Here are some links to support my earlier post: This first link mentions (right at the bottom) that lemurs will be moving into the Predators of the Serengeti area in September. I have no idea if it will be a brand-new exhibit for the two lemur species or if they will be replacing the Caracals. That would be a real shame! Black and white-ruffed lemur This next link states that the "orangutans are currently off-view. The orangutan habitat is being redesigned to create a more enriching experience both for orangutans and visitors, and will reopen as Primate Forest in 2020." Red Ape Reserve The Family Farm Catio exhibit, for domestic cats, opened in May: A tale of 2 kitties: Zoo, Banfield Pet Hospital open new catio This final link states that the zoo broke its all-time attendance total with 1.7 million visitors in a single year. I can only imagine just how popular the zoo will be in 2020 with Polar Passage, Primate Forest and Rhino Habitat all opening in the same year. The already outdated parking lot will be bursting at the seams! Zoo sets all-time attendance record with 1.7 million visits
https://www.oregonzoo.org/sites/default/files/downloads/oregon-zoo-map-fall-2018-ENG.PDF The current zoo map (Sept 2018) shows lemurs instead of caracals in the Africa zone. There is also temporary chimpanzee viewing access opening as the rest of the primate area is closed for construction (along with the polar bear and rhino zones).
- Oregon Zoo's 4 Chimpanzees have been temporarily shifted into Red Ape Reserve. The chimps will move into the brand-new Primate Forest in 2020, which is essentially a transformation of their existing habitat. - Lemurs are in the former Caracal exhibit and that is a permanent move. To be perfectly honest, although the Caracals appeal to zoo enthusiasts the truth is that they were difficult to locate and lemurs will be far more popular with the general public. Chimps, lemurs relocate as zoo preps new 'Primate Forest'
Perhaps it had to do with activity levels too. Caracals being in the cat family may sleep most of the day while lemurs will be more active.
So sad. From the videos I have seen of him he was pretty happy to the end. His long life is a testament to the great care he received at your zoo.
I now see it's not but when I saw this I was wondering if IDA had put out another bs "worst zoos for elephants" list this week as I've seen anti-zoo propaganda against both Southwick and Bronx in the past few days as well... ~Thylo
No, IDA waits until the year is completely over to put out their list, but based on what's happened this year, I suspect the Santa Barbara Zoo, Topeka Zoo, Reid Park Zoo, and Zoo Miami will make the list (the first three because of deaths and the fourth because they brought in a young bull elephant from an Australian zoo, a move PETA decried as separating him from his herd too early).
Yeah I know, but usually all these petitions and what not come out right after the list is published. I've had a petition with nearly 300,000 signatures emailed to me two days in a row now to end Bronx's elephant's "solitary confinement". These people clearly know nothing about elephants... ~Thylo
Well, on the one hand, elephants are social animals by nature, so I can kind of see where the activists are coming from. On the other hand, based on this individual's life history, the activists probably don't understand that there's no one-size-fits-all solution to dealing with captive elephant welfare. In the Oregon Zoo's case, the stuff about the bull hooks might be rendered moot by the fact that their keepers work with them using protected contact now, but I think their ultimate goal is to force the zoo to end their breeding program because they think any babies born there will die young.
That's understandable but the story has grown to the point to where once the New York Post published an article claiming the animal is kept indoors 27/7 year-round with little to no access to sunlight or natural ground... Weird that an animal kept in such isolation is frequently seen and photographed on-exhibit. Aside from the blatant lies and misinformation a lot of these groups usem the thing that annoys me the most is the whole "send all animals to sanctuaries" attitude when a good amount of sanctuaries are actually worse than zoos and, often times, they just say "sanctuary" without even knowing if one even exists for their purpose. ~Thylo
Well, there are sanctuaries for elephants in the U.S. (albeit only two) but it's probably best that Happy stay at the zoo considering her age. But in regards to the Oregon Zoo, what would you say about the efforts to stop them from breeding elephants because some of the calves died?
Yeah I know, but didn't at least one of them run into controversy over the fact that most of the animals were malnourished? I remember there being a thread on here about it once. I don't really know much about Oregon Zoo or their elephants other than the fact that they have a Bornean and a Malaysian (if you accept that subspecies), and that they've run into problems over their husbandry and ownership of one of their previous calves. I presume the herd is infected with EEHV? In which case it's not exactly their fault that the calves are dying. ~Thylo
I don't know when, but I suspect it was when the AZA officially made it a requirement for their elephant-exhibiting members.