Omaha Forums

cp jay 07 wrote:

TLGJames wrote:Meanwhile, they've removed some of my favorite animals. Mostly the north american river otters, and the African wild dogs. The river otters were probably the most depressing removal. They're one of the only animals that is highly active in the winter too. I once watched them play hockey with chunks of ice in their exhibit.

Sadly one of the River Otters passed away and that is what led to the River Otters being taken off display and replaced with the African Penguins. I read that the surviving River Otter was sent to another zoo as they do not live well alone.

Brad wrote:

cp jay 07 wrote:

TLGJames wrote:Meanwhile, they've removed some of my favorite animals. Mostly the north american river otters, and the African wild dogs. The river otters were probably the most depressing removal. They're one of the only animals that is highly active in the winter too. I once watched them play hockey with chunks of ice in their exhibit.

Sadly one of the River Otters passed away and that is what led to the River Otters being taken off display and replaced with the African Penguins. I read that the surviving River Otter was sent to another zoo as they do not live well alone.

Remind me where the river otters were located? I can't remember.

Professor Woland wrote:They were up the hill from the petting zoo. The otters were named Mork and Mindy. I think it was Mindy that died, she was quite old. I learned this from the docent.

TLGJames wrote:As an adult I have to rant about the zoo a bit. I'm pretty disappointed by a lot of the changes.

The new Africa is pretty nice. It's the rest of the changes that suck. And whoever designed the new parking lot should be shot. (My friend that used to work there told me it was designed personally by the zoo director who has no traffic flow experience, and he's also in charge of making all this outdoor stuff)

A giant outdoor water area. Hello, we're in Nebraska. In can only be on for a 4-5 months a year. It's also huge and could have been used for something else. The new giant children's park area also seems the same way. Good for the summer, but awful for the rest of the year. Also the zoo seems to be moving towards more and more microtransactions. Sting Rays, Camel Riding, giraffe feeding, and soon that outdoor amphitheater?

Meanwhile, they've removed some of my favorite animals. Mostly the north american river otters, and the African wild dogs. The river otters were probably the most depressing removal. They're one of the only animals that is highly active in the winter too. I once watched them play hockey with chunks of ice in their exhibit.

I honestly don't know why we don't embrace more cold weather compatible animals, so the zoo isn't completely empty during the winter. River Otters, beavers, Arctic Foxes, Ermines, wolverines, etc.

I did see the fact that they're going to have a lot more outdoor exhibits for the big cats, so that'll be nice.

skinzfan23 wrote: I understand your criticisms, but apparently you forgot that the zoo has some of the most amazing indoor exhibits of any zoo in the world. Jungle, desert and aquarium. Not to mention that the giraffe and elephants now both have new buildings that allow them to be on display during the winter months.

I have visited the zoo many times in the winter and agree that it is nice to see outdoor activity, but I can honestly say that we are probably in the minority. Most people don't venture outside the buildings in the winter and I don't blame them in the heart of January and February.

I think the zoo additions have all been amazing and added to the overall family atmosphere that the zoo is trying to achieve.

Brad wrote:

Professor Woland wrote:They were up the hill from the petting zoo. The otters were named Mork and Mindy. I think it was Mindy that died, she was quite old. I learned this from the docent.

Thanks for the info! There is nothing up that hill now, correct? That one building is closed, the wolves are out at the Safari Park, the baboons are in one of the other buildings.

TLGJames wrote:

Brad wrote:

Professor Woland wrote:They were up the hill from the petting zoo. The otters were named Mork and Mindy. I think it was Mindy that died, she was quite old. I learned this from the docent.

Thanks for the info! There is nothing up that hill now, correct? That one building is closed, the wolves are out at the Safari Park, the baboons are in one of the other buildings.

They moved the African Penguins up there for some unknown reason. Every time i see them, they're never even in the water. Somehow it makes sense to put the African Penguins in the farther part away from the Africa area, instead of a shared exhibit with the giraffes how it used to be.

