Summer Road Trip

Memphis Zoo

The Elite:

- Zambezi River Hippo Camp: This is the best hippo exhibit I've seen and is joined by the best Nile crocodile exhibit I've seen, good exhibits for flamingos, mandrills, and two decent enclosures featuring okapi, yellow- blacked duiker, and nyala. The hippo exhibit is massive with a huge and long pool as well as a significant land area. There is also open viewing from ground level and above as well as tons on viewing through glass, with much of that being under water viewing. There's also 3 hippos on exhibit including a youngin, so that's a plus. The crocodile exhibit is of a similar style and quality to the hippo exhibit.

The Very Good:

Teton Trek: It was too hot for the animals in this exhibit, but the Yellowstone theming was really good, the grizzly exhibit was huge and well done, the wolves had a very nice exhibit, there was a very good aquatic bird exhibit, and a standard elk exhibit.

- Northwest Passage: This exhibit features really good exhibits for polar and black bears, sea lions, and bald eagles / ravens. There's a good Native American theme as well. However, just like Teton Trek, the weather was too hot for these species.

- Animals of the Night: This is a really good nocturnal house which reverses day and night to improve the visitor experience. I toured the building in the morning shortly before they turned the lights off, which made for a great experience with active animals and superb visibility. I'm not going to go through each species and exhibit, but the building houses a strong collection and pretty good exhibits, although many could be larger.


Above Average:

- China: Good exhibits for pandas here and decent to good exhibits for the other animals in the exhibit. The theming and signing is strong as well.

- Primate Canyon: This area features a great collection of apes and a few monkeys and lemurs. The exhibitry is generally good enough to put this in the very good category with the exception of the way too small bonobo exhibit.

Average:

- Much of the rest of the zoo would roughly fall into this category but what I'll focus on is Cat Country: This exhibit complex has a strong collection of cats as well as red pandas, but the exhibits are mostly about average. The red panda exhibit is actually quite good and allows the pandas to climb trees to great heights as we witnessed, the lion and cheetah exhibits are of good size, while the tiger exhibit has some bells and whistles with a waterfall flowing over a temple backdrop and glass and open viewing, but it is smaller than I'd like. Speaking of small exhibits, the remaining big cats that require a top to their exhibit all were in rather small enclosures. This area offers a good collection and viewing opportunities, but the size of some of its enclosures keeps it in the average category. I could see an argument for above average though.

Below Average:

- The elephant exhibit is on the small side and isn't exciting.

The Bad:

- The aforementioned bonobo exhibit is just way too small. They really get the short end of the stick compared to the gorillas and orangutans

- Summer heat: It was pretty brutal on my visit and as I mentioned earlier, two of the zoo's better exhibit complexes feature animals that thrive in cooler climates so that kind of sucks.

Overall: The Memphis Zoo has a strong collection, quite a few standouts led by the exceptional Zambezi River Hippo Camp and relatively few lows.

Next up: Saint Louis
 
Thanks again for typing up these trip reports...great stuff! I'd love to head back to Memphis as I spent 4 hours at the zoo in 2008 and while I enjoyed it I didn't love the facility as much as many others. Now that Teton Trek and Zambezi River Hippo Camp have opened I'm sure that the zoo is a lot better, although the elephants and 'African Veldt' areas are fairly dire. That whole section could do with a major overhaul.

I'm eagerly anticipating your Saint Louis Zoo review, as that establishment is my 3rd favourite that I've ever visited. I'd put only San Diego and Omaha ahead of it.
 
Thanks snowleopard.

African Veldt could certainly benefit from an overhaul as you say, and they were doing some work on it while I was there but I don't think it was significant, but to me it was just ho-hum area rather than something to complain much about. The very large mixed species exhibit in that section was certainly a positive.

I'll probably write my Saint Louis review at some point today and I'll be visiting Henry Doorly soon as well.
 
@mweb08 thanks for taking the time to type up all of these reviews!
Just a few thoughts on your Memphis observations. I agree fully with your thoughts on the Hippo exhibit. On my two recent visits to the zoo I was very impressed with both the size of the exhibit and the viewing opportunities it offered.
Like you, I was also impressed Animals of the Night and I have always been a fan of the Teton Trek section.
Respectfully, I'm going to disagree with your comments on Cat Country. I agree that the space for the jaguar, snow and amur leopard is less than ideal.However, I feel the tiger exhibit is a strong exhibit comparable to the lion and cheetah exhibits which you praise. I also think the space offered some of the smaller cats, notably the caracals is more than sufficient and that their exhibits are again above average. Personally, I've found this to be one of my favourite cat exhibits in any zoo I've been too. It's always good though to hear different opinions.
I think you are being a little kind to the African Veldt section. My feelings on this are closer to @snowleopard in that I feel it is need of a drastic overhaul. The elephant exhibit I found to be far too small, and while there was a large number of bongos and giraffes, including several infants for the latter, the exhibits I thought were rather uninspiring and contrasted negatively with many other parts of the zoo.
I look forward to the rest of your reviews!
 
