Malayan tiger exhibit - Lost Forest [2015]

Quite honestly, this tiger exhibit looks worse and worse as the years go by. There is obtrusive fencing everywhere and the design is a mess. It's also rather small by today's standards.

@snowleopard Quite honestly one of the more puzzling renovations the zoo has gone through. It was a prime tiger exhibit before, couldn't they have just left well enough alone?

@Wyman Im not familiar with what this area of the zoo looked liked before the renovation, if you know of any pictures id love to see!

@snowleopard It's quite small by their own standards, given the incredible tiger exhibit at the Safari Park. It's definitely a sore area in an otherwise fantastic exhibit complex.

Having seen the old photos of Tiger River, this is whole area that is need of renovation. Knowing the current trend the SDZWA is undergoing for current exhibits, it may be a while before they have to fix this whole area. I do hope they have a contrasting version whenever it’s done compared to the wonderful Tiger Trail at the Safari Park!

As someone who saw it in person when it first opened, it is a sorry shell of its former life. The renovation added a fence across the top and split one decent sized exhibit into two: one (shown here) that is adequate (but not great) and a second (off picture right) that is disgustingly small. The original exhibit was covered with grass throughout, as shown in the first picture below that I took years ago (slide scan). Also the bottom viewing area (off to the left), which is now dust, used to be a pool and there was a waterfall that flowed from it down to the bottom on the left side of the view posted above (as well as the right side which is still there). The second picture below (another slide scan) shows this waterfall.

Original Tiger River - ZooChat

Original Tiger River - ZooChat

I will add there is another issue with this whole area (originally called Tiger River) that has been an issue since day one. The path is too narrow and too steep. It cannot accomodate the large crowds that visit this zoo and it is so steep that it is impossible for people with walkers or wheelchairs to see it. When they built the more recent Africa Rocks they kept this in mind by making a wide and gently sloping path. I don't think there is an easy way to fix this and I imagine at some point they will have to bulldoze this entire stretch and redesign it to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

@Arizona Docent Is there a way they could move the bus path in order to build a more ADA friendly path that is nonobtrusive to the whole "Southeast Asian jungle experience"? I do wish the zoo would realize its mistake and bring back the former glory that Tiger River once had. If it ain't broke, don't break it.

@Wyman Yes I imagine the only way to make a user friendly path would be to utilize the space now taken by the bus path. The problem of course is that the bus riders would no longer be able to view tigers, which are one of the most popular animals, but I don't see any other solution.