Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo New animal species at Henry Doorly Zoo

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Lenny P. Lamb

Active Member
The omaha henry doorly zoo has given away dozens of species of animals to make enclosures look pretty but conservation is about housing the animals themselves. Does anyone know if the henry doorly zoo plans to conserve new species of animals by bringing them on site to the zoo? ie; the african wild dogs burmese pythons, gaur, amur leopard, black tip reef sharks, sea dragons, etc have ALL left the zoo and MANY more species with them. The zoo used to have OVER 34,000 animals and now I estimate they have about 5 or 6,000. Any news on this?
 
This is a normal thing that happens in zoos. Animals get phased out and don’t get replaced. Zoos just don’t have the space to keep these animals anymore because new AZA regulations say they have to be larger. It’s what’s best for the animals that they aren’t crammed in for the sake of saying the zoo has all these species. Henry Doorly does quite a bit of conservation with the animals they have and because they are AZA they donate lots of money to conservation. I am with you on the same problem San Diego is having where they are loosing many of their species to ABC basic animals. The difference is that Henry Doorly has been replacing animals with rarer species like takins and tufted deer. And no matter how much both of us hate it sometimes species have to leave, and with strict trade laws we can’t keep some of these populations around to be in zoos. There are quite a few factors that lead to zoos loosing animals and it isn’t as simple as just bringing in new animals. I mean why do you think they got rid of those species in the first place. To build better exhibits for their current animals. Also I believe the Guar are at their other off site facility. Omaha does more conservation for species than just what they have at the main zoo
 
Here are the exhibits according to the website:
Owen Sea Lion Shores
Asian Highlands: white-naped crane, Pere David’s deer, Indian rhino, sloth bear, Amur tiger, snow leopard, takin, goral
Scott African Grasslands: meerkat, klipspringer, hyrax, Kenya crested Guinea fowl, white-throated monitor, giraffe, white rhino, impala, ostrich, spur-winged goose, African elephant, plains zebra, African pink-backed pelican, white-faced whistling duck, cheetah, lion, sable antelope, bongo
Bay Family Children's Adventure Trails
Dick and Mary Holland Meadowlark Theater: Harris Hawk, Guinea Fowl, Red Front Macaw, Blue and Gold Macaws
Desert Dome: klipspringer, meerkat, death adder, Cape cobra, inland taipan, bobcat, rattlesnakes
Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night: naked mole rat, fossa, aardvark, springhaas, greater bush baby, blind cave fish, short-tailed fruit bat, Tammar wallaby, short-beaked echidna, freshwater crocodile, American alligator
Lied Jungle: monkeys, gibbons, tapirs, macaws and pygmy hippos
Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium: sea turtles, sharks, penguins
Berniece Grewcock Butterfly and Insect Pavilion: butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, ants, spiders, scorpions, walking sticks, mantids, centipedes, roaches, beetles
Hubbard Expedition Madagascar: aye-aye, giant jumping rat
Hubbard Gorilla Valley: gorilla
Hubbard Orangutan Forest: "orangutans and other monkeys" (sic)
Owen Sea Lion Pavilion: California sea lions
Other Exhibits: small mammals, tarantulas, snakes, flamingos, ducks, swans, storks, cranes, monkeys, koi
 
Yeah, there were a number of different species I wish the zoo still had, however I’m not as bullish of them not getting new species. Omaha has added a ton of new species with a lot of their new exhibits so to me it doesn’t feel like they are purposely dropping tons of species.

Even the new exhibits that have opened in the last 5 years have added new species. African Grasslands has added Lesser Kudu and Leopard Tortoise and some bird species, Asian Highlands has added Reeves’ Muntjac, Sea Lion Shores has added Harbor Seals just last week, and the Lied Jungle and Desert Dome/Kingdoms of the Night see new reptiles and amphibians all the time getting added.

Yeah it does seem like they lost a lot with the Cat Complex and Bear Canyon areas closing and losing that megafauna, but they have brought a lot in to replace that in other areas of the zoo. Also I’m pretty sure the Cat Complex has a lot of animals being held behind the scenes as the last couple years various types of gibbons, monkeys, porcupines, and the Komodo Dragons are still in there just not accessible to guests. And yes, the Gaur are at the Safari Park as I just saw them two weeks ago out there as you can see their area behind the trees in the bison plains area.

