Went to the National Zoo today, mostly to check out the siamangs but also to see what else has been happening.
As usual there is a lot of work going on up the back but no new areas open. It seems like there are some completed (and maybe even inhabited) exhibits back there but the bits in between are just not done yet. It will be really great when it's done, I think.
The siamang exhibit is a bit less stark in person than it seems in photos (I've uploaded a few). It's definitely big enough, and has running water too which is great. It's very much a "National Zoo" exhibit (lots of artificial rock), but it does the job pretty well.
The agoutis have taken up residence in one of the old koala enclosures (the sole remaining koala shares the next door exhibit with a pair of Parma Wallabies). They seem to have settled in pretty well here and the steep slope makes for good viewing for visitors. Unfortunately there is no signage for them yet, leading to lots of confused visitors. The National Zoo is usually pretty on-the-ball with this stuff so I assume it's in the works (but even just a temporary sign would not have gone astray).
The cheetahs and generic tigers have swapped exhibits, with the cheetahs back down in the long exhibit near the bears and the generic tigers up in the new section near the new lemur enclosures. A better fit, for my money.
The vast meerkat exhibit has been divided in two, which still leaves two very comfortably sized exhibits for them. Otherwise the zoo is pretty much as it ever was.
Something I don't like much is that a lot of the sleeping boxes (for smaller mammals like tamarins, otters, squirrel monkeys) now have glass sides so that visitors can see in. This doesn't seem great for the animals' privacy.
I couldn't see any brown bears and the exhibit did have some signs of being "empty", but I couldn't say definitively that any remaining bears are off display.
EDIT: Having a look at the map at home now, I see that servals are back on display and I missed them! I didn't even think of looking at the map since I know my way around, but they seem to be tucked up behind the new lemur exhibits (you have to walk towards the "staff only" sign apparently). Oh well - one for next time!
As usual there is a lot of work going on up the back but no new areas open. It seems like there are some completed (and maybe even inhabited) exhibits back there but the bits in between are just not done yet. It will be really great when it's done, I think.
The siamang exhibit is a bit less stark in person than it seems in photos (I've uploaded a few). It's definitely big enough, and has running water too which is great. It's very much a "National Zoo" exhibit (lots of artificial rock), but it does the job pretty well.
The agoutis have taken up residence in one of the old koala enclosures (the sole remaining koala shares the next door exhibit with a pair of Parma Wallabies). They seem to have settled in pretty well here and the steep slope makes for good viewing for visitors. Unfortunately there is no signage for them yet, leading to lots of confused visitors. The National Zoo is usually pretty on-the-ball with this stuff so I assume it's in the works (but even just a temporary sign would not have gone astray).
The cheetahs and generic tigers have swapped exhibits, with the cheetahs back down in the long exhibit near the bears and the generic tigers up in the new section near the new lemur enclosures. A better fit, for my money.
The vast meerkat exhibit has been divided in two, which still leaves two very comfortably sized exhibits for them. Otherwise the zoo is pretty much as it ever was.
Something I don't like much is that a lot of the sleeping boxes (for smaller mammals like tamarins, otters, squirrel monkeys) now have glass sides so that visitors can see in. This doesn't seem great for the animals' privacy.
I couldn't see any brown bears and the exhibit did have some signs of being "empty", but I couldn't say definitively that any remaining bears are off display.
EDIT: Having a look at the map at home now, I see that servals are back on display and I missed them! I didn't even think of looking at the map since I know my way around, but they seem to be tucked up behind the new lemur exhibits (you have to walk towards the "staff only" sign apparently). Oh well - one for next time!
