The only concern I have regarding the hippos is the okapi exhibit was torn down to make space for the new hippo exhibit. I asked a staff working the monorail if they knew whether the okapi would come back on exhibit and they told me yes, however I am concerned in whether or not that will be true. As much as I love hippos, I'd rather keep the okapi since the nearby Fort Worth zoo has hippos and an upcoming new exhibit to go along with them as well, but no okapi (The Fort Worth master plan may include okapi however.)
Okapis will be visible in an area behind the hippos, ala San Diego. Don't know if there will be any close up direct views, however.
The Fort Worth Zoo does have okapi in their master plan and they are coming back on exhibit at Dallas too.
Yes the Dallas Zoo announced the okapi will have a new renovated exhibit by the hippo outpost. They also said there will be red river hogs in the hippo outpost (they spoke of "bonding" them with the hippos implying it will be a mixed species exhibit). @GraysonDP In other news there is to be an exhibition of Joel Sartore's photo ark at the zoo opening April 21.
THEY’RE HERE! Dallas Zoo welcomes hippos back for first time in 16 years | Dallas ZooHoo! Hippos have arrived. The size of Simmons Hippo Outpost is listed as 2.1 acres, about 40% smaller than previous numbers.
A lion cub was born, the zoo's first in 40 years. 'Miracle cub': First lion cub born at Dallas Zoo in 40 years
An excellent video of the hippo exhibit: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154535752631819 It seems the hippos and red river hogs will share a space. No mention of the saddle-billed storks that were listed originally.
I assumed they meant the already existing stork exhibit as the hippo exhibit is being built at the doorstep of the vulture and stork aviary.
That does now seem the most likely explanation, but when originally promoted it sounded as if it was going to be a new exhibit (or mixed into one of the two planned exhibits).
As Jay said, the exhibit is only 2 acres now. My guess is that they downsized it for financial reasons. It certainly looks adequate, and IMO it looks better and larger than other recently built hippo exhibits, but it seems lackluster compared to the original plans.
It was originally going to be a 3.5 acre complex and (I think) $13 or $13.5 million dollars. It got smaller while the price was inflated. That unfortunately happens with many zoo exhibits now. The Facebook post said that the exhibit will open later this month, it seems they have a lot of work to do.
Yes I have seen the construction visiting the zoo and it doesn't even look close to ready. They will have to work hard and fast to get it done by the end of this month.
Katie the giraffe is pregnant and due in May. https://www.google.com/amp/dfw.cbsl...il-dallas-zoo-reveals-giraffes-pregnancy/amp/ It's really shaping up to be a great year for Dallas; the new hippo complex, a lion cub, a year-old elephant calf, a tamandua baby, and pretty soon a giraffe calf - whoa!
The hippos are exploring their new exhibit. https://www.google.com/amp/dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/04/27/hippos-new-home-dallas-zoo/amp/ Based on the video, the exhibit looks quite nice! The land area also seems bigger than most, but maybe a bit on the small side.
