A female bonobo was born to mother Mchumba. It is the forth bonobo born at the zoo, as well as the forth born in the state of Texas.
It appears to me like they haven't planned out the last part of their master plan fully, or at least released every detail. It sounds like there will be lots of new birds since the master plan has lots of aviaries in it, and as for the forests and jungles section there is an Amazonian section, something the zoo does not have many animals from currently. It will also be nice to see some (most) of the older exhibits such as the forgettable hippo ditch in the ground and, as people have been saying, plain elephant yard get new and better exhibits, especially when the zoo has the potential to create something like MOLA.
Some of the construction to the new Savannah exhibit is visible from the path, and from what is visible, it looks very promising. The largest exhibit in the area which is the large open Savannah exhibit looks to have several aspects that the Dallas Zoo's giants of the Savannah shares. The hippo exhibit also looks a lot more promising than what the Dallas Zoo has constructed for theirs with significantly more underwater viewing. More black rhinos and hippos are expected to come in and bring the number of hippos up to 4 and rhinos up to 5. Various bird exhibits will be sprinkled around the area.
A clutch of Komodo dragons has hatched - a first for Fort Worth! Fort Worth Zoo Welcomes First Clutch of Kimodo Dragons in its 108-Year History
Lake titicaca frogs are now on exhibit, and a juvenile komodo dragon exhibit has replaced the woma python exhibit in MOLA. The large indoor gorilla exhibit in the center of world of primates now houses two abdim's storks and one hadaba ibis instead of gorillas. The outdoor pathway that goes around the world of primates is closed for construction.
I can't say anything concrete since most of my information comes from looking at Google Maps and Wikimapia. One can only see so much in person when they're not done yet. It looks like most of the buildings in this picture have been erected: restrooms, gift shop, snack bar, multiple barns, etc. There's a large arch where the entrance to the exhibit will be. You can make out the path, the northeast aviary, and the hippo pool. The path around World of Primates is open, but the old Meerkat Mounds have been removed and half the current black rhino paddock is gone.
I should've mentioned that the new African Savanna is supposed to open some time in April. Oh the anticipation...
There's now a definite opening date on their website: April 21 (it also says the animals are currently migrating and acclimating into their new habitats)
As an afficianado I really really look forward to the Savannah redevelopment when it is finished and esp. happy with te additional exhibit spaces for black rhinos. I think they are in the process of changing over from southern blacks (minor) to eastern (michaeli) in future.
I really wish the minor rhinos were out when I visit in January. I've seen them once before at Disney but I was a child so don't really remember them unfortunately. ~Thylo
