Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
All three elephants are thirty eight years old. The zoo might replace the elephants once they die, or phase them out to bring a new species to the zoo, like rhinoceroses.
Roger Williams Park Zoo Roger Williams Park Zoo news 2023
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With ever increasing space and welfare requirements I wouldn’t expect the elephants to stay in the long term.
Before this inevitably breaks off into another topic, all I'll say about the matter is that because elephants live for a long while, that's plenty of time to figure out what to do with them and the space. Hate to be a minimod about it, but them's the breaks.
I mean, I wouldn't say they have plenty of time. African elephants aren't as long lived as Asian after long. Looking at the population threads, there are only eleven African elephants more than ten years older than the RWPZ girls in US Zoos, and multiple of the recent deaths have been individuals between three and eight years older than them. Especially if we consider the fact the zoo likely doesn't want a situation where they have a single elephant for a prolonged period of time, I'd be very surprised if the current elephants are at RWPZ for more than another decade.
I don't want to derail this thread with speculation on their replacement (whether it be more elephants or something new), as it's a large space the zoo could do any number of things with, but I do think the zoo would be wise to start planning for and having the difficult conversations about what happens when they do pass away, especially given the costs and planning involved in any major renovations.
CMTM
Well-Known Member
The girls were a huge part of my childhood, and I'll be sad to see them go but I'd love to see them combine the elephant yard with the giraffes' to give them more space, maybe move some of the hoofstock (zebras, wildebeest, watusi) over or add an antelope species or two and go for a large mixed savanna. Use the old zebra yard space to add another carnivore or maybe a larger herbivore that doesn't mix well with others.
PercideRolo
Well-Known Member
Facbook post from erlier showed Kea named Kirk. Did nt kno the zoo had Kea
The kea is apart of the daily bird shows, and is a temporary part of the zoo's collection.
pichu
Well-Known Member
im assuming those are giraffes
My mistake. I once again forgot to write what species it is. They are blue-throated piping guans.
There are three giraffes at the zoo, females Cora and Providence (the name is a coincidence) and male Jaffa.
pichu
Well-Known Member
ok, the names sounded familiar and i havent been to the zoo in a year or two
Two wood duck ducklings fell into a storm drain and were quickly rescued. Sadly, the mother had already abandoned them, leading the rest of her offspring away so veterinarians quickly assessed them before handing them off to a private rehabber. The connection was made through the Wildlife Clinic in the state. This was an interesting and a little bit inspiring story posted on the Roger Williams Park Zoo Facebook page.
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The zoo's female sloth gave birth.
A part of the Facebook post,
"We are elated to announce the the birth of a baby sloth! Born to Mom Fiona and Dad Westley, this adorable newborn is resting comfortably and keeping close to mom. Our incredible staff of zookeepers and veterinarians are keeping a watchful eye over mom and baby to ensure their well-being as they bond behind-the-scenes. With the help of mom's love, daily monitoring, and some supplemental feeding from our keepers, this little one continues to grow and gain strength."
A part of the Facebook post,
"We are elated to announce the the birth of a baby sloth! Born to Mom Fiona and Dad Westley, this adorable newborn is resting comfortably and keeping close to mom. Our incredible staff of zookeepers and veterinarians are keeping a watchful eye over mom and baby to ensure their well-being as they bond behind-the-scenes. With the help of mom's love, daily monitoring, and some supplemental feeding from our keepers, this little one continues to grow and gain strength."
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After I was told that some of my updates weren’t really news, and shouldn’t be posted to this thread, I decided to post my updates this way. @pachyderm pro seems to have figured out a good way of separating “animal highlights” from the actual news in a way that people tolerate, so I thought I would do the same.
Roger Williams Park Zoo visit on August 13, 2023
I visited the zoo yesterday afternoon as I unfortunately hadn’t been able to go for several months and wanted to see the bird shows before they ended. I had forgotten that the Dominican Festival was occurring yesterday in Roger Williams Park, a huge mistake. It looked like the people were having a lot of fun, but the traffic getting out of the zoo was awful and someone was playing music so loud that you could hear it from all areas in the zoo for the entire time I was at the zoo. Hopefully, my next visit will coincide with the debut of birds in the African aviaries later this year.
So far, there have been a lot of changes to the zoo this year, and hopefully this trend will continue for the remainder of the year and for the following, especially considering the not-to-distant future when our elephants will begin to dwindle as they pass away. It has also been an interesting summer because of the additional attractions on loan, the birds and animatronic dinosaur experience.
updates:
There are a few new additions in Faces of the Rainforest. A fifth female scarlet ibis is now on display as is a new brood of blue-throated piping guans, the second for the zoo. This time, however, there is a single chick that is still very young. Apparently, the chick is usually around the macaws, with either Cookie or Monster, the parents, in the area to make sure it is all right but it's still so young that I couldn’t find her, nor could staff stationed in the building for the afternoon. Also hatched, two giant wood rails a few months ago. They were almost impossible to find as I imagine the guan chick is but are now old enough to the age that distinguishing them from their parents is basically impossible to a visitor. These new additions have helped to lessen the feeling of emptiness that has plagued the building as of late.
