In comparison to the giant otter exhibits at Zoo Miami or Los Angeles Zoo, this one is aesthetically awful. Ugh. Hopefully the otters don't care what their enclosure looks like!
@snowleopard The otters don't care one bit. They look to be having a blast in the water/land area. If I had my way however, I'd heavily plant this enclosure to look like a wetland (Arundo Donax, cattails, etc.) As for the exterior part of the exhibit, I'd add jungle plantings. As "behavioral design" is technically a new phase of zoo exhibit design as evident by Milwaukee's Adventure Africa, this is a good enclosure, certainly an improvement in terms of land area. Aesthetically, it needs some work.
@snowleopard I knew the blue plastic slide was going to ruffle some feathers With that and the sand, it does throw off a beach vibe. Although it would be wonderful if they made a more naturalistic waterslide, I know this exhibit is popular among visitors who want to seem them use it and see the otters very active. I definitely think it's enriching for them, even if it's not so aesthetically beautiful to visitors. I was curious about your reaction to the red panda exhibits. I'm guessing you're probably neutral on them.
@lintworm I think they are starting to use it more often. At the beginning, they were hesitant of it. But I at least saw Thor, the male, scratch at it or stand at the bottom of it.
