Snowleopard's 2012 Road Trip

snowleopard said:
DAY 10: Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Road Trip Review # 6: Potawatomi Zoo

Potawatomi Zoo’s website:

Potawatomi Zoo - Home

Zoo Map:

http://www.potawatomizoo.org/ViewDocument.asp?DocumentID=181

Potawatomi Zoo is an AZA-accredited facility that was founded in 1902 in the city of South Bend, Indiana, and later named after a Native American tribe. It is 23 acres in size; it features approximately 400 animals within Potawatomi Park, is only open 8 months of the year, and receives around 200,000 annual visitors. It is the 4th zoo in the state of Indiana that I have visited, and I would rank them in this order: Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Mesker Park and Potawatomi. The first three are well worth visiting for a variety of reasons, and even though my daughter Kylie had a total blast at Potawatomi I highly doubt that I’ll ever return.

By the end of this latest road trip I will have seen approximately 150 zoos and aquariums just within Canada and the United States, and Potawatomi Zoo made a strong case today to be arguably the second worst AZA-accredited zoo that I’ve ever toured. There is a strong amount of ineptitude in terms of the animal collection, exhibitry and there seems to be a dreary apathy about the establishment. I have zero issues with the odd closed exhibit at major zoos, especially the huge ones with vast collections, but for a tiny zoo that can be easily seen in one and a half hours to have a series of empty enclosures in the peak summer season is bewildering.

Next to the Amur leopard enclosure is an empty cage (perhaps for the best considering its appearance) with scratched and dirty blank sign; the red panda exhibit was closed for renovations; the chimpanzee outdoor exhibit was closed for renovations; the walk-through Australia Walkabout was closed due to the lack of a zoo guide to watch visitors as they strolled in; the bison were locked out of their empty paddock; and the Learning Center near the entrance had at least 3 empty terrariums with signs up announcing a lack of inhabitants. That makes 8 animal exhibits utterly devoid of any animals in the peak season for the zoo. I scratch my head at such an awful impression that it must give those that visit for the first time.

THE BEST:

River Otter Exhibit – This enclosure opened in 2011 and is the one and only excellent exhibit at the zoo. It has underwater viewing, spacious grassy areas and is well-designed and features entertaining mammals.

THE AVERAGE:

Australia Walkabout – This area had at least 4 great grey kangaroos, 4 Kangaroo Island wallabies and 2 emus (that I could see from the outside) along with two aviaries near the entrance with kookaburras and blue-faced honeyeaters. A nearby pool had a pair of black swans, and while the walk-through area looked to be rather spacious since there was not an employee monitoring the environment a heavily padlocked chain was draped through the wooden gate and clamped shut. That was an abysmal public-relations move as people at one point were lined up and banging on the padlock in an attempt to shift the gate open.

THE WORST:

Asia – Two revamped grottoes held a single Amur tiger and a single white Bengal tiger in adjacent exhibits. The first enclosure is dreadful, with a tiny pool maybe just over a foot deep and cement in the rest of the puny exhibit. The second tiger enclosure was a little better but still a complete disaster. Nearby was a decent Sichuan takin exhibit that contained some mature trees; a bare Bactrian camel paddock and an even sparser white-naped crane enclosure. The best part of this area was the Japanese koi pool (built in 1997) and the red panda exhibit (built in 2002) but the red panda was to be found in a black metal box across from the zebras in the African section while its exhibit was being renovated.

Africa – There were two male lions in a long black metal cage that had a mockrock backdrop inside; southern ground hornbills (at least 6 of them!) had a similar black metal cage; colobus monkeys were in a decent exhibit that was built in the 1980’s; a couple of Diana monkeys had lots of climbing opportunities in their black metal cage; a couple of Ankole cattle were in a dusty paddock; an African wild dog was panting heavily in the back of its large, chain-link yard; a couple of Grant’s zebras had a nice field (opened in 2000) that was sparse and bare; and a warthog had a decent exhibit (opened in 1999) that was perhaps the best of the sad bunch. The badly outdated chimpanzee enclosure was closed and it contained almost zero grass, while the indoor area was tiny and dark.

This part of the zone had a typical farmhouse/barnyard/petting goat area with cattle, serama bantam chickens, Coscoroba swans, alpacas and a small barn owl aviary. Across from the colobus monkeys are metal aviaries with a pied hornbill exhibit and a golden-breasted starling/violet-backed starling exhibit. Pony rides and an American flamingo pool were nearby, but the African theme is obstructed by those areas.

