Elmwood Park Zoo, part 3

 I'm not sharing images from every part of the zoo, because some are just picnic areas, playgrounds, or had no animals present.

Following the pathway along the Stone Creek side all the way to the south entrance the major species habitat belongs to the American Bison.  When I visited in 2017 there were four animals.  Now, there is just one.  I asked a keeper about this wondering if letting the dwindle was part of the Master Plan which intends to relocate the North American wildlife habitats across Stone Creek in what is a wooded undeveloped area of the park today.  She said, no.  It's that the others reached the end of their natural lives, and was deemed too unsettling to introduce younger bison to the lone older one.  

At the very end where there had been a Black-tailed Prairie Dog colony, the habitat was closed.  Instead there was an open air art exhibition called "Project Holocene" by Russell Ronat.  The large mixed-media works are part of a much larger set.  These 10 were selected because they represent animals within the zoo's collection now or in the near future.  Elements of the exhibit have been displayed at many other zoos over the years.

Returning north toward the entrance across from the American Bison habitat is a wooded area with an Elk habitat and a zip
line course.  The future, this entire area will be transformed into a series of Asian Animal habitats including Amur Tigers, Malayan Tapirs, Red Panda, Komodo Dragons and a species of Hornbill.  The funding is largely in place, and construction will begin once the new entrance complex is finished in early 2024.

The American Bison habitat is flanked by a covered platform meant to look loosely like the platform of a train station, and a caboose that contains a mini-museum of artifacts, interactive displays telling the story of the American Bison's history and biology.

"Project Holocene" by Russell Ronat

I think the sloth was my favorite.

Red Pandas and Jaguars are among the zoo's most popular animals.  The zoo participates in the SSP (Species Survival Project) for both.

Just as I was walking away, and extended family of a young girl, her parents and a set of grandparents entered.  I then overheard the following conversation:

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't know...an owl?"

"Maybe an eagle?"

"No wait, come over here.  It might be a bee."

"OH, yeah.  I think you're right."

And I thought...keep walking.