Best exhibits dedicatedto specific animals

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aw101

Well-Known Member
I thought it would be interesting to see which exhibit everyone thinks is the ebst for a specific species of animal. For me the list is:

Polar Bears-San Diego Zoo Polar Bear Plunge
Gibbons, Langurs- Brox Zoo Jungleworld
Okapi: Disney's Animal Kingdom
Tiger: bronx Zoo Tiger Mountain
Harpy Eagle: San Diego Zoo
Hornbills: Bronx Zoo World of birds
Ground Hornbills: San Diedgo WAP, Heart of Africa
Flamingo: San Diego Zoo
Gorilla: Bronx Zoo Congo Gorilla Forest
Hippo: Disney's Animal Kingdom
Pgymy Hippo/Mandrill: Melbourne Zoo
Warthog: San Diego WAP: Heart of Africa
Cheetah: Monarto Zoo
Rhino: San Diego WAP
Lion Tailed Macaque: San Diego Zoo
Sun Bear: San Diego Zoo
Puffin: Seaworld San Diego
Lion: Monarto Zoo
Siamang: Adelaide Zoo
Walrus: Seaworld San Diego

Please note: I have only ever been to the Bronx Zoo during winter, so I have not experienced 3/4 of the zoo, and it's clear now from the gallery that it looks completely different in the summer time. But I have been majorly impressed by Jungleworld and the various exhibits. I found the 'World of Birds' to be fascinating with many well designed and spacious exhibits, the one dedicated to hornbills is massive with a very tall ceiling.

Do you all agree/disagree with my choices?
 
I think that for Polar Bears is Detroit Zoo's Artic Ring of Life. That exhibit is probably ten times better than San Diego Zoo's Polar Bear Plunge.
 
This thread would be great with photos.

On topic - I guess Prague Zoo would be a contender for mountain ungulates namely ibexes (the largest non mixed exhibit of these) because of the great natural rocks.
 
Great thread

My contenders (for starters):

Hippo: Werribee, Busch Gardens
Brown Bear: Woodland Park, Minnesota
Manatee: Sea World Orlando
Red River Hog/Mandrill: Bronx
Javelina: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Wolf: Brookfield
Temperate Penguin: Emmen
Amur Leopard: Rotterdam
Snow Leopard: Zurich
Wild Dog: Denver
Spectacled Bear/Coati: Zurich
Fossa: Bronx
Rocky Mountain Goat: Portland
Coati: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
Elephant: Disney's Animal Kingdom
 
Polar Bear - Detroit
Binturong - Detroit
Tree Kangaroo - Detroit
Giant Anteater - Detroit
Amphibians - Detroit
Aardvark - Detroit
Snow Leopard - Zurich
Spectacled Bear/Coati - Zurich
Gorilla - Bronx
Gelada Baboon - Bronx
Rodents - Bronx
Red River Hog/Mandrill - Bronx
Fossa - Bronx
Hippo - San Diego
Gharial - San Diego
Flamingo - San Diego
Pygmy Hippo/Mandrill - Melbourne
Aviary - Melbourne
Giant Panda - National Zoo in DC
Red Panda - National Zoo in DC
Clouded Leopard - National Zoo in DC
Sloth Bear - National Zoo in DC
Asian small-clawed otter - National Zoo in DC
Chimpanzee - Taronga
Fishing Cat - Taronga
Sun Bear - Columbus
Bonobos - Columbus
Siberian Tiger - Minnesota
Sea Otter - Minnesota
Musk Ox - Minnesota
Meerkat - Monarto (Australia)
Lion - Monarto
Rocky Mountain Goats - Oregon
Grizzly Bear - Woodland Park
Black Bear - Knoxville
Drill - Zoo Atlanta
Sea Dragons - Pittsburgh
Mexican Gray Wolves - Brookfield
Bats - Omaha
Penguins - Omaha
Sumatran Rhinos - Cincinnati (hahaha)
 
Great idea aw101. I think as docend24 has suggested pictures added to the post would enhance this thread.

I think it might also be usefull to aknowledge the differances between exhibits that looks great and the welfare of the animal.