The Americas – This area has the superb river otter complex but the rest is awful. A bobcat exhibit is so small and dirty that it should have been destroyed years ago; an adjacent Amur leopard enclosure would not be too shabby if the bobcats had access to it; bison were locked out of their bare fenced yard; collared peccaries and crested screamers are viewed through obtrusive chain-link fencing; a giant anteater exhibit is actually quite good and spacious; a corn-crib Swainson’s toucan cage is in the crested screamer field and a green-winged macaw was perched outside in an open enclosure.

The Americas area also has a building with two Chinese alligator all-indoor enclosures and a large yet incredibly dull outdoor American alligator yard. An African spurred tortoise has a tiny exhibit that is looked down upon, and black-tailed prairie dogs inhabit a dirt enclosure.

Center of the Zoo – This area has an Amur leopard enclosure that is basically a large green metal cage; a Galapagos tortoise yard and a small tortoise area with these 5 species all together: radiated, red-footed, African spurred, leopard and Greek.

Learning Center – This structure opened to the public in 1980 and is directly inside the entrance to the zoo and has an assorted number of small animals within. With 5 species of primates, 5 species of poison dart frogs and 7 species of geckos there is the thought that the animal collection makes a trip worthwhile. Nevertheless the harsh cement corners of the building, the humid condensation on several of the tanks, the 3 empty exhibits, the average to subpar enclosures, and the fact that some of those primates really should have access to the great outdoors makes the entire building outdated and badly in need of a spring cleaning.

Species list: Ring-tailed lemur, lesser spot-nosed guenon, golden-lion tamarin, cotton-top tamarin, white-faced saki monkey, Burmese python, eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Carolina pygmy rattlesnake, prairie rattlesnake, broad-banded copperhead, Florida kingsnake, green-and-black poison dart frog, dyeing poison dart frog (two exhibits), blue poison dart frog, splash-back poison dart frog, Golfodulcean poison dart frog, Panamanian golden frog, golden mantella, giant waxy monkey tree frog, Madagascar spider tortoise, star tortoise, spotted turtle, lined leaf-tailed gecko, giant day gecko, New Caledonian giant gecko, Standing’s day gecko, crested gecko, tokay gecko, leopard gecko, panther chameleon, shingleback skink, prehensile-tailed skink, marbled salamander, emperor scorpion, Malaysian black scorpion, Texas brown tarantula, black widow spider, Trinidad giant cockroach, Chinese mantis and scarlet ibis.

THE FUTURE:

Bleak.

OVERALL:

Potawatomi Zoo is a junky zoo with only a single excellent exhibit, and it is going to take a lot of work for someone to turn this facility in the right direction. The cat exhibits (lion, tiger, leopard, bobcat) are some of the worst around; there are empty enclosures all over the place in the peak of the summer season; the 8 primate species all have very poor enclosures (except for the colobus monkeys); and there is a general air of neglect in all directions. I once called Sacramento Zoo a “dud zoo” but it is leagues ahead of Potawatomi and seems inspired and brilliant in comparison. Of the AZA-accredited zoos that I have visited perhaps only Charles Paddock is worse than Potawatomi.
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Well, it looks like more exhibits besides the river otter exhibit all need to be renovated and fixed.
 
I would like to see some photos to make a judgment for myself - will you be posting some eventually? I know what you do and do not like in a zoo, SL, and that is perfectly fair and reasonable. But a "long black metal cage" for lions does not provide any real indication of whether the cage is actually acceptable on welfare grounds, or simply doesn't fit your particular zoo aesthetic.
 
CGSwans said:
I would like to see some photos to make a judgment for myself - will you be posting some eventually? I know what you do and do not like in a zoo, SL, and that is perfectly fair and reasonable. But a "long black metal cage" for lions does not provide any real indication of whether the cage is actually acceptable on welfare grounds, or simply doesn't fit your particular zoo aesthetic.
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Look in the United States gallery and there are many photos showing just how bad the Potawatomi Zoo is.
Here is the terrible lion exhibit: http://www.zoochat.com/1311/lion-exhibit-275034/
 
I look forward to your Potter Park Zoo review. I just went to their website and it looks like a cute little zoo. I have always been anticipating your Erie Zoo review for a long time. Although I have pretty much guessed how you're going to review each section of it.
 
Chlidonias said:
some views of the lion cage in the gallery: definitely not a snowleopard style enclosure.
http://www.zoochat.com/1311/lion-exhibit-275032/
http://www.zoochat.com/1311/lion-exhibit-275034/

EDIT: cross-posted with TropicWorld54. I wouldn't have used the phrase "...showing just how bad the Potawatomi Zoo is." It seems an average sort of place, not great but not terrible by any means. (And I wouldn't, just going by the photos, call it "a junky zoo" as snowleopard does).
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Having gone through the gallery, there are a couple of animals I really feel for. The ring-tailed lemurs for one, and whilst it is hard to get an exact idea of the size of the lion enclosure, it does seem like it has real problems. You can only hope that the two males are very well bonded because it's arguably too narrow for a submissive animal to get away from the dominant one in a confrontation - there's no way for a lion to get around another one in that cage. So yes, that is an animal welfare issue.

