Saint Louis Zoo Saint Louis Zoo News 2023

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JVM said:
I share others' concern about River's Edge but at the same time, everything that has happened so far is pretty reversible - not to say I expect bush dogs or Andean bears to come back tomorrow, but there haven't been barriers being knocked down or completely irreversible losses, and I have some doubts the current situation will remain as it is indefinitely. Red river hogs are not hard to find and I think it's very plausible they could return for example even if the peccary sticks around a few years. I remain unconvinced the wild dog situation will remain long-term. The zoo could always acquire a new anteater for example as well. The South America section definitely feels empty right now and hopefully some new residents can be found for those spaces to liven up the exhibit. The macaws are the hardest space to replace actually. My broader point is though River's Edge can be restored very easily and even if it stays like this for five years or more, it could still pretty much go back to how it was or something similar.
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I would agree, but to me its more of a matter of whether or not they choose to reverse it, which I worry about.
 
jayjds2 said:
Chinese hwamei and green honeycreeper, there are two females of the latter in the butterfly dome now (I thought it was reported, but maybe not).
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When approximately did they green honeycreepers go on exhibit? I was in the butterfly dome on my last visit (early this month) and did not see them. It does not seem like there is a species holder thread for the tanagers yet so I am not sure how common they are but regardless an exciting addition to the collection.
 
cloudedleopard611 said:
When approximately did they green honeycreepers go on exhibit? I was in the butterfly dome on my last visit (early this month) and did not see them. It does not seem like there is a species holder thread for the tanagers yet so I am not sure how common they are but regardless an exciting addition to the collection.
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A couple of months ago, though I didn’t learn of them until this month. They are captive bred from the Brookfield Zoo, and are definitely a nice species for the zoo to have. Tanagers are weird in that there are a great number of species found in zoos, but most of them aren’t very common. I’ve seen roughly 34 tanager taxa in captivity depending on the taxonomy followed, but only 3 of them are ones I’ve seen at 5 zoos or more. Honeycreepers as a whole (anecdotally) seem to be on the rise, but for now they’re still a rather uncommon sight.
 
jayjds2 said:
A couple of months ago, though I didn’t learn of them until this month. They are captive bred from the Brookfield Zoo, and are definitely a nice species for the zoo to have. Tanagers are weird in that there are a great number of species found in zoos, but most of them aren’t very common. I’ve seen roughly 34 tanager taxa in captivity depending on the taxonomy followed, but only 3 of them are ones I’ve seen at 5 zoos or more. Honeycreepers as a whole (anecdotally) seem to be on the rise, but for now they’re still a rather uncommon sight.
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Strange that I did not see them. Maybe they weren't out when I was there. I guess I will have to check again on my next visit.
Seems like green honeycreepers specifically aren't very common in US zoos. It seems like the only US zoos they have been documented at on this site are Brookfield, Bronx, Memphis and the San Diego Zoo parks. I am sure there are some that have fallen through the cracks but it seems like they aren't particularly common, which makes it exciting that they are added to the collection.
 
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cloudedleopard611 said:
Seems like green honeycreepers specifically aren't very common in US zoos. It seems like the only US zoos they have been documented at on this site are Brookfield, Bronx, Memphis and the San Diego Zoo parks
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The National Aquarium in Baltimore used to have one in their rainforest exhibit as well. I’m not sure if it’s still there, I usually had to try quite hard to find it. I wouldn’t be surprised if any other zoos had them, but I don’t know of any for sure.
 
Updates from today's visit (if you saw this accidentally posted to the Bronx Zoo thread no you didn't ;)):
-There is a an unsigned colubrid snake mixed with timber rattlesnake and eastern box turtle. It is black, with subtle markings on the back and a white underbelly with black spots. My best guess is Pantherophis obsoletus, the western black rat snake.
-There is a curtain covering the Bird House central garden.
-The red-legged seriema exhibit is under renovation. Hopefully temporarily, the species is in one of the small exhibits next to bateleur eagle.
-Painted dogs now have signage in the former Andean bear exhibit. Oddly, its one of the standard style plaques and not the minimalistic wood-etching ones on the rest of the River's Edge exhibits.
-Had my first ever encounter with a fellow Zoochatter. If you're reading this, hi! I hope you had a great visit!
 
