I was perhaps a bit harsh in my review of this sea lion pool, but with many great pinniped exhibits all across the United States, combined with 9 new ones being contructed (or already opened) within the next year, it seems that Birmingham now has one of the least aesthetically appealing sea lion pools left in existence. On a side note, Gladys Porter and San Franciso both have atrocious seal/sea lion exhibits.
An excerpt from my 2010 review:
Sea Lion Pool – Built in 1974 and home to two very young male California sea lions, this small concrete exhibit is badly outdated. A cheap-looking set of bleachers is there for the public to either watch the sea lion show or to gaze in horror at the poor exhibitry on display.
It's always hard to tell the depth of pools from above. Does anyone know (or can make an accurate estimation) how deep this one is? If it's reasonably deep than it seems like an ok home for the sea lions...just very ugly.
@GraysonDP Is posting these negative comments, with nothing constructive to say, so long after the picture has been added really adding anything of value to the site?
@FunkyGibbon Would you disagree with me when I say that many other members of this site, including several prominent ones, post comments mocking exhibits all the time? I also put lots of constructive praises to several exhibits as well
'Other people also do this' is not a defensible position. Neither is 'I also do things you perceive as good'.
Perhaps the key word is constructive. There are lots of ways you can phrase criticism to achieve this.
As I implied above, it's more the timing that irks me. If this picture was recently posted, particularly if it was the first time any pictures of the exhibit had reached ZooChat, I would have far less problem with you simply panning the exhibit. Similarly if you had recently seen it in person and wanted to start a discussion about its deficiencies then I would see that as just cause for critical comment.
