Yeah, we don't get a ton of pictures from WW, I will be going back later this year and should get more.
Popular Zoo Mammals and Their Best Exhibits
- Thread starter 15399
- Start date
Today's post is dedicated to a personal favorite of mine, Gibbons! Gibbons, or lesser apes, are twenty species of apes native to Asia, however many of these species are not present in US Zoos. The three most commonly kept species are the Siamang, Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon, and White-Handed Gibbon, all of whom are managed as SSPs by the AZA. Other species, such as Mueller's, Yellow-cheeked, Pileated, and Javan Gibbons are around in much smaller numbers. Unlike many of the great ape species, gibbons live in long-lasting, monogamous pair bonds, instead of larger social groups. I decided that these species should all share a single post since there aren't any real differences in how they should best be displayed.
The criteria for this post include:
Photo by: @TinoPup.
Photo by: @Milwaukee Man.
Photo by: @Ituri.
Photo by: @snowleopard.
Photo by: @snowleopard.
Photo by: @GraysonDP (Mueller's Gibbon Island)
Photo by: @Moebelle (Orangutan/White-handed Gibbon)
Photo by: @TinoPup (Siamang Island)
Photo by: @Mr.Weasel
Photo by: @Mr.Weasel
Photo by: @Mr.Weasel
Photo by: @Anmltrnr98.
Photo by: @Moebelle.
The criteria for this post include:
- Climbing Opportunities: Gibbons live almost entirely arboreal lives in the wild, brachiating between trees. Ideal exhibits for gibbons should therefore prioritize climbing opportunities over physical floor space. Climbing opportunities don't necessarily need to be natural, in fact in many cases mesh habitats provide excellent opportunities for the gibbons to climb on the mesh itself.
- Inclusion of Live Plants: While climbing opportunities may not require naturalism to be successful, that doesn't mean gibbons don't benefit from live plants in their exhibits. As species from the Tropical Asian Rainforest, gibbons live in a densely forested environment in the wild, so an ideal gibbon exhibit in zoos would replicate this by providing live plants, an excellent way to give shade to the animals.
- The Gibbon Islands at Nashville Zoo provide an excellent home for white-cheeked gibbons and siamangs. Live trees allow for brachiation high up in the branches, providing an incredible, naturalistic home for the gibbons. An excellent description of this exhibit exists in the thread "America's 100 Must See Exhibits" by @pachyderm pro:
- Woodland Park Zoo's siamang exhibit is another example of an incredible, naturalistic gibbon island. This exhibit is very densely planted, making it difficult to tell where it begins and where it ends. The inclusion of an indoor section is ideal for Seattle's cold winters as well:
- Cincinnati Zoo exhibits multiple different gibbon species (as of 2023, a total of five were listed on their USDA inspection report!), and the exhibits for these gibbons are highly varied, ranging from rather standard island-type exhibits, to an impressive mixed-species exhibit for white-handed gibbons and orangutans:
- Disney's Animal Kingdom exhibits both white-cheeked gibbons and siamangs in a pair of exhibits in their Asia section. Most of these exhibits consist of islands, however a series of climbing poles also allow the gibbons to cross the visitor path. While these are certainly far from the most naturalistic gibbon islands, they still provide an impressive amount of climbing opportunities that warrant them a mention in this post:
- Islands are not the only great way to exhibit gibbons. The White-Cheeked Gibbon exhibit at Akron Zoo is a multi-story, mesh-topped exhibit that provides a large amount of climbing opportunities for its gibbon residents:
Lots of great gibbon exhibits in the US. The Akron one reminds me of the gibbon exhibits at Knoxville, which have some serious height to them as well as overhead paths:
pc @Coelacanth18
pc @Coelacanth18
Pleistocene891
Well-Known Member
I know it's all indoors, but I'm surprised Bronx's Gibbon exhibit didn't make the cut. It's very naturalistic, large, and there's many different species mixed in together.
@snowleopard
@fkalltheway
@TinoPup
@snowleopard
@fkalltheway
@TinoPup
In a few weeks I'll be visiting Nashville for the first time and the gibbon islands are one of the things I'm most excited to see. Who would have guessed giving loud, charismatic primates access to tall trees surrounded by dense vegetation would make for an impressive exhibit? Surely a tire swing and a kiddie slide would suffice. 
