Virginia Zoo Virginia Zoo News 2017
- Thread starter jayjds2
- Start date
drill
Well-Known Member
Gray's monitor and orinoco crocodile?! wow
Monitors from LA and Orinocos from Brownsville?
You're probably correct about the monitors, but the crocodile(s) will probably come from either the Dallas World Aquarium (which breeds the species frequently and has even released over 50 into the wild) or just a redistribution of current adults (i.e. from, for example, Tampa, which has four adults). Brownsville has only bred the species once, recently, and currently has just the two adults and their hatchling.
Virginia Zoo has imported 0.2 White Rhino from Singapore. The female's (Bora and Zina) will be joined by a male for breeding later this year
Virginia Zoo welcomes two juvenile rhinos from Singapore
Virginia Zoo welcomes two juvenile rhinos from Singapore
New red panda:
Virginia Zoo Welcomes Masu the Red Panda - Virginia Zoo in Norfolk
They never did find the old one.
Virginia Zoo Welcomes Masu the Red Panda - Virginia Zoo in Norfolk
They never did find the old one.
World of Reptiles (a modernization of the 1974 Reptile House) will reopen later this year and here is a map and some more information on the development:
ABOUT - Virginia Zoo in Norfolk
ABOUT - Virginia Zoo in Norfolk
Wasn't that building also home to a collection of nocturnal animals? They didn't phase that out, did they?
Yes it was, and it seems they have. Does anyone know if the outdoor yard that had (blue?) duiker and crane will still be in use?
- It has not been posted here yet, but the zoo has acquired a 3 year old male Malayan tapir named Rosco. He's been in quarantine since the summer and just came out on exhibit a couple weeks ago. His first meeting with the female, Haddie was this past Tuesday and they have already mated. Poor Haddie has markings all over her back from his hooves.
- Although there's still a sign that says "future rhino exhibit", the two female white rhinos were in the old elephant exhibit yesterday. Before then, they have been in the small yard just off the barn. I am not sure if renovations are completed in the main exhibit, but the pool was full, which was a change from my visit last month.
- I overheard a zookeeper mention their female sun bear, Suntil, was a rescued after being a pet. She made it sound like Virginia Zoo rescued her. @snowleopard, she is the one that came from Woodland Park Zoo, correct? Do you know if this was her back story before she came to Seattle? Anyway, the two sun bears have mated and they do hope for cubs. That would be a treat since the species is no longer on the SSP list.
- The orangutans (Solaris & Dara) did not spend much time with their pumpkin enrichment yesterday and instead decided to have a mating session. Keepers were both amused and embarrassed.
- One thing I didn't notice before by the Animal Wellness Center is there's a play area for children with animal enrichment/toys that they can play with. Each item is on a list and has a description about which animal would use it.
- One happy sighting yesterday was seeing one of the zoo's yellow backed duikers for the first time. I figured being a crowded day, they would not be out at all. However, the pumpkin must have lured one outside. It was hilarious to see how big its mouth expanded when it put huge chucks of pumpkin in it.
If I recall correctly, most of the Sun Bears in the US population are rescued pets or orphans.
~Thylo
~Thylo
Yes, Suntil is a former Woodland Park Zoo bear. Palu is the male and he came from WPZ as well and here is an article describing the departure of the two animals for Virginia Zoo. I have no idea about their pre-WPZ story.
Woodland Park Zoo Blog: Saying goodbye to sun bears
I have seen the Stanley's crane moved to the bongo exhibit, but I have not seen the blue duiker moved anywhere. Perhaps they are phasing out the species. I feel like I read though they will at least have the squirrel monkey exhibit outside the building like they used to before.
The Bornean sun bears that were imported were all rescue bears from a sanctuary. Perhaps this is what the keeper was talking about.
I’m not optimistic that the bears will breed. If they do, that might add to our understanding of their reproductive biology, but it will not turn around their fate in North American zoos. There are not enough reproductive bears left to restart the population even if breeding picked up, and the zoos are hesitant to import again. Additionally, there is currently not enough space for the two tropical bears already being managed; continuing to breed sun bears would only exacerbate that space issue.
You do bring up some valid points. Although I do not think their space is that small for them. However, I have not seen a lot of sun bear exhibits to compare it to. The zoo has had them for a few years and the female is getting up there in age, so I wasn't too hopeful anyway.
I meant there is not enough space in US zoos for all three species to be viable.
Oh, thank you for the clarification! Reading the article snowleopard sent about the sun bears leaving the Woodland Park Zoo, that seemed to be their reasoning for the phase out. Whatever becomes of the remaining sun bears, I will always be thankful I was able to see sun bears.
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