"Golden Ages" of Certain Zoos

[ThylacineAlive]

I'd say the golden age of the Bronx Zoo was in the early 2010's. The monkey house and World of Darkness were still open and Madagascar had just opened, and I think maybe the Rare Animal Range was still open and emus were still at World of Birds. Good times.

A. World of Darkness and Rare Animal Range were closed by 2010.
B. Madagascar! opened in the late 2000's.
C. Emus are still at World of Birds.

It's hard to pinpoint the "golden age" of a zoo such as Bronx, especially when their exhibitry has always been so revolutionary. While the late 2000's may be when they had the most exhibits open at once, I might be more inclined to say the 90's into the mid-2000's were the zoo's best age. They could still afford to pay NYC's ridiculous taxes to open new amazing exhibit complexes such as CGF and Tiger Mountain, JungleWorld and the Wild Asia Monorail were still bursting with diversity (including Proboscis Monkeys), the zoo was arguably the best in the country for small mammals between their world class nocturnal house, superb New World primates house, and unique Mouse House, the zoo had just saved the last Kihansi Spray Toads from extinction, they were helping set up the brand new Sumatran Rhinoceros breeding program and hopes were high with the arrival of their first female, and the zoo was still doing amazing work at the Wildlife Survival Center on St. Catherines Island. Sadly, being either not alive, an infant not living in the northeast, or far too young to remember depending on the year, I have next to no memories of this timeframe. Thinking back on the zoo's history, though, other than their early years when they had animals such as African Forest Elephants and Thylacines, I think this era would be the one I'd like to visit the most if I could choose. The zoo's exhibitry was peaking and the collection was probably about the largest it'd ever been, can't get much more golden than that as far as I'm concerned.

I do like to think that the zoo's "peak" has yet to be reached, however...

~Thylo

 

[Ebirah766]

Where are emus at in World of Birds? I have never seen emus.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Where are emus at in World of Birds? I have never seen emus.

They're in the big yard where they've always been. They have two still.

~Thylo

 

[Ebirah766]

They're in the big yard where they've always been. They have two still.

~Thylo

The... big yard? I have been to the Bronx Zoo many, many times and not once have I seen a big yard by the World of Birds.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

The... big yard? I have been to the Bronx Zoo many, many times and not once have I seen a big yard by the World of Birds.

When you exit the second floor, the ramp looks down into a big grassy hard along the right side of the building. This is the Emu yard. Past the perimeter fence is the off-show crane housing.

Out of curiosity, where did you think the Emu were kept if you didn't think there was an outdoor yard?

~Thylo

 

[elefante]

I think the decline started a bit earlier than that. Maybe the late 1960s to late 1990s.

That's a hell of a long decline.

 

[PossumRoach]

When you exit the second floor, the ramp looks down into a big grassy hard along the right side of the building. This is the Emu yard. Past the perimeter fence is the off-show crane housing.

Out of curiosity, where did you think the Emu were kept if you didn't think there was an outdoor yard?

~Thylo

When I went to a summer camp there we were told about one named Kevin kept at the commissary.

 

[CGSwans]

That's a hell of a long decline.

Apologies, that was poor grammar on my part. I meant to suggest the golden age was from the late 1960s to the early 2000s. It ended when they went from building gems such as the reptile house (1968 or so) to over-bearing, contemporary monstrosities with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. At the same time, the collection scope went into a tail-spin.

 

[Ebirah766]

When you exit the second floor, the ramp looks down into a big grassy hard along the right side of the building. This is the Emu yard. Past the perimeter fence is the off-show crane housing.

Out of curiosity, where did you think the Emu were kept if you didn't think there was an outdoor yard?

~Thylo

I thought the emu were removed from the collection.

 

[AWP]

I consider the first years of the 2000's as the golden age for Rotterdam Zoo, at least of the years I visited the zoo. The Oceanarium was in its initial glory including sea otters, all parts of the Asian section were in full pride and there was still a considerable collection of small cats, nocturnal animals (Henri Martinhuis) and birds (Victoria wing).