While on the topic, Santa Barbra Zoo's gibbon island is also fantastic for the same reasons; tall trees, lush furnishings, good sightlines, etc.
@snowleopard
@mstickmanp
While on the topic, Santa Barbra Zoo's gibbon island is also fantastic for the same reasons; tall trees, lush furnishings, good sightlines, etc.@snowleopard
@mstickmanp
Lots of great gibbon exhibits in the US. The Akron one reminds me of the gibbon exhibits at Knoxville, which have some serious height to them as well as overhead paths:
pc @Coelacanth18
I know it's all indoors, but I'm surprised Bronx's Gibbon exhibit didn't make the cut. It's very naturalistic, large, and there's many different species mixed in together.
@snowleopard
@fkalltheway
@TinoPup
There are definitely a number of other Gibbon exhibits that easily could've made this thread! I actually swapped out two exhibits during the process of writing the post, because there really are more than five exhibits that easily could've made the list.In a few weeks I'll be visiting Nashville for the first time and the gibbon islands are one of the things I'm most excited to see. Who would have guessed giving loud, charismatic primates access to tall trees surrounded by dense vegetation would make for an impressive exhibit? Surely a tire swing and a kiddie slide would suffice.
@snowleopard
@mstickmanp
I genuinely debated whether or not to make gibbons one post, two (giving siamangs their own), or three (the three SSP species). I ultimately decided though that their exhibitry and needs are so similar and a few of the best choices keep multiple species, so limiting Gibbons to one post would be better. There are enough exhibits that I easily could've made it more though!
Today's post will be dedicated to a *very* popular small mammal: the Red Panda! Discovered well before the giant panda was, this species is also much smaller, while still eating a diet predominately made of bamboo. Red and giant pandas are not close relatives, however, and red pandas are the only living members of the family Ailuridae. As of 2020, 89 AZA facilities (the vast majority in the US) kept red pandas (and a few unaccredited zoos as well). While many on here are understandably frustrated when certain species are extremely popular in zoos, red pandas are a charismatic, popular species with minimal spatial requirements: making them an ideal choice for many smaller institutions to keep. Unfortunately, despite being very common, the vast majority of exhibits for red pandas are not particularly impressive. There are two subspecies of red panda (or species depending on who you talk to), each of which is managed separately by the AZA. The more common subspecies is the Western (or nominate) subspecies, though the Chinese (or Styan's) Red Panda is also well-represented.
The criteria used for this post include:
Photo by: @Moebelle.
Photo by: @mweb08.
Photo by: @pachyderm pro.
Photo by: @Moebelle.
Photo by: @Coelacanth18.
Photo by: @geomorph.
Photo by: @Coelacanth18 (this is the CHINA exhibit).
Photo by: @Moebelle.
Photo by: @Moebelle.
Photo by: @Baldur.
Photo by: @mweb08.
The criteria used for this post include:
- Climbing Opportunities: Red pandas live a primarily arboreal lifestyle, so zoos with a large amount of climbing opportunities were prioritized over zoos who did not. In particular, some of the zoos on this list gave red pandas access to mature trees, which makes for a particularly impressive display.
- Access to Climate-Controlled Areas: As a species from the Himalayas, red pandas do rather poorly in the heat, which can even be a challenge for Northern zoos in the summer months. As such, it is both an AZA requirement and a requirement for this thread that zoos include a climate-controlled section of the exhibit. Unfortunately, many of the zoos with impressive climbing opportunities did not have climate-controlled areas accessible to visitors, but instead had climate-controlled areas in behind-the-scenes holdings- making it difficult to view the pandas during the summer.
- Incorporation of Live Plants: Red pandas tend to live in forested areas, making it important both for shade and privacy that trees and other plants are incorporated into the exhibit.
