Quick question- when does the Wild Asia Monorail open? On the zoo's website, it says May-October, but on the interactive map on the site (and even on the same page as the other listing) it says April-October. My visit will be in April regardless, I was just curious.
According to the zoo's Facebook and the most recent episode of Zoo, cheetahs are currently ambassador animals and are eventually planned to go on exhibit somewhere. For some reason I'm thinking of a rotation between them and the hyenas. Maybe add them to the empty plain that used to hold the bontebok and oryx.
Oh, that's awesome news! Haven't had a chance to watch the show since the first episode. Also, was someone talking about the knobbed hornbills recently? I think it might've been Thylo, saying he wished they'd return, but I can't be sure. Anyways, in case anyone missed it, they showed them in the behind-the-scenes area on the first episode. Obviously it's entirely possible that the hornbills have gone since that episode was filmed, but I thought it might be worth mentioning. And, evident by my lack of posts, I wasn't been able to visit the Zoo either, due to unexpected car troubles as well as the inclement weather that hit Friday. (Don't get me wrong, I'd have no problem walking through the Zoo in a snow storm - I'd actually love to one day! But driving over an hour on I-95 in the snow to get there? That's a different story. ) Let's hope this week works out!
The zoo's bird department looked like they had a pretty extensive collection behind the scenes according to the first episode
Also, does anyone know anything about the Bronx Zoo's collection of Maleo? Like how many other holders there are and where they got them?
I do not know about where they came from, but I do know the National zoo will be getting Maleo (Possibly from Bronx?) soon (If they haven't already gotten them).
Where did you hear this? We don't really have exhibit space for them unless there is new construction or they're put in the Small Mammal House.
Disregard. They meant the Bronx Zoo. I feel lied to. (They told me this as they were at the National zoo, speaking about the bird house renovations, and how excited the were to see this new bird called the maleo, so you can understand my confusion.) Again sorry for the confusion, they just told me they will not be added to the National zoo after I asked them for specifics.
Well the bird house will be closed until 2020. Also Maleo are from Sulawesi, I don't think they would fit any of the planned (at least the ones that are known, but that's assuming there's some more planned) aviaries.
That would have been me talking about the Knobbed Hornbills STE mentioned that there was a hornbill shown in the first episode but he didn't know the species and I suggested Knobbed Hornbill because the zoo used to exhibit them (I do wish they still did). Bronx is the only holder of Maleo outside of Southeast Asia afaik. They work with the species in the wild and believe their animals came from a center on Sulawesi. ~Thylo
Okay so update, Bronx is no longer the only holder of Maleo. Houston, Tulsa, San Diego have all gone into the species it seems. ~Thylo
Eight new bison donated by Native American tribes are now on exhibit. Does anyone know how many bison the zoo has in total now? Bronx Zoo Welcomes New Herd Of Bison Gifted From Native American Tribes
Interesting to see that the zoo now has genetically pure animals on-show. I'm wondering if the zoo is replacing its old herd with this one. ~Thylo
So I visited the Zoo today (finally! ), and I thought I'd share some quick updates. (Apologies if some of the things I report aren't new - I've only aware of the changes that have occurred since the start of this year.) - The Montezuma oropendola has been moved to the grey-winged trumpeter exhibit. - The newly-renovated finch exhibit contained the following species: red-faced parrot finch, blue-faced parrot finch, double-barred owl finch, star finch, long-tailed finch and plum-headed finch. Crested wood partridges are also on display here. - Thylo, I did keep an eye out for those seedeaters. The signage for both species was still up. I caught a quick glimpse of the ruddy-breasted when I walked in, but wasn't able to get any pictures or videos. I did not, however see any black-and-white seedeaters in the 6+ minutes I spent in the exhibit. - There was a lesser bird-of-paradise chick in the Nursery. While, Thylo reported seeing one there during his visit in January, the one on display today hatched on February 27th. There were also two green-winged macaw chicks on display here as well. - The Guanay cormorant is still kicking, although it was fast asleep all throughout my walk through the Seabird Aviary. (Also, no steamer ducks in the aviary. No signage for them either. I believe someone asked about them earlier.) - There appears to be a few Magellanic penguin chicks on exhibit - I saw at least two. I am not sure how old they are, as they seem to have shed nearly all of their down, but are not yet sporting full adult plumage. - To my surprise, there was a red-crowned crane in the adjutant stork aviary. Is this a new addition? - I saw no black skimmer in the little penguins exhibit. Can we assume it has died? - Not sure if this has been reported yet, but there are African spoonbills on display with the pied avocets in the exhibit after the kiwi. *Aside* - having seen the red-legged seriemas in their Aquatic Bird House enclosure, I too agree that it is incredibly small for them. - In Jungleworld, in the last exhibit where the gharials now live, there appeared to be a greater mouse deer sitting on the bank along with the crocodilians. Not sure if this is a big deal at all, but I personally just found it very odd. (Although, gharials eat fish primarily... Maybe that isn't so strange after all. ) I will post pictures of both the mouse deer, as well as the gharials. They were everywhere - up on land, floating on the surface of the water, sitting at the very bottom of their pool... very exciting to see so many of them on display. (Unfortunately, I ended up not having the time to visit the Carter Giraffe Building to check on the duikers, the Mouse House, or the World of Reptiles, as I initially planned to. Will have to get to them the next time around.) Also, two quick questions: - Has anyone here ever seen the slow loris that apparently lives in the mouse deer exhibit in Jungleworld? I've been waiting to see it now for some time. - Where are the mouse lemurs found in Madagascar? Are they in the exhibit that usually has the Madagascan ground boas? Or the exhibit just before you enter the spiny forest, where some species of gecko was kept in the past?
Are the Andean COTR no longer in the trumpeter enclosure then? Glad to hear the Ruddy-Breasted is at least about. Red-Crowned Cranes appear to be the winter residents of the stork aviary and have been there for some years now. Was there a sign for the skimmer? I've heard they do very poorly in captivity so it's quite possible it died. The spoonbills have been there for a good few years now I've seen the slow loris about three times, yes. Once back in 2011 when they held Red Slender Loris, then once in 2014 and once in 2016 now that they keep Pygmy Slow Loris (mis-signed as Sunda). They have a pair but they're very hard to spot. The mouse lemurs are where the gecko usually is. ~Thylo
I did not see any signage for the COTRs. There was no signage for the skimmer either. I remember you saying that, so I tried getting down there as soon as I could. Guess I was too late. Really? I've been to the ABH/SeaBird Aviary several times during winter months and have never seen them there. Either I just had bad timing or must be pretty unobservant. African spoonbills have been there for several years?? I'm well aware of the roseates, but not the Africans! God, I must be really unobservant. Ah, I guess it's just a matter of patience and perseverance with the lorises and mouse lemurs, then. I will see them one day!
Another question: how long have the red junglefowls been in Jungleworld? Oh, and as far as the playground construction thing goes, that appears to be going on in the lower portion of the African Plains, next to the nyalas and where the oryxes used to be, not in the Bronx River parking as previously stated. The construction going on there was to add parking curbs and boom gates to the area. Also, the lane leading out from Asia Parking was closed for construction.