Side View of New Hippo Outpost

The sandy beach is actually larger than I expected, and from an aesthetic point of view this new hippo habitat appears to be superb. However, that is one tiny viewing window if one considers that Dallas Zoo breaks its all-time annual attendance record on a regular basis and now has 1 million visitors each year. I can imagine immense crowds crammed into that area.

Is this the whole exhibit?

@FunkyGibbon Yes it is. A little more land and water is not shown because of the rock outcrop to the left but this is pretty much it.

I have to say, based purely on the pictures, this is quite a disappointment. Yes, it's a bigger exhibit than many, but otherwise it's just another water and sand/mock rock affair. No grass is a pity. I think in retrospect ZooChat may have raised expectations a bit higher than was reasonable, and that probably wasn't helped by the lack of clarity around the size.

Is it not meant to represent a river bank and hence a really good job?

Hippos only tend to grass at night.....when I assume they bring the animals indoors....so little point giving them grazing opportunity.

@FunkyGibbon @taun I think this exhibit is nice but yes, it is a bit of a let down. If they had more glass viewing than they do and the okapi exhibit you can get to on foot weren't as small and bland, I'd say otherwise. I have no problem with the size or design of the hippo exhibit (that is what part of it is on land), but I do have a problem with the fact they have a real problem with the small and poorly angled underwater viewing which is one of the smallest Iv'e seen in a zoo that has underwater viewing (At least they have some).

I think it's safe to say that Dallas has now joined the ranks of Cincinnati and Memphis in touting the opening of a brand-new "state-of-the-art" hippo exhibit that is really just a continuation of the status quo and failed to solve any of the problems inherent with modern hippo enclosures... not to mention, as everyone else has, the short-sighted decision to install just a single, very small underwater viewing window.

@taun some zoos let their hippos graze at night. The only one I know by name though is the San Antonio Zoo, if they still do it. They graze in the wild dog exhibit there.

@jayjds2 That's cool. I'm surprised the wild dog fence can contain hippos, but maybe that is less of a concern out of visiting hours?

@FunkyGibbon it is a completely enclosed exhibit, mostly by mock rock, with glass viewing windows. I imagine it holds the hippos just fine.