I didn't mean to start a trend of bashing San Antonio Zoo, as I see that since I posted my review a number of people have stated that there needs to be many changes at that establishment. I even checked out "geomorph's" review of San Antonio (which I only ever do after I write mine) and he was also not very flattering in his comments. There is good news, and that is that the 3 latest major additions to the zoo (Tiny Tot Nature Spot, Africa Live 1, Africa Live 2) are all excellent and in sharp contrast from the old, rock-strewn, cement, lack of grass, subpar enclosures of the past. The new hippo/croc underwater viewing area is fantastic, and so hopefully the zoo can continue to improve and create more acceptable animal habitats. My fingers are crossed, and at least this zoo is actually building new exhibits while many other poor zoos remain stagnant for years.
DAY 37: Tuesday, August 17th
ZOO/AQUARIUM REVIEW #34: Gladys Porter Zoo
Gladys Porter Zoo’s Website:
Gladys Porter Zoo
Zoo Map:
http://gpz.org/PDF Files/Map08_b.pdf
Gladys Porter Zoo is just over 4 hours south from the bustling metropolis of San Antonio, and the zoo is located in the city of Brownsville, which is very close to the Mexican border. It took a lot of driving just to see Gladys Porter, but the trip was well worth it as the zoo specializes in maintaining a number of rarely seen animals. In fact, the Jentink’s duiker and harnessed bushbuck are the only ones in all of North America! The zoo itself is above average, as even though it can be seen in about 3.5 hours there are more good exhibits than bad ones.
A word on the demographics is intriguing, as according to Wikipedia 91% of the city of Brownsville is Hispanic/Latino, which makes sense since the town is so close to the nation of Mexico. Twice at the zoo and once in a restaurant I was first spoken to in Spanish, and many of the signs around the city have Spanish first and then English second. One disappointing fact is that the area is crawling with border patrols and police officers, and while driving to and fro in the region we saw many cops pulling over cars and searching through the contents. In some cases personal belongings were strewn all over sidewalks, and it definitely left a bitter taste in ones mouth to see the police force out in such numbers. I fully understand some of the paranoia and fear that has gripped many Americans since 9/11, but seeing police cars every few kilometers, and having to drive through a border patrol checkpoint with guard dogs barking everywhere is not something that a mild-mannered Canadian is used to. Between illegal drugs and illegal immigrants I’m sure that the cops along the Mexican-U.S.A. border are kept awfully busy.
One fabulous thing about the zoo is the number of cool animals on display. On my visit to Gladys Porter Zoo I personally saw all of these species, many of them rarely exhibited in North American zoos: red-handed tamarin, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, red brocket deer, Bornean bearded pig, harnessed bushbuck, Jentink’s duiker, Angolan colobus monkey, mata mata turtle, Rio Grande siren salamander, Cuban crocodile, Mindoro crocodile, saltwater crocodile, gaur, bontebok, pygmy hippo, pileated gibbon, Przewalski’s wild horse, bettong, sable antelope and Arabian oryx. On top of that I saw 5 full-grown tigers in the same enclosure (3 of them were white) and the most active gorilla troop I’ve ever seen in all of my lifetime zoo visits. What a day!
THE BEST:
Gorillas – The zoo has a pair of elderly gorillas in a small, separate enclosure, and the female is in her early 40’s while the male is in his late 40’s. According to the sign the male has sired 17 babies (not all survived) and the zoo has been prolific in breeding many gorillas over the years. There has been something like 30 births in the almost 40 years since the inception of the establishment.
A second, much more expansive exhibit has a troop of 10 of the apes, and I’ve never seen such an active group in all of my life. They were all ages, and were racing around with sticks, twigs and bits of lettuce, slapping each other on the legs, engaging in chasing games across the tall wooden beams in their habitat, and generally causing a ruckus. The most amazing thing of all is that one of the younger gorillas leapt at least 12-15 feet off of a rock into about 2-feet of water! There was an almighty splash, and a total of 4 gorillas went into the water, looked around for food, and stayed there for several minutes.
It gave me pause for thought as I admired the energetic troop for a long period of time. If the enclosure had been empty I would have said that the exhibit was average and not comparable to the huge ape jungles that I’ve seen in many other American zoos. However, the engaging and playful troop of 10 gorillas suddenly made the exhibit outstanding in terms of how many visitors were drawn to the antics of the apes, and so does that mean that Gladys Porter has one of the all-time best gorilla exhibits in North America? I don’t know, you tell me. One last thing about the gorillas is that about half of them (I think that there are 4-5 sisters in the troop) had brownish-blonde hair on much of their bodies, unlike any of the other gorillas that I’ve ever seen.
