Popular Zoo Mammals and Their Best Exhibits

[15399]

While I'm sitting here after seeing news of the first impending major snow storm of the year, I figured it's fitting to do a post dedicated to polar bears! While the number of zoos housing polar bears have been decreasing, at the same time the average quality of polar bears has been increasing. The criteria for this post is very similar to those used for brown bears:

• Size: Bears are a species typically housed in more old-fashioned style exhibits, oftentimes too small for the large size of these animals. While the five exhibits mentioned in this post may not be the largest five exhibits for the species, but they are all very sizeable habitats for this species
• Exhibit Complexity: Bears are intelligent animals, and as a result a large exhibit isn't enough for them. Instead, the exhibit needs various furnishings, enrichment opportunities, and more to build a more complex environment for them.
• Water Feature: Polar bears are a much more aquatic species than the other bears, and while access to large land areas is more important than a large pool, having a large pool is better than not having one.
• Natural Substrate: Way too often old school bear exhibits used primarily concrete and gunnite, with a complete lack of natural substrate. Having natural substrate, whether that be grass, soil, mulch, or a combination thereof, is an important part of any polar bear exhibit.

The exhibits I selected for polar bears are:

• It should come as no surprise that Detroit Zoo, both the largest and most historically groundbreaking exhibit for polar bears in the country, ranks amongst the top five in the country. This large habitat contains plenty of sections with natural substrate, and despite being over twenty years old now remains an impressive, top habitat for polar bears. This habitat provides the bears with plenty of choice and control over their environment, important from a welfare perspective, both with multiple substrate types, multiple large pools, and plenty of opportunities to escape from visitor viewing. While it can be understandably frustrating to struggle in seeing the bears (I know I didn't on my one visit), and it certainly isn't the only exhibit to make a solid case for being the number one exhibit in the country, Detroit Zoo is a shoe-in for the top three, let alone top five:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Bisonblake

Photo By: @fkalltheway

• While smaller than Detroit, it would be as easy to make a case that the best exhibit in the country is Polar Frontier at the Columbus Zoo. This is a very complex habitat, featuring plenty of enrichment opportunities, live trees, multiple different types of substrate, and a large pool. Uniquely, Columbus Zoo reportedly brings in different brush and wood pieces routinely to allow the bears impressive, naturalistic enrichment. From a visitor perspective, I suspect most would say the viewing opportunities of polar bears are superior at Columbus over Detroit:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Austin the Sengi

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @Captain Callum

• Smaller, older, and otherwise spatially-constricted zoos can still make great polar bear exhibits- with one great example being the Lincoln Park Zoo. This exhibit contains plenty of natural substrate areas, with a varied terrain allowing for the bears choice and control over their environment. Lincoln Park is one of multiple zoos that phased out multiple other bear species in order to prioritize an impressive polar bear complex, and that's what it takes to do it right:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Moebelle

• Along with Detroit and Columbus, the other clear choice for "top three" polar bear exhibits is Rocky Shores at the North Carolina Zoo. A large pool, on-exhibit den, and plenty of both grassy and rocky land areas create an all-around excellent exhibit that was expertly designed for the bears. While it is no denying that climactically North Carolina is not as perfect for bears as the other zoos on this list, the high quality and large size of this exhibit more than make up for that:

Photo By: @ZooNerd

Photo By: @ZooNerd

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

• For a small zoo on a limited budget, Wisconsin's Henry Vilas Zoo certainly made a very respectable exhibit for polar bears. This exhibit is a large size, containing both a large pool and plenty of land areas, and contains multiple complex naturalistic features, and for visitors contain a multitude of impressive viewing opportunities:

Photo By: @Wild wolverine

Photo By: @Wild wolverine

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

 

[TinoPup]

While I'm sitting here after seeing news of the first impending major snow storm of the year, I figured it's fitting to do a post dedicated to polar bears! While the number of zoos housing polar bears have been decreasing, at the same time the average quality of polar bears has been increasing. The criteria for this post is very similar to those used for brown bears:

