Philadelphia Zoo Philadelphia Zoo News 2009

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@zoo Visitor,

1. I never used the word (nor thought it) "irrational" to refer to you. But I may yet.

2. I did use "moral high ground" in reference to your statements of what a zoo "ought" to do and what their proper function and business is. You did not make those statements as a person expressing a personal opinion or vision, but rather as "right actions." I see that as trying to take the moral highground. How do you - or any of us - speak for what zoos "ought" to do? Who sets those standards?

3. I am perhaps the only one here (maybe?) who has spoken up defending your right to like what you like. You're welcome.

4.
"Yes, but saying it is difficult or almost impossible to understand someone's thoughts/opinions/feelings and constantly questioning the thoughts/opinions/feelings as if they are so unusual or unbelievable that they can't possibly be rational is an attack."
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I am sorry that you felt attacked. That is not my intention.
I disagree that trying to understand someone and even saying "I cannot understand" is an attack. Your tone has gotten the hair up on many people's backs in previous postings, but I have not attacked you, as far as I know (I understand that you perceive it differently). I have a sincere and long standing interest in understanding the many ways in which visitors enjoy zoos. It is something I have studied for half my life.

Nice thing about a Forum is, we don't need to continue this any further.
 
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Katia

JonnyS18 said:
Speaking of the leopards ive just noticed that Katia (the female amur) has been removed from the philly zoo website... hope thats not a bad thing :confused:
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The amur leopard Katia has returned to the feline conservation center in california where she was born. Does anyone know if Philly zoo is making room for any more amurs?? A new mate for Krepke perhaps...??
 
JonnyS18 said:
The amur leopard Katia has returned to the feline conservation center in california where she was born. Does anyone know if Philly zoo is making room for any more amurs?? A new mate for Krepke perhaps...??
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Krepke is now in Big Cat Falls, and will be introduced to his new mate soon ... actually maybe already!
 
JonnyS18 said:
oh excellent, thanks for the info! :)
Do you know who the new female is? Wher she's from...?
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Sorry - I don't know that information for sure - I will try to find out more over the weekend when I go to the Zoo. All I know is that she has been brought in and he has been transferred to Big Cat Falls.

One of the snow leopards is now in the Carnivore Kingdom exhibit that Krepke was in.
 
zoovisitor

"None of what I have said before matters quite so much to me now. I still love Jungle World, but I have seen my favorite zoo's new McNeil Avian Center, which will open to the public May 30th, and it is even better than Jungle World - in my opinion, of course.

But, in this case, I think almost everyone who sees this fantastic new avian center will agree with me. There are no barriers between visitors and birds, except fine mesh in a few areas, and NO piped-in sounds.

There are birds everywhere, singing, chirping, flapping wings ... perched or flying overhead at times (I even got bird poop in my hair!)

There are birds from Africa (sacred ibis, hammerkop, Egyptian plover ...) from Hawaii, from Indonesia ... it is a bird-lover's paradise, as well as a zoo visitor's paradise.

THIS is what I how I want a zoo exhibit to be designed.

I hope everyone will flock to the Philadelphia Zoo to see it soon."



I will not say that the Mcneil Avian Center looks better to me than Jungle World, but then again i have not seen the Mcneil Avian Center in person, and i believe Jungle World to be a spectacular building.

Having said that, in my humble opinion the Mcneil Avian Center looks fantastic, the design looked very good, but what is better and in most cases rare in the zoo world is the final product on opening day, i have seen enough videos and pics online to perceive that it looks already in DAY 1# like a world class exihbit, after a trip to San Diego Zoo in April and taking in what i believe was the world greathest zoo, i was shocked to see the videos and pics of EO, it looked like a disaster zone not a brand new exihbit, i would have expected this out of any zoo but San Diego, maybe in years it will turn out to be a great exihbit but right now, i can only think of where did all the money go?, but i will not judge the zoo in this, since many zoos are doing the same in modern days to lower cost opening the exihbit half way and with very little plants and so on to save cost, but that is one thing that the Mcneil center did not do, it looks exactly like the design concept and computer animated video it is just spectacular.

so congrats to the Philly Zoo
 
Miniaturezoo954 said:
...
I will not say that the Mcneil Avian Center looks better to me than Jungle World, but then again i have not seen the Mcneil Avian Center in person, and i believe Jungle World to be a spectacular building.