Indo-Australia – This area has large but basic primate islands for orangutans and white-handed gibbons, an Aussie building with bats, two exhibits of sugar gliders, the indoor holding area for almost 20 eastern grey kangaroos, a Virginia opossum (a marsupial but from North America!), Matschie’s tree kangaroos, tawny frogmouths and bettongs. There used to be kowaris and cuscus here as well, but they are both gone from the zoo. Outside are aviaries for salmon-crested cockatoos and kookaburras, as well as the eastern grey kangaroo outdoor yard, a cassowary/cape barren goose enclosure and a basic walk-through aviary with cockatiels and lots of doves. Mindoro and saltwater crocs are in nearby pools that are lush with vegetation.
Tropical America (North + South America) – Two massive waterfowl ponds are scenic and packed with a variety of birds, two species of spider monkeys (Mexican and black) inhabit densely planted neighbouring islands, crested caracara, king vultures and bald eagles have huge aviaries, Galapagos tortoises have a large yard, white-tailed deer have a spacious enclosure, and a very pretty walk-through aviary is home to at least 8 species of birds. Spoonbills dominate this area, and along one wall are a series of enclosed aviaries with a variety of South American birds.
Africa – Hoofstock yards here include Arabian oryx, yellow-backed duiker, Jentink’s duiker, harnessed bushbuck, dromedary camel, pygmy hippo, giraffe, zebra, white rhino, sable antelope, bongo, ostrich/greater kudu and a massive bontebok enclosure. There is also a huge African crowned crane yard, two ring-tailed lemur islands, one red ruffed lemur island, and large exhibits for lions and African wild dogs. The lions can actually gaze longingly over their prey (giraffes and antelopes) via their moated enclosure. The weakest exhibits are the smallest, and those are for mandrills and servals, and while there are about 8 full-grown chimpanzees their climbing area is disappointing and due to their ages they were not nearly as active as the “energizer bunny” gorillas.
Realm of the Dragon – A large indoor komodo dragon exhibit with massive viewing windows. Nice, and yet another zoo with komodos!
THE AVERAGE:
Asia – Large moated yards spread around the zoo display gaur, Przewalski’s wild horses and Bornean bearded pigs. There are a pair of lush gibbon islands (Mueller's and siamang) and an average-sized enclosure with 5 tigers (3 of them are white).
Crocodilian Row – American alligators, Cuban crocodiles (two enclosures) are in decent but unspectacular pools, while flamingos are found just around the corner and close to the zoo entrance.
THE WORST:
Bear Grottoes – There are 3 ancient grottoes that are disgustingly small and barely furnished with any natural substrate. Spectacled bears are in one, while sun bears are in the other two. Yawn…more ugly bear pits at a zoo.
Sea Lion Pool – A single California sea lion was lounging on a rock, but the enclosure is badly outdated and the water looked and smelled terrible. Ugh.
Herpetarium – Like San Antonio there is an impressive collection in subpar exhibits. Two alligators are in the centerpiece exhibit, but the gators don’t have a lot of space and their pool is packed with a hell of a lot of coins. Why don’t the keepers take out the money? There are black mambas, green mambas, spitting cobras, king cobras and all sorts of wonderful reptiles and amphibians, but in a few cases there are snakes coiled up that cannot stretch out to their full length due to the small size of their tank. Like the adjacent aquatic wing this area badly needs a makeover. The best reptile exhibits are outside of this building, with various crocodilians (including Cuvier’s dwarf caiman) and other animals (radiated tortoises, red-footed tortoises, iguanas) in top-notch habitats.
Aquatic Wing – Tiny, stinky, outdated and in need of an overhaul. This is exactly what the zoo intends to do, as there is a sign posted nearby that gives vague details about a future aquatic zone. There are some cool species here: Rio Grande siren salamander, mata mata turtle, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, spotted gar and alligator snapping turtle.
Small World Petting Zoo – Tiny exhibits that are far too small for their occupants. Meerkats, chinchillas, agoutis and a variety of tamarins, white-faced saki monkeys and domestic animals (pigs, rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs, goats) all live in this stinky mess.
OVERALL:
Gladys Porter Zoo has a number of outdated areas that are in desperate need of an overhaul, but there are slightly more above average zones that are beautifully landscaped and contain pretty waterways that curve around many of the enclosures. I love to see primate islands, and I’d certainly choose that method of exhibiting primates over all-indoor tanks or all wire cage methods of exhibitry. At Gladys Porter there are 6 species of apes, and at least another 8 species of primates that are all great to watch. The number of rarely exhibited animals makes this zoo extra special, although it is a long drive south for anyone to visit and I hardly know anyone that has even heard of this zoo let alone taken the time to basically drive to Mexico to find it. I honestly say that the journey is worth it, and I even managed to purchase a 2007 hardcover history book of the zoo in the gift shop.
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