The Milwaukee County Zoo’s rhinos can now go outside for recess.
The zoo is celebrating the opening of the renovated outdoor habitats at its new Ladish Co. Foundation Rhino Care Center with a day of themed activities from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 2.
Those activities will include behind-the-scenes tours and zookeeper question-and-answer sessions about the rhinos at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
In October the zoo welcomed a pair of eastern black rhinos: Zuri, a 16-year-old female from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden; and Kianga, a 22-year-old male from the Racine Zoo. The two rhinos have been paired as potential breeding partners via the multi-zoo Eastern Black Rhino Species Survival Plan.
Then, in December, the zoo opened its new Rhino Care Center and Robert Dohmen Hippo Indoor Haven. which is occupied by the zoo’s longtime resident hippo, Happy. A zookeeper will have a hippo Q&A session at 1 p.m. May 2.
With warming temperatures, the three animals can now enjoy the 36,000-square-foot outdoor yards, which include individual spaces for rhinos, hippo and red river hogs.
Opening the Rhino Care Center and Hippo Indoor Haven completes the final phase of the zoo’s Adventure Africa project, which began with the opening of the Elephant Care Center and mixed species habitats in 2019.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Zoo opening renovated outdoor space for rhinos
Reporting by Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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