GraysonDP
Well-Known Member
Memphis Zoo
Date of Visit: July 2009
When I visited the Memphis Zoo in the summer of 2009, I quite enjoyed it largely because I was impressed by the amount of detail and cultural immersion in its themed complexes. However, looking back I realized the quality of the exhibits at many places is quite subpar. Teton Trek and Zambezi River Hippo Camp seem to be wonderful additions to the zoo but they had not opened at the time of my visit. It has many characteristics of a truly great zoo but has a long way to go in terms of raising the quality of its exhibits.
Excellent
Cat Country- The best taxidermally-organized big cat exhibit I have ever seen. While none of the habitats are best of their kind, I consider this a quite good collection of exhibits. Lions live in a decent sized exhibit surrounded by a water-filled moat. The grassy yard is quite nice with a good amount of deadfalls, rocks for them to lie on and enrichments while the rocky backdrops are simple but effective. At points the habitat can be viewed through wire, allowing guests to get quite close. I especially like the tall grass. Not one of the best lion exhibits but definitely a good one. A tiger exhibit takes a ruined temple theme (quite similar to the one at Zoo Miami), has a crashing waterfall in the background, a solid pool/moat at the front and plenty of enrichments. I usually am not a big ruined-temple fan but it works fine there and like the lion exhibit this habitat is quite good but not state-of-the-art. I especially like the deepness of the water and lushness of the yard.
A cheetah exhibit is smaller than many at other zoos but decent and filled with termite mounds, quite a bit of vegetation and huge boulders as backdrops. A jaguar exhibit is average at best with too much mock rock and too little space. A clouded leopard habitat is surprisingly good with a good amount of climbing opportunities and some nicely designed details. A snow leopard exhibit is decent if unspectacular with lots of enrichments and climbing structures. Fishing cats have a good habitat with a good amount of water and vertical space. A leopard exhibit is quite weak. Ocelots have a great exhibit with a nice stream in the middle and plenty of hiding and climbing opportunities. Caracals have a nice habitat with a few great trees. A few noncat species are found in the complex as well. Red pandas have an excellent exhibit that’s quite spacious and naturalistic. Capybaras have a decent habitat with a pool and a land area that’s quite plain. Meerkats have an exhibit that could use more sand. At the time of my visit, Cat Country was the best part of the zoo and it holds up fairly well.
Northwest Passage- An excellent exhibit in terms of theming and detail although the habitats are of mixed quality. Polar bears live in a decent habitat that looks like it has been modeled partially after exhibits at San Diego and Toledo. The land area is not that impressive with a lot of brown rock but the pool is quite big and great for the bears to swim in. Also, ample enrichments can be found including lots of logs and a nice waterfall. I would say it wouldn’t make my top five list of polar bear exhibits I have seen but it wouldn’t be far off. Sea lions have a nice rocky exhibit that’s quite well designed and has great underwater viewing panels. The detail here is admirable and it is one of the better pinniped exhibits I have seen. The bald eagle exhibit is amazing with a great amount of height and naturalism. A black bear habitat is average-sized but has a good amount of enrichment and a nice pool. Ultimately I give this section a thumbs up and enjoyed visiting it.
Dragon’s Lair- One of the best Komodo dragon exhibits I have ever seen. For one, it is actually outside and has plenty of grass and space. It is well designed and fairly naturalistic. The backdrops are quite well done and the yards are well planted.
Animals of the Night- One of the few nocturnal houses left in America and quite a good one. It houses aardvarks, armadillos, African crested porcupines, tamanduas, lorises, genets, vampire bats, binturongs, kinkajous, mongoose lemurs, naked mole rats, prehensile-tailed porcupines, sloths, wombats, owl monkeys, bushbabies and others in mostly good exhibits.
Average
China- I love the idea of an exhibit focusing on the wildlife and culture of one country and from a visitor standpoint this complex works perfectly. The architecture is some of the best I have ever seen in a zoo exhibit. White-cheek gibbons and Asian small-clawed otters (now macaques) live in a decently sized habitat that has a great body of water for swimming but lacks sufficient climbing and enrichment opportunities for the primates. A netted langur exhibit is much better with tons of ropes, climbing structures and enrichments although not incredibly naturalistic. Pere David’s deer and white-napped cranes share a large yard with a large pool in the middle and trees for shade. A Chinese aviary is quite good as well. The stars of the show are the giant pandas but unfortunately their habitat is quite weak. Their yard is fairly small with some enrichments and climbing structures but for arguably the most popular zoo animal around this habitat is shockingly lacking in immersion in quality. China as a whole has a great concept and some wonderful qualities but some shortcomings that are not unnoticeable.