I had a delightful visit to the St. Louis Zoo this morning, and I was thrilled to find that all the animal houses were open this time, unlike my last visit in December when both the herpetarium and bird house were closed. I haven't been in either for at least six years, so it really was wonderful being back after having such fond memories of them.

While I still believe that Brookfield Zoo is rapidly catching up to STL and aiming directly for its current #4 spot (after Bronx, SD, and Omaha), St. Louis still undoubtedly has its merits.

The herpetarium is a true gem, and its focus on specific groups like neotropical anurans and geographically intriguing hots (West Asian vipers, the Habu) gives it a special touch. The exhibits are impeccably furnished, creating a lifelike slice of habitat, reminiscent of the incredibly naturalistic enclosures at ICF in Wisconsin. The bird house was better than I remembered, with abundant foliage, and the use of piano wire was wonderfully immersive.

The penguin and puffin house remained as delightful as I remembered, though I still can't help but wish the enclosures were larger. Having visited Cincinnati's, I hesitate to label the insectarium as world-class. While nice, the presence of pinned animals somewhat diminishes the experience, and even the addition of the elephant beetle can't overcompensate that (Just barely). No sign of the honeycreepers, but they can easily hide in the upper foliage of the dome. Nevertheless, the insectarium remains a must-visit at St. Louis.

I opted to skip River's Edge, I'm not sure if this is more a testament of the decrease in quality or the fact that it really suffers in winter. Spring or summer foliage would probably offer a more favorable experience. I also passed on Red Rocks, the second-best area at the zoo, as I had a great visit last time and I'll hopefully get more than enough of a fix of hoofstock yards soon.

Spotting the spectacled langurs proved to be an amusing challenge, requiring contortions and creative camera angles to peer through the glare-filled windows of the central care building of Primate Canopy Trails. After attempts on both sides, and a lot of curious Francois' langurs coming to see the strange primate outside their window, I finally spotted the spectacled langurs tucked away in a back corner of a top cage inside the building. The lengths one goes... perhaps I didn't just look insane. :eek:

As always, encountering another zoochatter was a pleasant surprise, and I appreciate consistent updates!
 
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CMP said:
I had a delightful visit to the St. Louis Zoo this morning, and I was thrilled to find that all the animal houses were open this time, unlike my last visit in December when both the herpetarium and bird house were closed. I haven't been in either for at least six years, so it really was wonderful being back after having such fond memories of them.

While I still believe that Brookfield Zoo is rapidly catching up to STL and aiming directly for its current #4 spot (after Bronx, SD, and Omaha), St. Louis still undoubtedly has its merits.

The herpetarium is a true gem, and its focus on specific groups like neotropical anurans and geographically intriguing hots (West Asian vipers, the Habu) gives it a special touch. The exhibits are impeccably furnished, creating a lifelike slice of habitat, reminiscent of the incredibly naturalistic enclosures at ICF in Wisconsin. The bird house was better than I remembered, with abundant foliage, and the use of piano wire was wonderfully immersive.

The penguin and puffin house remained as delightful as I remembered, though I still can't help but wish the enclosures were larger. Having visited Cincinnati's, I hesitate to label the insectarium as world-class. While nice, the presence of pinned animals somewhat diminishes the experience, and even the addition of the elephant beetle can't overcompensate that (Just barely). Nevertheless, it remains a must-visit at St. Louis.

I opted to skip River's Edge, I'm not sure if this is more a testament of the decrease in quality or the fact that it really suffers in winter. Spring or summer foliage would probably offer a more favorable experience. I also passed on Red Rocks, the second-best area at the zoo, as I had a great visit last time and I'll hopefully get more than enough of a fix of hoofstock yards soon.

