If I remember that exhibit correctly that is a terribly small exhibit for the cats. Did you see them? They haven't announced this yet on their website.
It does indeed seem very small for cats, even tiny ones. I did not see them but @Vision visited on Wednesday and saw them, apparently that's the day they went on-show. ~Thylo
Just one of them was on-show on my visit, however an educator told me they had a second individual off-show that would join the first soon. It was indeed a rather small exhibit for one cat, let alone two, but as I understand it there is another room they permanently have access to right behind it, where the visitors can't see them. The female lesser bird-of-paradise has left the collection, but the educator I spoke to did not know when or where to. In that exhibit are now pheasant-pigeon, chinese hwamei, oriental magpie-robin and a parrot species (I believe king). Seemed like a tiny exhibit for all those species, and an equally tiny exhibit for a bird-of-paradise. I did see the African yellow white-eyes
If those birds were in the old BOP enclosure, what was in the enclosure near the Pallas's Cat? That was where all of those species previously were. ~Thylo
I can't recall exactly because there weren't any particularly interesting species in it, but I believe it was a rather generic "Australasian" combination; crowned pigeons were in there for certain, but I don't quite remember the rest very well.
If it is the enclosure at the center of the room you're talking about, wreathed hornbills and the crowned pigeons.
The zoo appears to have a new outdoor Pallas' cat exhibit. The zoo has also imported 2 cats for this new exhibit, one from Krakow and the other from Helsinki. It is unclear if the zoo will still have its indoor exhibit in the main building for the species, which appears to not be linked to this new exhibit. This might be one of the old pheasant exhibits near the farmyard but it is unclear. WCS Wild View: Little Cats with Large Personalities
So THAT's what they've been building! When I visited last they were building a brand new enclosure in front of where the hornbills used to be and expanding outward. This is great news, as I never really liked the solely indoor enclosure much. Any idea what happened to their already present cat? ~Thylo
Visited the zoo yesterday and have a few observations. I paired my visit with the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens directly across the street, which I would highly recommend. I have not been in a few years so some of these can be rather old changes. The new pallas cat exhibit is pretty nice. Its simply the old hornbill aviary redecorated with lots of rocks and small plants. They have added a small nighthouse on the left side. My one issue with the exhibit is that the glass viewing from the education center behind means the cats have no escape. Sadly their are still pallas cat in the former indoor exhibit as well. The zoo is currently spending June celebrating turtle conservation, so special educational displays were up and new signs were added to existing exhibits housing them. Seeing the elongated tortoise mixed in with the hornbill was definitely a pleasant surprise. The zoo previously had rodrigues fruit bat, but these have been replaced with straw-coloured fruit bat. A portion of the former kangaroo walk-through is now being used as a nature playground. Its kinda sad to see this large space wasted in a zoo that is so small already (it was a really nice wallaby/kangaroo exhibit and wish they would bring it back). The chicken coop in the farmyard area is now home to a trio of young pigs. A few notable species sadly gone since last visit: black-necked crane, lesser bird of paradise and slow loris.
I visited the zoo today (second time I've ever been, the first being in the early twenty-teens). Things to note with pictures: There is a baby tufted deer, bringing the total population to four or five The red pandas were off exhibit because the female had babies. There was a sign at their exhibit (see attached) and another at the Children's Corner entrance, the latter of whcih said the animals may be back on display late this month. The red-breasted turaco and bearded barbet enclosure are being renovated, which means that a Bali mynah, a crowned pigeon, and a green and black bird (ID unknown) are sharing this exhibit in the Hall of Animals. The turacos and barbets are in an exhibit on the other side of the main entry room from said temporary bird home. The prairie dogs were off exhibit, and peafowl were in their place (either free roamers who found their way inside, individuals the zoo chose to put in their until they get new ones, or maybe they just wanted them off exhibit at that specific time (didn't see them at all the rest of the day. I was at the zoo from a little before 4 pm until 5:30
It's in the bottom picture to the pigeon's right, crouched down. I never got a good look at its head because it was preening.
