After paying a visit, here's some more updates on my home zoo: *The lion cubs, males Hubert and Kiume, and female Njeri, are growing up fast! After successful introductions, the whole pride, the cubs, mother Sanura, and father Themba, now all share an exhibit, rotating between the indoor and outdoor exhibits with our male spotted hyena, Scruffy. Today, the pride was inside, and the hyena was outside. *Our jaguar pair, male "Pat the Cat," and female Stella, were being introduced today to possibly take a step towards breeding. I only saw about a minute or two of it, but they seemed to get along well. *Willy, the male polar bear from the North Carolina Zoo, has settled into Milwaukee nicely. At first, I first I thought he would be kept separate from our resident female, Snow Lilly, due to a polar bear's usual solitary life. But, to my surprise, both were sharing an exhibit on my visit. They were having a great time, splashing and playing in the pool. Too bad Willy is only going to be here for another year though - he really adds some life to the exhibit with his playfulness. *We have a few new babies in the Small Mammals Building. Twin cotton top tamarins were born sometime in February, and two fennec foxes were born at the end of January. Sadly, the pups were rejected by the mother. All were very cute, and contributed to a fun visit. Also, as reported on here, there was also a potto born too. To my disappointment, I didn't see it. *Back in November, two young bongos have joined our current female. Due to the cold (It was in the upper 40's on my visit), I didn't see them. HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Today I saw probably the most active animals I have ever seen at the Milwaukee County Zoo! The polar bears were splashing up a storm, the cotton top tamarins were constantly bouncing around, baby orangutan star Mahal swung all around his exhibit, and our tayra was full of energy, bounding all over the place. The animal that really stood out of the crowd today, though, was Scruffy the spotted hyena. He was always walking, sprinting, and never stopped moving the entire time I was by his exhibit.
Looks like the zoo will finally be getting a move on with its master plan! Zoo elephants could get new exhibit, new zoo parking structure | FOX6Now.com ? Milwaukee News & weather from WITI Television FOX6 Only a new elephant complex and parking structure have been announced so far. I have my fingers crossed that new bear exhibits, a new primate facility, and something with the Small Mammals Building (demolition, renovation into a great nocturnal house) are a part of the plan.
I'm sure the new hippo exhibit is in the plan somewhere. Perhaps this master plan is what the hold-up was...the plan originally was to build the hippo complex in 2 phases (in the current location I think). The 1st was an expanded indoor facility (very poor in my opinion), and phase 2 was supposed to include a new outdoor exhibit with underwater viewing. Maybe the zoo has changed plans and may build a large African area with new pachyderm habitats and other animals (maybe some of the current hoofstock, move cheetahs to a larger exhibit, move meerkats and dwarf mongooses from Small Mammals, etc.). We'll wait and see.
Updates from my June 23rd visit: *Two rheas are now living in the South American exhibit. I haven't seen the Baird's tapirs for quite a while now, so now I'm wondering if they were replaced by the rheas. *A female Bactrian camel was born on May 4th. She is quite cute! *"Pat the Cat" and Stella the jaguars were on exhibit together again. They seem to be getting along well. Sure hope some cubs come soon! *Though I didn't make it to Apes of Africa, the new female gorilla, Naku, is now on exhibit with silverback Cassius and old female Femelle. Another female from Toronto will be either arriving very soon or already has arrived as well. *HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: I managed to see the Zoo's summer exhibit - Adventure Dinosaur! Of all the times that dinos have come to Milwaukee, this year was probably the best. Located behind the Small Mammals Building, visitors encounter old favorites such as Tyrannosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Brachiosaurus. Some new additions include Chasmosaurus (related to Triceratops), Carnotaurus (the "meat-eating bull"), and Coelophysis (a small and speedy carnivore), along with a few others. The best part, though, is an area where visitors can use levers and buttons to control the dinosaur's movements! Overall, Adventure Dinosaur! was great, and is my favorite of the temporary exhibits to come to the Milwaukee County Zoo.
A female Matschie's tree kangaroo is now out of the pouch and exploring her exhibit. Milwaukee County Zoo's newest addition | CBS 58 | Local News Also, the female baby Bactrian camel has been named Addi-Jean (A.J. for short).
The entry to the Family Farm has been renovated. Milwaukee County Zoo unveils new entry to Northwestern Mutual Family Farm - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee
More details about the Zoo's master plan. Zoo issues RFP to create new master plan - Milwaukee - The Business Journal The article mentions the plan will also involve the Australian Building and Small Mammals Building. I'm very happy something will finally be done with the Small Mammal Building; however, the Australian Building surprises me. Other than no outdoor access for the tree kangaroos, I think it's pretty good.
Hubert, one of the lion cubs born in 2011, will be leaving for the Oklahoma City Zoo soon. African Lion Cubs Leaving the Milwaukee County Zoo
Some updates from my visit today: *I saw the new entrance to the Family Farm. It now includes some old machines that were used in the old days of Wisconsin farming along with some neat information. I found it to be quite an interesting display. *I saw a herd of five greater kudu in the African Waterhole exhibit, which was a surprise to me. Reason I say this is because I haven't seen any kudu for a couple of years. But then, in spring, I saw a pair of them, and then none during the summer. Anyway, it was good to see them again - they're such a majestic antelope. *The Baird's tapirs are still living in the South American exhibit. I haven't seen them for about a year, and thought they were replaced when I saw the rheas in the exhibit last time (during the summer). *According to the zoo's map, the black bear exhibit will be renovated! The only details said were that it be more natural for the bears; no date of completion has been decided yet - hopefully by summer it will be done. I can't wait to see the finished product! *A lot was going on in the Small Mammals Building. A cotton top tamarin was born in August, along with two male extremely cute fennec foxes in October. Unfortunately, the fox kits were rejected by their mom, just like the last kits . *A De Brazza's monkey has replaced the Diana monkey in the Primates of the World building; wonder if the Diana monkey died. *The 2013 summer special exhibit will be sting rays and sharks.
More information about the Stingray and Shark summer exhibit coming in 2013 - and 2014 as well. Milwaukee County Zoo plans exhibit with live rays and sharks - Milwaukee - The Business Journal
Hi Milwaukee Man, I'm curious what your feeling is about how supportive your community is about building large scale projects like a new elephant exhibit and hippo exhibit? The perception that one gets from the current political climate in Wisconsin is that people like Scott Walker are very anti-government, and would likely rather that places like the zoo did not get any public funds that would probably be required for large-scale projects like elephant exhibits. I ask because the perception one gets of a place in the media can often be inaccurate. Do you think that Milwaukeeans will want to keep the elephants, hippos, etc. if it requires building expensive new exhibits?
@DavidBrown: Our community does support the new habitats. The problem is that because it's a county-owned zoo, all construction projects must be done by union labor. According to zoo staff, it ends up costing 3-5 times more than with non-union labor. There lies the problem of why projects take longer to get funded and require more private donations.
Here's a webcam to watch the cubs. Jaguar Cubs Cam | Milwaukee County Zoo I really can't wait to hear when their public debut is. Great find by the way, jusko88!
The father of the cubs is wild caught (imported rescue animal) and the mother is a first time mother, so these jaguar cubs infuse important new genes into the captive population. Great news for cat lovers like me. Significant Birth: These Two Baby Jaguars, at Milwaukee County Zoo - ZooBorns
Mahal the orangutan, one of the most popular attractions at Milwaukee County Zoo, died unexpectedly this morning. Orphaned orangutan Mahal dies at Milwaukee County Zoo