There were a lot of smaller exhibits in the 90s on the north side of the zoo that have closed in the mid 2000s and I’m sure that’s where some of the drop has come from, but the addition of the Desert Dome complex provided a lot better homes for a lot of the animals in the Small Mammals Building that has been converted to behind the scenes holding.
 
What exact day and year did you see the gaur, and if the general public can't see them then what is that? I'm not being bullish, I think we should all be concerned when we lose animals.
 
Lenny P. Lamb said:
The omaha henry doorly zoo has given away dozens of species of animals to make enclosures look pretty but conservation is about housing the animals themselves. Does anyone know if the henry doorly zoo plans to conserve new species of animals by bringing them on site to the zoo? ie; the african wild dogs burmese pythons, gaur, amur leopard, black tip reef sharks, sea dragons, etc have ALL left the zoo and MANY more species with them. The zoo used to have OVER 34,000 animals and now I estimate they have about 5 or 6,000. Any news on this?
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Lenny P. Lamb said:
The omaha henry doorly zoo has given away dozens of species of animals to make enclosures look pretty but conservation is about housing the animals themselves. Does anyone know if the henry doorly zoo plans to conserve new species of animals by bringing them on site to the zoo? ie; the african wild dogs burmese pythons, gaur, amur leopard, black tip reef sharks, sea dragons, etc have ALL left the zoo and MANY more species with them. The zoo used to have OVER 34,000 animals and now I estimate they have about 5 or 6,000. Any news on this?
Click to expand...
The reason I'm reaching out is to get answers from knowledgeable people who care about the animals not to argue with overly defensive people. Please be nice when you respond.​
 
Lenny P. Lamb said:
What exact day and year did you see the gaur, and if the general public can't see them then what is that? I'm not being bullish, I think we should all be concerned when we lose animals.
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Ah sorry I didn't realize this question was directed towards me. I was not the official source of the Guar it was someone else who could see the heard though I don't know who. If you want to track them down your best bet is in one of the many threads that have discussed Guar phase-out in zoos. As for this
Lenny P. Lamb said:
and if the general public can't see them then what is that?
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I don't know if this is a question pertaining to what the offsite facility is or if you are confused as to why they are not on display so I will answer both. The off-site facility is a large breeding area for rarer animals, similar to The WILDS or the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The main difference is if I'm correct Omahas facility has A LOT behind the scenes of that facility whereas the other two have more animals viewable to the public through general admission or paid tours. That's my understanding of the facility at least. Now there are many reasons to keep animals behind the scenes: better for breeding, they don't have to build fancy enclosures, they don't have to set up guest accommodations, and lack of space in their existing parks. Having animals behind the scene is still beneficial to conservation, and it can help boost species numbers which can help ex-situ conservation and education. Now how much longer those guars will be there is unknown as the species has recently hit a sharp decline and will most likely disappear from most facilities in the next few years.
 
MGolka said:
I saw the gaur on May 9th, 2021 since you want me to be specific.
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Well I just want to make sure that you were responding to me and recently. It's good to hear that the gaur are still there. I was at the omaha zoo & aquarium today, and a keeper was able to answer many of my questions. We went through expedition Madagascar which bty has an AMAZING collection of lemurs, snakes and turtles and lizards. We also visited stingray beach which with 50+ stingrays is an excellent exhibit as well. The aviary is beautiful with only half the original birds. The aquarium was a huge plus with horn, swell nurse, bonnethead, zebra, and sandbar sharks. They have 3 species of wobbiegongs and 5 or 6 of them. They also have 3 species of grouper. Kingdoms of the night has a nice collection of alligators, crocodiles, and aquatic turtles including a common snapping turtle. I found out that the zoo is expecting a baby pygmy hippo and a baby giraffe. The new baby elephant is kind of old news. So in spite of the major reduction in the numbers of animals over the last 11 years or so, I would rate the best 3 zoos in the world as #3 - saint louis zoo, #2 omaha zoo & aquarium and wildlife safari park and #1 San Diego zoo and safari park. I am considering species which San Diego has, beauty and exhibits which omaha leads in and numbers of animals (19,000+) which saint Louis dominates in. Omaha zoo & aquarium is an amazing and exceptional zoo in spite of the dramatic and huge loss of animals and species. I truly hope this downsizing trend in animals ends soon however with the 10 year master plan concluding with the simmons aviary.
 
