Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium News 2025

Smaggledagle

Smaggledagle

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5+ year member
2 Pieces of December 2024 News Not Mentioned:
On December 19th, the zoo announced they acquired 2 domestic reindeer named Rudy Charleston and Twister from an unspecified facility in Alaska which were then transferred to the International Conservation Center in Pennsylvania in January 2025.

29K views · 612 reactions | 100% Chance of Rein…deer! New residents Rudy Charleston and Twister arrived from Alaska for the holidays! You can see the deer at the Zoo before they move to their permanent home at the International Conservation Center in Somerset Read more: https://ow.ly/vbef50UrOOL | Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
100% Chance of Rein...deer at the Zoo - Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium

On December 20th, it was announced that the zoo transferred 5 Jamaican fruit bats to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Ohio.

Boonshoft Museum of Discovery

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On January 19th, the zoo announced that their (0.1) Masai giraffe named Sox passed away at age 17 on January 17th due to chronic degradation of its leg bones.

Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
Zoo Mourns Female Giraffe Sox after Long Bout with Chronic Condition - Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
 
Arrival of 1.3 American Bisons.
Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium on Instagram: "The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium’s International Conservation Center in Somerset has welcomed one of North America’s most iconic species – the American Bison. Four bison, one male and three females, arrived at the ICC in December. They were born this past summer and are approximately eight months old. These animals represent the purest bison stock in North America and came to the Zoo through a partnership with American Prairie, a prairie-based nature reserve in Central Montana. “This is the beginning of an exciting breeding and reintroduction program that will repatriate bison to indigenous territories across the United States,” said ICC Director Ayeshah Al-Humaidhi. “The herd will also provide training opportunities for animal care managers across zoological institutions and our Native American partners.” Read more on our website."
 
Harry the Western lowland gorilla has died:

Beloved gorilla at Pittsburgh Zoo dies at age 33

Harry, a 33-year-old western lowland gorilla, died after a "sudden cardiac event" on Tuesday afternoon, "despite valiant immediate efforts to resuscitate him," the zoo said. Harry had been receiving treatment for cardiac disease since 2022.

Harry was the oldest male in the zoo's gorilla troop of six. Born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1991, Harry came to Pittsburgh a year later, where he stole the hearts of staff and guests.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
The zoo has recently updated their map and website yet it still includes elephant seals, is it just outdated?
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Just my opinion, that is not a very good map. It is very bland and has almost no character, the zoo’s older maps have better detail and design. Pittsburgh has had some of the better maps when it comes to zoos I would also put Cincinnati in that group.

This shift seems to be happening all over in American zoos, this bland cheap style, hopefully they change in the future.
 
Toledo Zoo Guide said:
Just my opinion, that is not a very good map. It is very bland and has almost no character, the zoo’s older maps have better detail and design. Pittsburgh has had some of the better maps when it comes to zoos I would also put Cincinnati in that group.

This shift seems to be happening all over in American zoos, this bland cheap style, hopefully they change in the future.
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The zoo is in a transition phase with a variety of changes coming. They may have wanted a simple map as the zoo reorganizes.
 
On the big hill after Jungle Oddesy, is there any news on that, it was under construction when I went two years ago and haven’t heard any news since?
 
TigerValley98 said:
That is where the new orangutan and siamang habitats will eventually go. It will happen some point after this early stuff is completed.
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There was a butterfly garden there, but all expansions are on hold, but they are doing a huge master plan for the next 30 years and I believe the going to be starting doing stuff in the entry plaza is entirely rebuilt
 
JZLionel87 said:
There was a butterfly garden there, but all expansions are on hold, but they are doing a huge master plan for the next 30 years and I believe the going to be starting doing stuff in the entry plaza is entirely rebuilt
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The master plan is done. Construction has begun with the zoo's new entrance. The giraffe barn is next.
 
TigerValley98 said:
The master plan is done. Construction has begun with the zoo's new entrance. The giraffe barn is next.
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Based on the renderings of the new giraffe barn... I'm not impressed. Pittsburgh's African Savanna has its problems, honestly I'd have hoped the zoo would have prioritized expanding the elephant exhibit and making its three savannas rotational to preserve the sightlines currently in place. The barn will no doubt be an improvement welfarewise, but it will also ruin the panoramic vista that made this exhibit so special. And where are they proposing expanding the giraffe yard? This feels like a case of the zoo having its cake and eating it too.
 
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