My Speculative Plan for Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo

Brayden Delashmutt

Brayden Delashmutt

Well-Known Member
As someone who has grown up with Omaha Zoo, I've always been fascinated by the zoo and the future of it. While it's fantastic as is, for a very long while I've been coming up with my own hypothetical plans for what could and should be improved. I will be drawing a lot of inspiration from plans that were scrapped in the old masterplan, as there were many good ideas that just were not implemented. I won't be covering the indoor exhibits in this post (more to come) however I will be covering all of the current outdoor exhibits and those I'd like to see be created. While I try to go with the most practical ideas, a lot of this is based on personal preference, so it is not designed to be 100% realistic. My goal is not to remove any species, so the collection is not damaged. I would love input, so feel free to tell me if anything here is TOO impractical. Without further ado, let's begin!


  • Each new species added will be marked in bold

Children's Adventure Trails


While I never was very familiar with this area of the zoo since it doesn't have much to see there, I do think that it'd be nice to see a few renovations to include some more exotic species.


  • Move the African Penguins currently bts here. North American River Otters like mentioned in the previous master plan wouldn't be a bad idea at all either.

  • While I do see the importance in children's zoos, I could see a bit of this being chipped away to make room for more interesting projects, such as those I'll be covering later on. I'd like to see a few more smaller species (invertebrates and reptiles) added here also

Simmons Aviary


  • Tbh, I prefer the old aviary's more open feel. Given the chance, I'd move the flamingos and pelicans elsewhere in the zoo

Scott African Grasslands


  • Move the animals from the Kopje into a new area in the dome. I love the theming, but since the majority of them will be off display for a large portion of the year due to the climate, I feel as if it'd be preferable to keep them in the dome

  • While it's still a great exhibit, they didn't really go as hard with immersion here as they did elsewhere in the zoo. I'd love to see much more native plant life and a more African themed setting here, instead of a large concrete walkway for viewing into the superb hoofstock paddocks.

  • Make the viewing area for the white rhinos a bit better, they exhibit is always at an awkward angle compared to the viewing areas

  • Turn the lagoon into a larger Zambezi themed area, whose waters extend into the elephant and giraffe areas

  • Add hippopotamus, pink backed pelicans, and nile crocodiles here

  • Replace the geoffrey's spider monkeys (they can be moved elsewhere in the zoo) with something more geographically accurate, like Vervet Monkeys

  • Move the bongos into a new area (I'll get to that later, trust me) and make the area part of the hippo facility.

  • Bring in more Sable Antelope, as the herd seems to be dying out

  • Add Painted Dogs near the sable antelope and African Lions

Hubbard Expedition Madagascar


  • While it is an indoor exhibit at the moment, it's already becoming a bit outdated and it'd be nice to see it get a revamp. Maybe something could be done here like San Diego's Madagascar area, with the nocturnal species being moved to KON. Add in a few new species as well.

Asian Highlands


  • While they definitely did a lot better, in the same vane as the African Grasslands I'd like to see a lot more inspiration not just from the culture in the area but the native ecosystems

  • While I don't think this is a realistic possibility atm, I think that given the chance Omaha COULD have a chance at Giant Pandas. Maybe not a very high chance, but a chance indeed. If this is the case, I would do the following:

  • The exhibit would be divided into two Asian themed exhibits, the Asian Plains (featuring the tigers, indian rhinoceros, gaur (I really don't get why we phased them out, we had a great herd), muntjac, indian crested porcupine, sloth bear, and axis deer) and the Asian Highlands (featuring giant pandas, red pandas, white naped cranes, tufted deer, goral, sichuan takin, markor, and snow leopards)

  • Move bactrian camels and pere david's deer into an exhibit nearby, not necessarily in either section. Add a male pere davids deer for potential breeding success

  • The theming is relatively self explanatory, with the plains being themed around India and the Highlands being themed around China.

  • In the Plains, use lots of theming and naturalistic foliage, as well as a tiger camp area themed around native architecture

  • In the Highlands, add lots of bamboo and make the center attraction a Chinese themed building with giant pandas and several smaller species

  • Oh, and bring the indian peafowl back.

  • The main plaza around the entrances to Asia, the gorillas, etc can be split up a bit to allow for more exhibit room

Old Cat Complex/Gorilla Valley


  • Interestingly, this exhibit was planned but never opened. The idea was to add an outdoor trail to the gorilla area, and showcase the fauna of the Congo.

  • Connect the trail to the gorillas, and move the second entrance to the building to be in this area. The other entrance area will be of use later in the masterplan.

  • Species featured on the trail will include okapi, mandrill, red river hog, gorillas, and, possibly, chimpanzees

  • I'm honestly not sure how the zoo would work chimps into the plan, but I think that the current area for the duikers and african birds could be reworked to be at least one of their yards (move the previous inhabitants into other exhibits in the zoo, mainly along the trail)

  • Rename the gorilla valley building to Apes of the African Forest, and give the chimps at least one of the current gorilla yards also (if they were even to be integrated into the exhibit)

Hubbard Orangutan Forest


  • I'd love to see more Southeast Asian theming here, since it's such an interesting ecosystem. Rename it to Southeast Asia, as to not solely focus on the orangs.

