Behold the hippopotamus

In addition to bleating "It's been in our master plan for 20 years" every time we squeeze 'em, our fine furry friends at the Memphis Zoo say they were not trying to surprise anyone with the clearcut for Teton Wreck. After all, they did put up signs announcing it.

But the sign also announces the Zambezi River Hippo Camp and lacks a map of either exhibit, so I failed to observe a connection between the location of this sign and the brutal clearcut that was about to happen behind that green fence.

If the above sign was intended to mark the location of Teton Dreck, I'm really starting to wonder what the Memphis Zoo is trying to communicate by the placement of this identical sign:

It's within sight of the panda gift shop and carousel, and that wall is the backside of the Primate Canyon exhibit. Does this location make any sense?

Can we expect Hippopotamus vs. Orangutan All-Star Wrestling in the spring of 2010? Or maybe a happy little ungulate/primate commune in which the siamangs take over the treetops while the hippos and crocs prowl Lick Creek, dreaming of sloppy okapi for lunch? I'm so confused.

Here are the two Teton/Zambezi signs glommed on top of a Memphis Zoo map, so you can see their locations for yourself:

The Memphis Zoo says they plan to take a break from clearcutting and redevelop existing exhibits for the Zambezi River project, instead, but it sure would be nice if they had a public map to prove it.

Note: This is the easternmost third of the official Memphis Zoo map. This is the only map available to visitors. Where is Teton Trek, you ask? Out there, where the map ends and unicorns frolic with leprechauns in fountains of champagne.