Wild dogs? Inside the building? That doesn't make sense.
Could they have been exhibited outdoors?Slender Lorises, Duct Tape, and Whataburger: A Fish on Dry Land
- Thread starter Coelacanth18
- Start date
Could they have been exhibited outdoors?
There used to be several smaller exhibits around the outside of the building that housed some of the larger animals like the leopard, serval, and bateleur. Over time they were demolished, grown over, or left empty as the complex aged.Wild dogs? Inside the building? That doesn't make sense.
In this older map of the zoo, you can see an exhibit north of the Pavilion labeled Mandrill, I've also seen other maps labelling it Gerenuk, and it might have held the wild dogs as well.
I thought that species was kept in only like one place at Vegas, you sure it was that species?? And if so got any photos?
I misspoke; they actually have Desert Pupfish. Same genus but different species, common name has same first two letters... just got them mixed up when I was typing up the review.
I’m enjoying this trip thread so far! I’ve been to five of the zoos featured on here so far.
- I remember visiting Rio Grande (now ABQ Biopark Zoo) in 2015, and still believe it’s fairly underrated. Adventure Africa was my favorite exhibit complex, and glad to hear it holds up. It’s also nice reading that some of the less successful parts of the Zoo during my time, Tropical America and Cat Walk, have been either replaced or modified respectively. Penguin Chill looks quite nice from photos, and I’d be intrigued to see how the Asian expansion and the modification of an already solid Australian section turn out.
- Regarding Memphis, I agree with the Hippo Camp and Teton Trek - those two are probably the strongest the Zoo has to offer. It’s awesome you got to see Animals of the Night - it was closed off when I went in 2016. I seem to recall a pangolin being on-display at one point there, is that no longer the case? I thought that the kangaroo exhibit was just temporary - did the plans change?
- I agree with what you said about Nashville, a small but mighty facility that will continue to get bigger and stronger with each new development. I visited before the bear and tiger habitats opened, but they look great based on photos I’ve seen.
- Wow, Zoo Knoxville (which I saw in 2013) has changed quite a bit! The new ARC appears to be a dramatic improvement over the previous reptile area, and the new Asia Trek looks impressive as well. Among the rest of the Zoo, I agree that Black Bear Falls and Red Panda Village are among the Zoo’s biggest highlights, and Valley of the Kings (the lion and baboon area) is interesting, despite the exhibits being nothing fancy but get the job done. It’s a shame how the African areas have been altered. The current wild dog exhibit was originally home to Malayan tigers; the dogs once resided in a huge open woods-like habitat beyond the lions and baboons. Has that section been blocked off? Also, are there no more antelope with the giraffes? Lastly, are there any plans for converting the previous herp house into something else?
- North Carolina Zoo is one of my favorites, and I’m glad you enjoyed! It may have only North American and African animals as the primary attractions, but they are both showcased beautifully; Cypress Swamp, Prairie, and Watani Grasslands in particular are major standouts. Asia and Australia will only add to the experience, and I’m excited for how they will turn out. It’s a pity you missed the baboons, as they are not only one of the Zoo’s highlights, but North Carolina’s habitat is superb - probably the best I’ve seen. The Forest Aviary has birds that are mostly found around the world, residing in a lush jungle setting.
Sorry for the long post and the many questions, but some great memories were ignited from these reviews. Very interesting to also read about Greenville and Mill Mountain. Can’t wait to hear more adventures!
- I remember visiting Rio Grande (now ABQ Biopark Zoo) in 2015, and still believe it’s fairly underrated. Adventure Africa was my favorite exhibit complex, and glad to hear it holds up. It’s also nice reading that some of the less successful parts of the Zoo during my time, Tropical America and Cat Walk, have been either replaced or modified respectively. Penguin Chill looks quite nice from photos, and I’d be intrigued to see how the Asian expansion and the modification of an already solid Australian section turn out.
- Regarding Memphis, I agree with the Hippo Camp and Teton Trek - those two are probably the strongest the Zoo has to offer. It’s awesome you got to see Animals of the Night - it was closed off when I went in 2016. I seem to recall a pangolin being on-display at one point there, is that no longer the case? I thought that the kangaroo exhibit was just temporary - did the plans change?
- I agree with what you said about Nashville, a small but mighty facility that will continue to get bigger and stronger with each new development. I visited before the bear and tiger habitats opened, but they look great based on photos I’ve seen.
- Wow, Zoo Knoxville (which I saw in 2013) has changed quite a bit! The new ARC appears to be a dramatic improvement over the previous reptile area, and the new Asia Trek looks impressive as well. Among the rest of the Zoo, I agree that Black Bear Falls and Red Panda Village are among the Zoo’s biggest highlights, and Valley of the Kings (the lion and baboon area) is interesting, despite the exhibits being nothing fancy but get the job done. It’s a shame how the African areas have been altered. The current wild dog exhibit was originally home to Malayan tigers; the dogs once resided in a huge open woods-like habitat beyond the lions and baboons. Has that section been blocked off? Also, are there no more antelope with the giraffes? Lastly, are there any plans for converting the previous herp house into something else?
- North Carolina Zoo is one of my favorites, and I’m glad you enjoyed! It may have only North American and African animals as the primary attractions, but they are both showcased beautifully; Cypress Swamp, Prairie, and Watani Grasslands in particular are major standouts. Asia and Australia will only add to the experience, and I’m excited for how they will turn out. It’s a pity you missed the baboons, as they are not only one of the Zoo’s highlights, but North Carolina’s habitat is superb - probably the best I’ve seen. The Forest Aviary has birds that are mostly found around the world, residing in a lush jungle setting.
