Saint Louis Zoo Saint Louis Zoo News 2022

Odd. I quite liked the children’s zoo on my visit just before the pandemic. One of my two favorites. Not sure why they feel the need to renovate that before the hoofstock or cat areas.

Not quite the right thread for it but the off campus safari park does seem to be an industry trend these days. Good for conservation and the dilemma of modern animal exhibition: zoo guests want many big / iconic animals, but they also want the exhibits to look big. Omaha, San Diego, The Smithsonian, and the Audubon Institute all have them off the top of my head. And Columbus is at least affiliated with one, even if The Wilds was playing down the affiliation on my last visit.
 
Persephone said:
Odd. I quite liked the children’s zoo on my visit just before the pandemic. One of my two favorites. Not sure why they feel the need to renovate that before the hoofstock or cat areas.

Not quite the right thread for it but the off campus safari park does seem to be an industry trend these days. Good for conservation and the dilemma of modern animal exhibition: zoo guests want many big / iconic animals, but they also want the exhibits to look big. Omaha, San Diego, The Smithsonian, and the Audubon Institute all have them off the top of my head. And Columbus is at least affiliated with one, even if The Wilds was playing down the affiliation on my last visit.
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They completely overhauled the Children's Zoo in 2020, they took out all of the child-related elements and most of the animal exhibits and turned it into a dinosaur area. The justification was that with the pandemic, a children's zoo as they had would "never again be safe". I assume they have figured out this was a mistake.

The Wilds is more than just affiliated with the Columbus Zoo. I don't know why they don't make it obvious at the site itself.
 
birdsandbats said:
They completely overhauled the Children's Zoo in 2020, they took out all of the child-related elements and most of the animal exhibits and turned it into a dinosaur area. The justification was that with the pandemic, a children's zoo as they had would "never again be safe". I assume they have figured out this was a mistake.

The Wilds is more than just affiliated with the Columbus Zoo. I don't know why they don't make it obvious at the site itself.
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Oh wow that sounds like a monumentally terrible idea and I hope they restore it to something like it was. I get that traveling dinosaur trails are popular these days but to permanently impair an excellent exhibit for the benefit of a pandemic of (then) unknown length… Oof. Glad they’re fixing that.

All the tour at The Wilds was willing to acknowledge was that Columbus ran their website. I remember when I visited in 2017(?) they had lots of Columbus branding and a whole room that was basically a shrine to Jack Hannah. That was all gone when I went back save a billboard or two. I’m guessing they low key panicked at Conservation Game and Columbus getting kicked out of the AZA, even if they’ll probably be back next year.
 
Persephone said:
Oh wow that sounds like a monumentally terrible idea and I hope they restore it to something like it was. I get that traveling dinosaur trails are popular these days but to permanently impair an excellent exhibit for the benefit of a pandemic of (then) unknown length… Oof. Glad they’re fixing that.

All the tour at The Wilds was willing to acknowledge was that Columbus ran their website. I remember when I visited in 2017(?) they had lots of Columbus branding and a whole room that was basically a shrine to Jack Hannah. That was all gone when I went back save a billboard or two. I’m guessing they low key panicked at Conservation Game and Columbus getting kicked out of the AZA, even if they’ll probably be back next year.
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The roll-back of Columbus branding at The Wilds started before the whole Columbus losing accreditation debacle. My best guess was that they wanted to market The Wilds to the kind of people who are anti-zoo but okay with safari parks, but I don't know the actual reason the decision was made.
 
Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park Updates | Saint Louis Zoo

More information speaking about the upcoming project for the St Louis Zoo: St Louis Zoo Wildcare Park. Appears to have a similar approach to other major Safari Parks like the SDZ Safari Park and The Wilds. The posted species list is subject to change per the site:


  • Giraffe
  • Grevy's zebra
  • Greater kudu
  • Addax
  • Bongo
  • Roan antelope
  • Somali wild ass
  • Przewalski's horse
  • Scimitar-horned oryx
  • Waterbuck
  • Nile lechwe
  • Banteng
  • Gazelle (various species)
  • White rhino
  • Eland
  • Sable antelope
  • Bactrian camel
  • Ostrich
 
Species will begin to arrive in 2023 and the park is set to open to the public in 2027.

The Kent Family Conservation Center on the campus will be a primary spot for animal research and conservation work to maintain and protect endangered species.
 