Spotting the spectacled langurs proved to be an amusing challenge, requiring contortions and creative camera angles to peer through the glare-filled windows of the central care building of Primate Canopy Trails. After attempts on both sides, and a lot of curious Francois' langurs coming to see the strange primate outside their window, I finally spotted the spectacled langurs tucked away in a back corner of a top cage inside the building. The lengths one goes... perhaps I didn't just look insane. :eek:

As always, encountering another zoochatter was a pleasant surprise, and I appreciate consistent updates!
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No problem! Good to hear you enjoyed your visit. I definently agree River's Edge suffers in winter, so I don't blame you for skipping it. In a way though, its kind of a cool experience because you can kind of get almost a behind-the-scenes look of all the immersion elements when they aren't covered up by the greenery as intended. It can kind of spoil the immersion, but I find it interesting to see how its done, even if its not the most visually appealing thing in the world. If I didn't have the luxury of being able to go almost any weekend I probably would have skipped it too though.
I am definitely glad that the animal houses were both open. I feel so bad for visiting zoochatters who come at times when they are closed, seeing that the Herpetarium and Bird House are where most of the rarities are. That's why I try to keep post updates about any kind of closure, even if its just a small section of the zoo being closed off. I remember when I was planning for my San Diego trip, stuff like that really helped me plan out how to spend my time, so I want to make sure I am informing visiting zoochatters about stuff like that so they can optimize their visit.
I am glad you were able to see the spectacled langur. The primates can be tricky in the winter. Its cool that the exhibit allows viewers to see parts of their care that the public wouldn't usually be able to see. Just because they're technically off-exhibit doesn't necessarily mean you couldn't see them at all.
 
Interesting to hear more winter perspectives -- I keep flirting with taking a trip to Saint Louis in January or February and to be honest a major reason is to see Jungle of the Apes and the Primate House in winter. It sounds like the spectacled langur don't have a permanent exhibit even in winter, huh?
 
JVM said:
Interesting to hear more winter perspectives -- I keep flirting with taking a trip to Saint Louis in January or February and to be honest a major reason is to see Jungle of the Apes and the Primate House in winter. It sounds like the spectacled langur don't have a permanent exhibit even in winter, huh?
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The primates are kinda inconsistent honestly. I've honestly never seen spectacled langur in the Primate House, but granted I do also usually skip it. It seems like they get moved around pretty frequently though. When its in Canopy Trails its mixed with the Francois langurs though, but that does not seem to be the case when they're in the Primate House.
As for a winter trip, I suppose it would be interesting to experience. It is definitely not as pretty as it is during the spring, summer, and early fall; but you also don't have to contend with nearly as many crowds. The main drawbacks I would say are that a fair number of species are not viewable most of the time. Another is that with it being off-season, its when the zoo does a lot of their renovations and maintenance, so there are quite a few closures. They also operate at a lower capacity, for example last year they only had Lakeside Cafe open as a food option. Fortunately though, with lower crowds, its usually a non-issue. However, its a lot quieter and there's a peacefulness to it. Its about as close to a one-on-one experience with the animals as you can get at one of the top 5 most visited zoos in the country. Overall, I would say its worth doing if you'd like a more secluded and personal zoo experience.
 
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cloudedleopard611 said:
Overall, I would say its worth doing if you'd like a more secluded and personal zoo experience.
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I'll second this. Yesterday morning, other than two zoochatters, there was barely anyone in the herpetarium, and I was able to get photos of every exhibit and even every hallway, free of people. Some of the people I did meet were very friendly and wanted to chat up about places to find wild reptiles or talk about the puffins. If it isn't too cold, red rocks actually is quite nice in the winter with a more muted palate that makes the varying shades of the brown and gray ungulates stand out more.
 
I’d say one benefit of going through River’s Edge in the Winter is that the cheetahs are almost always out during that time of the year, from my experience. Anywhere below 50 degrees seems to be a high likeliness you’ll see them out on exhibit.
 
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