Having said that, in my humble opinion the Mcneil Avian Center looks fantastic, the design looked very good, but what is better and in most cases rare in the zoo world is the final product on opening day, i have seen enough videos and pics online to perceive that it looks already in DAY 1# like a world class exihbit, after a trip to San Diego Zoo in April and taking in what i believe was the world greathest zoo, i was shocked to see the videos and pics of EO, it looked like a disaster zone not a brand new exihbit, i would have expected this out of any zoo but San Diego, maybe in years it will turn out to be a great exihbit but right now, i can only think of where did all the money go?, but i will not judge the zoo in this, since many zoos are doing the same in modern days to lower cost opening the exihbit half way and with very little plants and so on to save cost, but that is one thing that the Mcneil center did not do, it looks exactly like the design concept and computer animated video it is just spectacular.

so congrats to the Philly Zoo
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Thank you, Miniaturezoo954!

Your point is a very good one, and one I should have also made. Very often the plans for a new exhibit, and the televised previews and commercials for it make it look much better than it turns out to be.

The new McNeil Avian Center not only opened right on schedule, but it looks even better in real life than any drawing board imagination proposed, or any pre-opening day advertisement suggested.
 
I visited the zoo this weekend to check out the McNeil Avian Center and just wanted to post a quick review of it for you guys here that might be interested.

The outside of the building looks great, wonderfully restored historic building.

When you enter the building you find yourself in a large sort of foyer area, a large amount of space for people. Directly in front of you is a large exhibit for a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills. The exhibit is very tall, but not super wide. It appears wider than it is because the back of their exhibit is mesh and you can see through into the exhibit behind it. To the right or left you can continue on to other exhibits (I chose to go to the right), and on the left side there is a queue for the 4-D Migration Theatre (more on that later). Restrooms can also be found in this area.

Venturing to the right you enter the African Savannah exhibit. Visitors stand under a thatched roof and view the birds over a railing which reminded me of safari lodge porch. There is no mesh separating visitors from the birds, but birds are encouraged to stay in their exhibit by keeping the visitor space dark. There is good signage here and a replica of a hammerkop nest which children can enter.

From here visitors continue on into the Island Birds area. This area has 3 small exhibits which showcase birds from Guam, Hawaii, and Indonesia. Mesh separates visitors from the inhabitants. The Hawaii exhibit mainly showcases introduced bird species to the island, but does exhibit one native Hawaiian species.

From here you enter a large walkthrough rainforest exhibit. Departing from the specific locale exhibits, this rainforest contains birds from all over the globe. There are many plants and water features which give birds plenty of places to explore. There is plenty of vertical space but the exhibit itself isn't overly large (I could see how the pathway could get crowded very quickly.) Misters frequently turn on and create a thick fog which covers some of the visitor pathway, and occasionally it begins to rain. Don't worry, you won't get wet, the rain stays out of the guest's space. Visitors are encouraged to pick up an ID Card at either end of the exhibit and try to identify all the species within this exhibit (a difficult task).

The last exhibit showcases birds from Central and South America. Replicating a shade coffee plantation, signs educate visitors about the habitat these coffee plantations provide for native birds. Mesh separates visitors from the birds.

Lastly the 4-D Migration Theatre. The queue is small, but a decent size so as not to overtake the foyer area. The theatre itself is on the small side, but excellently decorated. The movie shown here shows the journey a Baltimore Oriole from Philadelphia takes as he ventures on his first migration to South America. The video is definitely geared towards children, I didn't really get much out of it besides a migration is a really long trip birds take. The graphics are cartoonish but cute. Projections of birds flying sweep across the walls and guests, making them appear to be flying. The only 4-D aspect I noticed was a misting which occurred when the bird on the screen encountered a rainstorm.

All in all the McNeil Avian Center was very nicely done. The visitor experiences (walkthrough exhibit, misting, 4-D theatre, hammerkop nest) nicely compliment the bird species. Each exhibit is densely planted and provides a nice home for the birds that live there.

