Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden News From the Cincinnati Zoo 2010

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Wonderful news!

I also had no idea about the new flamingo exhibit. I had heard nothing about it. Due to open Memorial Day weekend or due to begin construction on Memorial Day weekend? If it is to open Memorial Day weekend I'm surprised there was nothing said about it up until now.

I already knew about the expansion of the Giraffe yard and the Cheetah encounter, and the new Cheetah exhibit. Yes! Hopefully the poor Snow Leopard will inherit the old Cheetah exhibit!

Baboons and Hippos, and actual Olive Baboons to beat that! How exciting! I can't wait to see how their exhibit turn out!

Oh a Kopje! I assume the Meerkats and Bat-eared Foxes will be moved from the Cat House to the Kopje? I wonder what other species will be? Hyraxes, Klipspringers, and Porcupines probably. Along with some reptile or bird species also I assume, depending on size of the exhibit. Were any specific species mentioned?

The return of the African Wild Dogs! I missed those guys when they left.

I'm excited for the aviary. Over all Cincinnati is good for bird species, but it is lacking in species from Africa. I can't wait to see the species choices.

I saved the best for last, the Watering Hole hoof stock exhibits. I'm so excited for this exhibit! I can't wait to see how it turns out! I can't wait to see the new species they bring in. Were any specifics listed? I know the Giant Elands are supposed to come back. Are the Grevy's Zebras going to be brought over I wonder? You said it was mixed though. Usually Grevy's Zebras don't do well in mixed species exhibits. I hope that the exhibit stays savannah and they don't have odd extra species stuck in there like I've seen in other places like the Veldt at the Memphis Zoo. They have Scimitar-horned Oryx exhibited with Grant's Zebras, surrounded by giraffes, lechwe, ostriches, and dik-diks. The only animal that I could see them bringing in to the exhibit from some where else in the zoo besides the zebras are the Slender-horned Gazelles, but as I said, hopefully they won't bring them in as they don't really fit in with the theme of "savannah".


All in all I'm very excited and I can't wait to see how it turns out.
 
tigertiger said:
A few (exciting) developments I learned about today at the zoo:

1. The much talked about development of the former parking lot by the giraffe's into an African area has started. A sign on the area lists phase one:

-Expansion of the giraffe area (almost done)
-New Flamingo exhibit by the giraffe area (had no idea - due Memorial Day weekend)
-New cheetah encounter (starting Memorial Day weekend)

The map of exhibits to come includes:
-Olive Baboon
-Nile Hippo
-HUGE Hoofstock range (mixed) with watering hole [largest part of the new map]
-New cheetah exhibit
-Kopje
-Wild Dogs
-Free Flight Aviary

I'm rather excited - especially at the thought of hoofstock making a return when so many zoos seem to be phasing them out. Not ideas on what will happen to the flamingo & cheetah exhibits that presently exist however (assume the latter will be made to accomodate a rhino, what with the hopeful October birth and the cheetah exhibit will hold another big cat for the short term [hopefully the poor snow leopard...]).
Click to expand...

You wouldn't have happened to snap a photo of said map would you have?
 
Kudu21 said:
Wonderful news!

I also had no idea about the new flamingo exhibit. I had heard nothing about it. Due to open Memorial Day weekend or due to begin construction on Memorial Day weekend? If it is to open Memorial Day weekend I'm surprised there was nothing said about it up until now.

I already knew about the expansion of the Giraffe yard and the Cheetah encounter, and the new Cheetah exhibit. Yes! Hopefully the poor Snow Leopard will inherit the old Cheetah exhibit!

Baboons and Hippos, and actual Olive Baboons to beat that! How exciting! I can't wait to see how their exhibit turn out!

Oh a Kopje! I assume the Meerkats and Bat-eared Foxes will be moved from the Cat House to the Kopje? I wonder what other species will be? Hyraxes, Klipspringers, and Porcupines probably. Along with some reptile or bird species also I assume, depending on size of the exhibit. Were any specific species mentioned?

