Milwaukee County Zoo Master Plan and Future Renovations

Not that I can see. Its mostly going to be primates, and special exhibits in the jungle area.

 

I would love to read the master plan

 

Then do it.

 

It is, I had to do a freedom of information request and then pay for the almost 300 page document.

 

Last time I checked, Pottos and Moholi Bushbabies are primates!

 

My Thoughts and Opinion on everything:

Adventure Africa: The savannah exhibit at the bottom was of course split into two and the elephant barn now has been moved to the middle. I'm not sure which version I like better so I'm fine with what we will soon be getting next year

Now the new areas I like. The then old elephant exhibit will make a great new home for black rhinos, and combining the current yards into one will also make it a much better area for them. It doesn't look like much will happen with the current giraffe exhibit, as it looks to be a near identical shape as it is currently is. The hippo exhibit concerns me a little. It looks much to small from the drawings that have been released and it looks like it could be quite disappointing. I really hope I'm wrong but it doesn't look pretty.

Alaska's Cold Coast: I'm eagerly anticipating this one. For just a little over $1 million I was expecting something much less then what were supposedly getting. I'm surprised to see polar bears will be sticking around despite the lack of many bears left in the US. The new brown bear exhibit(s) are an excellent use of space, and moving the caribou to the current elk hill is brilliant. The habitat is already fantastic so I'm glad its staying around. Sea otters are a pleasant surprise, I would have never seen that coming. The new sea lion stadium looks very nice as well and the new exhibit looks impressive. Now a question I do have is will the new restaurant feature a view into the new polar bear exhibit, similar to what Henry Vilas zoo did a few years back.

The Farm: I'm disappointed by this one. The splash pad is nice, but Australia being reduced to another empty field with kangaroos is such a shame. When the old Australia building was destroyed, I was hoping for a big new thing with more species. My least anticipated area in this plan.

The Jungle: I'm glad to see the Apes of Africa interior is getting redone. Just add some mulch, real plants and better climbing structures in the indoor exhibits and that should be good. A bit disappointed that the current ape yards aren't getting renovated. The possibility of night animals going in the primate building would be a welcome one, and I believe it is entirely possible. The new "Primates of the World" will also be including small mammals, which I assume will be the new home of some already present animals in the small mammal building (Agouti, sloth, night monkey, lemurs, potto etc). For one, dwarf mongoose will be moving to a new exhibit in the Apes of Africa with a shrew species, which sounds pretty cool.

I am a bit concerned that the current primate renovations seem to contradict what's shown in the site plan however. Siamangs are scheduled to be moved to the either side of the building switching with the mandrills, and colobus staying put. Of course that is not what the plan says the exact opposite, with the colobus going where the orangs now are, the siamangs staying put. Hopefully this does not mean that much of the plan has been altered from a few years ago. the rest of the Jungle looks fine. The sea lion stadium becoming a picnic area seems like a waste though.

Wild Woods: Moose feeding, enough said!

Seriously though, my favorite new exhibit in the plan. The new moose, wolf, elk and badger exhibit all look excellent. Pumas, lynx and fishers are all very cool as well. What a great reuse of the small mammals building, though I will miss the potto, springhaas, bushbaby mixed species habitat, one of my favorite in the zoo. I am curious what else will be in the new indoor portion though.

Escape to the Islands: Komodo dragons, yes! Absolutely lovely. I also look forward to the Caribbean exhibit, which I believe was planned decades ago, but is now becoming a reality at last. What excellence.

Asia Trails: This one is certainly underwhelming. A tiger exhibit is something that is needed and I'm glad to see it fabricate. The red panda and snow leopard exhibits should stay put as they are also among the best in the zoo. I hope the camels are traded out for some more unique hoofstock, but otherwise this one just seems a little boring. All good but nothing so incredibly cool that gives it the "wow" factor.

Ill be following all these developments closely, and I hope that they can all be the best as possible assuming not much will get cut.

 

Sorry I wasn’t meaning to say that they weren’t, I wasn’t really seeing an area carved out for them in the new primates of the world. Though they possibly could be there.

 

I’ve noticed a lot of people been commenting on their disappointment on the Jungle area when thinking about the current construction going on. I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I’ve kinda came to the conclusion that the Jungle may be further off then 2023 so in the short term with little cash they are providing the current primates an opportunity for outside experience. Looking at the renovations going on currently with the Colobus, they are attaching more logs and punched a hole in the back. That’s not costing them much. So it could be small adjustments without lots of cash, so when the big renovation comes it’s not money loss per se.

 

If you look at the Primates of the World floor plan, right before the now mandrill exhibits there are about 3 "new exhibits". These could very easily act as exhibits for the mentioned species.