Sorry for the long post and the many questions, but some great memories were ignited from these reviews. Very interesting to also read about Greenville and Mill Mountain. Can’t wait to hear more adventures!
Memphis no longer has a pangolin. The individual they did have died two or three years ago.
Yes, the bright mint-green is one of my favorite skin colors on a herp. I thought about embedding a photo of the Minor's chameleon instead since it's a more unusual find, but the viper was just so eye-catching I wanted to highlight it... plus I already embedded a chameleon photo two reviews ago, so why not give a snake a turn?
No idea on either of these; I hadn't been to either zoo before (not as an adult anyway). The old reptile area is next to a couple of blocked-off bird cages; it seems like prime real estate for a small new exhibit, but I don't know what the plans are for it long-term.
That whole back of the zoo was blocked off by fences, yeah. I peeked around the corner and it looks like some construction is in progress, but I didn't see any signage or other information about it nor do I have a timeline. No more antelopes with the giraffes.
As I said, I think I would have had one of my best experiences of any zoo this year had I been able to see these two - they would have easily been among the highlights of my visit, along with the rare alcids and the Desert Dome. Fortunately the new baboon area will be up and going within a year or two, and the Forest Aviary should be open for anyone who doesn't happen to go the same one week of the year that I did
Chapter 10, Part II: Frantically Flailing My Way Through the Piedmont
It was only a 45 minute drive to the city of Greensboro. I was feeling pretty good when I pulled up into the next parking lot, camera still full of juice and a $20 burning in my pocket. I snapped a careful shot of the entrance, then walked up and asked for a ticket. The lady at the window frowned, and asked me if I was sure. I hesitated, and she added, “You know we close at 4 PM, right?”
I checked the clock on my phone. It was 3:05 PM.
I cursed myself in my head as the lady at the register explained that the early closure was due to their winter lights show that is ubiquitous in American zoos this time of year. I should have checked the website and not Google; if I had it would have given me the correct time. I should have arrived at North Carolina Zoo at opening, instead of coming in an hour late; then I still would have had two hours. I stood there for a full minute, mind racing as I looked back between my phone clock and the entrance. The face of the woman working the register waited through this patiently.
In truth, the delay wasn’t necessary; I was just frustrated. I’d already done the math on squeezing this place in with the next zoo I’m reviewing, and it just wasn’t going to work. I did not want to do a 5 hour solo trip just to come back here, and the cold weather would settle on the eastern seaboard by the time I might change my tune on that anyway. I could’ve said no and just left, but I’ve never quit on a zoo from the parking lot or entrance unless it was straight up closed. And finally, Javan gibbons and pygmy hippos.
I turned back to the woman and said, “Okay, that’s fine.” I paid my admission fee and walked in the door. It was now 3:07 PM; I had 53 minutes. Time to test myself, and see some cool animals at the same time.
Greensboro Science Center
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Size: ~17.5 acres
Species Count: ~135 species
Unvisited Areas: Sciquarium, Discovery House, non-animal related exhibits
Noteworthy Species: Javan Gibbon, Trumpeter Hornbill, Sand and Black-footed Cats, Pygmy Hippo, Deep Sea Isopods (missed!)
Price: $22 admission ($19.50 + tax)
Recommended Time: 2 to 3 hours
Species List: Again, I did not make a species list for this zoo as one was already made in 2020 and remains fairly accurate except for the new complex, Revolution Ridge. I will link @nczoofan’s here: Greensboro Science Center: Species List [Greensboro Science Center]
Media Gallery: https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/categories/greensboro-science-center.2707/
Map: https://www.greensboroscience.org/visit/hours/documents/gsc-map.pdf
In case the “recommended time” didn’t clue you in, 53 minutes turned out not to be enough time to see the Greensboro Science Center. It was enough time to frantically flail my way through the herp section and the outdoor zoo, and that’s it. I did not get as many good photos as I’d hoped, and I completely missed the aquarium section (with its giant deep sea isopods I had forgotten about) as well as the exhibits not holding live animals. Therefore, keep in mind that this review is incomplete and there is more to see at this place than I got to see; hopefully some of the people who I tag for photo credits can fill in the gaps!
Nevertheless, what I *did* get to see was pretty cool. The GSC just opened a new expansion called Revolution Ridge, which roughly doubled the footprint of the outdoor zoo portion with one of the coolest and most unusual species lineups I’ve seen before: four species of small cat, red pandas, flamingos, okapi, cassowary, pygmy hippo, and Komodo dragon. Unlike Knoxville’s ARC, this complex got a decent amount of attention on the site and seemed to put the GSC on the path towards being a fully-fledged zoo in the minds of any of us (or me at least - didn't mean to ad-lib all of you in there!), rather than one of many living museums/natural science centers that happened to have a few outdoor exhibits. It’s still unclear what the exact definition of the zoo-aquarium-science center is, but “zoo” works well enough; at this point its footprint is larger than a few others I’ve been to!
Both the old and new outdoor areas are not organized geographically or taxonomically at all, and feature a random selection of both large and small species. The first few exhibits I saw were for Komodo Dragon, Nile Crocodile, Aldabra Tortoise, Meerkat, and a few cages for Green-winged Macaw and Laughing Kookaburra; I wasn’t particularly impressed with any of them and none of the large reptiles were outside (it was around 60 F / 15 C, so on the cooler side for tropical herps). Had I popped into what looked like a small house, I would have found some education animals including an armadillo; unfortunately, I skipped it in the interest of time.
