Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium

[nativeomahan]

Building permit in for Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium - Coastal Waters Sea Lions Exhibit

Unlike so many other developers with their announced projects, when the Zoo says they are going to build a project, you can pretty much take it to the bank that it will happen.

[Linkin5]

Building permit in for Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium - Coastal Waters Sea Lions Exhibit

Unlike so many other developers with their announced projects, when the Zoo says they are going to build a project, you can pretty much take it to the bank that it will happen.

Practically unlimited donor money is a beautiful thing.

[thenewguy]

Did anyone get a chance to see the preview video on ketv? I tried but cant get it to load.

[Brad]

I went to the zoo today, Absolutely Amazing! Every time I think the zoo can't get any better they take it to a whole other level!

Coastal Shores Construction

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Asian Highlands Exhibit

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Glacier Bay Landing

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[skinzfan23]

Wow, thanks for that photo journey through the new exhibits at the zoo. I was just there about 1-2 months ago and neither of those were quite open yet. I think the zoo has done an amazing job of putting the animals in more natural surroundings as well as expanding the guest experience and making it great, especially for children.

[Brad]

Wow, thanks for that photo journey through the new exhibits at the zoo. I was just there about 1-2 months ago and neither of those were quite open yet. I think the zoo has done an amazing job of putting the animals in more natural surroundings as well as expanding the guest experience and making it great, especially for children.

Your welcome. The news exhibits are great. Seeing the bear and tiger in such a huge exhibit with lots of real grass was so nice. I hated seeing them on all that concrete in their old exhibits.

[ita]

Wow, thanks for that photo journey through the new exhibits at the zoo. I was just there about 1-2 months ago and neither of those were quite open yet. I think the zoo has done an amazing job of putting the animals in more natural surroundings as well as expanding the guest experience and making it great, especially for children.

Your welcome. The news exhibits are great. Seeing the bear and tiger in such a huge exhibit with lots of real grass was so nice. I hated seeing them on all that concrete in their old exhibits.

Great photos! I went through half of the Asian Highlands exhibit a couple months ago. Really well done from what I saw, but those pictures really show the detail that they put into designing this project. The Alaskan village concession area is really neat too. I am eagerly awaiting, however, when they will introduce partners for those big cats so they are not by themselves (and so the zoo can have new cubs!).

[Brad]

Great photos! I went through half of the Asian Highlands exhibit a couple months ago. Really well done from what I saw, but those pictures really show the detail that they put into designing this project. The Alaskan village concession area is really neat too. I am eagerly awaiting, however, when they will introduce partners for those big cats so they are not by themselves (and so the zoo can have new cubs!).

Thanks! I heard the keeper telling someone that they have more than one tiger, but they are rotating days that they are on display.

[nativeomahan]

Those are excellent photographs. The exhibit looks wonderful even on a gloomy day.

[swgiust]

Wow! Very Disney-ish in landscape and layout. Great addition to the zoo and Omaha!

[Louie]

The design level on the Asian Highlands is spectacular.

[ScrattyB]

Nice! I'm glad to see we are catching up to other world-class zoos. Like others have mentioned, I'm glad we don't have to cringe at the cats in their concrete boxes anymore.

[skinzfan23]

Anyone know if there are still any cats in the old building? Also, what are the plans for the cat building. Is it going to be demolished for another new exhibit?

[Brad]

Anyone know if there are still any cats in the old building? Also, what are the plans for the cat building. Is it going to be demolished for another new exhibit?

It closed to the public on Friday and will be a "grass lawn" by fall. Looked like they already tore in to part of it yesterday for work on the Coastal Shores.

[daveoma]

Thank you for all the photos!

[Greg S]

Anyone know if there are still any cats in the old building? Also, what are the plans for the cat building. Is it going to be demolished for another new exhibit?

It closed to the public on Friday and will be a "grass lawn" by fall. Looked like they already tore in to part of it yesterday for work on the Coastal Shores.

Any idea where the Kimono Dragons went?

