California Sea Lions were the default option under the now-defunct previous master plan. I'd actually like to see them attempt a Pittsburgh-style mix of sea lions (for activity) with rehab elephant seals (for wow factor).I wouldn't be surprised if they got Harbor Seals. They're cute, so I wouldn't complain.
Oops sorry about that. I was reading through America’s best zoos 2008 and they mentioned tricolor squirrels. When I read tricolor immediately thought of the malabar giant squirrel, so I posted it. A quick google search later and I realized the tricolor squirrel is just another name for the prevots squirrel, my bad.
Leopard as in Sri-Lankan, Javan, Zoomix or anything else?
It was Amur I think
Don’t forget striped skunk, darian pika, prevots squirrel, greater slow loris, common water monitor and fishing cats on the nocturnal trail. I didn’t know so many rare animals lived on the nocturnal trail, leopard cats, palm civets, striped hyenas, Celebes crested macaques, false Gharial, and elephant trunk snake are all species I never knew they had. The Minnesota zoo used to have so many exotics but now the only ones I can think of are Eurasian wild boars, Hawaiian monk seals, transcaspian urial, dholes and fishers, some other animals are rarer in zoo like musk oxen, prezwalskis wild horse, and moose, as well as plenty of rare animals of exhibit. Losing the nocturnal trail was a big loss for the zoo and I’m glad there trying to reopen it. Thank you so much for the list @Gondwana I’ve been searching for the original species lineup for the Minnesota zoo for forever now. Could you give me the species list of the discovery trail, Minnesota trail, and northern trail. I’m pretty Sure I know the species I just wanted to double check.
Long tailed weasel! Northern Luzon giant cloud rat! Alberts squirrel! Jamaican fruit bat!? New Guinea singing dog! Tree shrew! Mudskipper! Pack rat! Southern flying squirrel! Why did the zoo decide to phase out so many rare species. Although it’s nice to know what they once held it makes me sad I never got to see all of these species
although to zoo is playing to renovate and reopen the nocturnal trail I hope they can get a lot of rarer species back to the zoo. We know the reason the northern trail was so incomplete was they where planing to have many phases making massive exhibits for wolves & caribou, a huge polar bear & grizzly bear exhibit, large exhibits for mountain goats, musk oxen, Dalls sheep, and even Saiga(which would have been the only ones it North America) and other exhibits for snow leopards & arctic foxes. Obviously they couldn’t secure the funding for that and made the exhibits we have today. Do you have info on the planed tropics trail expansion that would exclude Indian rhinos and orangutans. Also do you have the original species list for ocean trail
Why did the zoo decide to phase out so many rare species. Although it’s nice to know what they once held it makes me sad I never got to see all of these species
Making the old nocturnal trail into a fourth playground is just disgraceful. Turning an exhibit which once held banded palm civets, northern Luzon giant cloud rats, greater slow lorises, and leopard cats into another playground, the zoo seems to be having an identity crisis right now. They have no plans to add any new animal exhibits in the foreseeable future with the excuse the they want to focus on “nature it’s self” and is only making areas like the overly common ropes corse and a clamping area. Say what you want about The last Director but he knew how to get things done, while the current director hasn’t done anything major yet. And no one comes to the zoo to go on a ropes course. AND there building it in the former imax building, wich is perfect for a new exhibit and the zoo sits on around 500 acres so they have plenty of space to build it so why the imax? I would really like if they incorporated animals and attractions, as I think its a happy medium(like the 2012 master plan, but that plan was never feasible and much too ambitious, but the 2001 master plan was perfect and that would be a good model to go off of in the future). Remember, this is a zoo, not a theme park. I hope the zoo can Realize that they are a zoo again(although in a recent interview, they stated the nocturnal trail would become a flor to canopy exhibit featuring animals and not a playground).And I didn’t know they had plans to exhibit elephants. The climate here is definitely not suitable for elephants and/or rhinos. It would also take away from what makes it so special.
I personally think the Red Pandas and Transcaspian Urials should be moved outdoors and have their current exhibit used for something else.
Yes, the enclosure is entirely indoors. Last time I was at the zoo they had 2 urial, but that was a few years ago.
Yes, they have two female Urial, i also think they should be moved outside and replaced with some sort of primate(since the tropics trail seems to be more primate focused now a days), but as I stated before, The zoo doesn’t want to build any new animal exhibits(except for the American elk) and instead is renovating old ones, like the red panda and urial exhibit.
Because the zoo wants to focus on nature(and when I mean nature I mean attractions) and as I stated earlier, the zoo doesn’t know what it wants to be right now.