I would miss the Red River Hogs if they were to go. Is there any possibility of them moving to the Adventure Africa forest yard?
The last one at the zoo has moved to the waterhole exhibit (the one infront if the lions/hyenas). I don’t see them in the forest yard, considering how skittish the species in that exhibit are.
Just wondering... where does everyone get their info from? I’ve been trying to find out more new news on the zoo and can’t get to any. Also I was reading about how a species could take up dall sheep mountain and made me really wish they would bring back dall sheep maybe for Alaska Cold Cost. Just such a unique species for American zoos.
Anythings possible, but I highly doubt it. It's not the bongo I'd be worried about about with the hogs, more so the duiker which is known to very skittish. They would also be very destructive to the vegetation in the yard. In regards to the master plan info, that was all courtesy of @MKE Zoo guy who went out of his way to get his hands on the plans themselves, and post them here. Any additional info usually comes from the zoos website or the members magazine. A brand new species.
Duikers, especially Yellow-backed, are extremely skittish. The reason the African Spurred Tortoises were moved out of of the original forest yard was that the duiker was scared of them.
I get my news from several sources. A lot of it I get from the master plan, talking with zoo keepers or ambassadors, reading around other zoo blogs, social media (sometimes they have things in there that they never post about like the red river hog(s) moving to the watering hole), and looking at government websites since the zoo is funded by the government.
The Zoo now has the Summer Map viewable on it's website. A few minor changes, but I always think it's cool when it gets updated with a new exhibit. http://www.milwaukeezoo.org/pdf/ZooMapSummer2020.pdf
Interesting that the black bears are still on the map, I was under the impression they were no longer at the zoo. Can anyone confirm their status?
Unless we got a new one recently, the last one died a few years ago. Not sure why they would have it listed on the map, other then they might have over looked it.
Do they feature in their future plans for the North American fauna section? Or is it that monumental glitz ..., then get back to the zoo and ask ....
The section in question would actually be rebuilt to have pinnipeds instead of bears. The bears would be brown bears and their section would expand into the current caribou exhibit. The only reason why I would think that they kept the black bear name is in case that they do get one, that’s were it would go. Also they advertise that exhibit as getting improvements and show black bears there. So there’s no clear answer at the moment. Here’s to waiting and seeing what new animals the zoo gets this year once lockdowns are eased a bit and animals start moving again across state lines.
The Zoo posted some pictures of the Hippo Haven on their Instagram. The photo of the Beach is from a few months ago, because it gave the best look of it while the other ones focused on the pool. Honestly, it's looking a little disappointing. I understand that the zoo's budget isn't super large and that's why they want to reuse the existing infrastructure as much as possible, but it looks a little awkward and cramped especially with the wooden fence separating the beach and water. The viewing area looks like it will be good for visitors if they have a good amount of info displays in there. Maybe I'll like it more when I see it in person, but it certainly doesn't live up to what was done at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. (But to be fair, it's really hard to compete with that complex.)
Thank you for posting these. Just as I feared this exhibit will fit right it with Cincinnati, Dallas and Fort Worth in the category of new hippo exhibits that are still far too small. This exhibit appears to be at least marginally better than Cinci, but still has a tiny looking land area with no grass, still prioritizes underwater viewing over what the hippos, and still has space for old two hippos (not to mention their current two don't even get along). The exhibit also looks surprisingly narrow for some reason. Not to mention a visible sewage drain and ugly concrete wall in plain view of visitors, as the hippo exhibit seems to fail from a functional and aesthetic pov. Its of course a nice step up from the previous exhibit which was abysmal, but still barely scratches the surface of what it could be. The issue I have with this exhibit is that Milwaukee absolutely could have built something better. With the impala and crowned cranes moved to Adventure Africa, the next door impala country exhibit could have easily been used as a large grazing area with minimal modifications. In fact, they may have even saved a slight amount, as they wouldn't have needed to built the rock work on the right side of the exhibit. There is no reason why Milwaukee couldn't have built a better exhibit. I hope to see this exhibit in person when it opens in a few weeks (assuming the zoo is open in a few weeks, which I think it will considering much of Wisconsin already is), but I can't say I have particularly high expectations.