• Size: Bears are a species typically housed in more old-fashioned style exhibits, oftentimes too small for the large size of these animals. While the five exhibits mentioned in this post may not be the largest five exhibits for the species, but they are all very sizeable habitats for this species
• Exhibit Complexity: Bears are intelligent animals, and as a result a large exhibit isn't enough for them. Instead, the exhibit needs various furnishings, enrichment opportunities, and more to build a more complex environment for them.
• Water Feature: Polar bears are a much more aquatic species than the other bears, and while access to large land areas is more important than a large pool, having a large pool is better than not having one.
• Natural Substrate: Way too often old school bear exhibits used primarily concrete and gunnite, with a complete lack of natural substrate. Having natural substrate, whether that be grass, soil, mulch, or a combination thereof, is an important part of any polar bear exhibit.

The exhibits I selected for polar bears are:

• It should come as no surprise that Detroit Zoo, both the largest and most historically groundbreaking exhibit for polar bears in the country, ranks amongst the top five in the country. This large habitat contains plenty of sections with natural substrate, and despite being over twenty years old now remains an impressive, top habitat for polar bears. This habitat provides the bears with plenty of choice and control over their environment, important from a welfare perspective, both with multiple substrate types, multiple large pools, and plenty of opportunities to escape from visitor viewing. While it can be understandably frustrating to struggle in seeing the bears (I know I didn't on my one visit), and a few more recent exhibits make a solid case for being the number one exhibit in the country, Detroit Zoo is a shoe-in for the top three, let alone top five:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Bisonblake

Photo By: @fkalltheway

• While smaller than Detroit, it would be as easy to make a case that the best exhibit in the country is Polar Frontier at the Columbus Zoo. This is a very complex habitat, featuring plenty of enrichment opportunities, live trees, multiple different types of substrate, and a large pool. Uniquely, Columbus Zoo reportedly brings in different brush and wood pieces routinely to allow the bears impressive, naturalistic enrichment. From a visitor perspective, I suspect most would say the viewing opportunities of polar bears are superior at Columbus over Detroit:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Austin the Sengi

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @Captain Callum

• Smaller, older, and otherwise spatially-constricted zoos can still make great polar bear exhibits- with one great example being the Lincoln Park Zoo. This exhibit contains plenty of natural substrate areas, with a varied terrain allowing for the bears choice and control over their environment. Lincoln Park is one of multiple zoos that phased out multiple other bear species in order to prioritize an impressive polar bear complex, and that's what it takes to do it right:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Moebelle

• Along with Detroit and Columbus, the other clear choice for "top three" polar bear exhibits is Rocky Shores at the North Carolina Zoo. A large pool, on-exhibit den, and plenty of both grassy and rocky land areas create an all-around excellent exhibit that was expertly designed for the bears. While it is no denying that climactically North Carolina is not as perfect for bears as the other zoos on this list, the high quality and large size of this exhibit more than make up for that:

Photo By: @ZooNerd

Photo By: @ZooNerd

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

• For a small zoo on a limited budget, Wisconsin's Henry Vilas Zoo certainly made a very respectable exhibit for polar bears. This exhibit is a large size, containing both a large pool and plenty of land areas, and contains multiple complex naturalistic features, and for visitors contain a multitude of impressive viewing opportunities:

Photo By: @Wild wolverine

Photo By: @Wild wolverine

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

I love Columbus's, but I have never seen the bears there doing anything but sleep It's so disappointing!

 

[15399]

I love Columbus's, but I have never seen the bears there doing anything but sleep It's so disappointing!

That's interesting, since I spend a lot of time with Buffalo's bears since my research team is doing a project on them, and while inactivity is fairly common, it isn't very often I've seen one of the bears asleep. While I'm certain there are personality and temperament differences between bears that could yield some sleeping more than others, the impression I've gotten from Buffalo's bears is that polar bears aren't a species to sleep most of the day. It's understandably disappointing for the polar bears to sleep on all your visits, though!

