Updates from my visit today (lots of them, apologies if some of these have been reported already): Very few animals were out today, but the ones that were were very active. The Somali Wild Asses now have access to the old ostrich yard. Does anyone know if the Koi stay outside in the winter? I saw the new outdoor Aardvark yard. It's hard to tell under the snow but it looks like it will be good. The Meerkats were off-exhibit today. The Ornate Box Turtle and Cane Toad terrariums are gone now, where they were is now a single terrarium for a Lichenose Leaf-tailed Gecko. The Guppies are gone. A Brazilian Rainbow Boa and a Common Boa have replaced the Burmese Python. A Rhinoceros Iguana has moved in to the floor-to-ceiling exhibit across from the anacondas. The former Standing's Day gecko/Lichenose Leaf-tailed Gecko floor-to-celing tarraium is now empty. I suspect the Walleye was off-exhibit, it probably passed away. A Common Chuckwalla has moved in with the Desert Tortoise. The Grizzly Bears and Harbor Seals were temporally off-exhibit. A Peppered Cockroach has moved into the previously empty "tree terrarium" near the entrance to the aviary. The piranas are gone. The Tanzanian Red-clawed Scorpion terrarium was redone and now has red lights. The Laughing Kookaburras are now gone and replaced with a single Green Aracari. The water below the White-cheeked Turaco exhibit no longer contains any animals. The Golden Lion Tamarin exhibit is now empty. A small fence now separates the pool in the free-flight aviary from the rest of the aviary. The non-flighetd birds can no longer go into the other parts of the aviary. Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth, Black-crowned Night-Heron, and Red-footed Tortoise have been added to the free-flight room. The new sign for the Black-crowned Night-Heron features a picture of a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. A pair of Black-necked Stilts have been added to the pond enclosure inside the aviary. There are no longer any Sunbitterns in the aviary. Air freshers have been added to the end room of the aviary. This is the first time I have bothered to look at the Geoffroy's Tamarins instead of running out with my nose plugged.
Also, there was an empty bird cage outside of the "Conservation Center" (or whatever the heck it's called" that was empty and didn't used to be there. Anyone know what lives inside (presumably the inhabitants were off-exhibit for winter)?
Interesting. I'll have to go check them out. I wonder why? They had four or so Kookaburras. Green Aracari are interesting, though. Are the Red-Footed Tortoises with Steven the Agouti? They've had them living with him before. Their old outdoor exhibit was where the new Aardvark outdoor area will be. "Air freshers have been added to the end room of the aviary. This is the first time I have bothered to look at the Geoffroy's Tamarins instead of running out with my nose plugged." Now my mom can admire them with me.
I asked about the Aviary updates and I was answered with: "We have been updating some of our exhibits in the Aviary during our slower, winter season. Lots of projects going on at once! Hopefully back up and running soon." After I asked if we should be expecting new or old species, they said: "Yes to both! Making changes to the aquariums is particularly tough with most of the filtration built into the structure of the building. We want to be sure to get the water quality right before adding species back in. Excited to expand our collection of invertebrates as well. The USDA-APHIS has strict regulations for how to contain potentially invasive invertebrates which also is a daunting project."
Henry Vilas Zoo welcomes baby penguins Two female African penguin chicks have been born. They've been very successful the last two years with breeding.
Little late, but Henry Vilas Zoo also had a Lichenose Leaf-Tailed Gecko born. It can be seen on their Facebook and Instagram.
Visit Updates - The outdoor Aardvark enclosure is nearly done. It is very spacious, so I'm sure Aayla will like it! (She was active, surprisingly.) I will upload photos to the gallery soon. - Meerkats had paper over the glass on the indoor exhibit. - One of the tanks on the tables in the Discovery Center looks like it'll be used for fish. They added fish signs next to it and added a filter. - The thick foliage in the Lemur Tree Frogs and Dart Frogs have been trimmed. The enclosures looked very bare. The living wall has also been drained and trimmed. The silicone was even showing. - There were only three Leaf-Tailed Geckos left. They were around seven or so on my last visit. - There is a random birdcage placed in front of the pavilion. It looked nice, with lots of branches and enrichment in it. It had a sign saying it was too cold for whoever use to live inside it, but it didn't say what species it was. I will upload a photo to the gallery soon. - Golden Lion Tamarins are back in the Vet Center. - The only fish remaining in the pool were Red-Tailed Catfish and Pacu. The new Aracari was mesmerized by the waterfall. There were no fish in the Turaco pool. - The new birds in the Aviary seem to be settled well. The Currasows were very bold, standing next to me without any fear. The new airflow system in the Geoffroy's Marmoset is doing wonders, it smelled much better in there. They exhibit is getting renovations, though, so none of the Marmosets were on exhibit. - The new African Penguin chicks were on exhibit
I believe I saw Wilma on my last visit. She could be seen from the road, as she was being housed in a smaller enclosure on the back of the holding barn with a dart in her side. The other two bison were watching her from the main exhibit.
I found out where the currassows came from, just in case anyone was wondering. One came from Denver and the other is from DWA.
Henry Vilas Zoo has a new Amur Tiger named Kuza. Yuri and Callie both moved to other zoos due to Henry Vilas Zoo's surplus of Lions. He arrived from the Great Plains Zoo.
This isn't crazy news, but Henry Vilas Zoo has a small population of Neurergus kaiseri in their quarantine area.
