I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but it appears that san diego zoo sent their last Douc Langur female to Phily. Philadelphia Zoo - Red-shanked douc langur Click on "Our Animals" tab and it says that the female arrived on May 13, 2009. Does anybody know if they are planning to breed them, since the male and the new female are relatively young?
I'm not sure what they plan to do with breeding, but as of mid-December the female from San Diego was still not exhibit together with the mother/son pair. The San Diego female was exhibited next to the mother/son pair but had access to them via a metal grate. I'm not sure if this is still the case as I haven't been back since then.
I was told that the gene pool is too similar. The Zoo would have to pair the douc langurs with ones currently in European zoos.
You can see a videos of the douc langurs on my YouTube channel (ZooVisitorMM is my user name) This video was recorded in June 2009 and shows the new female in her new home with her new female friend.
The Philly Post: Are Some Philadelphia Zoo Animal Habitats Too Cruel? Any thoughts? Is she on target or too extreme? I haven't visited yet, but reading reviews she may be right on some things, and extreme on others.
The Philly Post: Are Some Philadelphia Zoo Animal Habitats Too Cruel? Any thoughts? Is she on target or too extreme? I haven't visited yet, but reading reviews she may be right on some things, and extreme on others.
Well I have been there (and will be again next month during a layover day en route to Europe). She has some good points but overdoes it. She mentions a neurotic sloth bear, which may be true, but fails to mention that the bear complex features large outdoor areas and is far better than many typical bear grottoes (even the ones at famous San Diego). She mentions a caged lynx in the old Carnivore area, but fails to make any mention of the new Big Cat Falls. Her idea of opening a larger open air zoo/wildlife park in the suburbs and leaving this city zoo to specialize in smaller animals is intriguing. But to say that nothing over 30 pounds should live there is absurd. The elephants have already been moved, as she noted, and many animals well over 30 pounds (giant tortoises, cheetahs, all four bear species, etc) have quite good enclosures. I would certainly support a second larger facility, and some areas like the old carnivore displays and the primate house clearly need to be demolished. But scrap all the large animals at the zoo? I think not.
I just wonder ... Philadephia being one of the oldest traditional zoos has quite a reputation. As Arizonadocent so rightly points out the lady in question terms exhibits sub-standard and wants to move out of the city. Not a very bright idea by a long shot methinks and besides it fails to value fairly all the exhibits at the zoo itself. I would like to know what the goals of the collection planning and masterplan are. What enclosures are most in need of remodelling or rebuilding? What immediate plans are there to refurb?
I was just about to post this as I cannot remember seeing much postings on new developments at Philadephia Zoo. It is worth remembering that it is only the 3rd US-facility to report aye aye births FULL STOP!
I was wondering what the winters are like at the zoo? Are there plenty of indoor exhibits to see the animals? What animals are off exhibit in the winter? My partner and I are considering a trip down to Philly in February. Thanks!
I love going to the Philadelphia Zoo in the winter, the animals are always more active and there's relatively no one there. Most of the animals have access to the outside if it's not too cold and there are plenty of indoor exhibits. Indoor exhibits include: McNeil Avian Center, Reptile House, Dodge Rare Animal Center, Small Mammal House, and PECO Primate Reserve (don't miss the Coquerel's Sifaka, they are easy to miss). Winter-hardy outdoor exhibits include: Carnivore Kingdom (the Giant Otters are super active in winter), Bear Country, BOA Big Cat Falls, Cheetahs, Wild Dogs, and Humbolt Penguins. The giraffes, zebras, rhinos, hippos, gazelles, okapi, Giant Anteater Olive Baboons, and Waldrapp Ibis may make brief appearances outside if it's not too cold, but most of the time they are locked inside. Most of the waterfowl are locked inside and are not visible, though you can sometimes see flamingos inside their building. The Chinese Alligator and Giant Tortoises are moved into the Reptile House during the winter so you'll still be able to see those. The Spider Monkeys in the front of the zoo are off exhibit in the winter. The Bearded Pigs, Mara, and Red Kangaroos are usually outside in the winter, though they have access to inside. I think I got most of the exhibits, that's all from memory. If you want to know anything else just let me know.
