This view is located by the new okapi exhibit that is along the path and is the most impressive view of the new exhibit. The small structure in the back is the underwater viewing.
@FunkyGibbon while that particular aspect of San Antonio's hippo husbandry is fantastic, the hippo exhibit itself is underwhelming. I suppose it balances out.
@jayjds2 In San Antonio it certainly isn't the highlight of it's area and is forgettable and somewhat small, but is not as much of a let down as Kansas City Zoo's hippo exhibit, which I forgot they had until my second visit because it's so forgettable and insignificant (also lacks underwater viewing). I'll take the Dallas Zoo's new exhibit over others Iv'e seen, especially Fort Worth's current one (yikes!). Hopefully Fort Worth does what Dallas couldn't when they build their new hippo enclosure.
@taun it doesn't seem so, unless there is an offshow yard for this purpose. I haven't heard any information about the existence of such a yard at Dallas.
So this is definitely not the thing where I post a better exhibit and then suggest that all exhibits should be of this standard. I do want to point out though that there really is another way to go with hippos. Mainly I'm sharing this because we thought Dallas was going to change the game and it didn't. This enclosure at Dvur Kralove may not have underwater viewing, and I've no idea what they do in the winter, but I hope it is of some interest.
@FunkyGibbon on that topic, a US zoo that is certainly changing the game for hippos is the Birmingham Zoo (Alabama). While there are no photos in the gallery showing this, and it is only sparingly mentioned on ZooChat anyway, it has successfully mixed a hippo with both the bull elephant herd (that exhibit has more than enough land space) and a rhino. The only flaw is, as far as I can tell, they only have one hippo.
@FunkyGibbon I believe they will mix red river hogs in with the hippos, but I think it would be amazing if they found a way to work the hippos into the Savannah with other species, and underwater viewing.
"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."
I had no idea they did this at San Antonio. That is fantastic! From a visitor perspective I like the San Antonio exhibit. Not sure why people on this site are so down on it?
@Arizona Docent I really like San Antonio as a whole, unlike most other members of this site. Like any zoo, it has its ups and downs, but the new director is taking an active stance in renovating and improving the zoo in whatever way possible- including phasing out the old monkey cages, which cannot be destroyed because of some historical society or another, and the bear grottos and hoofstock pens which are all much nicer than the first time I saw them. The hippo exhibit itself could be much larger- land and water- but I think the overnight grazing practice (again, I do not know if it still occurs, but I see no reason it wouldn't) makes this much more excusable.