- Virginia Zoo has a very spacious red panda exhibit that allows the pandas to climb in both a live tree and man-made climbing structures. The exhibit is well-planted, but unfortunately there is no publicly visible area that's climate controlled. One neat feature for visitors, however, is that the tree in the exhibit includes branches reaching out over the visitor path:
- Another red panda exhibit (technically two exhibits) with impressive climbing opportunities is located at the Detroit Zoo. These exhibits differs from the Virginia Zoo exhibit in that its viewing areas are at both ground-level and tree-level, as well as there being a greater number of trees in the exhibit:
- Memphis Zoo actually has multiple different exhibits for red pandas, but the most impressive is the spacious exhibit in Cat Country. The exhibit in CHINA is also above-average, however lacks the impressive trees of the Cat Country exhibit:
- Cincinnati Zoo may be best-known for its hippos, however a number of its other species have much more impressive exhibits. One of these is the red panda, exhibited in a spacious, well-planted exhibit with live trees for the pandas to climb in:
- While this impressive exhibit is often over-shadowed (understandably so) by a certain black-and-white bear species exhibited nearby, Smithsonian's National Zoo has a very spacious exhibit for red pandas as part of Asia Trail. This exhibit features both live trees and impressive rock work for the pandas to climb on, and has visitor viewing at multiple different heights. Another unique aspect of this exhibit is the water feature running through the middle of it:
Which of these exhibits keep Western and which keep Chinese?Today's post will be dedicated to a *very* popular small mammal: the Red Panda! Discovered well before the giant panda was, this species is also much smaller, while still eating a diet predominately made of bamboo. Red and giant pandas are not close relatives, however, and red pandas are the only living members of the family Ailuridae. As of 2020, 89 AZA facilities (the vast majority in the US) kept red pandas (and a few unaccredited zoos as well). While many on here are understandably frustrated when certain species are extremely popular in zoos, red pandas are a charismatic, popular species with minimal spatial requirements: making them an ideal choice for many smaller institutions to keep. Unfortunately, despite being very common, the vast majority of exhibits for red pandas are not particularly impressive. There are two subspecies of red panda (or species depending on who you talk to), each of which is managed separately by the AZA. The more common subspecies is the Western (or nominate) subspecies, though the Chinese (or Styan's) Red Panda is also well-represented.
The criteria used for this post include:
The five exhibits chosen for this species are:
- Climbing Opportunities: Red pandas live a primarily arboreal lifestyle, so zoos with a large amount of climbing opportunities were prioritized over zoos who did not. In particular, some of the zoos on this list gave red pandas access to mature trees, which makes for a particularly impressive display.
- Access to Climate-Controlled Areas: As a species from the Himalayas, red pandas do rather poorly in the heat, which can even be a challenge for Northern zoos in the summer months. As such, it is both an AZA requirement and a requirement for this thread that zoos include a climate-controlled section of the exhibit. Unfortunately, many of the zoos with impressive climbing opportunities did not have climate-controlled areas accessible to visitors, but instead had climate-controlled areas in behind-the-scenes holdings- making it difficult to view the pandas during the summer.
- Incorporation of Live Plants: Red pandas tend to live in forested areas, making it important both for shade and privacy that trees and other plants are incorporated into the exhibit.
- Virginia Zoo has a very spacious red panda exhibit that allows the pandas to climb in both a live tree and man-made climbing structures. The exhibit is well-planted, but unfortunately there is no publicly visible area that's climate controlled. One neat feature for visitors, however, is that the tree in the exhibit includes branches reaching out over the visitor path:
Photo by: @Moebelle.
Photo by: @mweb08.
- Another red panda exhibit (technically two exhibits) with impressive climbing opportunities is located at the Detroit Zoo. These exhibits differs from the Virginia Zoo exhibit in that its viewing areas are at both ground-level and tree-level, as well as there being a greater number of trees in the exhibit:
Photo by: @pachyderm pro.
Photo by: @Moebelle.
- Memphis Zoo actually has multiple different exhibits for red pandas, but the most impressive is the spacious exhibit in Cat Country. The exhibit in CHINA is also above-average, however lacks the impressive trees of the Cat Country exhibit:
Photo by: @Coelacanth18.
Photo by: @geomorph.
Photo by: @Coelacanth18 (this is the CHINA exhibit).
