News From the Cincinnati Zoo 2011 #2 » Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

Originally Posted by Kudu21

Today is the sixth birthday of one of the zoo's Indian Rhinoceroses, Manjula. She's a fine specimen, quite possibly the most beautiful Indian Rhinoceros that I've ever seen.

Originally Posted by groundskeeper24

Went to the zoo today. Awesome zoo weather and not much of a crowd. I saw Night Hunters for the first time and was disappointed to see that many of the cat displays remain pretty much the same. I did like some things, though. The aardwolves were very active, moreso than I've ever seen an aardwolf. The vampire bat exhibit was almost too big. The new cougar enclosure outside the building was a major improvement over the old indoor one. I't at the very least adequate and easy on the eyes. Can't wait to see the new snow leopard and tiger setups next year.

There was plenty of digging going on in the parking lot that is to become the new African exhibit. It will be really interesting to see what species end up in the hoofed stock exhibit. I also hope that baboons return to the zoo as tentatively planned. I'd kill to see a cape buffalo group as well, but this is not likely.

On my way out, I got to mingle with a red river hog on a leash. It was very cool as I'd never seen that species so socialized. He was like a 140lb dog. He even tried to make a meal of my boot laces.

Despite poor opinions of this zoo among many respected Zoochatters, I firmly believe that this zoo is slowly getting on track. I am very excited to see what the park will look like in 15 years.

Originally Posted by Kudu21

The zoo will be receiving two female gorillas, one, Asha, from the Gladys Porter Zoo, and another, Anju, from the Pittsburgh Zoo, next year as potential mates for their silverback, Jomo. To make room for these new additions, several of the zoo's gorillas will be moving to other zoos across the country. Two females, Madge and Shanta, will be moving to the Dallas Zoo as non-breeding companions for Dallas' male, Patrick. A mother and son, Muke and Bakari, will be moving to the Oklahoma City Zoo. This transfer is being made to integrate young Bakari into a social unit with other gorillas that are close to his own age.

In other news, the zoo has received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to reinterpret the award-winning Jungle Trails exhibit to be more engaging for families.

Link to an article from the zoo's blog:
Re-interpreting Jungle Trails to Engage Families | Cincinnati Zoo Blog

Originally Posted by Kudu21

First off I would like to welcome you to ZooChat!

Now, as far as the updates to Jungle Trails go, basically they will be adding new innovative and interactive features to engage families in learning about our primate relatives. I would imagine some of the features will be very similar those experimented with in the Night Hunters rotunda, but of course they won't be exactly the same.

Thank you for the news about the pandas! This is very exciting news to hear.

In addition to that news, the zoo is now offering private elephant encounters with the purchase of an elephant painting. With both my birthday and Christmas fast approaching, I may have to look into it as a present for myself.

Originally Posted by Kudu21

I must remember to check Twitter more often. I wasn't all that interesting in Twitter, but it it's truly a quick and efficient way to receive news.

You can edit your posts if you have more information to add to what you've already said, so you are not double posting. There's a button in the bottom right hand corner that allows you to do so.

Originally Posted by GorillaBoy

Is there any news of any gorilla births ??

GB