 

[TinoPup]

That's interesting, since I spend a lot of time with Buffalo's bears since my research team is doing a project on them, and while inactivity is fairly common, it isn't very often I've seen one of the bears asleep. While I'm certain there are personality and temperament differences between bears that could yield some sleeping more than others, the impression I've gotten from Buffalo's bears is that polar bears aren't a species to sleep most of the day. It's understandably disappointing for the polar bears to sleep on all your visits, though!

Sometimes one will have its eyes open, at least, but they've been sound asleep a few times

 

[JVM]

For three or four scrolls I was convinced you'd forgotten the fifth exhibit, although I'd swore one of the photos looked like Lincoln Park, and then I go back and finally find it and it's on the list! It's one of the exhibits I never appreciated until I saw active animals using it -- my first impression of it was negative, but it's grown on me a lot on subsequent visits. There's a few nitpicks about the guest setup but it's a really impressive exhibit for a constrained zoo!

I do know what TinoPup means about the bears sleeping a lot though -- most visits to Brookfield, I only see one bear sleeping somewhere, and that was my experience at Saint Louis as well. Lincoln Park's tend to sleep where they won't be seen.

 

[Emanuel Theodorus]

Today's post will be dedicated to a very large mammal, the black rhinoceros! The most solitary of the three rhino species found in US zoos, the criteria are similar, but modified, from the white and one-horned rhinos. Due to the fact they are seldom successful in mixed-species exhibits, black rhinos are significantly less common in US Zoos than white rhinos are.

The criteria for black rhinos are:

• Space: Rhinos are big animals that will roam across large areas of land in the wild. As such, an impressive rhino display requires large amounts of space, ideally half an acre or more.
• Plants: This can be difficult to achieve with large and destructive animals, but since rhinos are grazers in the wild, an ideal exhibit for them does include having a plant cover to graze.
• Presence of Mud Wallows: Rhinos use mud in the wild as a form of natural sunscreen, and an ideal exhibit for them will allow the rhinos to replicate this behavior.

The exhibits selected for black rhinos are:

• One of the few successful mixed-species exhibits is the rhino savanna at The Living Desert, new in 2021. this habitat uses its large size and plenty of escape routes for smaller residents to successfully mix black rhinos with various other species. While time will tell whether the success of this mix continues long-term, it is an impressive exhibit regardless due to its large size and overall greenery:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

• While when most zoochatters think of Cincinnati Zoo a different rhino species comes to mind, black rhinos can be found in the very respectable Rhino Reserve. This is a sizeable black rhino exhibit and contains a number of plants to allow natural foraging opportunities:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Orion Pachs

Photo By: @Orion Pachs

• A very similar exhibit to Cincinnati's can be found at the Pittsburgh Zoo. This is a similarly large exhibit, surrounded by plenty of shade and vegetation to create an all-around great exhibit:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @zoofan75

• Another similarly large, planted exhibit can be found in the River's Edge section of Saint Louis Zoo. This exhibit contains a large water feature, plenty of shaded and sunny sections, and lots of grass:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

• Given they are solitary and don't tend to mix well, black rhinos can arguably be the best choice for a small zoo looking to add a rhino to their collection. No zoo proves this better than the Great Plains Zoo, whose Rare Rhinos of Africa exhibit provides a spacious, grassy habitat for this species. While large mixed-species savannas can certainly be impressive, not all zoos have as much space as North Carolina or Disney, and black rhinos can make a great choice for smaller zoos wanting a large mammal:

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

And with that, there are only three species remaining. I came slightly short of my goal of having the thread done by the end of the year, but regardless there are some incredible exhibits yet to be highlighted. Not only do I suspect anyone who has followed this thread can easily guess the three remaining species, I wouldn't be surprised if one could guess the majority of fifteen exhibits remaining, since some of them are well-known, world-class habitats.

Disney is not included is a crime lmao. That exhibit has some of the best muddy rockworks I've ever seen and I think it deserves an inclusion.

 

[15399]

Disney is not included is a crime lmao. That exhibit has some of the best muddy rockworks I've ever seen and I think it deserves an inclusion.

