Take a deep breath....and I hope that I don't rattle the Wisconsin zoo nerd cage too hard.
I fully realize that there are a lot of enrichment opportunities for the elephants that have been built into this exhibit, and without a doubt this new habitat is a million times better than the badly outdated disaster that has been home to elephants for decades...BUT, as I feared, this brand-new area is aesthetically unappealing and downright boring. Simulated riverbanks would be asking a lot of Milwaukee County Zoo, but is there an elephant exhibit that has been built in the past 20 years that is as bland as this one? (San Diego might be a contender) An all-white cement block of a barn, straight lines in all directions, and apparently an acre and a half of space. On many occasions it is possible to look at an exhibit and instantly be able to estimate its age, but with this new elephant enclosure it already seems outdated. How much did all of this cost? I'm guessing that the budget for plants and trees was only a few American bucks. The best thing that I can say about this exhibit is that it is functional, but Milwaukee County Zoo missed a wonderful opportunity to build something truly great.
The entire first phase of Adventure Africa, including elephants, antelope, zebras and medium-sized birds came out at 16.6 million. I echo your thoughts, as while anything was better than the awful, barren mess of an exhibit they were once in, this new space still leaves much to be desired. What was originally going to be a five acre yard with mixed species and a breeding herd has resulted in a space less than three times the size, with only middle-aged elephants being present. There were in general just some very questionable design choices that ultimately make the area seem very lackluster.
