Roger Williams Park Zoo Roger Williams Park Zoo news 2023

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wild boar

Well-Known Member
Happy new year!

notes from my visit yesterday:

- The renovations to the zebra/wildebeest enclosure have begun. The small visitor loop for the enclosure has been excavated. All that remains is the shelters. The zebras and watusi were on-exhibit, but with a temporary fence confining them to the back of the enclosure. They weren't easily viewed.
- converting the seal pool for penguins has not started, and the water is at its normal height
- A native bald eagle was lurking in a tree near this species' enclosure and it eventually swooped in and stole the rats. Apparently this is common enough that the keepers always put out extra rodents.
- the male wrinkled hornbill passed away, even though he was rather young
- confirming my suspicion that they are no longer at the zoo, the Jambu fruit doves were sent to the Bronx Zoo
- One of the rosellas passed away. The remaining bird is called Randy.
- both snow leopards were on exhibit, which seemed odd
- I saw the baby tree kangaroo
- one of the agoutis died and the other is no longer on exhibit
- A new blue-throated piping guan is on exhibit. Keepers were not expecting one so soon after Cookie, Monster, and The Crumbs departed. Signage has not been updated to reflect their return.

Everything that is not an observation was told to me by a keeper, except for the agouti information, which I got from a member of the education department who had been stationed in Faces of the Rainforest.
 
wild boar said:
both snow leopards were on exhibit, which seemed odd
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Why does this seem odd? RWPZ usually keeps both snow leopards out together, as do most zoos I've been to with this species.

wild boar said:
- A new blue-throated piping guan is on exhibit. Keepers were not expecting one so soon after Cookie, Monster, and The Crumbs departed. Signage has not been updated to reflect their return.
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Yay! They were one of my favorites, so I'm glad the species has returned.
 
wild boar said:
- confirming my suspicion that they are no longer at the zoo, the Jambu fruit doves were sent to the Bronx Zoo
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Certainly sad news, though not unexpected. Like a lot of small bird populations (as in the population is small, not that the bird is small), the SSP has been consolidating birds into fewer facilities in the hope of improving breeding success. Even if it's a different species, I hope that fruit doves have a future at RWPZ, as they are really beautiful birds.
 
Neil chace said:
Why does this seem odd? RWPZ usually keeps both snow leopards out together, as do most zoos I've been to with this species.
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In my forty-one visits to the zoo, I have almost never seen both on-exhibit. I can remember only two occasions where they were both out.
 
wild boar said:
In my forty-one visits to the zoo, I have almost never seen both on-exhibit. I can remember only two occasions where they were both out.
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That's odd. This summer, I normally saw both snow leopards out if I saw them at all (sometimes in the heat they stay inside). It does take patience however and they do hide a lot, so perhaps you often miss one despite it being on exhibit at the time. While I usually see both on exhibit, they do tend to stick to themselves a lot. I haven't ever seen the two interact, and most often they are both perched on their own ledges near the back of the exhibit, although one of them (not sure if it's Sabu or Asha) is sometimes active and in the front part of the exhibit.
 
Neil chace said:
Certainly sad news, though not unexpected. Like a lot of small bird populations (as in the population is small, not that the bird is small), the SSP has been consolidating birds into fewer facilities in the hope of improving breeding success. Even if it's a different species, I hope that fruit doves have a future at RWPZ, as they are really beautiful birds.
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Bronx did not keep Jambu Fruit-Doves prior to RWPZ's birds moving, and at this time only have males.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Bronx did not keep Jambu Fruit-Doves prior to RWPZ's birds moving, and at this time only have males.

~Thylo
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Huh. That surprises me. I was under the impression the doves leaving RWPZ were due to the SSP consolidating individuals. There must've been other reasons I'm not aware of. A shame that the species left, however, and I certainly miss having the doves at RWPZ. Truly an incredible species, and I'd love to see more fruit doves return in the future.
 
Smaggledagle said:
Any idea if the former aoudad/ostrich exhibit will be turned into anything?
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That is the location where the event pavilion is being built, along with some of the education center. I'm not sure how much of the space will be taken up by these two projects, but I'd imagine it's most if not all of the available space. Someone posted a photo or two of the construction sight in the ZC Gallery if you want to take a look.
 
It's such a shame that they went from putting the education center somewhere that it wouldn't interfere with animal habitats to cutting out one of the more unusual African displays.. I know the last Aoudad died but that space had potential.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
It's such a shame that they went from putting the education center somewhere that it wouldn't interfere with animal habitats to cutting out one of the more unusual African displays.. I know the last Aoudad died but that space had potential.

~Thylo
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Yeah, I have mixed feelings on this one. The new education center is sorely needed, and is going to have a great impact on the zoo's education programs, but the aoudad exhibit was an awesome exhibit, it'll certainly be missed. RWPZ certainly has some spatial issues- both in terms of limited space, and wetlands and existing infrastructure further limiting the space that is available. One of the great things about RWPZ is that there aren't any particularly weak exhibits. Sure, some are stronger than others, and not every exhibit is incredible, but there isn't a single exhibit that is desperately needing replacement.

Going forward, there are a few things I feel need to be the zoo's top priorities, and number one of them is to utilize underutilized or unutilized space. Some of these places include re-using existing infrastructure (the current education center, re-opening the old Tropical America exhibit, Marco Polo Plaza), utilizing empty space (adding outdoor exhibits near Faces of the Rainforest, a permanent solution for the area that used to be Madagascar, using some of the empty space in Marco Polo, etc.), and some includes taking advantage of mixed exhibit displays and using vertical space (some of the outdoor Adaptations exhibits are prime opportunities for adding mixed-species exhibits, as are the bison and flamingo exhibits). A combination of all three of these things would be beneficial for the zoo's long-term health, and would make a much more enjoyable and interesting facility.

Furthermore, this can be achieved through a bunch of "little projects", rather than huge, multi-million dollar complexes- which aren't always realistic for zoos on a (not unlimited) budget. Ideally, I'd love to see the zoo add one or two smaller exhibits on an annual basis, rather than focusing on masterplans full of big projects that either never come to fruition, or are massively phased back.

The second biggest priority the zoo needs is to develop a plan for after the current elephants pass away. This is one of those things that I don't think there is one right solution to, and some may argue that there may be no good solution. I know elephants are always a contentious species to talk about (especially in regards to potential phase-outs), but it's something that the zoo needs to consider sooner rather than later, as the last thing the zoo needs is for the elephants to pass before a plan is created for that space, whether it be more elephants (which would require a new exhibit), renovating the exhibit for a different species, or creating something entirely new.
 
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