Changes You Would Make to Your Zoo

MountainBongo

MountainBongo

Well-Known Member
My 3 local zoos are all great, but I would like to change exhibits. What things would you other zoochatters like to change about your zoo?

John Ball Zoo

-I would turn the Tropics Building into the South American Rainforest Building. Instead of the black-footed cat desert exhibit I would add a pool and switch it to ocelots. Then, instead of the desert reptile exhibits switch them to South American reptiles. Finally, I would make the Michigan Stream exhibits into the "Amazon River" with small Amazonian fish.

-The maned wolf exhibit is terrible. I would get rid of the wolves and the exhibit and expand the existing capybara/creasted screamer/tapir exhibit and add a few more animals such as pudu, roseate spoonbill, and bring back the guanacos.

-In Africa I would bring the colobus monkeys across from the chimps and make an "African Primate Forest". In the current colobus exhibit id put the rock hyrax there. Also, I'd add duikers back to the African Forest Edge and expand the stream to make exhibits for pygmy hippos and greater kudu.

-North America has a snow leopard mesh enclosure identical to a puma one right next to it. I would make the 2 exhibits 1 and move the snow leopards to the new Tiger Forest Realm that's going to be finished in 2013.

-The Far Side of the World Trail is an awful trail with a wallaby exhibit and small wood and wire cages for lemurs, macaws, and other small animals. I would call the trail "Australian Woodland" and add more wallabies to the exhibit, then expand it. And of the lemurs I would expand there cage to 5 times it's size now.

Binder Park Zoo

-In Wild Africa I'd add a male kudu since the females are never visible and less impressive. Also, the main fild exhibit could use a few more species; maybe Thompson's gazelle, Zambezi lechwe, and Ugandan kob. The red river hog/stork exhibit needs black duikers and bongos. In the middle of the long forest walk with nothing but a tent I'd add a nice okapi/yellow-backed duiker exhibit. Finally, the cheetahs should be moved here.

-The current cheetah exhibit would hold tigers and then the gibbon/Mongolian wild horse/snow leopard area could finally have a name..."Asian Stream Side" because all the exhibits follow a stream.

Detroit Zoo

-The African Grassland needs more antelope species because they only have lesser kudu. I would add waterbuck, gerenuk, and red-flanked duiker to the kudu exhibit and I'd add red-fronted gazelle to the giraffe exhibit. Also, the African wild dogs should come back!

-The random snow monkeys in Africa should become colobus monkeys/klipspriger/rock hyrax. The snow monkeys then would move by the tiger exhibit where the picnic area is.

-I would add saddle billed storks, shoebills, and black duikers to African bird exhibit.
 
Brookfield Zoo

-Give outdoor exhibits to primates (or even just orangutans and gorillas) that look naturalistic.

-Get rid of the old hoofstock yards and make a new African Elephant exhibit and add rare hoofstock including greater kudu, giant eland, bongo and bontebok.

-Put more species in Habitat Africa! The Forest includeing moving primates from Tropic World.

-Move lions from big cat grottos to Habitat Africa! The Savanna then replace the lions with asiatic blak bears and add asian hoofstock (takin, bactrain camel, and przewalski's wild horse) across from the grottos to create an northern asian section.

Lincoln Park Zoo

-Add bonobos to Center for African Apes if they keep all the gorillas and chimpanzees thay also have a small outdoor exhibit in the back so 4 groups of african apes (2 gorilla, chimpanzee and bonobo) ZooLex Picture 13

-Add more species to the savanna in african journey.
 
Last edited:
I always thought that bongo should go into Habitat Africa The Rainforest. The old pig/buffalo exhibits are empty now, right?
 
REID PARK ZOO

Ship out polar bear and make it an african exhibit (which is geographically where it is in the zoo). Black-footed penguins on the rock/pool side and jackals or hyenas on the grass side. (BTW I have brought up this idea with senior staff and it is going nowhere - polar bears are here to stay in Tucson).

ARIZONA SONORA DESERT MUSEUM

Make Small Cat Canyon all small cats again, as it was for three decades (jaguarundi, bobcat, ocelot, margay). Build exhibits for the two major iconic large mammals that are absent: pronghorn and jaguar.
 
