There is a white rhino exhibit right next door, and I'm beginning to think that only the rhinos have access to the front part of the pool while the elephants have the back section.
It's been awhile since I visited Toledo, but I dont think the rhino exhibit can connect to this pool. I believe the pool is partitioned off for Louie, the zoo's young elephant..but he would be what 5-6 yrs old now?
Louie turned 5 in April. This is an above average enclosure for its inhabitants plus the elephants don't really at all show stereotypical behaviors like at some zoos. They have two elephants Renee and Louie.
SnowLeopard's correct. The water for the Hippoquarium and the African Elephant pool are one in the same. The White Rhinoceros have a smaller pool that is seperate and on its own filtration system. Currently the zoo is on Phase2 of an African Elephant expansion. Here is a link to the renderings...
This is surprising to me as the Hippoquarium requires extensive filtration for the underwater view while the elephant pool does not.
The bigger the pool(s) that require filtration, the bigger and costlier the filter system, so why would it be designed this way? The two ought to be two very different systems
According to the zoo's website (linked via Wikipedia.com)... it's a 360,000-gallon pool. The system cleans 8,000 gallons of water every 90 minutes.
I remember reading about the concept of this first-of-its-kind exhibit. The article stated the biggest hurdle wouldn't be the question of 'Would the Hippo's break the glass?', but rather 'What's the best way to keep the water clear?' The article went on to say the filtration design was a huge under-taking and one that was spared no expense.
As to why Coe designed merged pools? I think he wanted to see as little barriers as possible between the Hippos and the Elephants. From the right vantage point, you can watch the Hippos and Elephants without a blocked view. (There are several cable-barrier fences underwater that prevent the two species from entering eachother's exhibit.) This view is quite stunning!
However, after the phase two Elephant exhibit expansion is complete, this view will be blocked by a walking bridge. See the picture here...
Not a fan of this at all.Suppose it can be hard to picture how it's really going to look through concept art,but still feel the zoo should have explored other options for elephant expansion.The zoo owns parts of the surrounding neighborhood and their are rumors of them acquiring the former South Toledo YMCA and Woodsdale Park.
