Smithsonian National Zoo Smithsonian National Zoo News 2021

Kevin2342 said:
What happened to the other two red river hogs? I hope this wasn’t like the red river hogs at the Philadelphia Zoo where two of them died within a short span… all the red river hogs at National Zoo are like 13-15 which is pretty old.

There has only been one sitatunga and zebra for quite some time. Two juvenile male sitatunga arrived in 2016. Just like kudu, at that time both males were a bachelor herd. The other male, Marley, stayed at the zoo for quite a short time since they matured. I am not sure what happened to the zebras but the Grevy’s is a solitary species. Moyo lived with another male and then there was Moyo and Gumu who rotated on exhibit. I am not sure what happened to the other two.
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I don’t know about the hogs for sure but they were taken off the website and they are all on the older side, so it wouldn’t be unexpected if they died; especially considering the lack of transparency the zoo has with births, deaths, and arrivals. And that’s interesting that they had two groups of zebra and that Moyo was kept with another male but is now the odd man out, so to speak. I didn’t know about the other sitatunga, so thank you, but I’m still perplexed with the number of individual animals in the section over all. Typically male antelope do well when housed together away from females, it happens all the time. I’d bet that they will probably bring in more hogs and ostrich in the future though, it would be in the animals’ best interest anyway.

Apologies for the all-over-the-place way that that paragraph came out.
 
Polar bear fan said:
I don’t know about the hogs for sure but they were taken off the website and they are all on the older side, so it wouldn’t be unexpected if they died; especially considering the lack of transparency the zoo has with births, deaths, and arrivals. And that’s interesting that they had two groups of zebra and that Moyo was kept with another male but is now the odd man out, so to speak. I didn’t know about the other sitatunga, so thank you, but I’m still perplexed with the number of individual animals in the section over all. Typically male antelope do well when housed together away from females, it happens all the time. I’d bet that they will probably bring in more hogs and ostrich in the future though, it would be in the animals’ best interest anyway.

Apologies for the all-over-the-place way that that paragraph came out.
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Yeah I bet they will get more red river hogs since they are social like what the Philadelphia Zoo did, but it will probably take some time.
 
Kevin2342 said:
Yeah I bet they will get more red river hogs since they are social like what the Philadelphia Zoo did, but it will probably take some time.
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@Polar bear fan when was the last time you saw two red river hogs together? It was always Roscoe, the male, and one of the females. The two females rotated on exhibit since they did not get along as sisters.
 
Polar bear fan said:
Typically male antelope do well when housed together away from females, it happens all the time.
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Bachelor herds really aren't the perfect solution that they're often passed off to be. There is an "expiration date" for almost all bachelor herds where the animals are left intact. After the animals reach a certain age (which can vary by species), it will start falling apart-- especially with limited space. Animals will then have to be moved elsewhere or housed separately to avoid serious altercations.
 
Kudu21 said:
Bachelor herds really aren't the perfect solution that they're often passed off to be. There is an "expiration date" for almost all bachelor herds where the animals are left intact. After the animals reach a certain age (which can vary by species), it will start falling apart-- especially with limited space. Animals will then have to be moved elsewhere or housed separately to avoid serious altercations.
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Ahh, I see. Glad to be educated though, always good to know when you’re wrong!
Kevin2342 said:
@Polar bear fan when was the last time you saw two red river hogs together? It was always Roscoe, the male, and one of the females. The two females rotated on exhibit since they did not get along as sisters.
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I am in a similar situation to you, I haven’t t been been since right before COVID hit. I could almost swear I saw three on exhibit when I was there though, it was certainly more than one though. I took pictures, so I’ll be sure to post if I find any, even if they’re from a while ago.
 
Polar bear fan said:
Ahh, I see. Glad to be educated though, always good to know when you’re wrong!