The first terrarium built into the rockwork wall (the rainbow boa’s) sported a sign on the window stating that it would be renovated. Hopefully this allows for some sort of expansion, as it is currently way too small for the snake.
There is an unannounced, second bird show that takes place at the farm stage area around ten ante-merīdiem and three post-merīdiem. I saw three birds in the show, a Livingstone’s turaco, a kea, and an aplomado falcon. @Neil chace tells me there is a pied crow, also, but that animal must’ve opted out of participating. The Livingstone’s turaco is certainly welcome considering how infrequent they are in zoo collections.
I reported early this year that a radiated tortoise was sharing the red-footed tortoise’s area, but that is no longer the case. I appreciate this change as it disrupted the exclusive South American rainforest focus that this building has.
The second entrance to the path behind the World of Adaptions building (by the gibbons, not the tortoises) has been blocked off in order to make that area a dead end.
The flamingos’ husbandry has been modified temporarily to stimulate better breeding success in preparation for the upcoming breeding season. The only noticeable change is that a line of queue belt barriers has been set up to try and keep visitors further from their enclosure. I saw some people tucking under them to get closer, so this isn’t completely successful.
Ugly turf like what is now in the giant otter enclosure has also been added to the North American river otters’. Unlike the Faces of the Rainforest enclosure, however, the turf is over the entire enclosure, ruining the aesthetics of the previously fantastic-looking enclosure.
A change that probably occurred less recently but went unreported is that the tortoise enclosure at the entrance to the small North America zone was demolished to make way for some part of the animatronic dinosaur experience. I’m very disappointed that they demolished an animal enclosure for something I think so stupid, even if a new one was built elsewhere in the zoo. This was probably not the main reason for removing it, but just why it was done at that time.
The site of the upcoming education center was being used for more dinosaur-related attractions, namely a few fenced in spaces where you can ride dinosaur cart-things that move around the area. I’m very disappointed that they’ve wasted so much time before constructing the new education center with these animatronics as the zoo has been in need of a larger facility for a long time.
animal highlights:
I had only ever seen one wood rail, despite being pretty sure that there were more. I saw the whole family yesterday, likely because the juveniles are young and more active. There were four areas that they seemed to hide, one bird at each, but all of a sudden, they would run out from behind the bush to the next one, chasing the other in front of them to their next bush. They kind of moved in a circle, all trying to chase the one in front of them, but not get chased by their family member behind them, which made for a really fun time in Faces of the Rainforest.
The smaller bird show in the farmyard was awesome. I got to help the staff with demonstrations for the three birds in the show, which was a lot of fun. People don’t always realize how intelligent birds can be and how fun they are to watch.
upcoming changes:
As for enclosures being renovated next year, in 2024, we should expect the new red panda enclosure, as well as Humboldt’s penguins. I’m not personally the most excited about these but they will still be welcome. Initially, the education center was planned for a 2024 opening, but I would not be surprised at all if this was delayed to 2025. Another animal that we’re aware of but remains in limbo about when it will debut is the serval that the zoo acquired from the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound when it closed. She might be going on-exhibit later this year or next year.
I can’t wait for next year, although I hope I’m not disappointed as I have been so far this year. I felt that there was a lot to look forward to only for the improvements to have taken more time to complete than expected or were just less spectacular than I imagined. I was assuming that the aviaries would be done by now, but that seems to not be the case.
Roger Williams Park Zoo visit on August 13, 2023
I visited the zoo yesterday afternoon as I unfortunately hadn’t been able to go for several months and wanted to see the bird shows before they ended. I had forgotten that the Dominican Festival was occurring yesterday in Roger Williams Park, a huge mistake. It looked like the people were having a lot of fun, but the traffic getting out of the zoo was awful and someone was playing music so loud that you could hear it from all areas in the zoo for the entire time I was at the zoo. Hopefully, my next visit will coincide with the debut of birds in the African aviaries later this year.
So far, there have been a lot of changes to the zoo this year, and hopefully this trend will continue for the remainder of the year and for the following, especially considering the not-to-distant future when our elephants will begin to dwindle as they pass away. It has also been an interesting summer because of the additional attractions on loan, the birds and animatronic dinosaur experience.
updates:
There are a few new additions in Faces of the Rainforest. A fifth female scarlet ibis is now on display as is a new brood of blue-throated piping guans, the second for the zoo. This time, however, there is a single chick that is still very young. Apparently, the chick is usually around the macaws, with either Cookie or Monster, the parents, in the area to make sure it is all right but it's still so young that I couldn’t find her, nor could staff stationed in the building for the afternoon. Also hatched, two giant wood rails a few months ago. They were almost impossible to find as I imagine the guan chick is but are now old enough to the age that distinguishing them from their parents is basically impossible to a visitor. These new additions have helped to lessen the feeling of emptiness that has plagued the building as of late.
The first terrarium built into the rockwork wall (the rainbow boa’s) sported a sign on the window stating that it would be renovated. Hopefully this allows for some sort of expansion, as it is currently way too small for the snake.
