That's what the Monk Seal Foundation is saying. Are the SA ones even on display? The information the Minnesota Zoo is offering is saying that their exhibit will be the only one holding the species in the continental US. As a kid, my family used to travel to Minnesota every summer and I loved this zoo. I haven't been to Minnesota in years, I wanna visit again sometime soon, and these seals are really motivating me. I'm a sucker for rare marine life.
Two Amur Tigers will be coming to Minnesota from Dvur Kralove in the Czech Republic shortly. This will allow Dvur to go out of Tigers in favor of an exclusively African collection as well as enriching the SSP population with new bloodlines http://www.zoodvurkralove.cz/cs/
Minnesota Zoo's Hawaiian monk seals fill dolphin void - TwinCities.com Hawaiian monk seals have arrived and they'll be on display Memorial Day weekend. MNZ will be the only place outside of Hawaii where people can see these critically endangered pinnipeds.
I think they may have tried harbor seals very early with the beluga whales, but it didn't go well. The MMIR would tell for sure though, as I may remember wrong, it was so long ago!
The article states that $7 million went in to renovating the dolphin exhibit for seals. That's a lot more than I expected - any ideas where the money went?
That is an excellent question, Devilfish. Looking at pictures of the re-opened exhibit, I am rather disappointed. I was expecting some significant changes, however it would appear only the most minor of modifications were done.
from this earlier (2013) article it sounds like $5 million was needed for repairs to the tank itself, and $2 million for renovation of any surrounding areas. Minnesota Zoo's seal pool on hold, monorail out - TwinCities.com also, from this 2013 article: SunThisweek | Minnesota Zoo seeks $15 million slice of bonding bill
The tanks were stripped and resealed for waterproofing. All the acrylic is new as is the mesh barrier. The decking behind the pools was stripped and redone. HVAC work as well. Mechanical upgrades. The rest of Discovery Bay was refreshed. The underwater viewing area was refreshed and they brought in jellyfish and such. New signage was added. Sounds like Seven million well spent.
I didn't know they ever had belugas. Must've been a long time ago. Anyway, yeah, it sounds like the tank needed a lot of repairs. They originally planned on keeping the dolphins and they got extra money to repair the tank for said dolphins, but for whatever reason they decided to just phase the dolphins out and use the tank for something else.
Minnesota Zoo had 2 belugas when they opened. The New Minnesota Zoo?s Beluga Whales, c. Late... | They had to send them to SWC for medical care in April 1987.
I'm heading up to Minnesota for a quick trip this weekend, and one of the things on my itinerary is a first ever trip to the Minnesota Zoo! One of the things I'm looking forward to is seeing these four species for the first time ever: musk ox, dhole, sea otter, and of course, the brand-new Hawaiian monk seal exhibit. Considering the enormous and lush habitats, does anyone have any advice? Like bring binoculars or try seeing certain areas first before anything else to ensure I see certain animals?
I have not been since last August, but I do recommend spending the whole day there if you want to see everything. If not, the Northern Trail is what I find to be the most interesting part of the zoo. If you wish to see the bison, you might check back regularly. We passed the exhibit several times that day and never saw them. To me, avoiding feeding time in the Discovery Bay is a must. The kids get knee deep and it is impossible to sit and enjoy the puffers and sharks in peace.
If the zoo is like I remember when I was a kid, go early. It's a pretty large zoo and they took down the monorail a few years ago, so you're gonna need a lot of time to see everything. Also, I remember the bird show being pretty cool.
Just got done with the Zoo, and I gotta say, it exceeded my expectations. I'll post a review and photos in the next day or two - stay tuned!
One of the zoo's grizzlies shattered the glass window while smashing a rock against it. No animals or people were hurt and the glass while broken stayed safely in place. Minnesota Zoo grizzly bear shatters glass pane with rock - StarTribune.com
