Best Zoo Exhibit in U.S.

snowleopard said:
@FSBlue: The brilliant book "America's Best Zoos" was released in early 2008, while "Amazon and Beyond" didn't open to the public until December 6th, 2008 (I was there on opening day). The $50 million set of exhibits was completed after the book was published.
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Thanks for answering the question for me, Snowy! And thanks for the compliment ("brilliant book").
FSBlue: There are 3 main things which made Range of the Jaguar a Top 10 exhibit for me:
1. Beautiful naturalistic exhibits
2. A wonderful and very complete collection of South American animals
3. It's one of the best "cultural" exhibits in the nation. That is, when touring it, it's very, very easy to imagine you are actually in a Colombian villa, with its architecture and even South American food in the snack bar.

From what I've seen and heard, Amazon and Beyond is a good match on points #1 and #2, but I'll have to go see for myself if it's as good a cultural exhibit.
 
Went to Detroit today and saw the Arctic Ring. It should be no surprise to anyone that it's going on my list. I might even toss Amphibiville in there. You don't see Japanese Giant Salamanders every day.
 
ANyhuis said:
From what I've seen and heard, Amazon and Beyond is a good match on points #1 and #2, but I'll have to go see for myself if it's as good a cultural exhibit.
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The village plaza has a strong cultural theme, and I believe they serve the respective food of South America (I am not positive though). They also play South American music around the exhibits. The actual exhibits themselves are NOT designed with the South American motif like in Jacksonville (i.e. Mayan temple in and around jaguar exhibit). Overall I would say it is not as good in terms of a cultural exhibit. The collection is very impressive and all of the exhibits are well-furnished and are very naturalistic.
 
@FSBlue: if you check out my Florida road trip thread there are comprehensive reviews of the Jacksonville Zoo (page 4) and the Miami Metrozoo (page 6), along with reviews of White Oak Conservation Centre and Disney's Animal Kingdom. I loved "Range of the Jaguar" and think that it is the best South American area I've ever seen in a zoo, and I also enjoyed parts of "Amazon and Beyond" but think that it will get better as the foliage becomes much more lush in the future.

http://www.zoochat.com/22/snowleopards-florida-road-trip-28418/

@groundskeeper24: both "Arctic Ring of Life" and "Amphibiville" are brilliant exhibits, and a big reason why I'm one of the few people around that rate the Detroit Zoo as a top 12 zoo in North America. I also love the abundance of moats and large paddocks at that Michigan collection, and I'd rate "AROLife" as the # 2 set of habitats I've ever seen. However, it's tough to top "Congo Gorilla Forest".
 
The only thing I don't like about Jacksonville's RoJ is the reliance of a temple in many parts around the jaguar exhibit. I think it really takes away from an otherwise good jaguar exhibit.
 
BlackRhino said:
The only thing I don't like about Jacksonville's RoJ is the reliance of a temple in many parts around the jaguar exhibit. I think it really takes away from an otherwise good jaguar exhibit.
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You've said this before, and I've always wondered why you don't like it. Sure it's not likely to be a part of a jaguar's natural Amazon jungle environment, but the temple is beautiful and definitely adds a clear South American atmosphere.
 
"Best" partly depends on which animals you're really into. As a cat fanatic, I am going to have to go with:

Cat Country at Memphis Zoo.

I'm also surprised no one has mentioned Asia at National Zoo (DC), which I haven't seen, but based on photos seems quite good.
 
Arizona Docent said:
"Best" partly depends on which animals you're really into. As a cat fanatic, I am going to have to go with:

Cat Country at Memphis Zoo.

I'm also surprised no one has mentioned Asia at National Zoo (DC), which I haven't seen, but based on photos seems quite good.
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AZ Doc, if you look at my initial post on this thread, I did list the National Zoo's Asia Trail -- it really is good, and it also gives the opportunity to see those Japanese giant salamanders.

