Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2015

[AmbikaFan]

Oh well I don't know why I thought you were trying to say they were crap I guess my depression makes me think more negatively

Not at all, dcpandafan. I've seen a lot of your pics on the ZooChat homepage, and i like them very much. I was honestly thinking that someone like you should photograph the Kandula event and post pics to memorialize him at NZP forever. You're right; he's SO unique.

Here's a story from just last week. I thought I had pretty much learned all about elephant vocalizations over the years. Not so! While i was talking to a keeper, Mr. Diva decided that it was high time he shifted into the Trek for his morning stroll. We were in mid-conversation, and all of a sudden, there was this huge sound. It was like some odd combination of a huge ship's horn, an equally huge fart, and someone like Curly the Stooge farcically blowing his nose at length in an old black and white movie. When everyone, of course, looked at Kandula, he had his trunk all coiled up around his face, like a child holding its breath to get what it wanted. How much of this is typical teenager and how much is Kandula may never be known, but this is how we learned what an elephant roar is, a sound of impatience and annoyance. Once the gate opened, he was all smiles again, with that sashaying backside soon disappearing around the bend of the Trek.

 

[AmbikaFan]

This might help you find where the exhibit was.

GRAPHIC AMBIENT Blog Archive National Zoo Washington, USA

This polar bear is just where I remember him, on the right side of the path going down. I guess it was totally plausible that the underwater area of his enclosure was visible at the lower path on American Trails. I knew there were jaguars, but I don't remember the lynx or the cape buffalo at all! I can't quite tell if the Great Ape House and Lion/Tiger Hill had been built yet, but it would seem so, making them a decade older than I had imagined. How about all of those listings for very specific hoofstock species--then only "bear" to represent Smokey, Kiska, and any of the four other bear species!!! And pandas aren't shown on the map at all!! Perhaps that was a result of that pet peeve you spoke of, the zoo director who was so sick of people only visiting pandas that he built Amazonia. Maybe he left pandas off the map intentionally!

This thing with losing the polar bear has been gnawing at me for years, so much so that my daughter tells me that we never went into Amazonia when she was little! You've brought back something for me that I never wanted to forget. Thank you!

 

[Spixii]

With so many bad statistics about EEHV deaths, it may be heartening to remember that some have survived the virus. I'm almost certain Indy's daughter Karina was one of those lucky few (or was it sister Mali?) Perhaps studies of the immune response in these survivors will help with the development of a vaccine.

Treatment has been relatively successful in recent years- beginning with Chandra, the cow at the OKC zoo.
Then more recently with Maliha and Jade at St. Louis, and Barack at CEC!

Elephants in US zoos seem to have a higher chance of survival thanks to the efforts of the Smithsonian's endocrine lab, as opposed to those in Europe- specifically the UK (the number of deaths linked to the virus at Whipsnade and Chester are completely disconcerting).

 

[dcpandafan]

I can't quite tell if the Great Ape House and Lion/Tiger Hill had been built yet.

Lion and tiger hill opened in the early 1970's and the great ape house in the mid 1980's.

This map is from the 1970's.

 

[dcpandafan]

I knew there were jaguars, but I don't remember the lynx or the cape buffalo at all!

I'm pretty sure the deer species was Pere Davids Deer..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/curbc...mh1-6wtMm6-6wtNa6-xxKBzR-ddUuL3-a3PGx7-gXNhAB

Where the cheetahs live today i'm pretty sure they weren't there until the 1990's when the cheetah conservation station was built so there was probably more room for other species like cape buffalo.

The gnu lived in the exhibit where the zebra are today and the zebra lived in the current gazelle/oryx exhibit.

no clue where the lynx was.

This person has some pictures of the zoo in 1990 with some old pictures of what today is the cheetah conservation station.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/josephcovinojr/albums/72157651819887909

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Those are Pere David's Deer.

~Thylo

 

[dcpandafan]

Those are Pere David's Deer.

~Thylo

I heard the zoo used to have elds deer in the zoo itself so I just assumed but thanks for the info!

 

[AmbikaFan]

Lion and tiger hill opened in the early 1970's and the great ape house in the mid 1980's.

This map is from the 1970's.

Considering the utilitarian, concrete architecture of the period, I think Lion/Tiger Hill has aged well. The Great Ape House, however, is one of the worst zoo buildings I've ever visited, if only for that overwhelming smell that seems to envelop and follow you from the Reptile House.... I for one won't miss the Ape House one bit when it's demolished. (However, given the probable landmark status of the 2 adjacent buildings, this may have been the only one they could get rid of to make room for a plaza.)