JBZBongo said:
I always thought that bongo should go into Habitat Africa The Rainforest. The old pig/buffalo exhibits are empty now, right?
Click to expand...

The only reason they got rid of the forest buffalo is because of budget cuts and that is why they are not replaceing them. I do not know if those exhibits are empty or if they put okapis in them because the public can not view those exhibits.
 
Milwaukee County Zoo

North America:

-Demolish the grottoes for grizzly, American black, and Kodiak bears and replace them with naturalistic forest-edge like habitats and include viewing windows for close encounters.

-Move the polar bears to a brand new habitat across from the caribou (in the open and forested area in front of Lake Evinrude). Should include underwater viewing, up-close viewing windows, and two different habitats. Also, create a first: pop-up viewing bubbles for visitors near where the pools would go (visitors would then get to feel like a seal going up to air holes, at the "risk" of getting "attacked" by the bears! :D)

-Expand the harbor seal exhibit into the current polar bear exhibit and bring back California sea lions (which are currently located in their own show area near the primates).

-Move the river otters from the Small Mammals Building to a new exhibit.

Safari Serengeti

This should be a new area built somewhere in the zoo (maybe the forest area behind the giraffe exhibit and part of the parking lot - a parking garage would have to be constructed behind the current parking lot to replace that part)

African elephants, black rhinos, cheetahs, meerkats, dwarf mongoose, warthogs, greater kudus, zebras, ostrich, and eland should all move here. Caracals should return here, and secretary birds, African wild dogs, naked mole rats, and gerenuks can be added to the collection.

Pachyderm Area

-Renovate the current African elephant exhibit to hold pygmy hippos.
-Renovate and combine the two black rhino exhibits to hold Indian rhinos (returning after a long time, and it would add a better flow to the next door Asian exhibits)
-Create the long awaited underwater viewing exhibit for Nile hippos. The pool should be extended into the current warthog exhibit, with a visitor area to see the hippos underwater here as well.
-Renovate the indoor pachyderm area to give more animal and visitor space (similar to the set up in the Big Cat Country area).

Predator-Prey Exhibits

-Replace the alpacas in the South America exhibit with capybaras and giant anteaters, the more natural prey for jaguars.

-Phase out Asian black bears, and renovate the exhibit into a nice habitat for Asian small-clawed otters.

-Move spotted hyenas to current cheetah exhibit (both hyenas and lions would have exhibits of their own and spend more time outdoors)

-Grevy's zebra and sable antelope should be added to the African Waterhole (where the lions are)

Primates

-Move ring-tailed and red ruffed lemurs from the Small Mammals Building and create a naturalistic lemur area to take the place of the Sea Lion Show area. Also add black and white ruffed lemurs.

-Redo the outdoor gorilla and bonobo exhibits (there's an entire forest surrounding the primates - why not take advantage of it?)

-Renovate or demolish the current Primates of the World and replace it with a more appropriate Primate House for the mandrills, spider monkeys, Goeldi's monkeys, colobus monkeys, Diana monkeys, siamangs, and orangutans. Golden lion, cotton top, and golden-head lion tamarins should move here as well. All should be given outdoor habitats. (Again - use the forest - take advantage of surroundings)

Small Mammals Building

-Completely redo the building into an awesome nocturnal building, maybe add aardvarks, echidnas, and aye-ayes. All current animals in the nocturnal area and the sloths and tayra in the day time area should remain.

Australia Building

-Give the Matschie's tree kangaroos the former outdoor koala exhibit

Aquatic and Reptile Building

-Add Komodo dragons (they're one of my favorite animals) :)
 
TropicWorld54 said:
Brookfield Zoo

-Give outdoor exhibits to primates (or even just orangutans and gorillas) that look naturalistic.

-Get rid of the old hoofstock yards and make a new African Elephant exhibit and add rare hoofstock including greater kudu, giant eland, bongo and bontebok.

-Put more species in Habitat Africa! The Forest includeing moving primates from Tropic World.

-Move lions from big cat grottos to Habitat Africa! The Savanna then replace the lions with asiatic blak bears and add asian hoofstock (takin, bactrain camel, and przewalski's wild horse) across from the grottos to create an northern asian section.