Moving past that, however, I found a family of Javan/Silvery Gibbons inhabiting a quite spacious mesh exhibit, with lots of ropes and platforms for brachiation. Greensboro is one of only three holders in North America, and this was my second time seeing them (first time was at the Gibbon Conservation Center in California). Unfortunately they were not particularly active... so I just turned around and listened to the trumpeting calls of the aptly-named Trumpeter Hornbills in the cage just across the way! I liked this place already.
The path then follows a loop taking me through most of the zoo. Just past a couple of small mesh enclosures for fossa and lemurs; this is followed by a brief walk through some woods until grassy yards for Sumatran Tiger and Maned Wolf/Giant Anteater. The maned wolf and anteater yard is large and has an elevated boardwalk going out into the middle of the enclosure; the anteater was nowhere to be found, but the maned wolf was patrolling all around the faux pampas below.
The new stuff begins after the comparatively uninteresting tiger yard, and it’s pretty easy to tell where the new area is; suddenly the woods that formed a backdrop around you disappear and you’re in a completely opened-up area with lots of mesh and bright-green metal poles.
Photo credit: @Astrotom3000
For the animals, maybe it's great; I'm not an expert. Aesthetically, I might have some notes
This area is home to Red Pandas and four small cats – Serval, Fishing Cat, Black-footed Cat, and Sand Cat. The serval and red pandas have the largest enclosures, while the fishing cat’s is largely taken up by a rocky pool; for the first time ever I saw the semi-aquatic feline glide across the water before settling on a rock. The desert cats were both in their indoor habitats (viewed through glass windows with terrible glare). There are multiple overhead paths for the animals to use for getting between exhibit spaces; this whole Zoo360 design idea is certainly becoming more and more popular in American zoos! I also got a glimpse of one of the zoo’s resident Red-shouldered Hawks on the hunt, thanks to it being pointed out by a docent (who, upon noticing my interest in photographing the raptor, also kindly advised me on a good place to find a easily seen Barred Owl in town).
Following this is a shallow pool for a flock of American flamingos, adjacent the zoo’s swanky new animal hospital. The path then loops back uphill, past more woodlands and a lake up to the final three exhibits of Revolution Ridge. These three are laid out in a row, and are home to three species relatively uncommon in smaller zoos. The Pygmy Hippo exhibit features a grassy yard and a couple of large rocky pools outside; however, by this point late in the day the hippos were visible in their indoor habitat through a glass window, which had underwater viewing of their indoor pool. Having seen photos of my favorite fun-sized pachyderms being relegated to bathtub-sized soaking pools in temperate zoos, I was elated. The little guy swam right up to the glass and yawned with its gaping maw, prompting a woman to insist to her partner that it must be a baby hippo because of how small it is. Normally I keep my corrections to myself (lest I end up spending half my time at each visit as an unvetted docent), but I couldn’t resist telling her that it was in fact an adult hippo - but travel size. A pocket hippo if you will. The fact that we have tiny hippos on this Earth will never cease to amuse and delight me; if it does, I’m forever dead inside.
2nd and 3rd photo credits to @OkapiFan
The adjacent yards are home to an okapi and a pair of cassowaries. One of the cassowary yards decided to really drive home the point that the large birds end up as roadkill far too often by making it look like the zoo’s ratite will walk in front of a semi at any minute:
Photo credit: @Arizona Docent
Other than a pair of well-furnished mesh habitats for binturong (unseen, probably sleeping as always) and howler monkeys, at this point I had finished the outdoors and still had 15 or so minutes to spare. I raced inside and hung a right to see the indoor Komodo space. Sure enough, there was a single dragon chilling on the sand in front of its stylized Indonesian house. An interesting human-nature connection just as with the cassowary (by the way, there was one standing next to me wearing a Christmas hat. I wasn’t hallucinating, I promise.) Off to the side was what looked a very cool exhibit about dragons (the unreal folksy kind, not the one sitting in front of me) that I would have been all over had I not been mid-flail; unfortunately, I had to skip it in favor of Zoidberging my way down the stairs to where the rest of the herp collection was held.
Photographic evidence I wasn't hallucinating, unless... you all see the bird in this photo too, right?
I did take time to notice one cool science feature: a Foucault pendulum slowly swinging back and forth above the plate. This was my first outside of California; I’d seen one at the California Academy of Sciences earlier in the year (a facility I didn’t review, but I’d highly recommend if you’re into cool ectotherms of any kind) and the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles has one dating back to 1935. I’m not nearly as big a physics nerd as I am a biology nerd, but it’s a very interesting device if you aren’t familiar:
The herp section is split into three rooms, containing somewhere around 35 species, none of which were particularly rare or unusual. One room – the largest – looked similar to other herp displays I’d seen with various tanks; a dark room held aquatic reptiles and had a submarine-themed display; and a brightly-lit lab setup had some inverts and a row of double enclosures connected with tubing for a few more herps:
I started rushing towards the aquarium section thinking I could at least pop my head in when the overhead speakers announced that the zoo was closing and everyone needed to make their way to the front. Not seeing an opportunity to slip in for a minute, I sighed and saw myself out the front door back to my car. It’s never a good feeling when you don’t successfully finish a zoo... but hey. I came, I saw, I photographed a gibbon and called it a day. For only an extra 45 minute drive and three fast food meals’ worth of money, I’d finally met my pygmy hippo quota for the year (and I guess also a few good animal shots and filled in gaps in the media gallery).
