I think this enclosure is the worst in the zoo, mainly because they got a sponsor and this was still the best they could do. I wonder what happened to the rest of the money?
@Arizona Docent The review from my Snowleopard's 2018 Road Trip thread:
Another 45 minutes west and I came to the Special Memories Zoo (Greenville, WI) and yet again I have another story about an eccentric owner but I'll save the juicy stuff for another paragraph. This place is the same wood-and-wire, chain-link crap that has plagued many of these privately-owned Wisconsin menageries. In terms of rare taxa it is a delight as there are surprises around every corner. With zero maps handed out, I spent some time backtracking and wandering around in order to ensure that I saw each and every exhibit and after 2 hours in the zoo I located an enclosure by the exit that ended up being the only one that I had missed. I wandered over to take a peek and sure enough, there was a Geoffrey's Cat inside! That species is practically extinct in American zoos these days, but then just check out this list of primates at the zoo:
Primates (15 species): Hamadryas Baboon, Olive Baboon, Crab-eating Macaque, Sulawesi Crested Macaque, Japanese Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, Vervet Monkey, Common Squirrel Monkey, Black-handed Spider Monkey, Patas Monkey, Tufted Capuchin, White-throated Capuchin, Common Marmoset, Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-tailed Lemur.
All of those primates can be seen 5 feet away, which is the USDA's (U.S. Department of Agriculture) ruling and I heard that from two owners on this trip. Both Animal Haven Zoo and Special Memories Zoo have winding pathways that are 5-6 feet away from every single cage. It is almost close enough for a very tall individual to reach over and pet a macaque! Seeing the Sulawesi Crested Macaques was the highlight because those guys are barely found anywhere.
Special Memories Zoo actually took me a full 2 hours to tour and once again I was subjected to one of those damn kiddie train rides. This particular journey was much more enjoyable than the mosquito-ravaged, rain-soaked, bumpy-as-hell jaunt at Animal Gardens Petting Zoo a couple of days ago. This time around, at Special Memories Zoo, the ride was a 30-minute experience that took visitors past a series of cages containing indigenous animals. The really extraordinary thing was that the lady driving the train would blow the train's whistle to wake up the animals and then haul some out to show off to visitors. She picked up a Red Fox that was only a few months old (but still quite large) and the fox just laid there half-asleep. The lady spoke in a microphone and walked along the length of the train giving everyone a close-up opportunity with the fox and then she deposited it back into its corn crib cage. She showed us Grey Wolves, White-tailed Deer, Fishers (always pacing in captivity), a Striped Skunk, Woodchucks, etc. The guide went into a small cage with at least 5 North American Porcupines and she pulled the youngest one out and walked up and down again showing us the animal. She also opened the door to the American Badger 'pen' and grabbed a younger one to show everyone as it licked her and she kissed its face. An interesting train ride and it only cost me $3 and once again I sat in the caboose. “Zoo nerds go to the back!”
Besides that impressive primate collection (unfortuantely every single species was to be found in junky cages) and the train ride to see Wisconsin wildlife, this zoo has lions, tigers, bears, a giraffe, zebras, camels and a loop with nothing but bird exhibits. One aviary is truly enormous, towering over everything in the park. The owner is right there at the cash register as soon as you walk into the zoo, and she is probably 75 years old and she had the TV cranked up full blast the entire time I was there. A 7-week old Patas Monkey was jumping around behind her and the entrance building is absolutely stuffed with odds n' ends in all directions. It seriously looks as if you've stumbled into someone's overcrowded garage and yet she has a freaking Geoffrey's Cat right around the corner. These small zoos are genuinely surreal to tour. We're yelling back and forth because the damn TV is so loud and the baby Patas Monkey is chattering away and the zoo owner is half deaf and I'm inwardly shaking my head. One more zoo on the bucket list and I'll move on, lady.
She asked where I was from and I told her that I was on a big Michigan/Wisconsin road trip and she'd heard of basically none of the Michigan zoos but she was a bit sharper than other local zoo owners and she had visited many of the Wisconsin zoos...25+ years ago! She kept asking me what advice I had for her and I was critical of the American Black Bear and Grizzly Bear exhibits as they are disgusting cement blocks. Well, that did it! She raised her voice to drown out the blaring television and let me know in no uncertain terms that in zoos with big grassy enclosures there are bears dying all the time from bacteria and viruses that seep through the ground. She became so animated that she made it seem as if a couple of bears had just died while we were having our conversation! All of those nasty pieces of bacteria, right? She said her veterinary officer and even the USDA officer advised her to not move the bears as concrete is easier to clean and it doesn't maintain germs. Take a look at the photo link and you faithful readers can decide if the exhibit is large or appropriate enough for the two bears that live in it.
After she calmed down a little, I steered the conversation towards her remarkable primate collection and she beamed with pride. These ancient owners, many of them all very old, are so delusional and out of touch with reality that I just have to nod my head and smile at their behaviour. They are from an era when it was okay to have monkeys running around in entrance buildings, or bears on cement, or tigers in exhibits that are only twice as wide as the cat, etc. The crazy thing is that these owners have not been to another zoo for a quarter of a century and it's as if they are stuck in some weird Austin Powers time loop in history. Maybe we'll pile all of these oddball zoo owners into “The Zoo That Shagged Me: The Cement Sequel.”
