The elephant enclosure is another example of function overtaking aesthetic appeal in Phoenix. There are lots of sand piles, old tires and enrichment items for the elephants, but most of the viewing is done by looking down into what is basically a huge concrete bowl, and after seeing so many truly great elephant exhibits during the past few years then this one barely scrapes into my “average” category. Of note is that the three aging pachyderms (born in 1965, 1970 and 1971) have behavior problems and it will be interesting to see if Phoenix maintains elephants in the future once their current group dies off.
The elephant enclosure is another example of function overtaking aesthetic appeal in Phoenix. There are lots of sand piles, old tires and enrichment items for the elephants, but most of the viewing is done by looking down into what is basically a huge concrete bowl, and after seeing so many truly great elephant exhibits during the past few years then this one barely scrapes into my “average” category. Of note is that the three aging pachyderms (born in 1965, 1970 and 1971) have behavior problems and it will be interesting to see if Phoenix maintains elephants in the future once their current group dies off.
I think that this exhibit has been upgraded to modern standards, and assuming this is so, I would expect that Phoenix will continue to hold elephants. Their specialty seems to be working with "problem" animals and it seems like that is a niche that will likely still have a need.
Regarding aesthetics it seems like in the arid West, at least California and Arizona, that trying to build any kind of elephant exhibit resembling a lush rain forest (for Asian eles) or savanna (for African eles) as is done in places like Nashville, DAK, etc. is not going to happen. So what you are left with is a large open exhibit that hopefully at least provides all of the elements that an elephant needs to be happy and a zoo visitor needs to enjoy elephants (minus any attempt to immerse them in another environment).
Regarding aesthetics it seems like in the arid West, at least California and Arizona, that trying to build any kind of elephant exhibit resembling a lush rain forest (for Asian eles) or savanna (for African eles) as is done in places like Nashville, DAK, etc. is not going to happen.
Dallas has done a great job of accomplishing this despite enduring some of the most extreme heat in the US for much of the year.So its certainly not impossible.
As far as I know, the only upgrade in the last couple years was adding a second visitor viewing area at ground level. The exhibit itself has not been modified that I can tell, other than painting the walls green and throwing more logs and tires on the ground.
There have been numerous behind the scenes modifications as well as numerous permanent enrichment devices installed throughout. The overall size of the exhibit area has not changed in years, but that hardly means that nothing has changed.
