Roger Williams Park Zoo Roger Williams Park Zoo News

The Asiatic Black Bear yard is getting freshened up. George and Gracie will be getting a new and improved pool.
 
The zoo has closed their Humboldt Penguin exhibit and the animals have been sent to other AZA zoos. I know one pair has been sent to the Oregon Zoo but I don't know where the others or where the cormorant went. The zoo plans to add new animals to the exhibit later during the year. I'm unaware of whether or not the exhibit will be redone but I'd think so.

"As you may have guessed, the penguin exhibit is being closed and new homes have been found for our birds at other AZA facilities. As you suggest, that indoor holding area is one of the older buildings in the Zoo, dating back to the late 1980s. It no longer provides a suitable environment for species such as penguins.

But stay tuned, we plan to have a new species in the exhibit for the 2013 season. We are considering species that do not need the indoor area or that will need to use it very little."

~Thylo:cool:
 
Gulo gulo- I think they should have put two of the rattlesnakes in that Snake Den, and then construct a large fake fallen tree that children can climb through in Hasbro's Our Big Backyard, and make an exhibit in there so it looks like the snake is occupying the tree, and gets children even more excited to explore.
Thylo- According to Phantom Gaur, there is still one penguin and one cormorant in the exhibit.
 
BeardsleyZooFan said:
Gulo gulo- I think they should have put two of the rattlesnakes in that Snake Den, and then construct a large fake fallen tree that children can climb through in Hasbro's Our Big Backyard, and make an exhibit in there so it looks like the snake is occupying the tree, and gets children even more excited to explore.
Thylo- According to Phantom Gaur, there is still one penguin and one cormorant in the exhibit.
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The Snake Den will suffice. Your idea is nice and all, but the costs would prevent it. Can't just build a tree with a tank in it. Need an area to house mechanicals, hold and safely work the rattlesnake. A tank in a tree would be small, and the rattlesnake would die in the winter with no heat. Should they go through all of this just to remove the rattlesnake in winter and have it empty? They do get winter visitation, and being the children's area, it stays busy. There's more to exhibitry than plopping animals here and there, just because.
 
As of 2 weeks ago the penguin exhibit was still open. I heard that once the penguins are really gone they may just put waterfowl in there until they figure out what to do with it. Everything at the zoo may change now with a new director. I'll update if I get to go this week.
 
Gulo gulo said:
The Snake Den will suffice. Your idea is nice and all, but the costs would prevent it. Can't just build a tree with a tank in it. Need an area to house mechanicals, hold and safely work the rattlesnake. A tank in a tree would be small, and the rattlesnake would die in the winter with no heat. Should they go through all of this just to remove the rattlesnake in winter and have it empty? They do get winter visitation, and being the children's area, it stays busy. There's more to exhibitry than plopping animals here and there, just because.
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First off, I want to say that I think the Snake Den is a good addition to the zoo, and I don't hate it at all. Second, those are all great points there Gulo gulo, and I should probably think of logistics and other situations that might occur the next time that I suggest something like that. Thank you for your advice!
 
From what I see, the Snake Den is a nicely sized building so would the zoo not want to maybe add a few other native reptiles/amphibians to the building? And if they can't add any new exhibits, why not add some other species with the Timber Rattlesnakes? If I remember correctly, Bronx has two other snake species and an Eastern Box Turtle in with their Timber Rattlesnakes.

~Thylo:cool:
 
The Conservation Cabin was renovated to display these rattlesnakes and to teach visitors about the Fungal Dermatitis, that is threatening the population of these guys. I think adding other species would lessen the valuable message, not to mention, take away from observing these females. Sometimes, less is more. Especially getting the message across about C. horridus in our own backyard, losing ground to diseases, habitat loss, reckless killings, etc. Not every visitor will walk away learning about their plight, but they are a venomous snake, and it's a 50/50 shot of finding them interesting or being scared sh*tless. RWPZ took a step in the right direction for these guys. It all starts somewhere. Kudos to them.
 
Gulo gulo said:
The Conservation Cabin was renovated to display these rattlesnakes and to teach visitors about the Fungal Dermatitis, that is threatening the population of these guys. I think adding other species would lessen the valuable message, not to mention, take away from observing these females. Sometimes, less is more. Especially getting the message across about C. horridus in our own backyard, losing ground to diseases, habitat loss, reckless killings, etc. Not every visitor will walk away learning about their plight, but they are a venomous snake, and it's a 50/50 shot of finding them interesting or being scared sh*tless. RWPZ took a step in the right direction for these guys. It all starts somewhere. Kudos to them.
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Oh okay. I don't remember there being a conservation cabin by where the children's zoo is now. I only remember one by the South America building.

~Thylo:cool:
 
It's inbetween Bald Eagle, Otter and Marco Polo. There used to be assorted amphibs, inverts and reptiles before.
 
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