I’m glad you had a good time today! I’m glad you got to talk to folks that work there as they are the best ones to answer questions rather than most of us here who just report on our own observations. Almost all zoo staff love to chat about what is going on so it is always worth sometimes asking them when they are around. Also I can’t stress this enough, if you see a zoo docent at any zoo, ask them almost anything you like. You would be surprised the amount of info they provide
 
MGolka said:
I’m glad you had a good time today! I’m glad you got to talk to folks that work there as they are the best ones to answer questions rather than most of us here who just report on our own observations. Almost all zoo staff love to chat about what is going on so it is always worth sometimes asking them when they are around. Also I can’t stress this enough, if you see a zoo docent at any zoo, ask them almost anything you like. You would be surprised the amount of info they provide
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Thanks, and there are also 4 baby eastern indigo snakes to be in the desert dome.
 
I 100% agree, though I still an quite excited for the zoo's future. Even the zoo's 2010 masterplan which they were planning to fulfill was still nowhere near fulfilled by the time construction was completed. The current African Grasslands were planned to get hippos, nile crocodiles, and african wild dogs (which we had at the time), Asian Highlands to get gaur and camels (which we had already), an Andean exhibit with several new animals as well as many we already had (andean bears, jaguars, pumas, etc). We were even going to keep polar bears. While I agree it's not neccesarily horrible as it turned out well, the massive decrease in the collection is quite unfortunate, and IMO, not justified. We got left with a rather lacking outdoor animal collection, as wonderful as the exhibits may be. Going into the future, I'd honestly prefer the zoo just pick up where they left off-making an andean area, bringing back wild dogs, as well as gaur, camels, polar bears, etc.Screenshot_20231012_165303_Drive.jpg
 

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I like their zoo master plan from 2010 but if I ran the Omaha zoo I would add 4 more exhibits on and two would be focused on the animals of Europe but to be specific animals of the alps and the other exhibit would be called realm of the highland tiger and the alps exhibit would bring in new animals like Ibex, Chamois, Marmot, bearded vulture and the European Adder however the adder would also be found in the second exhibit Realm of the Highland tiger which would be home to animals from Scotland and other parts of the British isles along with Ireland and new species coming in would include The Crown jewel of the exhibit the Scottish wildcat, The red deer, White tailed sea eagle, Hedgehog, Eurasian Lynx, Scottish Crossbill, European Pine marten, Irish Hare, Mountain hare, Orkney vole, st kilda field mouse, European beaver and Irish coal tit and guests would also see a mounted fossils of Megaloceras Giganteus aka the Irish elk. The third exhibit would be focused on animals from a habitat known as the Eurasian steppe which is a grassland that is like the Great Plains but is found across Eastern Europe, western, central and Eastern Asia and it would bring in new species like the Saiga antelope, Przewalski horse, Mongolian gazelle, Gloitered gazelle, Onager, Wild bactrian camel, corsac fox, Steppe Polecat, Bobac Marmot, sand grouse, long legged bustard, the Caspian Sea wolf which is a subspecies of the grey wolf and the steppe runner. The 4th exhibit would be focused on animals from Australia, New Guinea, Fuji and New Zealand and new animals would include the fujian banded iguana, Tasmanian devil, Kangaroo, tree kangaroo, Bandicoot, Quoll, Koala, Walaby, Tiger snake, Tuatara, emu, Cassowary, Goana, Thorny devil, Dingo, Kiwi, Takahe, Kakapo, Monitor lizards, Saltwater Crocodile, birds of paradise, Frilled necked lizard, bearded dragon, long beaked echidna, possums, Cuscus and many others.
 
