Zoo Miami Zoo Miami News 2025

After taking a look at the clouded leopard population thread, it appears that the two leopards Zoo Miami had were indeed their last ones.

On the bright side though, I’m glad that there is now a new holder (Sacramento) that was willing to take them into their care.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Zoo Miami is moving their gorillas in May and will be without the species "for the foreseeable future"
Zoo Miami

"As Zoo Miami continues to grow and regulations that govern zoos continue to evolve, changes are necessary to meet new requirements to safely house and manage the wide variety of animals that call Zoo Miami home. Visitors to Zoo Miami will notice a myriad of construction projects that are presently underway ranging from the installation of secondary fencing to the modification of containment moats. Though many of the upgrades and modifications can be made around the animals, there are some that require moving the animals to another location. This unfortunately will necessitate the temporary closing of some exhibits. Those closures can range from a day to a significantly longer period of time, depending on the modifications required. Examples of exhibits that require significant modifications include all the great ape habitats and holding areas. Unfortunately, this will require our chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas to be temporarily shifted at different times to be able to safely accommodate the construction schedules. This will sometimes result in them being out of public view. As part of this process, the difficult decision had to be made to relocate the gorillas to a different facility. Our bachelor males, Shango and Barney, both brothers, have resided at Zoo Miami since 2017 when they arrived from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. Since that time, they have shared the gorilla habitat as a bachelor group, an important social group for male gorillas. An opportunity has arisen to send both Barney and Shango to another accredited zoo. Because their bloodline is already well-represented under professional care, they will remain part of a bachelor group. The decision was made in accordance with the recommendation of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) developed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Though this is good for Barney and Shango, it will unfortunately lead to Zoo Miami not housing gorillas for the foreseeable future. Presently, the plan is for Barney and Shango to depart Miami in early May. Zoo Miami has been a home for gorillas for over 4o years and has experienced multiple births during that time. The departure of Barney and Shango will certainly leave a void that will be hard to fill. However, their health and wellbeing must be the priority and this upcoming move reflects that. We wanted to provide an opportunity for the public to see these majestic animals one more time before they head to their new home this spring.
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I am not sure if they came back but I went recently and the Gorilla's and the other two great apes are there, not sure if it's the same ones.
 
Does anyone know if their Asian small-clawed otters are still there across from the clouded leopard habitat?

I know the pair were geriatric, so wondering if they were relocated or had passed away.
 
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I am also wondering what happened to the African Slender Horned Gazelle, it seems like it was replaced by the Grevy's Zebra in the exhibit in front of the Mountain Bongos
 
Cuban-Floridian said:
I haven't heard of a bird show. Was it an event for the Amphitheatre?
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Sorry I only just now saw this question. It's in the amphitheater, yes. As mentioned in the below post by now, the vulture will be part of the rotating cast of ambassador animals outside the amphitheater.

King of Komodo Dragons said:
The ambassador habitats are complete and will be open starting April 25th. Some of the animals that will be viewable in these new habitats include Cheetah, giant Anteater, turkey vulture, king vulture, white-rumped vulture, and more

https://x.com/zoomiami/status/1912880349312352695
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~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Sorry I only just now saw this question. It's in the amphitheater, yes. As mentioned in the below post by now, the vulture will be part of the rotating cast of ambassador animals outside the amphitheater.



~Thylo
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Yeah so I think the Ampitheatre shows are still closed, there was a time they were using it for the canine champions, but other than that no. I didn't know that the animals in the rotating habitats were part of their shows
 
When I visited on Friday, all three of the doors in the temporary entrance to Wings of Asia were locked. What is the reason for this?
 
Iguana_Cabana said:
When I visited on Friday, all three of the doors in the temporary entrance to Wings of Asia were locked. What is the reason for this?
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Sometimes Wings of Asia closes due to circumstances, such as weather, situations with the birds, or issues with the habitations/aviary.

For example I went a few days ago and a kid dropped a tiger plushie in one of the ponds in wings of asia. In those situations I imagine that they close the aviary to remove the foreign object from the ponds.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Zoo Miami is moving their gorillas in May and will be without the species "for the foreseeable future"
Zoo Miami

"As Zoo Miami continues to grow and regulations that govern zoos continue to evolve, changes are necessary to meet new requirements to safely house and manage the wide variety of animals that call Zoo Miami home. Visitors to Zoo Miami will notice a myriad of construction projects that are presently underway ranging from the installation of secondary fencing to the modification of containment moats. Though many of the upgrades and modifications can be made around the animals, there are some that require moving the animals to another location. This unfortunately will necessitate the temporary closing of some exhibits. Those closures can range from a day to a significantly longer period of time, depending on the modifications required. Examples of exhibits that require significant modifications include all the great ape habitats and holding areas. Unfortunately, this will require our chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas to be temporarily shifted at different times to be able to safely accommodate the construction schedules. This will sometimes result in them being out of public view. As part of this process, the difficult decision had to be made to relocate the gorillas to a different facility. Our bachelor males, Shango and Barney, both brothers, have resided at Zoo Miami since 2017 when they arrived from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas. Since that time, they have shared the gorilla habitat as a bachelor group, an important social group for male gorillas. An opportunity has arisen to send both Barney and Shango to another accredited zoo. Because their bloodline is already well-represented under professional care, they will remain part of a bachelor group. The decision was made in accordance with the recommendation of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) developed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Though this is good for Barney and Shango, it will unfortunately lead to Zoo Miami not housing gorillas for the foreseeable future. Presently, the plan is for Barney and Shango to depart Miami in early May. Zoo Miami has been a home for gorillas for over 4o years and has experienced multiple births during that time. The departure of Barney and Shango will certainly leave a void that will be hard to fill. However, their health and wellbeing must be the priority and this upcoming move reflects that. We wanted to provide an opportunity for the public to see these majestic animals one more time before they head to their new home this spring.
Click to expand...
Barney and Shango will soon be moving to the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois.
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I recently went to the Africa area and they are planning to repurpose the old Serval habitat for Mongoose Lemurs.
Mountain Bongos and the Yellow Backed Duiker are missing in action due to construction on their exhibit.
 
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