Dallas World Aquarium 2010 - Second side of the Jaguar/Ocelot exhibit

September 2010

Second side of the Jaguar/Ocelot exhibit.

It has been criticised for its seemingly small size and for having glass on all four sides. I find that its critics do not seem to have given themselves time to read the labeling or even inspect the exhibit; it is on two levels and the animal has free access to both of them; reaching the upper one via a log in the lower level. On the higher level the animal has both total privacy and access to fresh air. There are also some behind-the-scenes facilities. I have certainly seen worse in the State of Texas and elsewhere.

Baldur, you and I agree on many things and lately we've been emailing each other on a regular basis, BUT I simply cannot stand this exhibit! When I visited the aquarium (which is really more like a zoo) I knew that there was an upstairs area for the cats, but the ocelot/jaguar rotation still means that there is not a lot of space for either species. The TV monitor had a poor image of a pacing ocelot on my visit, and the glass on all four sides means that when below and in the larger section of the enclosure a feline has zero privacy. In my humble opinion this might well be a candidate for the worst jaguar exhibit of any zoo that I've ever visited.

The best jaguar exhibits would have to be a toss up between Jacksonville and Woodland Park, and Saint Louis has an enormous, open-topped enclosure that is also excellent.

We'll just have to continue disagreeing on this one.

Total privacy on the second level is a key thing in its defence (provided that neither cat has noticed or cares about the camera on the second level or the flatscreen on the first level ) as in even the very best of exhibits, such as those you cite above (of which I have only seen Saint Louis though) there is no access to privacy unless the cat crawls under a bush for instance. Impatient (and often silly) visitors won't know where to look and may leave dissatisfied at a seemingly empty exhibit. The Malayan Tiger at Houston Zoo stayed under a bush the whole day, and I too would have thought the exhibit was empty if I hadn't know where to look. Meanwhile the DWA has an interactive screen explaining the exhibit and a large flatscreen via which people (provided that they are not running through the place) can assure themselves that there is a cat present, even if they have to watch it through a flatscreen.

This is probalbyl the mostw orse jaguar exhibit in a modern,western zoo, so I totally agree with Snowleopard, there is really nothing good at this "Jaguar Aquarium".

The whole Day, the Jaguars are in the Aquarium where vistors can see them. ( I was there twice )An all day empty jaguar exhibit isn't good for the people, which paid a lot of money for admission...

Tarsius said:

This is probalbyl the mostw orse jaguar exhibit in a modern,western zoo, so I totally agree with Snowleopard, there is really nothing good at this "Jaguar Aquarium".

The whole Day, the Jaguars are in the Aquarium where vistors can see them. ( I was there twice )An all day empty jaguar exhibit isn't good for the people, which paid a lot of money for admission...

Click to expand...

I can't be bothered to argue against your over-emotional, argument-free verdict. I'd just like to re-state that the cats have space for themselves on the second level that is twice as large as the exhibit space and where they have fresh air. I think you're the one always talking bad about exhibits that give the exhibits no shelter from the viewing eye.

I saw a cat in the exhibit more or less every time I passed it (I spent a few hours each day of five days there, as I have a friend who work at the DWA) and they feed the cats on the first level and provide enrichment. Unless you're running through to finish it off and get to somewhere else, there's little chance that you won't see a feline there.

I think your problem is that you've seen so many Jaguars in your life that you can't be bothered to actually stay by a Jaguar exhibit these days to wait to see if one appears. I understand though, the DWA is full of animals much rarer than Jaguar, so why bother trying to see an animal that you've seen in many other places, including more or less every other zoo in the South-Central?

It's something you should have learned a long time ago, someone with as much experience of zoo visiting as you have. If an animal is not visible the first time you're by its exhibit, stop a little longer and look closer, or come again later in the day. It has worked for me time and time again over the years.

Merits of the exhibit aside, a new one is under construction right now, so it will be a moot point within the next year.

It is time , the jaguars at DWA will get a true exhibit and come out of their"Aquarium".

I've vsited this place twice, at this time, the jaguar aquarium was completly empty and the cats had no natural ground. On both days, the jaguars were all day in the aquarium, with the exception of the cleaning time. And tehy have to share it with the ocelots...

The problem with DWA is, its too commercial to be a good"zoo". The Owner Daryl Richardson is a collector of animals, and with the exception of the manatee pool and the aquariums, all other exhibits are really bad,from my point of view. Some of them could be named only a"desaster",so the tree kangaroo cage, the jaguar aquarium, the strange little blue penguin pool, the giant river bath tube to name just few examples. I've not seen the giant anteaters, but there is from my side no need for a dicussion, if it is good to keep bigger mammal species like giant anteaters just indoors in a little cage.

We feel that the jaguar exhibit is not as bad as some people think and it is great that they are working on a new one.We also do not feel that DWA as a whole is that bad either.While there are a few exhibits which are too small anteaters and blue penguins come to mind many others are deceiving as to there size such as giant otters.

Team Tapir