That's another good exhibit, as with many species there were more than five good exhibits to decide between. Just because they have aesthetically pleasing muddy rockwork doesn't qualify it though, as this thread is primarily focused on things that have a more direct impact on the animals. Disney's exhibit lacks the same foraging opportunities that the exhibits included in my post grant to their rhinos. Know that Disney's exhibit was considered for this post though, if that makes you feel any better.

 

[15399]

And now, for the thread's final species, I think everyone can probably guess the iconic zoo animal that will be highlighted in today's post: the African Pygmy Goat! Naked Mole Rat! Blue Whale! Western Lowland Gorilla!

The largest of all primates, gorillas are a personal favorite of mine (and one that I have the privilege of observing for research on a regular basis), and one that I'm excited to write about! The criteria for gorillas are:

• Climbing Opportunities: Gorillas may not live the entirely arboreal lifestyles of orangutans, but they still warrant exhibits with a wide variety of climbing opportunities, and will take advantage of them when given the chance, whether that be from live trees, artificial climbing structures, or a combination thereof.
• Space: Apes live over large swaths of land in the wild, and this should be replicated in zoos by giving adequate space to these large animals. There's no such thing as too much space (from the gorilla's perspective), but there is such thing as too little.
• Exhibit Complexity: Apes are intelligent beings. As such, it's important to design an exhibit that contains a high variety of climbing opportunities and enrichment opportunities to keep the apes engaged and active.
• Social Structure: Gorillas live in complex social groups in the wild. While there are multiple acceptable means of social structure for gorillas, including bachelor groups, fission-fusion groups, or a silverback with multiple females, each of these zoos maintains a large, natural social grouping of gorillas.
• Shade: Gorillas tend to prefer shaded or indoor areas over sunny, grassy fields, so the exhibits in this post reflect this.

The exhibits I chose to feature for gorillas are:

• Clearly one of the best gorilla exhibits in the country, the famous Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo is a truly incredible exhibit that is essentially the definition of a must-see zoo exhibit. From having a large forested section containing both live and artificial trees for gorillas to climb, multiple large social groupings, and paired with a plethora of viewing opportunities and educational signage that create an unparalleled visitor experience, this exhibit is undeniably one of the best gorilla exhibits in the country, and is paired with multiple other exhibits that have already been featured on this thread. While I do think this exhibit could be improved upon by including an indoor component as well, it remains one of, if not the best, gorilla exhibits in the country:

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @TinoPup

• While from the visitor experience perspective Bronx's is the best gorilla exhibit I've seen, if I was a gorilla I suspect I'd rather live in the exhibit at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This exhibit similarly contains multiple natural social groupings, in a series of very large exhibits featuring a number of live trees and other heavily forested sections that create an all-around excellent exhibit. While fewer than the Bronx, the viewing opportunities provided here are similarly excellent:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @Neil chace

• Out of all the great gorilla exhibits in the United States, none would exist if it wasn't for the exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo, masterfully designed under the direction of David Hancocks. This exhibit, once finished, was let sit for two years until gorillas entered, so that the plants could grow into a forest that could withstand the gorillas' destruction. The results, the first truly naturalistic gorilla exhibit in the country, and one that still holds up well almost fifty years later:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @DevinL

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While already mentioned for chimpanzees, the Regenstein Center for African Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo is also home to two troops of gorillas, and remains an impressive home for the largest of the apes. A hotspot for captive great ape research, this exhibit contains both large indoor and outdoor exhibits, making them great year-round homes for apes, and the rotational elements create a great enriching home:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @Moebelle

• While not as frequently talked about as others on this list, Denver Zoo's Primate Panorama is another very large, naturalistic habitat for a troop of gorillas. This exhibit contains large, live trees for climbing, plenty of enrichment opportunities, and a very shady, all-around excellent home for this gorilla troop:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

 

[Nile Hippo Expert]

And now, for the thread's final species, I think everyone can probably guess the iconic zoo animal that will be highlighted in today's post: the African Pygmy Goat! Naked Mole Rat! Blue Whale! Western Lowland Gorilla!

