DavidBrown, is this exhibit looking promising? I have never been to this zoo but am thinking about going in the near future, do you think it will be worth waiting until this is finished to visit?
DavidBrown, is this exhibit looking promising? I have never been to this zoo but am thinking about going in the near future, do you think it will be worth waiting until this is finished to visit?
Hi GeoMorph. I think that this zoo is very much worth visiting. Their Asian Highlands cat complex is fantastic (tigers, Amur leopards, snow leopards, Pallas cats, Siberian lynx) with theming worthy of Disney and good animal habitats. Rocky Shores has a great polar bear exhibit, certainly the best in the west (I've not seen Detroit or Columbus). The Elephant Encounter exhibit is their new-ish elephant complex and has great viewing of their elephant herd, including a youngster who is delightful to watch.
Given the quality of their new exhibits I'm sure that the savanna will be worth visiting, and I would recommend waiting until the exhibit is finished because half of the zoo is under construction as this is their largest exhibit project.
Along with the zoo there is a sparkling new Natural History Museum of Utan with a comprehensive dinosaur exhibit and galleries on Utah's ecosystems and prehistory. There is a good small aquarium, the Living Planet Aquarium, that will soon be a likely-excellent big aquarium by early 2014. There is also the Tracy Aviary which I did not have a chance to visit, but has gotten good reviews here on Zoochat from others.
This combination of animal attractions makes Salt Lake City a very worthy destination for zoo enthusiasts.
Thank you, maybe I will plan a late Spring trip to SLC for next year! The Natural History Museum is definitely on my list to see since I am a modern architecture fan and a museum fan as well. Did you see the nearby botanic garden?
Thank you, maybe I will plan a late Spring trip to SLC for next year! The Natural History Museum is definitely on my list to see since I am a modern architecture fan and a museum fan as well. Did you see the nearby botanic garden?
I didn't have a chance to see it unfortunately; in part because it was 100 degrees outside. It is immediately adjacent to the natural history museum so those two places together could make a full day out.
It is scheduled for a spring 2014 opening and will have a lion exhibit (bringing them back to the zoo after a several years' absence) and a multi-species savanna exhibit with giraffes, zebras, ostrich, and antelope (species not announced yet to my knowledge).
