Detroit Zoo Detroit Zoo News 2022

I just went today, and I noticed a few new things that haven't been mentioned here.

1. There are now turquoise tanagers in the aviary
2. A little less than half of the species in the NACC are off-exhibit due to either exhibit renovations or other reasons I'm not quite sure of
3. Part of the pathway on the tundra side has opened up, you can now see the sea otters from ground level and part of the tundra habitat. The main entrance to the Arctic Ring of Life is still closed, hopefully not for much longer.
4. If you were curious like me and wondered if the violet turaco was really still there, I can confirm it still is.
5. The bald eagles are the only bird still off-exhibit because of the bird flu.

 

On August 16th, the zoo announced that a (0.1) piping plover named Erie has passed away unexpectedly.

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@Bisonblake and I went back to visit ye olde Detroit today.

-Bald eagles are still off-exhibit
-Prairie dogs are off-exhibit (and were labelled to be unoccupied)
-Japanese giant salamander area is still under renovation at the NACC.
-Arctic Ring of Life’s main entrance is still closed off.
-Allen’s swamp monkeys are settling in well in their new habitat. Maybe a little too well (the pair had some… bonding time)
-The last elk was nowhere to be seen and had no signage left. Presumably passed on?

 

Another note from today:

-There are white-headed buffalo weavers in the aviary now.

 

On September 15th, the zoo announced that Jebbie has been transferred to an unspecified wildlife sanctuary.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=413107867626241

 

There's a new Fiji island iguana in the HRCC, if that hasn't been said already.

 

Where in the HRCC is the iguana? What species is it next to?

 

It's to the right of the reticulated python. The iguana's exhibit has dense foliage, so it's hard to find. It also arrived late this summer, maybe last month, so it could still be acclimating. The python exhibit was also divided in half by a glass and wood barrier, presumably for cleaning the pool. The Japanese giant salamander area is still under construction, along with one or two other amphibian areas.

 

I'll be making a trip up to Detroit in a few weeks. Anything of note I should be aware of? I'm particularly interested in knowing how much of the Arctic Ring of Life is accessible as well as the status of the renovations in the amphibian center.

 

The usual entrance to the Arctic Ring of Life was open, and the tunnel was accessible from both directions. The normal exit to the Arctic Ring of Life is closed off though, so the view of the terrestrial ice-block area was unavailable. The Amphibian Center has some construction going on. The giant salamander area is still under renovation, but all of the hellbenders were out and visible. I think one or two of the smaller amphibian exhibits were being renovated too. The waxy monkey frogs, the vertical exhibit next to the hellbenders, and maybe another.

 

A King penguin egg has been successfully hatched, after being transferred from Cincinnati:

https://www.thebharatexpressnews.co...oration-leads-to-king-penguin-chick-hatching/

 

On October 2nd, the zoo announced they have successfully bred smoky jungle frogs.

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On October 27th, the zoo announced they found a piece of art called Winged Safari behind a wall in the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery.

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Piece of News I Missed:

On October 14th, it was reported that the zoo acquired a (0.0.1) common squirrel monkey from the closure and subsequent rescue of the Tri-State Zoological Park in Maryland.

https://www.peta.org/wp-content/upl...credited-zoos-and-sanctuaries-for-release.pdf

 

I’m guessing they’re only gonna be holding it temporarily, but it sure would be cool if a New World monkey species joined the on-exhibit collection!

 

From the peta article (which I'm not going to put because people don't want to support the site on here) they make it clear that the monkey is going to have the opportunity with another squirrel monkey named Ziggy (not sure if Ziggy is already at the zoo or it's gonna come from somewhere else).

 

Heck yeah! I wonder where in the zoo they’ll be displayed?

 

I was thinking that they'll be possibly displayed on exhibit in the children's zoo when that opens. Could be a good addition.

 

This makes the list of possible KidZone animals...

CONFIRMED
Goats (barn)
Sheep (barn)
Prairie Dogs (new exhibit)
Anteaters (Habitat Zone)
Bush Dogs (Habitat Zone)

Possible based on general area of zoo, new acquisitions, and an offhand comment from the director I remember:
Vultures
Red Crowned/Sandhill Cranes (wouldn't be shocked if the sandhills get relocated to the Great Lakes Center for Nature once it happens)
White Storks
Rhea
Double Wattles Cassowary
Bactrian Camels (either where they already are, or the 2020 construction pdf strangely mentions them as barnyard animals, which, I guess so, they are domestic)
All/most barn animals already there
Bison
Common Squirrel Monkey (Habitat Zone?)
"Giant tortoise" (maybe she was referring to the Aldabra giant tortoise?) (Habitat Zone?)

Grain of salt 2020 PDF ones, keep in mind a lot has likely changed since then (for one, it didn't open this year lol, and it also never mentions bush dogs):
Black Footed Ferrets (Prairie Dog exhibit)
Burrowing Owls (Prairie Dog exhibit)
Ants, either generic ant farm ones or Leaf-Cutter Ants (oddly, the Prairie Dog exhibit)
Chickens (barn)
Rescue Burro (barn)
Honey Bees (barn)
Barn Owl (barn?)
Snowy Owl (Habitat Zone?)

The two in the 2020 pdf that I absolutely cannot imagine getting moved but here they are anyway, both would strangely possibly be near the prairie dog exhibit complex:
Warthogs
Aardvark

By the way, I think I figured out after months of being stumped how to send that pdf to you guys. Hope it works. There are a lot of "style" images of other nature playgrounds and kids zoo areas that can give you guys an idea of how this may look aesthetically (hint: super nice). Google Drive: Sign-in

 

None of us can see the pdf. On the document go to the share button and change it so anyone with the link can see it.

 

Just changed it, hopefully now you can see.