Oh, you're right that the African Veldt is uninspiring and not good. But other than the elephant exhibit, the exhibits aren't bad in terms of size or viewing, and the mixed species exhibit is actually quite good. They can definitely overhaul that section, but it's far from horrible imo.

As for the cats, you're right that the smaller cats have a good amount of space, basically the same amount of space as the larger cats with covered exhibits if my memory is correct. I guess the tiger exhibit looks pretty big because there's so much water up front, but the land area is below average in space. Overall this exhibit is comparable to Big Cat Falls in Philly, but not as well done imo. Of course many zoos spread their cats out throughout the zoo so it's harder to compare.
 
Saint Louis Zoo

Elite:

Sea Lion Sound: This is the best pinniped exhibit I've ever seen. The sea lions have a great deal of space and the viewing is sensational with both above water open viewing and viewing them under water through glass including a tremendous underwater tunnel.

River's Edge: I'm not going to go through each exhibit here, but this exhibit excels in immersion, features exciting animals including some zoo stars, and has exhibits ranging from really good to great that all feature strong viewing opportunities. The highlight on my particular visit was seeing the cheetah mother along with her 8(!) cubs running and playing through their exhibit.

Very Good:

Jungle of the Apes / Fragile Forest: Sadly the chimp exhibit was blocked off during my visit so I can't comment much other than to say that it looked very good from the main path. The gorilla exhibit is very strong as is the orangutan exhibit which is incredibly lush, perhaps a little too much as it made it hard to see the apes.

Insectarium: This was very well done.

Good:

Polar Bear Point / Penguin and Puffin Coast / Grizzly Ridge: The bear exhibits are relatively spacious, have plenty of water, and very good viewing, but have too much mock rock/ice for my taste. Meanwhile the penguin and puffin exhibits offer fantastic viewing but are on the small side.

Herpetarium: Saint Louis makes good use of this great historic building. Unfortunately some of the larger open air exhibits were empty on my visit.

Children's Zoo: This section has some cool and popular species (tasmanian devils, tree kangaroos, river otters) in decent to good exhibits.

Average:

Red Rocks: The big cat country while strong in collection is below average in exhibitry. The hoofstock exhibits range from average to good, but isn't anything exciting.

Noteworthy: Unfortunately along with the chimp exhibit being blocked off, the ape and tropical bird buildings were closed during my visit.

Overall: This zoo has a lot going for it with the fantastic mega exhibit that is River's Edge, the sensational Sea Lion Sound, lots of other good to very good exhibits, and some cool historical elements. Additionally, there isn't too much to knock at the zoo. Of course many things could be improved, but there isn't much in the way of glaring weaknesses. This is definitely a great zoo.

Up next: Kansas City and then Henry Doorly
 
Kansas City Zoo

Very Good:

- Africa: This area is huge and has some elements of that area very good to elite, while other areas are roughly average. The elephant exhibit is of great size with a large herd which visitors have good viewing opportunities to check out the pachyderms in their long, slender, grassy exhibit. The large hoofstock enclosures that are in the center of the main Africa area are great for not just their size, but for the various good viewing opportunities, and there landscape being relatively lush with a lot of water mostly on the perimeter. The lions and cheetah have spacious, hilly, and lush exhibits with good viewing, the baboons have significant space, the wild dogs have a good amount of space, and there are some nice exhibits for hogs, birds, and tortoises around the perimeter. However, some of the exhibits on the perimeter for smaller animals like small cats and foxes are just too small, and the hippo exhibit is below average for a lone female. The other primary exhibit in the East Africa section is for chimps, who get 3 acres to explore, which is elite, and there is a lush Missouri forest for them to live in behind the grassy area by the viewing areas. The problem is we didn't see a chimp and I'm guessing that isn't uncommon. So the chimp exhibit is a bit of a mixed bag, but I applaud them for giving them a great exhibit for their own welfare. The West Africa section is good to very good as well and features a significantly sized exhibit for a bachelor group of gorillas.

Entrance Area: Besides the gift shop and such, there are very good exhibits for river otters and polar bears in this section.

Penguin exhibit: This exhibit features multiple species of penguins including king penguins and includes good viewing and enough water area and depth for the penguins to swim at high speed and jump out of the water.

Good:

- Australia: This area is largely solid and features a good and large red kangaroo exhibit that lacks barriers between the animals and visitors.

Average:

- Tiger Trail: I don't have a lot to say about the exhibit other than that the tiger and orangutan exhibits, while pretty solid, are disappointing for being recent and the other exhibits on the trail are pretty standard with the langur exhibit being the weakest.

