Here, I was expecting to finally take a break from being negative about Brookfield on zoochat, and yet on-brand as ever, all of the potentially valuable projects remain in the future while the zoo is instead trying something else that is cheaper and more questionable, when the last thing it needs is potentially another stain on its increasingly sour reputation. It feels like we're racing to the bottom. Brookfield is once again breaking my heart.
Let me try to focus on some positive -- Brookfield has not held many parrots on exhibit in the last decade, besides the green-winged macaws that used to be in Perching Bird House/Feathers and Scales that were also macaws on a stick, golden conures at some point, and lovebirds. These are great animals to be adding to the collection, beautiful and very attention-grabbing, and while they chose the second worst possible way to display them (after undersized corncob cages) they are a major new addition to the collection, and with the local bird aviary on the other end of the Nature Plaza it looks like Dr. Mike is trying to create an informal bird area around the plaza, even if it won't be completely bird-focused. It's nice to see Brookfield work here as their avian collection has declined a lot.
It's a good choice of space as well because it's so close to Perching Bird House, an area that was always slated to become more of a bird building before it became home to Woof-field Gifts (a family favorite I was sorry to see go) and Peacock Bar and Grill. I don't really think it was the best location for an eatery at the zoo and honestly anything outside South American Marketplace and the Safari Grill/BZ Red Hots feels a little underwhelming. I like that they included both indoor and outdoor options rather than hiding the animals in a building all year round like half of the zoo as it is, or forcing them to be seasonal only.
But it's still parrots on a stick! My God!
I'm so glad to see toucans and macaws coming back to the collection but my God, build an actual aviary for these animals instead of trying to stick them in here and there as cheap expansions. It wouldn't have been difficult to add outdoor aviaries for tropical birds to the southern side of Tropic World, where the local aviary is slated to be, and you could have turned the former bar/grill into a local bird aviary instead. My brother in conservation, this is not the way!
It blunts my excitement about future development to imagine continuing to have to apologize or justify this exhibit.
Also disappointing to hear about Puzzle. It would certainly be a nice surprise if the construction they are referring to is going to be a positive expansion of the existing Australia House building, but I am in constant fear that updating the building will just gut it of everything that has made it special. The wombat/echidna room is one of my favorite places in the whole zoo these days and even if it could be improved I can only imagine those species being the first to be axed in any possible expansion.
As an aside, I had no clue the indoor exhibits were accessible during Holiday Magic, which I've never had the pleasure to attend so far. I'd love to see the wolves, ocelot and fishing cat active at night! Sounds like a highlighted visit just from that.
I think that's an issue with the nature plaza in general. It's such a spread out space and it's completely surrounded by animal houses that are far more alluring. Even when the upcoming exhibits are added next year, I'm still not sure if native birds and turtles are going to be a big enough draw to make this a popular area - even if they are some very neat species.
This is likely a result of the change in management. The restaurant revamp was done under the zoos old director and Dr. Adkesson probably saw how underutilized the space was and decided to turn in into something else entirely. I'm not sure what they're going to do with the other half of the building - it looked like it was being used for storage when I peaked in - but it would be really weird if it's still being used as a restaurant just with macaws in another room. Macaw Cafe anyone?
You bring up some really good points here.
Now that I think about it, I notice it seems like there was a lot of development of this nature in the last decade or so at Brookfield -- such as the opening of the Pavillions by the cat habitats, the Beer Garden moving in front of the Ridge, Peacock Bar & Grill, aspects of Wild Encounters, the new food places on East Mall right in front of BZ Red Hots, and all leading of course to Wildlife Plaza -- it seems like Dr. Strahl put a lot of emphasis on these kinds of 'event spaces' that while potentially useful and lucrative, are dead space to the average zoo guest, and that's not counting the fact Reptile House's conversion to a Conservation Center also killed it as a guest space. I am not criticizing these decisions on any individual level so much as 'wow, we did a
lot of that'.
I suspect based on Strahl's emphasis on conservation leadership and a lot of more behind the scenes activity that perhaps these projects provided a way to add vital funding to the zoo's bottom line and the conservation projects dependent on it without being as intensive as building new habitats for animals, but I think they had a cumulative effect of creating more space that wasn't as useful or interesting to the average, daily guest as well as some repetition. It's great that Dr. Adkesson is focusing on putting animal exhibits first and forward again because one of the best ways to boost visitor attendance is to create new experiences.