Lincoln Park Zoo

-Add bonobos to Center for African Apes if they keep all the gorillas and chimpanzees thay also have a small outdoor exhibit in the back so 4 groups of african apes (2 gorilla, chimpanzee and bonobo) ZooLex Picture 13

-Add more species to the savanna in african journey.
Click to expand...

To add more to my previous one
Brookfield Zoo

-Add chimpanzee to the zoo to go with the outdoor gorilla exhibit.

-Add more North American species near great bear wilderness along the salt creek nature walk including black bears, moose, white-tailed deer and coyotes.

-Get some of the old species from pinneped point icluding walrus and fur seals.

-Add a south American section where the feathers and scales building, fountain, and perching bird house is including bringing back andean bears and jaguars.

-Give outdoor exhibits for echidna and wombats as well as new exhibits for kangaroo and emu.

-Demolish the bear grottos and add Pandas since Brookfield zoo was the first North American Zoo to have pandas. It would also tie into the northern Asian exhibit (mentioned in my earlier post so look above) to the north of the panda exhibit. I think that this would be good for and Illinois climate because they could stay out year round unlike more southern asian animals like orangutans.
 
Beardsley Zoo:
This is just a list of minor changes. I'll make an updated list full of bigger changes.
Put Canada Lynx in former Andean Bear habitats. Back when the zoo had 2 bears, they used to put one bear in one exhibit and the other in the other exhibit until they wanted to breed. When that happened, the two adjoining habitats had a door that could connect the habitats. The same rules could apply to the Canada Lynx, only the enclosures are more suitable for them than for lynx.
Put Snowy Owls in the former Canada Lynx exhibit. The Snowy Owls used to inhabit this exhibit when the older lynx passed away, until new lynx came. Then they moved to the summer exhibit for the howler monkeys. While the outdoor exhibit is larger, the howler monkeys need to come out here in the summer, and the Canada Lynx exhibit is more appropiate for them geographically.
Let White-Faced Sakis join the Black Howler Monkeys in their outdoor exhibit. I see no reason why the sakis can't join the howlers considering they get along perfectly fine indoors.
Add Common Squirrel Monkeys to the Goeldi's Monkey/Keel-Billed Toucan exhibit.
Add the Greater Rheas to the Llama exhibit.
Demolish the former Red Fox exhibit.
Move the Sandhill Crane egg further away from the viewing area. Of all the places in a large crane exhibit, they had to lay the egg right near the main viewing area, making the parents stressed and making the male very,very pissy.
 
pittsburgh zoo
1) Give the snow leopard a bigger exhibit
2) Give the Orangutan a outdoor exhibit
3) Demolish the bear grottos and build a new exhibit there
4) The zoo has a Matschie's Tree Kangaroo behind the scenes and i would love for them to put it on exhibit
5) Bring back the Leafy Seadragons :( i miss them
6) try and get a walrus for the water's edge exhibit (currently in the exhibit sand tiger sharks)
 
What changes would I make to Lion Country Safari, Zoo Miami, Lowry Park Zoo, Miami Seaquarium, and Palm Beach Zoo?
 
Arizona Docent said:
Well, what are they?
Click to expand...

Well... I haven't decided yet... Maybe...

Miami Seaquarium:

Move all its animals to a bigger and better marine park, with larger and even better exhibits for dolphins, sea lions, tropical fish, manatees, sea turtles, flamingoes, sharks, etc.

Add new indoor (if not, climate-conditioned) exhibit for polar bears, beluga whales, sea otters, and walruses.

Add an indoor Antarctic penguin exhibit with king penguins, gentoo penguins, adelie penguins, and rockhopper penguins, with an outdoor exhibit for African penguins.

Add an exhibit for Nile hippopotamuses, complete with an underwater viewing area.

Add an exhibit for Asian small-clawed otters.

Add an aquarium building for freshwater fish (including arapaimas, silver arowanas, pacus, piranhas, electric eels, archerfish, frogs, etc.).

Build a shark petting pool for cownose stingrays, southern stingrays, and white-spotted bamboo sharks.

Well... guess that's it.
 