- Tropics: A decent small indoor jungle exhibit that could give its inhabitants some more space but does have a cool element where the gibbons and small clawed otters have what kind of seems like two separate enclosures, but allows the gibbons access to the other side by going above the visitors and the otters below them, with glass beneath and above the visitor.

Below Average:

- There's a row of cages featuring mostly birds as well as bobcats in between the tropics building and the elephants that aren't good.

Bad:

- There is a tiny building for snakes with some typically small enclosures, but what is really appalling is how little the Burmese python exhibit is.

Noteworthy: Several animals including leopards and gorillas weren't out due to extreme heat and humidity.

Overall: While the collection at this zoo is not overly diverse, they do have all of the great apes as well as some other star species in mostly good to great exhibits. While large in size, it's not compact with animals so the zoo can be seen in roughly 3 hours. I'd say this is a pretty good representation of a mid-sized zoo.
 
Henry Doorly Zoo

Elite:

- Lied Jungle: I know that there are some issues with how much space is given to some species, but I just love this exhibit. Plus, it seems that some of the biggest offenders have been fixed over the years. This is by far my favorite rain forest building and is one of my favorite exhibits period despite its flaws. The size and immersion of the dome is tremendous. I love the free flying birds and especially bats, and most of the animals that are confined to a specific area do get at least a respectable amount of space. One of the two tapir exhibits is of decent size as well as one of the two pygmy hippo exhibits. The primates all have at least adequate space and tons of climbing opportunities. Lastly, the otters have a lot of space as well. The viewing opportunities for most of these animals ranges from very good to excellent without even considering the amazing jungle environment the visitor is immersed in. I also would like to highlight the ray/mata mata exhibit which visitors get to look down on as well as stand right next to the water without any sort of barrier. As a huge fan of that turtle species, it was a fantastic treat seeing it swim through an exhibit that puts most mata mata exhibits to shame both for the turtle and for the visitor. Lastly, we ate lunch with one of the best dining views in any zoo, which overlooks the jungle.

- Kingdoms of the Night: This is the best nocturnal exhibit I've seen partially due to its immensity, but it is also very well designed.

- Scott Aquarium: For a zoo, this is a tremendous aquarium. The underwater tunnel is what makes it really standout as it's a feature that many stand alone aquariums don't even feature. I just wished it weren't so crowded.

- African Grasslands: This exhibit offers huge enclosures for its animals including abnormally large indoor holdings for elephants and giraffes. The viewing opportunities are also excellent for the various star species along with some hoofstock and birds. There's also a kopje exhibit that is very reminiscent of the one in San Diego.

Very Good:

- Asian Highlands Phase 1: This area looks really promising and has an excellent Indian rhino / Pere David deer exhibit as well as very good exhibits for its other animals including red pandas. The ongoing construction for phase 2 currently detracts from the presently relatively small exhibitry complex, but once done this may find itself in the elite category as well.

- Simmons Aviary: Not much to say other than it's huge.

Good:

- Desert Dome: This dome has tremendous theming and immersion, but not nearly as many compelling animals or exhibits as Lied Jungle. Also, I think the size of the enclosures is a bigger problem here.

- Expedition Madagascar: This area has a very good walk through lemur section, but the rest of the exhibit, mostly indoors, is roughly average.

- Hubbard Gorilla and Orangutan Exhibits: The great apes have a collection of primarily average to good indoor and outdoor enclosures. The viewing is very good though.

Bad:

- Cat complex: They've been working on moving their cats out of this complex and that is continuing with the second phase of Asian Highlands, but as of now, the outdoor encounters for tigers and leopards are average to below average and the indoor enclosures are really bad.

Noteworthy: It was odd to tour a large world class zoo and not see a bear.

Overall: This zoo certainly has its flaws as there are some enclosures that are much too small, but they have come a long way in that regard. Besides that, this zoo contains a lot of fantastic zoological experiences led by the largest indoor jungle exhibit in North America. Considering that many of their highlights are indoors and they have much better than usual elephant and giraffe houses, this zoo is probably the best 12 month zoo that deals with legit winters. It's also just a great zoo period.
 
I'm going to do shorter reviews from here on out.

Minnesota Zoo

The Best: Russia's Grizzly Coast and Northern Trail are both excellent exhibits that work well for the Minneapolis climate. Other than the amur leopard exhibit, all of these enclosures are very spacious and look really good. If anything, it can be argued that the tiger exhibit is too big because it makes it hard to see the tigers, but good for them.

The Worst: Some of the exhibits in the Tropics Trail and Minnesota Trail are simply too small. The coyote and wolf exhibits in the latter were really nice though.

The Noteworthy: The collection lacks a lot of commonly held popular species, especially ones that come from warmer climates. That of course makes sense given where the zoo, but it's still a negative when comparing it to zoos that have elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, great apes, lions, etc.

