Zoo News

The Akron Zoo is holding a naming contest for its new white-cheeked gibbon infant. The contest, presented by Akron Children’s Hospital, runs Wednesday, Jan. 12 – Wednesday, Jan. 26. The public can vote on a name at akronzoo.org/naming-contest.

The Akron Zoo has received a $1.5 million estate gift, which is the largest estate gift in the zoo’s history. The executor of the estate has requested to keep the donor’s name anonymous. The gift supports the zoo’s conservation efforts to protect critically endangered species.

For the first time in its history, the Akron Zoo has welcomed a white-cheeked gibbon baby. The zoo’s female gibbon, Parker, gave birth on Thursday, Dec. 9 around 9 p.m. The baby is doing well. The gibbon family will make their debut in the zoo’s indoor habitat on Saturday, Dec. 18. 

The Akron Zoo is heartbroken to share the passing of their female snow leopard, Shanti. Shanti’s health began to decline in the last few days and her care team made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize Shanti on Dec. 14.

The Akron Zoo has achieved LEED v4 certification for its two new areas, Landon & Cynthia Knight Pride of Africa and Lehner Family Foundation Wild Asia. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). 

The animals at the Akron Zoo have started receiving vaccinations for COVID-19. The zoo plans to vaccinate all of its COVID-vulnerable species – Sumatran tigers, lions, snow leopards, jaguar, white-cheeked gibbon, golden lion tamarins, lemurs, ambassador straw-colored fruit bats, river otters, skunk, red wolves, coyotes, red pandas, Speke’s gazelles, goats and alpacas.

The African lions at the Akron Zoo have received presumptive positive test results for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The Akron Zoo is home to five lions – males Tamarr and Donovan and females Mandisa, Kataba and Msinga. 

The Akron Zoo is sad to share the passing of their Himalayan tahr, Amanda. At 20 years old, Amanda was the oldest Himalayan tahr on record in North America and the third oldest tahr globally. 

Amanda’s care team noticed a decline in her health recently and our vet team performed a full exam, which confirmed the progression of several age-related conditions. The difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize her. 

The Akron Zoo has received a grant of $68,000 over the course of two years for their diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion (DEAI) initiatives. This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant ME-249297-OMS 21.

For the first time in its history, an Andean condor chick has hatched at the Akron Zoo. The male chick hatched on Friday, July 23 and is doing well. His parents are the zoo’s two Andean condors, Grock and Carlotta.