Last edited:
"My zoo" is Cincinnati. Here are some ideas I've had over the years:

A1 on my list would be to get a few bulldozers and raze the bear grottos. Even the recently redone polar bear exhibit. The Andean and black bears are just sad to watch. The polar bears got a bit more room, but that enclosure is still way behind when you consider what other zoos like Detroit, Brookfield and even Louisville have done for this difficult to accommodate species. Polar bears are a species that I'd rather not have than keep in so-so holdings.

After these exhibits were destroyed, I would have a new gorilla complex built where the bear exhibits once stood. The entire area could be dedicated to the troop and an indoor holding would be built. This area could be planted and linked up with the zoo's main tropical primate complex, Jungle Trails.

Once the gorillas were transferred, I would use the current Gorilla World to house a smaller Asian bear species such as sun, sloth, or moon bears. This would allow the zoo to continue to house an ursid species in a more reasonably sized exhibit. Knoxville's American black bear exhibit is often praised for having features that are typically seen in primate enclosures, so I'm thinking that with some species-specific alterations, this could be done well.

When the lions are transferred to the new savannah exhibit, I would house striped hyenas in the current lion holding.
 
My closest zoo is the Hogle Zoo. This one is in need of some major changes:
Demolish the giraffe house and instead expand the lackluster African Savanna area and put the giraffes there along with some ostriches and a few other antelope like gemsbok, kudu, and eland.

Renovate the great ape house and put in natural indoor enclosures and put more enrichment outside. Get rid of the concrete cells that the gorillas and orangutans have inside.

Change the small mammal house into a themed building such as a good indoor tropical or desert building.

Update the Bactrian camel and desert bighorn sheep yards and expand the tiny wolf yard.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
"My zoo" is Cincinnati. Here are some ideas I've had over the years:

A1 on my list would be to get a few bulldozers and raze the bear grottos. Even the recently redone polar bear exhibit. The Andean and black bears are just sad to watch. The polar bears got a bit more room, but that enclosure is still way behind when you consider what other zoos like Detroit, Brookfield and even Louisville have done for this difficult to accommodate species. Polar bears are a species that I'd rather not have than keep in so-so holdings.

After these exhibits were destroyed, I would have a new gorilla complex built where the bear exhibits once stood. The entire area could be dedicated to the troop and an indoor holding would be built. This area could be planted and linked up with the zoo's main tropical primate complex, Jungle Trails.

Once the gorillas were transferred, I would use the current Gorilla World to house a smaller Asian bear species such as sun, sloth, or moon bears. This would allow the zoo to continue to house an ursid species in a more reasonably sized exhibit. Knoxville's American black bear exhibit is often praised for having features that are typically seen in primate enclosures, so I'm thinking that with some species-specific alterations, this could be done well.

When the lions are transferred to the new savannah exhibit, I would house striped hyenas in the current lion holding.
Click to expand...
My zoo is Cincinnati. Here are some more ideas: When the lions move use there old space for Manatee Springs expansion and bring back a onsite aquarium with sharks and rays. I agree with you on bulldozing bear line it needs it. But i cant see there being enough space on that hill for gorillas. I would move them to the back parking lot. There is alot of space for a good exhibit for them maybe add mandrill and pygmy hippo. What do you think of my ideas?
 
More to add on
Lincoln Park Zoo

-Change the big cat house to hold only Tigers, lions, snowleopards and cougars so the two big cats will have the outdoor grottoes and the other two smaller species will have expanded outdoor exhibits. Also close the indoor exhibits to the public or make the exhibits one way glass with a rail so anoying people can not hit on the glass.

-Demolish the polar bear grotto and rebuild one with grass. (the size of the exhibit is good but the pool takes over 3/4 of the exhibit)

-Make the closed penguin exhibit into a walk through kangaroo exhibit like Clumbus Zoo's and not like Bucsh Gardens.

-Demolish the hoofstock yards and move the zebras to the savanna to make them into an African Forest to tie into with the center for african apes. It would include mandrills, colobus mokeys, Allen's Swamp monkey, De Brazza's Monkey and bongo.

-Once the species listed above move from the monkey house to the african forest the zoo can get orangutans, keep the gibbons and Francois' langurs to make a whole new exhibit that looks like center for african apes (i like the architecture) so this section (center for african apes and asian primate exhibits) could be a entire primate complex or be separate.