The return of the African Wild Dogs! I missed those guys when they left.

I'm excited for the aviary. Over all Cincinnati is good for bird species, but it is lacking in species from Africa. I can't wait to see the species choices.

I saved the best for last, the Watering Hole hoof stock exhibits. I'm so excited for this exhibit! I can't wait to see how it turns out! I can't wait to see the new species they bring in. Were any specifics listed? I know the Giant Elands are supposed to come back. Are the Grevy's Zebras going to be brought over I wonder? You said it was mixed though. Usually Grevy's Zebras don't do well in mixed species exhibits. I hope that the exhibit stays savannah and they don't have odd extra species stuck in there like I've seen in other places like the Veldt at the Memphis Zoo. They have Scimitar-horned Oryx exhibited with Grant's Zebras, surrounded by giraffes, lechwe, ostriches, and dik-diks. The only animal that I could see them bringing in to the exhibit from some where else in the zoo besides the zebras are the Slender-horned Gazelles, but as I said, hopefully they won't bring them in as they don't really fit in with the theme of "savannah".


All in all I'm very excited and I can't wait to see how it turns out.
Click to expand...

I knew about giraffe/cheetah encounter and the eventual plans for Africa to come to that parking lot but had no idea they'd be moving on it so quickly. The lot has only been officially closed 6 months (it was still used last summer and partly during Festival of Light) and this progress is quite exciting.

The Flamingo exhibit is stated to OPEN this Memorial Day, which I was quite shocked about. Then again, the newly renovated and opened children zoo (now featuring updated yards, the closing off of prior entrances, a new playground, more view areas in the nursery, a walk-through petting ranch for goats, mini cows, babydoll sheep and more) I had no idea about until I went to see the Little Penguins in January and could not because of the construction.

I hope most of this doesn't change as it would all be a giant and phenomenal boast for Cincinnati - the first hippo in this part of the midwest! A true walkthrough for birds! Joys!

I would imagine much of the project speciation when it comes to cats/meerkats/foxes is based around the also rumored Cat House/Cat Grotto renovations. The meerkats would certainly belong on the kopje but I'd be interested to see what they bring if not.

No species listed for the hoof area - just a large amount of space. I'm quite excited as over the years many zoos (Cincinnati recently and even Bronx last Fall) have been pulling more and more hoofstock animals away. I'm thrilled to see not only a return for them but hopefully something phenomenal. I'd kill for the Eland to come back but I hope that is not a pipe dream. I'd love to see some oryx's in the veldt, maybe even an ostrich-type theme. I'm just hoping it comes out as good as I see it in my mind and that my inquires to staff returns a timeline on all this.
 
And don't forget this is all with Dragons (the return of the komodos and monitors, etc.) opening June 6th! Surely that exhibit couldn't have taken much alteration (after all, the komodo used to live there....) but still. Busy year for the zoo between Dragons, the new Children's Zoo, expanded giraffe and cheetah encounter yards, and apparently a new flamingo exhibit!
 
I was listening to the zoo's podcast and Thane Maynard said that the Elands will be returning to the zoo. He also mentioned Ostriches.
 
How exciting! I's great to see some progress on the Savannah front. Man! This is what I've been waiting to hear from my home zoo. The return of hippos is probably the thing that excites me the most about the whole thing. If they can work in an indoor hippo building that would be open to the public, it would be cool to see some nile crocs in there as well. I'd also rather see hyenas than wild dogs, but I'm a hyena guy, so whatever.

I also think that this opens the zoo up to some zoogeographically oriented theming. Africa could be in the lower lot, then the Elephant House up the hill could become an Asian area. There are already gibbons, red pandas, Sumatran rhinos, Przewalski's horses, takin, cranes, Japanese macaques etc in the neighborhood. They could start to tie it all in if they sent some of the African species to the newly sodded lot.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
How exciting! I's great to see some progress on the Savannah front. Man! This is what I've been waiting to hear from my home zoo. The return of hippos is probably the thing that excites me the most about the whole thing. If they can work in an indoor hippo building that would be open to the public, it would be cool to see some nile crocs in there as well. I'd also rather see hyenas than wild dogs, but I'm a hyena guy, so whatever.