- Cincinnati Zoo may be best-known for its hippos, however a number of its other species have much more impressive exhibits. One of these is the red panda, exhibited in a spacious, well-planted exhibit with live trees for the pandas to climb in:
Photo by: @Moebelle.
Photo by: @Moebelle.
- While this impressive exhibit is often over-shadowed (understandably so) by a certain black-and-white bear species exhibited nearby, Smithsonian's National Zoo has a very spacious exhibit for red pandas as part of Asia Trail. This exhibit features both live trees and impressive rock work for the pandas to climb on, and has visitor viewing at multiple different heights. Another unique aspect of this exhibit is the water feature running through the middle of it:
Photo by: @Baldur.
Photo by: @mweb08.
With the exception of Cincinnati, all the zoos keep Western Red Pandas. Memphis Zoo is notable in that it keeps both species, however I don't know which exhibit holds which type of panda.
In honor of World Porcupine Day, it seems fitting to dedicate today's post to the North American Porcupine! North American Porcupines are a classic zoo animal, common both within and outside the AZA. As of 2021, there were 55 AZA zoos with North American Porcupines in their collection, although some of these were not on display, as it's a species commonly used as ambassador animals. Almost all of these zoos kept either single individuals or pairs of porcupines.
The criteria used in this post include:
Photo by: @geomorph
Photo by: @geomorph
Photo by: @snowleopard
Photo by: @MGolka
Photo by: @Pleistohorse
Photo by: @OkapiFan
Photo by: @Coelacanth18
Photo by: @Dhole dude
Photo by: @Dhole dude
The criteria used in this post include:
- Climbing Opportunities: North American Porcupines are an arboreal species. Like other arboreal species, climbing opportunities are a top priority for deciding on the best exhibits. Specifically, providing live trees is a great way to make an excellent porcupine exhibit.
- Live Plants: As a species native to the forests of North America, having native plants in the exhibit is an excellent way to make a great North American Porcupine exhibit. While this ideally would include climbable trees, there is a benefit to bushes, grasses, and non-climbable trees as well- such as adding shade and hiding spots.
- Space: Many zoos seem to use North American Porcupines as a filler species in small exhibits, perhaps understandably so since they are a small, but charismatic species. However, few facilities dedicate larger exhibits (both height and floor space) to porcupines, making the ones that do notable inclusions on this list.
- As a native species, it's no surprise that some of the more impressive North American Porcupine exhibits are at zoos that specialize in native animals. One of these is the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which has a particularly tall exhibit for their porcupines. While it may lack native plants and the floor space is fairly small, there is still an impressive amount of climbing opportunities and it is of an impressive height for the porcupines. Visitor-wise, one nice aspect is that the viewing areas are at canopy-level, making it easier to see the porcupines:
- North American Porcupines are allowed access to real trees in their exhibit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. This is a fairly spacious exhibit, and one with primarily naturalistic climbing opportunities, through both live trees and other wooded structures:
- As a smaller species, North American Porcupines can be a great choice of a species for smaller zoos to highlight. One such example is ZooMontana, which transformed an old bighorn sheep exhibit into one for North American Porcupines. While unfortunately climbing opportunities are a little sparce, this exhibit has impressive floor space and shows that small zoos can still have impressive exhibits if they choose species appropriately. The only photo of this exhibit in the Zoo Chat gallery shows it in winter, and I'd be interested to see what this exhibit looks like in the summer months:
- While it's not the sole focus of the facility, North Carolina Zoo excels at its exhibits for native species. Their North American Porcupine exhibit is quite tall, featuring both impressive rock work and naturalistic logs for climbing opportunities:
- Another small zoo with a particularly impressive porcupine exhibit is the Lake Superior Zoo, which has a quite large exhibit for the species including naturalistic climbing opportunities and live plants:
They are mixed with ravens at the Lake Superior Zoo.In honor of World Porcupine Day, it seems fitting to dedicate today's post to the North American Porcupine! North American Porcupines are a classic zoo animal, common both within and outside the AZA. As of 2021, there were 55 AZA zoos with North American Porcupines in their collection, although some of these were not on display, as it's a species commonly used as ambassador animals. Almost all of these zoos kept either single individuals or pairs of porcupines.