Brookfield Zoo

-Add outdoor exhibits for river otters and ornico crocodiles where the reptile building was. Make the swamp into just a bird and reptile house.

-Make the baboon rock into a outdoor exhibits for South American primates so the entire south east corner of the zoo will be a South American section. http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/CZS/brookfield/media/Maps/2012-SUMMER-MAP.pdf (look at southwest corner of the Zoo it would all be south american because the living coast is south american coasts the resturant next to it is south american themed even the wolves are mexican grey wolves so that would sort of tie in) where baboon rock is make outdoor exhibits for Tropic World South America (the farthest to the right part of the building) then where the reptile building was make it into outdoor exhibits for giant river otters and ornico crocodiles then demolish the formal pool and reptile and birds into exhibits for Jaguars and spectacled bears and make feathers and scales into a capybara exhibit.
 
bgeezle513 said:
My zoo is Cincinnati. Here are some more ideas: When the lions move use there old space for Manatee Springs expansion and bring back a onsite aquarium with sharks and rays. I agree with you on bulldozing bear line it needs it. But i cant see there being enough space on that hill for gorillas. I would move them to the back parking lot. There is alot of space for a good exhibit for them maybe add mandrill and pygmy hippo. What do you think of my ideas?
Click to expand...

I like your ideas. it may indeed be a stretch to build a gorilla exhibit on the bear line. I didn't think of that back gravel lot when i read this thread. I haven't been back there since they built the new main lot. I assumed they were using it for a staff lot of something. If not, it's a decent sized piece of land for a new complex.

As for an aquarium expansion, I'd be hesitant since there's already a true aquarium right across the river in Newport. I have good memories of the old Fleischmann Aquarium, but back then the Newport Aquarium wasn't around. I'd rather the zoo focus on things other than fish.

I like the mandrill and pygmy hippo ideas a lot. I'd love to see multiple species incorporated into a new complex for a major species. It would be really cool to see the okapi given a top-notch enclosure in an African forest exhibit. I'd like to see some leopards as well. Not snow leopards or clouded leopards, just regular old leopards.

If the bear line were to go and the gorillas were out as an option, then what could go into that hillside spot? Maybe a nice ibex or Dall sheep exhibit could take advantage of the topography. Heck, you could probably go with the idea of expanding Jungle Trails on that site with leopards instead of gorillas. There would be ample room for them and there's always been a lack of predators in the rainforest exhibit.
 
Lion Country Safari:

Update the marabou exhibit, iguana exhibit, python exhibit, and bird aviaries.

Replace dromedaries with river hippos in a former elephant exhibit.

Add Indian rhinos in a Gir Forest area of a drive-through wildlife preserve.

Move the white-handed gibbons from the Hwange National Park area to one of the primate islands at Lake Shanalee, and bulldoze their islands in the Hwange National Park area.
 
Last edited:
An updated list for Beardsley Zoo filled with bigger changes:
I'm not sure of which species are included in the planned Pampas exhibit but here's my reccomendations: Maned Wolf, Chacoan Peccary, Greater Rhea, Giant Anteater.
After the Pampas exhibit, build an Andes exhibit next to the Pampas. This should include new exhibits for the Andean Condor and Llamas, the return of Andean Bears, and new species like Mountain Tapirs and Ring-Tailed Coatis.
Once the Andes exhibit is complete, make an outdoor Rainforest exhibit to complete the expansion. Make a new outdoor exhibit for the Brazilian Ocelots, return species like the Capybara, and bring new species such as Jaguars and Black-Handed Spider Monkeys. This final part of the South American expansion should end near the Rainforest Building.
Make an Asian exhibit called Asian Plateau. Make a much-needed new habitat for the Amur Tigers and Blue-Eared Pheasant, and add species like Malayan Sun Bears, Red Pandas, Snow Leopards, and White-Naped Cranes.
Make an Arctic exhibit featuring new species like Polar Bears, Harbor Seals, and Arctic Foxes. Return Reindeer to the zoo, and make a new exhibit for Snowy Owls. Then demolish the entire Predators area and make it one big Canada Lynx exhibit and include it in the Arctic expansion.
Ambitious, but hopefully one day it will be done!:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top