Look out for my next review: the Sylvan Heights Bird Park... along with its first full species list and a flood of accompanying bird photos! I'm very excited; however, it may be a few days out because I have *a lot* of photos to sort through on top of the review not being written yet. I might take a page from @TeaLovingDave's book (and by book I mean his excellent guidebook thread) and post a teaser in the meantime...
Fast Food Byte of the Day: Five Guys
Very much the Zoo360 of fast food: trending hot and expanding across the country at breakneck speed, this burger joint is known for its association with the Idaho potatoes they store on the dining tables in large burlap sacks. If you ever wanted to know what podunk potato town your fries came from, Five Guys is the only restaurant that will ever have an answer for you. Their food is refreshingly simple: just a crispy burger and a giant bag of salted French fries with a fry carton inside (to use as a shovel, I suppose). But if you really can’t wait for your meal, feel free to snack on the salted peanuts they also have lying around on all the dining tables. Why is this place the big new thing? I have no idea, but you can’t argue with a good burger... and I guess arguing with customer service employees armed with a military-scale stockpile of heavy potato sacks isn't the smartest move either.
It was only a 45 minute drive to the city of Greensboro. I was feeling pretty good when I pulled up into the next parking lot, camera still full of juice and a $20 burning in my pocket. I snapped a careful shot of the entrance, then walked up and asked for a ticket. The lady at the window frowned, and asked me if I was sure. I hesitated, and she added, “You know we close at 4 PM, right?”
I checked the clock on my phone. It was 3:05 PM.
I cursed myself in my head as the lady at the register explained that the early closure was due to their winter lights show that is ubiquitous in American zoos this time of year. I should have checked the website and not Google; if I had it would have given me the correct time. I should have arrived at North Carolina Zoo at opening, instead of coming in an hour late; then I still would have had two hours. I stood there for a full minute, mind racing as I looked back between my phone clock and the entrance. The face of the woman working the register waited through this patiently.
In truth, the delay wasn’t necessary; I was just frustrated. I’d already done the math on squeezing this place in with the next zoo I’m reviewing, and it just wasn’t going to work. I did not want to do a 5 hour solo trip just to come back here, and the cold weather would settle on the eastern seaboard by the time I might change my tune on that anyway. I could’ve said no and just left, but I’ve never quit on a zoo from the parking lot or entrance unless it was straight up closed. And finally, Javan gibbons and pygmy hippos.
I turned back to the woman and said, “Okay, that’s fine.” I paid my admission fee and walked in the door. It was now 3:07 PM; I had 53 minutes. Time to test myself, and see some cool animals at the same time.
Greensboro Science Center
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Size: ~17.5 acres
Species Count: ~135 species
Unvisited Areas: Sciquarium, Discovery House, non-animal related exhibits
Noteworthy Species: Javan Gibbon, Trumpeter Hornbill, Sand and Black-footed Cats, Pygmy Hippo, Deep Sea Isopods (missed!)
Price: $22 admission ($19.50 + tax)
Recommended Time: 2 to 3 hours
Species List: Again, I did not make a species list for this zoo as one was already made in 2020 and remains fairly accurate except for the new complex, Revolution Ridge. I will link @nczoofan’s here: Greensboro Science Center: Species List [Greensboro Science Center]
Media Gallery: https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/categories/greensboro-science-center.2707/
Map: https://www.greensboroscience.org/visit/hours/documents/gsc-map.pdf
In case the “recommended time” didn’t clue you in, 53 minutes turned out not to be enough time to see the Greensboro Science Center. It was enough time to frantically flail my way through the herp section and the outdoor zoo, and that’s it. I did not get as many good photos as I’d hoped, and I completely missed the aquarium section (with its giant deep sea isopods I had forgotten about) as well as the exhibits not holding live animals. Therefore, keep in mind that this review is incomplete and there is more to see at this place than I got to see; hopefully some of the people who I tag for photo credits can fill in the gaps!
Nevertheless, what I *did* get to see was pretty cool. The GSC just opened a new expansion called Revolution Ridge, which roughly doubled the footprint of the outdoor zoo portion with one of the coolest and most unusual species lineups I’ve seen before: four species of small cat, red pandas, flamingos, okapi, cassowary, pygmy hippo, and Komodo dragon. Unlike Knoxville’s ARC, this complex got a decent amount of attention on the site and seemed to put the GSC on the path towards being a fully-fledged zoo in the minds of any of us (or me at least - didn't mean to ad-lib all of you in there!), rather than one of many living museums/natural science centers that happened to have a few outdoor exhibits. It’s still unclear what the exact definition of the zoo-aquarium-science center is, but “zoo” works well enough; at this point its footprint is larger than a few others I’ve been to!
Both the old and new outdoor areas are not organized geographically or taxonomically at all, and feature a random selection of both large and small species. The first few exhibits I saw were for Komodo Dragon, Nile Crocodile, Aldabra Tortoise, Meerkat, and a few cages for Green-winged Macaw and Laughing Kookaburra; I wasn’t particularly impressed with any of them and none of the large reptiles were outside (it was around 60 F / 15 C, so on the cooler side for tropical herps). Had I popped into what looked like a small house, I would have found some education animals including an armadillo; unfortunately, I skipped it in the interest of time.
Moving past that, however, I found a family of Javan/Silvery Gibbons inhabiting a quite spacious mesh exhibit, with lots of ropes and platforms for brachiation. Greensboro is one of only three holders in North America, and this was my second time seeing them (first time was at the Gibbon Conservation Center in California). Unfortunately they were not particularly active... so I just turned around and listened to the trumpeting calls of the aptly-named Trumpeter Hornbills in the cage just across the way! I liked this place already.
