jbnbsn99
Well-Known Member
Houston Zoo: African Forest Review
I have already done an extensive review of the Houston Zoo (see the Houston Zoo thread for that one), so I don't really need to have a complete review here. But some updates are in order. A few new exhibits have opening since my last trip. Let's start with some of the lesser ones.
Shoebill “Storks” - A mighty fine job Houston has done here. This exhibit is wonderful. It is a tall aviary next to the historic Flamingo pool. Only one Shoebill was on exhibit (keeper mentioned that the current pair doesn't get along). Very cool bird to see.
Cheetahs – I had heard rumors of there being a new Cheetah exhibit in the works. The question was, where was it going to be? Seeing some videos from the zoo's director, I was thinking it would be part of the African Forest (sigh, another non-forest animal in the mix), but this turned out not to be the case. Instead it is quite near the African Forest, but not officially part of it. Instead it is right next to the Lion Tunnel. This turns that area into a nice African predator area for Lions, Cheetahs, and Wild Dogs. The new Cheetah exhibit is very similar to the Wild Dog exhibit; fairly bland, with viewing through a chain-link fence. Eh, it needed to be moved, why not here I guess.
African Forest – This was the main reason for my whole trip. 4 major zoo exhibits have opened up in Texas this year: Africa Live 2 in San Antonio, MOLA in Fort Worth, Giants of the Savanna in Dallas, and now African Forest phase 1 in Houston. I will readily admit I had some serious trepidations about AF before visiting. My main concern was the concept and themeing. Here's the break down. It is a massive new area for only 3 major species (and 2 or 3 minor ones). The animals featured are Chimps, Masai Giraffes, and White Rhinos. Does anyone see a problem? I do. Giraffes and rhinos (at least African rhinos) don't live in the forest. So one strike against the exhibit. But you know what, I really fell in love with the exhibit when I saw it. It is like nothing else out there. I have never seen an exhibit where a story line is so crucial to how the exhibit comes off.
Here is the story. You are greeted at the entrance by a video of an African woman and her niece who run an eco-tourism business in Africa. They tell you all about Africa, eco-tourism, and their friend Tommy. Tommy is an explorer/animal dealer, kind of like a Frank Buck type really. He crashed into the forest in his plane. Wreckage is strewn about the entryway of AF. Tommy is befriended by a group of Baka Pygmies and one of the first things you see is there little village. You never actually get to see Tommy. He has reformed his ways and is now helping to protect animals and not smuggle them. Tommy also has one of those driving interests that leads him on his exploration. The Koolookamba. This is a mysterious ape said the be part chimp and part gorilla. It has the face and intellect of a chimp, but the body of a large, or even oversized, gorilla. Tommy is off looking for the Koolookamba. You are to look for it too. There are signs all over for this ape. Actually it is a great exercise in pareidolia (if you don't know what it is, I highly suggest looking it up, and when you do, think the face on Mars). There are faces of KKs carefully hidden in the rockwork around the exhibit. It takes a while to find them, but they are there. The idea is we don't know if these are natural formations of were they carved by the Bakas.
Now here is my own opinion on the whole Koolookamba story line. I really love it, but I don't want to. As a self proclaimed Skeptic, I think that the whole business of cryptozoology is a load of bunk. Sure there are unknown animals out there, but they won't be discovered by cryptozoologists, but rather real biologists. Koolookamba to me is in the same realm as Bigfoot, Nessie, the Yeti, and a whole host of others. That said, they all make for a damn good story, and as humans that is what we want, a great story. If everything were cut and dry as a scientific paper, no one would pay attention. The search for a cryptid to me now seems like a totally out of the box way of presenting a zoo exhibit. Explore the mythology of the region. Think of an exhibit for the Pacific Northwest in search of Sasquatch (find out if he is really blurry in real life), or a Himalayan exhibit in search of the Yeti, or a South American exhibit in search of Mapinguari. Somehow, this sort of excites me. My rational brain says it shouldn't, but my human, story-loving brain does.
