New Year, New Exhibits

J

JBZvolunteer

Well-Known Member
Only a few weeks into 2014 and it is already approaching the time to start thinking about the new exhibits opening this year. So here is the question I pose to fellow zoochatters, what are all the different exhibits opening and will they live up to their hype?

For example, at John Ball zoo we will be opening up our new amur tiger exhibit. This will be the first completely new exhibit to be built from scratch since Lions of Lake Manyara back in 2008. This will be the first big cat exhibit built at the zoo with 2 viewable exhibits for the public but that is not the most impressive part of the animal display. No it will be the trail built into the forest for the tigers between the two exhibits, almost reminiscence of the trail system that is starting to be instituted at the Philadelphia Zoo. This will also be the largest big cat exhibit at the zoo which is fitting, since it will be home to the world's largest cat species. From the visitor aspect what will most likely be the most impressive is the water component in the second exhibit along with the trail.

Other exhibits opening in 2014:
Tiger Trek @ Jacksonville Zoo
Internation Orangutan Conservation Center(IOCC) @ Indianapolis Zoo
Tiger Trails @ San Diego Safari Park
Safari Africa @ Columbus Zoo
Africa Phase 3 @ Cincinnati Zoo
Regenstein Macaque Forest @ Lincoln Park Zoo
Condors of the Columbia @ Oregon Zoo
Painted Dog Preserve, Andean Bear Range, Sun Bear Forest @ St Louis Zoo (I think they got the leftover names from Chester ;) )
African Savannah @ Utah's Hogle Zoo
Meerkat Exhibit @ Brevard Zoo
Mary K. Chapman Rhino Exhibit @ Tulsa Zoo
Penguin Beach @ Toledo Zoo
Rainforest of the Americas @ Los Angeles Zoo
Giraffe Exhibit @ Central Florida Zoo
Bison Exhibit @ Smithsonian National Zoo
South American Wonders @ Naples Zoo (Already Open!)
North American River Otter Exhibit @ Tenessee Aquarium
 
The new Living Planet Aquarium is opening in Salt Lake City in winter or spring 2014.
 
African Black Footed Penguin Exhibit @ the Maryland Zoo should be opened by the end of the year.
 
Up here in Canada two new exhibits will open.

Toronto's Eurasian Wilds which is home to Red Pandas, Snow Leopards, Stellars Sea Eagles, Eurasian Eagle Owls, Mouflon, Tur, Bactrian and Dromedary Camels, Przewalskis Horses, Domestic Yaks, Barbary Apes and Dhole (might be missing one or two species). While it sounds like a lot the only new structure is the Snow Leopard and Sea Eagle (possibly Eagle Owl as well) exhibits. Everything else pretty much just got a face lift. Two exhibits were already converted to drive thrus that housed the horses and yaks but hopefully will hold more this summer.

In Winnipeg at Assiniboine Park and Zoo the much more anticipated Journey to Churchill will finally open. Its an amazing looking arctic exhibit which is home to 4 polar bears (3 rescued last fall from the wild), ringed seals, caribou, muskox, arctic foxes and snowy owls. There will be an underwater tunnel in the polar bear and ringed seal exhibits and the seals and polar bears will be able to see each other underwater. The facility will house a rehab center for orphaned bears so that they might hopefully be able to be reintroduced to the wild.

Exhibits at Assiniboine Park Zoo

Of the two Canadian exhibits opening Journey to Churchill will definitely be the cooler one of the two, not that Eurasian Wilds stinks. Its just Journey to Churchill is a complete innovative remodel of 10 acres into a world class exhibit. Eurasian Wilds is a face lift with a new home for a few species. Its reopening is still anticipated because we havent had access to that area of the zoo and its animals in awhile, except by zoomobile, but its not the same as a totally recrafted area.
 