I also think the exhibit isn't completely finished yet. I feel (and hope) that the wooden fence will be removed and that some of the more negative features pointed out are removed or made less obvious when the exhibit opens to the public. It already looks better and more natural than the elephant exhibit. This is just a sneak peak, I doubt they would publish the final product before it opens. I remain optimistic that the exhibit will good, and at least meet the standards of some other "major zoo" hippo exhibits.
Seeing Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Milwaukee open exhibits at the same time is an interesting contrast. One zoo fixed almost all of the major issues with hippo management in the United States, while another exhibit simply followed the same broken system. If they want to maintain a bull in there ever then it seems as if they will have to rotate outside. The land area is puny from the photos, and it seems a hippo could not even turn around easily on parts of it. As others said they could have simply added the exhibit next to it onto it, and had a nice land area. But oh well Also the wooden fence looks simply like a fence to protect construction workers from falling into the pool. I am sure it’ll be removed.
It would probably be helpful if some of us would be on the advisory board, would it not? My goodness, the extension into the impala grass yard would make it more attractive and you could even add in a pool there too of some kind or description (separation and breed facility at the same time).
Of course the exhibit will look nicer when its officially open, and yes I can appreciate the zoo going the extra mile to add some semi-realistic riverbanks to the exhibit and at least trying to attempt some sort of naturalism. Obviously the wooden fence is just for the construction workers safety and will be removed. However, there is a bigger problem at hand here, a few problems actually. Will this exhibit meet the standards of other recent hippo exhibits? Yes it will, but the issue is the standard isn't very high. Zoos are prioritizing expensive underwater viewing over everything else and the hippos are getting the short end of the zoological stick as a result. Don't get me wrong, I think underwater viewing is great and Im glad the hippos will no longer be murky shadows in the water. Its a great experience for the visitors and I think it should be incorporated into as many new hippo exhibits as possible. However, sacrificing a proper land and/or grazing area for it is not what should be done. That is a key component of hippo life that most of the recent exhibits in the last decade have opted to ignore. Why exactly? Many exhibits pre-toledo didn't have this issue. Ill go as far to say that Brookfield's now empty former hippo exhibit is better than this new one at Milwaukee, and it dates back to the 30s. That at least had a sizable land area. So here are the main issues with Milwaukees new exhibit: Very minimalistic land area. There is more space then what was shown In the photos but still not enough for what they should have. No grass. No opportunities for grazing here, just sand. Could again have easily be fixed if they expanded into the impala country exhibit next-door. Still a piss poor indoor area. The hippos will hopefully get a new indoor area in the third and final phase of Adventure Africa, but the "hippo home" was outdated the second it opened. Its only about a dozen years old but looks as if it was built a century ago. I can only hope this area will be converted into an off exhibit space and a proper indoor hippo exhibit can be built in the upcoming rhino barn. Milwaukee needs to fix their dysfunctional group. There 1.1 hippos don't get along so they will be forced to rotate with each other in this new outdoor exhibit. Several really ugly sightline such as exposed sewer drains and the concrete above the underwater viewing area. Here are the good things about this new exhibit: Underwater viewing hmm... notice a patter here? Apologies if I come across as harsh. Obviously this new exhibit is a major step up from the old one which could perhaps be argued as the worst in the country and I am glad the zoo is making improvements, but it's just very frustrating to see the zoo settle when they could have very easily learned from the mistakes of other zoos and solved the problems instead of continuing the cycle. The only hippo exhibits built in the bast decade that have even remotely impressed me are Cheyenne Mountain and Memphis. The former may not have underwater viewing, but if I were a hippo and had to pick which new(ish) exhibit to live in, I wouldn't hesitate. I am optimistic that the final phase of Adventure Africa will turn out the best of the three. Rhinos are much easier to design an exhibit for than elephants (who need lots of land and enrichment) or hippos (who need a complex filtration system for underwater viewing). There actually is a bit more land than what is shown in the pictures. Near the guest viewing area the exhibit curves to the right providing a bit more space. Check out picture 16 from this article to see what I'm talking about. Either way, utilizing impala country would have made a huge difference. As I mentioned above, that is actually what the zoo has been doing for the past ten years and will be doing for the near future. the female is pretty old, so once she passes hopefully the zoo can fix this issue.