The reason I sometimes feel the need to read between the lines with SL's very enjoyable reviews (and I don't mean this as a discouragement, SL, by any means!) is quotes like this:

Nevertheless the harsh cement corners of the building, the humid condensation on several of the tanks, the 3 empty exhibits, the average to subpar enclosures, and the fact that some of those primates really should have access to the great outdoors makes the entire building outdated and badly in need of a spring cleaning.
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Four out of five of those observations are about the visitor, not the inhabitants. Only the lack of outdoor access for the primates makes the case that this building is not only ugly, but has animal welfare issues. I'm not for a moment suggesting that SL doesn't care about such things (in fact, I believe you are quite passionate about animal welfare). It's just that sometimes the reviews tend to focus on the zoo's aesthetic features rather than its livability for its animals. Which is at least as interesting to us readers. :)
 
CGSwans said:
Having gone through the gallery, there are a couple of animals I really feel for. The ring-tailed lemurs for one, and whilst it is hard to get an exact idea of the size of the lion enclosure, it does seem like it has real problems. You can only hope that the two males are very well bonded because it's arguably too narrow for a submissive animal to get away from the dominant one in a confrontation - there's no way for a lion to get around another one in that cage. So yes, that is an animal welfare issue.
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I overlooked the lemur cage, that certainly is bad if that is all they have (i.e. no outdoor enclosure). The bobcats have another very poor cage. It's hard to judge the size of the lion cage from the photos but it doesn't seem too small to me, just quite ugly. Which would really be the main criticism of most of the enclosures: not overly large and not terribly easy on the eye. But of course I haven't seen any of them in person and that's what gives you a true perspective. I'm sure snowleopard's photos will also provide different views than the ones already in the gallery.
 
Wow, at least 8 responses to my Potawatomi Zoo review!! That is a tiny Indiana zoo that can be easily seen in an hour and a half, and barely anyone visits it (including perhaps 99% of ZooChatters) and yet I'm intrigued that so many folks made comments. Keep them coming! I stand by my statement that the zoo is "junky", and I'm surprised that no one made much of a big deal over the 8 closed exhibits. That is a big pet peeve of mine because in what is literally one of the busiest weeks of the entire year to have so many empty yards, paddocks or terrariums is unforgivable.

I've already typed up over 105 reviews on ZooChat so long-time readers will know exactly what I like and dislike in a particular establishment:

- bear grottoes/pits with little to no natural substrate are crap
- any kind of metal cages for mammals are "disrespectful to the animals" (to use a quote from the leader of Melbourne Zoo in reference to that zoo's now recently demolished Hamadryas baboon cage)
- I like primates on lush, naturalistic islands
- I like open-topped exhibits with zero obstructions
- Corn-crib enclosures are junk
- Glass viewing in some section of an exhibit is in specific instances essential for great, close-up viewing
- No empty exhibits (maybe 1 major enclosure in an entire zoo, but certainly not many of them littered across the grounds like Potawatomi)

As "Blospz" pointed out he already knows how I will review Erie Zoo in a couple of days and it should not be a surprise to him that I'll bash the cement grottoes and perhaps like the children's zoo. In terms of welfare issues I can say that the Amur tiger and white Bengal tiger at Potawatomi Zoo both seemed to be in superb condition, with thick fur and a regal appearance. But they are in tiny, mainly cement, revamped grottoes that are dreadful for the size of the cats. Where is their space to roam? Why would anyone be inclined to contribute to tiger conservation from viewing the cats in substandard enclosures? There are probably at least 20 top-notch tiger exhibits in American zoos with mature trees, plenty of foliage, a trickling stream, a deep pool, lots of space, etc, and those are the habitats that I rave about. Having beautiful tigers in cement grottoes is disrespectful to both the animal and the visitor.
 
DAY 11: Thursday, July 12th, 2012

Road Trip Review # 7: John Ball Zoo

John Ball Zoo’s website:

John Ball Zoo Society

Zoo Map:

http://www.johnballzoosociety.org/images/Zoo Grounds/2011summermap.gif

John Ball Zoo is an AZA-accredited facility located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The zoo was founded in 1891 within the 140 acres of John Ball Park. There are over 1,100 animals of approximately 240 species, the zoo is only open 9 months a year, and the annual attendance is about 250,000. There has been a recent push towards experiences that cost extra in order to boost revenue, and the zoo has these events that all cost extra: stingray touch tank, camel rides, budgie aviary, a brand-new funicular ride, a zip line in the children’s zone and an Adventure Ropes Course with 22 obstacles. Plus there are swan rides on paddle boats near the entrance to the zoo.