  • Turn the current entrance area to both ape facilities into one exclusively for Southeast Asia

  • While I'm not sure if it would work, I would like to see sun bears and babirusa here. Add on some smaller species as well.

  • While this is probably the most outrageous idea here, if proboscis monkeys ever return to the US they would be amazing here

  • Tear down the majority of glacier bay landing to make more room for exhibits. It's not really all that necessary, imo

Canadian Arctic


  • Located near glacier bay landing, this exhibit would cover the fauna of Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. The zoo is severely lacking in North American fauna, and I feel as if the land here would be perfect for it. This would encompass a large area of area from glacier bay that was torn down, the previous gaur yards and the area behind glacier bay.

  • The exhibit would feature brown bears, arctic wolves (yes, canis lupus is already at the safari park, but we do lack large canids and they are a practically essential species for a northern exhibit), moose OR caribou (honestly, I do not think moose would be practical here, if not caribou would work), bald eagles, wolverines, and common ravens

  • The exhibit would begin in a more forested area, with the first bear exhibit, the wolverines, ravens, wolves, and the cervid species of choice

  • Then, the exhibit would shift to a coastal setting themed mostly around the coasts and islands such as Kenai and Katmai. The Bald Eagles could be kept here, alongside a second, coastal themed exhibit for the bears. Maybe some smaller species could be added around here as well, but I'm not really sure which.

  • Part of the previous gaur yards could be used to finally bring Polar Bears back, something that's practically inevitable for the zoo. I'd theme the exhibit around the sea ice, with the bears being visible from a large, Arctic themed building.

Andean Mountains


  • If there is a decent amount of land left after this near the Children's Zoo, I'd move on to complete the second forgotten exhibit complex from the 2010s masterplan

  • This area, themed around the Andes, would feature maned wolves, pumas, andean condors, wooly monkeys, llamas, spectacled bears, giant anteaters, and several more birds and reptiles from the area.

  • The area would look similar to the one envisioned by the old masterplan, starting with an andean themed camp and them gradually going on to show the aforementioned species. While it would be a well established exhibit, it wouldn't need to be as expensive and large as the previous complexes

  • The entrance would be accessible near the current Children's Zoo and North Entrance

Australia


  • With the okapis being moved to the new Equatorial Africa exhibit, I'd like to turn their old area into a unique Australian themed exhibit. Species featured here COULD include eastern gray kangaroos, tammar wallabies, short beaked echidnas, koalas, emus, greater bilbies, and tasmanian devils

  • In addition to this, add a new Jaguar exhibit in the proximity of the Lied Jungle. I thought about doing what the old masterplan said and moving them to the Andean Mountains, but they don't really fit there and would be much more at home near the Lied.

  • Komodo dragons would be neat here too, it'd be nice to see an area for them and galapagos giant tortoises near WKP

Owen’s Sea Lion Shores


  • The exhibit is phenomenal as is, however I'd remodel a bit of it to make it coherent with the nearby Canadian Arctic. Make it more similar to the original ideas, with out the path going to the gorillas (just make it a loop, it's an abrupt change of theme that ruins the immersion)

So, while I'm sure a lot of this may not be probable or even possible, I'd love to hear some input in order to make it more reasonable and realistic. I'll be covering the indoor exhibits in another post coming up if this is well received.

Also, thanks very much to @MGolka for helping out with the plan
 
Ok so I don't wanna give any major feedback yet but IMO, the best thing to do is to get Google Earth pro on your desktop and, using the time travel feature, set the overhead view to a time of year when most of the trees are dead

This is what I did for my Bronx master plan and it lets you see everything. This would help you to get far more specific in the planning of your zoo as, one of the big flaws of this plan is that the placement is kind of vague.

Overall though, you show great ambition
 
tigris115 said:
Ok so I don't wanna give any major feedback yet but IMO, the best thing to do is to get Google Earth pro on your desktop and, using the time travel feature, set the overhead view to a time of year when most of the trees are dead

This is what I did for my Bronx master plan and it lets you see everything. This would help you to get far more specific in the planning of your zoo as, one of the big flaws of this plan is that the placement is kind of vague.

Overall though, you show great ambition
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, it's intentionally vague because I'm not sure exactly how much space there really is. I didn't really try to make it SUPER realistic, but just to show a few ideas that I had. Tysm for the google earth trick tho, I'll do that when I do more revolving around this project
 
Any thoughts? This is my current plan (yes, the original plan I posted has been changed)
 

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Alright, I’ve made a few revisions to the original roster/ideas in order to make it as specific as possible. The post will generally be the same, however, in more detail and with a few revisions since I can no longer edit the original post and have come up with new ideas. I will not cover the indoor exhibits at great length, but I will try to add a bit more here before I make a full post about them. The majority of exhibit plans here will fill in gaps unfulfilled by the previous 2010s master plan, and all of the species included in it will end up being worked into this somehow. Also, keep in mind that the majority of exhibits I’ll cover here COULD receive revamps to the design, but I likely won’t cover as well as it’s not really relevant. The zoo is phenomenal as is, but it obviously could use some improvements, so I figured this thread would be helpful as far as showing what could be done at the zoo to make it even better. So, without further ado, let's begin!