One thing I have to say is that I wish there were more exhibits, in total 7 exhibits are significantly less than those found in bird houses at other zoos. I thought it was strange that the walkthrough area had birds from everywhere, when they took so much time making all of the other exhibits locale-specific. It also seemed to me that many of the exhibits contained 1 representative of species -- my feeling about this is that the zoo wants to increase the overall number of species that they exhibit. Guess they don't plan to breed many of these single individuals, unless they plan to add more birds later. The space kind of seems to be maxed out currently, and breeding rare species in mixed free-flight exhibits can be challenging when it comes to tracking parentage.

I will be posting photos later, but for now here's a species list for the McNeil Avian Center. I'm going with what I saw on the signs for this one, I didn't see anything not on the signs, but there was plenty of stuff on the signs that I didn't see. I might've missed some in the large walkthrough exhibit but I don't see how I could've missed them in the smaller exhibits.

Foyer Gallery
  • Rhinoceros Hornbill - Buceros rhinoceros

African Savannah
  • Sacred Ibis - Threskiornis aethiopicus
  • Hammerkop - Scopus umbretta
  • Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
  • Egyptian Plover - Pluvianus aegyptius
  • Blue-bellied Roller - Coracias cyanogaster
  • Von der Decken's Hornbill - Tockus deckeni<-- Didn't see
  • Golden-breasted Starling - Cosmopsarus regius
  • Snowy-headed Robin Chat - Cossypha niveicapilla<-- Didn't see
  • Pink-headed Turtle Dove - Streptopelia roseogrisea
  • White-vented Bulbul - Pycnonotus barbatus<-- Didn't see
  • Magpie Shrike - Corvinella melanoleuca
  • Blue-breasted Kingfisher - Halcyon malimbica
  • Emerald Starling - Lamprotornis iris<-- Didn't see
  • Buff-crested Bustard - Lophotis ruficrista

Islands - Guam
  • Micronesian Kingfisher - Todiramphus cinnamominus cinnamominus
  • Guam Rail - Rallus owstoni

Islands - Hawaii
  • Saffron Finch - Sicalis flaveola
  • Java Sparrow - Padda oryzivora
  • Red-crested Cardinal - Paroaria coronata
  • Common 'Amakihi - Hemignathus virens

Islands - Indonesia
  • Bali Mynah - Leucopsar rothschildi
  • Blue Crowned Hanging Parrot - Loriculus galgulus<-- Didn't see
  • Bartlett's Bleeding Heart Dove - Gallicolumba criniger
  • Goldie's Lorikeet - Trichoglossus goldiei

Walkthrough Rainforest
  • Ringed Teal - Callonetta leucophrys<-- Didn't see
  • Roul Roul - Rollulus roulroul
  • Victoria Crowned Pigeon - Goura victoria
  • Pied Imperial Pigeon - Ducula bicolor<-- Didn't see
  • Blue-throated Conure - Pyrrhura cruentata<-- Didn't see
  • Violaceous Turaco - Musophaga violacea
  • Mariana Fruit Dove - Ptilinopus roseicapilla
  • Palawan Peacock Pheasant - Polyplectron emphanum
  • Collared Finchbill - Spizixos semitorques
  • Blue-faced Honeyeater - Entomyzon cyanotis
  • Crested Oropendula - Psarocolius decumanus<-- Didn't see
  • Collared Imperial Pigeon - Ducula mulleri<-- Didn't see
  • Red-billed Malkoha - Phaenicophaeus javanicus<-- Didn't see
  • Metallic Starling - Aplonis metallica metallica
  • Jambu Fruit Dove - Ptilinopus jambu
  • Piping Guan - Aburria pipile cumanensis
  • Ivory-billed Aracari - Pteroglossus azara
  • Crimson-rumped Toucanette - Aulacorhynchus haematopygus
  • Curl-crested Aracari - Pteroglossus beauharnaesii<-- Didn't see
  • Green Aracari - Pteroglossus viridis<-- Didn't see
  • Yellow-knobbed Curassow - Crax daubentoni
  • Fairy Bluebird - Irena puella
  • Chiriqui Quail-dove - Geotrygon chiriquensis<-- Didn't see
  • Nicobar Pigeon - Caloenas nicobarica

