I had a pleasant visit to the Philadelphia Zoo and I do plan to go back in the future. As discussed, previously on here, if you're one who enjoys exhibit design, then this isn't going to be the zoo for you. But if you appreciate variety in the animal collection, with many rarities, then this zoo will be a treat! When I put the exhibits in the three categories, best, average, and worst, it won't be based purely on exhibit design. It will be more on the experience I had in that area.
BEST
Giant Otter Exhibit: Early into my trip, I was striking out seeing one empty exhibit after the other. So I really needed something positive for this zoo to redeem itself in my eyes. These creatures are incredible. I didn't count how many otters there were, but there were plenty. They're so full of energy and very engaging with visitors. My partner had the otters chasing after his hand for quite some time. They definitely get their enrichment every day that way. They have a nice huge pool with a very small waterfall that that they like to jump off it. This is the best exhibit in the Carnivore Kingdom, which I found to be a disappointment for the most part. The Coati exhibit was empty, probably due to the weather, the Lynx and Snow Leopard exhibits were very sad to see, and the pelicans moved to Bird Valley. I think the Red Pandas used to be in this area too but now they are randomly place behind the Children's Zoo section. I believe there was a path where you could see them from the other side of their enclosure, but on this day, it was blocked off from the public.
McNeil Avian Center: The details of the building are beautiful. When I first walked in and just saw the Rhinoceros hornbills, I thought that was the only section of the building. But when I found the other bird areas off to the sides and in the back, things got better. There were many beautiful birds and it was very fun to try to find all of them. I enjoyed seeing the Victoria Crowned Pigeons and Gertie, the Curassow (who was bigger than I expected). What I also admired about this exhibit was the interactive video that focused birds migrating and the effect humans have on this. It may be geared towards children, but I found it endearing, entertaining, and educational. I enjoyed the technical aspects of the production as well as the message.
Big Cat Falls: I thought each big cat had a nice area for them to live in. Each also provided a viewing window for visitors to get a close look at them and I'm sure the enticements, like heated rocks and pools make the cats want to come closer. It was a treat Merlin, the old Lion, as I've seen photos and found him to have such a sweet face. The Jaguars and Pumas were taking advantage of all levels of their exhibits and I saw them both climb up high to the top of their exhibits. What I found to be the most impressive exhibit was for the Snow Leopard. It might be because compared to the one in Carnivore Kingdom and the puny ones I've seen at other zoos, but this one was nicely planted and a lot of space for them to roam. I almost didn't realize the size ratio of the exhibit to Snow Leopard until I saw one hunched up on the cliff of the waterfall. I enjoyed all the signs, sound effects, and also seeing the cat walks above.
AVERAGE
Bear Country: I'm sure this section would have been more impressive to me if all the bears were out. Coming to the zoo when the morning was still a bit chilly, I was sure I'd at least see the Polar Bears. I was sadly mistaken. They were taken off exhibit due to maintenance needing to be done, though I never saw anyone working in their exhibit. I know I always see Polar Bears, but it's really nice to see them active in the brisk weather. Luckily the other bears eventually did come out later on in the day when it began to warm up. I first spotted the Andean Bear, then the Sloth Bear, and lastly the Asiatic Bear who was sleeping right next to the window. I thought each had decent size exhibits and as mentioned before, pretty impressive consider how old they are.
Petco Primate Center: The indoor primate areas may not be the most attractive and or enriching to the animals. But vainly, there are perks for visitors to see these animals. I appreciated the two levels to get different perspectives of their exhibits, and I loved looking down at the big window that showed the gorillas in their outdoor exhibits. Also with the levels, I thought the primates and apes had decent vertical space and climbing opportunities. I know more could be done to enrich these animals and I guess I felt less guilty seeing the primates in the exhibits opposed to the Apes. However, it was really neat to somewhat see the Aye Aye and the species of Lemurs, who just had a baby. I was a bit curious how many Orangutans the zoo had as they were in their outside yard, but I only saw a lump of red hair hiding in their hammock.
