It's going to take a few years for the vegetation to grow up and fill in around the exhibit, but I like this exhibit more every time I see it. The elephants are usually active. Of course we can't read their minds and know that they are happy (PETA et al. would argue that they definitely aren't) but in the moments I have seen them playing in the waterfall or the ponds, they seem happy.
Of all the yards, this one had no shade whatsoever, so I'm glad they decided to plant the tree in it. Overall, the exhibit looks way better than how it looked when it opened. All the vegetation around and in the exhibit is growing nicely. The grass also started to regrow, although it's not as lush as when the exhibit opened. After this year's winter rains, I can't wait to see how lush it will be next spring/summer, not to mention the next couple of years!