Greg

[Louie]

Anyone know if there are still any cats in the old building? Also, what are the plans for the cat building. Is it going to be demolished for another new exhibit?

It closed to the public on Friday and will be a "grass lawn" by fall. Looked like they already tore in to part of it yesterday for work on the Coastal Shores.

Any idea where the Kimono Dragons went?

Greg

Komodo? Or are these a bunch of fancy dragons?

[Greg S]

Anyone know if there are still any cats in the old building? Also, what are the plans for the cat building. Is it going to be demolished for another new exhibit?

It closed to the public on Friday and will be a "grass lawn" by fall. Looked like they already tore in to part of it yesterday for work on the Coastal Shores.

Any idea where the Kimono Dragons went?

Greg

Komodo? Or are these a bunch of fancy dragons?

I don't think I can even blame spellcheck either.....

[Linkin5]

[Louie]

For some reason, I hope that this picture was just out there on the internet and you didn't photoshop it.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Wow! These new exhibits are looking really good! I'll have to plan a trip there this summer.

[nativeomahan]

We went the other day. Surprisingly, while the zoo was crowded (by weekday standards), the new Asian Highland exhibit was not crowded at all.
I like the look and feel of the most recent additions to the zoo, and look forward to the Coastal Waters expansion next year. For now, I will say that the new area lacks many animals. We saw I believe 12 in the entire Asian Highland exhibit. About half were either sleeping in shady nooks in the stone or were hiding out in the far back recesses of their spaces. I suspect that the zoo will “grow into” these new areas as more animals are born or acquired. I sure hope so.
The new food areas do make me happy. They are upping the food game by a notch or two. And there are hundreds of tables and seats for diners to eat at, many under shady metal umbrellas.

[Greg S]

We went the other day. Surprisingly, while the zoo was crowded (by weekday standards), the new Asian Highland exhibit was not crowded at all.
I like the look and feel of the most recent additions to the zoo, and look forward to the Coastal Waters expansion next year. For now, I will say that the new area lacks many animals. We saw I believe 12 in the entire Asian Highland exhibit. About half were either sleeping in shady nooks in the stone or were hiding out in the far back recesses of their spaces. I suspect that the zoo will “grow into” these new areas as more animals are born or acquired. I sure hope so.
The new food areas do make me happy. They are upping the food game by a notch or two. And there are hundreds of tables and seats for diners to eat at, many under shady metal umbrellas.

We went the Sunday of Memorial Day and I agree with a lot of the above. For as crowded as the zoo got, the new Asian area wasn't too bad. We also noticed the lack of animals there. We went through it twice and never saw a tiger or one of the sloth bears either.

The new food area that replaced the petting zoo looked great.

Also the Coast Waters area looks like it's going to be huge.

Greg

[Spatial77]

We went the other day. Surprisingly, while the zoo was crowded (by weekday standards), the new Asian Highland exhibit was not crowded at all.
I like the look and feel of the most recent additions to the zoo, and look forward to the Coastal Waters expansion next year. For now, I will say that the new area lacks many animals. We saw I believe 12 in the entire Asian Highland exhibit. About half were either sleeping in shady nooks in the stone or were hiding out in the far back recesses of their spaces. I suspect that the zoo will “grow into” these new areas as more animals are born or acquired. I sure hope so.
The new food areas do make me happy. They are upping the food game by a notch or two. And there are hundreds of tables and seats for diners to eat at, many under shady metal umbrellas.

We went the Sunday of Memorial Day and I agree with a lot of the above. For as crowded as the zoo got, the new Asian area wasn't too bad. We also noticed the lack of animals there. We went through it twice and never saw a tiger or one of the sloth bears either.

The new food area that replaced the petting zoo looked great.

Also the Coast Waters area looks like it's going to be huge.

