North Carolina Zoo North Carolina Zoo News

DavidBrown said:
What exhibits made the final plans for their Asia zone besides tigers, Komodo dragons, and red pandas?
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@Yi Qi Covered it pretty well. Thats the latest plan I have seen, yet I imagine their have been more changes.

  • Tigers (tropical subspecies)
  • komodo dragon
  • red panda
  • Visayan warty pig
  • Chinese alligator
  • Asian small-clawed otter
  • Wrinkled hornbill
  • Vulture (species unknown)
  • Gibbon (species unknown)
  • Crane (species unknown)
  • Visitor Pavilion (at least 11 small-medium indoor exhibits)
Yi Qi said:
I believe vultures, cranes, hornbills, primates, visayan warty pigs, small-clawed otters, and chinese alligators, according to this concept map art.

Honestly I would have expected more from the NC Zoo, like a big enclosure for hoofstock such as rhinos, banteng/guar/anoas or blackbucks, a la Prarie and Watani Grasslands.
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The zoo has a limited amount of funds for this expansion, and decided long ago to build a complex rather than a continent (like North America and Africa). The same goes for the later African complex. The zoo's 2018 master plan did leave open the option of other phases of Asia, yet that is a long way out if it ever happens. I would love to see some more hoofstock species though.
 
Today the zoo closed the Baboon exhibit to visitors. They have also closed the trails past the habitat that enable a view of the far end of Watani grasslands. This is all for the construction of a new baboon holding building and demolition of the African Pavillion (finally after about a decade). This work is expected to take about a year.
 
zoomaniac said:
Will the now baboon holding just hold baboons or will there be other (african) animals like in the former African Pavillion?
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It will only hold baboons. It has been a while since the pavilion held other animals. For example my first visit to the zoo was in 2014 and at that time the building only held dwarf crocodile, balteur eagle, and the baboons. The first two species were sent away after the building closed in 2015.
 
Zoofan15 said:
A second Southern white rhinoceros calf was born to Stormy and Linda 24/02/2020. The calf is a healthy female.

The zoo’s herd now consists of 1.9 Southern white rhinoceros: Stormy, Linda, Kit, Natalie, Abby, Olivia, Nandi (born 2018) Bonnie (born 2018), Mguu (born 2020) and the new calf.

N.C. Zoo welcomes birth of second southern white rhino calf this year
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More great news for the zoo :) Its crazy to think that they were ready to swap out Stormy before the first calf was born. And now we have 4 calfs in 2 years.
 
nczoofan said:
More great news for the zoo :) Its crazy to think that they were ready to swap out Stormy before the first calf was born. And now we have 4 calfs in 2 years.
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True and I am happy for that.

Just, I am not at all convinced as by evidence based research in EAZA zoos on white rhino herd dynamics and reproduction and hormonal suppression (as these conditions continue to exist here). I actually do not see either of the other 2 adult females Natalie (a former successful breeder at White Oak before transferring here in 2007) and Abigail (another calf by female Linda and at 14 never having bred and the window for reproduction closing at 20) are ever going to breed in the present set up. A break-up and move elsewhere of both of them would be the best outcome.
 
Visited the zoo today:
  • The baboon exhibit and trail next to Watani grasslands have been closed for construction. Site-clearing has begun for the baboon holding building as well.
  • Both rhino calves were on display. The older calf was in the main habitat, while the newest calf was spending his first day outside in the side yard I believe.
  • The aviary was re-opened. The main work seems to be have been in the horticulture department. Many trees and plants were trimmed, as the building had become quite dense and dark in recent months. Definitely made finding the birds easier
  • The red-footed and yellow-footed tortoise had been off exhibit for months, and have now been replaced by a Forsten's Tortoise. Happy to see the zoo bringing in this new species.
  • The Inca Jay and white-headed buffalo weaver have been moved into the aviary from The Desert.
  • Desert box turtle have been added to The Desert.
  • Construction is still ongoing in the south elephant yard, yet I saw C'Sar on exhibit for the first time in a while.
  • Construction appears to be almost done at the grizzly exhibit. I would expect it to open within the next two months.
 
nczoofan said:
Visited the zoo today:
  • The baboon exhibit and trail next to Watani grasslands have been closed for construction. Site-clearing has begun for the baboon holding building as well.
  • Both rhino calves were on display. The older calf was in the main habitat, while the newest calf was spending his first day outside in the side yard I believe.
  • The aviary was re-opened. The main work seems to be have been in the horticulture department. Many trees and plants were trimmed, as the building had become quite dense and dark in recent months. Definitely made finding the birds easier
  • The red-footed and yellow-footed tortoise had been off exhibit for months, and have now been replaced by a Forsten's Tortoise. Happy to see the zoo bringing in this new species.
  • The Inca Jay and white-headed buffalo weaver have been moved into the aviary from The Desert.
  • Desert box turtle have been added to The Desert.
  • Construction is still ongoing in the south elephant yard, yet I saw C'Sar on exhibit for the first time in a while.
  • Construction appears to be almost done at the grizzly exhibit. I would expect it to open within the next two months.
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Any pics of the construction?
 