We spent 2 hours at the zoo, skipping only the Forest Realm section as there are no animals in that part of the establishment and there was an hour and fifteen minute drive ahead of us to the second zoo of the day: Potter Park in Lansing, Michigan. John Ball is quite a nice little zoo, with some gorgeous modern habitats that stand out against the backdrop of an outdated zone. It seems to be steadily improving as each year goes by and it has more going for it than many other smaller accredited institutions.

THE BEST:

Chimpanzee Exhibit – The enclosure is one third of an acre in size and it opened in 2001and it is rather superb. The lush, shady habitat resembles the chimp exhibit at Busch Gardens, and the careful placement of unobtrusive hotwire enables the tiered levels to remain green in the middle of summer. An air-conditioned indoor viewing area is also accessible to the public, and there is a large troop in this splendid habitat.

Lions of Lake Manyara – This expensive $4 million habitat opened in 2008 and is also brilliant constructed so that the enclosure slopes down towards two large sets of viewing windows. The lushness of the exhibit is impressive, heated rocks are placed directly in front of the windows, and there is an attention to detail in the design and the plantings that is inspiring. I’d point out that this is one of the better lion exhibits in an American zoo but there is perhaps a long list of other zoos that could make the same claim.

The African section has a third outstanding exhibit that contains bongo, southern ground hornbill, African white-backed vulture, Egyptian goose and helmeted guineafowl in a landscape that is large with plenty of mature trees. It is adjacent to a good warthog exhibit, and a goat corral and a small von der Decken’s hornbill aviary are in this section as well. Dromedaries are there to give rides to visitors near the goats, and a couple of mock-rock dominated enclosures for Guinea baboons and colobus monkeys are hit-and-miss. The trio of chimpanzee, lion and bongo habitats is all fantastic and as good as anything out there by almost any zoo in the United States.

Living Shores Aquarium – This building is surprisingly well-designed, with lots of rocky outcrops jutting out from the side of exhibits or above the heads of visitors. There is a feeling of stepping into a coastline environment, and with the odd bird soaring overhead and the smell of saltwater in the air this immersive structure is much better than I had anticipated. The exhibit with about 30 Magellanic penguins is the true highlight for most visitors, and the jostling of the birds in their pool is always a delight to see.

The first exhibit encountered is a Michigan Stream with rainbow trout, followed by a large tank that is a Patagonian Stream with brown trout, Chilean teal and a couple of monk parakeets flying overhead with no barriers. Kelp gulls and saffron finches are also free to roam the air, along with red-crested cardinals, rufous-collared sparrows and blue-and-yellow tanagers. One animal that is enclosed is a long-tailed weasel (very rare in American zoos) and past the penguins is a smaller tank with 4 species: striped seaperch, smelt, strawberry anemone and false ochre sea star.

A Northwest Coast tank has many species of rockfish and other cold-water animals, while a Northwest Kelp Forest section has leopard sharks and many anemones amongst the swirling kelp. A California moray eel has its own tank, and a Northwest Tide Pool has a wave that intermittently crashes upon the inhabitants. The entire aquarium is very well done, with a cave-like atmosphere and the building is fun to explore.

Nearby is an outdoor Stingray Lagoon, a 5,000 gallon tank where visitors can pay to touch cownose rays and white-spotted bamboo sharks; and Frogs (opened in 2008) is a small room with these 13 species in terrariums: tokay gecko, marine toad, Cuban tree frog, tomato frog, horned frog, leaf frog, mossy frog, bullfrog, spotted turtle, blue-and-yellow poison dart frog, yellow-banded poison dart frog, green-and-black poison dart frog and splashback poison dart frog.

THE AVERAGE:

Tropics House – This building is small on the map but it contains quite a diverse collection of animals. The majority is reptiles and amphibians and in that way it serves it purpose as a traditional Reptile House, but there are some surprises tucked away as well. A Komodo dragon exhibit is outdoors and inside the building there are 8 mammal species, 1 crocodilian, 21 snake species, 3 turtle species, 2 tortoise species, 9 frog and toad species, 8 lizard species, 2 invertebrate species and 7 fish species for a grand total of 61 species inside the Tropics building. The exhibitry has its ups and downs, with many of the snakes in more than adequate mixed-species exhibits but also at least a third of the enclosures could be more spacious.