I am in a similar situation to you, I haven’t t been been since right before COVID hit. I could almost swear I saw three on exhibit when I was there though, it was certainly more than one though. I took pictures, so I’ll be sure to post if I find any, even if they’re from a while ago.
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It could swear it was always at most two red river hogs on exhibit. Just send me the pictures
 
If they brought back rhinos would they be Black or White to fit in with the African theme? also it'd be cool if they focused on north Kenyan/Ethiopian species since they already have Grevy's Zebra, Lesser Kudu, Abyssinnian Ground Hornbill etc... They could get pure Reticulated Giraffes, Beisa Oryx, and other species such as Marabou Storks and Blue Winged Geese and make a multi-species Samburu Reserve style savanna mixed-species exhibit.
 
Sarus Crane said:
If they brought back rhinos would they be Black or White to fit in with the African theme? also it'd be cool if they focused on north Kenyan/Ethiopian species since they already have Grevy's Zebra, Lesser Kudu, Abyssinnian Ground Hornbill etc... They could get pure Reticulated Giraffes, Beisa Oryx, and other species such as Marabou Storks and Blue Winged Geese and make a multi-species Samburu Reserve style savanna mixed-species exhibit.
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Agree with the idea of an Ethiopian theme based on the existing collection and also the fact that DC has a large Ethiopian diaspora population and legacy of Ethiopian culture. I’ve heard a family excitedly show their kids the Abysinnian ground hornbill for this reason before. Could be a nice nod to the community.
 
Mbwamwitu said:
Agree with the idea of an Ethiopian theme based on the existing collection and also the fact that DC has a large Ethiopian diaspora population and legacy of Ethiopian culture. I’ve heard a family excitedly show their kids the Abysinnian ground hornbill for this reason before. Could be a nice nod to the community.
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Perhaps since it's the "National" Zoo maybe with enough space and negotiations the Ethiopian government might be willing to send over the first group of live Mountain Nyala. One can only hope!!!! The zoo is located in a naturally hilly area so why not??? ;)
 
Sarus Crane said:
Perhaps since it's the "National" Zoo maybe with enough space and negotiations the Ethiopian government might be willing to send over the first group of live Mountain Nyala. One can only hope!!!! The zoo is located in a naturally hilly area so why not??? ;)
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Good luck with that. No animals have legally left Ethiopia in years. Besides restrictions on Bovidae imports. ;)
 
Sarus Crane said:
If they brought back rhinos would they be Black or White to fit in with the African theme? also it'd be cool if they focused on north Kenyan/Ethiopian species since they already have Grevy's Zebra, Lesser Kudu, Abyssinnian Ground Hornbill etc... They could get pure Reticulated Giraffes, Beisa Oryx, and other species such as Marabou Storks and Blue Winged Geese and make a multi-species Samburu Reserve style savanna mixed-species exhibit.
Click to expand...
Mbwamwitu said:
Agree with the idea of an Ethiopian theme based on the existing collection and also the fact that DC has a large Ethiopian diaspora population and legacy of Ethiopian culture. I’ve heard a family excitedly show their kids the Abysinnian ground hornbill for this reason before. Could be a nice nod to the community.
Click to expand...
Sarus Crane said:
Perhaps since it's the "National" Zoo maybe with enough space and negotiations the Ethiopian government might be willing to send over the first group of live Mountain Nyala. One can only hope!!!! The zoo is located in a naturally hilly area so why not??? ;)
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This is a news thread, not an imagination thread.
 
Although I am already under the impression that this post is probably more than off topic to some people. I just wanted to say that I have already been inspired (unintentionally of course) to create an exhibit map based around the speculative concept that is the Ethiopian-themed replacement for the Cheetah Conservation Center. So just in case if anyone here who has followed the news thread, has any form of interest in this little idea of mine. I will be more than happy to get the job done, once I have enough time to do so. In addition. I also wanted to say that it is probably for the better that we refocus our attentions back toward actual news about the zoo and conservation facility, rather than random speculation posts just as @Chlidonias has already stated.
 
I am visiting the zoo on Friday for my Washington DC Trip.
-How many Asian small-clawed otters does the zoo still have? The website says four, but I only ever see two out of four.
-Looks like the male fishing cat Lek is gone and has been replaced with a new male named Hunter. What ever happened to Lek?
-Henderson is the only white-eared titi monkey left, I know they had another one named Kingston, what happened to Kingston?
-Are the keeper talks still going on like they used to before Covid?
 
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