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Bronx Zoo Bronx Zoo Walkthrough

Discussion in 'United States' started by ThylacineAlive, 8 Jan 2015.

  1. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

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    Visitors looked through a view blind (a ten foot fence/wall with slits for viewing). Exhibit itself was merely the existing wooded slope.
     
  2. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

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    Furthermore, much of this area is granite outcrops with very thin soil (trees in these woodlands fall all the time): another impediment to development (cost!)
     
  3. savethelephant

    savethelephant Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    thanks Zooplantman
     
  4. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

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    It was one of two exhibits focused on breeding and interpreting WCS' conservation work, where the viewing was through a blind. The other was the adjutant stork aviary on the west end of the Mouse House.
     
  5. bigfoot410

    bigfoot410 Well-Known Member

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    Thylacinealive, don't flake on your studies!!

    Another nice update on an area of the zoo I have always felt has been underdeveloped. If you look at the map girafe1985 posted you can see how the area used to have a lot more species. If I had to guess the map was from 2001-2002 before the new cafe, gift shop and butterfly garden opened.

    Seeing that map for some reason also reminded me of the species and exhibits lost (however minor) due to that construction: I saw my first pudu when they used to live in the old giant panda exhibit (when they visited in the 1980s). I completely forgot there used to be a crane walk and a marabou stork exhibit attached to the old ostrich house.

    As for the review; the Aquatic Bird House is a little worse for wear. But is always seems to get some new species each year. Will be interesting to know what the future will hold for this exhibit, but I predict in the next 5-10 years it will be renewed or possibly an entirely different space.
    However; I do remember seeing Orinoco geese with the American Flamingos outside. And King Vulture during the warm months in the Birds of Prey area. I think they are still a part of the collection since I saw them this summer. Bald owl? I think it might be the barred owl! And in the aviary it has ruddy headed geese now (according to WCS.com) which I will be excited to see this spring. You do such a good job with this; I don't think I would have the patience to write this all down!!

    As for the pond past the bird of prey; I thought that was long gone. It isn't even on the map anymore. They used to exhibit several species of teal and exotic ducks there.

    It will be interesting to see where is next...towards World of Reptiles or you heading towards the Congo?

    As for the old Mexican Wolf exhibit; it was actually a beautiful and spacious exhibit. However; since it was so large you rarely saw the wolves. Hood Cranes also had a large exhibit next door; however I can understand the zoo's decision that tigers being able to be seen up close and year round beats wolves and cranes.

    And Zooplantman; I figured there was a reason why they have never developed that area of the zoo. It does give the zoo a beautiful setting being in deep woodland and going there after any storm I can see you are right about how easily trees come down.
     
  6. ThylacineAlive

    ThylacineAlive Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I'm not! Just made a simple mistake that at the end of the day caused no harm so we're all good here:)

    Well at least you're old enough to remember seeing all of those species!:D As for pudu they're being added in the new Children's Zoo I believe so they'll be back soon enough.

    I really hope they don't get ride of the Aquatic Bird House. Yeah it's a little worst for wear as you said but it's still a very lovely exhibit and with a little more love, some renovations, and maybe a couple more species and it could be a really great house for everyone. It already holds quite a few neat species and it'd be a shame if any were to disappear. I thought I might have seen an Orinoco Goose inside the Scarlet Ibis enclosure but wasn't sure enough to add it on the list. I will do so now however. I have seen King Vulture in Birds of Prey but the last few times I've seen it it was in World of Birds on the second floor so I didn't add them here. There are one or two empty enclosures in Birds of Prey still, though, so maybe they're add them in the Spring again. haha yeah I meant Barred Owl, sorry:eek: I didn't see any Ruddy-Headed Geese nor any signage for them so that's why they're not on the list. Do look forward to seeing them if they're really there however. And thank you again ( and to everyone else as well):)

    I didn't even know it was there until last year I believe. For whatever reason I decided to take the long way around the Children's Zoo to Birds of Prey and just found it there. It's a nice, small pond.

    I think what I'll be doing is heading down to Congo Gorilla Forest next, then go around African Plains (including Baboon Reserve), then go to the Mouse House, head down to Himalayan Highlands past Big Bears, and then loop back and finish with the Wild Asia Monorail which I think is a pretty fitting way to finish. Until the new Children's Zoo and the second floor of World of Birds reopen that is, then I'll cover those.

    I wonder why they didn't send the wolves out to Queens or something once the exhibit closed. I wish those Hooded Cranes stayed on-exhibit somewhere, too....

    ~Thylo:cool:
     
  7. savethelephant

    savethelephant Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    well i was doing some research and found that they released the nine or so wolves into the wild somewhere near arizona.
     
  8. ThylacineAlive

    ThylacineAlive Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    That'd be a pretty good excuse then:p That's very cool that they did that, too.

