What is the coolest animal to see at the zoo?

I find all animals interesting, but I enjoy seeing birds the most, especially ones that I have never seen before.
 
There's no end to this list. I that Hippos are pretty cool but so are giraffes and elephants, especially in groups. Watching a big fruit bat stretch its wings is just as cool, and watching a kangaroo joey crawl into the pouch is even cooler. Of the primates, gibbons when they have a lot of room are probably the coolest--stunningly acrobatic, and any of the apes with a baby is a close second, while galagos are about as darling as any animal comes. I can't think of a carnivore I don't enjoy seeing. Watching the social interactions of wild canids, whether wolves or hunting dogs or whatever, or simply watching a tiger walk, or watching bears frolic in a pool, any of those can keep me captivated, but also seeing some of the lesser known carnivores such as civets or genets, and the smaller wild cats are so often so beautiful. Of the rodents, I think capybaras are cute as all get out. I have to admit to a major fondness for hoofed animals: bongos most of all; the other harnessed antelopes such as eland, kudu, etc, and for that matter any antelope you can name, but also gaur, both buffalo and bison, bighorn sheep, ibex and markhor, yaks, moose, and zebras. I could look at frogs and snakes all day if the zoo has enough different kinds. As for birds, as long as I can find them in the exhibit, I'm going to enjoy seeing them. Cocks of the rock are gorgeous. I would love to see a quetzal but they are extraordinarily rare in zoos. Turacos when they fly and flash that red are especially neat, as are macaws, cockatoos and hornbills. The male pheasants during breeding season are a joyful riot of color, and the same is true of many waterfowl, especially mandarin and harlequin ducks and Siberian red geese. The stateliness of cranes, storks and swans makes me marvel. Flamingos are not as stately, but in a group are fascinating. I never saw an owl or an eagle or a vulture or a ratite I didn't like, but of the last cassowaries are the neatest. Any kind of hummingbirds and crowned pigeons are super cool, and I even have a soft spot for screamers. And let's not forget either pelicans or penguins.

Damn, I need to get to a zoo soon!
 
I always love seeing big cats (especially tigers and jaguars), giraffes, elephants, brightly-coloured birds such as parrots or peacocks, poison dart frogs, aquarium tanks with coral reef fish, and leafcutter ants whenever they're climbing along a suspended rope.
 
Paleoarchontas said:
Look, I’m gunna say it and if anyone disagrees then you are letting me down, the chat down, and yourself down; tapirs. Always tapirs.
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I'd maybe agree if it were an uncommon species like Malaysn tapirs, but to be honest the standard South American tapir is so commonplace in zoos where I am that they just end up blending into the background, same with meerkat, otters, lemurs and red pandas, but that's just from my experience.
 
Thearmadillo said:
I don’t know if there my favourite but my home zoo has a rhino and tapir enclosure next to each other and that’s always my first stop.
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Zoogeographically speaking, that's an odd juxtaposition. Is it because they're both Perissodactyls?
 
Jambi said:
I'd maybe agree if it were an uncommon species like Malaysn tapirs, but to be honest the standard South American tapir is so commonplace in zoos where I am that they just end up blending into the background, same with meerkat, otters, lemurs and red pandas, but that's just from my experience.
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* resists the urge to shout “blasphemy” *
Admittedly I do get what you’re saying here, most zoos I’ve been to have Brazilian tapirs, they’re very common, however despite this I still never get tired of seeing them. Perhaps part of it is that most people ignore them due to them not being a big name or something that people recognise, so they always feel like a ‘hidden gem’ when surrounded by normal humans? Just a theory, but for some reason seeing a tapir is still just as exciting as always.
 
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