If San Antonio still has them they are off display though. The row of exhibits that housed them and the ibex is now vacant.
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium News 2021
- Thread starter MidwestFan
- Start date
If San Antonio still has them they are off display though. The row of exhibits that housed them and the ibex is now vacant.
San Diego Zoo had kept their Yellow-Footed Rock Wallabies in the old Dog & Cat Canyon but were phased out/put off-display when the area was demolished to make way for the new Africa Rocks exhibit.
Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby Exhibits - ZooChat
Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby Exhibits - ZooChat
That is too bad, just as yellow-footed rockies are a very attractive exhibit animal and so much off the norm of Bennett's and Parma wallabies from the more temperate forested habitats of Australia.
From a foundation newsletter I received:
"The Zoo has been home to American flamingos—the only species of the bird that naturally inhabits North America—since 1972, but in recent years the flock size has been relatively small. With the improvements to their habitat, we’ve been able to increase our flamingo population from eight birds to 30. Not only does that mean our aviary here in Omaha is going to be a sea of pink, but Huettner says that the new breeding opportunities and genetic diversity possibilities that it opens up have the potential to make a significant contribution to the population of this species in North America."
Not mentioned: flamingos are colony breeders and need the group stimuli to get into display and courtship mode behaviours. Along with a host of other husbandry issues dealing with seclusion, enough space and ample wide directional area from the general public as flamingos are sensitive to any form of disturbance (noise, walk over ... et cetera).
Went to the zoo's website to see if everything was going as planned for the Aviary re-opening and it has been delayed to July 23rd. Not sure what happened here. I may go Friday afternoon to see what is up.
Also, per the website's notifications that pop up when you go to the website, Gorilla Valley will be re-opening August 13th.
Also, per the website's notifications that pop up when you go to the website, Gorilla Valley will be re-opening August 13th.
Ok, so went to the zoo this afternoon for a quick visit to see what’s new/going on.
First, in the Lied Jungle, the signs for the Diana and Debrazza’s monkeys were removed and it looks like the Black Howler Monkeys have taken up a semi-permanent residence in the Congo island (knowing that’s not where they come from, but alas). The black headed spider monkeys have moved into the South American island with the 3rd Malayan tapir leaving their previous habitat with the squirrel monkeys and saki monkeys.
In the Desert Dome, a couple of the snakes switched exhibits including the King Brown into an exhibit that isn’t in a corner that guests usually miss. Also, where a hornbill used to live was renovated into an exhibit for some skink looking lizard that hasn’t gotten a sign yet. See if any of you can ID this species.
Now down to the more important aspects, the Gorilla Valley and the Aviary.
First, Gorilla Valley has this sign out in front of the lower entrance.
Here is an updated look at the facade.
Now the Aviary. After it was initially announced to open yesterday, it definitely isn’t ready. Portions of walkway fencing needs to be finished, parts of the new flamingo area aren’t done. They are still planting a lot of vegetation. Let’s hope 3 weeks is enough time. It looked as if Keepers were doing a walk through to see the state of the area. I didn’t take photos because there wasn’t one area really left, there were a bunch of spots, would have been hard to capture what all needed to be finished.
That’s my quick update from today.
First, in the Lied Jungle, the signs for the Diana and Debrazza’s monkeys were removed and it looks like the Black Howler Monkeys have taken up a semi-permanent residence in the Congo island (knowing that’s not where they come from, but alas). The black headed spider monkeys have moved into the South American island with the 3rd Malayan tapir leaving their previous habitat with the squirrel monkeys and saki monkeys.
In the Desert Dome, a couple of the snakes switched exhibits including the King Brown into an exhibit that isn’t in a corner that guests usually miss. Also, where a hornbill used to live was renovated into an exhibit for some skink looking lizard that hasn’t gotten a sign yet. See if any of you can ID this species.
Now down to the more important aspects, the Gorilla Valley and the Aviary.
First, Gorilla Valley has this sign out in front of the lower entrance.
Here is an updated look at the facade.
