Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium News 2023

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MGolka said:
The zoo put out a release that Callee will be moving to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita soon. While sad for those of us in Omaha, he bred all of the females and hopefully can do the same or teach the two males down in Wichita how to.

Zoo Prepares for Departure of Male African Elephant
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Thank whatever that the link tells me it was an elephant otherwise I wouldn’t have guessed it
 
Has anyone actually ever seen the Indian crested porcupine that shares the white-handed gibbon island?

For a while, the Müller's gibbon apparently lived in the designated Malayan tapir and Francois's langur enclosure. I'm assuming this is still true. Does the Müller's gibbon rotate with the Francois's Langurs or are they on display together? Also, were/are there two troops of Francois's langurs?

Are there any black lemurs still at the zoo, or are they all gone?

What is the status of the blue monkey, colobus, and hyrax enclosure in Hubbard Gorilla Valley? It seems as if there is an odd collection of species in a rotation. These being black crested macaques, a red panda, agile gibbons, and the usually inhabitants.

Are the howler monkeys sharing their designated enclosure with a Malayan tapir still? Is the troop of spider monkeys still in this enclosure, as well?

Have debrazza monkeys, red-backed bearded sakis, and lowland pacas left the collection? I'm thinking the paca did, but can't be sure.

Is there still a Diana monkey sharing an enclosure with Wolf's guenons?

Are there any other holders of yellow-spotted rock hyraxes other than the Edmonton Valley Zoo (they claim to have one, anyway) in North America?
 
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wild boar said:
Has anyone actually ever seen the Indian crested porcupine that shares the white-handed gibbon island?

For a while, the Müller's gibbon apparently lived in the designated Malayan tapir and Francois's langur enclosure. I'm assuming this is still true. Does the Müller's gibbon rotate with the Francois's Langurs or are they on display together? Also, were/are there two troops of Francois's langurs?

Are there any black lemurs still at the zoo, or are they all gone?

What is the status of the blue monkey, colobus, and hyrax enclosure in Hubbard Gorilla Valley? It seems as if there is an odd collection of species in a rotation. These being black crested macaques, a red panda, agile gibbons, and the usually inhabitants.

Are the howler monkeys sharing their designated enclosure with a Malayan tapir still? Is the troop of spider monkeys still in this enclosure, as well?

Have debrazza monkeys, red-backed bearded sakis, and lowland pacas left the collection? I'm thinking the paca did, but can't be sure.

Is there still a Diana monkey sharing an enclosure with Wolf's guenons?

Are there any other holders of yellow-spotted rock hyraxes other than the Edmonton Valley Zoo (they claim to have one, anyway) in North America?
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Some answers:
  • Yes, I've seen it usually hiding below or in a couple of the hollowed out log on the island.
  • The gibbon rotates between the Tapir/Langur enclosure and the Asian Small Clawed Otter enclosure. They are on display together when in the tapir enclosure. I believe there are two troops since there was also a troop that rotates in over at Orangutan Forest outside.
  • Don't believe there are any straight up Black Lemurs, if there are they are BTS, but there are now Blue-eyed Black Lemurs on display.
  • I believe the Blue Monkeys, Angolan Colobus, and Sulawesi Crested Macaques all still rotate when they want in that exhibit from BTS. Last couple of visits the Agile Gibbons have been on show. I was told by staff that they let the monkeys let them know when they want to go outside, seems like a lot of them are just fine BTS. The hyrax were most likely moved to the former African Wildcat exhibit in the Desert Dome as I noted earlier in this thread. Red Panda there was only temporary as the zoo was introducing a new pair and needed an additional holding spot.
  • Black Howler Monkeys were moved to the 'African Island' where the Diana and DeBrazza's Monkeys were. Spider monkeys were housed in that tapir exhibit (at least the last time I was in the Lied Jungle before it closed for roof stuff).
  • DeBrazza's, the Sakis, and Pacas are all no longer in the collection or not on display as they were no longer signed prior to the closure.
  • There was not a Diana Monkey in with the single Wolf's Guenon prior to the closure and also has not been signed for a couple years now.
  • Not sure about the last hyrax question.
 
Within the next few months Lied Jungle will begin reopening in phases. More details regarding what renovations took place will be revealed in the coming weeks, although it looks like it may involve something to do with otters based on the zoos' social media post.

Omaha's Zoo & Aquarium on Instagram: "Exciting news! The Lied Jungle will be back and wilder than ever—THIS SUMMER. More details to come as we approach completion, but we are able to share: The building will open in phases. We know you’ve been “otterly” curious, and we can’t wait to have you back to enjoy all of the renovations."
 
I read through the comment responses from the zoo on the Facebook page and they do mention in someone's question about otters and just say that both the otter species they currently have are still there. The zoo also responded that all the details they have are some cosmetic stuff but mainly the roof maintenance. I wouldn't be too surprised if not much else changed.
 
Some minor updates from yesterday's visit:

There is a new small shelter on the Black Handed Spider Monkey Island in the Koi Pond. Looks to be some shelter for some waterfowl.

