Updates from my visit two days ago: The entrance has been shifted down, putting you right next to the Barred and Great Horned Owls. The new White-Tailed Deer exhibits is huge! Sandhill Cranes weren't the only species added to the zoo, either. The exhibit is also home to a juvenile Bald Eagle. The new deer/turkey/crane/eagle/swan/goose exhibit allows you to see parts of the zoo that used to be BTS. In these areas, there is an Asian Elephant footprint (wonder where that came from ) and an off-exhibit Umbrella Cockatoo. THE NEW OTTER EXHIBIT IS OPEN!!!!!!!! My last couple visits, I saw the sign for Chukar and didn't know where it was. This visit, I found out. Apparently, it is in a mixed-species exhibit with Bug-A-Boo. How does that work? There is a new exhibit for Monarch caterpillars outside the American Black Bear/Chukar exhibit. The former deer/turkey/swan/goose exhibit is now empty. I talked with a keeper about the exhibits future. She said that "They had a few ideas" and didn't elaborate. She did say that before any animals went in, they would have to fix the pump in the pool. The zoo has a Domestic Donkey now. It lives in the goat yard. The African Gray Parrot was off-exhibit. Saw no skunk, nor any sign of one. I have photos of the new stuff, but it might be a little bit before I have a chance to upload them.
Unfortunately, the zoo's male snowy owl, Boris, passed away from Aspergillosis. The female snowy owl, Aurora, was taken and tested for aspergillosis, and was cleared. She is healthy! The zoo will be seeking a companion for Aurora but it may take some time to find an injured non-releasable male.
More bad news, the zoo's 11 year old female llama, Nina, died today. Nina came to the zoo in December 2011 and had been a great companion to the male, Sinbad, for the past 7 years. Nina had been battling a respiratory illness for over 3 years with medical care. The decision was made today to humanely euthanize her after she could not stand on her own.
Oof. That makes three deaths this year. Not good for such a small zoo. Almost all of the deer are quite old, so we have to hope they can cling on for a while.
I'd love to possibly find a way to do some volunteering/interning/job shadowing at this zoo. It isn't that far from my home.
You could try messaging them on facebook or another social media account they have! I don't know if that would work, I don't have any real info but you could give it a shot
Apparently, the zoo is getting beavers in spring! The beavers have already arrived and are adjusting well. Shiloh, 3 years old and her parents, Huck and Finn (10 & 7) are currently off exhibit. Sometime in the spring they will be on exhibit in a renovated area of the old deer exhibit. I think Ochsner Park will become the only zoo in the state of Wisconsin to exhibit beavers? Could be wrong, but I am excited to see beavers soon!
Some articles about the upcoming updates the zoo is making. Beavers: Baraboo zoo welcomes beavers Zoo Redesign: Baraboo zoo redesign advances Lots of very exciting things happening at this very small zoo next year!
The snowy owl exhibit roof was repaired today. This structure was built in 1990 so it was definitely time for an update. Also the zoo has a new male snowy owl named Sven to replace Boris, who passed in December. Sven will begin getting acclimated to his new home before he is introduced to female owl, Aurora.
Sven and Aurora have been introduced and can be seen on exhibit together. Keepers are closely observing interactions between the birds. There is a temporary barrier keeping guests a little farther away from the exhibit.
A new Black-Tailed Prairie Dog has arrived from Henry Vilas Zoo: Only Vilas Zoo prairie dog to survive winter transferred to Baraboo zoo
The Prairie Dog from Madison has been slowly adjusting to the new exhibit and new group of prairie dogs. Construction on the otter pond has begun. The exhibit may finally be completed this year!
River Otter outdoor exhibit Update: The zoo is hard at work trying to finish the otter pool soon. Yesterday the exhibit was backfilled and this morning the main pool floor was poured. Next week that pool will be waterproofed and the waterfall & stream will be poured. Soon after that, the zoo will add a water filtration system which will be installed along the back of the prairie dog exhibit to act as a natural prairie educational display, and a more natural backdrop to the prairie dogs, and naturally filter the water from the otter pools, keeping their water clean and fresh with minimal staff time needed. I believe I read somewhere that the beaver exhibit pools with be redone after the otter exhibit pool is complete? I'm not 100% sure on that though
The zoo announced the passing of BugABoo, the 20 year old black bear. BugABoo had hair loss which was determined to most likely cancer. Over the past few months, he had lost a lot of weight, lost more hair, and had an occasional bloody nose. The hair loss was due to a cancer of the thymus in the chest. This has not been reported in bears before. The other important finding was a large nasal cancer, which was most likely responsible for the nasal bleeding observed. BerryBoo, the zoo's other black bear, appears to be doing well.
Update from my visit today: There is a new exhibit for Monarch caterpillars. Rose-ringed Parakeet, Umbrella Cockatoo, Cockatiel, and Chukar appear to be gone from the zoo completely. Construction was happening on both otter and beaver exhibits. One of the Llamas died; the Domestic Donkey has been moved to that enclosure to live with the remaining Llama. An Arctic Fox has arrived and is now living with BerryBoo.
Otter Exhibit update: Inside landscaping was completed today with stone and black dirt. The 5,000 gallon pool was also filled today. Later this fall, the zoo will construct some mock rock and log work. Completion has almost been (finally) reached. With that, the zoo will be moving on to start the beaver exhibit soon.
