You were told to not post anything not verified without clearly indicating it was speculation. You didn't indicate any of those were. Especially "There are no plans to get any gazelles/antelopes".
Philadelphia Zoo Philadelphia Zoo News 2022
- Thread starter Kevin2342
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You were told to not post anything not verified without clearly indicating it was speculation. You didn't indicate any of those were. Especially "There are no plans to get any gazelles/antelopes".
https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/533433925/sen-hughes-announces-nearly-20-million-in-redevelopment-grants-awarded-to-projects-in-the-7th-senatorial-district
The conversation about the Watusi and the Phase made me immediately recall this article from December 24th 2020 (which was discussed here extensively at the time)
"The Philadelphia Zoo was awarded $1 million to convert Bird Lake into a large outdoor habitat for giraffes, ostriches, and Ankole cattle."
I take it plans have changed? It would be a relief to keep Bird Lake in my opinion, and am very curious how things have evolved
The conversation about the Watusi and the Phase made me immediately recall this article from December 24th 2020 (which was discussed here extensively at the time)
"The Philadelphia Zoo was awarded $1 million to convert Bird Lake into a large outdoor habitat for giraffes, ostriches, and Ankole cattle."
I take it plans have changed? It would be a relief to keep Bird Lake in my opinion, and am very curious how things have evolved
No plans ever seem certain at Philly, even if they are announced.
In 2017, a new restaurant was one of two plans they actually had in motion at the time. They had even been advertising the restaurant to the public Despite all this, it never happened.
They had plans to build a new giraffe habitat where the Cheetahs are. Never happened.
They had plans to convert the lake into a hippo expansion. Never happened.
They had plans to build Zoo360 trails for bears and African hoofstock. Never happened and no longer talked about.
I don't like being super negative but it really does seem as though the only thing Philadelphia is capable of following through with at the moment (including pre-pandemic) is closing exhibits.
At least they managed to get that "Water is Life" renovation done.
~Thylo
Couldn't have said it better myself. I genuinely want to see this zoo prosper, and it appeared that Zoo360 was helping bolster the zoo... until they stopped with Meerkat Maze. I genuinely understand that COVID threw a monkey-wrench (no pun intended) into any future plans, but even past COVID, it seems as if the zoo was on a path to stagnation other than maintaining what they already had. On my second-most recent visit to the zoo, when they were starting to convert the polar bear habitat into Penguin Point, I asked a keeper if they eventually planned to bring back polar bears. She mentioned that A, there were unfortunately no available bears, and B, it was either putting the penguins in that habitat or going out of penguins altogether. (This ties into your point in the sense that they did have signage about the prospect of bringing back polar bears, and at least they kept it open-ended rather than definitively saying and not following through). At least the bird curator's bringing in new species wherever possible, which is nice to see, and the dynamics between the steamer ducks/penguins and the screamers/flamingos are fun to watch.
I heard a few updates after emailing the zoo online.
-First, in terms of the king cobra. She does indeed have a cloudy eye but it is not old age cataracts, but it is called an eye cap or spectacle. These are specialized scales that protect the snake’s eyes and are normally shed. Sometimes a shed isn’t fully completed and an eye cap remains. Staff are giving the snake time to shed naturally but if that dosen’t happen, assistance can be given to remove the old eye cap.
-Milan, the angora goat, passed away recently. She was just shy of her 16th birthday. Over her long life here, we are grateful she was able to meet tons of guests. I have been expecting this to happen for a long time, it has been so painful seeing her walk with her severe arthritis, and a lot of time she would just ‘’stand there’ and not move at all for long periods of time. She was definitely ready to leave. They did not tell me how she passed, but most likely it was arthritis issues which have been going on for a long time(speculation.)
-Zia the Jaguar will be going to Oklahoma City Zoo soon as part of a breeding recommendation. Jutai will be the only Jaguar at the zoo, and soon we won’t be able to see a Jaguar anymore since Jutai is very old, and only comes out at night because he is scared of large groups of people. Zia first came to Philadelphia to breed with Jutai but that never worked. Jutai is not a valuable male at 18 years old. I have not heard anything about bringing a new female Jaguar to the zoo. If you would like to see a Jaguar at Philadelphia Zoo, come soon because nobody knows how long Zia will still be here.
-Rico the fossa has moved to another zoo as part of a breeding recommendation. Last visit I saw otters in his exhibit, but the fossa sign has not been taken down yet.
-The ankole cattle are expected to arrive this spring, and will continue to share space in the Phase with the gazelle, storks and red river hogs.