Greg

I think the “lack of animals” may be an “issue” going forward. The zoo is creating larger enclosures for the animals so there aren’t going to be exhibits like the old Cat House where you can see lots of animals in small enclosures in a small footprint. Tigers and leopards are generally solitary, so you will probably only see one animal exhibited at a time unless a female has cubs. Bears are also solitary so the same problem. The herd animal exhibits will probably be more satisfying.

I see the Zoo has pulled a building permit on March 19 for a $15 million dollar renovation and 839 square foot addition to the Scott Aquarium. I am not sure what that involves.

[ita]

We went the other day. Surprisingly, while the zoo was crowded (by weekday standards), the new Asian Highland exhibit was not crowded at all.
I like the look and feel of the most recent additions to the zoo, and look forward to the Coastal Waters expansion next year. For now, I will say that the new area lacks many animals. We saw I believe 12 in the entire Asian Highland exhibit. About half were either sleeping in shady nooks in the stone or were hiding out in the far back recesses of their spaces. I suspect that the zoo will “grow into” these new areas as more animals are born or acquired. I sure hope so.
The new food areas do make me happy. They are upping the food game by a notch or two. And there are hundreds of tables and seats for diners to eat at, many under shady metal umbrellas.

We went the Sunday of Memorial Day and I agree with a lot of the above. For as crowded as the zoo got, the new Asian area wasn't too bad. We also noticed the lack of animals there. We went through it twice and never saw a tiger or one of the sloth bears either.

The new food area that replaced the petting zoo looked great.

Also the Coast Waters area looks like it's going to be huge.

Greg

I think the “lack of animals” may be an “issue” going forward. The zoo is creating larger enclosures for the animals so there aren’t going to be exhibits like the old Cat House where you can see lots of animals in small enclosures in a small footprint. Tigers and leopards are generally solitary, so you will probably only see one animal exhibited at a time unless a female has cubs. Bears are also solitary so the same problem. The herd animal exhibits will probably be more satisfying.

I see the Zoo has pulled a building permit on March 19 for a $15 million dollar renovation and 839 square foot addition to the Scott Aquarium. I am not sure what that involves.

I agree with your comments concerning the lack of animals. As stated in some of the articles though, for the solitary animals in the Asian Highland Exhibit, like the leopard and Amur tiger, they intend to integrate a female, which should result in cubs. It does feel empty when there is one animal in the exhibit and smaller, tighter exhibits helped make it seem like there were more animals, but the animals should be happier, healthier, livelier with more space to roam and play, so it should still result in a animal viewing good experience. Plus, the enclosures and surrounding areas are really impressive and an attraction themselves.

[Uffda]

Callee the elephant is 'the best bull we could've gotten for our girls,' Omaha zoo director says
https://www.omaha.com/news/metro/callee ... 707f5.html

Two black vans escorted a truck carrying a large gray prism of a crate to the zoo’s back gate about 9 a.m. Inside the crate was Omaha’s newest resident — Callee, a bull African elephant.

Callee’s arrival brings the number of African elephants at the zoo to seven. It also gives the zoo a male who could breed with the five female elephants — the herd’s other male, Louie, hasn’t been “up to the task” of breeding, Zoo Director Dennis Pate said.

[ita]

We went the other day. Surprisingly, while the zoo was crowded (by weekday standards), the new Asian Highland exhibit was not crowded at all.
I like the look and feel of the most recent additions to the zoo, and look forward to the Coastal Waters expansion next year. For now, I will say that the new area lacks many animals. We saw I believe 12 in the entire Asian Highland exhibit. About half were either sleeping in shady nooks in the stone or were hiding out in the far back recesses of their spaces. I suspect that the zoo will “grow into” these new areas as more animals are born or acquired. I sure hope so.
The new food areas do make me happy. They are upping the food game by a notch or two. And there are hundreds of tables and seats for diners to eat at, many under shady metal umbrellas.

We went the Sunday of Memorial Day and I agree with a lot of the above. For as crowded as the zoo got, the new Asian area wasn't too bad. We also noticed the lack of animals there. We went through it twice and never saw a tiger or one of the sloth bears either.

