snowleopard, now that you have seen a plurality of the zoos in North America what kind of exhibits would you say are most in needs of replacement?
Most great ape exhibits seem to be pretty decent (with exceptions of course) and elephant exhibits are being transformed or shut down. Would you say that bears and big cats are the species most often still stuck in really bad exhibits? Monkeys? Would be interested in your thoughts on this.
Bear pits/grottoes are perhaps my #1 pet peeve in zoos, and I cannot stand to see a place like Erie or Little Rock or Pittsburgh or many other locations with multiple cement pits with bears pacing back and forth. I applaud Zoo Atlanta as before the Summer Olympics arrived in 1996 the zoo actually bulldozed all of their bear grottoes so that the overall quality of the zoo improved. I would rather not see any bears whatsoever than have to painfully watch black bears pace back and forth at Erie Zoo.
If a zoo like Detroit can send its elephants away in 2005 and then proceed to have year-after-year of record-breaking attendance then I see no problem with Little Rock sending its 4 bear species away and closing down their god-awful cement pits forever. The zoo would not see a drop in attendance and would save a fortune in keeper wages and on its food bill by not having large omnivores to feed. If Erie Zoo sent its black bears and solitary polar bear to other zoos (and zoos would be lining up in droves to accept those animals - especially the polar bear!) then there could be a sign that read "our bears have gone to modern facilities" and the public would be content.
I feel that plenty of zoos have now constructed awesome grizzly bear habitats (Woodland Park, Minnesota, Greater Vancouver, Oklahoma City, Pocatello, Northwest Trek, Columbus, etc) and the other bear species are gradually getting new exhibits, but overall bears have been shafted in zoos for far too long. I mean, does Denver really need to keep its two grizzlies in a cement pit for nearly a hundred years? Bear Mountain opened in 1918 and it is a disgrace that two bear species reside there along with the coatis and for such a great zoo the bear grottoes are brutally outdated.
An excerpt from my Erie Zoo 2012 review:
Grottoes – I was appalled by what I saw today, and after visiting over 100 zoos just in the past 4 years I thought that I’d seen it all. There are 4 grottoes and only one has been renovated (in 2008) to meet modern standards. The Amur tiger that I saw paced endlessly back and forth in its small habitat, but at least it had a pool, grass and some rocky cliffs to utilize. The lions are looked down upon in a grotto with a large tree in the middle, but in reality something like coatis or raccoons should be in there instead of the so-called “King of the Jungle”.
The remaining two pits are despicable in that they contain a polar bear and two black bears (actually each the brown/cinnamon colour) with tiny pools in all-concrete dumps. I’m not sure why zoos like Kansas City, Louisville and Utah’s Hogle have struggled to obtain a single polar bear for their brand-new exhibits when there is one languishing in Erie Zoo in a cement hellhole. The two black bears paced incessantly back and forth on a tiny ledge that was maybe 20 feet long for the entire 2.5 hours I was at the zoo as I checked back and saw them on 4 occasions and unless a miracle happened they barely stopped moving. One was especially showing stereotypy by flicking its head back in an arch just before it hit the wall. It was pitiful to watch, and I chatted with a man videotaping the bears as on my third return trip to the grotto I noticed that the same guy was there with his video camera. We chatted for a good 5 minutes and he said that there is movement afoot to force Erie Zoo to get rid of the bears or face a devastating withdrawal of AZA-accreditation. He told me that he loves zoos and we joked about who had seen the most, and he had driven specifically from far away to spend the morning videotaping these pacing bears. This mystery man (who requested anonymity on this forum) even had a lunch cooler packed at his feet and I’m sure that his evidence will be damning as what I saw was atrocious. He certainly knew a lot about the goings-on at specific zoos and he was obviously not an animal-rights nut as he raved about North Carolina (his favourite American zoo).
I feel that plenty of zoos have now constructed awesome grizzly bear habitats (Woodland Park, Minnesota, Greater Vancouver, Oklahoma City, Pocatello, Northwest Trek, Columbus, etc) and the other bear species are gradually getting new exhibits, but overall bears have been shafted in zoos for far too long. I mean, does Denver really need to keep its two grizzlies in a cement pit for nearly a hundred years? Bear Mountain opened in 1918 and it is a disgrace that two bear species reside there along with the coatis and for such a great zoo the bear grottoes are brutally outdated.
I think Brookfield Zoo always gets left out of the good bear exhibits because It uses alot of mock rock. All the exhibits have multiple trees and many viewing opportunities including underwater viewing. I think that people say they are grottoes but they definitely are not, I think they are an exhibit that you need to see in person to really judge them.
I visited this zoo a year ago and recorded my comments earlier on this thread...but has anything happened to this diabolically awful pit since then? Does anyone know if there are there still bears in it?
I believe they black bears are still there since Akron phased them out and they are still looking for another home for them. All these pits are in the works to be "renovated." Moats filled in to give the animals more space and glass windows in front of the exhibits so guests can get a better look at them. For new polar bear exhibits opening that could afford to have another bear, they should really send their female polar bear elsewhere!
