Henry Doorly Zoo (Omaha, NE) » Henry Doorly Zoo

Henry Doorly Zoo (Omaha, NE)
19-05-2008

Omaha.com Metro/Region Section

This article lays out the zoo's next development phase. Henry Doorly Zoo is on a roll with the Desert Dome, Kingdoms of the Night, Gorilla Valley, Orangutan Forest, and the new Insectarium just in the last few years...all pretty major exhibits. Now they plan to add an Arctic exhibit with Polar Bears, Walrus and such; Madagascar exhibit (sounds really promising); and an expanded elephant exhibit all for one easy payment of 100 million dollars.

And for those zoo design/map obsessionists (i think i just made up that word) like me, the article also includes a map of the expansion plans.

19-05-2008

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is the one zoo that I'm really missing out on this summer, as my epic road trip seemingly takes me everywhere but here. It's a pity, as the number of mega-exhibits that have been built in the past 15 years is impressive. The future looks equally rosy for the Nebraska landmark, but the location of this zoo means that not many members of ZooBeat have ventured inland to visit it. Having said all that, the Lied Jungle and several other of the multi-million dollar enclosures have received mixed reviews from those that have made the trek. If this zoo continues to expand then it will easily be one of the top 5 or 10 zoos in North America, and some people would argue that it is already there.

20-05-2008

SW Iowa News - Loss of Rosenblatt to allow zoo to create Arctic Center

There is also a mention of an Australian Outback exhibit, water fountains for children, a new entrance and a parking lot in these enormously ambitious plans. In a few years the Henry Doorly Zoo could be a powerhouse in the zoo industry, and the $100 million that they are planning to spend will rival the Oregon Zoo's $120 million set of renovations.

20-05-2008

Omaha.com Entertainment Section

Another article. This one has some more details on the Madagascar exhibit due to open next year and house more than 60 lemurs along with other Malagasy fauna.

@snowleopard: This zoo is already a powerhouse in the zoo field with Lee Simmons as their director for many many years now. They do a lot of research with assisted reproduction (including cloning of exotic hoofstock and AI). Also, last year (or maybe the year before) they imported several Malayan (formerly known as Indo-Chinese) Tigers to pump up the founder representation of the small US population. These are only a few of the many accomplishments they have. They are a bigger player than most major US zoos.

20-05-2008

60 lemurs, 12 elephants, 9 polar bears...the collection could be even more outstanding in the near future for the Henry Doorly Zoo. The numbers being talked about in terms of financing are incredible, and I'll have to visit this zoo one day!

23-05-2008

The authors of the 2008 book "America's Best Zoos" are massive fans of the Henry Doorly Zoo. The two men each selected the 25 best zoos exhibits in the U.S., and only this zoo had three different exhibits mentioned. The three exhibits (Lied Jungle, Kingdoms of the Night, and Desert Dome) actually made BOTH sets of lists, and all the exhibits placed in the top fourteen for each list. Impressive, as not even the big guns like Bronx and San Diego could top that total. However, I realize that lists are subjective and not everyone will agree...but each of these authors have certainly been to a hell of a lot of zoos.

23-05-2008

Snowleopard...I expect you'll make your own top lists at the end of the summer!

23-05-2008

I love lists, and over the years I have made personal lists of my 100 favourite movies of all time, my ten favourite film directors, best zoos, desired travel destinations, top 50 music albums, etc, etc. Lists are wonderful things to debate over, as everyone has a different opinion on what is "the best" of anything.

23-05-2008

That sounds like a challenge! I look forward to your zoo lists and see what you enjoyed.

24-05-2008

I wonder whether they took a look at the Cougar exhibit in the desert dome-or the Big Cats House-or the Ratufa-exhibit-or.... All in all, Omaha has quite an interesting collection of species-but sometimes, especially in terms of zoo animal husbandry, quality is better than quantity...

24-05-2008

@Sun Wukong: the authors do acknowledge that the "Cat Complex" is an aging structure, but they also state that it is the largest feline building in North America with an impressive collection. I'm sure that the Henry Doorly Zoo will eventually build some type of enormous, mega-exhibit setup for its cat collection.

There are so many plans ahead for this zoo that it boggles the mind. Large Madagascar, polar bear and african elephant enclosures are all forecast in the years ahead, and there are plans to have the first-ever underwater viewing of african elephants in the United States. We'll all have to wait and see if the money keeps pouring in...because raising $100 million might be more complicated than it appears.

24-05-2008

@snowleopard: A large collection & an aging building don't justify bad husbandry. The self-mutilation of a jaguar there due to inappropriate husbandry conditions was one of the worst cases I ever saw. And as one of the NZ veterinarians remarked, such a husbandry wouldn't be possible in, say NZ...
And what You wrote about the "enormous, mega-exhibit setup"-that's what I'm actually afraid of, as all the mega-buildings they already have failed to really convince me.

Their Gaur herd or their Fairy Penguins-now that was a nice sign! I wish they would rather invest the largest part of the $100 millions in the improvement of the already exiting bad husbandry conditions-and the rest in their conservation projects, instead of creating another animal "mall".

24-05-2008

@Sun Wukong: I realize that you are against the so-called "mega-exhibits", but the Lied Jungle, Kingdoms of the Night, Desert Dome, Hubbard Gorilla Valley and Hubbard Orangutan Forest are well regarded by some. I've never been to Omaha and therefore find it interesting to read about these staggeringly expensive exhibits, and then how the same exhibits polarize zoo visitors. For whatever reason, it is extremely interesting how not a single one of these huge enclosures has won an AZA exhibit award. Perhaps Omaha didn't submit an application form, or maybe the newer enclosures are just not as good as some people think?

I also know that you'd like to see money directed in a more positive direction, as perhaps an increased distritubtion towards conservation of a particular species. I have been reading your opinions on the dolphinarium expansion at Georgia Aquarium with interest...

24-05-2008

Does anyone have any information on their Galapagos tortoise genetics research. They are trying to characterise all captive held Galapagos giants to taxon level and ensure that breeding groups are formed with those from the same taxon.

US Zoos hold about 100 Galapagos giants listed as unknowns and 41 that have been assigned to an island race. In other regions EU has 6 (others are hybrids born in captivity) and Australia has 9. Japan has only 2 and S America is listed with 1 (Zoologico de Cali, Colombia). In the latter case I know more exist in Peru and Ecuador.

So, if any of you guys has any info I am desperate to know. Does anyone know the studbook keeper?

25-05-2008

@snowleopard: I wish I could send You some of the video footage I made of the zoo and the exhibits, but I think my email account couldn't handle it....
I saw Omaha's zoo both backstage and from the visitor's point of view-and like I wrote before, I wasn't the only one in a group of people (who know a thing or two about zoos from the in- and outside) who animadverted certain husbandries. They have a nice collection and really seem to care well for their animals-but many exhibits were just more designed for the visitors than for the animals.
I have vage feelings about these awards; some decorated exhibits clearly deserved the merits, others not. But Your 2nd suggestion might be the reason...Omaha isn't on your zoo tour, is it?

And about the Georgia: thanks-though I'd love to hear that the people in charge there read my posts on that, too...

@jelle: Sorry, can't help You there. I think Prague or Zurich Zoo might have connections to them in this regard-maybe ask them?