Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo & Adventure Park What's New at the N.E.W Zoo?

Some additional thoughts on the plan:

-Glad to see North American Plains, one of the highlight exhibits in my opinion, remaining.
-The plan says Asiatic bears. Because Asian black bears are being phased out, as well as supposedly sun bears, I imagine they're referring to sloth bears?
-Expanded African area with a new lion exhibit, expanded giraffe habitat with more mixed-species, and the addition of flamingos and cheetahs = cool! :)
-Overhead Japanese macaque trails are a pretty clever idea, more opportunities for these entertaining primates.
-Why red wolves and Canadian lynx are in a Eurasia complex I don't know, but glad they'll be receiving improved homes. A new snow leopard habitat would also be great to see, and the addition of tigers is awesome.
-The Asian Otter Wetlands and tropics area sound interesting.
-Amenities: a splash area will be a welcome addition, and it'll also be nice to see expanded parking and a better link to the Adventure Park, rather than a small parking lot across the road.
-The only thing in this plan I'm against is making the Northern Trail, easily the Zoo's best complex, into a loop. I know it'll be more convenient rather than the current backtracking, but that's what gives this complex the immersive edge. One walks along a trail to the Riley Building (tamarin, ferret, etc.) and is then completely absorbed into the north woods surrounded by moose habitat. In my opinion seeing people across the exhibit (at least that's what it looks like on the plan) will kind of take away that element.

Overall, very excited for this little but very nice zoo! Looks very promising! :D
 
I went there this summer and saw that the Common Carp and the Largemouth Bass were moved to the Koi pond in the children's zoo.
 
Some updates from my visit today:

  • There is a Chilean Rose Tarantula molt in the exhibit.
  • The Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are no longer on exhibit.
  • Many animals were enjoying the snow and ice, and being generally more active than usual (like the Otters and Bald Eagle). Others sat around and did nothing. Many were in their off-exhibit areas (or not on exhibit at all).
  • The majority of the South American chiclids have been moved to a new tank in the Riley Building. However, some still remain in their old tank.
  • The Red Foxes have an new enrichment item: a watchtower. The foxes seemed to prefer using it as a bed, though.
  • The African Penguin chicks are sort of veiwable. I was about to leave the zoo when an announcement came on: "Attention NEW Zoo visitors. There is a penguin chick in the Nutrition Center." When I finally got over there from the other side of the zoo, there was a line up to the window. It's so cute!
  • I got to see a keeper training Carson the Canada Lynx and the Bobcat. That was cool.
  • Two new Red Pandas have come to the zoo, and are currently in quarantine. However, they are veiwable at the Nutrition Center.
  • You know that little space in the Riley Building that had signs about animal enrichment? Those sigh have been replaced with a new exhibit: one Black Rat. I have seen this species in the wild, but never in a zoo before.
  • And finally, what you have all been waiting for:
A review of the new Prairie Dog/American Badger Exhibit! I came to this new addition from the direction of the Mayan restaurant and the tortoise shell. Next to this exhibit is a cool statue of a badger. It was a very nice statue, but I don't know much about art; I couldn't rate it or anything. Anyway, the new badger exhibit is about the size of the old one, and looks in to the prairie dog display. It (the badger exhibit that is) has a small hut and several logs. While the back of the exhibit is mostly concrete, the front is a mountain of dirt. This is both the high and low point of the habitat. Sure, it's great for the badgers, but the animal stayed out of view in it's burrow (at least, I couldn't find it), so it makes viewing hard. It has a tunnel for humans leading into the display. This tunnel leads to a glass dome in the center of the exhibit. I would have crawled in, but the bottom of the tunnel was all wet with melted slush. I'll try it in the summer. Next is the Black-tailed Prairie Dog exhibit. About the size of the American Badger exhibit next door, it is certainly not the largest prairie dog exhibit I have seen, but definitely the most creative. The entire habitat is a mountain of dirt, the perfect size for the currently colony, and lots of room to grow. The most interesting part is the wooden fence on top of Mt. Dirt. It makes it seem it is on some rancher's property. There are also some logs up there. This exhibit also features a glass dome.
 
birdsandbats said:
What is a flex habitat?
Click to expand...
A habitat that can be flexed to hold a number of different species. In terms of a master plan, they have set that space aside for a potential exhibit but aren’t positive on what species could house it in the future.
 
I’m excited to see this happen. The project seems to blend well and that species are able to be seen from multiple angles. Most importantly they have room to roam which I’m most excited to see!
 
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