Zoo/Aquarium Hot Takes

Zoos in the southern US should have more indoor exhibits/viewing areas to give guests a break from the heat.
The possibilities are limitless: day rooms (like the orangutan ones at Phoenix), nocturnal houses (which seem to be more common up north for some reason), maybe even some fully-indoor exhibits for colder-climate creatures (I was thinking Red Pandas or non-banded Penguins, although that last one might have some issues, but what do I know?).
 
Great Argus said:
What issue? The SeaWorlds would like a word as the most prolific penguin breeders in North America. :p
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I meant in Arizona specifically. A habitat like that might be seen as a “waste of water” to some people, and I imagine things would go south (pardon the pun) very quickly if this hypothetical habitat pulls a Polk Penguin Conservation Center and either leaks a bunch or has the AC fail (which hasn’t happened at Detroit, but you get the idea, right?).
 
Corangurilla said:
I meant in Arizona specifically. A habitat like that might be seen as a “waste of water” to some people, and I imagine things would go south (pardon the pun) very quickly if this hypothetical habitat pulls a Polk Penguin Conservation Center and either leaks a bunch or has the AC fail (which hasn’t happened at Detroit, but you get the idea, right?).
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I think the bigger short-term issue would actually be the AC/refrigeration costs on such a building running up the zoo's energy consumption.
 
Corangurilla said:
Zoos in the southern US should have more indoor exhibits/viewing areas to give guests a break from the heat.
The possibilities are limitless: day rooms (like the orangutan ones at Phoenix), nocturnal houses (which seem to be more common up north for some reason), maybe even some fully-indoor exhibits for colder-climate creatures (I was thinking Red Pandas or non-banded Penguins, although that last one might have some issues, but what do I know?).
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I don't really get how this is a hot take
 
ChIkEn NuGrEt said:
I don't really get how this is a hot take
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Well, no one else had brought it up…
Ok, actual possible hot take incoming? Odysea Voyager at the Odysea Aquarium may be impressive, but I say it totally fails as a traditional exhibit for a number of reasons.
  1. You have a limited amount of time to see everything because it rotates (except the sharks at the end if you stay in the bathroom at the beginning (why would you?).
  2. You can only ride it once. This is due to Odysea’s linear nature, meant to replicate the journey of a drop of water to the ocean (doesn’t the water cycle have more than one path, though? Oh well…), but it also means you only have so much time to get your photographs/videos, especially of the sea lions (who have no other way of being viewed, btw).
  3. Oh dear lord, the audio. I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: Odysea Voyager is probably the cringiest exhibit at any zoo or aquarium in the US. There’s been 3 audio tracks (as far as I’m aware), and they all have something that’ll make you groan: Track 1 had two grown adult aquarium workers bickering about who’s better and puns that’ll make you roll your eyes out of your head (well that was “turtle-y” awesome!), track 2 had this guy named “Nathan” who said some of the dumbest stuff like “I see a giant flying pancake on a stick!” (It was a stingray…) and “I can see a bubble butt from a mile away!” (Which sounds awful if you say it super breathy), and while Track 3 is professional and keeps the puns to a minimum, that doesn’t excuse the mandatory 5 seconds of Baby Shark you have to listen to if you want out.
So yeah, Odysea Voyager is both cringe and fail (still like it to an extent, though).
 
Corangurilla said:
Well, no one else had brought it up…
Ok, actual possible hot take incoming? Odysea Voyager at the Odysea Aquarium may be impressive, but I say it totally fails as a traditional exhibit for a number of reasons.
  1. You have a limited amount of time to see everything because it rotates (except the sharks at the end if you stay in the bathroom at the beginning (why would you?).
  2. You can only ride it once. This is due to Odysea’s linear nature, meant to replicate the journey of a drop of water to the ocean (doesn’t the water cycle have more than one path, though? Oh well…), but it also means you only have so much time to get your photographs/videos, especially of the sea lions (who have no other way of being viewed, btw).
  3. Oh dear lord, the audio. I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: Odysea Voyager is probably the cringiest exhibit at any zoo or aquarium in the US. There’s been 3 audio tracks (as far as I’m aware), and they all have something that’ll make you groan: Track 1 had two grown adult aquarium workers bickering about who’s better and puns that’ll make you roll your eyes out of your head (well that was “turtle-y” awesome!), track 2 had this guy named “Nathan” who said some of the dumbest stuff like “I see a giant flying pancake on a stick!” (It was a stingray…) and “I can see a bubble butt from a mile away!” (Which sounds awful if you say it super breathy), and while Track 3 is professional and keeps the puns to a minimum, that doesn’t excuse the mandatory 5 seconds of Baby Shark you have to listen to if you want out.
So yeah, Odysea Voyager is both cringe and fail (still like it to an extent, though).
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Once again I don’t think that’s a hot take. I have definitely heard people on the website dislike odysea and odysea voyager for those reasons.
 
