Special Memories Zoo (Closed) Special Memories Zoo News

Through fundraising, the zoo has given new enrichment items to Jericho, the zoo's male Reticulated Giraffe.

 

That’s nice! How much was raised, do you know? What did they buy for him? Hope he will enjoy his new playthings!

 

$650 was raised. I saw pictures of the new enrichment items, they looked sort of like tubes with holes in them. Not sure how they are used, but I am sure Jericho will love them.

 

Ah, that’s really nice! It’s good that people care enough to want to make a difference. I hope he has fun!

 

Several updates from the zoo's Facebook page:

• A baby Common Marmoset was recently born.
• The zoo's female Dromedary is pregnant. A contest is being held to guess the date, time and sex of the baby. The winner will receive a $25 gift card.
• Many people have been donating toys to the zoo's primates. The Spider Monkeys in particular seem to enjoy it.

 

An American Badger was born.

 

A Patas Monkey was born.

 

Some updates from my visit today:

• A Common Squirrel Monkey was born.
• A Crab-Eating Macaque was born.
• A Ring-Tailed Lemur was born.
• A Nilgai was born.
• Several Domestic Goats were born.
• Three Domestic Sheep were born.
• Two Zebu were born.
• An Alpaca was born.
• Actually two.
• The zoo has obtained two more Eastern Gray Squirrels. I don't know how.
• 5 Domestic Pigs, some Budgerigars and a Button Quail were sent to the zoo from a bad home. The pigs can now be found in the former Horse/Donkey exhibit. The Budgies sre now in Parakeet Encounter, and the quail are behind-the-scenes.
• A Zebra Finch now lives in Parakeet Encounter.
• A baby Painted Turtle now lives in the Reptile Room.
• Two of the Domestic Muscovys now freely roam the zoo grounds.
• A North American Porcupine was born.

Also, lots of animals were moved around, and a few species were missing. Here is a list of species that seemed to have vanished:

• American Alligator
• Brown-Eared Pheasant
• Society Finch
• Northern Bobwhite
• Black Swan
• Black-Tufted Marmoset
• Common Clownfish

 

What kind of button quail?

 

Excalfactoria chinensis.

 

What is the common name? And thanks for the information.

 

It's actually not a buttonquail species at all, Button Quail is the just the common name. It is also known as King Quail or Chinese Painted Quail.

 

Thanks again.

 

Greenville zoo argues against abuse and neglect allegations by country star Tanya Tucker

The birds mentioned are rescues and the zoo does not have any Jaguars.

 

5 Domestic Goats were born.

A Nilgai was born.

A Grant's Zebra was born.

The zoo has obtained a new Domestic Sheep ram after an escaped one was caught in the area and transported to the zoo.

 

What are the ratings on this zoo? From what I see in photos it isn't anything special.

 

Here's my opinion. This zoo isn't the best. Any AZA zoo beats it in terms of exhibit quality. However, SMZ is home to some special rarities, and of the privately owned "roadside" collections in Wisconsin, this zoo is among the best. So if you want to see what Wisconsin's "roadside zoos" are like without having to endure a terrible zoo, this is the one to go to.

 

What are some rare animals they have?

 

Geoffroy's Cat, Fisher, Blue Eared Pheasant, Booted Macaque (one of only two holders outside Asia), and probably others I'm forgetting.

 

Updates from my visit today:

• The zoo has new Green Iguana. Apparently it was found in someone's yard in Hayward, Wisconsin covered in burn marks.
• The train ride was not going. Apparently the two people who usually drive it quit and the zoo is having trouble hiring someone else.
• The Squirrel Monkeys were completely gone. No idea if this is temporary or permanent.
• As usual with this zoo, there were several enclosure reshuffles and major acquisitions (including some rarities). I will be posting a species list very soon.