The path then follows a loop taking me through most of the zoo. Just past a couple of small mesh enclosures for fossa and lemurs; this is followed by a brief walk through some woods until grassy yards for Sumatran Tiger and Maned Wolf/Giant Anteater. The maned wolf and anteater yard is large and has an elevated boardwalk going out into the middle of the enclosure; the anteater was nowhere to be found, but the maned wolf was patrolling all around the faux pampas below.
The new stuff begins after the comparatively uninteresting tiger yard, and it’s pretty easy to tell where the new area is; suddenly the woods that formed a backdrop around you disappear and you’re in a completely opened-up area with lots of mesh and bright-green metal poles.
Photo credit: @Astrotom3000
For the animals, maybe it's great; I'm not an expert. Aesthetically, I might have some notes
This area is home to Red Pandas and four small cats – Serval, Fishing Cat, Black-footed Cat, and Sand Cat. The serval and red pandas have the largest enclosures, while the fishing cat’s is largely taken up by a rocky pool; for the first time ever I saw the semi-aquatic feline glide across the water before settling on a rock. The desert cats were both in their indoor habitats (viewed through glass windows with terrible glare). There are multiple overhead paths for the animals to use for getting between exhibit spaces; this whole Zoo360 design idea is certainly becoming more and more popular in American zoos! I also got a glimpse of one of the zoo’s resident Red-shouldered Hawks on the hunt, thanks to it being pointed out by a docent (who, upon noticing my interest in photographing the raptor, also kindly advised me on a good place to find a easily seen Barred Owl in town).
Following this is a shallow pool for a flock of American flamingos, adjacent the zoo’s swanky new animal hospital. The path then loops back uphill, past more woodlands and a lake up to the final three exhibits of Revolution Ridge. These three are laid out in a row, and are home to three species relatively uncommon in smaller zoos. The Pygmy Hippo exhibit features a grassy yard and a couple of large rocky pools outside; however, by this point late in the day the hippos were visible in their indoor habitat through a glass window, which had underwater viewing of their indoor pool. Having seen photos of my favorite fun-sized pachyderms being relegated to bathtub-sized soaking pools in temperate zoos, I was elated. The little guy swam right up to the glass and yawned with its gaping maw, prompting a woman to insist to her partner that it must be a baby hippo because of how small it is. Normally I keep my corrections to myself (lest I end up spending half my time at each visit as an unvetted docent), but I couldn’t resist telling her that it was in fact an adult hippo - but travel size. A pocket hippo if you will. The fact that we have tiny hippos on this Earth will never cease to amuse and delight me; if it does, I’m forever dead inside.
2nd and 3rd photo credits to @OkapiFan
The adjacent yards are home to an okapi and a pair of cassowaries. One of the cassowary yards decided to really drive home the point that the large birds end up as roadkill far too often by making it look like the zoo’s ratite will walk in front of a semi at any minute:
Photo credit: @Arizona Docent
Other than a pair of well-furnished mesh habitats for binturong (unseen, probably sleeping as always) and howler monkeys, at this point I had finished the outdoors and still had 15 or so minutes to spare. I raced inside and hung a right to see the indoor Komodo space. Sure enough, there was a single dragon chilling on the sand in front of its stylized Indonesian house. An interesting human-nature connection just as with the cassowary (by the way, there was one standing next to me wearing a Christmas hat. I wasn’t hallucinating, I promise.) Off to the side was what looked a very cool exhibit about dragons (the unreal folksy kind, not the one sitting in front of me) that I would have been all over had I not been mid-flail; unfortunately, I had to skip it in favor of Zoidberging my way down the stairs to where the rest of the herp collection was held.
Photographic evidence I wasn't hallucinating, unless... you all see the bird in this photo too, right?
I did take time to notice one cool science feature: a Foucault pendulum slowly swinging back and forth above the plate. This was my first outside of California; I’d seen one at the California Academy of Sciences earlier in the year (a facility I didn’t review, but I’d highly recommend if you’re into cool ectotherms of any kind) and the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles has one dating back to 1935. I’m not nearly as big a physics nerd as I am a biology nerd, but it’s a very interesting device if you aren’t familiar:
The herp section is split into three rooms, containing somewhere around 35 species, none of which were particularly rare or unusual. One room – the largest – looked similar to other herp displays I’d seen with various tanks; a dark room held aquatic reptiles and had a submarine-themed display; and a brightly-lit lab setup had some inverts and a row of double enclosures connected with tubing for a few more herps:
I started rushing towards the aquarium section thinking I could at least pop my head in when the overhead speakers announced that the zoo was closing and everyone needed to make their way to the front. Not seeing an opportunity to slip in for a minute, I sighed and saw myself out the front door back to my car. It’s never a good feeling when you don’t successfully finish a zoo... but hey. I came, I saw, I photographed a gibbon and called it a day. For only an extra 45 minute drive and three fast food meals’ worth of money, I’d finally met my pygmy hippo quota for the year (and I guess also a few good animal shots and filled in gaps in the media gallery).
Look out for my next review: the Sylvan Heights Bird Park... along with its first full species list and a flood of accompanying bird photos! I'm very excited; however, it may be a few days out because I have *a lot* of photos to sort through on top of the review not being written yet. I might take a page from @TeaLovingDave's book (and by book I mean his excellent guidebook thread) and post a teaser in the meantime...
