Well, here's mine.
Survival on The Steppe
You've just entered the zoo. The first actual exhibit seems to be on the right, up a long hill. You sigh upon seeing the height of the hill, but the cold drink you purchased at the entry plaza keeps you going.
As you enter, you walk under a wooden archway that says in white letters "Survival on The Steppe". Up ahead is a large yurt. Upon entering, you see a small giftshop in the first section, filled with racks of replica ancient Mongol tools and maps, and stuffed plush camels and horses.
The second room's walls are covered in dioramas and maps, explaining that all the animals in the exhibit, and even the building you're in all originate from the vast Eurasian Steppe, which overlaps from Mongolia and China into Kazakhstan and southern Russia. All the animals are designed to live here. Over millions of years of evolution, their features have been fine tuned to survive here, in what seems to be a barren wasteland, with a unusual mixture of hot and cold. Your impressed, but it's time to see the animals.
As you exit, you are surprised. Although you walked up a hill, the top seems almost completely flat. It is very quiet, and feels almost surreal. Noisemaker machines hidden in several bushes on the left side of the pathway simulate the ongoing wisping noise of strong winds flowing over the Steppe. The pathway is outlined by rough cobblestone, but the inner pathway is regular sidewalk cement. The grass in the area is dark and sparse. The whole area seems cold and dry, even though it's sunny out. The exhibits seem to be a slightly lower elevation than the the pathway area, to keep the animals from jumping into the pathway, if the fence isn't enough. There is also a 10 foot wide moat seperating the animals from the fence. It looks to be almost 2 feet deep.
You come up to the first paddock. It's sandier than the terrain around the path. You look across a sparse meadow, and see Goitered Gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa)along with medium sized equids browsing the small bushes and grazing on tall grass. By reading the graphic flipbooks lined on the wooden railing, you find out that these are Onagers (Equus hemionus). They are closely related to domestic donkeys. You find out that they are the fastest species of wild ass, and can reach almost 45 miles per hour in a short burst. You are fascinated, but you move on.
The next one is a little lusher, and when you walk up and see the animals, you think they are also Onagers. But as they get trot closer, you see they are different. They are a darker shade of orange-brown, and turn out to be Przewalski's Wild Horses (Equus przewalski), or Takhis. You discover they were once extinct in the wild, and only 12 were left in the world. Since then, conservation efforts have reintroduced them, and helped the population grow. This give you a taste of what conservation can do.
Next, you pass two more large enclosures. In one are shaggy silhouettes with two large back humps. You recognize them as Bactrian Camels (Camelus bactrianus). The flipbooks state that even though camels are usually thought of as desert animals, Bactrian Camels can be found roaming through both snow and sand on the Steppe. Over 2 million domestic camels exist, but only a small number of wild ones are still alive. Sharing space with the camels are odd looking Saiga Antelope (Saigi tatarica). They are small, and limber looking, but have tapir-like trunk noses on their faces. After viewing these critically endangered species, you peer into the other exhibit.
Looking back at you curiously are large Bactrian Deer (Cervus bactrianus). Both stags and hinds graze here, and several are lined up to drink from the moat. Dotting this enclosure are rocky mounds. For a moment, you wonder why. But then you see that the deer are not alone in the exhibit. Chukar Partridges (Alectoris chukar) live here as well. A sign on the fence states that the deer, antelope, and camels rotate every other day, and the partridges are free to go wherever they feel. However, the prefer the rocky enclosure, as it provides a nice roosting and nesting place.
Coming near the end of the area, you see another Yurt up ahead. On the way, you notice a prairie dog pit with underground viewing, but judging from the signs, residing in these tunnels are Alashan Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus alashanicus) and Przewalski's Steppe Lemmings (Eolagurus przewalskii). Several of the fidgety little rodents are basking in the sun, and some of the fellow zoo goers next to you are "Aww"-ing at the sight. Luckily, you do manage to see one underground, but it is only for an instant. Moving on, you approach the yurt.
Before you enter, you look to the wall next on your right. The central smaller hill of the exhibit seems to have replica dinosaur fossils part way embedded into the side of the hill. Interesting, but you want to see what's inside.
Again, there is a distraction before you enter. An mesh enclosure for the nimble Corsac Fox (Vulpes corsac). It looks to be around 15 x 15 feet in length and width. There are logs and rocks for the fox to hide in and look for food. You open the door of the yurt.
Inside seems to be a recreated paleontologist research hut. Replica models, bones, and dioramas relating to extinct Steppe animals like the Steppe Wisent and extinct Gobi animals like the Velociraptor are everywhere. Oohs and aahs come from the visitors inside, and as you look around, you see a map of the exhibit, and realize you've come to the end. After you exit, you see the yurt from earlier, and start back down the hill.
You leave with a feeling of wonder and discovery in your mind, amazed at the animals, both extinct and alive, of the spectacular Steppe of Eurasia.