The largest of all primates, gorillas are a personal favorite of mine (and one that I have the privilege of observing for research on a regular basis), and one that I'm excited to write about! The criteria for gorillas are:

• Climbing Opportunities: Gorillas may not live the entirely arboreal lifestyles of orangutans, but they still warrant exhibits with a wide variety of climbing opportunities, and will take advantage of them when given the chance, whether that be from live trees, artificial climbing structures, or a combination thereof.
• Space: Apes live over large swaths of land in the wild, and this should be replicated in zoos by giving adequate space to these large animals. There's no such thing as too much space (from the gorilla's perspective), but there is such thing as too little.
• Exhibit Complexity: Apes are intelligent beings. As such, it's important to design an exhibit that contains a high variety of climbing opportunities and enrichment opportunities to keep the apes engaged and active.
• Social Structure: Gorillas live in complex social groups in the wild. While there are multiple acceptable means of social structure for gorillas, including bachelor groups, fission-fusion groups, or a silverback with multiple females, each of these zoos maintains a large, natural social grouping of gorillas.
• Shade: Gorillas tend to prefer shaded or indoor areas over sunny, grassy fields, so the exhibits in this post reflect this.

The exhibits I chose to feature for gorillas are:

• Clearly one of the best gorilla exhibits in the country, the famous Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo is a truly incredible exhibit that is essentially the definition of a must-see zoo exhibit. From having a large forested section containing both live and artificial trees for gorillas to climb, multiple large social groupings, and paired with a plethora of viewing opportunities and educational signage that create an unparalleled visitor experience, this exhibit is undeniably one of the best gorilla exhibits in the country, and is paired with multiple other exhibits that have already been featured on this thread. While I do think this exhibit could be improved upon by including an indoor component as well, it remains one of, if not the best, gorilla exhibits in the country:

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @TinoPup

• While from the visitor experience perspective Bronx's is the best gorilla exhibit I've seen, if I was a gorilla I suspect I'd rather live in the exhibit at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This exhibit similarly contains multiple natural social groupings, in a series of very large exhibits featuring a number of live trees and other heavily forested sections that create an all-around excellent exhibit. While fewer than the Bronx, the viewing opportunities provided here are similarly excellent:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @Neil chace

• Out of all the great gorilla exhibits in the United States, none would exist if it wasn't for the exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo, masterfully designed under the direction of David Hancocks. This exhibit, once finished, was let sit for two years until gorillas entered, so that the plants could grow into a forest that could withstand the gorillas' destruction. The results, the first truly naturalistic gorilla exhibit in the country, and one that still holds up well almost fifty years later:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @DevinL

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While already mentioned for chimpanzees, the Regenstein Center for African Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo is also home to two troops of gorillas, and remains an impressive home for the largest of the apes. A hotspot for captive great ape research, this exhibit contains both large indoor and outdoor exhibits, making them great year-round homes for apes, and the rotational elements create a great enriching home:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @Moebelle

• While not as frequently talked about as others on this list, Denver Zoo's Primate Panorama is another very large, naturalistic habitat for a troop of gorillas. This exhibit contains large, live trees for climbing, plenty of enrichment opportunities, and a very shady, all-around excellent home for this gorilla troop:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

This has been an amazing thread you have created and I am going to really miss it.

 

[AnActualFan]

Fantastic thread, and I loved seeing all these highlights, including some that I've actually been too. Now a part of me wonders what are the "best" for some of the popular reptiles and bird species (though that would take wayyy too long for research and determining what even is the best).

 

[Gibbonsagainstgravity]

And now, for the thread's final species, I think everyone can probably guess the iconic zoo animal that will be highlighted in today's post: the African Pygmy Goat! Naked Mole Rat! Blue Whale! Western Lowland Gorilla!