Good idea! However, I don’t think that most of these exhibits are really applicable at

Tigeanderson said:
I like their zoo master plan from 2010 but if I ran the Omaha zoo I would add 4 more exhibits on and two would be focused on the animals of Europe but to be specific animals of the alps and the other exhibit would be called realm of the highland tiger and the alps exhibit would bring in new animals like Ibex, Chamois, Marmot, bearded vulture and the European Adder however the adder would also be found in the second exhibit Realm of the Highland tiger which would be home to animals from Scotland and other parts of the British isles along with Ireland and new species coming in would include The Crown jewel of the exhibit the Scottish wildcat, The red deer, White tailed sea eagle, Hedgehog, Eurasian Lynx, Scottish Crossbill, European Pine marten, Irish Hare, Mountain hare, Orkney vole, st kilda field mouse, European beaver and Irish coal tit and guests would also see a mounted fossils of Megaloceras Giganteus aka the Irish elk.
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Unfortunately the majority of these species aren’t even kept in American zoos, and I don’t see this working as an exhibit. There really aren’t any big name species, and the majority of them aren’t of particular conservation purpose, so I just don’t see this ever happening.

Tigeanderson said:
The third exhibit would be focused on animals from a habitat known as the Eurasian steppe which is a grassland that is like the Great Plains but is found across Eastern Europe, western, central and Eastern Asia and it would bring in new species like the Saiga antelope, Przewalski horse, Mongolian gazelle, Gloitered gazelle, Onager, Wild bactrian camel, corsac fox, Steppe Polecat, Bobac Marmot, sand grouse, long legged bustard, the Caspian Sea wolf which is a subspecies of the grey wolf and the steppe runner.
Click to expand...

Most of these species aren’t even kept in captivity, and while I think it’s a better idea than a British Isles exhibit, it’s still not really within the realm of possibility

Tigeanderson said:
The 4th exhibit would be focused on animals from Australia, New Guinea, Fuji and New Zealand and new animals would include the fujian banded iguana, Tasmanian devil, Kangaroo, tree kangaroo, Bandicoot, Quoll, Koala, Walaby, Tiger snake, Tuatara, emu, Cassowary, Goana, Thorny devil, Dingo, Kiwi, Takahe, Kakapo, Monitor lizards, Saltwater Crocodile, birds of paradise, Frilled necked lizard, bearded dragon, long beaked echidna, possums, Cuscus and many others.
Click to expand...

This is a great idea, but once again, most of these species aren’t even kept in captivity. Omaha doesn’t even have polar bears, so I don’t think that the zoo’s top priority is…long beaked echidnas.

Anyways, thanks for your input, sorry if I came off as rude, but this is definitely not the direction I’d envision any major American zoos going…
 
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Dassie rat said:
Here are the exhibits according to the website:
Owen Sea Lion Shores
Asian Highlands: white-naped crane, Pere David’s deer, Indian rhino, sloth bear, Amur tiger, snow leopard, takin, goral
Scott African Grasslands: meerkat, klipspringer, hyrax, Kenya crested Guinea fowl, white-throated monitor, giraffe, white rhino, impala, ostrich, spur-winged goose, African elephant, plains zebra, African pink-backed pelican, white-faced whistling duck, cheetah, lion, sable antelope, bongo
Bay Family Children's Adventure Trails
Dick and Mary Holland Meadowlark Theater: Harris Hawk, Guinea Fowl, Red Front Macaw, Blue and Gold Macaws
Desert Dome: klipspringer, meerkat, death adder, Cape cobra, inland taipan, bobcat, rattlesnakes
Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night: naked mole rat, fossa, aardvark, springhaas, greater bush baby, blind cave fish, short-tailed fruit bat, Tammar wallaby, short-beaked echidna, freshwater crocodile, American alligator
Lied Jungle: monkeys, gibbons, tapirs, macaws and pygmy hippos
Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium: sea turtles, sharks, penguins
Berniece Grewcock Butterfly and Insect Pavilion: butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, ants, spiders, scorpions, walking sticks, mantids, centipedes, roaches, beetles
Hubbard Expedition Madagascar: aye-aye, giant jumping rat
Hubbard Gorilla Valley: gorilla
Hubbard Orangutan Forest: "orangutans and other monkeys" (sic)
Owen Sea Lion Pavilion: California sea lions
Other Exhibits: small mammals, tarantulas, snakes, flamingos, ducks, swans, storks, cranes, monkeys, koi
Click to expand...

