I have decided to start a separate thread for our planned elephant exhibit, which will be called Expedition Tanzania. The official (and very long delayed) groundbreaking will be sometime next month - November 2010. The zoo staff say it will be done in only a year, which I hope is true (but I would not be shocked if it goes a couple months beyond that. There is a new video about it on the website, which you can access by clicking on view video on the link page below. After viewing the video, I am more excited than ever. I was not aware that it would include an interaction gate where visitors can actually touch the elephants! Once this exhibit opens, I think all the docents will be fighting over who gets to do the elephant station each day. (All except me, of course, who will remain faithful to my lion and jaguar stations - why waste time with pachyderms when there are cats around ). http://www.tucsonzoo.org/donate/expedition-tanzania/
Will the exhibit be in tandem for a new exhibit for other pachyderms? What is the species assemblage like on the African savannah Tulsa stule?
The other pachyderms, namely white rhinos, are already done. Their new barn was completed in 2005 next to a former antelope yard that was modified for them. It is a good size yard that already had some trees and boulders, but was recently improved with the addition of two small hills with trees. The old male rhino died a couple months ago, but the old female is still there and lives with marabou stork, kori bustard, spekes gazelle. The rhino yard has temporarily been shortened (though it is still good sized) to accomodate construction of the new walkway to Expedition Tanzania. The new elephant savanna, 3 acres, will be for elephants only. Another area the same size will be left undeveloped for now but will eventually be a phase 2 with new (as yet undecided) african species.
Thanks for your comments ArizonaDocent. One more on the rhinos: I knew Tulsa was entertaining senescent or geriatric rhinos and was familiar with the recent passing of the bull. What is the long - term planning on them? Will they source new rhinos after the old female passes away or are some already on the AZA demands list (to be sourced from within the white rhino SSP)? Comforting to learn that an as yet fallow land area will be a futures African species area too. Look forward to that one ...
First of all, you keep referring to us as Tulsa (Oklahoma) when we are actually in Tucson (Arizona). As for future plans, this is something I just heard at the weekly docent meeting that I had not heard before. Apparently the AZA is recommending all white rhino holders have at least three rhinos, since that stimulates breeding behavior while having only two often does not. Our pair certainly never exhibited breeding behavior. So our long term plan is to let the current elderly female live out her life and then bring in three new ones after she dies. Since we have no idea when she will pass, we have not made any active plans to source new ones yet (at least not that I know of, although if they were searching we docents would probably not know about it anyway).
Sorry about that ... my bad. I know Tucson, Arizona and Tulsa, Oklahoma are some miles apart (well you would not walk it would you)? I will try not to next time. Mea maxima culpa!
In scrolling deep within the vaults of the internet, I made this find. I have not even read it yet myself, but wanted to post it in case anyone is interested. It is an in-depth project report from a student in the landscape architecture program at University of Arizona. Looks like about a 40 page report, complete with some history of zoos and analysis of projects at other southwestern zoos before getting into our own Expedition Tanzania. You can flip the pages in the report using the arrows on the right or left of it, but the type will be too small to easily read. I think you will have to increase the zoom on you monitor from 100% to at least 200%. Expedition Tanzania: An Interpretive Elephant Exhibit for the Reid Park Zoo
I just finished reading the report (if you scroll over it with the mouse, it zooms bigger on its own). There is much more detail here than anything I have been told or seen. The most exciting part - I mean I jumped up when I saw this - is one feature that no zoo in America (and only one zoo in the world) has in an elephant exhibit. I don't want to say what it is until I confirm with zoo staff that it will actually happen, but very exciting. If you look at the end of the report (the part that actually has diagrams of our exhibit), you can probably figure out what it is.
I believe this is part of the author's imagined re-design of the exhibit (this is a student research/design project)--not the reality that will be built.
You may be correct, although the fact that he lists two or three proposed layouts that were rejected and the final one that was accepted makes it seem more real to me. I will ask at the zoo later this week if there is any credence to this.
Are they considering relocating Connie to another zoo or sanctuary because she is Asian or are they going to include her in the Africa exhibit similiar to how the woodland park zoo includes their african in their asian exhibit?
Both options are being considered and the zoo will make a final announcement when construction nears completion.
As for the underwater viewing, it was part of the plan but had to be cut out to save money. Bummer, that would have been so cool. As for the long (very long) delayed start of construction, we FINALLY have an official date for the groundbreaking ceremony. December 16, 2010.
Here's a new 4 minute audio report (no video, just a static photo of the exhibit model). Mentions the groundbreaking as this Thursday (December 16, 2010) and states the exhibit opening will be January 2012 (if there are no construction delays). Arizona Public Media | AZPM Home | Tucson's Reid Park Zoo Expanding
I hope Lowry park does not send any elephants, they only have three females! Maybe they will loan out Tamani?
Although we are joining the consortium of San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Lowry Park Zoo, all of our new elephants will initially come from San Diego. Lowry Park already sent one bull to San Diego, oh, maybe about a year ago? Since his truck took Interstate 10 which passes right through Tucson, a couple of our staff actually went to a truck stop where they took a break and saw the bull in his truck. According to the staffer I spoke with, no one at the stop would ever have known there was an elephant there.
