There has long been many rave reviews of JungleWorld, but the one disappointing feature that everyone agrees on is that the leopard exhibit is simply too small. The enclosure is definitely quite a bit larger than what is shown in the photo, but it still should have been a home for smaller mammals other than leopards.
Well .. i dont really know what to think of this exibit ... and with all the fairness of doing only by looking to a bunch of photos, it doenst look that realist
By the contraty, looks too "pushy" and too "plasty", just like fast food ...
Leopards in an aquarium-cool. The world famous Bronx-zoo is so dissappointing in so many things...And whats worse, all the animals in Jungle World do not have outdoor exhibits. I have the feeling, for a lot of species, outdoor exhibits become a luxurey in the USA.
Interesting and harsh critique against a zoo that so many here at ZooChat ranks very high; a zoo with many obviously good exhibits, just as some of your very own photos show, Zebraduiker.
But I totally agree as far as this "leopard-aquarium" is concerned. I have read a lot about it here on ZooChat. It is of course totally unacceptable to keep a big mammal like a leopard indoors 24/7. It simply must be! Let the cat go outside, feel the wind and the sun, hear new sounds and experience new smells, for Christ´s sake!
In some ways I suppose that this might be even sillier than those wretched glasstanks in Las Vegas - the Vegas-cats apparently do not spend all their time in the stupid and awful hotel-enclosures (though I have no idea what their other enclosures look like...).
Yes this leopard exhibit is too small, completely indoors, and I have never once praised this particular enclosure. However, the Bronx Zoo has won more AZA exhibit awards (slightly ahead of Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo) than any other zoo in North America. Both of the authors of "America's Best Zoos" rank the Bronx as one of the top 3 zoos in the nation, and I wholeheartedly agree. Are there exhibits that are poor? Certainly. However, "Zebraduiker" might be the one and only person on all of ZooChat that appears to dislike the zoo.
Congo Gorilla Forest is brilliant, Wild Asia is 38 acres of huge habitats seen via a monorail, Himalayan Highlands has the U.S.A.'s best snow leopard enclosures (3 of them), Tiger Mountain is a 3-acre area for Amur tigers, African Plains is a set of large enclosures that is still impressive, Baboon Reserve is a 5-acre area that is probably the #1 baboon exhibit on the planet, Madagascar is a brillant indoor building, the Mouse House has an awesome selection of rodents, and the list goes on and on. Many ZooChatters adore the bird houses, although I am not such a fan. There are some poor exhibits at this massive, 265-acre zoo, but overall I strongly feel that it is the #2 zoo I've ever visited. Of the 75 establishments that I've seen only San Diego trumps the Bronx. It seems almost ridiculous that I feel I have to defend such a highly-regarded zoological institution, and I haven't even mentioned the conservation work down by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is hailed as #1 of any zoo on Earth.
I agree with Scott on this, don't forget if one is in NYC there is also the Central Park Zoo, which several months ago opened a 10,000 square foot Snow Leopard exhibit. Surely New York City is the best place in the United States for Snow Leopard lovers!
As for this exhibit here, I am sort of confused as to why it is so bad. Sure, it appears to be on the small side and all indoors, but it could be worse, much worse! At least there are plants in it, and the leopards have ample perching opportunities (perhaps one of the most important aspects of a leopard enclosure). I understand it doesn't live up to the other big cat enclosures at this zoo, but it is much better than say the Kovler Lion House in Chicago, the cat complex in Omaha, or our Primate, Cat House in Cleveland.
Also, I have heard that JungleWorld is home to one of the best gibbon enclosures in the U.S. so it obviously can't be that bad. Does any one know the square footage of this enclosure or the tapir exhibit?
Strange, that only the big and famous zoos like Bronx or San diego are the"best"zoos in the USA....
@snowleopard. Please let me know what do think about the Chidlrens Zoo at teh Bronx-Zoo, do you like the"exhibits"there or you don'tc are about them, because animals at the Childrens Zoo are "only" domestic animals ? And do you eally think, a zoo must be good, just he has won so many awards ? The people give the prices only the good looking exhibits, they don't ask, how long in a year the animals can use the award winning exhibit or how many animals can use it at the same time....
Its becuase of there large size and amazing enclosures (mostly) that they are considered elite, famous zoos
You make a good point about this exhibit Zebraduiker, but many of the other exhibits here are epic, amazingly good pieces of art that suit there animals well and provide very adequate homes
If you find this atrocious, you might want to take a look a the countless, ancient cat house/grottoes sweeping the nation and then comment on how terrible you think this is
And as for "laymen authors", they are some of the best authors i've ever seen and there book is fantastic (You should really buy it)
