Philadelphia Zoo Philadelphia Zoo 2021 News

Gibbon brothers Orion and Aries have left the Philadelphia Zoo and are now living at the Point Defiance Zoo. Keepers hope to integrate them with the lowland anoas, Malayan tapirs, and porcupines there at their Asian Forest Sanctuary Exhibit. Their parents Phoenice and Mercury are still at the Philadelphia Zoo with their youngest child Polaris.

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article248458715.html

 

Francois's Langur, Mei-Mei just gave birth to baby Quy Bau! This the first Francois's Langur birth at the zoo.

 

On Dec.13 a Francoise langur was born at the Philadelphia Zoo :

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=219505893181093

 

When Chester, the male francois langur, first arrived in the Philadelphia Zoo, he shared an exhibit with the Zoo's only douc langur, Toi. They got along very well, but sadly, she died of complications of old age just a few months later. Shortly after that, two female francois langurs joined Chester. My plan was to record their life together as they formed bonds and added offspring to their family group. Unfortunately, the coronavirus made it impossible for visitors to see any of the animals in the Rare Animal Conservation for most of 2020. The building was only reopened for a few weeks before it was closed to visitors again. This is the link to one of the videos I recorded of Chester with Toi. - And this is the link to one of the videos I recorded of Chester with his new female companions after Toi died

 

The reason the building was closed again was because mayor Jim Kenney announced the new restrictions. When the zoo reopens in February the building might reopen again.

 

I can't say for sure, but I don't think that is the reason the Zoo closed the Rare Animal Conservation Center again. That definitely is not what I heard. Also, if the Philadelphia Museum of Art is allowed to reopen this month, and many branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia have been told they have to reopen to the public, surely the Zoo's Rare Animal Conservation Building would have been allowed to re-open if the Zoo itself had stayed open.

 

Does anyone happen to know what subspecies of Sloth Bear the zoo has? I recall hearing somewhere that they have both, but which are which?

 

I think they are Sri Lankan sloth bears.

 

Thanks. Do you know if all of them are or just the family? I thought Balawat was a different subspecies, but I could be wrong.

 

Not sure.

 

New zoo hours, directly from their e-mail:
February 12 through February 15
9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

February 17 through March 21
Open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. close beginning March 1)

Beginning March 24
Open Everyday
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

 

I am not sure of Balawat's subspecies, but I don't think he's intended to ever mate with Kayla. My bet is he returns to Cleveland Zoo to breed again once his offspring moves to another zoo.

 

I found some really cool old footage of the zoo.

The old bird house:
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Elephant seal!:
Click here

Horrible old bear cages:
Click here
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Really strange primate enclosure:
Click here

Antelope House:
Click here
Click here

Bison, Yak, and Barbary Sheep in the hoofstock paddocks where African Plains is now:
Click here
Click here

Reptile & Amphibian House (?):
Click here

 

IIRC the male is an Indian and the female is a Sri Lankan. If they've had a surviving cub, it's a cross between the two. At least that was the situation when I last visited in 2017.

~Thylo

 

Oh that's interesting. They do have a surviving cub, Keematee, who was born earlier this year. I wonder why they would breed the two Sloth Bears if they're different subspecies.

 

Not sure if this is relevant but there is so little going on, the newborn Francois's langur is starting to change color from gold to black. A video released by the zoo today showed the langurs exploring the entranceway to Zoo360 from their exhibit and the baby is growing quickly.

 

Genetic diversity. The plan was for the AZA to focus on Sri Lankan and EAZA to focus on Indian, however the Indian program was more successful than the Sri Lankan and the SSP decided that genetic diversity was too low to sustain the population long-term. Therefore, they imported some of the European-bred Indian Sloth Bears to increase our genetic population. At least Philadelphia, Cleveland, Omaha, and Columbus have single Indian animals in mixed pairings.

~Thylo

 

A typical no-brainer. I am sure they could have sourced Sri Lankan from Dehiwala Zoo.

 

I'm sure Indian from Europe would have been easier to obtain, and allowed for more individuals to be brought in. Surely Dehiwala doesn't have a massive number of bears?

~Thylo

 

According to the reopening page on the website, all indoor exhibits are remaining closed.