Dallas Zoo Dallas Zoo News 2008

snowleopard

snowleopard

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Premium Member
The Dallas Zoo

The Dallas Zoo was founded in 1888 and at 95 acres is the largest zoological park in the gargantuan State of Texas. The zoo's society also runs the small Dallas Aquarium, but both facilities have been somewhat overshadowed in recent years by the nearby Fort Worth Zoo.

Featured Exhibits

Wilds of Africa

Undoubtedly the zoo's most famous attraction, this 25-acre expansion opened in 1990 and includes a monorail ride. African black-footed penguins, flamingos, a variety of other african birds, mandrill, okapi, klipspringer, nubian ibex, eland, bontebok, pygmy goat, caracal, dik-dik, waterbuck, scimitar-horned oryx, sand gazelle, grevy's zebra, gerenuk gazelle, addra gazelle, thompson's gazelle, greater kudu, impala, chimpanzee and nile crocodile are some of the species in this area of the zoo.

Nature Trail

A walking tour that includes many of the animal species from the Wilds of Africa exhibit, only this time on foot. Also found here are rock hyrax, meerkat, aldabra tortoise and gorillas.

Bird, Reptile and Amphibian Building

Some examples of the species found here: rhinoceros iguana, chinese alligators, chameleons, green and black mambas, vipers, argentine racer turtles, tuataras, and a variety of frogs, salamanders and birds.

Endangered Tiger Habitat

Sumatran tigers.

Wings of Wonder

Birds of prey like bald eagles, ornate hawk eagles, harpy eagles, spectacled owls, andean condors, and 3 types of vultures (black, king and turkey).

Primate Place

A series of exhibits for monkeys and lesser apes.

Other exhibits around the zoo include Lemur Lookout with 3 species of lemur, Otter Outpost with asian small-clawed otters, the Large Mammal Building with african elephants and giraffes, Cat Row with lions, snow leopards and ocelots, and several other nondescript exhibits for all types of animals.

Future Exhibits

A new sloth bear exhibit in 2008, and an additonal 20 or more acres added to the already impressive Wilds of Africa series of habitats in 2009. New enclosures for african elephants, giraffes and lions would be included, plus the possibility of importing other African animals.
 
Last edited:
A slight correction: the Dallas Zoological Society operates the Dallas Aquarium (which is different - and much smaller - than the Dallas World Aquarium). Very confusing!

The Dallas Zoo is divided into two halves, thanks to a road running through the zoo (see also Columbus, Toledo).

The Wilds of Africa is on one side of the road and is certainly the "better half". The train ride is a bit sparse, and the animal collection on the ride is beginning to dwindle from its former "herds"; when I visited in Spring 2007, there were only single specimens of eland, sable antelope, dikdik, and bontebok on display, plus two sand gazelles (in different displays) and two Thomson's gazelles. The herds of addax and scimitar-horned oryx were quite large, and the Nubian ibex were quite spectacular (nice hillside exhibit with several animals). The waterbuck were off display when I visited, as they were renovating the water system in the "wetland" part of the ride (the largest enclosure). The zebras were tucked in a separate enclosure behind one of the larger savannah exhibits, and were thus VERY difficult to see unless you knew where to look and when! The Nature Walk is excellent, with mature vegetation and good immersion.

The other half is the "old zoo", and while there are some well done new exhibits, it is the old ones that especially stick in my mind, notably the elephant/giraffe building (antiquated, with small outdoor yards) and the cat section (with lions and ocelots in rectangular chain link cages with a rock wall at the back). The new bird-of-prey aviaries are nicely done (the shade trees still need to grow, in though) and house an interesting collection including ornate hawk-eagles, various vultures, and a Harpy eagle.
 
Actually, the Dallas Zoo is not affiliated with the Dallas World Aquarium, which is a private facility located in downtown Dallas. The Dallas Zoo (Dallas Zoological Society) does (or did?) run a small Public Aquarium in Fair Park.

Dallas World Aquarium is a unique facility, built and run by a wealthy businessman and animal hobbyist. It has pumped large sums of money into conservation activities in several Latin American countries, and has therefore been able to amass an unbelievable collection of very rare and unusual species. Their breeding record with many of these species is spectacular.
 
I edited my initial posting, as the Dallas Aquarium and Dallas World Aquarium do make for a confusing combo...

Overall it sounds as if the Dallas Zoo is rather ordinary and standard as far as zoos go, but with an impressive collection of African hoofstock.
 
cbs11tv.com - Dallas Zoo Closing Elephant Exhibit

Another elephant exhibit closing down. Good news for elephant lovers, as more than 40 zoos in North America have recently renovated their pachyderm enclosures, while at the same time more than 15 zoos have stopped keeping elephants in their collection. Slowly but surely conditions are improving for the world's largest land mammal.

The zoo was supposedly going to increase the size of the elephant enclosure, but has seemingly abandoned that idea and will now expand the giraffe exhibit and add more giraffes in 2009.
 
snowleopard said:
cbs11tv.com - Dallas Zoo Closing Elephant Exhibit

Another elephant exhibit closing down. Good news for elephant lovers, as more than 40 zoos in North America have recently renovated their pachyderm enclosures, while at the same time more than 15 zoos have stopped keeping elephants in their collection. Slowly but surely conditions are improving for the world's largest land mammal.