Part 1: Outdoor Exhibits


New species listed in BOLD


  • First off, add Chilean and American Flamingos near the entrance (also, while I said I wouldn’t cover design choices too much, I would like to see both entrances get a remodel) by the gift shop and theater. Tbh, the aviary is better off as one whole exhibit, and keeping the flamingos in their own area in there isn’t wholly necessary. Plus, while I get that there needs to be something to pull people further into the zoo, I feel like the entrance is relatively devoid of animals compared to those of other large zoos.

  • In addition, I’d move in Aldabra Tortoises and Komodo Dragons by the WKP.

Species featured:


  • Komodo Dragon
  • Galapagos Giant Tortoise

  • Chilean Flamingo, American Flamingo

New Species: 3


Andean Foothills


  • As I'll discuss later, my plan would involve moving the okapis to the old cat complex area and moving the giraffe barns across the path-but that's not important at the moment. In their absence, that clears up a decent sized area of land for new development. I would deem this area the andean foothills, inspired by the 2010 masterplan's incomplete project.

  • The exhibit would begin somewhere near the entrance to the African Grasslands, and would begin with a small andean village and nearby habitats for andean bears, condors, pumas, and llamas. Here I'd feature a large, Incan themed building with a restaurant and several terrariums inside. The puma and condor exhibits would be high and netted, with netting similar to the African Aviaries at San Diego. I simply love the style

  • Moving on, the exhibit would feature two species from the Cerrado, the maned wolf and giant anteater. These would gradually lead into the Amazon, and would feature lots of educational material on the destruction of the Amazon. The only species held here would be the Jaguar, as this would lead to a second entrance to the Lied Jungle that started in the Amazon section.

Species Featured:


  • Llama
  • Maned Wolf
  • Jaguar
  • Spectacled Bear
  • Puma
  • Giant Anteater
  • Andean Condor
  • Horned Toad
  • Argentine Black and White Tegu
  • Green Anaconda
  • Tufted Capuchin

New Species: 11


Scott African Grasslands


  • While the African Grasslands is great as is, IMO it pales in comparison to the immersion of other exhibits in the zoo. I'd definitely rearrange and redo some of the exhibits and pathways in order to maintain immersion, instead of having the majority of the pathway just being a large, mediocre road with the exceptional exhibits on the side. The area would resemble the 2010 masterplan's vision for the African Grasslands more than the current one.

  • While I do love the kopje, the majority of animals aren't even visible for most of the year due to the weather so I'd definitely phase them out or move them elsewhere in the zoo.

  • Somewhere near where the current first Giraffe viewing area is, I'd move the giraffe barn. Honestly idk why they decided to put it across the path, but it'd work much better there. In addition, this would free up land for the Andean Foothills.

  • Inside, I'd add many of the kopje species and feature several other small African species to highlight not only Africa's megafauna, but the other, smaller, and equally fascinating creatures that call the plains home.

  • The whole area would focus much more on immersion, so I would like to see the exterior of the buildings resemble African architecture, unlike the current drab gray

  • Replace the Impala with slender horned gazelle, as we currently have no gazelle species in the zoo

  • Move the rhinos into the area currently occupied by cheetahs, and move the cheetahs into a predator-prey illusion by the current mixed species Savannah. They'd get their own viewing area

  • Expand the current lagoon area into the event lawn and turn it into a flowing, Zambezi River themed area that flows into the elephant yards.

  • In the old pink backed pelican area, bring in Nile Crocodiles.

  • While I'd still keep bongos in the zoo's collection, they don't really fit in the African Grasslands, so I'd turn their current exhibit into a hippo yard.

  • Add African Wild Dogs by the current sable antelope area. Maybe even allow them to rotate yards with the lions occasionally

  • Add a few more primate islands on, to serve as an area for different troops of species already held at the zoo. This can be random, but the species don't necessarily have to be native to the African Grasslands.

  • Add a few more statues of Pleistocene Megafauna by Garden of the Senses, including Smilodon, Panthera Atrox, Arctodus, American Bison, Aenocyon, and Pronghorn

Species Featured


  • Reticulated Giraffe, Common Ostrich, Slender Horned Gazelle, Lesser Kudu

  • Red Billed Oxpecker (in giraffe house)

  • African Spurred Tortoise (in giraffe house)

  • African Elephant, Grant's Zebra

  • Nile Crocodile
  • Hippopotamus

  • Cheetah

  • African Lion

  • Pink Backed Pelican

  • African Wild Dog

  • Sable Antelope

  • Primate Island Species (completely random) Black Spider Monkey, Ring Tailed Lemur, Common Squirrel Monkey, Black and White Ruffed Lemur

New Species: 4


Asian Highlands (Indoor Species Not Listed)


  • While they did a whole lot better than they did with Africa as far as immersion goes, I'd still like to see a bit more natural scenery instead of simply cultural themed objects. I'd also rearrange the exhibits and pathing a little, as well as make room for new exhibits

  • If possible, I'd turn the current Sloth Bear exhibit into an area for Giant Pandas. While I don't think we could get them due to the current status of pandas in the USA, being that Omaha is one of the USA's best zoos I think we could have a chance in the future. If so, I'd add on a Chinese themed Panda House with several other additional species inside.

  • Give the snow leopards netting like those used for the pumas, instead of the netting that currently can be quite inconvenient for photography.

  • The entry exhibits are rather boring architecturally, I'd like to see more done with them and the species there.

