The zoo has announced their annual WCS Run for the Wild. This year's target animals are giraffes and the run will be taking place on Saturday, April 27. ~Thylo
Add that to the list of herp species Bronx has gotten from LA in the last year! The zoo has also received Ethiopian Mountain Adder, Gray's Monitor, and Blessed Poison Dart Frog roughly in the last 12 months. I believe the zoos Komodo Dragons also came from LA in return for Bronx sending them Indian Gharial. ~Thylo
Visited the zoo today and noted a good few changes: World of Birds: -The Buff-Crested Bustard has been permanently added to the bee-eater enclosure, which now lacks Egyptian Plover -I arrived just as the zoo was introducing a new pair of Forsten's Tortoise to the Maleo enclosure -Many of the finches that are exhibited in the old quetzal enclosure are now also exhibited in the Maleo enclosure -The zoo recently discovered Red-Footed Tortoise hatchlings in the main enclosure, which have now been moved to the nursery in WOR -A large flock of White-Breasted Woodswallow are now on-exhibit -The male Lesser Bird-of-Paradise was displaying to a very receptive female so fingers crossed for more eggs soon -The weird fack cock-of-the-rock is strung up in the Andes enclosure again -The Black-Capped Social Weaver have been moved to the African scrub enclosure, where it also appears as though they're introducing new Taveta Golden Weavers and Grey-Headed Lovebirds -Great Blue Turaco, Green Honeycreeper, and Golden-Headed Quetzal are now all on-exhibit in the Red-Footed Tortoise enclosure JungleWorld: -A Silvered Leaf Monkey has been born -The zoo appears to be down to only two Javan Langurs now with the black individual nowhere to be found World of Reptiles: -A new terrarium was being set-up in the nursery during my visit, though I do not know what will be going in it -The Nile Monitor has finally been signed -The Chinese Crocodile Lizard/Beal's Four-Eyed Turtle enclosure has been redesigned with a much deeper pool, now making it very easy to spot the turtle -Conversely, the Pancake Tortoise/African lizard enclosure has been redesigned with the rock structures solely at the back of the enclosure, now making it impossible to spot any of the lizards -The Green Tree Monitors appear to have been replaced by a Black Tree Monitor -The Colorado River Toads have been removed, presumably to make further room in the enclosure for the upcoming horned lizards -The Mozambique Girdled Lizard has been placed on-exhibit with the Shield-Tailed Agamas Aquatic Bird House: -The Storm's Stork is now on-exhibit in the final enclosure with the Roseate Spoonbills -The old Guam Kingfisher enclosure is currently empty -An unsigned large brown dove is on-exhibit in the new Guam Kingfisher enclosure -The Boat-Billed Herons are sitting on an egg ~Thylo
UPDATES: -The large brown dove in the ABH is a female White-Throated Ground Dove. -The unsigned turtle mixed with the Merten's Water Monitors in the Zoo Center is a Mary River Turtle. I'm glad these are back on-show somewhere. ~Thylo
I will be in New York for a few days next week and I will only have time for one zoo. Bronx Zoo seems like the best option but I would like to ask if anyone could help me figure out what and where will I find all the rarities keeping in mind how cold NY is in winter ? I certainly won't see everything, what should I not waste time on? Are there areas closed during winter or empty exhibits?
Really all that closes during the winter is the monorail and Children's Zoo. What in particular are you aiming for? The rarities are spread out all over. ~Thylo
Thanks for the updates, T.A. I was only able to visit the Zoo once last year (waaay back in February in the dead of winter of all times, go figure), and there have been quite a number of changes since then, so I'm really looking forward to my next visit. The prospect of new BoP and boat-billed chicks is also really exciting! Does the male Lesser BoP display often? I'd love to have the opportunity to see that spectacle with my own eyes. Great news about the new baby monkey as well, but a little disheartening to hear about the apparent loss of another Javan langur.
This is the first time I've seen one of the zoo's Lessers displaying, though I think the zoo is the top breeder of the species so it obviously happens fairly regularly. It's entirely possible that we see the final two individuals die off before the end of the year as well... I suspect they will be replaced by either Francois' Langurs or Lion-Tailed Macaque. ~Thylo
Ah, I was unaware of that fact! I'll have to see if I can find someone working in the building and ask if they've got any tips to catching him in the act , although I imagine it's more of a "right place, right time" sort of thing. This isn't the first time I've seen someone suggest these two species as potential replacements. Has the Zoo said anything or been involved anywhere that might hint towards those species? What is the primary reason behind this speculation?
There's a sign in the nursery room on the second floor that stated that they'd had over 40 Lesser BOP chicks born at the zoo at the time of that room opening, which was at least 2-3 years ago now I think. They're the only major endangered Asian primates that the AZA has programs for (the macaque is a budding program) that might fit into the enclosure. ~Thylo
A female white-throated ground dove. ThylacineAlive added that just below the post in which he first mentions the bird.
I know a few people have been asking for it so I am working on creating a full exhibit-by-exhibit species list for the zoo. I have a rough draft of it done but I probably won't actually post it until the Spring because a lot of species (particularly birds anyhow) move around or are off-exhibit during the winter months. ~Thylo
I'll see what I can do but I'll have to visit again first before I can complete it and I likely won't do that until late April.. ~Thylo
I'll definitely be going before the end of this month - and more than likely sometime next month, as well - if you need inventory retaken at a specific exhibit?
Well the issue is a full inventory cannot be taken until the warmer months again. But you could maybe help with fish and invertebrates if you wouldn't mind? They're the more difficult ones to keep track of and as such are the ones I have the least knowledge of. ~Thylo
Season 2 of The Zoo on Animal Planet has begun. 1st episode featured a rescued marmot used in the animal ambassador program, an update on the snow leopard cub from last season, a peregrine falcon fledgling rescued near the FDR Drive downtown and successfully checked out by the Bronx vet team and returned to the nest site on a financial district skyscraper, and an Arabian Camel with an abscess on his head.