Coffee Plantation
  • Blue Ground Pigeon - Claravis pretiosa
  • White-lined Tanager - Tachyphonus rufus
  • Blue-and-yellow Tanager - Thraupis bonariensis<-- Didn't see
  • Blue-grey Tanager - Thraupis episcopus
  • Guira Cuckoo - Guira guira
  • Blue-crowned Motmot - Momotus momota
  • Little Tinamou - Cyrpturellus soui
  • Southern Lapwing - Vanellus chilensis
  • Black-bellied Whistling Duck - Dendrocygna autumnalis
  • Sunbittern - Eurypyga helias
  • Black-necked Stilt - Himantopus himantopus mexicanus
  • Green Heron - Butorides virescens<-- Didn't see
 
fkalltheway, thank you for the excellent report, i love the detail in your description, and i figured that i should let you know, i'm sure many of us that can't make it there appreciate the time you took to give us as best a description as one could find of this place.
Based on what i get from you, the exihbit as it looks in the videos and pics is spectacular, great viewing areas, and good use of space?.......and as far as bird collection, above average, i also understand that based on the amount of available space and number of animals it can not grow to look like Bronx's world of birds, this is a building i'm very familiar with, and loved beyond most other bird buildings i have seen.

I believe that this zoo has outdone itself in terms of making the best of what they had, building, available space, budget, and last but not least bird collection, and thanks to you now i have an even better idea of what to expect, i will surely consider a trip to this zoo in the future, and the mcneil avian center is just the first of the reasons, of hopefully many more to come.
thank you
 
Zoo Visitor Categories

zebedee101 said:
Out of interest zoo visitor, which one do you classify yourself as? Professional/Hobbyist would be how I classify myself.....
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Sorry about the delay in replying - I just discovered your question while searching for something else!

Anyway, I think I am a combination of an Explorer, a Facilitator, a Professional/Hobbyist, and a Spiritual Pilgrim. The one I am definitely not is an Experience Seeker.

If I had to restrict myself to just one, I would have trouble choosing between Explorer and Spiritual Pilgrim. But Explorer would probably be a slightly better fit.

Originally Posted by Zoo Visitor

The AZA conducted a study a few years ago that categorized zoo visitors into five distinct groups:

“Explorers” are curiosity-driven and seek to learn more about whatever they might encounter at the institution;
“Facilitators” are focused primarily on enabling the experience and learning of others in their
accompanying social group;
“Professional/Hobbyists” feel a close tie between the institution’s content and their professional or hobbyist passions;
“Experience Seekers” primarily derive satisfaction from the fact of visiting this important site;
and
“Spiritual Pilgrims” are primarily seeking a contemplative and/or restorative experience.
 
Children's behavior in immersion exhibits

zebedee101 said:
... While I hear the arguement that children would behave themselves if they could be immersed in an animals exhibit this unfortunately doesn't happen, animals are fed, poked, have feathers removed forcibly and in one case I heard of kids catching budgies and stamping on them. There are good parents, there are those that are scared of confrontation with their kids and will let them do anything as they dont want to deal or confront innappropriate behaviour ...
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Fortunately, nothing like this has happened so far in the Philadelphia Zoo's new McNeil Avian Center. The birds fly low overhead and even walk on the visitor pathway while visitors are there.

The keepers and other Zoo staff do a very good job of monitoring everything, and, so far, at least, the children seem to be so much in awe of what they are seeing that they react exactly the way I want children to react in a zoo - they are quiet and observant, something children need to be at least once in a while!
 
Philadelphia Zoo - Krepke in Big Cat Falls

I have just uploaded a video showing Krepke in his new exhibit in Big Cat Falls.


He is so beautiful, and, as always, looks so content.
 
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Philly ISIS listing for red-shanked Douc Langurs recently changed from 1.1 to 1.2.

