
  • The Hellbender exhibit now contains a single hatchling Spider Tortoise.
  • Lots of changes around the aviary, as per usual. Some species lost, others gained. You can see my species list thread for more details on these, but I do want to highlight one in particular. White-throated Laughingthrush is now signed in the Rhinoceros Hornbill exhibit, alongside the hornbills. I did not see them, and it feels weird they would be in there because I would think the hornbills would kill them (especially as they prepare for nesting, as I noticed the pair exhibiting breeding behavior). BUT, if there truly is a White-throated Laughingthrush in there, then I believe Milwaukee is the only holder in North America.

Thanks for the updates! If I am not mistaken, the zoo mentioned they would not bring in a new male elk until the exhibit was renovated... maybe they are doing that right now? Perhaps they will keep them on the other half of the reindeer exhibit while they work on it?
 
The Kenyan Crested Guineafowl are now fenced in to their own small portion of the forest yard, separate from the cranes and bongos.
Pardon my ignorance - is there any specific reason they needed to be kept in/fenced from that yard in specific?

  • The elk yard was notably empty.
  • The Reindeer yard has been split in two.
Were the elk and reindeer still signed at their respective exhibits?

  • The agouti appears to be gone.
  • The former Golden Lion Tamarin and Callimico exhibits in the Small Mammals Building have been given over to the lemurs. These two species were almost nowhere to be seen, but one of each had been crammed in together in the old Meerkat exhibit.
Is the agouti signage gone? I suspected it had left as I made three visits last year with no sign of the animal. Sounds like lemurs are taking over SMH - they probably still have some callimico behind the scenes as they still had multiple last September. I think they've only had one GLT there for a bit.

  • Signage has been updated heavily throughout the AARC, including signage on the Lake Wisconsin, Kelp Forest and Flooded Forest tanks. Yay! Although the Lake Wisconsin signage is clearly imcomplete.
  • The "pollution tank" is drained with a "New Exhibit Coming Soon" sign.
  • The octopus tank was empty.
  • The Shallows appears to no longer have fish in it, but there were two unsigned prawns.
  • The Fly River Turtle is back in the Lake Tanganyika tank, the catfish appeared to be gone though.
  • Baja Blue Rock Lizard, Copperhead, and Eastern Indigo Snake have all been added to the AARC collection.
  • The Hellbender exhibit now contains a single hatchling Spider Tortoise.
Glad to hear they're doing work on the AARC and super glad the fly river turtle is doing well. I saw the animal in September after missing it on both summer visits and worrying it had passed so always a little more worried about that one.

  • Lots of changes around the aviary, as per usual. Some species lost, others gained. You can see my species list thread for more details on these, but I do want to highlight one in particular. White-throated Laughingthrush is now signed in the Rhinoceros Hornbill exhibit, alongside the hornbills. I did not see them, and it feels weird they would be in there because I would think the hornbills would kill them (especially as they prepare for nesting, as I noticed the pair exhibiting breeding behavior). BUT, if there truly is a White-throated Laughingthrush in there, then I believe Milwaukee is the only holder in North America.
The laughingthrush/hornbill combination could be interesting, though I share the same concern/suspicion as you, gives me a bird to watch out for!
 
Is the agouti signage gone? I suspected it had left as I made three visits last year with no sign of the animal. Sounds like lemurs are taking over SMH - they probably still have some callimico behind the scenes as they still had multiple last September. I think they've only had one GLT there for a bit.

I haven’t seen the agouti there in quite a long time, so I doubt it is there still.
 
Pardon my ignorance - is there any specific reason they needed to be kept in/fenced from that yard in specific?

Were the elk and reindeer still signed at their respective exhibits?

Is the agouti signage gone? I suspected it had left as I made three visits last year with no sign of the animal. Sounds like lemurs are taking over SMH - they probably still have some callimico behind the scenes as they still had multiple last September. I think they've only had one GLT there for a bit.


Glad to hear they're doing work on the AARC and super glad the fly river turtle is doing well. I saw the animal in September after missing it on both summer visits and worrying it had passed so always a little more worried about that one.


The laughingthrush/hornbill combination could be interesting, though I share the same concern/suspicion as you, gives me a bird to watch out for!
No idea as to the reason for the separation of the guineafowl.

Elk and Reindeer were both still signed, although the elk signage was covered with a piece of paper that said "exhibit empty".

No signage for the agouti, either.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I did see any sign of the Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle. Given their individual was the oldest on record for many years I think it's safe to assume it passed.
 
No signage for the agouti, either.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I did see any sign of the Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle. Given their individual was the oldest on record for many years I think it's safe to assume it passed.

If you are referring to the Agouti exhibit I mentioned earlier, it was definitely converted to other species years ago.

Are you referring to a Yellow-Spotted Amazon River Turtle Podocnemis unifilis or the Arrau Turtle / Giant Amazon River turtle Podocnemis expansa that has been in the 20,000 gallon Amazon aquarium forever.
 
If you are referring to the Agouti exhibit I mentioned earlier, it was definitely converted to other species years ago.

Are you referring to a Yellow-Spotted Amazon River Turtle Podocnemis unifilis or the Arrau Turtle / Giant Amazon River turtle Podocnemis expansa that has been in the 20,000 gallon Amazon aquarium forever.
That was an Arrau? I thought it was a Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtle. I don't think it was ever signed.

The agouti was kept alongside the sloths in the former otter exhibit in the Small Mammals Building.
 
From my recent visit this week, Kenyan Crested Guineafowl were running free with the bongos and the cranes. So the mystery continues on why the are separated at times…

Other things I noticed is the penguin exhibit is well underway in construction. They appear to moving quickly with this exhibit. Though I can’t say that for the other projects happening. The pathway creating a bypass from the hippo area to near the camel area hasn’t started though I thought it was suppose to be wrapping up at the end of the month but I could be wrong. The rhino renovation seems to be entering the gearing up phase. So maybe within the next week or two more extensive construction will begin.

While the rhino construction and the pathway construction is expected to begin around the same time, it looks like they are carving out a pathway for you to see the hippos. You will need to enter from the farm area near the Kohl’s wildlife theater.
 
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