Species list for Tropics: black-footed cat, kinkajou, Hoffman’s two-toed sloth, red-bellied tamarin, cotton-top tamarin, grey-legged douroucouli, Goeldi’s monkey, black howler monkey, dwarf caiman, boa constrictor, Amazon tree boa, Brazilian rainbow boa, green anaconda, green tree python, reticulated python, tiger ratsnake, black ratsnake, northern watersnake, eyelash viper, Taylor’s cantil, fer-de-lance, blue racer, Mexican west coast rattlesnake, western diamondback rattlesnake, eastern fox snake, eastern milk snake, eastern garter snake, eastern massasauga, broad-banded copperhead, Sonoran mountain kingsnake, eastern box turtle, spotted turtle, wood turtle, green-and-black poison dart frog, tinctorius poison dart frog, yellow-banded poison dart frog, northern leopard frog, grey tree frog, green frog, wood frog, fire-bellied toad, American toad, African spurred tortoise, red-footed tortoise, Argentine black-and-white tegu, desert spiny lizard, gila monster, Rio Fuerte beaded lizard, chuckwalla, blue-tongued skink, prehensile-tailed skink, green iguana, emperor scorpion, hissing cockroach, dwarf cichlid, triangle cichlid, red-striped eartheater, lemon tetra, bloodfin tetra, silver hatchetfish and dusky narrow hatchetfish.

Birds – There is a very large bald eagle aviary near the entrance; a golden eagle aviary in the North American zone; an American pelican pool and a jam-packed waterfowl pool just inside the front gate that are pleasant enough but constructed long ago from heavy stones.

THE WORST:

South American Animals – There is a maned wolf mock-rock monstrosity that is fully enclosed in black metal; a white-faced saki monkey island of cement; a small Chilean flamingo pool; and a crested screamer/capybara/South American tapir exhibit that has a rocky backdrop and is perhaps the best of a bad bunch. This entire zone is set against a grassy hillside but the amount of mock-rock in use would make Milwaukee County Zoo smile with pride. There is one very good exhibit here and it is an island with a group of black-headed spider monkeys.

North American Animals – A couple of bear grottoes are atrocious (for a Coastal brown and a grizzly bear) with perhaps zero natural substrate whatsoever; tall, rocky cages house snow leopards and mountain lions; a bobcat has a decent grassy enclosure; river otters have a deep pool that compensates for their rocky landscape; and a turtle pool is very nice and has these 5 species: Blanding’s turtle, eastern box turtle, eastern painted turtle, common map turtle and red-eared slider.

Far Side Trail – This winding pathway is covered with wood chips for much of the route, and visitors enter through an extremely small Bennett’s wallaby walk-through zone. After that there is a wooden cage with ring-tailed lemurs, a bearded dragon enclosure, and a few painfully small aviaries with these species: sulphur-crested cockatoo, monk parakeet and great horned owl. The great horned owl metal box is perhaps 10 feet long, 4 feet wide and 7 feet high, while the monk parakeet aviary is half that size. The trail culminates in the ubiquitous barnyard/farm area for kids, plus nearby aviaries with common crows, barn owls and a prairie falcon. A porcupine is in a small enclosure, and there is a walk-through budgie aviary that is tiny and densely crowded with birds. A pair of aviaries also house azure-winged magpies and mountain bamboo partridges. This entire area is off to the side of the zoo and was scarcely populated and so it is possible that many visitors skip this section.

THE FUTURE:

Opening in 2012: Idema Forest Realm is an 11-acre area of the zoo that represents its highest point and yet at the moment it contains zero animals. An elevated wooden boardwalk is already in place and the Tree House, Overlook, Nature Play Zone and Forest Trail will all be accessed via walking up the steep Forest Trail or riding a peculiar device called a funicular (kind of like a 3-car tram). All of that is not quite in place but the new gift shop has already opened near the entrance of the zoo.

Opening in 2013: The grizzly bear grottoes will be dramatically renovated to modern standards, although I personally think that it is a major mistake to house bears in that area. It is not uncommon for zoos to construct brown bear habitats that are half an acre or larger in size and the zoo’s plans for its bears will be outdated before they are finished.

Opening in 2014: A new tiger habitat in the Forest Realm zone.

OVERALL:

John Ball Zoo has an absolutely wonderful trio of outstanding exhibits that feature chimpanzees, lions, bongos and several African birds. They are all in a row and without a doubt the best section of the zoo. The Aquarium is also fully deserving of being placed in my “best” section as it has penguins but many other aquatic delights. After that the zoo is hit-and-miss (kind of like the Tropics House) and the South American, North American and Far Side Trail are all outdated and in need of an overhaul. The Americas has an awful lot of mock-rock that will have to be chiseled away if anything is to be done with that part of the zoo, and there are exactly 10 exhibits in a row that all need to be modernized. If the zoo can build on its momentum within the African section then it could be a fantastic modern establishment, and the future grizzly bear and tiger exhibits will hopefully be nice additions that boost attendance.
 