I also think that this opens the zoo up to some zoogeographically oriented theming. Africa could be in the lower lot, then the Elephant House up the hill could become an Asian area. There are already gibbons, red pandas, Sumatran rhinos, Przewalski's horses, takin, cranes, Japanese macaques etc in the neighborhood. They could start to tie it all in if they sent some of the African species to the newly sodded lot.
Click to expand...

I'm still just crossing my fingers that these species and/or promises stay and don't get shot down much in the way most exhibits do. Though they seem to be excavated much of the parking lot land, they don't seem too far along.

I think theming wouldn't work all that well. After all, how do you explain a reptile house in the middle of 'Asia'? Beyond that, it would be nice to see something like that (as people like to oft complain about the lack of it...) but there's the whole rest of the zoo that would be an issue. Mantees from FL, next to Indian Rhino's, Lions, a Bald Eagle and Polar Bear? Now I'd like to visit that area of the country! :P
 
That Reptile House's days of exhibiting animals are numbered. It's a matter of time, and I've heard rumors on here of it's possible conversions to a restaurant building. They've been spreading reptile exhibits around the zoo for a few years now. Tortoises in JT, lizards in WOTW, the crocodilians, turtles and snakes in Manatee Springs, and the upcoming Dragons exhibit are all examples. Rumors of the eagle cage being removed are also something I've heard. Maybe they want to expand the Sumatran rhino yards or build a public indoor facility. They were keeping eagles over by the polar bears last time I visited. You're absolutely right that the other end of the zoo would remain pretty jumbled, but those would be 2 huge chunks of African and Asian exhibit space.
 
True but...I don't know about you...I'd be disappointed if the zoo didn't have some type of reptile house. I look forward to that in every zoo I go to. I can't think of a good zoo or place I love without one. Sure, Cincy's is horrible but it's still something. I'd LOVE to see Cincy make that building something useful (maybe expand like woah a few of the exhibit spaces and make the building something like Bronx's Zoo center) and just get a new formal reptile building. Of course, I've been hearing about that building biting the dust, the African Savannah, Cat reforms and more for years now. At least one of those is on it's way to being done.

I hadn't heard about the eagle eyrie biting the dust. I'd be sad to see that - the exhibit is weird and cool at once.
 
Timeline Update:
Flamingo and Cheetah exhibit are to be done ~mid to late June
Old exhibits will hold new animals but they are unsure those far
Hoofed animals, wild dogs, aviary 2011
Hippo 2012

All up in the air a bit, however, due to lack of secured funding.
 
They said a good zoo ;)
***DISCLAIMER***
Just so no one's feelings are hurt or gets the wrong impression about Reid Park Zoo, I want to make it abundantly clear that I am teasing Arizona Docent and I believe the Reid Park Zoo to be a fine establishment.
***DISCLAIMER***

I wish we could hear more about the Cat Canyon project, that seems to have gone very silent.
 
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@ Ituri - very funny :p. (I would have gotten that it was a joke from your winky face, but I am glad you added the disclaimer for those who might not get it).
 
tigertiger said:
Timeline Update:
Flamingo and Cheetah exhibit are to be done ~mid to late June
Old exhibits will hold new animals but they are unsure those far
Hoofed animals, wild dogs, aviary 2011
Hippo 2012

All up in the air a bit, however, due to lack of secured funding.
Click to expand...

Did they say anything about the olive baboons?

I doubt that the old exhibits will hold anything too exciting. The old flamingo exhibit will likely have to be another wading bird. I can't see what else could be put into that particular setup. maybe they could bring the pelicans over from JT.

