@Mr Gharial It is the premiere African aviary in the Southeast, if not the entire US! Unfortunately in a few years down the road it will be demolished to make room for the new "Lion Camp" exhibit. So if you want to see it, I'd suggest coming within the next year or so.
Well, seeing the state of the world right now and the fact that I'm a teenager on another continent, it seems like I'll be missing out on this one.
Europe has plenty of amazing walkthrough aviaries, but with bird flu becoming more common every year, it seems more and more zoos are permanently closing walkthroughs
I still don’t understand on why a proper vaccine that will treat bird flu hasn’t been given a trial yet, it would more-or-less be definitely worth the effort if scientists and veterinarians were to give it a chance; and perhaps maybe give walk-through aviaries a second chance if this vaccine trial ends up being a success.
@Mr Gharial That's why I've been taking a lot of comprehensive videos on it during my visits so the future will know what it [was] like to go inside the aviary and see the birds up close, especially the Yellowbills & African Spoonbills! Just wish I had a 4K capable camera before the Saddlebills left the aviary and the Cape Buffalo left the Africa loop in 2010ish.
If you'd like, check out my 360's of the aviary on Google Maps: Google Maps
@Mr Gharial There does seem to be some difference there between countries. For example in Belgium zoos are not required to close walk-through aviaries (and there does not seem to be a trend towards getting rid of them), while in the Netherlands they generally are - and the trend seems to be towards aviaries with viewing areas at the sides of the aviaries, either open-fronted or separated from the aviaries.
@Mr Gharial Do you have any evidence to back up that claim? In general large walkthrough aviaries are on the rise throughout Europe, especially as zoos are moving towards fully-flighted pelicans and flamingo.
I might've been a little over dramatic. But Gaiazoo is rebuilding their enormous taiga aviary specifically to not be a walkthrough because of bird flu. And most walkthrough aviaries have now been closed for months (in the Netherlands, at least)
