Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park News 2021

[PossumRoach]

Most of the outdoor parts of Florida are closed past Roaring Springs to the alligator habitat. I knew they were remodeling the panther habitat, but they are actually remodeling that whole area. Below is a map:

It appears the Florida Aviary is being demolished for "seating" and the kestrel habitat is gone too. The alligators will remain, but I did not see any out in the habitat right now (likely due to construction nearby). It also looks like the bear habitat will be downsized. I would imagine that the Florida Aviary was nearing end of life without a major remodel itself.

On the plus side, the panthers are going to have a really great setup.


Finally had a chance to ride the safari tram since they redid the theme and some of the enclosures.

I did not realize that they drive right by the other Shoebill aviary. You have to go on the tram ride to see it:

Also, for those that are curious, here is what the water aviary looks like now:

What will happen to the cranes, skunks and the gopher tortoises?

 

[SwampDonkey]

What will happen to the cranes, skunks and the gopher tortoises?

I don't think they are affected. The map doesn't show them, but it also does not show the alligators. Looking closer I am not even 100% sure the aviary is going away, the map just is not detailed enough on that side to really say for sure. Further, the cranes are out of the scope of view of the map as it is.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Is anything kept in the former Shoebill waterhole aviary?

~Thylo

 

[SwampDonkey]

Is anything kept in the former Shoebill waterhole aviary?

~Thylo

No, it is just a grass mess/hill/pit. The shoebills are kept in the new enclosure by the hippo and the one off of the safari ride. All that remains of that enclosure is that short bit of boardwalk that has vending machines now, the rest was demolished and filled in.

 

[PSO]

Had a great day at the zoo yesterday and got some interesting updates:
-the most interesting to me is a future South American exhibit. It will encompass land not currently on the zoos campus. Species included would be jaguar, sea lions and primates. Hoping tapir which would give the zoo six pachyderm species.
-the new panther/black bear exhibit will include five rotational enclosures for both species. The zoo is heavily involved with rehabbing/orphan panthers and wanted more area to do so.
-gorilla and lion are still heavily involved with master plan. Lions enclosure would currently go where the old shoebill aviary was and gorillas would be towards the front of Africa. The tunnel leading in would have a glass viewing area.
-only saw one yellow-foot rock wallaby on display but was told they received two more recently. Did not get a total but can't be more than four individuals.
-now for the million dollar question: I found out what happened with bonobo. Out of respect I will not give details but will say it was so damn close to happening and came down to financial reasons to not do so. However a new species has been chosen (not currently at the zoo) and will be announced within the month.

Side note: the zoo had all nine! orangutans on display at once. Is there any other zoo in the states has such a large "troop" that can be displayed all together at once?

 

[pachyderm pro]

Had a great day at the zoo yesterday and got some interesting updates:
-the most interesting to me is a future South American exhibit. It will encompass land not currently on the zoos campus. Species included would be jaguar, sea lions and primates. Hoping tapir which would give the zoo six pachyderm species.
-the new panther/black bear exhibit will include five rotational enclosures for both species. The zoo is heavily involved with rehabbing/orphan panthers and wanted more area to do so.
-gorilla and lion are still heavily involved with master plan. Lions enclosure would currently go where the old shoebill aviary was and gorillas would be towards the front of Africa. The tunnel leading in would have a glass viewing area.
-only saw one yellow-foot rock wallaby on display but was told they received two more recently. Did not get a total but can't be more than four individuals.
-now for the million dollar question: I found out what happened with bonobo. Out of respect I will not give details but will say it was so damn close to happening and came down to financial reasons to not do so. However a new species has been chosen (not currently at the zoo) and will be announced within the month.

Side note: the zoo had all nine! orangutans on display at once. Is there any other zoo in the states has such a large "troop" that can be displayed all together at once?

These are some great updates. Zoo Tampa is a relatively newer zoo at least in comparison to many other major ones so that means there isn't as much that needs to be replaced. Everything at the zoo is at least average in quality, many areas above average. With that said, it has been quite some time since the last major development and these proposed plans sound very exciting. I called lions being the replacement for the walkthrough shoebill aviary earlier in this thread and it makes complete sense.

Now that gorilla idea sounds really interesting. I never would have guessed that would be where they would choose to do it. Thats gonna be something I'm gonna need to see to get a full grip on. It's also interesting to here that the proposed South American zone will be built on undeveloped land. Do you have idea where this will be exactly? Because looking on google maps I don't see any real opportunity for expansion.

I do wonder what will take the place of the bonobos. Baboons would fit well, perhaps another macaque or lemur species. If the zoo wanted to really cool though, golden-stub nosed monkeys or proboscis monkeys?

Thank again for the updates, Zoo Tampa has become a bit of an unofficial home zoo of mine that I like to visit every two or three years, as I have family in the area. Excited to hear about these upcoming developments.

