Female orang, Chiquita, has died. Female Orangutan Dies at Little Rock Zoo - Story | Central Arkansas - Little Rock, Pine Bluff | ArkansasMatters | KARK and KARZ
One year after the Jaguar incident, the zoo is constructing new safety fencing around the cat and ape exhibits. Zoo makes safety changes one year after fall
Male orang, Rok, died following a routine check up. Thirty-Year-Old Orangutan Dies In Little Rock Zoo | Fort Smith/Fayetteville News | 5newsonline KFSM 5NEWS
Upgrades to visitor safety are on going and the zoo has provided a bit of an update. Little Rock Zoo adds barrier between visitors, residents' teeth, claws
The new Arkansas Heritage Farm opens April 2nd. Zoo announces grand opening of new Arkansas Heritage Farm | THV11.com
Gorilla's Catherine, Sekani and Adelina are about to welcome their new silverback, Kivu, from Santa Barbara Zoo.
New male gorilla, Kivu, has arrived safely and is in quarantine before meeting the girls. Little Rock Zoo welcomes male gorilla | THV11.com
Was at the zoo today. Keepers told me he was flown from California to Memphis then trucked to Little Rock (about 120 miles). No doubt by Fed EX. They said the females are very curious. They were outside today and kept going back and forth inside, and kept trying to see and smell under the doors. The coming 4 yr old, Adelina, was staying extremely close to mom Sekani, more so than I've seen in some time. I guess the addition of Ostrich is OK but, in the 90's these things along with the Emu were farmed commercially all over Arkansas. There are probably still some around. Also, viewed first hand the "safety improvements" i.e. the chain link type netting that has been put up at the large cat and great ape viewing areas. Not as bad as I thought it would be but, has made it much more difficult to view and especially photograph. At the great ape area it feels like the visitors are more caged in than the gorillas and chimps, which unfortunately, they necessarily are.
LRZ announced on their Facebook page that Kivu, the silverback from Santa Barbara Zoo has been successfully introduced as leader of the family group and is now on exhibit. A position that was vacated by Fossey's death last summer. www.facebook.com/zoolr/posts/1221426471202016
Blue and Bayuda, two six-week-old female caracal kittens, made their debut. Caracal Kittens now on Display at LR Zoo - Story | KARK and KARZ
Bandar, the new Bornean orangutan is now on public exhibit Male Orangutan Now on Exhibit at Little Rock Zoo - Story
Mike Blakely is stepping down as Executive Director. Director of Little Rock Zoo stepping down after 17 years
It was an unusually warm day in Little Rock today so I decided to take a trip to the zoo and there is some news to note. Maned Wolves Diego and Gabby had another trio of pups Dec 21, Joy, Rhett, and Scarlet. I remember they had a pair of pups in 2015, does anyone happen to know where they might have moved to? I didn't see a keeper over in that area so I didn't ask. A 7 year old female orangutan from the LA Zoo spent her second day on exhibit today, it was really exciting for me seeing her and Bandar so active around the exhibit after growing up watching the geriatric and not so active Chaquita and Roq. The Small Primates/Bird/Reptile house has closed the most antiquated exhibits (see here), they are currently boarded up and the former residents have been shuffled around to the opposite side (seen here) where there is actual AC and much larger exhibits, not a huge upgrade but much better. According to the most recent departmental presentation (here page 3) they are going to be redoing the closed area to house something else, presumably to help house some small carnivores during the demolition of the current Bear and Small Carnivore grottos. I say that because I ran into one of the Carnivore keepers feeding one of the Sun Bears and just got to talking (if anyone was wondering the very geriatric Asiatic Black bear is currently rotating with the male lion), she mention that the current 5 year goal is to demo and redevelop that area of the zoo to be "Asia" focusing on Tigers and Sloth bears but will hopefully also have Sun bears and some of the other current 'Asian' residents depending on funds available. Currently they are very much in the preliminary steps looking at how much funding they'll be able to raise and how much they'll need to ask the city for etc... to see what exactly they'll be able to do.
@michaelarthur just to be clear, the Asiatic Black bear is now being exhibited in the lion exhibit? Do you know if there is a set schedule for this rotation between the lion and bear, or is it just every other day?
She is on exhibit after 4pm, the literal concrete bowl she used to live in was hard on her joints and they have much better AC in the summer in the Big Cat complex.