Gorilla: Bronx Zoo Congo Gorilla Forest yes it looks fantastic. It is a concern that the gorillas are contained indoors in off exhibit areas for extended periods of time. They also seem to take no responsability for all the young males they are producing.
 
I'll only lists what i believe are top exhibits, and not "the best i've seen" because for some animals, i haven't seen a decent exhibit yet.

Lynx: Dortmund Zoo
Temperate penguins: Emmen
Mountain Ungulates: Prague
Giraffes: Prague
Bottle-Nosed Dolphins: Dolfinarium Harderwijk
Walrus: Dolfinarium Harderwijk
Gibbon: Apenheul
Gorillas outside: Apenheul
Squirrel monkey (walk through): Apenheul
Orinoco River Dolphin: Duisburg Zoo
Bairds tapir inside: Wuppertal Zoo
Elephants inside: Cologne Zoo


Chique exhibits, but perhaps not that large:
Gorilla outside: Duisburg Zoo
Giant Otter outside: Duisburg Zoo
Orang Utans: Wuppertal Zoo
Elephants inside: Wuppertal Zoo
Gibbon: Wuppertal Zoo
Nighthouse: Amersfoort Zoo
South american fur seal: Aqua Zoo Leeuwarden
Many exhibits at Emmen and Apenheul


Chique exhibit, overly large:
Lions: Wuppertal Zoo

Contenders i've seen pictures of/heared of
Polar bears: Rotterdam Zoo/Detroit Zoo/Zoom Gelsenkirchen
Brown bears: Zoom Gelsenkirchen
Sea Lions: Zoom Gelsenkirchen
Cold climate Pinguins: Loro Parque Tenerife
Elephants: Caberceno? or perhaps Beauval Zoo
Hippos: Berlin Zoo, Copenhagen Zoo or Zoom Gelsenkirchen
Manatees: Cincinatti Zoo
 
I would have to say the National Zoo (of Australia) in Canberra has one of the best snow leopard exhibits. And elephants would be Western Plains Zoo for its African Elephants but I haven't been to any zoos outside of Australia so it's a limited point of view.
 
Interesting point of views there..I completely forgot how well designed the Manatee exhibit at Seaworld Orlando is....

I have not been to Woodland Park Zoo but their Asian Trails exhibit looks impressive from the photographs!

I do have a problem with the hippo exhibit at the San Diego Zoo....it certainly has very clear views of the animals but in terms of being naturalistic, it is nowhere as well designed as the one at Animal Kingdom...the safari vehicle drives past, you look down and there is a herd of them on the river bank...just looks so natural and the hippos certainly look happy.
 
Gorilla: Bronx Zoo Congo Gorilla Forest yes it looks fantastic. It is a concern that the gorillas are contained indoors in off exhibit areas for extended periods of time. They also seem to take no responsability for all the young males they are producing.[/QUOTE]

Actually, Congo includes two very spacious, skylit group holding rooms with lots of vertical furniture and access to outdoor holding cages as well. It is as good a holding area as any temperate zone zoo has ever built for gorillas.

As far as "taking responsibility" for baby males, all breeding is based on the recommendations of the North American Gorilla SSP, and many zoos are taking on all-male groups in order to accommodate the growing numbers of animals. Are you suggesting the Bronx stop breeding?
 
reduakari said:
As far as "taking responsibility" for baby males, all breeding is based on the recommendations of the North American Gorilla SSP, and many zoos are taking on all-male groups in order to accommodate the growing numbers of animals. Are you suggesting the Bronx stop breeding?
Click to expand...

I think what zooman means is that they do not want to house a bachelor group like many other zoos are now doing.
 
I did a thread like this a while ago, but I based it on exhibits I had seen in person, I'll re-do a list, but i'll include some exhibits that I've seen in photos, because it would be pretty limited otherwise (obviously ones I've seen will feature more heavily than ones I haven't)...