I also agree that Memphis' Cat Country is excellent. It didn't make my Top 25, but when we eventually do a Top 50 list, Cat Country will be on it. This is one of many reasons that Memphis is one of my very favorite zoos.
 
snowleopard said:
@FSBlue: if you check out my Florida road trip thread there are comprehensive reviews of the Jacksonville Zoo (page 4) and the Miami Metrozoo (page 6), along with reviews of White Oak Conservation Centre and Disney's Animal Kingdom. I loved "Range of the Jaguar" and think that it is the best South American area I've ever seen in a zoo, and I also enjoyed parts of "Amazon and Beyond" but think that it will get better as the foliage becomes much more lush in the future.

http://www.zoochat.com/22/snowleopards-florida-road-trip-28418/

@groundskeeper24: both "Arctic Ring of Life" and "Amphibiville" are brilliant exhibits, and a big reason why I'm one of the few people around that rate the Detroit Zoo as a top 12 zoo in North America. I also love the abundance of moats and large paddocks at that Michigan collection, and I'd rate "AROLife" as the # 2 set of habitats I've ever seen. However, it's tough to top "Congo Gorilla Forest".
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I think people will overllok Detroit b/c it is in financial decline and it's relatively apparent to the visitor. There were quite a few empty enclosures today. Nice ones, too, including what was once a large African Veldt and one of the first of it's kind in the US. The only animals in it were peafowl and some buzzards hanging around the park.

I liked the zoo. I'm a huge fan of big hoofed stock collections, and theirs was impressive. Another odd thing I noticed was that we saw only 2 cat species, lions and tigers. That's it. They did have some great exhibits, and some zoos, even some very good ones, cannot say that. The ape displays were nice (gorillas mixed with drills was neat) and the chimps had quite a spot there. Best I can say for the place is that the old Hagenbeck designs have stood the test of time. It's what I imagine Cincy looking like (grottos, non-existent zoogeography) if it had the space to build larger displays in it's infancy. Not bad, really. Sorry if I got O-T here, folks.
 
And I agree w/you, Snowleopard. I've seen Congo and although AROL is one of a kind, it's just not the same in terms of the overall feel. I was highly impressed w/AROL, but the bears were in the distance and sometimes tough to find. Congo was a combination of immersion and accessiblity to the animals that was unreal. The gorillas were everywhere, or so it seemed. The larger group of species presented in CGF also helps it a lot. You get a good build up of terrific exhibits for everything from congo tetras to okapis before you see the apes. Seals and foxes are cool, but the Arctic just isn't as much fun to look at as the African rainforest.

I first went to the Bronx when I was 25 years old. I wanted to see it ever since I was 6 or 7 and saw Jungle World on Reading Rainbow. It was my Holy Grail of zoos. I've now been two times, as I returned last summer. I'll just say this about the place. It never disappointed. I haven't been to as many zoos (37) as a lot of folks here, but I'd likely put three or four of their areas on my list. They were as mindblowing the second time around as they were the first. I could make a top 5 out of Bronx exhibits alone with Baboon Reserve, CGF, Madagascar!, Himilayan Highlands and possibly even Tiger Mountain. I've seen other good zoos (SD, SDWAP,Brookfield, etc.), I just haven't been to one that had so many exhibits capture my imagination as the Bronx does.

I intend to see some Florida and Texas zoos next year. Maybe I will see something to change my mind in one of the many zoos in those states. Until then, most of the great ones I've seen are in NYC. That's considering SD as well. Their collection was better, but the exhibits were slightly, so slightly less impressive to me.
 
ANyhuis said:
You've said this before, and I've always wondered why you don't like it. Sure it's not likely to be a part of a jaguar's natural Amazon jungle environment, but the temple is beautiful and definitely adds a clear South American atmosphere.
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I prefer the more ultra-naturalistic approach like Jaguar Cove at WPZ.
 