 

Since we're sharing our thoughts on the master plan, I'll throw mine out there as well.

Adventure Africa: I have definitely been looking forward this one (both elephant and hippo expansions) for several years, very excited to hopefully see things finally coming together! The hippo expansion looks nice, though I pictured it bigger somehow? It may just be the angles of the model. The elephant exhibit I'm obviously excited for, but with the newer version of the exhibit, I'm wondering what will happen to the rhinos and giraffes, and when those renovations would happen. Perhaps after the hippo renovation?

Alaska's Cold Coast: Absolutely one of my favorite plans that I am looking most forward to. Excellent looking bear and seal exhibits, moving the caribou into the current elk yard is good, that exhibit is already quite nice.The Beer Garden and sea otters are interesting but welcomed surprises. My only complaint is the loss of American Black Bears, but I understand the Alaska theme, and Black Bears wouldn't fit that perfectly well.

Asian Trail: Eh. It is just tigers after all, still happy to see an expansion and curious to see what ungulate species and "small Asian Species exhibit" will be. Maybe they'll do this expansion last, after all of the others.

East Entry: I have to point this one out, not so much because it is big or exciting, but finally those ticket booths will be done! Excellent idea! I'm excited to see the Humboldt penguin exhibit expansion also.

Escape to the Islands: Very excited about the Komodo Dragons, love it! A permanent ray touching exhibit will also be nice. I remember reading a plan the zoo had in the 1980s (Caribbean Cove) and it's nice that the idea was never fully scrapped.

The Farm: My opinions are similar to everyone else's I've seen; sad to see Australia be turned into a walkabout yard. It will be nice to have kangaroos (and hopefully emus as well) back, but the exhibit will not be as large as the old one, and my personal favorites from the exhibit were the Tree Kangaroos, who don't seem to be making a comeback.

The Jungle: I thought I would be more excited about a Primates of the World renovation, but this one doesn't crack my top 3. Any renovations to the existing building are things to look forward to. If it were my choice, the picnic area replacing the seal show would be an island mirroring Macaque Island, for lemurs. I'm thinking the lemurs will move into the primate building, along with sloths and tamarins, possibly some of the nocturnal animals? from Small Mammals. I actually didn't even notice the shrew and mongoose exhibit being added to Apes of Africa until just now. That will be interesting as well.

Wild Woods: Very close third of exhibits I'm looking forward to, after Adventure Africa and Alaska Cold Coast. Moose feeding is something I've never even heard of, so I'm very excited for that! New badger and elk exhibits, the return of wolves, cougars, and moose, along with some new species make Wild Woods very very excited for I think everyone. I can't wait to see what species will be included in the building. A note on the cougars, an overpass over the door to the building is awesome not only for the animals (more space) but for visitors as well! Milwaukee has never had an overpass type exhibit before. The small section labeled "raptors" has me excited as well. Perhaps a permanent Bald Eagle? (besides the one used only in bird shows)

Overall I am so excited to see all of these projects come into play over the next decade, I just wish by some magic power, the zoo could look like this tomorrow!

 

Agreed. I was thinking the same thing. Small changes being made now for the betterment of animals, so that big changes can be made down the road.

 

Tree Kangaroos could potentially end up in The Jungle exhibit, they are still behind the scenes last I read. Hold out hope!

 

So looking at the amount of money detailed in this news article, I feel like Alaska's Cold Coast will be done in 2 to 3 phases, because their is no way the original plans for the whole thing would only cost 1.7 million. I could see the Bears, Caribou and Beer Garden being completed first. Followed by Sea Lions, Sea Otters, and Polar Bears. Since their is much more construction that would be needed for those exhibits.

And I, like many others, think that the Zoo's current renovation of the primate building is the beginning of the The Jungle. Since on the concept art of the interior shows only one exhibit that says existing exhibit, while the rest say renovated exhibit. So it's anyone's guess what animals will go where in that building, but renovations would need to be done regardless.

So to me it seems like the order of these projects will be something like this

West Enterance

Elephant and Hoofstock yards

Rhino and Hippos - Both of these will probably at the same time, since it seems their housing will be renovated as well.

Alaska's Cold Coast (Phase 1) - Fairly low cost at expanding Bears and moving Caribou to Elk yard and Elk moved behind the scenes where the Moose currently is.

Alaska's Cold Coast (Phase 2) / Primates and Apes renovation - I think these could go in either order. basically it moves some of the small mammals so the building can be renovated into Wild Woods.

Wild Woods - The Moose is still behind the scenes so the must still be planning to do this in some form. It would most likely be done after an apes renovation so they can move most of the small mammals instead of keeping so many behind the scenes.