The largest of all primates, gorillas are a personal favorite of mine (and one that I have the privilege of observing for research on a regular basis), and one that I'm excited to write about! The criteria for gorillas are:

• Climbing Opportunities: Gorillas may not live the entirely arboreal lifestyles of orangutans, but they still warrant exhibits with a wide variety of climbing opportunities, and will take advantage of them when given the chance, whether that be from live trees, artificial climbing structures, or a combination thereof.
• Space: Apes live over large swaths of land in the wild, and this should be replicated in zoos by giving adequate space to these large animals. There's no such thing as too much space (from the gorilla's perspective), but there is such thing as too little.
• Exhibit Complexity: Apes are intelligent beings. As such, it's important to design an exhibit that contains a high variety of climbing opportunities and enrichment opportunities to keep the apes engaged and active.
• Social Structure: Gorillas live in complex social groups in the wild. While there are multiple acceptable means of social structure for gorillas, including bachelor groups, fission-fusion groups, or a silverback with multiple females, each of these zoos maintains a large, natural social grouping of gorillas.
• Shade: Gorillas tend to prefer shaded or indoor areas over sunny, grassy fields, so the exhibits in this post reflect this.

The exhibits I chose to feature for gorillas are:

• Clearly one of the best gorilla exhibits in the country, the famous Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo is a truly incredible exhibit that is essentially the definition of a must-see zoo exhibit. From having a large forested section containing both live and artificial trees for gorillas to climb, multiple large social groupings, and paired with a plethora of viewing opportunities and educational signage that create an unparalleled visitor experience, this exhibit is undeniably one of the best gorilla exhibits in the country, and is paired with multiple other exhibits that have already been featured on this thread. While I do think this exhibit could be improved upon by including an indoor component as well, it remains one of, if not the best, gorilla exhibits in the country:

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @TinoPup

• While from the visitor experience perspective Bronx's is the best gorilla exhibit I've seen, if I was a gorilla I suspect I'd rather live in the exhibit at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This exhibit similarly contains multiple natural social groupings, in a series of very large exhibits featuring a number of live trees and other heavily forested sections that create an all-around excellent exhibit. While fewer than the Bronx, the viewing opportunities provided here are similarly excellent:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @Neil chace

• Out of all the great gorilla exhibits in the United States, none would exist if it wasn't for the exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo, masterfully designed under the direction of David Hancocks. This exhibit, once finished, was let sit for two years until gorillas entered, so that the plants could grow into a forest that could withstand the gorillas' destruction. The results, the first truly naturalistic gorilla exhibit in the country, and one that still holds up well almost fifty years later:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @DevinL

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While already mentioned for chimpanzees, the Regenstein Center for African Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo is also home to two troops of gorillas, and remains an impressive home for the largest of the apes. A hotspot for captive great ape research, this exhibit contains both large indoor and outdoor exhibits, making them great year-round homes for apes, and the rotational elements create a great enriching home:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @Moebelle

• While not as frequently talked about as others on this list, Denver Zoo's Primate Panorama is another very large, naturalistic habitat for a troop of gorillas. This exhibit contains large, live trees for climbing, plenty of enrichment opportunities, and a very shady, all-around excellent home for this gorilla troop:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Congratulations! This a truly incredible thread!

 

[tigris115]

Congrats on finishing this thread. I do hope that you'll soon make a table of contents.

 

[15399]

Fantastic thread, and I loved seeing all these highlights, including some that I've actually been too. Now a part of me wonders what are the "best" for some of the popular reptiles and bird species (though that would take wayyy too long for research and determining what even is the best).

The very beginnings of research on a non-mammals thread have started, however I'm evaluating doing it in a slightly different format due to the presence of massive, walk-through aviaries with a large number of species. It wouldn't be very fun to, say, have a Victorian Crowned Pigeon post, followed by a Nicobar Pigeon post, followed by a fruit dove post, if the same exhibits appear on all three!

Congrats on finishing this thread. I do hope that you'll soon make a table of contents.

First I'm going to do some recap posts and honorable mentions, but then I can put together a table of contents for it.

 

[TheGytrash]

I really feel like you saved the best for last! The Bronx Zoo's gorilla forest is my favorite zoo exhibit of any kind, period. (And I'm also a huge fan of the Disney's Animal Kingdom exhibit!)

