This exhibit is a strong contender for the position of best elephant habitat in North America, along with Oakland, Nashville, San Diego Safari Park and Dallas. North Carolina's enclosure is 7 acres, making it the #2 elephant exhibit in terms of size as it trails the approximately 9.5 acres for African elephants at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
This exhibit is a strong contender for the position of best elephant habitat in North America, along with Oakland, Nashville, San Diego Safari Park and Dallas. North Carolina's enclosure is 7 acres, making it the #2 elephant exhibit in terms of size as it trails the approximately 9.5 acres for African elephants at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
According to this link North Carolina Zoo currently has 7 African elephants (2.5) in the 7-acre exhibit, so one acre per elephant! Also, the barn is apparently 12,000 sq. ft. in size:
I still don't think that size is the most important factor in judging an elephant exhibit. I personally like the look and feel of both Dallas and Nashville more than North Carolina. They took more effort in actually replicating an African Savanna with their horticulture.
I still don't think that size is the most important factor in judging an elephant exhibit. I personally like the look and feel of both Dallas and Nashville more than North Carolina. They took more effort in actually replicating an African Savanna with their horticulture.
I think that Nashville and North Carolina have elephant exhibits that look remarkably similar, and you'll see that when I finally upload Nashville's photos at a later date. There isn't much to choose between those two exhibits in terms of design, but North Carolina has over double the space and triple the elephants so it is a no-brainer for me to rank North Carolina at #1. Dallas also has a brilliant elephant exhibit but it is not nearly as grassy and I predict that it will be extremely crowded with other animals as the years go by. San Diego Zoo Safari Park has the bonus of a seemingly endless stream of baby elephants being born there, and I can't wait to see Oakland's 6-acre exhibit to fully judge that one so there are at least 5 world-class African elephant habitats in North American zoos.
This zoo is a must see for me, after seeing this huge green habitat plus all the other spacious habitats. The Pachyderms are quite lucky compare to most zoo elephants.
According to this link North Carolina Zoo currently has 7 African elephants (2.5) in the 7-acre exhibit, so one acre per elephant! Also, the barn is apparently 12,000 sq. ft. in size:
This zoo is a must see for me, after seeing this huge green habitat plus all the other spacious habitats. The Pachyderms are quite lucky compare to most zoo elephants.
There are 7 elephants on 7 acres, and the zoo is packed with outstanding exhibits. I personally think that there are only 6 zoos that I've ever seen that are better than North Carolina, but since it is located in an out-of-the-way location not many ZooChatters have ever visited. What a shame! There are only two zones (Africa and North America) but the zoo has considered adding an Asian zone in the next decade. It already takes the bulk of a day to see the place so if a huge Asian section is created it could well become a two-day zoo.