Orangutans: Chester Zoo
Chimpanzee: Edinburgh zoo
Gorilla: Bronx Zoo
Polar Bear: Detroit
Hippo: Animal Kingdom
Elephants: Animal Kingdom
Black Rhino: Chester Zoo
Meerkats: Chester Zoo
Jaguar: Chester Zoo
Komodo Dragon: Chester Zoo
Tiger: Bronx Zoo
Bonobo: San Diego Zoo
Otter: London Zoo
Wolves: Whipsnade
Red Panda: Chester Zoo
Giant Panda: National Zoo (Washington D.C.)
Sloth Bear: National Zoo (Washington D.C.)
Lion: Whipsnade
Reptiles: San Diego Zoo
Bats: Chester Zoo
Butterfly: London Zoo
Giraffe: Animal Kingdom
Zebra: San Diego WAP
Okapi: Bronx Zoo
Mandrill: Melbourne Zoo
Hunting Dogs: London Zoo
Cheetah: Whipsnade
Gelada: Edinburgh Zoo

Like I said, I really need to see more of the European and US zoos to have a better idea of the best for each species as my list is a bit UK-centred.
 
mstickmanp said:
I think what zooman means is that they do not want to house a bachelor group like many other zoos are now doing.
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Thanks mstickmanp, thats exactly what l mean.

reduakari, regarding haveing 22 gorillas kept indoors for a many months. I dont think this is neccesary or ideal husbandry.
 
As tropical animals, keeping the gorillas largely indoors is in fact a necessity for several months each winter in New York. As mentioned previously, there are outdoor off-exhibit holding areas adjacent to the indoor spaces that the gorillas have access to during warmer days in the winter. It's just the public outdoor exhibits that remain empty during this time, which in part accounts for how lush they remain despite 20+ gorillas residing there.

The outstanding breeding record of the Bronx gorilla groups speaks for itself as far as "ideal husbandry" is concerned.
 
posted twice
 
Post had some incorrect information
 
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zooman said:
Bristol zoo in the early 80's had great success with gorilla births.
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... but not with rearing them...out of 29 births recorded to several females during that era (plus another two conceived at Bristol and born in London) only five animals grew to adulthood. But your basic premise that Gorillas(and many other species too) will breed freely in poor surroundings is correct- success is connected with social background and compatability of the animals rather than the quality of enclosure they are kept in.
 
I think what is coming up is the question: What is "best"?
We see this over and over in the Forum.

Best place for the animals?
Best for visitors?
Best for keepers?
Most lovely to look at?
Best for breeding and rearing?

It's hard to have such a discussion when everyone brings different assumptions and they are not presented.

For me, I prefer well-designed, wonderfully landscaped exhibits where the animals at least appear able to have natural behavior. I regard as best those exhibits that take visitors convincingly to the habitat of the animals. I don't at all care for a plethora of ethnographic bric-a-brac. Therefore, Bronx gorilla exhibit rates much much higher for me than Philadelphia or Columbus. Disney Animal Kingdom is also a contender for best gorilla exhibit I've seen.

I don't imagine too many Forumers share my agenda, though. And I'm OK with that
 
Best place for the animals?
Yes
Best for visitors?
Well, it brings different assumptions imho. Members of tis forum would probably differ from average visitor etc. For me this is a secondary criterium I care more about conservation and animals' wellnes and naturakl like behaviour. Not a fan of too much training (and while some rituals are necessary I don't think any training should performed publicly except of enrichment of really playfull species (andindividuals).

Best for keepers?
I wonder how this one is in conflict with other supposed criteriums. If some exibits would be the same in other criteriums I doubt there would be much different from "best for keepers" criterium. And again every is an unique individual and has his/her preferences.

Most lovely to look at?
Yes - but what does it mean? That you would find animals every time? Big enough and natural looking? Originally solved, unique, interesting exibit?...

Best for breeding and rearing?
I understand this is not the same as "best for animals" although best for naimals are often best for breeding and rearing.

And again - if anyone would define his/her criteriums this thread would lose the ability to find out what (educated) public thinks of particular exhibits. Right now this thread shows what (a small amount of) people tend to think it is best no matter their reasoning. That's useful too.
 
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