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At the south end of the pond, the Pink Backed Pelicans are no longer signed and are not on exhibit.

In Asian Highlands, I did get confirmation from zoo staff that the zoo is indeed out of Red Panda at the moment.

In the Desert Dome, the signs for the Giant Plated Lizard and Karoo Girdled Lizard have been removed, but a sign for Tropical Girdled Lizard has been put up. The exhibit's lineup is in the photo below:
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There was a shocking sight at the African Wildcat exhibit, in that I can confirm there is still at least one! Finally saw the individual after quite a few years of no-shows! Uploaded a photo in the gallery.

In Kingdoms of the Night, with all the new signage, there are two glaring omissions of species that got new ones. There are no more signs for Tammar Wallaby or Short Beaked Echidna. There are still a pair of wallaby on exhibit, and who knows about the echidna with how hit or miss it is, but it seems odd that these two wouldn't get new signs if they are in the long term plans.

In the Insect wing of the Butterfly House, the Saffron Finch exhibit is empty and unsigned and some potted plants have been put in place blocking the exhibit.
 

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Who wants a list of changes in the Lied Jungle!

I just paid the zoo a visit to only go through the jungle, I had massive Lied Jungle withdrawal going on and I needed a quick break so I went to check it out.

First up, new carpet which was probably needed, but I was severely disappointed that they removed the jungle tent camp interpretive display as you enter the jungle. To me it gave that little extra bit of adventure before stepping foot inside the actual jungle part. Now it is just a big boring spot. There are some new graphics though, but I much preferred the old stuff.

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The big boring space now that the tent and canoe was removed... yuck.

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The actual entrance/exit parts now have rubber strip curtains that you can make out in the left side of the above photo.

The White Crested Laughing Thrush are no longer on display in the first bird exhibit as you enter the jungle. There is a pair of Luzon Bleeding Heart Doves (there used to be only one).

Indian Crested Porcupine is still signed.

The first reptile exhibit in the first cave is now Frilled Lizard, they simply swapped exhibits in this cave with the Boyd Forest Dragon. I think it is a good switch as the lizards are now properly matched with their size to the exhibit.

A note on the terrarium signs, there are now actually signs! No more stenciling on the glass. Each of the three continents each have a different background, which is a really nice touch. Example of Asian signs:

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There was some cosmetic work on the rockwork around the Eurasian Eagle Owl exhibit. Looked really nice.

The exhibit where the Wolf's Guenon was hanging out now has a more permanent looking tarp nailed on instead of the loose hanging screen that was there previously. Really wish they would have opened this back up for easier viewing. Not sure if the Guenon is still there, didn't linger long enough as larger groups of people were coming through this area.

The small hollowed out log python exhibit has finally been "removed". They have patched the log. While a snake hasn't been in here for well over a decade, this was a huge opening day draw.

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There is now a nice planting area in front of the Elephant Shrew/Violaceous Turaco/African Pygmy Goose exhibit and the COVID barriers have been removed. A lot easier now to photograph the inhabitants.

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Here is the African signs for terrariums/side exhibits:

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There is now a net to catch things from visitors on the Spot Necked Otter Exhibit.

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In the South American terrariums, the first terrarium is now inhabited by Chacoan Horned Frog and Spiny Headed Tree Lizard (previously Smoky Jungle Frog). Here is the South American signs:

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The only other small change in the South American Cave is that the Yellow and Black Poison Dart Frogs have been signed as Bumblebee Frog.

A couple changes to the last South American big exhibit, the Blue and Yellow Macaw "exhibit" got a major overhaul. Tons of new climbing opportunities that even allows them access to the nearby cliff face. While still a "bird on a stick" exhibit, it has a lot more places for them to move around.

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Also, a closer look at the water below this has a couple things. First, keeper access paths just under the surface of the water to access these new macaw "pillars" and cliff face. As well as the addition of some reinforced concrete sewer pipe as hiding spots for the fish in this exhibit.

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Those are the main changes up top. Can't wait to get below since it has been closed for three years. Really the only animal that staff said got stressed out is the Mueller's Grey Gibbon. Otherwise all others seemed fine, pygmy hippos and a Malayan Tapir were all happily up and about. Spent a good 15 minutes watching the tapir explore its exhibit with the massive Belsky Waterfall even swimming around and munching on the foliage overhanging the walls of the pool.
 

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Thanks @MGolka for your incredibly detailed updates. I'm a bit jealous that you live so close to one of the world's great zoos!

Your most recent post highlighted a cool fact about Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and that is the constant renovating and revamping that goes on there. The zoo doesn't just build its famous, expensive new exhibit complexes, but it is always tweaking what it already has. There has been a ton of new signs and overhauled exhibits in Lied Jungle, Desert Dome and Kingdoms of the Night in the past decade, plus the Aquarium was modernized in 2012. The Simmons Aviary and Gorilla Valley were recently updated, and next is the Orangutan House. It's getting to the point where there really isn't anything left that needs modernizing and the entire zoo is full of high quality exhibits. Whenever a new Master Plan emerges, it should be a whopper as it will likely be full of brand-new stuff for zoo nerds to salivate over! :)
 
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