BlackRhino said:
Overall I really like Amazon & Beyond and it has some great exhibits for jaguars, giant otters, anteaters, crocodiles, etc. I'll be visiting MetroZoo next week and I hope the foliage will be more full than my last visit.
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I think Amazon and Beyond may need another two or three years to show its potential. Budget limitations required them to downsize the plants during construction. Once it grows in it ought to be exceptional for comparing four neo-tropical ecosystems and their inhabitants.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
And I agree w/you, Snowleopard. I've seen Congo and although AROL is one of a kind, it's just not the same in terms of the overall feel. I was highly impressed w/AROL, but the bears were in the distance and sometimes tough to find. Congo was a combination of immersion and accessiblity to the animals that was unreal. The gorillas were everywhere, or so it seemed. The larger group of species presented in CGF also helps it a lot. You get a good build up of terrific exhibits for everything from congo tetras to okapis before you see the apes. Seals and foxes are cool, but the Arctic just isn't as much fun to look at as the African rainforest.

I first went to the Bronx when I was 25 years old. I wanted to see it ever since I was 6 or 7 and saw Jungle World on Reading Rainbow. It was my Holy Grail of zoos. I've now been two times, as I returned last summer. I'll just say this about the place. It never disappointed. I haven't been to as many zoos (37) as a lot of folks here, but I'd likely put three or four of their areas on my list. They were as mindblowing the second time around as they were the first. I could make a top 5 out of Bronx exhibits alone with Baboon Reserve, CGF, Madagascar!, Himilayan Highlands and possibly even Tiger Mountain. I've seen other good zoos (SD, SDWAP,Brookfield, etc.), I just haven't been to one that had so many exhibits capture my imagination as the Bronx does.

I intend to see some Florida and Texas zoos next year. Maybe I will see something to change my mind in one of the many zoos in those states. Until then, most of the great ones I've seen are in NYC. That's considering SD as well. Their collection was better, but the exhibits were slightly, so slightly less impressive to me.
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I would actually put it out there that though Bronx is smaller and more affected by temperature, the zoo has more standout exhibits than San Diego.


Personally, I don't think there's much use in me trying to make a best US exhibit list because a. I haven't been to many 'larger' zoos and b. I have different standards than most and c. I can't think of many exhibits that make me stand in amazement. I LOVE lots of exhibits, yes. But amazed...no.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ANyhuis

":From what I've seen and heard, Amazon and Beyond is a good match on points #1 and #2, but I'll have to go see for myself if it's as good a cultural exhibit.

The village plaza has a strong cultural theme, and I believe they serve the respective food of South America (I am not positive though). They also play South American music around the exhibits"


They do their best to play traditional songs from South and Central America, at the very least you will hear a lot of spanish from the actual crowd that visit's the exhibit so that will allways help the cultural learning experience.
As far as the food, well turkey legs, burgers and ice cream is as traditional as you can get especially in Miami, no....not really, they do a horrible job at serving anything that is traditional, but then again, it's Miami, and this food is everywhere.
In the other hand, it would have been a very simple task to include an actual place within the exhibit that connected you in cultural way with this part of the world thru food.


Jacksonville Zoo Range of the Jaguar: superior landscape inmersion (for now), better arquitectural design, brings you closer to this region of the world, much better than Amazon and Beyond if you take the animals out, and all you have is the exhibit.

Miami Metrozoo Amazon and Beyond: bigger animal collection from this region displayed in the exhibit, much larger total exhibit area, excellent use of visitor's exhibit space, much modern exhibit design and superior story representation.
 
Exhibits that are rated high on my list are:

Jungleworld (Bronx Zoo)
Congo Gorilla Forest (Bronx Zoo)
World of Birds (Bronx Zoo)
Madagascar (Bronx Zoo)
 
After going to the National Zoo today, I'll put Asia Trails at #5 on my list. Tremendous panda exhibit to go along with very good to great exhibits for sloth bears, clouded leopards, fishing cats, asian small clawed otters, and red panda's. Unfortunately the giant salamander exhibit said something like exhibit in progress in front of it.

BTW, what's your list black rhino? And could you possibly limit it to exhibits you've been to?
 