Pampas Plains @ Beardsley Zoo- Summer 2014
Insectarium and Wombat exhibit @ Houston Zoo- Spring 2014
Asian Domain @ Audobon Zoo
Along with uszoo's statement of Komodo Dragons @ Bronx Zoo is several other monitor exhibits, and possibly an Aldabra Tortoise exhibit.
Cats. Cats! Cats? @ Pueblo Zoo (Ringtails are already on exhibit, Pallas Cats are not)
Expansion of Polar Bear exhibit @ North Carolina Zoo

Possible:
Lion exhibit @ Niabi Zoo
Small Wonders @ Sacramento Zoo
 
JBZvolunteer said:
Painted Dog Preserve, Andean Bear Range, Sun Bear Forest @ St Louis Zoo (I think they got the leftover names from Chester ;) )
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Just be glad it wasn't Colchester - the zoo that gave us such gems as 'Kiwi Kunes', 'Patas Plains', 'Suricata Sands' and my personal favourite, a Colombian Black Spider Monkey exhibit called 'Medellin Monkeys', that only someone familiar with Colombian geography would get without googling (it was years before I realised it wasn't a typo!).
 
They sea eagles are new as are the Eurasian Eagle Owls. I think if I recall correctly at least one sea eagle has arrived or is due in shortly. I cant remember though where I heard that. We currently have a male eagle owl named Luna and a female was due in at some point but I dont know if shes arrived or if the deal to get her fell through.

And if you havent been to the zoo in 2013 as part of the giant panda interpretive center a male Chinese Giant Salamander arrived in the late fall. The panda complex was originally meant to be part of the Eurasian Wilds opening but the one year time line between the announcement of the pandas and their arrival was too little time to get everything done. Everything connected to the pandas was pushed through to be ready for their arrival and the rest of the Eurasian Wilds was delayed a year. Hopefully the new snow leopard/sea eagle/eagle owl exhibit will be worth the wait. Just having multiple good sized exhibits for our snow leopards will be a massive improvement.

I thought there wasnt going to be a change to the Barbary apes or dholes at least until the zoo decides to start in on the Canadian Wilds which is to follow the health unit and orangutan outdoor exhibit... which would move it at least a couple years down the line. Until then or the deaths of animals I thought they were to stay on exhibit.
 
TZFan said:
They sea eagles are new as are the Eurasian Eagle Owls. I think if I recall correctly at least one sea eagle has arrived or is due in shortly. I cant remember though where I heard that. We currently have a male eagle owl named Luna and a female was due in at some point but I dont know if shes arrived or if the deal to get her fell through.

And if you havent been to the zoo in 2013 as part of the giant panda interpretive center a male Chinese Giant Salamander arrived in the late fall. The panda complex was originally meant to be part of the Eurasian Wilds opening but the one year time line between the announcement of the pandas and their arrival was too little time to get everything done. Everything connected to the pandas was pushed through to be ready for their arrival and the rest of the Eurasian Wilds was delayed a year. Hopefully the new snow leopard/sea eagle/eagle owl exhibit will be worth the wait. Just having multiple good sized exhibits for our snow leopards will be a massive improvement.

I thought there wasnt going to be a change to the Barbary apes or dholes at least until the zoo decides to start in on the Canadian Wilds which is to follow the health unit and orangutan outdoor exhibit... which would move it at least a couple years down the line. Until then or the deaths of animals I thought they were to stay on exhibit.
Click to expand...

The barbary apes and dholes will remain in their exhibits until they either pass away or construction on the Canadian Wilderness begins. Their exhibits won't be visible to the public though unless they ride the zoomobile.
 
Cats. Cats! Cats? @ Pueblo Zoo (Ringtails are already on exhibit, Pallas Cats are not)
Click to expand...

Pretty sure that's the title of a blog posting, not the name of an actual exhibit.
 
For me it's definitely Assiniboine Park's "Journey to Churchill". It looks to be the most comprehensive exhibit of Arctic ecosystems to date (at least in North America). It appears to be highly immersive and engaging and a sure fire winner.
 
Apparently the African Safari exhibit at the Wildlife World Zoo is near opening. The local news keeps showing a teaser for tomorrow's news that they'll be giving a behind the scenes look.
 
My highest expectations are for the River's Edge expansion at the Saint Louis Zoo. This is already a wonderful exhibit and one of my personal favorite exhibits in America. It will only get better with the addition of African wild dogs, andean bears, and sun bears. I visited St. Louis back in May and the addition was coming along nicely.
 
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