Best Zoo Exhibit in U.S.
- Thread starter BlackRhino
- Start date
Even while mentioning something you think is overrated.Interesting to see the exhibits from Lowry Park on there. I disagree on those exhibits, but it is your list, and if I were to come up with a list of 50 exhibits there would be plenty exhibits that everyone would disagree with. Does Tropical Rain Forest include Jaguar Cove?
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
My point is that you listed it as if it was an "obvious Plus" to not have the Mayan temple, when in fact, it's only a plus for you -- and a few others.
I just don't think something that "depends on luck" or is basically "hit or miss" should be MUCH of a factor in determining what is an incredible exhibit. For example, have you heard of the National Zoo's O-Line? For about 15 minutes a day, you can see orangutans swinging on a line directly above you, as they transport themselves from one side of the Zoo to the other. Honestly, I've never seen this great thing, but I've seen many pictures of it. If this experience were available to visitors for most of the day in Washington, I would consider the O-Line for my Top Exhibits list. But since it's 100% dependent on being at the Zoo at a specific time once per day, I can't rate it so highly. Quite honestly, the chances of seeing an elephant, tiger, or jaguar in the water are even more remote. Thus, while I agree it's better to have underwater viewing than not have it, this still isn't a major factor in highly rating an exhibit. It's a minor factor, but not a major one.
But (and not trying to make you look bad), doesn't it make it that much more thrilling to see an animal (that doesn't usually go for a swim) swimming in their pool? I think it does. And for elephants, every elephant keeper I have asked has told me their elephants use their pools everyday. At least once a day. I will admit I have not seen it too often either, but the times I have it is a very cool experience.
Yes, I have included Jaguar Cove in Woodland Parks Tropical Rain Forest, since it nearly seamlessly connects to the older part of the exhibit...there are even vines that drape between one of the jaguar viewing areas and the indoor forest building.
On Lowry Park, its interesting that their newer Africa exhibit area ranks lower than the ones on my list. Something about it seemed disjointed.
Zoos I have visited that have no exhibit complexes on my list:
Miami Metrozoo
Los Angeles Zoo
Tierpark Hellabrun - I don't remember any specific exhibits here in 1995
Schonnbrunn Tiergarten - ibid
Biodome Montreal
Phoenix Zoo - was there in 1985
Oakland Zoo
Wildlife World Sydney - nice place but hard to break it up into exhibit areas
Lion Country Safari Irvine - closed
St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Hartleys Crocodile Adventures Cairns
Santa Barbara Zoo
Santa Ana Zoo
Charles Paddock Zoo
On Lowry Park, its interesting that their newer Africa exhibit area ranks lower than the ones on my list. Something about it seemed disjointed.
Zoos I have visited that have no exhibit complexes on my list:
Miami Metrozoo
Los Angeles Zoo
Tierpark Hellabrun - I don't remember any specific exhibits here in 1995
Schonnbrunn Tiergarten - ibid
Biodome Montreal
Phoenix Zoo - was there in 1985
Oakland Zoo
Wildlife World Sydney - nice place but hard to break it up into exhibit areas
Lion Country Safari Irvine - closed
St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Hartleys Crocodile Adventures Cairns
Santa Barbara Zoo
Santa Ana Zoo
Charles Paddock Zoo
A couple of comments:
Once Jaguar Cove was added to the Tropical Rain Forest complex, it really "pulls together" what were disjointed elements into a single experience: starting with Jaguars, moving through the indoor exhibits, back outside to the primate islands (one now apparently only housing duikers), then to the colobus mesh exhibit, and finally to the two gorilla exhibits and back out at the original entry point.
Leipzig zoo has the world's first underwater elephant view--and it is spectacular for 10 seconds after the elephant submerges, then becomes so cloudy you can't see a thing--but very fun while it lasts. The former director of Omaha was so impressed he added it to the "wish list" for future improvements at Omaha.
mweb08
Well-Known Member
Thanks.
I've only been to Miami, LA, Phoenix, and Santa Ana out of that list and I think I would agree that none had anything great in terms of what you're rating at least. Although I don't have the best memory of everything at Phoenix, and it was quite good for the most part, and Amazon and Beyond wasn't open yet when I was at Miami.
mweb08
Well-Known Member
Geormorph, regarding Columbus, why the islands of southeast asia? I wasn't really impressed by it, not saying it was bad, but nothing special imo. And why their African Forest? Thought it was good, but again, nothing special, and not as good as their North American section, or Asia Trail for that matter.
mweb08
Well-Known Member
The Africa savanna section is pretty good, but doubt it'd make a list like this.
