Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden What's Gnu at the Cincinnati Zoo - 2015

With today's torrential down pour, both bird shows were cancelled, so I got out early and walked around the zoo for about an hour and a half before heading home.... And in doing so, I discovered a number of things!

-The exhibit in the Nursery that was all covered over? It is now home to an orphaned Sichuan takin calf, born to the zoo's pair at the tail-end of June.

-The saddle-billed storks are back on exhibit in Jungle Trails.

-The large-spotted genet exhibit has been spruced up with a large number of vines and branches providing far more climbing opportunities than ever previously available.... Of which the genet was making great use of!!

-The previous lesser adjutant aviary that has since been labelled for western Victoria crowned pigeons and white-naped pheasant pigeons is now home to two additional species, although they are both unlabeled. One, was a red-tailed cockatoo, and the other kept hidden away at the far back and top of the aviary and I couldn't properly identify it.

-Wings of The World had quite a few changes as well:
-The Wetlands aviary is currently being used as a nursery of sorts for spur-wing lapwings, hooded mergansers, and buffleheads before they are sent off to other zoos... There is a sign adjacent to the exhibit stating such. The cooters are still in the exhibit, but the striated herons have moved to the South American atrium.
-Also, speaking of the South American atrium, there is an unsigned pale yellow passerine that I have not seen before.
-The Bali mynas have moved into the former Lady Ross' turaco aviary outside of the Australasian atrium.
-The Lady Ross' turaco has moved into the Grasslands aviary, which now holds the Lady Ross' turaco, violet-backed starlings, tambourine doves, magpie shrikes, and the buff-crested bustard.
-Inside the Australasian atrium there are a number of new additions, some of which have been mentioned here before:
-White-cheeked bulbul
-White-breasted woodsparrow
-Black-collared fruit pigeon
-Collared finch-billed bulbul
-White-rumped shama
-Red-crested finches now live with Gouldian finches, scarlet-chested parakeets, and diamond dove.... Not sure if that's been mentioned yet.

Now... Not news, but highlights of the day:

1) Watching the "Kilua" - last year's okapi calf - gallop all about the yard in the rain.

2) Watching "Henry" the male orangutan unloop the artificial vine from around one of the trees to loosen it up. Once he was done, he tugged on it a bit to see that it was no longer stretched tight and mozied his way back across the exhibit.
 
-Wildlife Canyon is completely closed off, and I do not know why.

-The eastern black-and-white colobus sign was down in Gorilla World with a sign hanging in the exhibit saying "Monkeys Off Exhibit"... The last time I passed through there was only one male on exhibit, so I do not know if this means they're all gone or not.

-The orphaned Sichuan takin calf in the nursery is a male named "Dale". He was born on June 26th.

-There is major construction going on in the two former Indian rhinoceros yards. The pond in the right-hand yard was completely filled in, the fencing and foliage between the two yards were all torn out, and the gate was being removed.
 
Hopefully this doesn't mean Harapan's leaving now...

Does anyone know what subspecies the zoo's colobus are/were?

~Thylo:cool:
 
Kudu21 said:
-Wildlife Canyon is completely closed off, and I do not know why.

-The eastern black-and-white colobus sign was down in Gorilla World with a sign hanging in the exhibit saying "Monkeys Off Exhibit"... The last time I passed through there was only one male on exhibit, so I do not know if this means they're all gone or not.

-The orphaned Sichuan takin calf in the nursery is a male named "Dale". He was born on June 26th.

-There is major construction going on in the two former Indian rhinoceros yards. The pond in the right-hand yard was completely filled in, the fencing and foliage between the two yards were all torn out, and the gate was being removed.
Click to expand...

I was there Saturday but Wildlife Canyon was open at that time so somethings happened in the last 4 days. Same thing for the Rhino yards, nothing going on when I was there. I wouldn't think Harapan was being moved there because even with him being the crown jewel of the zoo I doubt hes not still leaving, being how important he is to the international population that he is, but who knows. My bet is on new species coming in, probably ones that don't need the features the rhinos used. Only saw one colobus on my trip also.
 
The zoo is supposedly bringing in a male black rhinoceros from Zoo Atlanta, so that might explain the construction in the former Indian rhinoceros yards, but I'm not certain.

@ThylacineAlive - I do believe they are/were C. g. kikuyuensis, if I remember correctly.

Video and article on the Sichuan takin calf:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8z-8ORe9V4
Nursery Dog Makes Room for New Baby Takin at the Cincinnati Zoo!