I saw construction workers taking down the orangutan's outdoor exhibit. Is the demolition starting, or is this some other work? Didn't they just add glass to the ape yard?

 

[dcpandafan]

I saw construction workers taking down the orangutan's outdoor exhibit. Is the demolition starting, or is this some other work? Didn't they just add glass to the ape yard?

If the zoo was demolishing the great ape house they would have announced it by now since it would be a major project.

I saw construction at the orangutan yard the last time I went but I didn't know what they were doing. When was the last time you were there and what do you mean by taking down the outdoor yard? What were they doing? I'm assuming the fence was gone?

 

[dcpandafan]

The Great Ape House, however, is one of the worst zoo buildings I've ever visited, if only for that overwhelming smell that seems to envelop and follow you from the Reptile House.... I for one won't miss the Ape House one bit when it's demolished. (However, given the probable landmark status of the 2 adjacent buildings, this may have been the only one they could get rid of to make room for a plaza.)

I don't think the exhibits are as bad as people say they are but the look and smell of the building is terrible. Not gonna lie the small mammal house looks like it was built after the great ape house { I will admit though that the small mammal house has been renovated in recent years}.

 

[AmbikaFan]

I don't think the exhibits are as bad as people say they are but the look and smell of the building is terrible. Not gonna lie the small mammal house looks like it was built after the great ape house { I will admit though that the small mammal house has been renovated in recent years}.

I would guess that the Small Mammal House hearkens back to the same era of the Reptile House and Monkey House (Now Think Tank), circa 1910-1930. All three buildings have luscious ornamentation (like the monkeys on the Monkey House?) and architectural embellishment. The Great Ape House is from a 1960s-1970s style that shuns embellishment for starkly concrete looks. I'd bet all three older buildings are landmarked like the elephant house. I'd also bet that you are so technologically savvy that you could find out in about a tenth of the time it would take me!

I bred dogs for 20 years, so I'm personally able to withstand often-unpleasant odors, but my first thought is for the animals. If it smells this badly to the spectators, imagine how bad it is for the animals? And WHY does it smell this way? Both buildings always smell like a combination of dung and rotten flesh. It's hard to imagine that this smell could be due to anything but something unhealthful...

 

[dcpandafan]

I'd also bet that you are so technologically savvy that you could find out in about a tenth of the time it would take me!

The think tank is an historic landmark hence why the O-line was built. I wouldn't say i'm technologically savvy I mean I use the internet a lot but stuff like phones I don't know all the little tricks to do things and stuff like that. I also don't use all the tricks you can use on google to get better search results.

 

[AmbikaFan]

The think tank is an historic landmark hence why the O-line was built. I wouldn't say i'm technologically savvy I mean I use the internet a lot but stuff like phones I don't know all the little tricks to do things and stuff like that. I also don't use all the tricks you can use on google to get better search results.

Really? I thought the O-Line was built simply to give the orangs the enrichment of brachiating as they would in the wild. (I've NEVER seen a single one use it when I'm there!) What's the connection between landmark status and the O-line?

I didn't know what a computer was until I was 25, and there was no internet for at least another 10 years, so I'm what's considered a fossil. The two generations to follow me have real intuition for electronic devices, which I don't have. You're at a great advantage over me, and you're certainly doing well enough on those searches to find Zoo pics of yesteryear that I've been unable to find over time.

 

[dcpandafan]

Really? I thought the O-Line was built simply to give the orangs the enrichment of brachiating as they would in the wild. (I've NEVER seen a single one use it when I'm there!) What's the connection between landmark status and the O-line?

The monkey house was a historic building so the zoo couldn't build a larger enclosure for the orangutans.

When Think Tank curators were deciding which animals to include in the exhibit, they wanted to include orangutans but were faced with a number of challenges. The exhibit space at Think Tank was not big enough to permanently house a large number of orangutans. Because of the building's status as a historic landmark, major renovation to expand the exhibit space was not an option. Additionally, the orangutans' permanent home, the Great Ape House, is some 490 feet (149.5 m) from the new exhibit.
The solution? Let the animals move themselves! Curators designed the world's first Orangutan Transport System (OTS), a system of towers and cables that allows the animals to move between the two buildings.

Also they're only allowed on the O-line at certain times. I think it's around 11 am.