Overall: I toured this zoo more quickly than anticipated. It certainly has some great outdoor exhibits and a good aquarium section, but I was somewhat disappointed by the other indoor sections and as mentioned, the collection, while good for colder weather species, is not very strong overall. I think I'm likely to rank this zoo lower than where I generally see it on here.
 
Related to what I just wrote, I have thoughts on why some on here may not care as much about how strong and well rounded a zoos species collection is.

So when I evaluate a zoo, a question I keep in mind is how happy I would be to have that zoo as my home zoo and without having other major zoo options nearby. So with that in mind, the collection is pretty important. Not having any of elephants, rhinos, hippos, great apes, lions, tigers, various bears, etc is a bummer for one's primary zoo, and the more the zoo lacks, the bigger the bummer.

However, when one visits as many zoos as many of us do, especially in concentrated windows of time, the importance of a collection dissipates imo. For instance, I've visited 12 zoos in the past three weeks, which pales in comparison to snowleopard's trips, but is still a lot. So the reason I bring that up is I've seen many species quite a few times on this trip, so it's not that big of a deal to me to miss out on elephants, gorillas, or tigers on a given day because I've seen them so often recently and would likely see them again in the next few days.
 
mweb08 said:
So when I evaluate a zoo, a question I keep in mind is how happy I would be to have that zoo as my home zoo and without having other major zoo options nearby.
Click to expand...

I think that is an interesting way of analyzing a zoo's qualities, and one that could really tarnish some of the zoos that many of us consider exemplary, such as Minnesota.

My home zoo is Santa Ana, and nearby is Orange County's. Suffice it to say I consider my home zoo to be San Diego instead. :eek:
 
I don't believe you are going to new england but if u are rodger williams park zoo and stone zoo are great to visit
 
geomorph said:
I think that is an interesting way of analyzing a zoo's qualities, and one that could really tarnish some of the zoos that many of us consider exemplary, such as Minnesota.

My home zoo is Santa Ana, and nearby is Orange County's. Suffice it to say I consider my home zoo to be San Diego instead. :eek:
Click to expand...

I used to live in Santa Ana and then Irvine. So I thought the same way regarding my home zoo.

As for my comments, I think collection has to play a significant role in how well rated that zoo is compared to others. Of course exhibit quality and animal welfare among other things are of great importance as well.

A zoo can still be exemplary in terms of what they have, but if the collection is average or worse, that greatly limits the ceiling of that zoo IMO.

I think it can be easy to somewhat gloss over collection on a trip like the one I'm on, but I don't think that's fair.

Regarding Minnesota specifically, the outdoor parts are exemplary, but as I said, I don't think the trails are of that quality. Part of the Minnesota trail is but definitely not the Tropics.
 
Brookfield Zoo

The Best:

- Great Bear Wilderness / Regenstein Wolf Woods: This area has very good to great exhibits for bison, wolves, grizzlies, and polar bears. I liked the multitude of viewing spots and options as well as the size and water elements in the exhibits. The bison exhibit had some especially cool and unusual viewing options for that type of species. This complex isn't as good as Minnesota's Russia's Grizzly Coast, though.

The Bad:

- The great ape exhibits in Tropic World, especially the gorillas. I actually think this indoor jungle exhibit started off well and is pretty good except for how it exhibits its star species.

The Noteworthy:

- This zoo is quite expensive and was the only one on my trip that did not have reciprocity with other zoos so that didn't help with the cost.

Overall: Brookfield has a good collection, nice looking grounds aided by historical buildings and features, and most of its exhibits are at least decent. However, the zoo lacks truly elite exhibits, many of the exhibits are roughly average, and there are some bad enclosures for star animals like gorillas, orangutans, ants penguins. Plus, some indoor areas that aren't good cold weather enclosures for warmer weather animals such as the pachyderms and giraffes. I think this zoo is a mixed bag so overall a solid, but far from great zoo.
 
mweb08 said:
tar animals like gorillas, orangutans, ants penguins.
Click to expand...

I spent far too long trying to work out why you decided ants were so wonderful... Then I realised it was a typo. Duh, I'm slapping my head now! (In my defence it's quite late in the UK:p)
 
Haha, my bad. I've been using my android exclusively for my posts during this trip, which leads to some swiping errors from time to time. And unfortunately the ability to edit posts vanishes after however long.
 
mweb08 said:
Haha, my bad. I've been using my android exclusively for my posts during this trip, which leads to some swiping errors from time to time. And unfortunately the ability to edit posts vanishes after however long.
Click to expand...

I know the feeling, sometimes I read a post back and I'm baffled that I've spelt something wrong and can't change it. ;)
 
Btw, remaining mini reviews upcoming for the following:

Lincoln Park
Shedd
Indianapolis
Cincinnati
Nashville
Birmingham

Then trip rankings.
 
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