Now that the thread is complete, who else's favorite exhibit was showcased here?

 

[Nile Hippo Expert]

Some popular mammals in American zoos that were excluded from this list include:
- Moose
- Black Panther
- Kudu
- Wildebeest
- Impala
- Bonobo
- Siamang
- Sun Bear
- Coati
- Mountain Goat
- Patas Monkey
- Spider Monkey
- Squirrel Monkey
- Muskox
I just want to ask why these species were excluded, that's all.

 

[Persephone]

Some popular mammals in American zoos that were excluded from this list include:
- Moose
- Black Panther
- Kudu
- Wildebeest
- Impala
- Bonobo
- Siamang
- Sun Bear
- Coati
- Mountain Goat
- Patas Monkey
- Spider Monkey
- Squirrel Monkey
- Muskox
I just want to ask why these species were excluded, that's all.

Not the OP, but I can answer some:

1) Black Panther is a variant of leopard (or jaguar or cougar) rather than its own species. The AZA’s discouragement of breeding for color morphs also means that most holders are going to be from smaller or less reputable facilities.

2) Muskoxen might not have five American holders. I’m pretty sure they’re all in Alaska, anyways, and might get repetitive.

3) Sun Bear have a declining number of holders and are essentially being phased out. And the exhibits I have seen haven’t impressed me.

4) I think bonobo probably could’ve been combined with their cousins. Not sure if any bonobo exhibit would’ve broken into that top five, though.

5) A lot of the African hoofstock are going to be living in the same best exhibits, potentially making it pretty repetitive.

As for moose, coati, and the primates, I’m guessing they got cut because 75 isn’t really that big of a number when you really sit down and try to map this out.

 

[15399]

Some popular mammals in American zoos that were excluded from this list include:
- Moose
- Black Panther
- Kudu
- Wildebeest
- Impala
- Bonobo
- Siamang
- Sun Bear
- Coati
- Mountain Goat
- Patas Monkey
- Spider Monkey
- Squirrel Monkey
- Muskox
I just want to ask why these species were excluded, that's all.

At the end of the day, by only featuring 75 species, it was inevitable that some wouldn't be featured. However, to answer these:

• Moose: not enough holders to be worthwhile, and particularly not really any holders that stand out to the point they were exceptional candidates.
• Black Panther: not an actual species. Jaguars and leopards were both covered, and none of the best exhibits happened to feature black "panthers".
• Kudu, Wildebeest, Impala: With antelope, it came down to difficulty deciding species to include, as it would be boring and repetitive to feature a lot of similar species with similar exhibit features. Ungulates also tended to be difficult species to write a lot about their exhibits, as the exhibits tend not to be as complex as with primates or carnivores. I *strongly* considered a wildebeest post, however, but at the end of the day there wasn't much variation between exhibits to the point I felt qualified to judge which ones are the "best".
• Bonobo: Not enough holders that I felt it warranted being included. I am considering including a bonobo exhibit amongst the honorable mentions, however.
• Siamang: These were included in a post lumped with all of the gibbons.
• Sun Bear: Other than Oakland and San Diego, there really aren't any zoos that come close in doing justice for sun bears, imo. Compared to the exhibits for bear species included, the quickly shrinking number of sun bear holders did not warrant inclusion in this thread. There will be a handful of bear exhibits amongst the honorable mentions (albeit no sun bear ones)
• Coati: Because when researching for this thread, I didn't think of coati as a species I should look into. They are cool animals though, and I probably could've done a cool post on them. Now that I think of it, binturong also would've been a cool option. I'll keep coati in mind in case I ever do a sequel!
• Mountain Goat: Not a lot of holders, and mostly regionally restricted. There will be an exhibit for mountain goats amongst the honorable mentions.
• Spider Monkeys: Spider monkeys were included in the thread.
• Squirrel Monkeys: Probably one I could've considered including, New World monkeys as a group have a lot of exhibits that are all very similar to each other. Howler monkeys are one I thought of including, but ending up not bothering with. If I ever do a sequel, these will be considered.
• Musk Ox: To the best of my knowledge, the only holder in the continental US is Point Defiance,

