Which part of the zoo is the best? The brownish section on the far left is home to River's Edge, which is new, modern, naturalistic and borderline outstanding; the red section on the far right features big cats and a dizzying array of hoofstock; many visitors love the historic green section with its Reptile House, Bird House and Primate House; the purple section at the top has the great ape complex Fragile Forest, the bear grottoes, and the amazing Penguin & Puffin Coast; and the two so-called lesser sections in blue and yellow (Discovery Center and Lakeside Crossing) feature America's #2 insect house, a large waterfowl collection and a top-notch children's zoo. Other than the antiquated bear grottoes I'm not sure what really needs to be updated at this zoo.
Which part of the zoo is the best? The brownish section on the far left is home to River's Edge, which is new, modern, naturalistic and borderline outstanding; the red section on the far right features big cats and a dizzying array of hoofstock; many visitors love the historic green section with its Reptile House, Bird House and Primate House; the purple section at the top has the great ape complex Fragile Forest, the bear grottoes, and the amazing Penguin & Puffin Coast; and the two so-called lesser sections in blue and yellow (Discovery Center and Lakeside Crossing) feature America's #2 insect house, a large waterfowl collection and a top-notch children's zoo. Other than the antiquated bear grottoes I'm not sure what really needs to be updated at this zoo.
What you point out here is my I love Saint Louis and consider it a much better zoo than those in nearby Omaha and Wichita. Unlike Wichita, which has no bad exhibits, but no outstanding ones, Saint Louis has almost all exhibits that are among the best of their kind in the US. And though some may consider the huge immersion exhibits at Omaha better, Saint Louis doesnt have the extreme lows of the cat and bear exhibits (though Saint Louis does have rather poor bear exhibits). And another thing I love is that, while others zoos (including my Kansas City) may cater to the children and create stupid gimmicky themes to please the kids and their families, Saint Louis continues to offer a professional, museum-like approach to their zoverall a top-notch zoo, that doesn't settle for being average and truly does strive for greatness.
I may be splitting hairs here, but the Children's Zoo is far from top-notch and a random mix of animals (interesting ones such as sand cat or echidna though). But again, 99% of what you said I would completly agree with.
