Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Monsoon Asia and other major renovations coming soon

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FSBlue

Well-Known Member
I visited the zoo yesterday, prompting my question in the Harpy Eagle thread, and saw another old buddy of mine who still works there. He showed me the new "Master plan" for the next 5-6 years and it was very impressive.

First is Monsoon Asia. The new Gardens and Komodo Dragon exhibit is the entrance to it. If you've been you'll see right behind it land is already cleared. Phase 1, which hopefully will open in April-May next year, will include Indochinese Tigers, a new exhibit for the Gibbons, and several smaller animal exhibits.

Phase 2 will be a reptile house and large aviary. It follow the same kind of set up as Range of the Jaguar, just switch generic Central American temple for generic Buddhist temple. "Name" animals here include King Cobras, Reticulated Pythons, Giant Hornbills, and the Philippine Eagle.

Phase 3 will be the largest, and is probably a more "Long term" project. It will include an expansion of the railroad and adding a restaurant and gift shop. Animals here will include Gharials, Indian Rhinos, Sun Bears, Orangutans, and others.

In addition, the African Boardwalk, Great Apes area, and Florida exhibits will be receiving major face lifts soon.

The old wooden planks on the sides are going to be replaced with plexiglass and a Hippo exhibit will be added in the African area.

The Great Apes area will effectively be demolished and rebuilt. Also, expect the new exhibit to have a more general focus on the Congo Rainforest as a whole.

The Florida area is going to see mostly minor changes. The Bears will probably be shipped out as the zoo wants to focus more of its energy on breeding efforts for the Florida Panther.

Overall, I think it'll be very impressive when all is said and done.
 
FSBlue said:
Phase 2 will be a reptile house and large aviary. It follow the same kind of set up as Range of the Jaguar, just switch generic Central American temple for generic Buddhist temple. "Name" animals here include King Cobras, Reticulated Pythons, Giant Hornbills, and the Philippine Eagle.
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My heart just skipped a bit to see the Philippine Eagle there. That would be very impressive. That is a very extensive project just for Asia. Do you know if there is a fund out there for this project? I will definitely keep an eye on this.
 
I think its highly doubtful they would be displaying Philippine eagles
 
yangz said:
My heart just skipped a bit to see the Philippine Eagle there. That would be very impressive. That is a very extensive project just for Asia. Do you know if there is a fund out there for this project? I will definitely keep an eye on this.
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The major fund for this is going to be kicked off in a few weeks at a Black tie dinner where the zoo brings in all the big wigs of the city. Phase 1 is being paid out of the general fund because the zoo wants to bring in Tigers ASAP. Phase 3 was originally going to be a Manatee Rehab Center along with showing off the aquatic life in the St.Johns River and Atlantic Ocean. However, that fell through when the State pulled the plug on expanding the current Manatee rehab program. It's a shame considering the closet one is SeaWorld.

As for the Philippine Eagle, my eyes rolled when my supervisor said we were going to get a Harpy Eagle for ROJ so I wouldn't be surprised.
 
FSBlue said:
As for the Philippine Eagle, my eyes rolled when my supervisor said we were going to get a Harpy Eagle for ROJ so I wouldn't be surprised.
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Understand that acquiring a Harpy Eagle is relatively easy for a zoo - it would be a lot harder to get a Philippine Eagle. I'm not sure exactly how many are captivity, if any, but it would be very difficult. For the record, ISIS doesn't show any.
 
ColumbusZoo001 said:
Understand that acquiring a Harpy Eagle is relatively easy for a zoo - it would be a lot harder to get a Philippine Eagle. I'm not sure exactly how many are captivity, if any, but it would be very difficult. For the record, ISIS doesn't show any.
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As far as I know, there is none in US zoos. But if you like to get close to one, there is the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao, Southern Philippine. I think it is one of the tourist destination there. I would love to lay my eyes on one of those magificent creatures, but not enough resources to get there yet.
 
