Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee County Zoo News 2022

They don’t have really have any plans in regards to Asia which is kinda sad. It was at the bottom of the list for things to get renovated from the old master plan. Things might have changed with the new CEO.

I wonder if takin or goral would be good fits for the zoo? @Kifaru Bwana

 

That's what I was think. A new zoo directer could mean plans have completely changed.

 

Yeah they could and I think most times they do. I’m anxiously awaiting to hear from the CEO on what his vision will be for zoo and the direction that he’s gonna pave.

 

And just like that the yaks have been officially announced.

https://twitter.com/milwaukeecozoo/status/1484248009357602819?s=21

 

They came from Lake Geneva Safari Park

 

I'd be bouncing off the walls if Milwaukee County got takin.

I wouldn't be surprised if they have enough space for the yak behind-the-scenes, as they have enough space for a moose. I'm also wondering if they could potentially mix them with their Bactrian Camels? (At least temporarily.)

 

I wouldn’t really consider a Domestic species all that interesting.

 

Domestic yaks are pretty common at safari places, most have a few.

 

Agreed on takin. Goral is another one. Make it into an Himalayas/subtropics project or something. They have acres of space all over. Not sure if anything is protected by other facility for biodiversity of sorts.

AND: Must fit or compliment the Masterplanning document though. @MKEZooGuy will have most if not all the details on that.

 

The yaks are only temporary at the zoo. They will be at the zoo till about February 2023 when the zoo begins work on the new rhino exhibit. So though this is the first time that the zoo has held yaks, it will only be temporary for now. Maybe if they become popular plans will change and the zoo will bring yaks back in a future expansion.

Meet Everest and Tinley, the 2 newest additions to the Milwaukee County Zoo

 

While it's a bit weird for the zoo to bring a megafauna species temporarily like that, I appreciate the effort to make the zoo feel less empty, as much of it currently does.

 

I imagine it's a slightly fancier version of bringing in a few goats or something temporarily, or camels. Easy to get, easy to care for, easy to send back to whatever local place they came from. They fill the space and keep people from complaining about an empty exhibit.

 

It appears that zoo has received $3.5 million towards redoing the front entrance to the zoo and penguin exhibit. Not sure if this changes timelines or not but it’s nice to see that their next project is gaining steam.

https://twitter.com/davidcrowleywi/status/1489284128621142021?s=21

 

Milwaukee County Zoo Visit Report, January 31 2022

Paid a visit to the zoo for the first time in a while earlier this week. Not much in the way of news or updates, but as usual I have few things I want to touch on. Please forgive me as these thoughts are a bit jumbled and haphazardly laid out..

Animal Highlights:

• The domestic yaks are a very neat addition and I appreciate the zoos efforts to fill the old rhino exhibit before it gets demolished. Not the flashiest thing in the world, but I like it.
• The elephants were another highlight. Something spooked Belle, or perhaps it was a show of dominance, and both her and Ruth began to vocalize and run around the barn for a few seconds. Really fascinating stuff!
• Lots of action in the aviary. Been a while since I've last stopped in this building and I had forgotten what an excellent bird house it is. The rainforest section particularly stands out.

Growing Pains:
I came to the realization during my visit that the zoo is kind of in an awkward position right now and will be for at least the next year or two. We are currently experiencing the most rapid development the zoo has seen in decades which is great, but it also means that a good chunk of the grounds won't be prepared to their fullest extent until. It doesn't like construction of the third Adventure Africa phase will be starting until early next year, so until then the central part of the zoo is going to be a bit of a mess with the former elephant, rhino, tapir, polar bear and asian black bear exhibits empty until construction finally gets going. It will eventually pay off, but at the moment it's defintely not ideal. I also couldn't help but notice the small mammal and primate houses feeling particularly void of life. The price a zoo that went 20 years without any significant developments has to pay.

The Future:
I am elated to hear news of the main entrance renovations and penguin revamp. Coincidentally, during my visit I was thinking how Milwaukee really does have one of the most uninspired main entrances of any major zoo. It has the appearance of an office building rather than that of a zoological park that's supposed to get people excited about wildlife. I was impressed with how they did the west entrance a few years go so if it's done with as much care I will be pleased. Renovations to the penguin exhibit are also great to see, and I do wonder how far they will go with this development. It will interesting to see if the zoo decides to build off the existing exhibit or build a brand new one around the same site, as something a kin to Woodland Parks penguin exhibit would be an amazing first impression (although given Milwaukees track record I won't count on it). We are entering a new era for the zoo so I am will try to remain optimistic for the future with the new director at the helm. He seems to have some ambition that Wikenhauser lacked and judging by the renderings for the rhino building, I can't help but feel a little disgruntled he wasn't around to develop the elephant complex. It probably would have turned out to be much more innovative, but there's no point in thinking about what could have been and I should probably wait and see how the remaining projects actually turn out before giving a final judgement.

 

Recently received the zoological society’s annual appeal and it comes to no surprise it’s for the last and final phase of adventure Africa. It was it’s normal appeals jargon, however this line caught me a little off guard, “…expanded indoor viewing areas for hippos, red river hogs and possibly another African species…”. What other species could they be thinking about bringing in?

 

The site plan released last year listed caracal as a possible species and the renderings showed cattle egrets in the indoor hippo exhibit. What's interesting is the potential of an indoor red river hog exhibit, which was not included in the initial plan.

 

I also remember them saying this. I wouldn't be surprised if they added some sort of birds into the indoor areas for the hippos?

It'd be interesting to see if they come somehow renovate the indoor areas to be able to include other species with the Red River Hogs as well. (For example, it'd be neat if they could add their Colobus Monkeys into their indoor Red River Hog exhibit.)

 

Snow leopard Milja has left the zoo. She has been moved to another AZA zoo.

 

It would be nice for the hogs to have a good indoor exhibit

 

How many Snow Leopards does that leave Milwaukee with?