The Koolookamba isn't the only story. There are a lot of smaller story lines going through the exhibit as well. The attention to detail is outstanding. You can follow a story about the bushmeat crisis. One about doctors in Africa, tracing back to Albert Schweitzer and find out about a vaccination program in Africa. I greatly appreciate this one, as vaccination is not only a problem in Africa, but becoming a problem around the developed world with idiots like Jenny McCarthy railing against their supposed horrors. Kudos to the Houston Zoo for doing what you are doing, even if it is in a subtle way.
But, what I bet everyone wants to know about are the exhibits. Quite frankly the Chimpanzee exhibit is stunning. I have a hard time saying it I like it or Dallas' exhibit better. I am leaning towards Houston, even though I don't want to. The troupe was active and doing behaviors I had never seen before. The exhibit was spacious, full of climbing opportunities, and enrichment. The best of the latter was a simulated termite mound. Now, I've seen termite mounds in other chimp exhibit before, but never like this. It was a cut-away, through the glass of the exhibit you could see into it. Inside were plastic tubes that the keepers could interchange and fill with goodies. The chimps loved it. On one trip through the exhibit, 2 chimps were on the mound with large stick, and just like Jane Goodall observed, they were using tools to get out those goodies. The whole exhibit was enclosed by a massive rock wall that is the dominant feature of the exhibit. All of the trees, with the exception of a few palm trees are fake and made of concrete. So the exhibit will never be lush or have a nice canopy over it, which is a shame as Houston has the perfect climate for that. Chimp exhibit gets my vote of approval.
The White Rhino exhibit wasn't as impressive as the chimps, but I still liked it. My main complaint here was the steal pole barriers along one side of the exhibit. I wouldn't have minded, except so much care had gone into creating a natural looking barrier on the other side of the exhibit. Maybe something that will be addressed in Phase 2 or 3. Of course it isn't just rhinos, we have Greater Kudu as well. Also there is a graphic saying that Thomson's Gazelles will be in there eventually. This graphic evidently came as a shock to the keepers who had no clue about them coming in.
Market Place. Most African exhibits have a similar style of architecture to them, tribal, usually Masai or Ndebele or the like. AF took a departure from this and went with French Colonial architecture. I found this bold move to be quite refreshing. Both the gift shop and the new cafe were in this style. The graphics telling about African colonial times as well as the architecture style were greatly appreciated.
The last exhibit in African Forest is for their Masai Giraffes (and as of a few days ago also Ostrich, although they were not there when I visited). This is probably the least of the exhibits, it isn't bad, just not Earth-shattering. They have 7 Masais, and the exhibit is spacious enough for them, but it is the least naturalistic of the 3 exhibits. Main cause of that is that the giraffe barn is front and center in the exhibit. Another pet-peeve of mine is a steel cable fence along one side of the exhibit. Why do to all that trouble, only to have one little thing like that ruin it? Like most new giraffe exhibits, there is a feeding platform, but Houston seems to only be feeding for one hour a day. From my experience, the public will be crying for more and more, and I have a feeling it will be expanded out of necessity. One thing that did bother me was a graphic boldly stating that there is only one species of giraffe, but many subspecies. Evidently, they have not read Brown et al. 2007. I have no problem with a sign saying this, but my problem lies in the matter of fact, concrete way in which it was said. There is serious doubt to the 1 species hypothesis, how about exploring it further and not stick with tradition.
There are supposedly two more phases to African Forest. Next one is supposed to include Gorillas, Okapi, Bongo, Leopards, and an Aviary. Now that is more of an African Forest. If they can make it tie into what is already done, we have a world class exhibit complex on our hands. And after that is done, the goal is Hippos and Crocs. I can't wait for that! When looking at aerial views of the construction site I had my doubts as to whether or not there would be enough room left for these phases, but I can assure you there is. In fact within the confines of Phase 1, there is enough room left over for the hoofstock, the leopards, and the aviary (maybe not the barns though). The future is bright in Houston.
Congratulations Houston! You have a wonderful new exhibit on your hands.
Of the 4 new major exhibits in Texas, here is where they stand in my book
1. Giants of the Savanna
2. African Forest
3. MOLA
4. Africa Live 2
Africa is alive and well in Texas it seems. Can someone do Asia please?