I'm thrilled to learn that there are plans to demolish and then rebuild the "great apes" section of the zoo, as I think that area is extremely poorly designed. I visited the Jacksonville Zoo in December and loved the South American and African areas, with the Wild Florida zone being so-so and the Great Apes area terrible in comparison to many other primate exhibits in North America. Monsoon Asia might take quite a few years to be completed, but if the zoo constructs an Asian area piece by piece then perhaps the habitats can be fully realized and immune from potential budget cutbacks. The Aussie section could use a renovation at the same time, and that would complete what is an above average zoo.
 
snowleopard said:
I'm thrilled to learn that there are plans to demolish and then rebuild the "great apes" section of the zoo, as I think that area is extremely poorly designed. I visited the Jacksonville Zoo in December and loved the South American and African areas, with the Wild Florida zone being so-so and the Great Apes area terrible in comparison to many other primate exhibits in North America. Monsoon Asia might take quite a few years to be completed, but if the zoo constructs an Asian area piece by piece then perhaps the habitats can be fully realized and immune from potential budget cutbacks. The Aussie section could use a renovation at the same time, and that would complete what is an above average zoo.
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Yeah, I worked there from 2000-2006 and the two directors during that time couldn't have been more different. The African area minus the Giraffe exhibit, the Great Apes, Australia, and the Florida area were built during the first. To be kind, he was cheap. The original Great Apes designs were much more ambitious.

To be fair on the Australia exhibit, it was originally supposed to be a temporary area but at the last minute San Diego elected to extend the lease on the Koalas from 6 months to 5 years. Now that they're gone, I agree the area needs to get a makeover.

The phases of the Asian exhibit came from the royal POA that building Range of the Jaguar was. From the demolition of the old exhibits to the Grand opening, it took 3 years and $35 million. Even then, it suffered from cutbacks. Ocelots and an underwater viewing of the aviary pond are two things that come to mind.
 
FSBlue said:
Yeah, I worked there from 2000-2006 and the two directors during that time couldn't have been more different. The African area minus the Giraffe exhibit, the Great Apes, Australia, and the Florida area were built during the first. To be kind, he was cheap. The original Great Apes designs were much more ambitious.
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And so what do we expect now that Director #2 has gone to Omaha???
The new Director could be anyone?
 
I talked to someone at the zoo yesterday about the new Asia section and she said the next part being done is tigers/sunbears/small mammals and reptiles and it could be complete as soon as a year from now. The zoo is anxious to exhibit tigers again because they believe it will draw in more people. I saw a large section of land near the komodos being developed as well. She also said that they were most likely getting true gharials and indian rhinos in the future. She didn't know anything about the sea eagles and that they were having trouble with getting orangs. Does anyone have a masterplan map of the new Asia section?
 
The goal is for a Spring/Summer 2010 release for Phase I, but it's looking more and more like 2011. Who knows, perhaps they will just break it up further and just build the Tiger exhibit next. That might be the best way as it would get more people in the gates and get better revenue to build the rest of the area.
 
Revenue is not really a problem for the Jax Zoo...they are doing better this year than even last year, and 2008 was a great year for the zoo. But I know that their next big project (not Asia) will probably happen before the end of the year.
 
okapikpr said:
Revenue is not really a problem for the Jax Zoo...they are doing better this year than even last year, and 2008 was a great year for the zoo. But I know that their next big project (not Asia) will probably happen before the end of the year.
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Is that the African Plains revamp?
 
Visited the zoo today:
-The Eastern Colobus Monkeys should be on exhibit with the lone male lowland gorilla by the end of July.
-The zoo plans to transfer out 2.0 Greater Kudu, move the female kudu to the White rhino yard and obtain a new breeding male.
-Budgerigars have been added to the Loorikeet Aviary
 
Does anybody know the chances of Jacksonville would have of obtaining pandas for Monsoon Asia? I know the Kamodo Dragon is the main attraction but pandas would be awsome. I relize China has specifications that would have to be met.
 
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