The new food area that replaced the petting zoo looked great.

Also the Coast Waters area looks like it's going to be huge.

Greg

I think the “lack of animals” may be an “issue” going forward. The zoo is creating larger enclosures for the animals so there aren’t going to be exhibits like the old Cat House where you can see lots of animals in small enclosures in a small footprint. Tigers and leopards are generally solitary, so you will probably only see one animal exhibited at a time unless a female has cubs. Bears are also solitary so the same problem. The herd animal exhibits will probably be more satisfying.

I see the Zoo has pulled a building permit on March 19 for a $15 million dollar renovation and 839 square foot addition to the Scott Aquarium. I am not sure what that involves.

OWH published an article on the aquarium update, but I do not see any mention of an addition. Is it related to the additional window at the cafe or changes to the entrance/exit?

https://www.omaha.com/living/zoo/holy-m ... d7e1d.html

[Greg S]

I would imagine the expansion is tied in with the extra window and entrance and exits. For that size of a building 839 sq feet is pretty insignificant.

Greg

[skinzfan23]

Here is the rendering:

[Brad]

Went to the Zoo again today. The Aquarium is a crowded mess right now. They have a Temporary Entrance and Exit and its really a tight fit. Basically a gravel sidewalk to the reception hall entrance, then in to the aquarium after the tunnel and you must go away from the tunnel. When you get to the gift shop, its through a single door in to the beginning of the aquarium. After you leave the jelly fish area its back in to the hallway by the reception hall and out the back door to a gravel walk and up by the former nursery building.

The new male Elephant was outside on the west side of the tracks, the females were all on the east side of the tracks.

[Spatial77]

According to a news item from the Omaha Zoo Foundation website posted June 25 under “Omaha Does Coast at Zoofari” the zoo is expecting a baby rhino around Labor Day. For those of you with big bucks you can bid for naming rights.

[Spatial77]

According to a news item from the Omaha Zoo Foundation website posted June 25 under “Omaha Does Coast at Zoofari” the zoo is expecting a baby rhino around Labor Day. For those of you with big bucks you can bid for naming rights.

The blurb doesn’t specify whether it is the Indian or White Rhinoceros.

[Greg S]

Wil be interesting to see if they are ever able to figure out a way to use the land in the NW corner again.

Greg

[Brad]

Wil be interesting to see if they are ever able to figure out a way to use the land in the NW corner again.

I doubt it, seems like they need that room for support buildings. They built a new building up there in 2013 and a new parking lot for the old building up there in 2014 or 2015.

[Greg S]

Wil be interesting to see if they are ever able to figure out a way to use the land in the NW corner again.

I doubt it, seems like they need that room for support buildings. They built a new building up there in 2013 and a new parking lot for the old building up there in 2014 or 2015.

That would make sense. I know in their master plan they had something planned for up there but then had an issue because of sewer work that would need to be done.



Greg

[Spatial77]

Per the article in the Weird Jerald it looks like the zoo plans to continue the Alaskan coastal theme with plans for polar bear and brown bear exhibits, sea otters and lynx. Plans to move the carrousel and train station to where the sea lion pool is now.

[ita]

Per the article in the Weird Jerald it looks like the zoo plans to continue the Alaskan coastal theme with plans for polar bear and brown bear exhibits, sea otters and lynx. Plans to move the carrousel and train station to where the sea lion pool is now.

The article has some great pictures of the plan and renderings. They are making good progress on it. That area of the zoo will be almost all brand new in the next couple years.

[skinzfan23]

Here are the renderings:

[Greg S]

Bummer it's not opening until next Fall but it looks awesome.

Hoping they get moving on the brown and polar bears project soon (though it seems like it's still in the planning and fund raising phase).

Greg

[Coyote]

Zoo welcomes two new king penguin chicks

The Omaha zoo currently has a population of 24 king penguins: 13 males, nine females and the chicks. As of June 2018, the North American population of king penguins was 283 individuals in 15 institutions.