Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo Sea Otters

SeaOtterHQ

SeaOtterHQ

Well-Known Member
Shortly before the Sea Lion Shores habitat was completed, it was reported that the Omaha Zoo was planning to expand the Alaskan-themed areas to include new exhibits for polar bears and sea otters. Anyone know if those are still in the works or have they been dropped altogether?

I still think the ultimate sea otter habitat has yet to be constructed, although a few like Oregon Coast and Minnesota come close, and I would love to see what Omaha could do for the species. The zoo generates more than enough revenue to pay for their diet (around $20,000 per otter), which is probably the main obstacle preventing more zoos from keeping sea otters. And unlike other major zoos (San Diego, Bronx, Woodland Park, Brookfield), Omaha doesn't share a city/metro area with an aquarium that already has sea otters, so the species wouldn't be redundant (although this hasn't prevented every WCS zoo from holding California sea lions). Maybe if the Cincinnati Zoo's new sea otter exhibit goes well next year, Omaha will make their own a priority again.
The new Owen Sea Lion Shores is part of a grander vision to create a coastal Alaskan-themed area at the northwest end of the zoo. The Alaskan Adventure splash pad, Glacier Bay Landing concessions area and Owen Sea Lion Shores will be joined in the future by new exhibits for polar bears, Alaskan brown bears, sea otters and lynx. Pate said the zoo needs to raise funds before deciding where and when to build exhibits for those other species.
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https://www.newschannelnebraska.com...e-never-before-in-new-exhibit-opening-in-2020
 
I have not heard any movement on new exhibits on the docket. Keep in mind that Pate has retired and a new president leads the zoo so he may have some different ideas/priorities than his predecessor. That being said, Padilla does appear to stay in contact with Pate on some things as he still is fairly new to Omaha (2 years).

I went to one of the meet and greets with Pate and Padilla when he got introduced as the new director, and one thing that Padilla is big on is being aware of energy consumption. He talked about how much energy is required with cooling systems to maintain polar bears (especially in our climate in Nebraska with very hot/humid summers), which makes me very skeptical that the zoo would ever get that species back with Padilla at the helm. Sea Otters may require some of that, obviously not to the level of polar bears, and yes, the zoo has a state of the art sea lion facility, but that was built in Pate's tenure.

I fully believe that any new exhibit that comes from Padilla's tenure will be very energy conscious.
 
SeaOtterHQ said:
San Diego, Bronx, Woodland Park, Brookfield), Omaha doesn't share a city/metro area with an aquarium that already has sea otters, so the species wouldn't be redundant (although this hasn't prevented every WCS zoo from holding California sea lions). Maybe if the Cincinnati Zoo's new sea otter exhibit goes well next year, Omaha will make their own a priority again.
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Birch Aquarium doesn’t have the otters (SD), I’d also add Atlanta to the list if you include woodland park, to me it wasn’t that impressive.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
Birch Aquarium doesn’t have the otters (SD), I’d also add Atlanta to the list if you include woodland park, to me it wasn’t that impressive.
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SeaWorld San Diego has southern sea otters, even if it is more of a theme park than a proper aquarium. I'd rather see them at the San Diego Zoo since SeaWorld's exhibitry is nothing exceptional and I'm not a big fan of theme parks, but I suspect that is why it hasn't happened yet.

For me, Woodland Park gets a huge boost from the lovely PNW ambience and the amazing Northern Trail (I feel the same way about Point Defiance and its view over Mount Rainier). It would definitely benefit from renovations and more species, but it's still safely a Top 15 American zoo IMO.
 
SeaOtterHQ said:
SeaWorld San Diego has southern sea otters, even if it is more of a theme park than a proper aquarium. I'd rather see them at the San Diego Zoo since SeaWorld's exhibitry is nothing exceptional and I'm not a big fan of theme parks, but I suspect that is why it hasn't happened yet.

For me, Woodland Park gets a huge boost from the lovely PNW ambience and the amazing Northern Trail (I feel the same way about Point Defiance and its view over Mount Rainier). It would definitely benefit from renovations and more species, but it's still safely a Top 15 American zoo IMO.
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I didn’t realize sea world had them.
 
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