Philadelphia Zoo Philadelphia Zoo News 2025

pachyderm pro said:
So you’re criticizing the AZA for… holding zoos to high standards? That’s kinda the whole point of the organization. ;) And it’s good they’re being more stringent with what’s acceptable, as honestly they don’t go far enough in the eyes of many. Nowhere near AR groups which don’t want zoos to exist outright.
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Well I hope you think through this again if/when the AZA ever regulates itself out of existence.
 
To be fair to the AZA, the Rare Animal Conservation Center has been frequently criticized on this very site as downright unacceptable for many years. I would say Zoochat's exhibit standards are more strict than AZA regulations.
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
A historic birth announcement - Mommy, a 97-year-old Galapagos Tortoise just became the oldest first-time mother Galapagos Tortoise when she recently had four hatchlings with her 96-year-old mate Abrazzo.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2025/04/03/tortoise-mommy-hatchlings-philadelphia-zoo/
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Yes, we Can! As a Galapagos giant tortoise afficionado and ... I dare say ... expert: This is near monumental for the breeding of (pure-bred) Galapagos tortoises in the USA outside Ecuador!

TBH: I had been quietly waiting upon some good news coming out of Philadelphia since when the Riverbanks' male Abrazo first landed in the city zoo. It could actually proof to be a potential break-though for the Western Santa Cruz tortoise Chelonoidis porteri in US zoos (with breeding groups like Honolulu and Miami ... if they follow Philadelphia's lead).

BTW:
1) The male Abrazo was a proven breeder with another female Chelonoidis porteri at Columbia-Riverbanks Zoo (after he left in 2020 she was repaired with the second male of this species, but as yet no offspring from this 3rd pairing).

2) The female Mommy has previously bred, but that was quite long time ago and were hybrids that DNS for long. She also has had a history of being a known egg-layer ..., which is why on an AZA/SSP recommendation male Abrazo got transferred to Philadelphia in the first place. Since, 2023 she has laid 4 times and this is the first viable fertile clutch from her and some of the eggs out of this clutch are still in the incubator. So, potentially and - fingers crossed - a few more might see the light of day soon!

Here is the press communiqué from the Zoo itself:
Four Critically Endangered Galapagos Tortoises Hatch at Philadelphia Zoo, First Successful Hatching of this Species in Zoo’s History
 
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JVM said:
To be fair to the AZA, the Rare Animal Conservation Center has been frequently criticized on this very site as downright unacceptable for many years. I would say Zoochat's exhibit standards are more strict than AZA regulations.
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The naked mole rat habitat is quite good! The rest is just a hallway of concrete-floor enclosures, or if you're lucky mulch. The fact that it now has Zoo360 trail access helps to a degree but many of the primate enclosures are still eyesores.
 
I went to the zoo last Thursday to see the baby tortoises, they are in a small exhibit so they have ropes set up to keep the traffic moving. In the Rare Animal Conservation Center, the Francois Langur family seemed to be gone, no signage and the exhibits were filled in, does anyone know if they've moved on? There is a new group of meerkats in the meerkat maze, they were not there about 3 weeks ago. There is also at least one wallaby in the kangaroo/emu exhibit, but no signage. There are still some renovations going on for the AZA inspection, but it is nice to see new species coming in, there were far too many "exhibit temporarily empty" signs (although there's still too many).
 
Three Galapagos giant tortoises have hatched:

A further three Galapagos giant tortoises have hatched. All three were incubated as males and are from the same clutch as the four females that previously hatched:

Three More Critically Endangered Galapagos Tortoises Hatch at Philadelphia Zoo

Additionally, the Zoo is monitoring eggs Mommy laid in January 2025 inside the Reptile and Amphibian House. Out of the 16 laid, nine of them continue to show signs of development inside the Zoo’s incubators. Six of them are being incubated at temperatures that produce males, and three are being incubated at temperatures that produce females. This clutch of eggs has reached its potential hatch window and could start to show signs of pipping in the coming days and weeks.
 
I had previously suggested that after the first feature on the 4 Western Santa Cruz tortoise hatched (all females purportedly ... being incubated at other temperature) that more were left in the incubators. The news that a further 3 (male) hatchlings have come into the world seems no surprise to me. The really good news is that all remaining eggs out the clutch of 16, 9 in total seem to be fertile and remain in the incubator.

SOURCE: Pa. zoo welcomes more endangered tortoise hatchlings: ‘A joy’
 
Austin the Sengi said:
Do we know as to when the Rare Animal Conservation Center’s renovations are scheduled to be completed?

I am currently looking into a visit sometime this spring, and I was just wondering if I could time my visit with the renovation’s completion?
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As an update to my previous comment, I am now planning to visit the zoo in the coming days. Before that though, I have a few last-minute questions before I begin my travels:

(1) Regarding the McNeil Aviary Center, are the Sora, Guam Rails, and Congo Peafowl all easy to see; let alone photograph?

(2) Does the Rare Animal Conservation Center (RACC) open right away, or does it open a few minutes to an hour after opening for the day?

If the latter is true, the neighboring Primate Passage should keep my party and I occupied.

(3) At any time of the day, will there be any parts of the zoo that will be crowded the most?

(4) Will there be any animals that would be off-display later in the afternoon? If so, what animals would I unfortunately miss?

(5) Regarding the baby Galapagos Tortoises, what would be the best times to see them without having to wait in an extensive line?

(6) Finally, I noticed on the zoo’s current map that the Wings of the World (supposedly) provides a bird feeding experience that costs an additional fee. For those who are more familiar with the zoo than I am, is this worth the extra cost?
 
You've probably already visited by now but for posterity:

Austin the Sengi said:
As an update to my previous comment, I am now planning to visit the zoo in the coming days. Before that though, I have a few last-minute questions before I begin my travels:

(1) Regarding the McNeil Aviary Center, are the Sora, Guam Rails, and Congo Peafowl all easy to see; let alone photograph?
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The peafowl yes. The other two are a bit more of a crapshoot.

(2) Does the Rare Animal Conservation Center (RACC) open right away, or does it open a few minutes to an hour after opening for the day?

If the latter is true, the neighboring Primate Passage should keep my party and I occupied.
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RACC should be open immediately. I believe Primate Passage is still closed for renovations.

(3) At any time of the day, will there be any parts of the zoo that will be crowded the most?
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Aside from the entrance/exit, I actually feel like Water is Life gets the tightest (narrower pathway + high demand to see the otters and red pandas). PECO is up there as well.

(4) Will there be any animals that would be off-display later in the afternoon? If so, what animals would I unfortunately miss?
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The rotations are among primates and big cats. I don't think it's the same every day but I believe that the cougars are usually out later in the day (at the expense of the snow leopards?)

(5) Regarding the baby Galapagos Tortoises, what would be the best times to see them without having to wait in an extensive line?
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There isn't much of a line, even during peak hours.

(6) Finally, I noticed on the zoo’s current map that the Wings of the World (supposedly) provides a bird feeding experience that costs an additional fee. For those who are more familiar with the zoo than I am, is this worth the extra cost?
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I'd say so.
 
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