Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden What's Gnu at the Cincinnati Zoo - 2016

At least one eastern hellbender is now on exhibit in the Reptile House.

As of Thursday at 2:00pm, the zoo is now officially home to 0.1 Nile hippopotamus!

 

Blog update on the arrival of Bibi and Henry, the zoo's two new Nile hippopotamuses. Hippo Cove opens July 21st:
Cincinnati Zoo Just Gained 8,000 Pounds! - The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

 

The zoo is opening Hippo Cove on July 21, a week earlier than expected.

Article about the hippo exhibit
Cincinnati Zoo Just Gained 8,000 Pounds! - The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

Video about the finishing touches of the exhibit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUWTlLJ2oGM

The Cheetah cubs have been named. The male has been named Red and the two females are named Willow and Cathryn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NgWcG61GCM

 

A new blog post from the hippo keepers about the zoo's two newest residents:
Hippo Keeper?s Blog: Hippos Bibi & Henry Get Nose to Nose Behind the Scenes | Cincinnati Zoo Blog

In other news, the banded palm civet has made the move to the former bat-eared fox exhibit and is now on public display. It is so nice to see him climbing about and exploring a habitat so much larger than any he has been in prior!

 

"CeCe", one of the zoo's two pregnant Masai giraffe cows is due sometime this month, and the zoo has put up the protective netting around the perimeter of the enclosure in preparation. "Jambo", the other pregnant cow, is due in September.

 

2.0 Magellanic penguins have been introduced to the Sub-Antarctic Coasts exhibit in Wings of The World, bringing the exhibit's collection to:
4.0 Magellanic penguins
5.1 King penguins
6.2 Southern rockhopper penguins
2.1 Inca terns
1.0 Black-faced ibis
0.1 Chiloe wigeon

 

Also out of quarantine and out on exhibit now are the zoo's two new male African painted dogs, Kwasi and Masai. For now, they will be rotating with the resident mother-daughter pair.

 

Sichuan takin calf, "Dale", and his mother, "Sally" have been reintroduced to his father "Harry"; they are now all out on exhibit together.

 

The oldest tree in Cincinnati, the near 200-year-old red oak tree in the centroid behind the Reptile House, fell in last night's strong storms. The zoo suffered from quite a few downed trees, strewn debris, and power outages, causing it not to open until noon today.

In other news, here is a blog update about our two new male African painted dogs that recently arrived from the Perth Zoo:
Dog Log: A New Chapter Begins | Cincinnati Zoo Blog

 

The new breeding pair of Malayan tigers is finally on exhibit.

 

The official preview of the hippo exhibit is tomorrow afternoon, so I will try and get some pictures.

 

Is this an employee event or a member event?

 

It was an employee-only event. Members can preview the exhibit for the first time on Thursday from 8am to 10am.

 

DO any of the Cincy regulars have a suggestion for a good time to visit tomorrow? I'd planned to go with the family, but just realized it's opening day for Hippo Cove.

 

Well you're lucky you're not visiting today since it's dollar day. Because you're visiting as a family, which typically means families get there early and like to stay for a majority of the day, and if this were the case I'd say it might be unavoidable to hit a large crowd. Even when I worked there the zoo was always packed even on week days. If you were a member and could go in athe 9am then you'd have no problem but if you're not I'd say maybe go to the zoo around 2 and hope that the lots aren't full.

 

The zoo is as actually opening two hours early, at 8am, for members, tomorrow through Sunday, to allow them to preview Hippo Cove ahead of the crowds. That said, I'm not sure whether this will just mean that the attendance will be high, even in the morning, or if it will be heavy early and taper off later on, with members getting in to see the hippos and then getting out... I would, thus, probably agree with Moebelle. There's going to be an early rush for the hippos either way, both for the members at 8 and for the general public at 10, so I would say any time after noon would be your best bet, visiting the less frequented areas of the park first (Wildlife Canyon, Wolf Woods, Dragons, etc) and saving the generally more crowded areas (Africa, Elephant Reserve, Gorilla World, etc) for later on in the day.

 

Thanks, Kudu. We do have a family membership. We live a little over an hour away, but we may just get up early so we can get in during the special hours.

 

You are quite welcome! Since you all are members, that is what I would suggest doing... Those extra two hours will go a long way, I think. I hope you all enjoy your visit!

 

A female Eurasian eagle-owl has arrived and is now on exhibit with resident male, Archimedes, in the aviary outside of Night Hunters.

And since one of the keepers has posted pictures of her on Instagram... The zoo has successfully hatched its first Andean condor chick since 1985!

 

Had a nice visit this morning. It's always great to see the gardens at this zoo when they are in full summer form.

It was great to see hippos back at the zoo, but I have to admit I'd have liked to see a grass yard over a concrete shore. Either way, having underwater viewing in a hippo exhibit is always something I enjoy seeing.

I really liked seeing the hoofed stock yard with all of the species present.

I've always wanted to see what they have in the off-limits building inside the children's zoo. Today I peered in the window and noticed a big albigularis monitor at the door free-roaming and looking back at me. They're a favorite species of mine so that was neat. I'm fairly sure they have some tortoises in there, which is of interest to me since I keep one myself. I know they have a leopard tortoise, and I'd like to see how they keep theirs when it's indoors (mine lives in my backyard as long as it's in the 70s or above and in it's own room in cooler months).