Racine Zoo Racine Zoo Future Developments and Speculation Thread

[JVM]

Jumping from recent discussion in the news thread with @Milwaukee Man and @EsserWarrior

Racine is a smaller zoo and relatively little-known, but has had a few notable exhibits and surprising species (West Caucasian tur, lesser adjutant stork, masai giraffe are unique for a smaller facility, sun bear) and even major breeding success with Emperor tamarin, while possessing many exhibits that do not meet modern standards including the infamous all-indoor orangutan exhibit. One of the things that fascinates me about Racine is it does feel like it has a layout that could lend really well to positive development in the future without requiring a complex reinvention of the grounds and buildings.

I'm trying to avoid getting too deep into "master plan" territory, of course. What developments do you foresee in this zoo's future? What do you think would be best to prioritize? What would you probably keep? Is there anything you think we can assume will be changed based on evidence as opposed to personal opinion?

 

[Valentinoamor]

I truly think future plans will depend on how much money is invested into the zoo by the government. Compared to all of the surrounding facilities, Racine does not get many annual visitors, so I doubt they generate enough income to construct any major renovations.

They have a lot of open space around the zoo, so they have the potential to convert into a world-class facility. It just may be difficult with Milwaukee and Brookfield/Lincoln Park relatively close.

 

[turkeyfox]

Between Racine's abandoned Tur rock mountain and Milwaukee’s abandoned Dall Sheep rock mountain, there are two AZA holders available right near each other for some sort of mountain goat type animal. Breeding at Milwaukee and bachelors at Racine maybe?

 

[pachyderm pro]

Racine has a number of existing weaknesses that need to be addressed. Getting the orangutans into an outdoor exhibit should be a priority and in truth the whole Vanishing Kingdom building could really use an overhaul. It's a fascinating animal house, but it's far from ideal for a majority of its residents. In addition, the entire central portion of the grounds (penguin, meerkat, former tur) should really be demolished and replaced with something new entirely.

When the zoo is finished upgrading/replacing existing areas, there are several large fields that would be great for future development. Lots of potential there, although I'd probably focus on small to medium sized species for the most part.

With that said, I realize Racine is not a wealthy zoo and change will come slow. With the lesser adjutants gone, getting a new headlining species for the aviary is a good first step. An issue with the storks is that they needed to be brought inside each winter, so a cold-tolerant wading bird would be an ideal replacement. White-naped crane or Siberian crane would make sense, both of which can be outdoors year-round and would geographically be the most appropriate with the tufted deer.

 

[JVM]

Between Racine's abandoned Tur rock mountain and Milwaukee’s abandoned Dall Sheep rock mountain, there are two AZA holders available right near each other for some sort of mountain goat type animal. Breeding at Milwaukee and bachelors at Racine maybe?

That wouldn't be a bad compromise. Brookfield also has an empty caprid exhibit but it would probably take some serious expense to make it safe goat a caprid again. Still, with a consortium, the three could provide some much-needed support for one of the caprid programs struggling right now.

With that said, I realize Racine is not a wealthy zoo and change will come slow. With the lesser adjutants gone, getting a new headlining species for the aviary is a good first step. An issue with the storks is that they needed to be brought inside each winter, so a cold-tolerant wading bird would be an ideal replacement. White-naped crane or Siberian crane would make sense, both of which can be outdoors year-round and would geographically be the most appropriate with the tufted deer.

Fully agreed on the potential to renovate and overhaul the existing aviary exhibit. I really hope it remains a wading bird aviary for sure.

Getting the orangutans into an outdoor exhibit should be a priority and in truth the whole Vanishing Kingdom building could really use an overhaul. It's a fascinating animal house, but it's far from ideal for a majority of its residents.

My thought process for a while has been to convert the southern exterior (where the current outdoor gibbon and spider monkey exhibits are) into a single, large outdoor orangutan/gibbon exhibit. The indoor orangutan exhibit would be modified to use more natural substrate and the spider monkey and gibbon exhibits would be combined into the existing space. Vanishing Kingdom would retain its historic character and charm but the gibbons and orangutan would be made a major focus and given outside access.

The northern side of the building is harder for me to figure, but I've generally thought to convert into a large mixed space for some primate species to mirror the orangutan-gibbon development. I lean towards a callitrichid or South American mixed exhibit with emperor tamarins the primary focus given the zoo's strong history with them. Vanishing Kingdom thus becomes two large, continuous mixed primate spaces.