The criteria used in this post include:
The zoos chosen for this post are:
- Climbing Opportunities: North American Porcupines are an arboreal species. Like other arboreal species, climbing opportunities are a top priority for deciding on the best exhibits. Specifically, providing live trees is a great way to make an excellent porcupine exhibit.
- Live Plants: As a species native to the forests of North America, having native plants in the exhibit is an excellent way to make a great North American Porcupine exhibit. While this ideally would include climbable trees, there is a benefit to bushes, grasses, and non-climbable trees as well- such as adding shade and hiding spots.
- Space: Many zoos seem to use North American Porcupines as a filler species in small exhibits, perhaps understandably so since they are a small, but charismatic species. However, few facilities dedicate larger exhibits (both height and floor space) to porcupines, making the ones that do notable inclusions on this list.
- As a native species, it's no surprise that some of the more impressive North American Porcupine exhibits are at zoos that specialize in native animals. One of these is the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which has a particularly tall exhibit for their porcupines. While it may lack native plants and the floor space is fairly small, there is still an impressive amount of climbing opportunities and it is of an impressive height for the porcupines. Visitor-wise, one nice aspect is that the viewing areas are at canopy-level, making it easier to see the porcupines:
Photo by: @geomorph
Photo by: @geomorph
- North American Porcupines are allowed access to real trees in their exhibit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. This is a fairly spacious exhibit, and one with primarily naturalistic climbing opportunities, through both live trees and other wooded structures:
Photo by: @snowleopard
Photo by: @MGolka
- As a smaller species, North American Porcupines can be a great choice of a species for smaller zoos to highlight. One such example is ZooMontana, which transformed an old bighorn sheep exhibit into one for North American Porcupines. While unfortunately climbing opportunities are a little sparce, this exhibit has impressive floor space and shows that small zoos can still have impressive exhibits if they choose species appropriately. The only photo of this exhibit in the Zoo Chat gallery shows it in winter, and I'd be interested to see what this exhibit looks like in the summer months:
Photo by: @Pleistohorse
- While it's not the sole focus of the facility, North Carolina Zoo excels at its exhibits for native species. Their North American Porcupine exhibit is quite tall, featuring both impressive rock work and naturalistic logs for climbing opportunities:
Photo by: @OkapiFan
Photo by: @Coelacanth18
- Another small zoo with a particularly impressive porcupine exhibit is the Lake Superior Zoo, which has a quite large exhibit for the species including naturalistic climbing opportunities and live plants:
Photo by: @Dhole dude
Photo by: @Dhole dude
Not anymore, unfortunately. The sign for the Ravens were gone on my last visit, while the ravens themselves were nowhere to be seen.
The Virginia Zoo's red panda exhibit has declined over the years. The limb that used to go over the board walk was removed. I have not seen their main exhibit since they worked on the boardwalk this year, but I felt like I read somewhere they removed the whole tree from the exhibit. I saw one picture and it looks like the vegetation on the back fencing is gone. So now it reveals the keepers' pathway behind the exhibit. I will say though the older red panda exhibit is in good shape with two big trees. Unless one or both have been removed this year.
That's a shame, and I was not aware. All the photos of the exhibit in the zoochat gallery are akin to the ones I posted, so if there have been major changes I'd appreciate seeing them in the zoo chat gallery.
I originally had a different post lined up for today (which you will likely read soon), however it came to my attention this afternoon that today is World Meerkat Day! I see no other way to celebrate everyone's favorite small mammal than a post dedicated to the best exhibits for Meerkats, continuing this trend of common zoo small mammals another day. While many on here complain about how common meerkats are in zoos, they are far from the most common zoo animal in the United States. Within the AZA, there are 66 zoos with meerkats, and the species is rare outside of the AZA due to Lacey Act restrictions. Personally, I enjoy seeing meerkats in zoos, as they are a small, charismatic species that is usually active and can be enjoyable to watch in the right exhibit.