 

[PSO]

@SwampDonkey do you happen to know the species on safari ride? I didn't have time to get on and the only species I know are shoebill, patas and bongo

Also when did the Grevys leave the rhino exhibit? (One of my favorite memories is seeing a Grevys foal and rhino calf interact)

 

[PSO]

Fun fact about Lowry parks (sorry I'm old) pachyderm breeding programs:
Malayan tapir: 12 calves born
S. White rhino: 8
GoH rhino: at least 4
African Elephant: 3
Pygmy Hippo: 4
Most occured from end of 2005-present

Quite impressive considering diversity and gestation period. I know we all wish the elephant program would improve but consistency is the issue with that particular program

 

[ThylacineAlive]

A dozen tapirs is actually really fantastic!

~Thylo

 

[SwampDonkey]

@SwampDonkey do you happen to know the species on safari ride? I didn't have time to get on and the only species I know are shoebill, patas and bongo

Also when did the Grevys leave the rhino exhibit? (One of my favorite memories is seeing a Grevys foal and rhino calf interact)

I am not sure the patas are still on exhibit, or if they are I am not sure where. I believe they may have been where the shoebill are currently shown from the ride. Maybe they swap them out, or maybe, just maybe, they are planning on moving the patas into the chimp habitat.

That said, the list as I know it is:
Yellow Backed Duiker
Bongo
Shoebill Stork
Marabou Stork
Okapi
African Wild Dogs
White Rhino
African Bush Elephant
Giraffe
Mountain Zebra

Basically, most of the back of the main exhibit areas in Safari Africa along with a short ride specific habitat drive with the multi-species habitat that has the duiker, bongo, and marabou.

I am not sure when the grevy left, I feel like I recall seeing them back in April when I was last there, but I could be misremembering.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Most occured from end of 2005-present

That would make sense as Safari Africa, where most of those live, was not around before that time. The only pachyderms they had before then were the tapir and GoH Rhino (once the Asian Elephants left). Thanks for making the list, that is interesting to see.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Do they not have eland or any other antelope species (duiker aside) on the safari anymore?

Tmk the Patas are off-show while the Shoebill resides in their enclosure for the time being.

What's become of the Martial Eagle aviary that used to be there?

~Thylo

 

[SwampDonkey]

Do they not have eland or any other antelope species (duiker aside) on the safari anymore?

Not that I saw, and it would be hard to miss them really. The enclosure isn't that big and they are rather large. If there were any other antelope species they were hiding out and the guide didn't mention them. I think that enclosure has just the duiker, bongo, and stork.

What's become of the Martial Eagle aviary that used to be there?

I don't recall where that was, can you jog my memory?

 

[PSO]

I confirmed that the Patas are on display as well as the Shoebill. There are now two enclosures.

@ThylacineAlive that was my curiosity. I remember the following species there:
Blesbok
Sable
Eland
Thommys
Plains Zebra
Kudu
Crown Crane
Giraffes (all male)

Also the Martial eagle that was in the aviary has left the zoo (still one in the show)

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Not that I saw, and it would be hard to miss them really. The enclosure isn't that big and they are rather large. If there were any other antelope species they were hiding out and the guide didn't mention them. I think that enclosure has just the duiker, bongo, and stork.

I don't recall where that was, can you jog my memory?

I don't remember where exactly the aviary was unfortunately. Perhaps @PSO remembers? Has anything replaced the eagle?

~Thylo

 

[SwampDonkey]

Crowned crane were also on the safari, I actually got a picture, but they were on the other side of the bus and it was a bad picture.

I confirmed that the Patas are on display as well as the Shoebill. There are now two enclosures.

As in there are two separate enclosures on the safari, one for shoebill and one for patas or as in there are two shoebill enclosure (which there are) and the shobill and patas take turns in the habitat? I wish the guide had pointed out the patas, I love those monkeys and did not get to see them this time, and we were on the side of the bus which passed closest to the shoebill enclosure.

 

[PSO]

Sounds like the Martial Aviary has either the shoebill or Patas. Both are on display in the safari at the same time

@SwampDonkey thanks regarding crown Crane. They had a bunch and was surprised they weren't mentioned

 

[SwampDonkey]

Sounds like the Martial Aviary has either the shoebill or Patas. Both are on display in the safari at the same time

Can you confirm where the patas are? This is the shoebill enclosure off of the safari, it is the first enclosure upon entering the safari area, on the right of the bus:

@SwampDonkey thanks regarding crown Crane. They had a bunch and was surprised they weren't mentioned[/QUOTE]
Ha, yeah, here is my bad picture:

 

[PSO]

My mistake, I misunderstood my friend. @ThylacineAlive is correct they are currently off display. The second yard is attached to the building but not seen from tram. There was more public demand for shoebill than patas (surprisingly). A mix was attempted but were not compatible. Nothing resides in old martial aviary

 

[SwampDonkey]

My mistake, I misunderstood my friend. @ThylacineAlive is correct they are currently off display. The second yard is attached to the building but not seen from tram. There was more public demand for shoebill than patas (surprisingly). A mix was attempted but were not compatible. Nothing resides in old martial aviary

Thanks for the info, I would rather they had the patas out now that the shoebill have their own proper habitat in the main area of Africa.