I agree this is a wonderful idea and it has encouraged some creativity among the staff. They change somewhat frequently depending on what they want, but one of the aquarists created a freshwater shrimp tank that has proved to be surprisingly popular with guests.
Omaha has indeed been a dominating force on this thread, although their lead will only last for approximately another 24 hours.
Just about the entire zoo has mentioned in some capacity, but if you've been following their progress in recent years that shouldn't be surprising. This was the zoos final entry, although by next year they may have an eighth on their hands if the revamped orangutan building turns out well.I get why the indoor biomes wouldn't make it; they're really just inferior versions of the similar exhibits at Arnhem. However, in my opinion Sea Lion Shores would be a shoe-in. It's one of the finest pinniped enclosures in the western world in both husbandry and presentation. An argument can certainly be made for Asian Highlands as well, but I think Kingdoms of the Night, African Grasslands and Sea Lion Shores are all strong contenders for a worldwide must-see list.
I feel like it's actually pretty even between Europe and North America. The difference is that Europe tends to have medium-sized aquariums, often inside zoos (ex. Berlin Aquarium, Burgers' Ocean), whereas North America has huge, stand-alone mega-aquariums (like Shedd, Tennessee, Monterey Bay and Georgia).
I agree this is a wonderful idea and it has encouraged some creativity among the staff. They change somewhat frequently depending on what they want, but one of the aquarists created a freshwater shrimp tank that has proved to be surprisingly popular with guests.
Omaha has indeed been a dominating force on this thread, although their lead will only last for approximately another 24 hours.
I get why the indoor biomes wouldn't make it; they're really just inferior versions of the similar exhibits at Arnhem. However, in my opinion Sea Lion Shores would be a shoe-in. It's one of the finest pinniped enclosures in the western world in both husbandry and presentation. An argument can certainly be made for Asian Highlands as well, but I think Kingdoms of the Night, African Grasslands and Sea Lion Shores are all strong contenders for a worldwide must-see list.
my favorite remarks sofar are that hummingbirds are not public favorites (really?) and it doesn’t matter which species is in an exhibit for it to qualify as a good exhibit. How people’s minds work is sometimes beyond me.
I am well aware of all of that, and it is my point actually. It would make more sense for Ohio to house animals that cannot be released back to the wild than to relocate animals that can be released, even if that is a long time out. In the end it does not really matter, they are doing very good work regardless of one random person on ZooChat's opinion (me).
This just confirmed to me what the next exhibit is.Omaha has indeed been a dominating force on this thread, although their lead will only last for approximately another 24 hours.
No, it's the Scutes Family Gallery.Obviously Adventure Cove in Columbus
We've already had the International Orangutan Center and Elephant Odyssey, might as well complete the set of controversial weird exhibits.
Except IOC and Elephant Odyssey actually have good husbandry.
Well the US is a much younger nation than the countries of Europe so naturally there will be less historical exhibits to choose from. I tried to include as many as possible, although not very many were selected solely for their architecture in spite of poor exhibitry. Stuff like Lincoln Park's lion house, Saint Louis's herpetarium, and Bronx's Madagascar building all have very beautiful historic architecture, but are also fantastic animal habitats. Cincinnati's elephant house is probably the biggest exception as it's definitely not adequate as an animal enclosure, but is an absolutely stunning piece of zoo history. With that said there is still one more historical exhibit left to be revealed and it was definitely chosen because of its architecture. It's a big one too, although definitely not in physical size.
Obviously Adventure Cove in Columbus
The difference is Elephant Odyssey and the International Orangutan Center at least try to do something cool and unique. As flawed as they are, they are interesting ideas with moments of brilliance among the dodgier elements. These two on the other hand are just dumb and most certainly do not belong on this list.