  • Bring back red pandas, and move them into the Panda House.

  • Add camels in the unused area, and, if there wasn't any room left for a new Sloth Bear area, add on sun bears.

  • To add on to the rarities, mix/replace the current Sichuan takin with Golden Takin to be more geographically accurate to the landscape

  • Bring back gaur, and add them to the Indian Rhinoceros exhibit. There currently really isn't any incentive to ride the train (at least for zoo enthusiasts) as it only shows species that can be viewed from along the path. Maybe don't add a large breeding herd like we once had, but gaur are too important to the zoo to be excluded.

  • In my revised plan, the exhibit would begin along a bamboo/deciduous forest trail, with the cranes, tufted deer, and pandas being the first creatures seen. The tigers and deer would appear next, followed by Snow Leopards, Camels and Takins. It would eventually end with the sun bears. The trail wouldn't loop around back again, instead I'd have it lead to the future Alaskan area.

Species Featured:


  • Golden Takin

  • Snow Leopard
  • Giant Panda

  • Tufted Deer

  • Red Panda

  • Bactrian Camel
  • Siberian Tiger

  • Gaur, Indian Rhinoceros

  • Sun Bear

  • White Naped Crane

  • Tokay Gecko (in panda house)
New Species: 7


  • Bring back the Indian Peafowl.

  • The current plaza around the Asian Highlands, stingrays, and more is really just an amalgamation of totally different exhibits. Split it up and add some forested area nearby, and redo some of the pathing here.

Hubbard African Forest


  • Where the cat complex once stood, I'd like to add an African Forest themed exhibit to add on to the current gorilla area.

  • Like with the elephant and giraffe houses, add more immersive elements to the current gorilla building.

  • Expand the current duiker/bird area and turn it into an exhibit for chimpanzees. Allow them access to some of the current gorilla yards.

  • Along the deeply forested trail, add Red River Hogs, Bongos, and Okapi. This would lead to a third entrance to the gorilla forest, which would serve as an exit to the one by Simmon's Aviary.

  • Rename it to Hubbard African Forest.

Species Featured:


  • Western Lowland Gorilla

  • Bongo, Red River Hog
  • Okapi

  • Chimpanzee

New Species: 2


Hubbard Asian Jungle


  • To counteract the African Forest, turn the current Hubbard Orangutan Forest into the Asian Jungle. In order to not overlap with the Lied's Asian Jungle area, I'd move the smaller species there and just keep the orangutans.

  • Make the orangutan/gorilla entry solely for the Asian Jungle.

Species Included:


  • Bornean Orangutan

New Species: None


Simmons Aviary


  • Honestly, I prefer the aviary as it once was. Move the pink backed pelicans and American Flamingos to the locations I've already mentioned, and make the aviary simply a free flight area. Fill it back in with trees and foliage, and bring back the missing birds. Tbh, the recent "update" was kind of a downgrade.

Bay Family Children's Adventure Trails


  • While the Children's Adventure Trails is awesome architecturally, not unlike most children's zoos, it doesn't really have many animals. Tho, being Omaha, I'd like to add in a few additional species here.

  • The zoo currently has African Penguins, they're just off display. Move them here.

  • Alongside them, add in North American River Otters.

Species Featured:


  • African Penguin

  • Domestic Goat, Domestic Pig

  • Black Tailed Prairie Dog

  • North American River Otter

  • Common Squirrel Monkey

  • Budgiregar

New Species: 2


Australian Outback


  • Across from the Children's Zoo, I'd add a small Australian area. The zoo does already have a some Australian fauna, but the majority of them are birds and reptiles. While I wouldn't make this a huge exhibit, I'd like to fill in some missing gaps in the zoo's collection.

  • First off, I'd start with some of the smaller species which call Australia home. I'd feature the short beaked echidna (currently in the KON), several Australian birds the zoo already keeps, and last but not least Koalas.

  • Then, I'd add a medium sized yard for Eastern Gray Kangaroos and the Tammar Wallabies currently held in the KON

  • This would add something to do on the grueling trek from the entrance to the sea lions, thankfully easing it a bit

Species Featured


  • Eastern Gray Kangaroo, Tammar Wallaby

  • Koala

  • Kookaburra, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Budgiregar

  • Short Beaked Echidna

New Species: 2


Northern Forests


  • A North American area has been on the zoo's mind for a while. It will obviously end up happening at some point, so here's what I in particular would do.

  • I'd tear down some of Glacier Bay, and make this area in the unutilized areas behind Glacier Bay and the previous gaur yards. Glacier Bay really has no reason to be that big anyways, tbh. It's literally the most pointless area in the zoo, it takes up so much space yet has virtually nothing to offer as far as actual animals go

  • First off, I'd start in the boreal forest. Here, I'd include the first exhibit for Alaskan Brown Bears. This exhibit would be densely forested, and have several viewpoints.

  • Then, further along the trail, visitors would arrive at the second Brown Bear exhibit. Here, it would resemble not the forests but the coasts of Alaska. Visitors and the bears would be separated by water, and possibly even underwater viewing could be provided. An aviary with bald eagles could be located near here as well.

  • Moving on, I'd add an exhibit for Arctic Wolves. The safari park already keeps canis lupus, but the zoo is lacking in large canids, and wolves ARE an essential zoo and Alaskan animal, so they'd be a necessity here. Included here would be a predator prey exhibit with caribou, as well as alternate viewing areas for them also.