The Water's edge which features polar bears, sea otters, and eventually walruses is good, and could make the list, especially once they get the walruses.
I'd rate the Pittsburgh African exhibits well above the very disappointing Water's Edge (see Snowleopard's review).
Missing from these lists are the Desert Grasslands and Upland Desert Trail at ASDM (peccary, lizard, coyote, "Life on the Rocks,"), Minnesota Zoo's Minnesota Trail and Russia's Grizzly Coast (from all reports), Cleveland's Wolf Woods, and Binder Park's Africa.
mweb08
Well-Known Member
Water's Edge certainly has too much fake rock, which is why I'd put Maryland Zoo's polar bear exhibit above it, but I'd still take that exhibit over the Islands at Columbus, and can see some putting it in a top 50 list, especially when they haven't been to most of the zoos in the country.
And I'm certainly not saying either of the aforementioned Pitt exhibits are great, the aquarium is probably the best quality part of that zoo, but geomorph won't consider that.
Another great exhibit that is missing is St. Louis' River's Edge and Bronx's Himalayan Highlands.
Pittsburgh's African Savanna is extremely ordinary, and if it were to make a top list that would be a good indication that America is lacking good exhibits. But it's not, so Pittsburgh's African Savanna shouldn't be on anyone's top 50 list unless they have some sort of connection with Pittsburgh Zoo.
@ANyhuis: ZooChatter "reduakari" is correct about the Tropical Rainforest area at the Woodland Park Zoo. With Jaguar Cove in 2003 a brand-new entrance was constructed, and there is an enormous, fake, kapok tree that serves as the official gateway to the tropical zone. The jaguar exhibit is brilliant, the indoor area with ocelots, toucans, golden lion tamarins, anacondas, walk-through aviary, reptiles and birds, etc, is all very well done but nothing spectacular; the outdoor island habitats for red ruffed lemurs and red flanked duikers are also brilliant, the colobus monkey exhibit is very good with 5 of the active primates; the 2 gorilla enclsoures still hold up extremely well 30 years later. The area has a loop that leads back to within a few feet of the Jaguar Cove entrance, and so every time I visit the zoo I look for the jaguar twice. The last time you visited I admit that perhaps the tropical area was a little disjointed, but the 2003 entrance ties it all together. Also, the African Savanna area of the zoo has a new entrance since you last visited. In 2001 an African Village was constructed as the gateway to the 30 year-old area, and in 2002 an African wild dog exhibit was added. So both the African and Tropical sections of the zoo are now much more clearly defined, and it is time for another visit from you!
@geomorph: It never ceases to amaze me how great zoos can not have any exhibits worthy of a top 50 list. I love the Miami Metrozoo (all moats and no bars) and yet there is nothing there that would make my own list of top exhibits. I've seen "Amazon and Beyond" and think that it needs years of growth to become a great set of enclosures, and "Wings of Asia" is borderline brilliant but I'm not a huge bird fan.
I'd rank the Columbus Zoo in my top 5 zoos, but everything there is quite good but lacks true world-class status. Probably nothing would make my top exhibits list, even though I have no problem classifying it in my top 5 zoos.
@geomorph: It never ceases to amaze me how great zoos can not have any exhibits worthy of a top 50 list. I love the Miami Metrozoo (all moats and no bars) and yet there is nothing there that would make my own list of top exhibits. I've seen "Amazon and Beyond" and think that it needs years of growth to become a great set of enclosures, and "Wings of Asia" is borderline brilliant but I'm not a huge bird fan.
I'd rank the Columbus Zoo in my top 5 zoos, but everything there is quite good but lacks true world-class status. Probably nothing would make my top exhibits list, even though I have no problem classifying it in my top 5 zoos.
Miami Metrozoo is certainly miles better than the Lowry Park Zoo which is very small and lacks a decent exhibit.
Amazon & Beyond has grown a lot since your visit and the daily rain showers in Miami help to make all the enclosures more lush and filled with greenery. I personally really love that section, and the giant otter habitat is brilliant. Amazon & Beyond is the type of exhibit though that reduakri would not like as sewers and fences are in plain view of guests in many of the exhibits. The holding buildings are starting to become less evident with the foliage growing in. I like it better than Wings of Asia, as I am not a bird fan at all.