The criteria for this post include:
Photo by: @TinoPup
Photo by: @Coelacanth18
Photo by: @snowleopard
Photo by: @Moebelle
Photo by: @Milwaukee Man
Photo by: @Moebelle
Photo by: @GraysonDP
Photo by: @snowleopard
Photo by: @geomorph
Photo by: @TinoPup
Photo by: @snowleopard
Photo by: @snowleopard
Photo by: @Ituri
Photo by: @geomorph
Photo by: @KCZooFan
The criteria for this post include:
- Naturalistic Substrate and Digging Opportunities: As a burrowing species, it is extremely important for zoos to feature a natural substrate in the exhibit, in particular one that allows the meerkats to dig. While there may not be one specific substrate that is ideal (e.g. sand vs. dirt), the ability to dig is essential if providing meerkats the ability to express natural behaviors.
- Social Group: Yet again, this thread focuses on a social species. Like the others, having a naturalistic social grouping is very high on the priorities for a great meerkat exhibit. There are a decent number of zoos with large mobs of meerkats, however there are also plenty of zoos to unfortunately keep much smaller mobs. This criteria was secondary to the habitat-related criteria however, as oftentimes the size of a zoo's meerkat mob can change quite quickly.
- Tunnel Systems: As a burrowing species, it's important for the meerkats to be able to have access to a tunnel system in their exhibit. The best exhibits for meerkats allow them multiple entrances and exits to a tunnel system, either built into the exhibit or built by the meerkats.
- It would be impossible to make a post dedicated to meerkats without mentioning the incredible exhibit at Nashville Zoo, home to a mob of six meerkats. This is a very spacious exhibit, featuring large sections of natural substrate for the meerkats to dig in:
- While unfortunately only home to four meerkats as of earlier this year, Zoo Atlanta has multiple interconnected exhibits for their meerkats. These exhibits are located on either side of a visitor path, and either would be more than adequate on their own right, let alone together. Both of these sandy exhibits offer plenty of opportunities for their resident meerkats to dig as well:
- An excellent, grassy exhibit for a mob of five meerkats exists at the Houston Zoo. This exhibit is fairly spacious, and includes plenty of natural substrate for the meerkats to dig in. The inclusion of both grass and sandy areas also allows meerkats the choice of substrate, which is important as choice and control are some of the foundations of good animal welfare:
- At Oakland Zoo, an impressive mob of ten meerkats live in a spacious, grassy habitat. This exhibit offers plenty of naturalistic areas for the meerkats to live and dig, along with plenty of hiding opportunities. The impressive large mob is only the icing on the cake of an already impressive exhibit:
- Another zoo with a large mob of meerkats is Kansas' Sedgwick County Zoo, which also houses ten meerkats. While the exhibit isn't quite as impressive of Oakland's, it is still a large size and allows for plenty of digging opportunities. The rock work paired with this exhibit is also quite nice, as it's built into a simulated kopje:
I originally had a different post lined up for today (which you will likely read soon), however it came to my attention this afternoon that today is World Meerkat Day! I see no other way to celebrate everyone's favorite small mammal than a post dedicated to the best exhibits for Meerkats, continuing this trend of common zoo small mammals another day. While many on here complain about how common meerkats are in zoos, they are far from the most common zoo animal in the United States. Within the AZA, there are 66 zoos with meerkats, and the species is rare outside of the AZA due to Lacey Act restrictions. Personally, I enjoy seeing meerkats in zoos, as they are a small, charismatic species that is usually active and can be enjoyable to watch in the right exhibit.
The criteria for this post include:
The zoos I selected to feature in this post are:
- Naturalistic Substrate and Digging Opportunities: As a burrowing species, it is extremely important for zoos to feature a natural substrate in the exhibit, in particular one that allows the meerkats to dig. While there may not be one specific substrate that is ideal (e.g. sand vs. dirt), the ability to dig is essential if providing meerkats the ability to express natural behaviors.
- Social Group: Yet again, this thread focuses on a social species. Like the others, having a naturalistic social grouping is very high on the priorities for a great meerkat exhibit. There are a decent number of zoos with large mobs of meerkats, however there are also plenty of zoos to unfortunately keep much smaller mobs. This criteria was secondary to the habitat-related criteria however, as oftentimes the size of a zoo's meerkat mob can change quite quickly.