TinoPup said:
Surprised cheetah isn't on the list.
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Agreed. I feel like they were on the plans at one point, no? The zoo is a leader in breeding in the species so you'd think they would jump at the chance for more space. It could be something added later on though, as its worth noting that while hoofstock will be the focus when the park opens, there are plans to add additional birds, reptiles and amphibians as the park develops. Perhaps an area for carnivores such as cheetahs could follow suit.

I do also wonder what this will mean for the fate of Red Rocks at the zoo. Half of the species mentioned are already on exhibit there and it will be interesting to see if the whole area ends up being replaced once the park is completed. One of the articles above did reference plans to revamp the "east end exhibits" which further makes me believe that will be the case.
 
pachyderm pro said:
Agreed. I feel like they were on the plans at one point, no? The zoo is a leader in breeding in the species so you'd think they would jump at the chance for more space. It could be something added later on though, as its worth noting that while hoofstock will be the focus when the park opens, there are plans to add additional birds, reptiles and amphibians as the park develops. Perhaps an area for carnivores such as cheetahs could follow suit.

I do also wonder what this will mean for the fate of Red Rocks at the zoo. Half of the species mentioned are already on exhibit there and it will be interesting to see if the whole area ends up being replaced once the park is completed. One of the articles above did reference plans to revamp the "east end exhibits" which further makes me believe that will be the case.
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I know they already have an off-site breeding center for cheetahs, so I was assuming they'd build an exhibit at the new park, at least to help rotate males / use ambassadors.
 
If I remember correctly Red Rocks is supposed to be changed to "Silk Road" highlighting various Asian species and looking at the species going to new campus primarily are African species
 
PSO said:
If I remember correctly Red Rocks is supposed to be changed to "Silk Road" highlighting various Asian species and looking at the species going to new campus primarily are African species
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That sounds like a very interesting concept, and I'm looking forward to seeing it come to fruition. Hopefully, they bring in some more Asian hoofstock species, that are rare in AZA facilities, such as nilgai, blackbuck, sika, etc.
 
PSO said:
If I remember correctly Red Rocks is supposed to be changed to "Silk Road" highlighting various Asian species and looking at the species going to new campus primarily are African species
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This was part of the zoos old, now defunct, master plan and has almost certainly been canned. That same master plan had the idea of connecting the reptile and primate houses with bio-domes focusing on various rainforest environments, and as we all know the zoo went in a completely different direction with Primate Canopy Trails.

It would have been pretty remarkable though and it's a shame it will likely never come to fruition, especially with a new director being brought in since that idea was proposed. There were plans for giant pandas, golden monkeys (that's how you knew this thing was never getting built ;):p), tigers, snow leopards, pallas cats, red pandas, sea otters, camels, several gazelle species and various mountain ungulates like takin, goral and urial.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
For White Rhino, I can only see White Rhinos at the St. Louis Zoo getting put in the current Black Rhino exhibit, meaning Ajabu, Kati Rain, and Moyo wold have to move away. I think St. Louis should continue with Black Rhino, so I can see White Rhinos getting taken off the list.
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White rhinos are going to the WildCare Park, not the zoo. Charlie Hoessle's interview on Zoophoria highlights the reason the zoo went with black rhinos in the first place, which was because of space.
 
StoppableSan said:
White rhinos are going to the WildCare Park, not the zoo. Charlie Hoessle's interview on Zoophoria highlights the reason the zoo went with black rhinos in the first place, which was because of space.
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@StoppableSan I can still not see White Rhinos at WildCare Park. However, I can see Moyo (their current 5-year-old bull) moving to the WildCare Park and also getting a female mate or companion from a different zoo.
 
StoppableSan said:
White rhinos are going to the WildCare Park, not the zoo. Charlie Hoessle's interview on Zoophoria highlights the reason the zoo went with black rhinos in the first place, which was because of space.
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RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
@StoppableSan I can still not see White Rhinos at WildCare Park. However, I can see Moyo (their current 5-year-old bull) moving to the WildCare Park and also getting a female mate or companion from a different zoo.
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It makes complete sense to hold Southern white rhinoceros at the WildCare Park given they’re a semi-social species that can live in small to medium sized herds and can also be housed with several other species of ungulates without issue.
 
Zoofan15 said:
It makes complete sense to hold Southern white rhinoceros at the WildCare Park given they’re a semi-social species that can live in small to medium sized herds and can also be housed with several other species of ungulates without issue.
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Or maybe the WildCare Park can have both White AND Black Rhinos.
 
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