They've been quiet about Cat Canyon. Maybe moving a species out (cheetahs), they'd be able to start doing some upgrades. I do agree that it would be wonderful to see snow leopards in there.
 
tigertiger said:
Timeline Update:
Flamingo and Cheetah exhibit are to be done ~mid to late June
Old exhibits will hold new animals but they are unsure those far
Hoofed animals, wild dogs, aviary 2011
Hippo 2012

All up in the air a bit, however, due to lack of secured funding.
Click to expand...

picture of the new flamingo exhibit (from Phase I of the african Savannah)
29765_432423290478_61800120478_6051114_4472266_n.jpg
 
tigertiger said:
A few (exciting) developments I learned about today at the zoo:

1. The much talked about development of the former parking lot by the giraffe's into an African area has started. A sign on the area lists phase one:

-Expansion of the giraffe area (almost done)
-New Flamingo exhibit by the giraffe area (had no idea - due Memorial Day weekend)
-New cheetah encounter (starting Memorial Day weekend)

The map of exhibits to come includes:
-Olive Baboon
-Nile Hippo
-HUGE Hoofstock range (mixed) with watering hole [largest part of the new map]
-New cheetah exhibit
-Kopje
-Wild Dogs
-Free Flight Aviary
.
Click to expand...

Link to a map of African Savannah Exhibit
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2010/05/28/cheetah.pdf

Article in the paper
Cheetah Encounter expands; species holds own | cincinnati.com | nky.com

Additional Facts on the right side of the linked article

The expanded Cheetah Encounter is a $3 million piece of what will eventually become the zoo's largest exhibit, the 8-acre African Savannah.

"If the economy was better we'd try to build the whole $21 million facility at once," said zoo director Thane Maynard. "But it's hard to raise that much money, so we're doing it in (four) phases."

An additional $14 million will have to be raised to complete the exhibit, which will feature baboons, leopards, zebras, ostriches and hippos, as well as a new restaurant. About $7 million will be needed just for hippos because the filtration system to keep their water clean is expensive.

African Savannah will occupy what formerly was a main zoo parking lot off Dury Avenue. "Basically we're trying to get cars out of the zoo and reclaim that area for animals," Maynard said.

Like all recent zoo projects, African Savannah will be "green." The zoo has partnered with the Metropolitan Sewer District to take all rain water that drains into the site off the storm water grid. The water will be collected in a massive underground tank and re-used for irrigation, for penguin and polar bear exhibits, and to replenish Swan Lake.
 
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Is the new permanent cheetah exhibit done or is it just the cheetah encounter?
Looks like the map answers my second question, ie whether or not the old administration buildings were going to stay or go. It look like they, along with the old zoo shop and the restaurant building are going to be torn down/redone. Also, what is "Treetops" in the map? Is it something new or something already there that's been renamed/redone?
 
Only the Cheetah Encounter is done, the Cheetah exhibit itself is not. The Treetops is I do believe an aviary.
 
Bad news as far as the African Savannah. The Giant Elands are no longer planned to be returning for the African Savannah. I asked the question over Facebook and the zoo confirmed that all of their Giant Elands are gone and they are not planned to return for the African Savannah. So no species have been confirmed for the hoof-stock area of the African Savannah unless the podcast from the director holds some truth and there will be Ostriches. As in the podcast he said that it would be the return of the elands and ostriches. I have no other knowledge of the progress of the African Savannah. Nothing else has been revealed on their website or blogs. Original plans were for the hoof-stock, wild dogs, and I do believe aviary to be opened throughout 2011, but I have heard of no progress. I might try to make it down to the zoo for Halloween or the birth of the Indian Rhinoceros calf and if I see or hear anything different I will report it here :)

Other news from the zoo:

Well of course Nikki, the Indian Rhinoceros, is due in October and the zoo has started the count down.

New species at the zoo include Parma Wallabies and Banded Palm Civets.
 
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