Are monkey exhibits really the most popular zoo exhibits?

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I was surfing the Pueblo Zoo website and found this assertion:
"...zoo visitors nationwide rate monkey exhibits as their overall favorite."
Pueblo Zoo

In a lot of discussions here about what exhibits are most exciting to visitors and that zoos can build capital campaigns around, monkeys don't seem to come up.

Is there any survey data or other information floating around out there about what exhibits are the "overall favorite" of zoo visitors that anyone can chime in with? I'm really curious if monkeys really are up there above elephants, big cats, apes, giraffes, etc.

What do people think that the most popular kind of monkey exhibits are? Spider monkeys? Baboons?
 
..monkey exhibits....

People spend a lot of time watching our very active Capuchins
 
funnily enough, one of the criticisms I've read a few times on the Twycross Facebook and Tripadvisor sites (not by Zoochatters!) is that there's nothing there but monkeys.

I think monkeys are a "necessary" part of a "real zoo" but by themselves are not a big drawcard. They are bit players. And I don't think the species matters at all, so long as they are active and recognisably monkeys.
 
I think that assertion is speculative at best.

What I have found when zoo's talk about the "average zoo visitor," they really have no freaking clue what that is. There are several demographic studies out there, but when it comes to predicting the behavior of any zoo visitor, there is such a wide margin. Kudos to PGAV and WCS and the few zoos that collect information and run studies to inform their decisions.
 
When I go to the zoo, I find that lots of people do spend lots of time at monkey exhibits. Even if people go in to see tigers and elephants, monkeys seem to be pretty popular because they tend to be pretty active and will usually be doing something interesting. Even with "popular" animals, people won't spend as much time if the animals are sleeping or just walking around. Monkeys are playful and curious, so it's not a huge challenge to create exhibits where they can do interesting things.
 
It is also true that many people in the general public would consider gorillas and orangutans to be monkeys. I would not be surprised at a survey showing monkeys are guests favorites if that includes great apes (as I suspect it does).
 
When we run our data at the Saint Louis Zoo, penguins are the big winner. Penguin & Puffin Coast is a huge draw. Visitors are also big into the elephants. It's not uncommon to see a large crowd watching them in River's Edge.

Still, I don't know if it's because they're emotionally attached to those particular animals, or because their exhibits are top-notch. We ask a lot of questions; I don't think we've asked the "why."
 
I think most average visitors consider apes also as monkeys. Even when I first read this thread title, I though on exhibits of all non-human primates, not just real monkeys :)

As Chlidonias said, monkeys are ''necessarly'' for a ''real zoo'' and think that monkeys/apes and big cats are most popular zoo animals in a zoo without elephants and giraffes, or also with these animals in a zoo housing all of them.
 
Just my own observations from being at the Memphis Zoo several times; the Giant Pandas, Hippos, and big cats are by far the biggest draw. The hippo popularity is probably because of their new exhibit. People didn't seem to care about them when they were in their old exhibit. The monkey and ape exhibits don't seem to get as much attention (unless there's a baby), except for the gibbons in the windows of the cafe. They are always active and have a crowd watching them both outside and at the window tables inside the cafe.
 
Kakapo said:
For sure, giant panda exhibits are usually most popular than monkey exhibits, I believe.
Click to expand...

I think popularity is also representation in zoos, and giant panda has so bad representation (like for example in 6 zoos in Europe) (from financial and political reasons first). On the other hand, there is (almost) no bigger zoo (except more specialized facilities like bird zoos or reptile zoos) without monkeys.
 
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