Wyman said:
Any pics of the construction?
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I do not have any pictures. Two days ago they had a closing ceremony for the African Pavilion. What I saw yesterday was tree clearing near the main path where the baboon building will be, and significant fencing being put up around the site.
 
Zoofan15 said:
A second Southern white rhinoceros calf was born to Stormy and Linda 24/02/2020. The calf is a healthy female.

The zoo’s herd now consists of 1.9 Southern white rhinoceros: Stormy, Linda, Kit, Natalie, Abby, Olivia, Nandi (born 2018) Bonnie (born 2018), Mguu (born 2020) and the new calf.

N.C. Zoo welcomes birth of second southern white rhino calf this year
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The female Southern White Rhinoceros calf has been named Jojo.
She is named after rhino keeper Joseph “Jojo” Wachira of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.

Baby rhino at North Carolina Zoo has been named Jojo :: WRAL.com
 
Two more Red wolf pups have been born:

North Carolina Zoo welcomes 2 more critically-endangered red wolf pups, second litter in 1 season

Two new endangered wolf cubs joined the five born last month at the North Carolina Zoo.

On May 4, the North Carolina Zoo gave a warm welcome to the two newest babies of American red wolves Taylor, a female, and Solo, a male.

Five others were born days earlier to Piglet, a female, and Jewell, a male, on April 21.

The North Carolina Zoo is now home to 27 red wolves, the second-largest pack in the United States.

Only 15 to 20 red wolves still exist in the wild, and they’re all in eastern North Carolina.
 
The zoo will reopen on June 15th :)
  • Reservations/ticket orders must be made for guests and members online.
  • Indoor exhibits such as the aviary, desert, stream-side, and seabirds will be closed.
  • Visitors will follow a one way path starting at the North American entrance.
  • Memberships are being extended 4 months.
Happy to have it open, although this is gonna be a very mammal-centric zoo for a while :D
 
A female Reticulated giraffe has arrived:

With the North Carolina Zoo reopening on June 15, some regular visitors have noticed an extra giraffe on exhibit.

That’s because 2 months ago, amid the coronavirus shutdown, the N.C. Zoo quietly welcomed a fourth giraffe to the Zoo.

Standing 11 feet tall, Amelia is a reticulated giraffe born on April 2, 2018, at Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina, making her just 2 years old.

After arriving at the N.C. Zoo on March 1, she initially spent some time off habitat getting to know the keepers and Jack, Leia and Turbo, the Zoo’s other giraffes, before joining the tower (a group of giraffes).

The newest giraffe at NC Zoo is named Amelia. She moved to her new home in Asheboro in March.
 
The past year of so has seen major investment in modernizing the zoos infrastructure. Several infrastructure projects such as the baboon building (opening early 2021), demolition of the african pavilion (as soon as baboons open), new walkways in the aviary, and the grizzly bear exhibit renovation (early fall) are underway or were recently completed.

Now the zoo is moving forward with its next major renovation, the zoos aviary building. The glass panels of the dome all need to be replaced due to micro-cracks, as well a new HVAC system is needed. To renovate the aviary the zoo needs to temporarily relocate all of the birds out of the building. Therefore they are building a 3,000 sq ft bird holding building near the animal hospital to accommodate the collection. Plans for the building can be found at the link below if interested. The plans show a building with 14 indoor holding spaces each attached to an outdoor aviary. While this serves as a way to not disperse the current collection during construction, it also will provide more space off-display to expand the zoos breeding programs. The bid was put out in May, so I’d expect this project to begin soon as well.

NC DOA : Marolf Construction, Inc. - NC Zoo- New Avian Holding Building - Asheboro, NC
 
The zoo finished its renovation of the grizzly bear exhibit this week, and the exhibit is now open. The zoos 30-year-old Grizzly bear, Tomo was given access to it today (as can be seen in the video below). The renovations included filling in half the pool/moat to give him more space. The zoo also installed 12-foot tall glass windows to allow a better view. A training wall was added as well. An interesting fact is that all the work was done by the zoos in-house exhibit team.

 
Also I can finally confirm after more than a decade of plans the zoo has finally demolished the African Pavillion. The iconic white-tent structure is no more.

26533927702_e1b8634e43_b.jpg
 
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