Asia or Islands involve a lot of path reconstruction and building from the ground up/tearing down, and don't involve a lot of species movement. So I assume it will be way down the pipeline. And the Farm seems low cost and easy to complete so it could happen anytime.

 

After seeing many ideas on when things are going to get done and at what time, I thought it would be good to create a timeline of sorts. This current timeline follows what the master plan has called for within the next 10 years and beyond as well as what the zoo has asked the county for the next 5 years in its capital improvements request fund.

2018

• West Entrance opens
• Sea Otters back (Spring of 2018)
• Completion of Elephant exhibit (Elephants are to move in the Fall of 2018)
• Start construction of Hippo Exhibit or planning

2019

• Grand opening of the Elephant exhibit
• Hippo exhibit construction
• Possible Rhino construction

2020

• Possible Rhino construction or planning

2021

• Rhino construction

2022

• Possible Alaskan Coast construction or planning
• Possible The Farm construction or planning

2023

• Alaskan Coast Construction
• The Farm Construction
• Possible Train Gift shop construction or planning
• Possible East End Entrance construction or planning

2024 & Beyond

• Escape to the Islands
• The Jungle
• Wild Woods
• Asian Trail

 

Why would they do that for financial reasons? With the understanding that masterplans are just conceptual, you should expect the final plan to look different from the masterplan. All the same elements in the masterplan elephant concept are the in more recent plan. What's different is a greater immersion element for visitors in the recent plan. I'd reckon that this change is more expensive, not less than what the concept appears to be.

 

You’re right, things tend to be more expensive then what a master plan estimates it should be. However Milwaukee tends to respond in ways of cutting, adjusting, or all together cutting out things all together. Even with the new elephant exhibit they sent out bids for the project, I believe 3 times, before settling on a contractor and it was more then they were expecting. Will that affect how things will look, or what projects will be completed, we are just going to have to wait and see.

 

Well... Here are my thoughts.

Adventure Africa
The zoo really needs the elephant and hippo renovations, and the hoofstock renovations didn't hurt either. I am very exited for this one.

Alaska's Cold Coast
Brown and Polar Bear renovations are great (especially Polar), and I am glad you will be able to see the sea lions without paying for the show. Sea Otters I was not expecting, but will be a great addition to the zoo. Although the loss of American Black Bears and Harbor Seals is a sad one.

Asian Trail
As I look at the concept art, it seems more interesting than it does at first glance. The Red Panda and Tiger renovations are the obvious part of the plan, but there are also areas labeled "Hoofstock" and "Small Asian Species". What will be in these areas I don't know, but I hope it will make this area interesting! (Also, why are the Jaguars here)?

Penguin Renovations and East Entry
I am not exactly sure why this is being done, but any exhibit renovations are welcome!

West Entry and North American River Otters
This has been delayed so long. I am exited we will be getting it this spring!

Escape to the Islands
Komodo Dragons will be an amazing addition! A shark tank and ray touch are also exiting! I am curious to know what birds will be included here. New exhibits for Guam Kingfisher or Bali Myna? Addition of Guam Rail, Kagu, or perhaps (if we are INCREDIBLY LUCKY) Kiwis? Maybe some other island endemic I haven't thought of? I know the AZA plans to phase in several Hawaiian species.

The Farm
Australia is somewhat disappointing, but I have heard of some zoos using Koalas in walkabouts. If this happens, I will no longer be disappointed! Also, ice cream is staying!

The Jungle
The combined primate/small mammal building I am actually exited for, as long as the small mammals get better habitats (which isn't hard to accomplish). I am curious to see what will happen to Macaque Island during this renovation. Will it change to Lemur Island? Will it be changed to a different Macaque species? Will it stay with Japanese Macaques? What will happen to the mink? Will it be moved to Wild Woods?

Wild Woods
FEED MOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I am really exited for this one. The renovations are great, and I hope that the building has lots of rehabilitated native species (squirrels, birds, cottontails, etc.). It is important for visitors to see these animals, so they know the impact we have on wild animals' lives.



Money WILL be a problem, but I think the other exhibits will be easier than the West Entrance and Adventure Africa. When these two areas are completed, tons of people will come to the zoo, and the zoo will get lots of money from admission, there for making it (slightly) easier.

 

Lets be real here, is the mink really there? I have never seen that thing for all my years of visiting.

Yes, the new entrance and Adventure Africa will bring the zoo some much needed extra cash. Hopefully this will jumpstart things a little as far as other projects go.

 

I have seen the allusive mink one time in my 10+ years of visiting the zoo
It was probably about 5-7 years ago however, I am not sure how long minks live.