There is an unannounced, second bird show that takes place at the farm stage area around ten ante-merīdiem and three post-merīdiem. I saw three birds in the show, a Livingstone’s turaco, a kea, and an aplomado falcon. @Neil chace tells me there is a pied crow, also, but that animal must’ve opted out of participating. The Livingstone’s turaco is certainly welcome considering how infrequent they are in zoo collections.
I reported early this year that a radiated tortoise was sharing the red-footed tortoise’s area, but that is no longer the case. I appreciate this change as it disrupted the exclusive South American rainforest focus that this building has.
The second entrance to the path behind the World of Adaptions building (by the gibbons, not the tortoises) has been blocked off in order to make that area a dead end.
The flamingos’ husbandry has been modified temporarily to stimulate better breeding success in preparation for the upcoming breeding season. The only noticeable change is that a line of queue belt barriers has been set up to try and keep visitors further from their enclosure. I saw some people tucking under them to get closer, so this isn’t completely successful.
Ugly turf like what is now in the giant otter enclosure has also been added to the North American river otters’. Unlike the Faces of the Rainforest enclosure, however, the turf is over the entire enclosure, ruining the aesthetics of the previously fantastic-looking enclosure.
A change that probably occurred less recently but went unreported is that the tortoise enclosure at the entrance to the small North America zone was demolished to make way for some part of the animatronic dinosaur experience. I’m very disappointed that they demolished an animal enclosure for something I think so stupid, even if a new one was built elsewhere in the zoo. This was probably not the main reason for removing it, but just why it was done at that time.
The site of the upcoming education center was being used for more dinosaur-related attractions, namely a few fenced in spaces where you can ride dinosaur cart-things that move around the area. I’m very disappointed that they’ve wasted so much time before constructing the new education center with these animatronics as the zoo has been in need of a larger facility for a long time.
animal highlights:
I had only ever seen one wood rail, despite being pretty sure that there were more. I saw the whole family yesterday, likely because the juveniles are young and more active. There were four areas that they seemed to hide, one bird at each, but all of a sudden, they would run out from behind the bush to the next one, chasing the other in front of them to their next bush. They kind of moved in a circle, all trying to chase the one in front of them, but not get chased by their family member behind them, which made for a really fun time in Faces of the Rainforest.
The smaller bird show in the farmyard was awesome. I got to help the staff with demonstrations for the three birds in the show, which was a lot of fun. People don’t always realize how intelligent birds can be and how fun they are to watch.
upcoming changes:
As for enclosures being renovated next year, in 2024, we should expect the new red panda enclosure, as well as Humboldt’s penguins. I’m not personally the most excited about these but they will still be welcome. Initially, the education center was planned for a 2024 opening, but I would not be surprised at all if this was delayed to 2025. Another animal that we’re aware of but remains in limbo about when it will debut is the serval that the zoo acquired from the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound when it closed. She might be going on-exhibit later this year or next year.
I can’t wait for next year, although I hope I’m not disappointed as I have been so far this year. I felt that there was a lot to look forward to only for the improvements to have taken more time to complete than expected or were just less spectacular than I imagined. I was assuming that the aviaries would be done by now, but that seems to not be the case.
- I’m not even sure what is going on with the trumpeter hornbills, as they were supposed to be kept in an adjacent enclosure to the main aviary but I saw no sign of that.
- When we first learned that the zoo would be getting a bat-eared fox and a dik-dik, I assumed that the enclosure would be expanded, and it has not. I almost think getting the dik-dik and fox wasn’t worth it if they had to ship out the sulcata tortoise, too.
- The bird shows were fine, great even, but still not spectacular like I had hoped.
- And then there’s Dinosaurs Among Us. I wasn’t looking forward to this in any way, other than that it would be a great source of revenue for the zoo, but overall was indifferent to it. However, that changed yesterday when I saw that they were taking up space more than just the Wetlands Trail. This was completely unnecessary and frustrating when there were clear better uses for the space.
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While I understand the sentiment, Dinosaurs has not been slowing down the education center project. The project was still in the planning/design phase during much of the Dinosaurs exhibit, and likely wouldn't have broke ground much earlier even if Dinosaurs didn't use that space. Honestly, I think dinosaurs was a pretty good use of that space all things considered because it temporarily filled an empty space while bringing in a lot of revenue for the zoo. That being said, I am certainly excited for the new education center and the new facility is long overdue.
I mean, I think most members would view the addition of these two new species, held nowhere else in New England, are a better use of that space than a sulcata tortoise. If you really want to see a sulcata, Capron Park Zoo and Stone Zoo both have sulcatas in exhibits far superior to what RWPZ had. The exhibit is also more than adequate for the three species, seeing as none of them are particularly large or active species.
I thought the designs for the building and surrounding area were completed in early June, roughly two months before the dinosaur attraction ended.
While an expansion certainly wasn't necessary, it still would've been welcome. I like sulcata tortoises more than I do dik-diks and bat-eared foxes, but I will acknowledge that I'm one of few who prefer them over the antelope and fox.
On August 17th, the zoo announced that they bred and released ~4,000 eastern spadefoot toads into the wild.
Some... - Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village
Some... - Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village
On August 22nd, the zoo announced its gender (1.0), and name, Jeffrey.
Sloth... - Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village