Yeah, the website sucks. We NEED a website with an “animals” page.
 
Westcoastperson said:
This is a normal thing that happens in zoos. Animals get phased out and don’t get replaced. Zoos just don’t have the space to keep these animals anymore because new AZA regulations say they have to be larger. It’s what’s best for the animals that they aren’t crammed in for the sake of saying the zoo has all these species. Henry Doorly does quite a bit of conservation with the animals they have and because they are AZA they donate lots of money to conservation. I am with you on the same problem San Diego is having where they are loosing many of their species to ABC basic animals. The difference is that Henry Doorly has been replacing animals with rarer species like takins and tufted deer. And no matter how much both of us hate it sometimes species have to leave, and with strict trade laws we can’t keep some of these populations around to be in zoos. There are quite a few factors that lead to zoos loosing animals and it isn’t as simple as just bringing in new animals. I mean why do you think they got rid of those species in the first place. To build better exhibits for their current animals. Also I believe the Guar are at their other off site facility. Omaha does more conservation for species than just what they have at the main zoo
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But we DO have plenty of room, but the majority of it was spent on playgrounds and splash parks. I agree that there would have to be a compromise, however IMO many phase outs were completely unnecessary and left the zoo's collection for the worse (without the splash park and playground there would have been plenty of room for more than one bear species)
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
But we DO have plenty of room, but the majority of it was spent on playgrounds and splash parks. I agree that there would have to be a compromise, however IMO many phase outs were completely unnecessary and left the zoo's collection for the worse (without the splash park and playground there would have been plenty of room for more than one bear species)
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Omaha already spent million upon millions of dollars on animal exhibits prior to these developments, and of course they also have to appeal to the masses. Playgrounds and splash pads are good for attracting families, and are much cheaper to construct than a new polar bear exhibit, which with the current AZA regulations requires acres of development and extremely expensive filtration systems. Sorry if this sounds rude, but considering where Omaha was even ten years ago and the amount of new state-of-the-art exhibits that they have created in just that time (African Grasslands, Asian Highlands, Sea Lion Shores, and pretty much renovating every single other standing exhibit in the zoo), I find it extremely peculiar to criticize the fact that they happened to add in a few things in for the kiddos because. Omaha also still has an amazing collection of both common and extremely rare animals, and haven't necessarily given up on that (they started displaying yellow-spotted hyraxes for a while, for example).
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
Good idea! However, I don’t think that most of these exhibits are really applicable at



Unfortunately the majority of these species aren’t even kept in American zoos, and I don’t see this working as an exhibit. There really aren’t any big name species, and the majority of them aren’t of particular conservation purpose, so I just don’t see this ever happening.



Most of these species aren’t even kept in captivity, and while I think it’s a better idea than a British Isles exhibit, it’s still not really within the realm of possibility



This is a great idea, but once again, most of these species aren’t even kept in captivity. Omaha doesn’t even have polar bears, so I don’t think that the zoo’s top priority is…long beaked echidnas.

Anyways, thanks for your input, sorry if I came off as rude, but this is definitely not the direction I’d envision any major American zoos going…
Click to expand...
It’s okay and thanks for your input as well.
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
But we DO have plenty of room, but the majority of it was spent on playgrounds and splash parks. I agree that there would have to be a compromise, however IMO many phase outs were completely unnecessary and left the zoo's collection for the worse (without the splash park and playground there would have been plenty of room for more than one bear species)
Click to expand...
I wonder how many more bear species the zoo could fit in if they got rid of the event pavilion, or the sculpture garden, maybe free up some elbow room by knocking out a few bathrooms? Playgrounds and splash pads are not compromises they are amenities, a necessary part of any institution that caters towards the public, especially children. However I also mentioned there could be a multitude of reasons Omaha decided to phase out certain species. They could have made the choice to thin out diversity as a means of focusing on other species the zoo wants to upkeep. The zoos collection is still stellar, you cannot definitively say the phase-outs were entirely unnecessary and has left Omaha worse off.
 
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