  • Overall, this would fill in a lot of missing gaps in the zoo's collection. While I'd love to add more on, there might not be enough room here, and I feel like that might take away from the Safari Park.

Species Featured:


  • Alaskan Brown Bear
  • Arctic Wolf
  • Bald Eagle
  • Caribou

New Species: 4


  • In addition to the boreal forest area, I'd like to add one more North American exhibit-one solely for Polar Bears. This would take up the majority of the old gaur yards, and be connected with the Northern Forests. The exhibit would resemble the other major Polar Bear exhibits in the Midwest, but have a much heavier theme on the arctic coasts. Underwater viewing would be provided, and most of the viewing would be from one main building.

Species Featured:


  • Polar Bear

New Species: 1


Owen's Sea Lion Shores


  • While this exhibit is great as is, in order to match the Alaskan area nearby, I'd like to tear down a bit of the mock rock to make it more visible from glacier bay and possibly make the underwater viewing more up front. The exit immediately walking into the gorillas breaks the excellent immersion.

  • While I do love the current colony and am quite attached to them, if possible, I don't think it would be a bad idea to replace them with the more geographically accurate Steller's Sea Lion. Then, this could tie in with the current Alaskan exhibit.

Species Featured:


  • Steller's Sea Lion

New Species: 1


Part 2: Indoor Exhibits


I won't be giving species lists here as they're all so speciose, however I will be marking some notable ones.


Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Pavilion


  • The primate skeletons, being exact replicas of the ones in the gorilla valley, can be done away with. Add another display there, or open up the previous reptile exhibits again.

  • The building's collection is pretty nice as is, but I'd like to see some more non-rodent small to medium sized animals here.

  • Overall, the building is okay as is, and I don't see a real need to change much here. Maybe repaint some of the walls, or add wallpapers with some of the animals at the zoo on them. The interactive games were nice too, but to my knowledge they're not around anymore

Desert Dome


  • The Desert Dome is a marvel of architecture, but some of it has become a bit outdated. The mock rock could definitely be improved, and some of the exhibits have become far too small. I'd like to see a minor renovation of the dome, phasing out/replacing some of these species and polishing up some of the worst mock rock.

  • For example, the current ocelot exhibit makes it practically impossible to see them. I'd tear that down, and convert that large "mountainside" rock area into an exhibit for Desert Bighorn Sheep which could be shared with the peccaries below.

  • While a lot of the bird exhibits are okay, it'd be nice to see some of the birds given free flight or improved exhibits. Does anyone know if this would work for the turkey vultures?

  • Bring in something actually from North America to the African Wildcat exhibit. They’re quite out of place in the Sonoran Desert

Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night


  • Kingdoms of the Night is my favorite exhibit, however some of its qualities have decreased over the past few years. A lot of the old small mammal species are gone, and have been replaced with other animals in completely incorrect areas. Basically all of the geographic theme is gone now, but I'd like to restore it.

  • Phase some species out, and add in others. With the Australian mammals being moved outside, a North American or European forest exhibit could replace them.

  • The swamp has a whole lot more potential than is being used currently, and I don't think it'd be a bad idea to just move the beavers to the safari park and allow the alligators access to their current exhibits

  • Move the zoo's Aye Ayes into the old fossa exhibit once the last one in the KON passes away. Add fennec foxes into the old cacomistle exhibit.

  • I wouldn't mind it if the cave's floor was redone to be a bit more level, that way people wouldn't be as fearful of falling into the multiple water filled holes in the floor

Lied Jungle


  • Much like the dome, the Lied has slowly been decaying away, even though it's still a great exhibit. The walls are badly in need of a repaint, and it'd be nice to see some of the general building getting refurbished

  • A few more small exhibits would be nice, and it'd also be great if some of the old primates were brought back

  • Tbh, I'm not sure keeping Pygmy Hippos and tapirs fully indoors is a great idea, so I'd probably phase those species out

  • In the place of the current lar gibbons, if possible, proboscis monkeys would be great. The smaller island opposite them can be turned into lush growth, and the current pygmy hippo area could be turned into an exhibit for mandrills

  • A few more species could be phased out, but I'm not sure which. The Lied Jungle does have a solid roster, but in order to maintain a decent species roster a decent amount would have to be changed. I'd be in support of that though, as this exhibit was my childhood favorite and I'm quite attached to it

  • Also, make the entrance look more…unique. Maybe something inspired by South American or Southeast Asian architecture?

Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium


  • The aquarium, on the inside at least, doesn't really need any major changes. However, the new "modern" exterior is extremely ugly and needs to go in favor of a better one.

Hubbard Expedition Madagascar


  • The zoo does TONS of conservation work in Madagascar, and this building doesn't really live up to it. It was built in 2010, but it was outdated by the time it was released. It has so much untapped potential, but unfortunately it's rather bland atm.

  • In my masterplan, I'd turn it into an amalgamation of two incredible exhibits-Madagascar at the Bronx, and Madagascar at San Diego.

  • It'd mainly focus on the outdoor area, with the indoors mostly being for the sole purpose of housing the zoo's lemurs during the winter. While some species would inevitably have to be phased out, many new Malagasy species could be added as well.