The zoo was supposedly going to increase the size of the elephant enclosure, but has seemingly abandoned that idea and will now expand the giraffe exhibit and add more giraffes in 2009.
Click to expand...

The idea has not been abandonned, but will be built at a future date. I suppose it is no bad idea to increase the giraffe area and build up their numbers for a breeding programme.

After the demise of her 39-year old companion it is also better on welfare grounds to relocate the 31-year old elephant cow to Africam Safari in Mexico. This is a well respected institution with a long-standing elephant herd (1.2 at the moment).

However, the latter has come in for some media criticism by ... PETA et al ... (can not these animal welfarists shut up and listen ... for once). Privately though .... ahum ..... shoot them on sight! :rolleyes: Here is the link to that story: Dallas Zoo's lone elephant to move to Mexican wildlife park | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News.

Shame that it is only a one-liner that is made of the commentary of the zoo spokesperson in reply to the criticism that the elephant will not be relocated to a fine animal institution.

To me it rather seems an ill-informed, red neck and jump-on-the-bandwagon approach by these animal welfarists - who incidentally are loath to any relevant animal management arguements or existence of any SSP cooperative breeding programmes and would like to see elephants become extinct in zoos and in the wild (as the education value of elephants in zoos cannot be over-estimated). No, they want them relocated to off-exhibit welfare sites where they will live out the remainder of their lives without ever being able to breed or have calves. Where is the animal welfare logic in that ... I ask you! Breeding and rearing calves is the epitomising of the degree of well being of captive exotic animal taxa in zoos .....!!!!!

Somewhat more disconcerting I find the overtly racist overtones against Hispanics (in a supposedly democratic nation) by the animal welfarists'! Do they not know that Texas has a large Hispanic community and once used to be part of Mexico ... before it was ...! :eek:

I would sue them for all the wrong reasons - discrimanatory remarks and defamation of Dallas zoo staff -. Awarded by judge Pride: US$ 2.500.000 to be used on a new state of the art elephant exhibit (kindly donated by PETA .. et al in an court settlement). :cool:
 
All in all, I thought the article Jelle linked to was pretty balanced in giving both sides of the issue ... the very last line, however, stopped me in my tracks:

"The citizens of Dallas own Jenny," she said. "This should not be a unilateral decision on the part of the zoo."

Animals as "property" is something that even zoos are getting away from (with things like term-free dispositions, loans, and donations being used when moving animals, rather than sales) - this statement (if it was correctly quoted) seems rather at odds with the animal-rights philosophy!
 
The elephant Jenny should do well, as she will be sharing a 5 acre elephant exhibit with 3 other pachyderms. The Dallas Zoo's giraffes will also prosper, as they will have an expanded herd and a much large enclosure to live in by 2009. Lastly, if the Dallas Zoo does go ahead and showcase elephants again in the future then at least they will spend millions and build a new, spacious exhibit. It seems to me as if the deal is a win-win situation for all concerned.
 
Be of good cheer! The zoo has just released an rfq for teams to build a new African Savanna including elephants (with a bull) to be completed by 2011
 
I just looked at that Dallas World Aquarium's website. It looks absolutely fantastic in terms of species exhibition. They have Orinoco crocs, Antillean manatees, jaguars, giant otters and much more. It looks like a South American themed zoo. I may try to make a trip in the winter.
 
Just seen the CBS evening news on Sky news here in the UK and it featured a story about "Jenny" the single African elephant at Dallas, whose proposed move to Mexico is causing a lot of controversy, as an independent group want her moved to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.
This was followed by the story of "Nils Olav" the king penguin at Edinburgh zoo receiving his honorary knighthood from the Norwegian army in the name of the king of Norway, or should it be the CBS evening zews?
 
A Decision has finally been made

Zooplantman said:
Be of good cheer! The zoo has just released an rfq for teams to build a new African Savanna including elephants (with a bull) to be completed by 2011
Click to expand...

Dallas Zoo officials have now decided to accelerate their plans for a new elephant exhibit and keep Jenny along with other elephants.

Jenny to stay at Dallas Zoo with new friend, new digs | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News
 
I guess those are good news, since the exhibit that is going to be built is the same size (4 acres) like the one in Africam in Mexico.
 
Dallas Zoo sets attendance record in memorable year | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News

Interesting to read that the Dallas Zoo broke its attendance record (670,000 visitors last year) even though there were some significant deaths and loads of controversy in regards to elephants at the zoo. Their attendance is actually dreadful when one considers that the nearby Fort Worth Zoo averages over a million visitors a year, and that Dallas has an extremely large population. They should be doing much better than they have been.
 
okapikpr said:
Some news about future construction at the Dallas Zoo and Dallas Aquarium. It appears that the small aquarium will get a complete renovation as a children's aquarium. There had been recent rumors of closing down the aquarium all together.

Dallas City Hall Blog | The Dallas Morning News
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, I was listening in on the Dallas City Council meeting (via internet).
The Aquarium make-over is modest. They talked about $5million, much to up-date infrastructure. But they intend to spin the aquarium into a children's aquarium. Apparently the area it is in will be getting some improvements (a butterfly exhibit was mentioned but I wasn't clear whether it is a garden or a conservatory) to make it somewhat of a family destination.

And to clarify the blog's note about the zoo's African Savanna exhibit. The funds mentioned are design and some preliminary site work only. Another $24-27million for construction comes in '09
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top