On January 4th, it was reported that the zoo will start to administer the COVID-19 vaccine for their big cats, primates, giraffes, and anteaters, among other species. Reid Park Zoo administering COVID-19 vaccines to susceptible animals On February 5th, the zoo announced that they are running a seasonal attraction called Dinosaur Discovery from February 12th to May 15th. There will be 10 animatronic dinosaurs on display, and will be included with zoo admission. Log into Facebook
African Elephants Litsemba and Mabu bred in late February and will have a calf in December 2023-January 2024. This will be Litsemba's fifth calf and Mabu's sixteenth.
It hasn’t been confirmed that Semba is pregnant, just that the pair bred last month. There’s a very good chance that she is indeed pregnant but we can’t say for sure that she “will have a calf” when we haven’t received any confirmation.
I have not heard of any confirmed miscarriages of African Elephants anytime recently, so there will most likely be a calf around New Year's 2024.
Just because there haven’t been any miscarriages lately doesn’t mean there never will be, besides we don’t know if any have occurred but weren’t announced. Plus, there’s a chance she just didn’t conceive at all for various reasons. Even if she is pregnant and you know about it, you shouldn’t be announcing it on a public forum when the zoo hasn’t made a public announcement.
On April 8th, the zoo announced that (0.0.2) slender-tailed meerkats have been born. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=529079301983635
On May 28th, the zoo announced they have demolished their old tamandua exhibit and are in the process of building a new exhibit. The zoo will also be able to hold 3 tamanduas instead of just 2. Log into Facebook Zoo 4 You: Preparing the tamandua enclosures
On June 7th, the zoo announced their elephants will be off habitat while their exhibit is being renovated, with their pool being cleaned and trees being tended to. Log into Facebook
On June 9th, the zoo announced they have renovated the jaguar exhibit, adding new platforms for them to explore. Reid Park Zoo - Bella the Jaguar Reaches New Heights | Facebook| By Reid Park Zoo | What's that up there? Bella the Jaguar's habitat recently had some new platforms added to offer her new places to explore, rest, and observe her...
Glitter the squirrel monkey has passed away. She had a history of intestinal concerns and her death was due to an intestinal bacterial infection. Her necropsy also noted she tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Reid Park Zoo Mourns the Loss of a Squirrel Monkey, Reid Park Zoo The press release also notes that one of their squirrel monkeys is pregnant and due this summer.
Bull elephant Mabu is now at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. This means that there are now no male elephants in the entire state of Arizona.
The Asia expansion is scheduled to start construction in 2023 with a tentative opening date of 2025. Here is a rendering of the site plan, which has been changed a couple times due to community feedback and will now be located in the current parking lot: Reid Park, Reid Park Zoo, and the Pathway to Asia Project | Reid Park Zoo Here is an artist rendering video of the new expansion (which sadly does not show fishing cats, the one addition I am most looking forward to). Someone really loves temple architecture: Pathway to Asia Flythrough - YouTube
The map does say “Fishing Cat”, so they might still be in the plans. You know what is missing from this rendering that was in the original? Sloth Bears. Sigh. At least Fresno will have them…