Winter is the best time to visit the Zoo because it is not crowded and you can spend as much time as you want at the exhibits. You can stay warm in the Rare Animal Conservation Center which houses the douc langurs, titi-monkeys, several species of tamarins and small monkeys, a sloth, giant elephant shrews, and white-faced sakis. You can also stay warm in the Small Mammal House which has a Nocturnal room where you can see striped possums, a striped weasel, feather gliders, echidnas, and vampire bats. In other areas of the Small Mammal House, you can see meerkats, aardvarks and sloths. You can also see lesser shrews, elephant shrews, pygmy hedgehogs, and chinchillas. The number of snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles, crocodilians, plus an alligator in the Reptile and Amphibian House is to high to list all individually. But you can spend a lot of time looking at such fascinating creatures as gaboon vipers, king cobras, an alligator snapping turtle, and so many more. The Primate Reserve houses an orangutan family (father, mother, and baby) plus gorillas, black and white ruffed lemurs, aye-ayes, spectacled langurs, squirrel monkeys, and Colobus monkeys. Of course, the McNeil Avian Center is an indoor exhibit, and you can see African Savanna birds, tropical forest birds, and birds from many other parts of the world in there. The zebras like to be outside in all weather, even in the snow. The cheetahs also come out even in the snow. The polar bears are out. The pelicans (in Carnivore Kingdom) usually come out. The giant otters swim around in all weather. The red pandas are out. In Big Cat Falls, the lions are sometimes outside because they have a heated rock. The jaguars are sometimes out. The Amur leopards, the tigers, and the pumas are out. And the snow leopards are also out. Note: the baboons have been relocated to another zoo. And the okapi and the Asian rhino are not usually outside in the winter.
Somehow I managed to miss seeing this post on Zoo Chat at the time it was posted. But, in my opinion, she was incorrect about everything she said. If you looked at the article, and read the comments, I posted quite a few refuting what she said. It seemed to me that she had only visited the Zoo once or twice in her life, and her last visit was not a recent one. I believe she was basing her entire article premise on information she got from animal rights activists rather than her own observations. As a person who has visited the Philadelphia Zoo at least twice a month since 1969, I know all the animals get excellent care. The Carnivora House was replaced by Big Cat Falls. The Reptile and Amphibian House is very nicely set up and many friends of mine who breed and raise reptiles say the exhibits are designed extremely well. The sloth bear mentioned in the article is not neurotic. It "dances" back and forth to entice visitors to toss treats to it (which, of course, they are not supposed to do). Even the elephants had excellent care, and were always in excellent health, and, in my opinion, should never have been sent away. The exhibit was large enough to meet AZA requirements for two elephants. The Zoo should have slowly expanded and improved the exhibit as funding became available.
Well, it's milder than Buffalo! The closer to March you visit the nicer you might catch it. By early March, Philadelphia can be pretty Spring-like... or not (well, it is March after all)
We plan on going in mid March now. So maybe chilly enough to keep animals active or warm enough to bring out some of the warmer climate animals. I'm excited to be visiting America's first zoo! Anyone have tips on parking? I rather not pay so much to park in the lot and didn't know if there was a cheaper alternative!
The first time I went to Philadelphia I took the subway to the streetcar from downtown (where I was staying). This last time I took the bus from downtown (where I was staying). If you fly to Philly, no need to rent a car. But if you are driving down from where you live (which I assume you are), I would say just fork over the parking fee. I mean the money goes to support the zoo anyway and if you have a reciprocal membership from another participating zoo you will get half off the regular admission fee.
http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/PhiladelphiaZoo/files/47/476d946c-1e03-4cd8-ab9f-cfb6db80ab9f.pdf -The zoo has unveiled a new map. The pacaderm house is shown being transformed into a children's zoo and education center. The okapi has been relocated to the building near the entrance next to the bearded pigs. The hippos are in the old ostrich exhibit. There is no mention of the asian rhino. Last of all there is a trail outside for the primate's in the rare animal consevation center. This is for the glt, white faced saki, blue eye lemur, and the mongoose lemur.
I was just talking with someone today what was to become of the Okapi. I assume the Asian Rhino was sent to another zoo since I didn't see it when I went and its no longer on the map. Are the Hippos in the old Ostrich exhibit? I don't know the old layout, but it looked like a pool was already in the exhibit so I assumed it was the White Rhinoceros, who moved next to the Zebras. I wonder what happen to the Giant Anteater (with the Okapi in its place) and the Ostrich (which was just relocated in the old Elephant exhibit). What do you all think of the changes at this zoo? Particularly with them transforming the old Pachyderm House into the new Childrens Zoo/Education Center and the new programming like, X-tink-Shun?