Primate Canyon- A so-so area that is average at best. The gorilla exhibit is quite underwhelming in comparison to others in the nation since it lacks trees, space and naturalism. It is dominated by tall fake wooden structures with ropes between them and a rocky backdrop that doesn’t have much detail or character. Quite weak in my opinion. An orangutan and siamang exhibit fares slightly better with a decent amount of height and enrichment. A waterfall and stream run through the habitat. Bonobos have a plain habitat that is surprisingly weak. It reminds me a lot of the orangutan exhibit at the Columbus Zoo- quite bare and with really fake, distracting walls. Disgusting. Baboons have a small, mediocre habitat filled with mock rock and lacking in climbing opportunities. Gibbons have an excellent island habitat with a good amount of ropes and climbing opportunities. A patas monkey exhibit is alright with some enrichments. Colobus monkeys and guenons have quite good exhibits with lots of climbing opportunities and ropes.
Poor
Aquarium- Outdated building that needs to be replaced very soon.
Herpetarium- Another old building that should also be renovated or replaced.
Round Barn- Ancient, barren and uninspiring yards for red river hogs, gerenuks, klipspringers, addra gazelles, warthongs, dik diks, hornbills and cranes.
Penguin Rock- A mock rock monstrosity that looks like it was built in the 1930s. It fails to achieve naturalism or detail at the simplest level. Disgusting.
African Veldt- Quite possibly the worst African section I’ve seen at any zoo. A giraffe exhibit is naked bare and small. The lack of any evidence of plants or naturalism is shocking and unacceptable. Not to mention the walls are all concrete and quite an eyesore. Zebras and scimitar horned oryx live in a similar yard that is all sand and lacking in any enrichment and minimal vegetation. Bonteboks have a horrible exhibit as well. Bongos, Grant’s gazelles and ostriches have a nice grassy yard with a few grown trees that stands out strongly amongst its mediocre neighbors. Finally, African elephants and white rhinoceroses have some of the very worst paddocks around for their species. An elephant exhibit has a giant pool but the yard is a sterile, morbid disaster. It is tiny and lacks any effort at immersion, naturalism or enrichment. White rhinos have an even smaller exhibit that’s similarly barren and devoid of vegetation. Yuck. Keeping so many lovely large mammals in these settings is unacceptable and greatly diminishes the quality of this zoo.
Hippo Pool (Extinct)- Fortunately the hippos have moved to the new, seemingly amazing Zambezi River Hippo Camp but trust me when I say this hippo pool was the most atrocious thing I ever saw in my life.
In many ways, Memphis is an inverse of Nashville in the same state. Nashville lacks a strong comprehensive collection and immersive themed complexes but has many stellar individual habitats that are among the best of their kind. On the other hand, Memphis has both of the former but is at best mixed in terms of exhibit quality. I’m sure I would like the zoo better seeing Teton Trek and Zambezi River Hippo Camp but the reality is the dreadful African Veldt and subpart Primate Canyon still remain. I would probably place this zoo around 30-35 on an America’s best zoos list.
Date of Visit: July 2009
When I visited the Memphis Zoo in the summer of 2009, I quite enjoyed it largely because I was impressed by the amount of detail and cultural immersion in its themed complexes. However, looking back I realized the quality of the exhibits at many places is quite subpar. Teton Trek and Zambezi River Hippo Camp seem to be wonderful additions to the zoo but they had not opened at the time of my visit. It has many characteristics of a truly great zoo but has a long way to go in terms of raising the quality of its exhibits.
Excellent
Cat Country- The best taxidermally-organized big cat exhibit I have ever seen. While none of the habitats are best of their kind, I consider this a quite good collection of exhibits. Lions live in a decent sized exhibit surrounded by a water-filled moat. The grassy yard is quite nice with a good amount of deadfalls, rocks for them to lie on and enrichments while the rocky backdrops are simple but effective. At points the habitat can be viewed through wire, allowing guests to get quite close. I especially like the tall grass. Not one of the best lion exhibits but definitely a good one. A tiger exhibit takes a ruined temple theme (quite similar to the one at Zoo Miami), has a crashing waterfall in the background, a solid pool/moat at the front and plenty of enrichments. I usually am not a big ruined-temple fan but it works fine there and like the lion exhibit this habitat is quite good but not state-of-the-art. I especially like the deepness of the water and lushness of the yard.
A cheetah exhibit is smaller than many at other zoos but decent and filled with termite mounds, quite a bit of vegetation and huge boulders as backdrops. A jaguar exhibit is average at best with too much mock rock and too little space. A clouded leopard habitat is surprisingly good with a good amount of climbing opportunities and some nicely designed details. A snow leopard exhibit is decent if unspectacular with lots of enrichments and climbing structures. Fishing cats have a good habitat with a good amount of water and vertical space. A leopard exhibit is quite weak. Ocelots have a great exhibit with a nice stream in the middle and plenty of hiding and climbing opportunities. Caracals have a nice habitat with a few great trees. A few noncat species are found in the complex as well. Red pandas have an excellent exhibit that’s quite spacious and naturalistic. Capybaras have a decent habitat with a pool and a land area that’s quite plain. Meerkats have an exhibit that could use more sand. At the time of my visit, Cat Country was the best part of the zoo and it holds up fairly well.