    Now what's their excuse for Hooded Cranes!:p

    ~Thylo:cool:
     
  9. savethelephant

    savethelephant Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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  10. savethelephant

    savethelephant Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    by the way here's the link for the wolf thing. page 5
    file:///C:/Users/afish/Downloads/02issuenewsletter%20(1).pdf
     
  11. Pleistohorse

    Pleistohorse Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    The area between World of Birds and the Polar Bears used to be the North American Section of the Zoo. You had the Bison near WoBs, Grey Wolves (not Mexican at the time), Roosevelt Elk where the Pere David's Deer are presently, Polar Bears, Arctic Foxes, and Brown Bears.
     
  12. savethelephant

    savethelephant Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    that's very interesting Pleistohorse
    where did you find the info and when did the elk, wolves, foxes and bears get moved
     
  13. Pleistohorse

    Pleistohorse Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I visited the zoo frequently as a kid in the 1980's. The arctic fox were mixed in with the polar bear. Not sure if Queens or the NYC Aquarium have arctic foxes. The species was held in the early '00s in Providence and Boston...I imagine the Bronx foxes were moved or died off. I don't believe they are there any longer. The elk were gone by the late 90's...likely to Queens. Also in the late 90's the wolves were replaced by animals of the Mexican subspecies. Not sure where they went when Tiger Mountain was opened. I think when the Himalayan Highlands exhibit was built the area began to develop an Asian theme. The Polar and Brown Bears fit right in. Holocene-wise, so do the Bison. I guess the Wolves could have stayed....technically the Elk as well...although the subspecies would've been off.
     
  14. reduakari

    reduakari Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Since the 1980s the area was identified as "Holarctica," providing a lot of leeway for species composition from both northern North America and Asia. Still works pretty well, although the big question to me is what will replace the weakest exhibit in the area (polar bear) when the last individual animal currently there is gone? Takin? Amur leopard? Himalayan black bear?
     
  15. ThylacineAlive

    ThylacineAlive Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Well lucky you, I imagine you'd have seen quite a lot of cool species during that time:)

    Interesting mix with the bear and fox! I wonder how well it worked? I know Central Park had Arctic Foxes until their enclosure was replaced with one of the two Snow Leopard ones.

    Yeah Queens currently has Roosevelt Elk so that's probably where the Bronx stock went to.

    ~Thylo:cool:
     
  16. ThylacineAlive

    ThylacineAlive Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    That's a pretty cool idea for an exhibit. The whole are until you get to WOB and the bison could potentially still be considered all Asian now as Brown Bears are obviously found in Northern Asia even though the zoo's ssp aren't.

    I've often thought and discussed the future of the Polar Bear enclosure with people and I've heard/thought of suggestions ranging from another Polar Bear to an expansion of the Brown Bear enclosure to splitting it up for Arctic Fox and Canada Lynx. Takin is another interesting suggestion that I wouldn't mind happening. I think the main issue, however, is the presence of the large pool. I'd imagine the zoo would want to do something with it once Tundra dies. As for Amur Leopard and black bear, I don't think they'd get the later considering it's set for phasing-out in the AZA and I've always thought Amur Leopard would fit much better up by Tiger Mountain so they could make that section an exhibit about endangered Chinese wildlife with the deer, the tigers, and the Leopards along with maybe a few birds? But that's just a dream..

    ~Thylo:cool:
     
  17. Pleistohorse

    Pleistohorse Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Himalayan Black Bears would be cool. Or maybe Dholes to bring a canid in. I wonder how well Takin would fit in with the Tufted Deer along the Wild Asia Monorail? Any or all would be nice additions.
     
  18. ThylacineAlive

    ThylacineAlive Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    What'd be cool is Takin in with the Tufted Deer as you said and then Dholes in the tiger enclosure in the monorail.

    hehe at the current rate of wishful thinking posts this will end up in the fantasy forum before too long:D

    ~Thylo:cool:
     
  19. Pleistohorse

    Pleistohorse Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    It was a great time to visit. WoBs and Wild Asia were newish. The Children's Zoo was brand new. For historic reasons alone...the zoo center was still occupied by primates and big cats (obviously improved upon for the cats). Congo Gorilla forest was a Pampas exhibit with multiple species. The zoo exhibit European Wild Boars and Mouflon. World of Darkness was considered world class. Jungle World was right around the corner.

    Regarding the Foxes...you rarely saw them and the Polar Bear didn't bother with them. The AWCC had Coyotes mixed in with Brown Bears. I visited a zoo in the Netherlands that displayed European Brown Bears and Wolves in the same enclosure...very large exhibit with an elevated walkway through the enclosure for visitors. Seemed to work.
     
  20. reduakari

    reduakari Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    For several years after it reopened Central Park exhibited arctic foxes together with harbor seals in the exhibit that once again features seals (for a number of years only birds were held there). The snow leopard exhibit was built in a previously undeveloped corner of the zoo.