Me too! Last time I visited they were several empty exhibits in the Discovery Center, they were also tearing down some of the foliage as well. I wonder if they're planning on doing a little renovating, at this point they've got nothing but time. I wouldn't be surprised if they set up an enclosure for them on one of the smaller tables.
The zoo announced that they will most likely reopen July 1st, although an earlier date is possible. All indoor areas will be closed, all oaths will be one-way, and the zoo will only be open with 25% capacity.
Henry Vilas has acquired a male Von der Decken's Hornbill from Los Angeles Zoo. https://www.lazoo.org/wp-new/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/06.2020-Animal-Transactions.pdf
This transfer was in the LA Zoo minutes previously. Only at the time still marked as due to Corona lockdown measures postponed. I assume quite a few of the recommended transfers from one zoo to the other in US may take place now going forward ...
Henry Vilas has acquired 48 Seba's Short-Tailed Bats and moved them into a nocturnal exhibit inside the aviary. I'm assuming they placed them in the final room of the aviary that used to house the Geoffroy's Marmosets. It would be the easiest room to convert into a nocturnal area.
What happened to their old group of Seba's? Do they even still have them? I was kind of hoping the Northern Greater Galago would move into that exhibit.
I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to integrate the two groups together. Where do you think they moved the Geoffroy's? Henry Vilas has an extremely successful breeding program for them, so I don't know why they'd stop now. The Emperor Tamarin exhibit located near the entrance of the free-flight area would be a little small, but it would be able to house the entire group.
I was thinking about that, too. I have no idea where they actually are, but if it was my decision they would go in the primate house with the hyrax. There's no smell that way.
The only problem with that is there are currently Black-and-White Ruffed Lemurs in that exhibit currently. Henry Vilas has two females that don't get along anymore, so they've been separated alongside their offspring into the separate exhibits. They also have to work around the troop of Ring-Tailed Lemurs too. I think Henry Vilas could tear down some of the unviewed educational areas of the building and build an exhibit for them. Seba's are primarily frugivores, so I wonder if they'll try and introduce a ground-dwelling species into the exhibit. Maybe an armadillo?
Henry Vilas Zoo answered my question about the new exhibit on Instagram. They said that the Geoffrey's Marmosets were moved into the upper exhibit in the free-flight area. This means that the Emperor Tamarins are in a new exhibit as well.
Is the turaco not there anymore? They'd also work in the other exhibit with the aracari in it. I'd be surprised if the zoo got rid of them, as they've only been there for a few years, but I'd much rather see the Golden Lion Tamarins on exhibit. No one knows they're at the zoo, as they're only housed in the Vet Center. The website doesn't have Emperor Tamarins listed, but they have Red-Eyed Tree Frogs and Reticulated Grass Frogs listed. I don't think I've ever seen them at the zoo before. I also remember Henry Vilas Zoo's social media supervisor telling me that they plan on adding more invertebrate exhibits into the Aviary, but they needed to do things slowly due to the regulations surrounding invasive invertebrate species.
A female harbor seal named Sammye has gone on display. She came from the Alaska Zoo one month ago. New harbor seal at the Henry Vilas Zoo
It says that she's joining the zoo's two males, but the zoo had 2.2 before acquiring the new female. Does this mean that they want to keep them in two separate groups of 2.1 and 0.2? One of the two females is extremely old, so she may have passed away. The other female is her young daughter. One of the two males is also related to the two females.
At end of July, the MMIR listed 3 harbor seals: BIRTH - UNKNOWN NAME - FEMALE b24-Jun-98 BIRTH - UNKNOWN NAME - FEMALE b16-May-12 TRANSPORT PIPER MALE b8-Jun-14 There was one death in 2019: UNKNOWN NAME - FEMALE b1-Jan-69 died: 12-Jul-19 There may have been other transfers since then.
I'm surprised they didn't announce the death of the seal. She was somewhat popular due to the birth of her daughter despite her being old. Sparky, Piper, and Lucielle (however they spelled it) are the names of the remaining seals.
