That's not what I was trying to convey at all in my post but you've said nothing I disagree with. I have said more than once previously on zoochat that I don't think collection matters as much as exhibit design. It is part of why I consider Lincoln Park vastly superior to Brookfield as covered elsewhere.
I was mostly trying to speak in terms of what I assumed Pachyderm Pro was going for, but evidently I misunderstood. I will be more critical of this list going forward.
Indianapolis' dolphin exhibit is trash and shouldn't be here. Nothing about that ugly mess is good for the animals. I'm not sure anything housing marine mammals can be "must-see" considering most of them live in boring, barren tanks. Very exciting.
If most marine mammals live in "boring, barren tanks" then surely the few facilities with commendable marine mammal exhibits that aren't like that deserve inclusion, no? For Beluga whales, Mystic Aquarium's Arctic Coast provides an interesting, large, outdoor exhibit for their belugas, and is an exhibit I feel is worth consideration for this thread. So are the California Sea Lion exhibits at Omaha Zoo and Saint Louis Zoo.
Part of this thread is that the highlights have something to distinguish themselves from similar exhibits elsewhere, and while I agree that marine mammal exhibits tend to be on the boring side, I also acknowledge the zoos with great facilities for these animals and feel they are deserving of praise, and consideration for inclusion in this thread.
As for Indianapolis Zoo, I've never been to that zoo and don't know enough about that specific exhibit to comment about it, but my impression was that it was on the list due to the dome placing guests completely into the exhibit, which is a unique concept that is not present at any other zoos in the country. Similar to the various underwater tunnels in aquariums (but on an event greater scale in this case), I think there's something to be said about the ability to be completely surrounded by a tank with aquatic animals that makes an exhibit incredible from an educational and visitor experience perspective.
I don't want to make judgments about this exhibit from an animal welfare perspective, as again it's not an exhibit I know much about and cetecean welfare is not my area of expertise, however I will say that animal welfare needs to be considered on the individual level, so saying nothing about the exhibit is good for the animals is likely an over-exaggeration. I'm sure there's something about this exhibit that is beneficial for those specific dolphins, even if it has its flaws, whether that be successful enrichment programs, something about the water quality, or something else entirely. Dolphins are smart creatures, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of the dolphins receive good stimulation from interacting with the people in the dome, as I know marine mammals have been known to interact with visitors through glass before.
I know someone mentioned something about some deaths that occurred in this exhibit, and this thread is the first I'm hearing of that happening. If someone has any insight into these dolphin deaths, I'd be curious to hear more about them as this may or may not be the exhibit's fault.
All animals (including humans) die, and when zoos experience multiple deaths in short succession, many will often jump too quickly to the conclusion that it's the fault of something the zoo did wrong, when oftentimes it's just a matter of the zoo having a lot of elderly animals (its common for zoos to go through cycles like this, with a number of elderly animals all passing away over the course of a few years, before being replaced with younger animals, repeating the cycle).
While the exhibit could be at play for these deaths, it's also possible that any number of other factors (or a combination thereof) were at fault. Some of these factors could include old age, non-preventable illnesses, or calves that don't survive. It's also possible for it to be a problem caused by the exhibit/zoo, such as preventable illnesses/injuries, however I don't want to speculate about this without any knowledge of the incidents, as it's way too easy to jump to emotional conclusions based on correlations. So overall, while I wouldn't call this one of the best exhibits in the country (and I'd expect most on here wouldn't), I do think it deserves inclusion on a list of must-see exhibits, as the underwater dome is a unique touch to the exhibit that can't be seen elsewhere.
with the gharials floating and beachlubbing, the countless turtle species roaming around, the little sandy depression where the giant softshell turtle hangs out - it's really a cool exhibit.