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Hello Mweb08, i'm glad to know that you enjoy your visit, i will be going in the last week of augoust, do you know if the second floor of the Amazonia building was still close? and what did you think of the rest of the zoo? Out of all the zoos i have visited for the first time, this one is the one that took me the longest time for me to make up my mind, never had second thoughts about San Diego Zoo, but the National Zoo makes me worry, lack of animals seems to be the main problem i read in reviews, i wonder how correct this is.
 
I have only been to 12 of the 60 zoos reviewed in America's Best Zoos so the list will not consist of too many jaw dropping exhibits, but since you asked:

1. Ituri Forest- San Diego Zoo
2. Monkey Trails & Forest Tales
3. Gorilla Tropics- San Diego Zoo
4. Kilamanjaro Safari- DAK
5. Journey Into Africa- SDWAP
6. Lion Camp- SDWAP
7. Asia Quest- Columbus Zoo
8. Amazon & Beyond- Miami Metrozoo
9. Wolf Wilderness- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
10. Wings of Asia- Miami Metrozoo
11. Pangani Forest Trial- DAK
12. Edge of Africa- Busch Gardens
13. Tiger River- San Diego Zoo
14. Elephant Overlook- SDWAP
15. Heart of Africa- SDWAP


The list would be a lot different after visiting zoos like Bronx, Detroit, Woodland Park, and St. Louis. I really like Asia Trail from what I have seen in pictures. I have not seen Elephant Odyssey yet although I don't if it would make a top 15 exhibit list. My list is sort of biased as I rank exhibits with favorite animals over exhibits with non-favorites (i.e. Amazon & Beyond before Wings of Asia even though Wings of Asia is probably better except I am not a bird fan)
 
That is a very nice list Blackrhino, and don't feel bad about not visiting other zoos with top exhibits, i really believe you have seen some of the best that is there to see, with the exclusion of (Bronx, Omaha, and special exhibits in Detroit and Woodland park) hopefully the National Zoo as well:)

My list of top 10 exhibits in the US, based only in zoos i have visited:


1 Congo (Bronx Zoo)
2 Monkey trails and forest tales (San Diego Zoo)
3 Tiger river (San Diego Zoo)
4 Kilimanjaro Safaris (DAK)
5 Pangani Forest Exploration Trail (DAK)
6 Maharajah Jungle Trek (DAK)
7 World of Birds (Bronx Zoo)
8 Madagascar (Bronx Zoo)
9 Edge of Africa (Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)
10 Myombe Reserve (Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)
11 The Oasis Exhibits (DAK)

If the two Big Animal Theme parks in Florida were not considered zoos by most in the forum, then my list would look a lot different, but being a devote student of Zoo structural and landscape design, i can only praise this exhibits for going above what the average zoo design ends up with, thank you.

This list is of the US"s top zoo exhibits, not the rest of the World, having seen some of Europes finest, i will have to say that most of the top exihbits are here in North America, with its exceptions(Masoala Rainforest), in December we will be visiting Singapore, and i will have to see if the jewel of Asia has anything to include in this list.

European Zoo exhibits that i have visited and rank high, but not high enough to take down America's Giants are:

12 Hippopotamus House Dome (Berlin Zoo)
13 Asian Cat Jungle Building (Frankfurt Zoo)

It is funny how my favorite zoo in the World does not have any of the top exhibits in the World.

Top 10 zoos i have visited

1. Zoologischen Garten Berlin
2. San Diego Zoo
3. Bronx Zoo
4. Disney's Animal Kingdom
5. Antwerp Zoo
6. Frankfurt Zoo
7. Busch Gardens Tampa
8. Berlin Tierpark
9. Miami Metrozoo
10. Hannover Zoo

Other very strong contenders that i have visited based on a combination, of collection size, exhibits quality, zoo history, Architectural value, landscape.

Zoos that i will be visiting soon or are very high in my list of priorities:
Smithsonian National Zoo, Singapore Zoological Gardens, and Omaha zoo.
 
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