Thank you for visiting our little zoo! The zoo expands/grows every year with either a new exhibit or a new expansion. If you come back in a few years you will see a brand new zoo! I hope you come back to the zoo! Here is a few thoughs I would like to state.

I would put the North American Trek as Average. The bobcat, otter, and turtle pond exhibits are all great. The new bear exhibit wil be great (the zoo already has the money for it, so it's a for sure thing) and the cat exhibits are great for the cats even though they may look not as appealing.

The South American Boardwalk also isn't the worst part. The wolves are content with a small pond and grass at the very top of the exhibit. The exhibit used to hold jaugars 20 or so years ago, so that's why it's a caged/rocky exhibit. The tapir, capys, and screamers all love to swim in the water and stand under the waterfall, so that's fun to watch. That exhibit used to hold guanacos and the zoo felt like they didnt have enough space, so we brought the tapir in.

I totally agree that the Far Side Trail is terrible, but all the animals on exhibit (etc. the wallabies and lemurs) are program/strolling animals, so they are taken out quite a lot.

If you have any questions about the zoo I probably know the answer, so ask.
Thanks again for visiting!
 
I really enjoy Snowleopard's reviews, and hope he won't be offended by a couple of queries I have.
1/ Were the vultures at John Ball Zoo in an open-topped exhibit? If so, they will have been flight-restricted [wing-clipped or pinioned], which I suspect many people would find unacceptable if they thought about. [I would emphasises that I am not 'anti-' flight-restriction in terrestrial or aquatic species, but feel birds of prey and vultures are somehow 'different'].
2/ How does Snowleopard feel about the metal 'Gorillaria' enclosures at Howletts? An enclosed cage structure can give primates more climbing opportunities than the equivalent moated area.

I would emphasise I'm trying to promote friendly debate rather than start an argument.
 
@JBZBongo: thanks for the kind words, and I really did enjoy John Ball Zoo and I feel that it is close to stepping away from its small-zoo mentality (perhaps something that it had in its past) and move upwards in the direction of the big boys. The chimp, bongo and lion habitats are all brilliant, and having a fairly small zoo splash out $4 million for lions in 2008 is a major step in the right direction. A few other points: the river otter exhibit has very little natural substrate as almost all of the land is mock-rock cement (much different from Potter Park's grass for their otters); the maned wolf and saki monkey enclosures in the South American section are absolutely awful, with poor viewing areas of the "mountain wolves" on their cement tiered landscape; did John Ball used to have wolverines?

@FBBird: the vultures in the bongo exhibit were in an open-topped exhibit, and you bring up an excellent point in regards to birds of prey (or any birds) in open enclosures. I guess that they can fly short distances or just hop around without taking flight and it is something that is probably worth exploring in terms of what zoos commonly use the practice of pinioning. I suspect that most do.

The Howletts gorilla cages are something that I used to debate with British ZooChatters years ago, and while the apes might find them amazing (as well as many visitors) I and others find them the total opposite of modern, naturalistic exhibits. Howletts has an amazing breeding record but they've also consistently had large troops as well so it is difficult to use that statistic in reference to the appearance of the black metal cages. All gorilla exhibits constructed within the past 20 years have been large, grassy, lush, jungle-like habitats so it is not as if zoos are copying Howletts with the old-fashioned cages.

A review of Potter Park Zoo will almost surely be posted later tonight, while earlier today we toured Greater Cleveland Aquarium. It cost $63 for all of us (including parking) to see the brand-new facility and we took our time and spent a staggering 45 minutes inside. Yikes! It was a Sea Life establishment with a little extra oomph!
 
@snowleopard: John Ball Zoo's wolverines were where the bobcat is and there was a prairie dog exhibit where the turtle pond is now.
 
snowleopard said:
All gorilla exhibits constructed within the past 20 years have been large, grassy, lush, jungle-like habitats so it is not as if zoos are copying Howletts with the old-fashioned cages.
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that may be the intent but the reality is quite different. Most of the new open gorilla enclosures are not "jungle-like" they are grassy paddocks which are pretty much the oppposite of what makes a gorilla comfortable. That's one huge problem with the modern zoo tendency for catering to superficial zoo-goers who equate the animals' needs with what they would want themselves or what they think looks pretty. People think open grassy paddocks for gorillas look natural, the gorillas quite often show by their behaviour that it isn't. So many zoos have rainforest animals in open grassy paddocks and people rave about how "fantastic" the enclosure is for the animals. Another example is your statement "The African section has a third outstanding exhibit that contains bongo, southern ground hornbill, African white-backed vulture, Egyptian goose and helmeted guineafowl in a landscape that is large with plenty of mature trees." As FBBird pointed out, these vultures have to be pinioned or wing-clipped. They aren't ground-dwelling birds (in fact being artificially restricted to the ground in the presence of other larger animals is potentially extremely stressful for them), so the exhibit from the vultures' point of view is certainly not "outstanding", it is only so from the visitors' uneducated point of view. And further, from the list of what you detest in zoos (quoted below), almost all of them are purely aesthetic and of no consequence to the animals' welfare. (I totally agree with concrete bear pits by the way -- I have no idea why most zoos keep bears on concrete instead of natural substrates!!)