I would also build a new lion exhibit by Land of the Giants, removing them from Vanishing Kingdom, and merge all three sections of Great Cat Canyon into a single large, flexible-space Amur Tiger exhibit with new, lush plantings. If possible, build a new maerkat/porcupine exhibit off the new lion exhibit as well to further keeping species lost at Vanishing Kingdom while also opening up the former meerket space and existing penguin exhibit for a totally reinvented penguin habitat.

With the lions, meerkat and porcupine relocated alongside the existing African species, the orangutan/gibbon and tiger renovations as well as the aviary all being based on Asian species, the existing farm, bear and bald eagle section and Walkabout Creek, the zoo can suddenly claim to have four or five defined eco-regions without a huge change to their physical footprint.

The big loss I've not accounted for here is the spider monkeys. It'd be nice to keep fossa and lynx but their exhibits are subpar - the spider monkeys are largely victims of proximity and lack of space in that zoo region. A new exhibit for any of these would be welcome still but I would prioritize any of the above developments first.

 

[Milwaukee Man]

Upon my approximately three hours at Racine Zoo a couple weeks ago, here's what I thought up of:

Walkabout Creek - as I've mentioned before, this is the Zoo's biggest highlight in my eyes, but I still got a couple ideas for this. First, fill that creek back up with water to live up to the "Creek" name, and add in black swans. Second, I can see the current red-tailed boa and ferret exhibits at the entrance being either renovated for Australian species or combined into one large habitat. If the first choice, I'd say perentie monitor in the former, and echidnas and bettongs in the latter. If the second choice, then just pick one or the other.

Land of Africa - this would encompass the current "Land of the Giants" complex, and the empty land area between that and the rest of the Zoo, specifically the space in between the fountain and the path. No way am I doing anything in front of that amphitheater - that Lake Michigan view is too gorgeous! Anyways, in the empty land area, I can see new, expanded, and improved habitats for lions, African penguins (with underwater viewing), and a mixed-species one for meerkats and Cape porcupines (hopefully with some pop-up bubbles) being added. As for "Land of the Giants," the zebra and rhino exhibits are fine, but definitely on the small side for their occupants. Due to how landlocked the area is, the only solution I can think of is moving the zebras in with the giraffes (and give that habitat some more foliage to bring back the shaded and natural look that was once there), and have the rhinos expand into the current zebra area. Lastly, that tiny exhibit in front of the rhinos can either have their original occupant brought back or just be eliminated.

Asian Complex (can't think of a good name ) - utilizing the current "Stork Aviary," tur, penguin, and meerkat enclosures. In the "Aviary," I'd like to see it become an Asian theme; keep the tufted deer, and bring in a crane species (red crowned or demoiselle for example) and/or a variety of ground or flying birds to bring a little color and liveliness to the exhibit. The tur mountain can be modified with some natural elements for markhor, and the penguin/meerkat area and surrounding space might be enough for a new Amur tiger habitat; if not, then red pandas are okay instead. Tigers can be seen in nearby Milwaukee or Brookfield.

American Ridge - consisting of the current "Bear Ridge" and aviary areas. Other than some more vegetation being added, the spectacled bear habitat can remain as is. Replace the Arctic foxes with the red-tailed hawk, and add new exhibits for Canadian lynx, Arctic fox, and the great horned owl. These can either be on the flat land next to the bears, or on the hillside for a more unique exhibit design.

Vanishing Jungle - an overhaul of the "Vanishing Kingdom" and "Cat Canyon" complexes. I'd keep the current indoor orangutan and gibbon exhibits (although I wouldn't be opposed to the gibbons having access to the orangs), while outside, the current gibbon and spider monkey cages would be replaced by a large orangutan and gibbon mixed-species habitat with plenty of foliage, climbing space, and up-close viewing for guests. With the (I think) tight space near the perimeter of the Zoo, it'd also be neat to have a glass/disguised tunnel going through this habitat to get immersed into the "jungle" and take full advantage of the available land. On the other side of the building, the current Cape porcupine and Amur tiger exhibits would be renovated for the spider monkeys, and hopefully add in some more South American species such as capybara or agouti. I'd keep the indoor fossa exhibits as is, but give the carnivores access to the current Canadian lynx grotto and overhauled with more vegetation, space, and up-close viewing. Finally, the current lion exhibits would be overhauled for a couple lemur species (I'm flexible with which ones) and radiated tortoises. As for the current indoor spider monkey exhibit, remove it and use the empty space for an indoor tropical aviary (including the Amazon parrots currently there) with some terrariums for species like the red-tailed boa and poison dart frogs. I'd leave the emperor tamarins where they are - keep going strong with that species!