Westcoastperson said:
Once again I don’t think that’s a hot take. I have definitely heard people on the website dislike odysea and odysea voyager for those reasons.
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Shoot, this is hard…
Ok, harkening back to the first post in this thread, here’s a more positive hot take: Lincoln Park Zoo (the Chicago one, obviously) is a Top 5 American Zoo. I know a lot of people here think it’s really good, but I think it’s really, really, REALLY good.
It has a hearty blend of well-known megafauna and lesser-known species, no truly bad exhibits, it’s small enough to see everything in a reasonable timeframe, and it’s free! I also get vague Henry Doorly vibes from the way it completed it’s master plan so cleanly.
Also, bonus related hot take: the Regenstein Center for African Apes is a Top 3 gorilla/chimpanzee habitat. I think the vertical approach to the indoor habitats due to limited ground space is genius, and if they can get fully-grown gorillas to climb, perhaps this kind of habitat could be the solution to grounded captive orangutans? Maybe.
 
A real hot take:

The AZA should replicate their elephant policy to more species. To those unaware, the AZA c. 2010 made their first species specific requirements. Over the following decade a lot of zoos got rid of elephants and those that kept them almost all had to invest in new facilities. I think they should institute similar policies on cetaceans and great apes at minimum. Things like Brookfield’s tropic world shouldn’t be allowed in a modern zoo in good standing.

I don’t know if this is a hot take so much as an unpleasant observation, but I’m concerned that the US aquarium market is getting over saturated. Given that it’s dominated by for-profit businesses I’m worried what would happen if one major chain faced financial pressures and liquidated their assets. The investors in other chains could panic and bring down the industry. I’m not sure the remaining aquariums could easily take in the animals from the rest, and a lot of jobs would be lost.
 
Persephone said:
Things like Brookfield’s tropic world shouldn’t be allowed in a modern zoo in good standing
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A lot of such architecture was built in a different time era and would be very expensive to take out and replace. It's not like zoos can just immediately tear down exhibits as soon as they become outdated. Too many of them work on a limited budget and can only so much.
 
Persephone said:
Things like Brookfield’s tropic world shouldn’t be allowed in a modern zoo in good standing.
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Have you seen Tropic World in person? It's nowhere near as bad as it is made out to be. Most of the exhibits are huge and while they lack natural substrate the sheer amount of space the animals have clearly make up for it. The great ape exhibits are bad but all of the others are fine.

Also, as Great Argus alluded to, the price tag on tearing down that building would be immense. Brookfield recently announced they'll be giving the great apes new exhibits in a few years anyway.
 
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Persephone said:
Things like Brookfield’s tropic world shouldn’t be allowed in a modern zoo in good standing.
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Have you seen Tropic World. I know it's ugly and has many flaws, but as birdsandbats said, it is HUGE. The ape exhibits are lacking a lot, but the other animals get so much space. I've seen outdoor enclosures for some of the species smaller than what Tropic World has.
 
Bengal Tiger said:
Nowhere else (at least in NA) will you see an indoor ape exhibit as big as either of the ones in Tropic World.
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The great ape exhibits are the only part of Tropic World that isn't huge. There's no way those are the largest indoor exhibits. The orangutan exhibit in particular is tiny.
 
birdsandbats said:
The great ape exhibits are the only part of Tropic World that isn't huge. There's no way those are the largest indoor exhibits. The orangutan exhibit in particular is tiny.
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I noticed what I said, and edited it to be more accurate. I was thinking of the other enclosures.
 
Bengal Tiger said:
I noticed what I said, and edited it to be more accurate. I was thinking of the other enclosures.
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Bengal Tiger said:
Have you seen Tropic World. I know it's ugly and has many flaws, but as birdsandbats said, it is HUGE. The ape exhibits are lacking a lot, but the other animals get so much space. I've seen outdoor enclosures for some of the species smaller than what Tropic World has.
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That isn't at all the same statement you made before.
 
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