I have no idea what they did with the African Wild Dogs. Yet another African animal that vanished with the new maintenance.

Professor Woland wrote:

TLGJames wrote:

Brad wrote:

Professor Woland wrote:They were up the hill from the petting zoo. The otters were named Mork and Mindy. I think it was Mindy that died, she was quite old. I learned this from the docent.

Thanks for the info! There is nothing up that hill now, correct? That one building is closed, the wolves are out at the Safari Park, the baboons are in one of the other buildings.

They moved the African Penguins up there for some unknown reason. Every time i see them, they're never even in the water. Somehow it makes sense to put the African Penguins in the farther part away from the Africa area, instead of a shared exhibit with the giraffes how it used to be.

I have no idea what they did with the African Wild Dogs. Yet another African animal that vanished with the new maintenance.

The African Wild Dogs are at the Safari Park now.

skinzfan23 wrote:Not that anyone would really want to, but are you allowed to go into the splash pad part even though it is closed for the season? Thought maybe some people would like to take pictures in there.

Greg S wrote:Yeah I'm not sure the African dogs were much of a loss at all.

Were they the animals years ago that died when they panicked and ran into fences when some domestic dogs got into the zoo and raised a ruckus?

Greg

thenewguy wrote:The water feature is, and would be, a bigger draw than the dogs, though......

TLGJames wrote:Do you honestly think a water feature is going to be useful from beyond End of May - Mid sep? Maybe 3.5 months at most. It's already closed. And you can't even check out the stuff, because it's got barriers up.

Stargazer wrote:The only two things which are a little disappointing at this point: 1) Rhinos still haven't shown up in giraffe/ostrich exhibit. 2) Elephants still haven't been able to roam free in the much larger exhibit area, beyond the RR tracks. Otherwise, I think it is outstanding, we were even able to feed a giraffe last time we were there.

Brad wrote:


Speaking of trained animals, the sea-lions were amazing! They were trained so well and did every thing the keepers told them to do. They are trained better than most people house dogs!

Stargazer wrote:The only two things which are a little disappointing at this point: 1) Rhinos still haven't shown up in giraffe/ostrich exhibit. 2) Elephants still haven't been able to roam free in the much larger exhibit area, beyond the RR tracks. Otherwise, I think it is outstanding, we were even able to feed a giraffe last time we were there.

Chris Peters - World-Herald staff writer wrote:Grévy’s zebras left the zoo permanently, destined for Miami and St. Louis. The zoo opted to replace Grévy’s zebras — which have larger ears, narrower stripes and are more threatened in the wild — with plains zebras, which now share a yard with elephants, impalas and others.

Around the same time, the zoo’s pair of dama gazelles departed for Columbus, Ohio. The biggest departure of all, a 14-member herd of addax, left then as well, splitting into two groups. Neither species aligned with the geographic theme of the African Grasslands, Cassidy said.

Two female addaxes moved to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, and the rest — two males and 10 females — moved to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas to join a herd of about 50 in a pasture that’s approximately 400 acres of grass, trees and hills in a drive-through park.

EATapodcast wrote:Maybe they'll do something about that sad to look at cat complex soon.

skinzfan23 wrote:According to the zoo's Facebook page, less than 10,000 more visitors needed to break the 2,000,000 barrier for the year. They have already set the all-time record.

skinzfan23 wrote:According to the zoo's Facebook page, less than 10,000 more visitors needed to break the 2,000,000 barrier for the year. They have already set the all-time record.

Chris Peters / World-Herald staff writer wrote:As of Monday afternoon, the zoo was about 400 visitors shy of the landmark figure of 2 million. The zoo expects to welcome its 2 millionth visitor sometime Tuesday.

Tornado wrote:Wow, that's really coming along nicely. Should be a great addition to the zoo, especially for the younger kids. I'm not sure what to think about having that major crosswalk for the new parking lot on that round corner. They might have to find a way to really slow traffic down or go with pedestrian-traffic lights.