African Plains: Nothing spectacular with their exhibits, but also nothing too horrible. I liked how there is a fence in between the rhino and zebras now as they are being introduced to each other. Gradually, once they get more comfortable with each other, the fence will be removed. The Hippos are getting a new home right next to the giraffes. Does anyone know what animal used to be located there? It looks like there was already a pool in the exhibit. I'm not sure if it's any bigger than their exhibit now, but the sign made it seem like it's an upgrade for them. And it's appropriate to have them now in this area with all the other African animals. I believe they are taking the old Pachyderm Building and turning it into their new education center/children's zoo. This is exciting as I love the old architecture of the building, it's just the exhibits themselves that aren't appropriate for their current inhabitants. The ostrich is now in the old elephant exhibit, which is much better suited for it and the Okapi is still in its paddock. I actually went to look at the old Hippo exhibit to see what it used to look like. The pool was empty, but when I looked up on to the land area, there were the two Hippos! What an absolute treat this was to see them. I wasn't expecting to because of the current construction of their new exhibit and because I didn't think the weather was hot enough for them. Well, I came at the perfect time because I went to the Reptile House after this and when I returned to see them, they were gone. Back to African animals, I did like the overview platform to see the Cheetahs and African Wild Dogs. However this overview would be more appropriate in the area of the African plain so you could see exhibits on all side of animals of the same geographic location. Having it off to itself in the back seems misplaced to me. But both paddocks were decent in size, I just wish I could have seen the Cheetahs.
Rare Animal Conservatory & Small Mammals Building: Both buildings didn't have amazing exhibits, but its the animals that make them so enjoyable! It was a treat to see Aardvarks for the first time. To be perfectly honest, I never realized they were that big! I loved seeing the Douc Languars and Blue Eyed Lemurs. So many primates and small mammals that I've never seen before. There was also some wall art work that I loved in the Small Mammal Building in the nocturnal section. I also enjoyed seeing the old posters of the zoo and learning about some information on the zoo. Okay, to be honest I didn't read a lot of signs because I was focused on the animals, but I will make a point to read most of the signs when I return!
Reptile House & Children's Zoo: Both decent, but a little aged. The Reptile House did have a nice collection. The Children Zoo had a cute village area for bunnies and the basic farm animals. The volunteers in the Children Zoo were nice and even offered to get one of the Jersey cows for me so I could take a better picture, but I didn't want to bother the poor cow while she was eating. I'd be interested to see what the do with the old Pachyderm Building in terms of adding new elements of the children's zoo.
WORST
No exhibit stands out for this category. Because of the animal collection, it sort of distracted me if an exhibit was outdated. It seems the zoo is trying to update itself slowly, so I'll be interested to see the changes that they have in store.
BEST
Giant Otter Exhibit: Early into my trip, I was striking out seeing one empty exhibit after the other. So I really needed something positive for this zoo to redeem itself in my eyes. These creatures are incredible. I didn't count how many otters there were, but there were plenty. They're so full of energy and very engaging with visitors. My partner had the otters chasing after his hand for quite some time. They definitely get their enrichment every day that way. They have a nice huge pool with a very small waterfall that that they like to jump off it. This is the best exhibit in the Carnivore Kingdom, which I found to be a disappointment for the most part. The Coati exhibit was empty, probably due to the weather, the Lynx and Snow Leopard exhibits were very sad to see, and the pelicans moved to Bird Valley. I think the Red Pandas used to be in this area too but now they are randomly place behind the Children's Zoo section. I believe there was a path where you could see them from the other side of their enclosure, but on this day, it was blocked off from the public.
McNeil Avian Center: The details of the building are beautiful. When I first walked in and just saw the Rhinoceros hornbills, I thought that was the only section of the building. But when I found the other bird areas off to the sides and in the back, things got better. There were many beautiful birds and it was very fun to try to find all of them. I enjoyed seeing the Victoria Crowned Pigeons and Gertie, the Curassow (who was bigger than I expected). What I also admired about this exhibit was the interactive video that focused birds migrating and the effect humans have on this. It may be geared towards children, but I found it endearing, entertaining, and educational. I enjoyed the technical aspects of the production as well as the message.
Big Cat Falls: I thought each big cat had a nice area for them to live in. Each also provided a viewing window for visitors to get a close look at them and I'm sure the enticements, like heated rocks and pools make the cats want to come closer. It was a treat Merlin, the old Lion, as I've seen photos and found him to have such a sweet face. The Jaguars and Pumas were taking advantage of all levels of their exhibits and I saw them both climb up high to the top of their exhibits. What I found to be the most impressive exhibit was for the Snow Leopard. It might be because compared to the one in Carnivore Kingdom and the puny ones I've seen at other zoos, but this one was nicely planted and a lot of space for them to roam. I almost didn't realize the size ratio of the exhibit to Snow Leopard until I saw one hunched up on the cliff of the waterfall. I enjoyed all the signs, sound effects, and also seeing the cat walks above.