Burgers Zoo could be in its golden age now, as almost all old styled enclosures are replaced by spacious enclosures and themed exhibits with the opening of the new Mangrove and primate enclosures.

 

[Dassie rat]

Thanks, AWP

I liked the Henri Martinhuis and it was a shame it no longer exists. The Tropical Hall had a nice range of species, including several rarely-seen birds.

 

[Zooplantman]

I wouldn't be so sure on Bronx's collection being better decades ago. There were probably never more on-show exhibits at the zoo than existed in 2008-2009, and if you go back any farther than 1999 Congo Gorilla Forest is lost, which both houses dozens of species and is many people's pick as the greatest exhibit complex in the USA. Unless by collection you're referring to a particular species or set of species the zoo formerly exhibited?

Look at the Hornaday years for collection.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

I've changed my mind. Bronx's golden ages were December 1902-August 1905, January 1912-November 1912, November 1916-November 1916, and July 1917-September 1919.

~Thylo

 

[CGSwans]

I've changed my mind. Bronx's golden ages were December 1902-August 1905, January 1912-November 1912, November 1916-November 1916, and July 1917-September 1919.

~Thylo

I’m going to take a wild guess and say... imports from Tasmania?

 

[ThylacineAlive]

I’m going to take a wild guess and say... imports from Tasmania?

How'd you guess?

~Thylo

 

[Enzo]

Species-wise? If the 2020's don't become the golden age for some Brazilian zoos, like the one in Rio de Janeiro, I'd say that the golden ages were:
-for the Rio de Janeiro zoo (now called Bioparque do Rio) - from 1945, passing through the 1950's and early 1960's;
-and for other Brazilian zoos, I'd say the late 1980's and the 1990's were the best time for them.
If we're talking about animal conservation, probably the 2010's and the 2020's could be considered golden ages.

 

[David Matos Mendes]

Species-wise? If the 2020's don't become the golden age for some Brazilian zoos, like the one in Rio de Janeiro, I'd say that the golden ages were:
-for the Rio de Janeiro zoo (now called Bioparque do Rio) - from 1945, passing through the 1950's and early 1960's;
-and for other Brazilian zoos, I'd say the late 1980's and the 1990's were the best time for them.
If we're talking about animal conservation, probably the 2010's and the 2020's could be considered golden ages.

I've posted in this thread a few months ago talking about how I consider a golden age to not being evaluated by species number, but for decent structure and conservation/education excelence. Talking about species number, I totally agree with you about the periods, but if we're considering the other requirements I've mentioned, I'd say the golden age is now; not only for brazilian zoos, but for zoos worldwide. Topics such as conservation and education in zoological institutions have never been so highlighted as they are right now.

 

[Enzo]

I've posted in this thread a few months ago talking about how I consider a golden age to not being evaluated by species number, but for decent structure and conservation/education excelence. Talking about species number, I totally agree with you about the periods, but if we're considering the other requirements I've mentioned, I'd say the golden age is now; not only for brazilian zoos, but for zoos worldwide. Topics such as conservation and education in zoological institutions have never been so highlighted as they are right now.

Agreed

 

[Jarne]

Burgers Zoo could be in its golden age now, as almost all old styled enclosures are replaced by spacious enclosures and themed exhibits with the opening of the new Mangrove and primate enclosures.

Burgers' has always been very innovative, and has had many enclosures that were considered very good for their time. However I'd say that burgers current golden age started around the 1990's when the bush proved to be a successful concept. Whilst there are still some older enclosures left, most have aged very well (as expected from a zoo with a clear long-term vision) and have been adapted to this day and age. Their loss of the post-stamp collection was beautifully compensated by top-notch enclosures that can survive decades without much adaptations. The only recent enclosure that I can come up with that fails to impress me is the bear enclosure due to the lack of separation outdoor enclosures.

 

[ChIkEn NuGrEt]

I think that the Fort Worth Zoo is approaching its golden age with the “A Wilder Vision” project ending in a couple years. Adding a ton of new animals, and renovated enclosures for existing species.