Humongous Hippos
Are you more like Happy or Patti? The hippopotamus pair at the Zoo’s new Dohmen Family Foundation Hippo Haven have super distinct personalities. Patti’s a chill hippo – she likes to hang out at the indoor pool in the shade. Happy’s more of a goofball, spending his days in the new outdoor habitat, swimming around and rubbing his gigantic nose up against the glass. But they’re both a lot of fun (and weigh a whole lot). Happy’s 5,300 pounds – that’s the same as about 30 adult humans.
Epic Elephants
We’re lucky to live in Milwaukee – it’s the only Zoo in the region with elephants. Chicago doesn’t have one; Minneapolis doesn’t have one; but we have three: Ruth, Brittany and Belle. The flappy-eared trio hang out in their big, new home at the Zoo’s Adventure Africa Elephant Habitat, where they roam, feed from hanging baskets, and if you stop by for the Zoo’s Halloween event in October, smash huge pumpkins.
Outrageous Oryx
Do you know what a scimitar-horned oryx is? They’re unique animals with long, curved horns (like scimitars, a type of sword). The Zoo has two half-sisters, Moza and Zahara, who are only 1 year old and Babe, a 6-year-old. The three of them are pretty tight (oryx naturally spend time in herds), so if you stop by, you’ll probably catch them hanging out together. The animals’ natural habitat is the desert, and they can go days without a single sip of water.
Precious Pandas
Red pandas are sort of like cats, pandas and raccoons all rolled into one tiny package – and they’re so cute. The red panda crew at the Zoo climbs and crawls around their habitat, adorable as all heck. The red panda babies start out life so tiny they can fit in a person’s hand. (Did we mention they’re very cute?)
Sweet Seals
A new member is joining the squad at the Zoo’s Harbor Seal Habitat. The new seal, which just arrived in April, joins three playful buddies who spend the days swimming and messing around. During the summer, guests can watch these torpedo-like mammals take their feeding every day at 3 p.m.
Grand Gorillas in Virtual Reality
Hang out up close and personal with these jungle creatures at the Zoo’s Gorilla Trek Virtual Reality Experience. Pop on a headset, and you’ll get a 360-degree live action view of gorillas in Rwanda. From inches away, you’ll see mama gorillas caring for their babies, and the males battling for dominance. It’s the closest you’ll get to being one of the gorillas yourself.
Coming Soon! Rocking Rhinos
Wait for it … in 2025 or shortly after, the Zoo is planning to welcome back rhinoceroses. The gray giants will get their own special enclosure where you can watch them roaming the fields. Keep an eye out for announcements from the Zoo so you can be the first to see the horned heavyweights when they arrive.