-First, in terms of the king cobra. She does indeed have a cloudy eye but it is not old age cataracts, but it is called an eye cap or spectacle. These are specialized scales that protect the snake’s eyes and are normally shed. Sometimes a shed isn’t fully completed and an eye cap remains. Staff are giving the snake time to shed naturally but if that dosen’t happen, assistance can be given to remove the old eye cap.
-Milan, the angora goat, passed away recently. She was just shy of her 16th birthday. Over her long life here, we are grateful she was able to meet tons of guests. I have been expecting this to happen for a long time, it has been so painful seeing her walk with her severe arthritis, and a lot of time she would just ‘’stand there’ and not move at all for long periods of time. She was definitely ready to leave. They did not tell me how she passed, but most likely it was arthritis issues which have been going on for a long time(speculation.)
-Zia the Jaguar will be going to Oklahoma City Zoo soon as part of a breeding recommendation. Jutai will be the only Jaguar at the zoo, and soon we won’t be able to see a Jaguar anymore since Jutai is very old, and only comes out at night because he is scared of large groups of people. Zia first came to Philadelphia to breed with Jutai but that never worked. Jutai is not a valuable male at 18 years old. I have not heard anything about bringing a new female Jaguar to the zoo. If you would like to see a Jaguar at Philadelphia Zoo, come soon because nobody knows how long Zia will still be here.
-Rico the fossa has moved to another zoo as part of a breeding recommendation. Last visit I saw otters in his exhibit, but the fossa sign has not been taken down yet.
-The ankole cattle are expected to arrive this spring, and will continue to share space in the Phase with the gazelle, storks and red river hogs.
This... is exactly what we have been saying the problem probably was and precisely what you kept saying wasn't possible
~Thylo
In other words, the exact thing I said multiple times and which you dismissed with inane statements such as "getting close to a shed in the eye is not possible, snakes don’t shed eyes" and "when snakes shed skin/eyes, they do actually grow back"
This is exactly why we've told you not to speculate.
Sad to hear about Rico leaving, though
Why does the zoo so consistently fails to follow through on their renovation ideas? I assume it is a money issue? If so, is there a reason why the Philadelphia zoo struggles with fundraising so much?
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Thank you for sharing that update. That's unfortunate the zoo never had luck breeding Jutai with Zia as he's been the most genetically valuable male jaguar in the Species Survival Plan for years and only has one surviving offspring, Lucha, who lives at the Oakland Zoo, hasn't yet fathered cubs and will be 11 in June.
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So does Philadelphia Zoo currently not have a fossa? That'll be a shame for my likely visit next week, as it was one of the lifers I would've gotten.
No there is no fossa right now.
I don’t find it a surprise. Jutai is a very old male Jaguar and older animals sometimes don’t have the best of luck.
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Because Philadelphia philanthropic community is not the same as in some cities
https://www.bizjournals.com/philade...adelphia-regularly-ranks-near-the-bottom.html
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
I should add that the Zoo has challenges bringing visitors to the gate. There is no great public transport, the parking spaces are costly, few and some walking distance from the gate. The train tracks on one side, the river on another and Fairmount Park on the third limit foot traffic. Tourists are more interested in the unique experience of Historic Philadelphia and the art museums. The zoo is both small in size (42 acres) and long and narrow so visitors must do a lot of walking and then walk back to where they started... and there is little space for huge immersive exhibits.
You see, they have unique challenges. Introducing Zoo360 may be among the most important zoo developments anywhere in the past 25 years. Sometimes limitations encourage creativity.
You see, they have unique challenges. Introducing Zoo360 may be among the most important zoo developments anywhere in the past 25 years. Sometimes limitations encourage creativity.
Staten Island would be your best shot at seeing one.
The zoo also isn't in a great area, and isn't really walking distance to any of those touristy destinations. It's more "in the city" than most city zoos (especially given it's not even in a park or anything), but it's not the right part of the city. You don't accidentally end up there by foot or car, or spend a day at the park and decide to pop in the zoo while you're there because the kids saw the sign for the giraffes.
When will Zoo360 go up and what are the most immediate masterplanning activities?
Zoo360 has been an ongoing project since 2013, with new trail systems opening up for small primates/monkeys/lemurs, great apes, big cats, and even meerkats. The project would have expanded for animals like large mammals and bears, but it appears that everything's at a standstill at the moment development-wise.
They are also very easy to see at Bronx, which would be a little easier to get to from MA.
~Thylo