Northwest Passage- An excellent exhibit in terms of theming and detail although the habitats are of mixed quality. Polar bears live in a decent habitat that looks like it has been modeled partially after exhibits at San Diego and Toledo. The land area is not that impressive with a lot of brown rock but the pool is quite big and great for the bears to swim in. Also, ample enrichments can be found including lots of logs and a nice waterfall. I would say it wouldn’t make my top five list of polar bear exhibits I have seen but it wouldn’t be far off. Sea lions have a nice rocky exhibit that’s quite well designed and has great underwater viewing panels. The detail here is admirable and it is one of the better pinniped exhibits I have seen. The bald eagle exhibit is amazing with a great amount of height and naturalism. A black bear habitat is average-sized but has a good amount of enrichment and a nice pool. Ultimately I give this section a thumbs up and enjoyed visiting it.
Dragon’s Lair- One of the best Komodo dragon exhibits I have ever seen. For one, it is actually outside and has plenty of grass and space. It is well designed and fairly naturalistic. The backdrops are quite well done and the yards are well planted.
Animals of the Night- One of the few nocturnal houses left in America and quite a good one. It houses aardvarks, armadillos, African crested porcupines, tamanduas, lorises, genets, vampire bats, binturongs, kinkajous, mongoose lemurs, naked mole rats, prehensile-tailed porcupines, sloths, wombats, owl monkeys, bushbabies and others in mostly good exhibits.
Average
China- I love the idea of an exhibit focusing on the wildlife and culture of one country and from a visitor standpoint this complex works perfectly. The architecture is some of the best I have ever seen in a zoo exhibit. White-cheek gibbons and Asian small-clawed otters (now macaques) live in a decently sized habitat that has a great body of water for swimming but lacks sufficient climbing and enrichment opportunities for the primates. A netted langur exhibit is much better with tons of ropes, climbing structures and enrichments although not incredibly naturalistic. Pere David’s deer and white-napped cranes share a large yard with a large pool in the middle and trees for shade. A Chinese aviary is quite good as well. The stars of the show are the giant pandas but unfortunately their habitat is quite weak. Their yard is fairly small with some enrichments and climbing structures but for arguably the most popular zoo animal around this habitat is shockingly lacking in immersion in quality. China as a whole has a great concept and some wonderful qualities but some shortcomings that are not unnoticeable.
Primate Canyon- A so-so area that is average at best. The gorilla exhibit is quite underwhelming in comparison to others in the nation since it lacks trees, space and naturalism. It is dominated by tall fake wooden structures with ropes between them and a rocky backdrop that doesn’t have much detail or character. Quite weak in my opinion. An orangutan and siamang exhibit fares slightly better with a decent amount of height and enrichment. A waterfall and stream run through the habitat. Bonobos have a plain habitat that is surprisingly weak. It reminds me a lot of the orangutan exhibit at the Columbus Zoo- quite bare and with really fake, distracting walls. Disgusting. Baboons have a small, mediocre habitat filled with mock rock and lacking in climbing opportunities. Gibbons have an excellent island habitat with a good amount of ropes and climbing opportunities. A patas monkey exhibit is alright with some enrichments. Colobus monkeys and guenons have quite good exhibits with lots of climbing opportunities and ropes.
Poor
Aquarium- Outdated building that needs to be replaced very soon.
Herpetarium- Another old building that should also be renovated or replaced.
Round Barn- Ancient, barren and uninspiring yards for red river hogs, gerenuks, klipspringers, addra gazelles, warthongs, dik diks, hornbills and cranes.
Penguin Rock- A mock rock monstrosity that looks like it was built in the 1930s. It fails to achieve naturalism or detail at the simplest level. Disgusting.
African Veldt- Quite possibly the worst African section I’ve seen at any zoo. A giraffe exhibit is naked bare and small. The lack of any evidence of plants or naturalism is shocking and unacceptable. Not to mention the walls are all concrete and quite an eyesore. Zebras and scimitar horned oryx live in a similar yard that is all sand and lacking in any enrichment and minimal vegetation. Bonteboks have a horrible exhibit as well. Bongos, Grant’s gazelles and ostriches have a nice grassy yard with a few grown trees that stands out strongly amongst its mediocre neighbors. Finally, African elephants and white rhinoceroses have some of the very worst paddocks around for their species. An elephant exhibit has a giant pool but the yard is a sterile, morbid disaster. It is tiny and lacks any effort at immersion, naturalism or enrichment. White rhinos have an even smaller exhibit that’s similarly barren and devoid of vegetation. Yuck. Keeping so many lovely large mammals in these settings is unacceptable and greatly diminishes the quality of this zoo.
Hippo Pool (Extinct)- Fortunately the hippos have moved to the new, seemingly amazing Zambezi River Hippo Camp but trust me when I say this hippo pool was the most atrocious thing I ever saw in my life.
In many ways, Memphis is an inverse of Nashville in the same state. Nashville lacks a strong comprehensive collection and immersive themed complexes but has many stellar individual habitats that are among the best of their kind. On the other hand, Memphis has both of the former but is at best mixed in terms of exhibit quality. I’m sure I would like the zoo better seeing Teton Trek and Zambezi River Hippo Camp but the reality is the dreadful African Veldt and subpart Primate Canyon still remain. I would probably place this zoo around 30-35 on an America’s best zoos list.