I have already done an extensive review of the Houston Zoo (see the Houston Zoo thread for that one), so I don't really need to have a complete review here. But some updates are in order. A few new exhibits have opening since my last trip. Let's start with some of the lesser ones.
Shoebill “Storks” - A mighty fine job Houston has done here. This exhibit is wonderful. It is a tall aviary next to the historic Flamingo pool. Only one Shoebill was on exhibit (keeper mentioned that the current pair doesn't get along). Very cool bird to see.
Cheetahs – I had heard rumors of there being a new Cheetah exhibit in the works. The question was, where was it going to be? Seeing some videos from the zoo's director, I was thinking it would be part of the African Forest (sigh, another non-forest animal in the mix), but this turned out not to be the case. Instead it is quite near the African Forest, but not officially part of it. Instead it is right next to the Lion Tunnel. This turns that area into a nice African predator area for Lions, Cheetahs, and Wild Dogs. The new Cheetah exhibit is very similar to the Wild Dog exhibit; fairly bland, with viewing through a chain-link fence. Eh, it needed to be moved, why not here I guess.
African Forest – This was the main reason for my whole trip. 4 major zoo exhibits have opened up in Texas this year: Africa Live 2 in San Antonio, MOLA in Fort Worth, Giants of the Savanna in Dallas, and now African Forest phase 1 in Houston. I will readily admit I had some serious trepidations about AF before visiting. My main concern was the concept and themeing. Here's the break down. It is a massive new area for only 3 major species (and 2 or 3 minor ones). The animals featured are Chimps, Masai Giraffes, and White Rhinos. Does anyone see a problem? I do. Giraffes and rhinos (at least African rhinos) don't live in the forest. So one strike against the exhibit. But you know what, I really fell in love with the exhibit when I saw it. It is like nothing else out there. I have never seen an exhibit where a story line is so crucial to how the exhibit comes off.
Here is the story. You are greeted at the entrance by a video of an African woman and her niece who run an eco-tourism business in Africa. They tell you all about Africa, eco-tourism, and their friend Tommy. Tommy is an explorer/animal dealer, kind of like a Frank Buck type really. He crashed into the forest in his plane. Wreckage is strewn about the entryway of AF. Tommy is befriended by a group of Baka Pygmies and one of the first things you see is there little village. You never actually get to see Tommy. He has reformed his ways and is now helping to protect animals and not smuggle them. Tommy also has one of those driving interests that leads him on his exploration. The Koolookamba. This is a mysterious ape said the be part chimp and part gorilla. It has the face and intellect of a chimp, but the body of a large, or even oversized, gorilla. Tommy is off looking for the Koolookamba. You are to look for it too. There are signs all over for this ape. Actually it is a great exercise in pareidolia (if you don't know what it is, I highly suggest looking it up, and when you do, think the face on Mars). There are faces of KKs carefully hidden in the rockwork around the exhibit. It takes a while to find them, but they are there. The idea is we don't know if these are natural formations of were they carved by the Bakas.
Now here is my own opinion on the whole Koolookamba story line. I really love it, but I don't want to. As a self proclaimed Skeptic, I think that the whole business of cryptozoology is a load of bunk. Sure there are unknown animals out there, but they won't be discovered by cryptozoologists, but rather real biologists. Koolookamba to me is in the same realm as Bigfoot, Nessie, the Yeti, and a whole host of others. That said, they all make for a damn good story, and as humans that is what we want, a great story. If everything were cut and dry as a scientific paper, no one would pay attention. The search for a cryptid to me now seems like a totally out of the box way of presenting a zoo exhibit. Explore the mythology of the region. Think of an exhibit for the Pacific Northwest in search of Sasquatch (find out if he is really blurry in real life), or a Himalayan exhibit in search of the Yeti, or a South American exhibit in search of Mapinguari. Somehow, this sort of excites me. My rational brain says it shouldn't, but my human, story-loving brain does.