Fast Food Byte of the Day: Five Guys
Very much the Zoo360 of fast food: trending hot and expanding across the country at breakneck speed, this burger joint is known for its association with the Idaho potatoes they store on the dining tables in large burlap sacks. If you ever wanted to know what podunk potato town your fries came from, Five Guys is the only restaurant that will ever have an answer for you. Their food is refreshingly simple: just a crispy burger and a giant bag of salted French fries with a fry carton inside (to use as a shovel, I suppose). But if you really can’t wait for your meal, feel free to snack on the salted peanuts they also have lying around on all the dining tables. Why is this place the big new thing? I have no idea, but you can’t argue with a good burger... and I guess arguing with customer service employees armed with a military-scale stockpile of heavy potato sacks isn't the smartest move either.
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that is really my only complaint about the puffin area, it was the same when I was there in August and it was not easy to see them, much less take a good picture. But they seemed to be having a good time.
My chief issue with NC Zoo is actually the lack of space some animals are given. Not that anything was in tiny yards or enclosures, but rather that some were in massive habitats, and others in enclosures that were comparably small. For example, the black and brown bear enclosures are fairly small, same for the gorilla. I imagine there is a reason for this, possibly the strength of the animals requiring a much more expensive build out?
I went to the Africa Pavilion when it was still open, but that was in the time of film cameras and all of those pictures are lost to time, unfortunately. That must have been around 2000 when I was there. That said, I really wish they had renovated it instead of demolishing it, the smaller animals really helped flesh out African section.
The fishing cat exhibit looks generous. It looks more like an otter exhibit with some extra logs.
I'm calling pygmy hippo "travel sized hippo" from now on.Chapter 10, Part II: Frantically Flailing My Way Through the Piedmont
It was only a 45 minute drive to the city of Greensboro. I was feeling pretty good when I pulled up into the next parking lot, camera still full of juice and a $20 burning in my pocket. I snapped a careful shot of the entrance, then walked up and asked for a ticket. The lady at the window frowned, and asked me if I was sure. I hesitated, and she added, “You know we close at 4 PM, right?”
I checked the clock on my phone. It was 3:05 PM.
I cursed myself in my head as the lady at the register explained that the early closure was due to their winter lights show that is ubiquitous in American zoos this time of year. I should have checked the website and not Google; if I had it would have given me the correct time. I should have arrived at North Carolina Zoo at opening, instead of coming in an hour late; then I still would have had two hours. I stood there for a full minute, mind racing as I looked back between my phone clock and the entrance. The face of the woman working the register waited through this patiently.
In truth, the delay wasn’t necessary; I was just frustrated. I’d already done the math on squeezing this place in with the next zoo I’m reviewing, and it just wasn’t going to work. I did not want to do a 5 hour solo trip just to come back here, and the cold weather would settle on the eastern seaboard by the time I might change my tune on that anyway. I could’ve said no and just left, but I’ve never quit on a zoo from the parking lot or entrance unless it was straight up closed. And finally, Javan gibbons and pygmy hippos.
I turned back to the woman and said, “Okay, that’s fine.” I paid my admission fee and walked in the door. It was now 3:07 PM; I had 53 minutes. Time to test myself, and see some cool animals at the same time.
Greensboro Science Center
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Size: ~17.5 acres
Species Count: ~135 species
Unvisited Areas: Sciquarium, Discovery House, non-animal related exhibits
Noteworthy Species: Javan Gibbon, Trumpeter Hornbill, Sand and Black-footed Cats, Pygmy Hippo, Deep Sea Isopods (missed!)
Price: $22 admission ($19.50 + tax)
Recommended Time: 2 to 3 hours
Species List: Again, I did not make a species list for this zoo as one was already made in 2020 and remains fairly accurate except for the new complex, Revolution Ridge. I will link @nczoofan’s here: Greensboro Science Center: Species List [Greensboro Science Center]
Media Gallery: Greensboro Science Center - ZooChat
Map: https://www.greensboroscience.org/visit/hours/documents/gsc-map.pdf
In case the “recommended time” didn’t clue you in, 53 minutes turned out not to be enough time to see the Greensboro Science Center. It was enough time to frantically flail my way through the herp section and the outdoor zoo, and that’s it. I did not get as many good photos as I’d hoped, and I completely missed the aquarium section (with its giant deep sea isopods I had forgotten about) as well as the exhibits not holding live animals. Therefore, keep in mind that this review is incomplete and there is more to see at this place than I got to see; hopefully some of the people who I tag for photo credits can fill in the gaps!
Nevertheless, what I *did* get to see was pretty cool. The GSC just opened a new expansion called Revolution Ridge, which roughly doubled the footprint of the outdoor zoo portion with one of the coolest and most unusual species lineups I’ve seen before: four species of small cat, red pandas, flamingos, okapi, cassowary, pygmy hippo, and Komodo dragon. Unlike Knoxville’s ARC, this complex got a decent amount of attention on the site and seemed to put the GSC on the path towards being a fully-fledged zoo in the minds of any of us (or me at least - didn't mean to ad-lib all of you in there!), rather than one of many living museums/natural science centers that happened to have a few outdoor exhibits. It’s still unclear what the exact definition of the zoo-aquarium-science center is, but “zoo” works well enough; at this point its footprint is larger than a few others I’ve been to!
Both the old and new outdoor areas are not organized geographically or taxonomically at all, and feature a random selection of both large and small species. The first few exhibits I saw were for Komodo Dragon, Nile Crocodile, Aldabra Tortoise, Meerkat, and a few cages for Green-winged Macaw and Laughing Kookaburra; I wasn’t particularly impressed with any of them and none of the large reptiles were outside (it was around 60 F / 15 C, so on the cooler side for tropical herps). Had I popped into what looked like a small house, I would have found some education animals including an armadillo; unfortunately, I skipped it in the interest of time.