There were some species I considered including, but ended up deciding against:

• Naked Mole Rats and Rock Hyrax: Almost every exhibit for these species seemed like more of the same, and without many distinguishing features between the exhibits, I decided I couldn't make an educated opinion as to the best exhibits.
• Cetaceans: While certainly possible, I don't think there *are* five good cetacean exhibits in the country, and I didn't want this thread to become "exhibits that are slightly better than the other not-so-great exhibits". (Note: I do think there *are* good cetacean exhibits, namely at Shedd and Mystic, just not five of them).

 

[Nile Hippo Expert]

At the end of the day, by only featuring 75 species, it was inevitable that some wouldn't be featured. However, to answer these:

• Moose: not enough holders to be worthwhile, and particularly not really any holders that stand out to the point they were exceptional candidates.
• Black Panther: not an actual species. Jaguars and leopards were both covered, and none of the best exhibits happened to feature black "panthers".
• Kudu, Wildebeest, Impala: With antelope, it came down to difficulty deciding species to include, as it would be boring and repetitive to feature a lot of similar species with similar exhibit features. Ungulates also tended to be difficult species to write a lot about their exhibits, as the exhibits tend not to be as complex as with primates or carnivores. I *strongly* considered a wildebeest post, however, but at the end of the day there wasn't much variation between exhibits to the point I felt qualified to judge which ones are the "best".
• Bonobo: Not enough holders that I felt it warranted being included. I am considering including a bonobo exhibit amongst the honorable mentions, however.
• Siamang: These were included in a post lumped with all of the gibbons.
• Sun Bear: Other than Oakland and San Diego, there really aren't any zoos that come close in doing justice for sun bears, imo. Compared to the exhibits for bear species included, the quickly shrinking number of sun bear holders did not warrant inclusion in this thread. There will be a handful of bear exhibits amongst the honorable mentions (albeit no sun bear ones)
• Coati: Because when researching for this thread, I didn't think of coati as a species I should look into. They are cool animals though, and I probably could've done a cool post on them. Now that I think of it, binturong also would've been a cool option. I'll keep coati in mind in case I ever do a sequel!
• Mountain Goat: Not a lot of holders, and mostly regionally restricted. There will be an exhibit for mountain goats amongst the honorable mentions.
• Spider Monkeys: Spider monkeys were included in the thread.
• Squirrel Monkeys: Probably one I could've considered including, New World monkeys as a group have a lot of exhibits that are all very similar to each other. Howler monkeys are one I thought of including, but ending up not bothering with. If I ever do a sequel, these will be considered.
• Musk Ox: To the best of my knowledge, the only holder in the continental US is Point Defiance,

There were some species I considered including, but ended up deciding against:

• Naked Mole Rats and Rock Hyrax: Almost every exhibit for these species seemed like more of the same, and without many distinguishing features between the exhibits, I decided I couldn't make an educated opinion as to the best exhibits.
• Cetaceans: While certainly possible, I don't think there *are* five good cetacean exhibits in the country, and I didn't want this thread to become "exhibits that are slightly better than the other not-so-great exhibits". (Note: I do think there *are* good cetacean exhibits, namely at Shedd and Mystic, just not five of them).

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Komodo Dragon]

Excellent work, if anything this thread has shown me that Minnesota Zoo is one of the best and most underrated in terms of displaying popular mammals.

 

[AnActualFan]

The very beginnings of research on a non-mammals thread have started, however I'm evaluating doing it in a slightly different format due to the presence of massive, walk-through aviaries with a large number of species. It wouldn't be very fun to, say, have a Victorian Crowned Pigeon post, followed by a Nicobar Pigeon post, followed by a fruit dove post, if the same exhibits appear on all three!

Very true, but also much more interested in the reptile portion of the non-mammal portion, I've always wondered what would be the "best" of exhibits for crocs, king cobras, anacondas, etc. We see them so often in terrariums and the like in reptile houses that I've always wondered what the "standouts" are.