snowleopard said:
- bear grottoes/pits with little to no natural substrate are crap
- any kind of metal cages for mammals are "disrespectful to the animals" (to use a quote from the leader of Melbourne Zoo in reference to that zoo's now recently demolished Hamadryas baboon cage)
- I like primates on lush, naturalistic islands
- I like open-topped exhibits with zero obstructions
- Corn-crib enclosures are junk
- Glass viewing in some section of an exhibit is in specific instances essential for great, close-up viewing
- No empty exhibits (maybe 1 major enclosure in an entire zoo, but certainly not many of them littered across the grounds like Potawatomi)
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(I hope that didn't all come across as too argumentative)
 
DAY 11: Thursday, July 12th, 2012

Road Trip Review # 8: Potter Park Zoo

Potter Park Zoo’s website:

Potter Park Zoo

Zoo Map:

http://www.potterparkzoo.org/sites/ppz.greenlitestaging.com/files/u4/PPZ-Map-2010_0.pdf

Potter Park Zoo is an AZA-accredited facility in Lansing, Michigan. It is 20 acres in size, has 500 animals of 160 species, and was founded in 1920. Annual attendance is around 170,000 and there is a terrific history book called Little Zoo by the Red Cedar: The Story of Potter Park Zoo.

The Snowleopard family spent 2 hours at John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and then we drove an hour and fifteen minutes to Lansing, Michigan, to visit Potter Park Zoo. It only takes about an hour and a half to tour this small, community-driven facility, and I’ve now visited 4 zoos in the state of Michigan. I would rank them in this order: Detroit, Binder Park, John Ball and Potter Park.

THE BEST:

North America – This area is the first encountered and easily the best set of exhibits in the entire zoo. The river otter habitat (one of at least 25 great ones in the nation) is truly superb as it has underwater viewing windows and a large grassy area that the two otters made full use of during my visit. An Arctic fox exhibit is next door and it is an okay size, while 3 bald eagles were in a large aviary across from the otters that opened in 2008. A gray wolf exhibit has a log cabin with viewing windows (opened in 1994) but it is a bit tricky attempting to locate the wolves due to the thick foliage in their enclosure. The arctic fox/river otter complex opened in 2006 and it represents one of the newest and most exciting things to happen at Potter Park in the past decade.

THE AVERAGE:

Black Rhino Exhibits – There are a pair of yards for black rhinos that are not really large enough but nevertheless many people would argue that they are more than adequate for the inhabitants. Great Plains Zoo has a pair of black rhino habitats that are incredibly superior to the ones found at Potter Park, and there are far more interactive elements to be found at Great Plains as well. Nevertheless, Potter Park takes great pride in participating in the SSP for this species of rhino and it will be a proud accomplishment if the current pair produces offspring.

Bird & Reptile House – This stately old building was built in 1929 and it has a hit-and-miss quality to it in terms of exhibitry and many common species that are found at countless other zoos. With only two species of mammals the one interesting fact is the 5 turtle species and this facility houses the smaller creatures at the zoo.

Species list: Northern tree shrew, cotton-top tamarin, Brazilian rainbow boa, Burmese python, black ratsnake, emerald tree boa, Massasauga rattlesnake, Chinese water dragon, chuckwalla, leopard gecko, gila monster, mudpuppy, Puerto Rican crested toad, eastern American toad, assorted poison dart frogs, northern leopard frog, Asian spiny turtle, common musk turtle, eastern box turtle, North American wood turtle, spotted turtle, Madagascar hissing cockroach, Bali mynah, screech owl, chestnut-fronted macaw, kookaburra, plush-crested jay, green aracari, scarlet ibis, red-headed Amazon, American kestrel, blue-bellied roller, superb starling, blue-naped mousebird, crested wood partridge and Jambu fruit dove.