Moving past that, however, I found a family of Javan/Silvery Gibbons inhabiting a quite spacious mesh exhibit, with lots of ropes and platforms for brachiation. Greensboro is one of only three holders in North America, and this was my second time seeing them (first time was at the Gibbon Conservation Center in California). Unfortunately they were not particularly active... so I just turned around and listened to the trumpeting calls of the aptly-named Trumpeter Hornbills in the cage just across the way! I liked this place already.
The path then follows a loop taking me through most of the zoo. Just past a couple of small mesh enclosures for fossa and lemurs; this is followed by a brief walk through some woods until grassy yards for Sumatran Tiger and Maned Wolf/Giant Anteater. The maned wolf and anteater yard is large and has an elevated boardwalk going out into the middle of the enclosure; the anteater was nowhere to be found, but the maned wolf was patrolling all around the faux pampas below.
The new stuff begins after the comparatively uninteresting tiger yard, and it’s pretty easy to tell where the new area is; suddenly the woods that formed a backdrop around you disappear and you’re in a completely opened-up area with lots of mesh and bright-green metal poles.
Photo credit: @Astrotom3000
For the animals, maybe it's great; I'm not an expert. Aesthetically, I might have some notes
This area is home to Red Pandas and four small cats – Serval, Fishing Cat, Black-footed Cat, and Sand Cat. The serval and red pandas have the largest enclosures, while the fishing cat’s is largely taken up by a rocky pool; for the first time ever I saw the semi-aquatic feline glide across the water before settling on a rock. The desert cats were both in their indoor habitats (viewed through glass windows with terrible glare). There are multiple overhead paths for the animals to use for getting between exhibit spaces; this whole Zoo360 design idea is certainly becoming more and more popular in American zoos! I also got a glimpse of one of the zoo’s resident Red-shouldered Hawks on the hunt, thanks to it being pointed out by a docent (who, upon noticing my interest in photographing the raptor, also kindly advised me on a good place to find a easily seen Barred Owl in town).
Following this is a shallow pool for a flock of American flamingos, adjacent the zoo’s swanky new animal hospital. The path then loops back uphill, past more woodlands and a lake up to the final three exhibits of Revolution Ridge. These three are laid out in a row, and are home to three species relatively uncommon in smaller zoos. The Pygmy Hippo exhibit features a grassy yard and a couple of large rocky pools outside; however, by this point late in the day the hippos were visible in their indoor habitat through a glass window, which had underwater viewing of their indoor pool. Having seen photos of my favorite fun-sized pachyderms being relegated to bathtub-sized soaking pools in temperate zoos, I was elated. The little guy swam right up to the glass and yawned with its gaping maw, prompting a woman to insist to her partner that it must be a baby hippo because of how small it is. Normally I keep my corrections to myself (lest I end up spending half my time at each visit as an unvetted docent), but I couldn’t resist telling her that it was in fact an adult hippo - but travel size. A pocket hippo if you will. The fact that we have tiny hippos on this Earth will never cease to amuse and delight me; if it does, I’m forever dead inside.
2nd and 3rd photo credits to @OkapiFan
The adjacent yards are home to an okapi and a pair of cassowaries. One of the cassowary yards decided to really drive home the point that the large birds end up as roadkill far too often by making it look like the zoo’s ratite will walk in front of a semi at any minute:
Photo credit: @Arizona Docent
Other than a pair of well-furnished mesh habitats for binturong (unseen, probably sleeping as always) and howler monkeys, at this point I had finished the outdoors and still had 15 or so minutes to spare. I raced inside and hung a right to see the indoor Komodo space. Sure enough, there was a single dragon chilling on the sand in front of its stylized Indonesian house. An interesting human-nature connection just as with the cassowary (by the way, there was one standing next to me wearing a Christmas hat. I wasn’t hallucinating, I promise.) Off to the side was what looked a very cool exhibit about dragons (the unreal folksy kind, not the one sitting in front of me) that I would have been all over had I not been mid-flail; unfortunately, I had to skip it in favor of Zoidberging my way down the stairs to where the rest of the herp collection was held.
Photographic evidence I wasn't hallucinating, unless... you all see the bird in this photo too, right?
I did take time to notice one cool science feature: a Foucault pendulum slowly swinging back and forth above the plate. This was my first outside of California; I’d seen one at the California Academy of Sciences earlier in the year (a facility I didn’t review, but I’d highly recommend if you’re into cool ectotherms of any kind) and the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles has one dating back to 1935. I’m not nearly as big a physics nerd as I am a biology nerd, but it’s a very interesting device if you aren’t familiar:
The herp section is split into three rooms, containing somewhere around 35 species, none of which were particularly rare or unusual. One room – the largest – looked similar to other herp displays I’d seen with various tanks; a dark room held aquatic reptiles and had a submarine-themed display; and a brightly-lit lab setup had some inverts and a row of double enclosures connected with tubing for a few more herps:
I started rushing towards the aquarium section thinking I could at least pop my head in when the overhead speakers announced that the zoo was closing and everyone needed to make their way to the front. Not seeing an opportunity to slip in for a minute, I sighed and saw myself out the front door back to my car. It’s never a good feeling when you don’t successfully finish a zoo... but hey. I came, I saw, I photographed a gibbon and called it a day. For only an extra 45 minute drive and three fast food meals’ worth of money, I’d finally met my pygmy hippo quota for the year (and I guess also a few good animal shots and filled in gaps in the media gallery).