AVERAGE
Bear Country: I'm sure this section would have been more impressive to me if all the bears were out. Coming to the zoo when the morning was still a bit chilly, I was sure I'd at least see the Polar Bears. I was sadly mistaken. They were taken off exhibit due to maintenance needing to be done, though I never saw anyone working in their exhibit. I know I always see Polar Bears, but it's really nice to see them active in the brisk weather. Luckily the other bears eventually did come out later on in the day when it began to warm up. I first spotted the Andean Bear, then the Sloth Bear, and lastly the Asiatic Bear who was sleeping right next to the window. I thought each had decent size exhibits and as mentioned before, pretty impressive consider how old they are.
Petco Primate Center: The indoor primate areas may not be the most attractive and or enriching to the animals. But vainly, there are perks for visitors to see these animals. I appreciated the two levels to get different perspectives of their exhibits, and I loved looking down at the big window that showed the gorillas in their outdoor exhibits. Also with the levels, I thought the primates and apes had decent vertical space and climbing opportunities. I know more could be done to enrich these animals and I guess I felt less guilty seeing the primates in the exhibits opposed to the Apes. However, it was really neat to somewhat see the Aye Aye and the species of Lemurs, who just had a baby. I was a bit curious how many Orangutans the zoo had as they were in their outside yard, but I only saw a lump of red hair hiding in their hammock.
African Plains: Nothing spectacular with their exhibits, but also nothing too horrible. I liked how there is a fence in between the rhino and zebras now as they are being introduced to each other. Gradually, once they get more comfortable with each other, the fence will be removed. The Hippos are getting a new home right next to the giraffes. Does anyone know what animal used to be located there? It looks like there was already a pool in the exhibit. I'm not sure if it's any bigger than their exhibit now, but the sign made it seem like it's an upgrade for them. And it's appropriate to have them now in this area with all the other African animals. I believe they are taking the old Pachyderm Building and turning it into their new education center/children's zoo. This is exciting as I love the old architecture of the building, it's just the exhibits themselves that aren't appropriate for their current inhabitants. The ostrich is now in the old elephant exhibit, which is much better suited for it and the Okapi is still in its paddock. I actually went to look at the old Hippo exhibit to see what it used to look like. The pool was empty, but when I looked up on to the land area, there were the two Hippos! What an absolute treat this was to see them. I wasn't expecting to because of the current construction of their new exhibit and because I didn't think the weather was hot enough for them. Well, I came at the perfect time because I went to the Reptile House after this and when I returned to see them, they were gone. Back to African animals, I did like the overview platform to see the Cheetahs and African Wild Dogs. However this overview would be more appropriate in the area of the African plain so you could see exhibits on all side of animals of the same geographic location. Having it off to itself in the back seems misplaced to me. But both paddocks were decent in size, I just wish I could have seen the Cheetahs.
Rare Animal Conservatory & Small Mammals Building: Both buildings didn't have amazing exhibits, but its the animals that make them so enjoyable! It was a treat to see Aardvarks for the first time. To be perfectly honest, I never realized they were that big! I loved seeing the Douc Languars and Blue Eyed Lemurs. So many primates and small mammals that I've never seen before. There was also some wall art work that I loved in the Small Mammal Building in the nocturnal section. I also enjoyed seeing the old posters of the zoo and learning about some information on the zoo. Okay, to be honest I didn't read a lot of signs because I was focused on the animals, but I will make a point to read most of the signs when I return!
Reptile House & Children's Zoo: Both decent, but a little aged. The Reptile House did have a nice collection. The Children Zoo had a cute village area for bunnies and the basic farm animals. The volunteers in the Children Zoo were nice and even offered to get one of the Jersey cows for me so I could take a better picture, but I didn't want to bother the poor cow while she was eating. I'd be interested to see what the do with the old Pachyderm Building in terms of adding new elements of the children's zoo.
WORST
No exhibit stands out for this category. Because of the animal collection, it sort of distracted me if an exhibit was outdated. It seems the zoo is trying to update itself slowly, so I'll be interested to see the changes that they have in store.