  • Move the Aye Ayes and other nocturnal species to the KON, instead of here.

Berniece Grewcock Butterfly and Insect Pavilion


  • While I don't have much to say about this since it's not really a major zoo exhibit, I do feel like the indoor areas are a bit bland and could be refurbished to be a bit better looking.

  • ALSO, while it's not really a part of the masterplan, I do think that it's a bit ridiculous that the zoo still has no species list on the website. Every other zoo has them lol

So there you gave it, here's what I would do to Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo given the chance.
 

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tigris115 said:
Ok so I don't wanna give any major feedback yet but IMO, the best thing to do is to get Google Earth pro on your desktop and, using the time travel feature, set the overhead view to a time of year when most of the trees are dead

This is what I did for my Bronx master plan and it lets you see everything. This would help you to get far more specific in the planning of your zoo as, one of the big flaws of this plan is that the placement is kind of vague.

Overall though, you show great ambition
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Alright, I hope I’ve cleared more up with the new post above
 
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Brayden Delashmutt said:
As someone who has grown up with Omaha Zoo, I've always been fascinated by the zoo and the future of it. While it's fantastic as is, for a very long while I've been coming up with my own hypothetical plans for what could and should be improved. I will be drawing a lot of inspiration from plans that were scrapped in the old masterplan, as there were many good ideas that just were not implemented. I won't be covering the indoor exhibits in this post (more to come) however I will be covering all of the current outdoor exhibits and those I'd like to see be created. While I try to go with the most practical ideas, a lot of this is based on personal preference, so it is not designed to be 100% realistic. My goal is not to remove any species, so the collection is not damaged. I would love input, so feel free to tell me if anything here is TOO impractical. Without further ado, let's begin!


  • Each new species added will be marked in bold

Children's Adventure Trails


While I never was very familiar with this area of the zoo since it doesn't have much to see there, I do think that it'd be nice to see a few renovations to include some more exotic species.


  • Move the African Penguins currently bts here. North American River Otters like mentioned in the previous master plan wouldn't be a bad idea at all either.

  • While I do see the importance in children's zoos, I could see a bit of this being chipped away to make room for more interesting projects, such as those I'll be covering later on. I'd like to see a few more smaller species (invertebrates and reptiles) added here also

Simmons Aviary


  • Tbh, I prefer the old aviary's more open feel. Given the chance, I'd move the flamingos and pelicans elsewhere in the zoo

Scott African Grasslands


  • Move the animals from the Kopje into a new area in the dome. I love the theming, but since the majority of them will be off display for a large portion of the year due to the climate, I feel as if it'd be preferable to keep them in the dome

  • While it's still a great exhibit, they didn't really go as hard with immersion here as they did elsewhere in the zoo. I'd love to see much more native plant life and a more African themed setting here, instead of a large concrete walkway for viewing into the superb hoofstock paddocks.

  • Make the viewing area for the white rhinos a bit better, they exhibit is always at an awkward angle compared to the viewing areas

  • Turn the lagoon into a larger Zambezi themed area, whose waters extend into the elephant and giraffe areas

  • Add hippopotamus, pink backed pelicans, and nile crocodiles here

  • Replace the geoffrey's spider monkeys (they can be moved elsewhere in the zoo) with something more geographically accurate, like Vervet Monkeys

  • Move the bongos into a new area (I'll get to that later, trust me) and make the area part of the hippo facility.

  • Bring in more Sable Antelope, as the herd seems to be dying out

  • Add Painted Dogs near the sable antelope and African Lions

Hubbard Expedition Madagascar


  • While it is an indoor exhibit at the moment, it's already becoming a bit outdated and it'd be nice to see it get a revamp. Maybe something could be done here like San Diego's Madagascar area, with the nocturnal species being moved to KON. Add in a few new species as well.

Asian Highlands


  • While they definitely did a lot better, in the same vane as the African Grasslands I'd like to see a lot more inspiration not just from the culture in the area but the native ecosystems

  • While I don't think this is a realistic possibility atm, I think that given the chance Omaha COULD have a chance at Giant Pandas. Maybe not a very high chance, but a chance indeed. If this is the case, I would do the following:

  • The exhibit would be divided into two Asian themed exhibits, the Asian Plains (featuring the tigers, indian rhinoceros, gaur (I really don't get why we phased them out, we had a great herd), muntjac, indian crested porcupine, sloth bear, and axis deer) and the Asian Highlands (featuring giant pandas, red pandas, white naped cranes, tufted deer, goral, sichuan takin, markor, and snow leopards)

  • Move bactrian camels and pere david's deer into an exhibit nearby, not necessarily in either section. Add a male pere davids deer for potential breeding success

  • The theming is relatively self explanatory, with the plains being themed around India and the Highlands being themed around China.

  • In the Plains, use lots of theming and naturalistic foliage, as well as a tiger camp area themed around native architecture

  • In the Highlands, add lots of bamboo and make the center attraction a Chinese themed building with giant pandas and several smaller species

  • Oh, and bring the indian peafowl back.

  • The main plaza around the entrances to Asia, the gorillas, etc can be split up a bit to allow for more exhibit room

Old Cat Complex/Gorilla Valley


  • Interestingly, this exhibit was planned but never opened. The idea was to add an outdoor trail to the gorilla area, and showcase the fauna of the Congo.