- Tunnel Systems: As a burrowing species, it's important for the meerkats to be able to have access to a tunnel system in their exhibit. The best exhibits for meerkats allow them multiple entrances and exits to a tunnel system, either built into the exhibit or built by the meerkats.
- It would be impossible to make a post dedicated to meerkats without mentioning the incredible exhibit at Nashville Zoo, home to a mob of six meerkats. This is a very spacious exhibit, featuring large sections of natural substrate for the meerkats to dig in:
Photo by: @TinoPup
Photo by: @Coelacanth18
Photo by: @snowleopard
- While unfortunately only home to four meerkats as of earlier this year, Zoo Atlanta has multiple interconnected exhibits for their meerkats. These exhibits are located on either side of a visitor path, and either would be more than adequate on their own right, let alone together. Both of these sandy exhibits offer plenty of opportunities for their resident meerkats to dig as well:
Photo by: @Moebelle
Photo by: @Milwaukee Man
Photo by: @Moebelle
- An excellent, grassy exhibit for a mob of five meerkats exists at the Houston Zoo. This exhibit is fairly spacious, and includes plenty of natural substrate for the meerkats to dig in. The inclusion of both grass and sandy areas also allows meerkats the choice of substrate, which is important as choice and control are some of the foundations of good animal welfare:
Photo by: @GraysonDP
Photo by: @snowleopard
Photo by: @geomorph
- At Oakland Zoo, an impressive mob of ten meerkats live in a spacious, grassy habitat. This exhibit offers plenty of naturalistic areas for the meerkats to live and dig, along with plenty of hiding opportunities. The impressive large mob is only the icing on the cake of an already impressive exhibit:
Photo by: @TinoPup
Photo by: @snowleopard
Photo by: @snowleopard
- Another zoo with a large mob of meerkats is Kansas' Sedgwick County Zoo, which also houses ten meerkats. While the exhibit isn't quite as impressive of Oakland's, it is still a large size and allows for plenty of digging opportunities. The rock work paired with this exhibit is also quite nice, as it's built into a simulated kopje:
Photo by: @Ituri
Photo by: @geomorph
Photo by: @KCZooFan
One word: Philadelphia
I actually strongly debated adding this exhibit to the list, however unfortunately the Philadelphia Zoo currently does not have any meerkats so the exhibit is disqualified from inclusion on the list either. This is another species that there are more than five excellent exhibits for, and I just as easily could've included a few other exhibits over Houston, Sedgwick, or Atlanta (i.e. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Brevard Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo).
That's not their fault though, and they'll be replaced. The only one of the 5 I've seen is Nashville, but I would take Philadelphia over it 10/10 times. Especially when inside is open, since few places have both indoor and outdoor viewing. I've spent a lot of time watching the animals (RIP
) use the outdoor system and it's fascinating seeing their behaviors.Hasn't the inside area been closed since before COVID though? If so, then that isn't a consideration for the thread. I'm not criticizing Philadelphia's exhibit. It is certainly an excellent exhibit, and I was disappointed to not see any meerkats on my visit in 2022. However, I do think it falls narrowly outside of the list, on the categories of substrate/digging opportunities, social groupings, space, and tunneling systems. That isn't to say it's not an excellent exhibit though! Meerkats were one that had more than five options that easily could've made the thread.That's not their fault though, and they'll be replaced. The only one of the 5 I've seen is Nashville, but I would take Philadelphia over it 10/10 times. Especially when inside is open, since few places have both indoor and outdoor viewing. I've spent a lot of time watching the animals (RIP
Rest assured, even though the meerkat exhibit at Philadelphia did not make the cut, there will be multiple exhibits from the Philadelphia area on the list by the time it is finished.
That's fair, about inside not being public currently; it's in a bit of a transition stage. Those are the areas I think it *wins* in, though. They have a big sand digging pit with a creative use of space along with digging room inside, had a close social group that had been together for a long time, inside is bigger than many entire exhibits for the species. They previously shared with a pair of aardvark, as well. The formation of the tunnels and towers outside lets them explore a greater space using their social dynamics, including having a "lookout". You could really see the animals working together when doing stuff, vs it being harder to track (if at all) in typical exhibits. I usually saw them *doing things* vs just hanging out. Sorry, I just really like the exhibit