Look out for my next review: the Sylvan Heights Bird Park... along with its first full species list and a flood of accompanying bird photos! I'm very excited; however, it may be a few days out because I have *a lot* of photos to sort through on top of the review not being written yet. I might take a page from @TeaLovingDave's book (and by book I mean his excellent guidebook thread) and post a teaser in the meantime...
Fast Food Byte of the Day: Five Guys
Very much the Zoo360 of fast food: trending hot and expanding across the country at breakneck speed, this burger joint is known for its association with the Idaho potatoes they store on the dining tables in large burlap sacks. If you ever wanted to know what podunk potato town your fries came from, Five Guys is the only restaurant that will ever have an answer for you. Their food is refreshingly simple: just a crispy burger and a giant bag of salted French fries with a fry carton inside (to use as a shovel, I suppose). But if you really can’t wait for your meal, feel free to snack on the salted peanuts they also have lying around on all the dining tables. Why is this place the big new thing? I have no idea, but you can’t argue with a good burger... and I guess arguing with customer service employees armed with a military-scale stockpile of heavy potato sacks isn't the smartest move either.
I also try to get any zoo at opening unless I am 100% sure it is small enough for me to see the whole zoo before it closes. That only happens with very small zoos or zoos I’ve visited before and know about how much time they’ll take.I told you, you have to get to places at opening
I usually do multiple smaller zoos in a day, sometimes 3 or 4. I could probably do more in one day if I pushed harder, but with so many places requiring timed tickets these days, I don't want to throw money away if I'm not sure I'll make it. I use opening/closing times, distance between them, and key species to determine what order to do them in, so sometimes I can get to multiple at opening in one day.
I told you, you have to get to places at opening
I know you have
few things with that: 1) I have a long history of sleep issues that often make early mornings (both waking up and functioning) difficult... hence the caffeine addiction and late-night likes in the media gallery; 2) in December mornings can be quite cold, so I often purposely don't arrive at a zoo when it first opens because many animals may not be visible (and I'll be cold); and 3) my original plan was just to see NC Zoo and then drive back, not throw GSC in the mix... and if the Forest Aviary had been open that is exactly how things would have played out.I thought it was pretty nice, honestly; the photo I embedded in the review only shows part of the exhibit (maybe 1/3 of it) and it looks more lush in the summer.
I'm not nearly that ambitious
in addition to not often visiting zoos that are both small enough and close enough together to squeeze into one day easily (especially with winter hours). I think two zoos is the most I've ever done in one day, and of the 3 times I can recall off the top of my head 2 of them were time crunches that didn't work out well. I also don't like having to keep track of time so I can rush from one zoo to another; I'd usually rather budget an extra hour or two to circle back for missed species/more photos, or in case of unforeseen delays.As for doing NC Zoo and Greensboro together, I'd hesitate to recommend anybody do it. If you have limited time, decent fitness, and plan ahead, it *can* be done... but it doesn't leave much flex time. For some people that's fine, but it wasn't my preference. Maybe with summer opening hours it's more doable.
I've actually turned out to be a very good judge of how long it'll take me to complete a zoo based on its area and collection size; I always estimate them before I go in order to plan out the day, and of the 16+ zoos I've visited since beginning of November my estimate wasn't far off on a single one (except for North Carolina, where the aviary closure and easy walking meant I finished *faster* than I'd estimated). I accurately estimated that Greensboro was a 2 hour facility for me; what I got wrong was the closing time (and also I didn't plan that visit ahead of time).
I know you have
I thought it was pretty nice, honestly; the photo I embedded in the review only shows part of the exhibit (maybe 1/3 of it) and it looks more lush in the summer.
I'm not nearly that ambitious
As for doing NC Zoo and Greensboro together, I'd hesitate to recommend anybody do it. If you have limited time, decent fitness, and plan ahead, it *can* be done... but it doesn't leave much flex time. For some people that's fine, but it wasn't my preference. Maybe with summer opening hours it's more doable.
I've actually turned out to be a very good judge of how long it'll take me to complete a zoo based on its area and collection size; I always estimate them before I go in order to plan out the day, and of the 16+ zoos I've visited since beginning of November my estimate wasn't far off on a single one (except for North Carolina, where the aviary closure and easy walking meant I finished *faster* than I'd estimated). I accurately estimated that Greensboro was a 2 hour facility for me; what I got wrong was the closing time (and also I didn't plan that visit ahead of time).
I didn't know you have sleep issues! Me too.
I've only added on an extra, completely unplanned zoo once, and that was my recent trip to Syracuse. I changed my itinerary the night before, to going to Syracuse instead of the PA/NY border, but then finished earlier than expected and had plenty of time to stop at one of those (Animal Adventure Park) on the way back. I don't really keep track of time, just have a good idea of where I'm going, what the driving times are like, and how long each will take me. There's been a few other times where I've thought "eh, maybe" and ended up stopping, but they were all small, awful zoos near highways that I never would have made the time for normally but had the energy to stop at. I rarely backtrack - if a species isn't out early, it's probably not going to be out in the middle of the day either, unless it's a species that might not have been let out yet.
I definitely wouldn't try to combine the walking of NC with anything else! My plan has always been to stop at Greensboro on the way further south, or to combine it with Museum of Life + Science or Conservator's Center.
My thought is you rather overspent your time than lacking in it. If you do manage to leave early you can have other activities later, but if you are late to it and you want more time that isn't possible.
The only reason I know that wasn't real because they use a common hippo. If they use a pygmy hippo I'll believe that