  • Connect the trail to the gorillas, and move the second entrance to the building to be in this area. The other entrance area will be of use later in the masterplan.

  • Species featured on the trail will include okapi, mandrill, red river hog, gorillas, and, possibly, chimpanzees

  • I'm honestly not sure how the zoo would work chimps into the plan, but I think that the current area for the duikers and african birds could be reworked to be at least one of their yards (move the previous inhabitants into other exhibits in the zoo, mainly along the trail)

  • Rename the gorilla valley building to Apes of the African Forest, and give the chimps at least one of the current gorilla yards also (if they were even to be integrated into the exhibit)

Hubbard Orangutan Forest


  • I'd love to see more Southeast Asian theming here, since it's such an interesting ecosystem. Rename it to Southeast Asia, as to not solely focus on the orangs.

  • Turn the current entrance area to both ape facilities into one exclusively for Southeast Asia

  • While I'm not sure if it would work, I would like to see sun bears and babirusa here. Add on some smaller species as well.

  • While this is probably the most outrageous idea here, if proboscis monkeys ever return to the US they would be amazing here

  • Tear down the majority of glacier bay landing to make more room for exhibits. It's not really all that necessary, imo

Canadian Arctic


  • Located near glacier bay landing, this exhibit would cover the fauna of Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. The zoo is severely lacking in North American fauna, and I feel as if the land here would be perfect for it. This would encompass a large area of area from glacier bay that was torn down, the previous gaur yards and the area behind glacier bay.

  • The exhibit would feature brown bears, arctic wolves (yes, canis lupus is already at the safari park, but we do lack large canids and they are a practically essential species for a northern exhibit), moose OR caribou (honestly, I do not think moose would be practical here, if not caribou would work), bald eagles, wolverines, and common ravens

  • The exhibit would begin in a more forested area, with the first bear exhibit, the wolverines, ravens, wolves, and the cervid species of choice

  • Then, the exhibit would shift to a coastal setting themed mostly around the coasts and islands such as Kenai and Katmai. The Bald Eagles could be kept here, alongside a second, coastal themed exhibit for the bears. Maybe some smaller species could be added around here as well, but I'm not really sure which.

  • Part of the previous gaur yards could be used to finally bring Polar Bears back, something that's practically inevitable for the zoo. I'd theme the exhibit around the sea ice, with the bears being visible from a large, Arctic themed building.

Andean Mountains


  • If there is a decent amount of land left after this near the Children's Zoo, I'd move on to complete the second forgotten exhibit complex from the 2010s masterplan

  • This area, themed around the Andes, would feature maned wolves, pumas, andean condors, wooly monkeys, llamas, spectacled bears, giant anteaters, and several more birds and reptiles from the area.

  • The area would look similar to the one envisioned by the old masterplan, starting with an andean themed camp and them gradually going on to show the aforementioned species. While it would be a well established exhibit, it wouldn't need to be as expensive and large as the previous complexes

  • The entrance would be accessible near the current Children's Zoo and North Entrance

Australia


  • With the okapis being moved to the new Equatorial Africa exhibit, I'd like to turn their old area into a unique Australian themed exhibit. Species featured here COULD include eastern gray kangaroos, tammar wallabies, short beaked echidnas, koalas, emus, greater bilbies, and tasmanian devils

  • In addition to this, add a new Jaguar exhibit in the proximity of the Lied Jungle. I thought about doing what the old masterplan said and moving them to the Andean Mountains, but they don't really fit there and would be much more at home near the Lied.

  • Komodo dragons would be neat here too, it'd be nice to see an area for them and galapagos giant tortoises near WKP

Owen’s Sea Lion Shores


  • The exhibit is phenomenal as is, however I'd remodel a bit of it to make it coherent with the nearby Canadian Arctic. Make it more similar to the original ideas, with out the path going to the gorillas (just make it a loop, it's an abrupt change of theme that ruins the immersion)

So, while I'm sure a lot of this may not be probable or even possible, I'd love to hear some input in order to make it more reasonable and realistic. I'll be covering the indoor exhibits in another post coming up if this is well received.

Also, thanks very much to @MGolka for helping out with the plan
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Though I’m not sure how, I’d probably like to replace this plan with the second one on here.
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
Honestly, I'm not sure keeping peccaries and bighorns together is a good idea. I'd definitely bring in the bighorns tho, but idk what would be done with the peccaries
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Just saying but I looked up what animals collared peccaries can be with in a mixed species exhibit and it says that bighorns can go with them but I just read that peccaries are aggressive to bighorn sheep like they bite the legs however I have an idea but it regards what kind of desert would the exhibit be focused on and I am asking because I looked up desert bighorn sheep on AZA ungulates and it says that they have been successfully mixed with elk and elk are not found in the desert but they inhabit semi desert areas so that’s why I was asking what kind of desert and like a semi desert is like a steppe but there is a semi arid desert in the USA and that desert is the Great Basin.
 