Last i heared, Philly holds 1.1 mother and son on loan from San Diego and SD still had 0.2 elderly animals behind the scenes. Does this mean one of the two SD animals died and they sent their last animal to Philly as well, is just another false listing on ISIS or (HIGHLY unlikely) did they manage to get a new female in from outside the USA?
 
Philadelphia Zoo Douc Langurs Plus One

jwer said:
Philly ISIS listing for red-shanked Douc Langurs recently changed from 1.1 to 1.2.

Last i heared, Philly holds 1.1 mother and son on loan from San Diego and SD still had 0.2 elderly animals behind the scenes. Does this mean one of the two SD animals died and they sent their last animal to Philly as well, is just another false listing on ISIS or (HIGHLY unlikely) did they manage to get a new female in from outside the USA?
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One of the San Diego Zoo douc langurs died, and the other one is now in the Philadelphia Zoo. She is currently with the female douc langur off exhibit, but both will probably soon join/re-join the male on exhibit.
 
I feel like the new map has been reported recently but it's still a much improved map. A shame they'll need to change it soon to remove the elephants.
 
I visited for the first time last week and photos are being uploaded now.

Some impressions:

Big Cat Falls is a very good exhibit, good glass viewing, nicely planted, very good signage, great non exhibit areas such as the theater and the huts with stuff for kids, decent amount of space in most of the exhibits(puma and jag one's should be larger imo), and nice overall layout.

However, I would like to see some more space in a couple of the exhibits as mentioned, you do have the issue with seeing other people at the tiger viewing which many complain about on here, there was no open viewing which I'm a big proponent for, and the snow leopard doesn't have the type of habitat one would expect.

The new avian center is nice, however, smaller than I expected. Is the only aviary at the zoo, at least that I saw. Didn't go to the children's zoo however.

The old elephant exhibit is awful, they made the right decision to send them elsewhere.

The rhino, okapi, and Scottish cattle exhibits next to the old elephant exhibit are also awful! The hippo exhibit next to them needs work as well.

The giraffe exhibit is pretty good, as is the white rhino/zebra one next to it. However, they rotate those two species, which I find odd and a bit annoying since I could only see one, and other zoos put them together.

There is a very spacious and good antelope/gazelle/stork/crane exhibit across from those exhibits.

The bear section is above average with it's glass viewing, good amount of space, mostly grass/dirt substrate, and a good group of species.

The carnivore kingdom is also good, the highlight being the giant otters which have a large glass viewing(above and below water) area.

The indoor small mammal/nocturnal houses are ok, although the concrete substrate for various monkeys was upsetting. The aardvarks were a highlight as they were quite active and the viewing was great, could use more space though.

I forgot to visit the reptile house.

The primate area is decent, the gorilla's have a lot of outdoor space, not much in it though, the indoor section isn't much to speak of. The Orangutans and Gibbons have a decent outdoor exhibit. Same with the lemurs.

There's some other solid exhibits around the zoo such as the cheetahs, wild dogs, and large tortoises(forgot which kind).

Overall, they have a good collection and it's a zoo which I feel is on par with nearby zoos such as the National and Maryland zoos. More like the National Zoo though, Maryland Zoo is actually better quality imo, but fewer animals.
 
Philadelphia Zoo Orangutan Baby and Aye-Ayes

fkalltheway said:
Just some zoo updates:

Tua, the female orangutan gave birth, and the baby is now on display.
Philadelphia Zoo - Philadelphia Zoo Announces Birth of Sumatran Orangutan

Also, the zoo has acquired a pair of aye-ayes.
Philadelphia Zoo - "World?s Most Unusual Primate? pair joins the Zoo
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You can see my video of Tua and the baby here:


and my video of the female aye-aye here:



Zoo staff now believes the baby orangutan is a female. But, no matter what it is, it is adorable. And very healthy, too. This is Tua's first baby, but she is being a wonderful mother.

She is very aware of visitors peering at her and the baby, yet she is relaxed and calm. I attribute this to the great care she gets at the Zoo.


The aye-aye exhibit is very dark once the lights are turned off. And the aye-ayes don't wake up and start moving around until around 10:30AM, so this was the best video I could record.

Even in the dark, though, you can see what a fascinating creature an aye-aye is.
 
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