Feline/Primate House – This structure opened in 1930, just one year after the Bird & Reptile House, and it is slightly odd to have such a small zoo with a pair of buildings that are more than 80 years in age and still standing. There are 3 feline enclosures along one side of the building (snow leopard, Amur tiger – including a trio of 10-month old cubs, and African lion) and two enclosures on the other side of the building (mandrill and ring-tailed/red ruffed lemur). The big cat exhibits are not aesthetically pleasing to the eye as they are essentially large metal cages, but they have lots of foliage and are well furnished. The lemur and mandrill outdoor enclosures do not fare so well and the mandrill exhibit in particular is mainly mock-rock.

It is like stepping back into time when one enters the building as while it was renovated in 1989 it is not common to have big cat houses allow visitors to still see the inner workings. A puny golden lion tamarin exhibit is built into a wall; a mongoose lemur cage dominates one end of the central section, and there is a carpeted walkway to view the 5 indoor holding areas to see if the felines and primates are indoors escaping the heat. The indoor enclosures are almost empty for the big cats and the primates only have a smattering of ropes and enrichment opportunities as they are also fairly bare.

Farmyard – It is rare to find an American zoo that does not have some kind of barnyard/petting goat corral/chicken/pig setup and Potter Park is no different. The added bonus of a yak, an African spurred tortoise and a Sicilian donkey adds to the aura of the countryside.

Penguin Exhibit – This fairly small pool features Magellanic penguins and was built in 1986. It has a rocky environment and clear water and while not very large it is more than adequate for its inhabitants.

Discovery Center – This building opened in 2000 and the only animals on display here are fish in about a dozen tanks that range from ones you’d see in a pet shop to slightly larger ones with brightly coloured outcroppings from the wall to simulate a coral reef environment. The tiny room only takes 5-10 minutes to explore.

Odds n’ Sods – Black-headed spider monkeys have a cage in the middle of the zoo and the public can also see their tiny indoor quarters; Reeves’ muntjac and western tufted deer share a small paddock; Reeves’ muntjac and western gray kangaroo have side-by-side average-sized yards; maras have a decent-sized enclosure; an Eurasian eagle owl has a large and impressive aviary; a red panda has an average-sized enclosure that is not open-topped; a scimitar-horned oryx/ostrich exhibit is great for the animals with several mature trees (odd in the case of the species) but the public viewing is terrible as it is through a metal fence; bongos have two yards that are spacious but with the same viewing issues as the oryx/ostrich exhibit.

THE WORST:

Grottoes – There are a series of 7 very tiny grottoes (almost certainly the smallest that I’ve ever seen) that have probably been around since the 1930’s and just after the 1929 Bird & Reptile House was erected as they are constructed alongside it. They have stone walls that would not look out of place in the English countryside and cement flooring with a bit of natural substrate added. At one time there were bear cubs here but now the inhabitants are: binturong, Reeves’ muntjac, painted turtle/mud turtle, meerkat, African crested porcupine, African spurred tortoise and one empty grotto. Near the grottoes is a Pallas’ cat cage that is nothing special and a pair of aviaries for golden pheasants and king vultures.

Wings from Down Under – This opened in 2009 and it is basically a large tent where 500 Australian birds have the opportunity to make you go deaf and poop on your head at the same time. I’m never a fan of these things.

THE FUTURE:

Here is the 68-page Master Plan:

http://www.potterparkzoo.org/sites/default/files/u5/FINAL Potter Park Zoo MP.pdf

OVERALL:

Potter Park Zoo is an interesting little zoo that has a couple of buildings that have showcased animals for over 80 years. That is an anomaly in American zoos, and the greatest number of species to be found at the zoo is in both the Bird & Reptile House and the Feline/Primate House. After that the zoo is hit-and-miss, as to be expected of an establishment that can be thoroughly toured in an hour and a half, but it is community-driven and there are local events that happen in the area. For example, at a local movie theater there are several tanks that contain fish, reptiles and amphibians from the zoo, so while film buffs are waiting around with their popcorn they can stare at colourful poison dart frogs.
 
Thanks for your reviews snowleopard, really enjoying them, Henry Doorly seems to be the only "major" zoo on your trip this time, was this on purpose?
Good to see you will finally get to see the Lowry park zoo too, i visited 13 years ago, before the African area was built, looking forward to your thoughts on my so far only typical zoo.
Best wishes to your family too and enjoy the rest of your trip.
 
thanks snowleopard, i am really enjoying this thread. the reviews and comments are fair and well written.
 
On to Erie tomorrow! I really do hope you somewhat enjoy the children's section so you get something out of the visit. I'll see if my predictions are accurate; you've thrown a curve ball in the past like when you reviewed the Buffalo Zoo. I know you're not much of a rides person, but the zoo is small and it may be fun. If anything you can see this unused wooded land that maybe one day the zoo will use for exhibits.
 
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