Tigeanderson said:
Just saying but I looked up what animals collared peccaries can be with in a mixed species exhibit and it says that bighorns can go with them but I just read that peccaries are aggressive to bighorn sheep like they bite the legs however I have an idea but it regards what kind of desert would the exhibit be focused on and I am asking because I looked up desert bighorn sheep on AZA ungulates and it says that they have been successfully mixed with elk and elk are not found in the desert but they inhabit semi desert areas so that’s why I was asking what kind of desert and like a semi desert is like a steppe but there is a semi arid desert in the USA and that desert is the Great Basin.
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Fair, but this is indoors and I don’t think there would be enough room for elk. However, maybe some sort of smaller deer would work with them?
 
Tigeanderson said:
Good idea/point I think that would work perfectly and just saying but maybe for the African desert section or the kopje section over in the African grasslands section maybe you can add Beira which is a small antelope that lives in arid regions of the Horn of Africa.
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That’s fair. Though tbh, the Klipspringer exhibit in the dome isn’t big enough, and my plan involved moving most of the Kopje into giraffe house, which I doubt would be suitable for antelope. What other species do you suggest?
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
That’s fair. Though tbh, the Klipspringer exhibit in the dome isn’t big enough, and my plan involved moving most of the Kopje into giraffe house, which I doubt would be suitable for antelope. What other species do you suggest?
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Maybe elephant shrews, African Striped Weasel,Striped Polecat, Saharan Striped Polecat, Antlion, Rhinoceros Beatle, Buffalo weaver, Leopard tortoise, African Palm Civet, Large Spotted Genet, Riverine rabbit, Etruscan Shrew, Ammodile, Pouched gerbil, Pancake Tortoise, Bush Baby and the African clawless otter.
 
Tigeanderson said:
Maybe elephant shrews, African Striped Weasel,Striped Polecat, Saharan Striped Polecat, Antlion, Rhinoceros Beatle, Buffalo weaver, Leopard tortoise, African Palm Civet, Large Spotted Genet, Riverine rabbit, Etruscan Shrew, Ammodile, Pouched gerbil, Pancake Tortoise, Bush Baby and the African clawless otter.
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While those are all great suggestions, certain ones like the clawless otter aren’t really feasible. Dyk if they’re kept in the US?
 
Tigeanderson said:
Maybe elephant shrews, African Striped Weasel,Striped Polecat, Saharan Striped Polecat, Antlion, Rhinoceros Beatle, Buffalo weaver, Leopard tortoise, African Palm Civet, Large Spotted Genet, Riverine rabbit, Etruscan Shrew, Ammodile, Pouched gerbil, Pancake Tortoise, Bush Baby and the African clawless otter.
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Or I have other ideas for small animals like the golden mole, Bateleur eagle and the Carmine Bee eater and just saying but for the African forest section I have 3 ideas for animals but they are not held in captivity in the USA and these animals are both herbivores but they belong to two different families and the first two are kinds of antelopes and these antelopes are the Bates Pygmy antelope and an adult Bates Pygmy antelope weigh about 2 to 3 kg (4.4 to 6.6 lb), and are 50 to 57 cm (20 to 22 in) long, with a tail length of 4.5 to 5.0 cm (1.8 to 2.0 in) and the other antelope is much smaller and that antelope is the world’s smallest antelope the royal antelope which stands up to merely 25 centimeters(10 inches) at the shoulder and weighs 2.5 kilograms to 3 kilograms(5.5-6.6 pounds) and the last animal is not an antelope but a kind of Chevrotain aka mouse deer and its called the Water Chevrotain and its the only one in its genus and the only Chevrotain in Africa and its also the largest Chevrotain but it is barely larger than small dogs and they are exclusively nocturnal as in the day time they cannot be found outside the dense forests in which it lives in however at night time they can be observed in exposed forest clearings and open river banks.
 
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Tigeanderson said:
Or I have other ideas for small animals like the golden mole, Bateleur eagle and the Carmine Bee eater and just saying but for the African forest section I have 3 ideas for animals but they are not held in captivity in the USA and these animals are both herbivores but they belong to two different families and the first two are kinds of antelopes and these antelopes are the Bates Pygmy antelope and an adult Bates Pygmy antelope weigh about 2 to 3 kg (4.4 to 6.6 lb), and are 50 to 57 cm (20 to 22 in) long, with a tail length of 4.5 to 5.0 cm (1.8 to 2.0 in) and the other antelope is much smaller and that antelope is the world’s smallest antelope the royal antelope which stands up to merely 25 centimeters(10 inches) at the shoulder and weighs 2.5 kilograms to 3 kilograms(5.5-6.6 pounds) and the last animal is not an antelope but a kind of Chevrotain aka mouse deer and its called the Water Chevrotain and its the only one in its genus and the only Chevrotain in Africa and its also the largest Chevrotain but it is barely larger than small dogs and they are exclusively nocturnal as in the day time they cannot be found outside the dense forests in which it lives in however at night time they can be observed in exposed forest clearings and open river banks.
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Interesting! Once again though, it’s not a very realistic suggestion. They aren’t kept in captivity anywhere to my knowledge. No offense, but with all due respect it’d probably be better to make suggestions based on species that are actually kept in captivity? Thank you for your input though
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
Interesting! Once again though, it’s not a very realistic suggestion. They aren’t kept in captivity anywhere to my knowledge. No offense, but with all due respect it’d probably be better to make suggestions based on species that are actually kept in captivity? Thank you for your input though
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Oh okay well I know that the Bateleur is in captivity San Diego zoo has them.
 
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