Now the Aviary. After it was initially announced to open yesterday, it definitely isn’t ready. Portions of walkway fencing needs to be finished, parts of the new flamingo area aren’t done. They are still planting a lot of vegetation. Let’s hope 3 weeks is enough time. It looked as if Keepers were doing a walk through to see the state of the area. I didn’t take photos because there wasn’t one area really left, there were a bunch of spots, would have been hard to capture what all needed to be finished.
That’s my quick update from today.
Attachments
Looks like a Sudan plated lizard to me Gerrhosaurus major
Gorilla Valley reopens August 6th, yes! I plan on visiting the zoo the 8th and was saddened to hear the proposed opening date of the 13th, which would be just past my visit. It looks like it will now be open just in time.
The Omaha World Herald had an article today that is very general and talks about how after these two exhibit re-openings in the next month that the master plan from 10 years ago will be completed (if you say so Dr. Pate).
This isn’t entirely new news as we know South America was dropped, but it sounds as if the zoo will be heading different directions for the Cat Complex and the plan for polar bears (as that shortage is well documented on this site).
This was the biggest piece of information in the article I thought:
This article may be behind a pay wall and for Europeans may not have the cookie thing that is required, but here is the link anyway if any of you want to delve into it for yourself.
Omaha zoo 'coming back strong' from pandemic as renovations wrap up
This isn’t entirely new news as we know South America was dropped, but it sounds as if the zoo will be heading different directions for the Cat Complex and the plan for polar bears (as that shortage is well documented on this site).
This was the biggest piece of information in the article I thought:
This article may be behind a pay wall and for Europeans may not have the cookie thing that is required, but here is the link anyway if any of you want to delve into it for yourself.
Omaha zoo 'coming back strong' from pandemic as renovations wrap up
Attachments
Went to Late Night at the Zoo tonight and a sign has been put up for this exhibit. It is a Giant Plated Lizard. Gerrhosaurus validus.
Also, this was the first time I’ve been down in Kingdoms of the Night after hours and seeing the place bathed in light is a pretty cool experience. Was able to get good exhibit photos and with a lot of the animals sleeping, it made it easier to get still photos of them. Not all animals were visible, but a large portion were.
Hi there, I apologise if this is the wrong place but I've been doing some research into the Lied Jungle exhibit and I was wondering if I could ask a couple of questions? I live in the UK but I would love to visit this zoo someday
You can ask them here I suppose and hopefully some of us can answer what you would like to know.
This is definitely the right place to ask your questions about the Omaha Zoo.
Thank you very much. I saw a video on YouTube of the massive forest building and was just wondering if the hippos and tapirs had areas where both species could be separated or is it just the one area they both share? Was also wondering if they had 'night' quarters? Sorry for the geeky questions, just really interested in how the building works
Both the hippos and tapirs have their own exhibits that are not connected while on exhibit up in the jungle portion of the building. It was designed with a barrier free kind of feel in a lot of areas on the floor, however along the main exhibits around the outer walls you will clearly see the concrete walls separating them off from the other parts of the jungle.
I've toured this facility in the past and below the floor of the rain forest is where the night quarters are for a lot of the animals that are floor dwelling. There are chutes that lead down to penned areas that are basically like any behind the scenes holding areas you would see on zoo television programs like "Secrets of the Zoo" or "The Zoo" series here in the states. Sometimes if you are in the Lied Jungle you can see the chutes of the main Malayan tapir exhibit that are open and you can catch a glimpse down the tunnel and get an idea of how it works.
Also below the jungle are all of the water filtration systems and the utilities of the building, quite an impressive design under there. Got utility corridors you can drive vehicles through around it similar to what is below Disney World's Magic Kingdom park.
Thank you so much, that's really helpful. I was wondering if the tapirs only had the island with the monkeys but that's interesting they have another area. The fact they can drive zoo vehicles within the building is crazy, must be so much bigger then it already looks
You are most welcome. Hope you get to visit some day!
The building really is bigger than meets the eye. There is a fair amount of stuff in the surrounding area that is underground. But also just knowing when you are on the jungle trail on the “ground level” yet there is another level below you is definitely thought provoking.
There is a documentary about the building of the Lied Jungle that may be of interest. It has some behind the scenes footage: Jungle Under Glass