Cincinnati, OH (July 16, 2015)— Blakely, the Cincinnati Zoo’s resident nursery dog and part-time nanny, has been called into action to do what he does best, snuggle and play. His new companion is 3-week-old baby takin “Dale,” who was brought to the Zoo’s nursery to be hand-reared after his mother, “Sally,” ignored him. Sally, born at the Zoo in 2009, and the calf’s father, “Harry,” are first time parents.
Nursery keepers give Dale a bottle every three hours from 6am – midnight, and Blakely provides socialization and teaches certain behaviors through play. He has provided this service for a cheetah, an ocelot, bat-eared foxes, an aardvark, a warthog and brother wallabies (see 2014 TODAY.com story on Blakely’s nanny work). Dale will remain in the nursery with Blakely for the next few weeks and join the other takins in Wildlife Canyon in the fall.
Takins are large, muscular, hoofed mammals that reside in mountainous bamboo forests. Native to the Himalayas and Western China, they weigh anywhere between 550 and 770 pounds, and have a height range between 3 and 4 feet. Both males and females have unique horns that curve backwards and outwards, and range between 10 and 12 inches in length. Takins generally live for 12 to 15 years and have a diet of grasses, leaves, buds, and shoots. They are most active in the early morning and late afternoon, using their split hooves to move easily over the rocky terrain. Their main predators are bears and wolves which they ward off with low roars and bellows.
Dale’s arrival marks the Zoo’s seventh live takin birth. The Cincinnati Zoo is one of only 17 institutions in the U.S. that houses takins. Check them out in Wildlife Canyon, and come meet Dale and Blakely in the Zoo’s nursery located in the Children’s Zoo!
Click to expand...

Article on the filtration system being installed in the new Nile hippopotamus exhibit:
HGC Construction tackles Cincinnati Zoo?s ?most complex? exhibit, tons of hippo poo - Cincinnati Business Courier

Also, the third saddle-billed stork, the one that was previously held in the former right-hand-side Indian rhinoceros yard, is now in the mixed-species savanna in Africa,
 
groundskeeper24 said:
Are they still keeping the Indian rhino? I'm interested to see what comes of the construction in the old enclosure.
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They still have 10 year old, Manjula. To my understanding the yard they working on use to hold, Nikki, their other Indian Rhino but she passed away in the last year.
 
Manjula is, indeed, staying at the zoo, and their intention is to continue their AI work with Indian rhinoceroses with her.... I do believe they might have already begun!

Also, I can confirm that the construction in the former Indian rhinoceros yards is, indeed, in preparation for the arrival of the male black rhinoceros from Atlanta. Apparently, his arrival has already been delayed, not because of construction, but because of his stubbornness! Crate training has been proving incredibly difficult, and I do believe that at this point they are considering sedation.

Oh, and here's an interesting video about the work Cincinnati Children's Hospital has done in helping diagnose and treat Ali the aardvark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEc1NfTJz7U
 
Just in case anyone was wondering, the Siberian lynx who was housed outside Night Hunters (where Eurasian Eagle Owl "Archimedes" now lives) is alive and well. He is currently living inside, off exhibit, where keeper staff can keep a close eye on the old man :)
 
Thank you so very much for the update, cat lady! It's good to know the old fella is still kicking :)

Now, some small tidbits of news!

First, the framework for the new rockwork in the exhibit being renovated for the newly arrived male black rhinoceros has been put in place.

Second, the unidentified bird in the aviary with the red-tailed cockatoo and Victoria crowned pigeon in Jungle Trails is a very active and very vocal chestnut-breasted malkoha (Phaenicophaeus curvirostris singularis).
 
I made a pass through Jungle Trails on my way out today, and the southern helmeted currassow aviary is now also signed for the scarlet macaw, although I saw none and the usual scarlet macaw is still on display next to Wings of The World.... So I don't know if they will be moving it down to Jungle Trails or if a different bird will be going exhibit there .
 
Kudu21 said:
I made a pass through Jungle Trails on my way out today, and the southern helmeted currassow aviary is now also signed for the scarlet macaw, although I saw none and the usual scarlet macaw is still on display next to Wings of The World.... So I don't know if they will be moving it down to Jungle Trails or if a different bird will be going exhibit there .
Click to expand...

I've seen it twice, they're two different birds.
 
Moebelle said:
I've seen it twice, they're two different birds.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Without seeing the bird, I wasn't sure. That doesn't surprise me given the zoo's /extensive/ off-display bird collection.... You just never know with how frequently they move things around!
 
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