As of December 2025, the Milwaukee County Zoo’s new indoor rhino and hippo habitats are officially open to the public. Known as the Ladish Co. Foundation Rhino Care Center, the exhibit marks the completion of the zoo’s long-running Adventure Africa project.
Construction on the new exhibit began in April 2024. The previous rhino habitat, built in 1950, no longer met modern standards, prompting the zoo to invest $22.6 million in the new Rhino Care Center and hippo habitat. The facility prioritizes animal care and wellbeing, incorporating research in habitat design, enrichment, behavior, nutrition, and reproduction.
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The combined indoor and outdoor exhibit spans 61,000 square feet, including 36,000 square feet of individual yards for rhinos, zebras, and red river hogs. It connects the former rhino and elephant habitats with redesigned pathways and close-up viewing opportunities for guests, creating an immersive experience that brings guests closer than ever to the animals.
“We are thrilled to have another indoor building to allow our guests to visit with the rhinos and our hippo indoors and get an up close and personal experience,” says Megan O’Shea, communications manager at Milwaukee County Zoo. While the outdoor areas are closed for the season, O’Shea says the public will be able to see the rhinos and hippos outside once the weather warms up.
The new eastern black rhinos, Kianga and Zuri, are now calling the center home. Zuri, age 16, arrived from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. Kianga, 22 years old, was brought from the Racine Zoo after living there for 18 years. According to O’Shea, zoo staff was allowed to visit before the public opening to get the rhinos used to people, and they have adapted well.
Eastern black rhinos are classified as critically endangered according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and there are currently there are ~55 Eastern black rhinos in North America living in human care across 27 zoos, O’Shea explains. The Milwaukee County Zoo paired Zuri and Kianga as part of their conservation efforts. “The hope is that they will breed in the future and produce calves,” says O’Shea.
The Zoological Society contributed nearly $7.4 million to the Ladish Co. Foundation Rhino Care Center. To commemorate the completion of the newly renovated habitat, the Society featured the eastern black rhinoceros on its annual holiday ornament last year. Each year, the Zoological Society highlights a different animal on the ornament, each handcrafted by local artist Andy Schumann. The black rhino ornament is available for purchase on the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s website.
