Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo News 2024

You might be surprised to find that I agree with you entirely here. As great as it has been to see Common Hippos at Woodland Park Zoo over the years, the exhibit really is an outdated one and not at all adequate for the species in the modern age. The indoor area is small and the outdoor pool is not heated at all and so the hippos have had to put up with cold water for far too long. It's an old-fashioned setup where twice a week the keepers drain the water and hose everything down, instead of having a modern filtration system. To top things off, that part of the zoo gets really congested along the visitor pathway and the viewing areas for the hippos are awkward. Sending 'Lupe' away gives the zoo an opportunity to redo that entire zone if they fundraise for it. Fill in the pool, widen the pathways, net the whole thing and make it into an exhibit for Spotted Hyena, Leopard, or a type of primate.

 

Maybe the exhibit could work for a non-breeding group of African Wild Dogs?

 

Ive been thinking about this myself, if they want to keep the exhibit relatively intact I believe "Nile Crocodiles" would be an amazing addition (some modifications between the hippo exhibit and the savanna would need to be made). This would be a species that would bring in visitors, as loosing hippos will be a significant loss. I think pygmy hippos would be a good option as well. They could also fill in the pool and have it be an okapi exhibit.

 

I think with some renovation and imagination that land would make a great aardvark exhibit.

 

A 0.1 Humboldt Penguin chick hatched on March 24th to mother Mini and father Gomez.
Thanks to the expertise and dedication of the penguin care staff, Woodland Park Zoo has one of the most successful Humboldt penguin breeding programs in North America. The new hatchling brings the total number of successful hatchings to 91 since the zoo’s first breeding season in 2010, a year after the new penguin habitat opened. With the addition of the new chick, the zoo’s colony currently consists of 48 penguins. Parents Mini and Gomez were paired under a breeding recommendation made by the Humboldt Penguin Species Survival Plan, a cooperative, breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of penguins. Before the new chick reaches fledging age and goes outdoors in the habitat, she will be removed from the nest so penguin keepers can condition her to approach them for hand feeding and other animal care activities. She will also be given round-the-clock access to a shallow pool where she can swim in a more controlled and less crowded environment. #worldpenguinday #humboldtpenguin #woodlandparkzoo #seafoodwatch | Woodland Park Zoo | Woodland Park Zoo · Original audio

 

Wouldn't it be a bit big for aardvarks though?

 

This was reported on March 15 by @snowleopard.