The Koolookamba isn't the only story. There are a lot of smaller story lines going through the exhibit as well. The attention to detail is outstanding. You can follow a story about the bushmeat crisis. One about doctors in Africa, tracing back to Albert Schweitzer and find out about a vaccination program in Africa. I greatly appreciate this one, as vaccination is not only a problem in Africa, but becoming a problem around the developed world with idiots like Jenny McCarthy railing against their supposed horrors. Kudos to the Houston Zoo for doing what you are doing, even if it is in a subtle way.
But, what I bet everyone wants to know about are the exhibits. Quite frankly the Chimpanzee exhibit is stunning. I have a hard time saying it I like it or Dallas' exhibit better. I am leaning towards Houston, even though I don't want to. The troupe was active and doing behaviors I had never seen before. The exhibit was spacious, full of climbing opportunities, and enrichment. The best of the latter was a simulated termite mound. Now, I've seen termite mounds in other chimp exhibit before, but never like this. It was a cut-away, through the glass of the exhibit you could see into it. Inside were plastic tubes that the keepers could interchange and fill with goodies. The chimps loved it. On one trip through the exhibit, 2 chimps were on the mound with large stick, and just like Jane Goodall observed, they were using tools to get out those goodies. The whole exhibit was enclosed by a massive rock wall that is the dominant feature of the exhibit. All of the trees, with the exception of a few palm trees are fake and made of concrete. So the exhibit will never be lush or have a nice canopy over it, which is a shame as Houston has the perfect climate for that. Chimp exhibit gets my vote of approval.
The White Rhino exhibit wasn't as impressive as the chimps, but I still liked it. My main complaint here was the steal pole barriers along one side of the exhibit. I wouldn't have minded, except so much care had gone into creating a natural looking barrier on the other side of the exhibit. Maybe something that will be addressed in Phase 2 or 3. Of course it isn't just rhinos, we have Greater Kudu as well. Also there is a graphic saying that Thomson's Gazelles will be in there eventually. This graphic evidently came as a shock to the keepers who had no clue about them coming in.
Market Place. Most African exhibits have a similar style of architecture to them, tribal, usually Masai or Ndebele or the like. AF took a departure from this and went with French Colonial architecture. I found this bold move to be quite refreshing. Both the gift shop and the new cafe were in this style. The graphics telling about African colonial times as well as the architecture style were greatly appreciated.
The last exhibit in African Forest is for their Masai Giraffes (and as of a few days ago also Ostrich, although they were not there when I visited). This is probably the least of the exhibits, it isn't bad, just not Earth-shattering. They have 7 Masais, and the exhibit is spacious enough for them, but it is the least naturalistic of the 3 exhibits. Main cause of that is that the giraffe barn is front and center in the exhibit. Another pet-peeve of mine is a steel cable fence along one side of the exhibit. Why do to all that trouble, only to have one little thing like that ruin it? Like most new giraffe exhibits, there is a feeding platform, but Houston seems to only be feeding for one hour a day. From my experience, the public will be crying for more and more, and I have a feeling it will be expanded out of necessity. One thing that did bother me was a graphic boldly stating that there is only one species of giraffe, but many subspecies. Evidently, they have not read Brown et al. 2007. I have no problem with a sign saying this, but my problem lies in the matter of fact, concrete way in which it was said. There is serious doubt to the 1 species hypothesis, how about exploring it further and not stick with tradition.
There are supposedly two more phases to African Forest. Next one is supposed to include Gorillas, Okapi, Bongo, Leopards, and an Aviary. Now that is more of an African Forest. If they can make it tie into what is already done, we have a world class exhibit complex on our hands. And after that is done, the goal is Hippos and Crocs. I can't wait for that! When looking at aerial views of the construction site I had my doubts as to whether or not there would be enough room left for these phases, but I can assure you there is. In fact within the confines of Phase 1, there is enough room left over for the hoofstock, the leopards, and the aviary (maybe not the barns though). The future is bright in Houston.
Congratulations Houston! You have a wonderful new exhibit on your hands.
Of the 4 new major exhibits in Texas, here is where they stand in my book
1. Giants of the Savanna
2. African Forest
3. MOLA
4. Africa Live 2
Africa is alive and well in Texas it seems. Can someone do Asia please?