 

[AmbikaFan]

OK, here goes:

Small Mammal House: 1937
National Zoo Celebrates Small Mammal House's 75th Birthday (PHOTOS)

Reptile House: 1930
http://www.faculty.biol.vt.edu/jenssen/pdfMS/1988_zoo_biology_reptile_house.pdf
(page 3, Reptile House is 58 in 1988)

Monkey House: 1906
Think Tank History - National Zoo| FONZ

Great Ape House: 1981 You Guessed it!
New Great Ape House Opens at National Zoo | Smithsonian Institution Archives

Elephant House: 1937
Washington D.C. National Zoo - Elephant House - Washington DC - Living New Deal

 

[AmbikaFan]

Also they're only allowed on the O-line at certain times. I think it's around 11 am.

Thanks. I understand this part. I thought there was a connection between the O-lines and the thinking/cognition purpose of the building. I guess there is after all!

 

[dcpandafan]

The Jewels of Appalachia Exhibit in the reptile discovery center opening celebration will be October 17th from 10 am - 2 pm.

Animals included will be:

Red salamander
Pseudotriton ruber

Green salamander
Aneides aeneus

Long-tailed salamander
Eurycea longicauda

Eastern red-backed salamander
Plethodon cinereus

About the opening.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/ActivitiesAndEvents/Celebrations/jewels/joa.cfm

About the exhibit.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/jewels-of-appalachia.cfm

 

[AmbikaFan]

If the zoo was demolishing the great ape house they would have announced it by now since it would be a major project.

I saw construction at the orangutan yard the last time I went but I didn't know what they were doing. When was the last time you were there and what do you mean by taking down the outdoor yard? What were they doing? I'm assuming the fence was gone?

The zoo has had plans in the works for 8 years that will require the demolition of the Great Ape House. Of the 2 very comprehensive plans outlined (see link below), Plan C, with its aerial tramway, will create a new "side entrance" to the zoo, a public welcoming plaza, and 1 of 3 tramway stations on the site of the Great Ape House. I haven't heard anything about demolition currently either, but Plan C was approved (see second link), and significant parts of the plan (like the new retaining wall) and major exhibit renovations (like American Trail and the huge upcoming Bird House reno) have already been completed. Although The Great Ape House was only about 20 years old at the time, it was given a C grade in the same study of infrastructure safety and performance that immediately closed the Australia Pavilion. And since the three adjacent buildings are all presumably landmarked, this is also the only way to make space for the third entrance sought in both plans.

http://www.wpcaonline.org/docs/zoo/NationalZooNewsletterIV.pdf
(See page 5)

Panel Approves Plan to Improve The National Zoo

Last weekend, I saw construction fencing surrounding the exterior orangutan yard, with machinery and tools both there and stored near the front entrance. Several of the tall glass fence panels had been removed, so the animals could clearly not use their outdoor habitats.

 

[dcpandafan]

The zoo has had plans in the works for 8 years that will require the demolition of the Great Ape House. Of the 2 very comprehensive plans outlined (see link below), Plan C, with its aerial tramway, will create a new "side entrance" to the zoo, a public welcoming plaza, and 1 of 3 tramway stations on the site of the Great Ape House. I haven't heard anything about demolition currently either, but Plan C was approved (see second link), and significant parts of the plan (like the new retaining wall) and major exhibit renovations (like American Trail and the huge upcoming Bird House reno) have already been completed. Although The Great Ape House was only about 20 years old at the time, it was given a C grade in the same study of infrastructure safety and performance that immediately closed the Australia Pavilion. And since the three adjacent buildings are all presumably landmarked, this is also the only way to make space for the third entrance sought in both plans.

http://www.wpcaonline.org/docs/zoo/NationalZooNewsletterIV.pdf
(See page 5)

Panel Approves Plan to Improve The National Zoo

Last weekend, I saw construction fencing surrounding the exterior orangutan yard, with machinery and tools both there and stored near the front entrance. Several of the tall glass fence panels had been removed, so the animals could clearly not use their outdoor habitats.

To be honest I don't think those plans are up to date because they're from 2007/2008 but every time I see a zoo official talk about the master plan they always say something on the lines of "as part of our 2012 programmatic master plan".

Also I've seen those documents before.

 

[dcpandafan]

I'm going to the zoo tomorrow and as always I plan on taking lots of pictures. So if there's a picture of something anyone wants me to try and get then you can tell me before I go {sometime between 11:00 am and 1:30 pm Eastern time}.