I can't help but wonder if this will continue with a future director. The one thing I want from the Minnesota Zoo right now is a new director because the current leader doesn't seem to understand what a zoo is. I find myself imagining what could be done to the Minnesota Zoo to amend the recent decline and also improve it beyond what it once was.
I would also have to agree about our current director. I don’t know to much about him, and he doesn’t make very many public appearances, but from what I can gather he doesn’t really understand why people go to the zoo in the first place. What is the point of building a replacement for the monorail when there is literally no incentive to go up there? if there aren't any species exclusive to the trail, why bother walking the extra mile? In fact, you would be seeing less species by going up there than you would regularly, as most of Russia's Grizzly Coast wouldn't be viewable from the trail. I might go up there a few times for pictures, but overall, I don't see the point of going up there if there is nothing new. It would be a huge bummer if all of these species were phased out to fund the Treetops Trail, which in all honesty, will likley end up being a waste of money.
The Llama Trek gets more and more tedious every year, and while interesting and somewhat attractive for the first year or two, with many experiences no longer offered, it is really quite awful. Bringing back giraffes, zebras, ostriches, wildebeest, and antelope for a year would be a great change of pace. When an animal passes, I wish the zoo would immediately find a replacement for it. I don't care if it is an ambassador animal (as long as the arrangement isn't permanent) but they shouldn't leave the enclosure empty for literally years or replace it with an animal already at the zoo. I will likely not walk on the Treetops Trail for the first few years that its open because my grandparents enjoy going with me but could never walk however many miles that is in addition to the paths that already exist.
I agree with you about the Llama Trek, it's a complete waste of space now that the Rheas are gone and would be much better if used for wild animals instead of domestics. Llamas could be replaced with Guanacos and Rheas could be brought back along with species like Condors and Pudu, or, If they could move the bison to the old Musk Ox exhibit, they could add a pretty large mixed exhibit for cold-weather Asian Ungulates (Przewalski's Horse, Bactrian Camel, Pere Davids Deer, and Onager come to mind).
I cannot understand why they would ever renovate the monorail track without adding a showstopper that can't be seen from anywhere else. So what, they talk about adding a wild goat species and some deer (and never even fallow through with it, anyway)? What is that going to do? No one goes to the zoo and says "I'd like to see some deer and wild goats." For a cheaper cost, the zoo could have converted the bison field for multiple Indian rhinoceroses with a huge indoor holding and viewing pavilion. While the rhinoceroses couldn't be outside for five to six months of the year, really large dayrooms (which the zoo most certainly has room for) that allow guests to get really close to the rhinoceroses would mitigate the problem.
I think adding more species along the Treetops Trail (Elk, Bighorn Sheep, Markhor, Snow Leopard, Red Panda, etc.) would definitely be an improvement, as I already stated, there isn't really any reason to go up there if there aren't any exclusive species. Indian Rhino could work, but that would be a huge investment I'm not sure the zoo has the funding for.
Simple enclosures for Steller's sea eagles in the Russia's Grizzly Coast area and meerkats near the Mussel Cabin would be nice improvements and the meerkats could be huge draws. Hardly anybody goes to the Mussel Cabin because they either never follow that path or just don't care about it. Adding a meerkat enclosure there isn't to far away for it to be out of the way, and it also attracts people to the Mussel Cabin.
I would agree that little improvements like these would be a welcome addition. Seller's Sea Eagles were supposed to be added to RGC in the 2015 Master Plan, but were cut once Lee Emke went to Houston. Bringing back this idea would be quite the welcome addition, and it would at least be a breath of fresh air to have even something this small be built. I like the idea of adding meerkats, but I don't think there is any room for a new exhibit by the Mussel Cabin, and I kind of like how quiet that part of the zoo is. I think Meerkats would be a good addition to a renovation of the Main Building/Snow Monkey Exhibit, which is definitely showing its age with concrete on the verge of crumbling. This part of the zoos should be the top priority for renovations, as it could become a genuine safety hazard in the coming decades. Although Maned Wolves would have been a nice addition, they would mess with the Cold-Weather theme of Minnesota's outdoor exhibits and I'd rather they stick with that than add Tropical species that would only be on-display half of the year.
I don’t really mind them moving stuff out of the Minnesota Trail to the Northern Trail if it lets them expand the current Minnesota exhibits. They’re much smaller than their Northern counterparts and there’s already a fair bit of precedent for having Minnesota native species there (bison, moose). There are still a few cold weather species they could add, too, rather than diluting the zoo’s identity by cramming in tropical and subtropical ABCs. Rheas, snow leopards, outdoor penguins, getting red pandas back, another goat or sheep, deer / cranes, etc. Some of those would mean officially abandoning the Asian highlands but who really cares at this point. That wasn’t happening anyway.
I thought llama trek was solid for what it is. Just wish it had condors or rheas or something that isn’t a domestic.
I would definitely agree that the zoo should stick with the cold-weather theme, as that is what makes the zoo zo unique compared to other American zoos. I would have to disagree on the Llama Trek, though, as it replaced the fantastic and Massive Bactrian Camel/Przewalski's Horse Exhibit that existed before it with a walk-through exhibit for domestics. There was the Kangaroo Krossing for a few years a while back, which at least gave the Roos a massive amount of space and had side exhibits for Emu and Black Swan, despite not quite fitting with the Northern Trail's cold-weather theme.
Another thing I could see helping the zoo would be a re-vamp or expansion of the tropics trail, which is full of empty exhibits and aging infrastructure. bringing back Clouded Leopards, Chevrotains, Binturongs, Fishing Cats, Lorises, & Otters, while adding species like Capybara, Babirusa, Coati, more reptiles, and possibly larger expansions for tropical megafauna like Bongos, Pygmy Hippos or Bonobos would be a nice breath of freash air, although not all of these would be possible considering the zoos budget.
Overall, there is so much potential for greatness with the Minnesota Zoo, but the zoo has continuously fumbled the ball over the past decade, with almost no major process since John Frawley took charge in 2016. only around 6 new species (mostly birds and fish that are either impossible to find or never on exhibit) have been added in the past decade, with countless amounts of species phased out, and the zoo having consistent financial problems. Sorry if I de-railed this thread with speculation, but I thought it was necessary to prove how much the zoo is missing out on and what it could do better.
