Best African Plains exhibit?
- Thread starter lee456
- Start date
KCZooFan
Well-Known Member
Well, according to "America's Best Zoos" Kansas City has the best. It is located on 100 acres, with 17 acre plains exhibit, 4 acre elephant exhbiit, 3 acre chimp exhibit, 1.5 acre guinea baboon exhibit, 2 acre gorilla exhibit, as well as awesome exhibits for cheetahs, lions, black rhinos, giraffes/zebras/ostrich.
Other average to above average exhibits for these animals: warthog, saddle-billed stork, leopard, bongo, red-capped mangabey, black mangabey, yellow-backed duiker, red river hog, lappet-faced vulture, bateleur eagle, aldabra giant tortoise, red-flanked duiker, blue duiker, southern ground hornbill, an aviary, serval, meerkat, black-footed cat, bat-eared fox, black-throated monitor, rock hyrax, masked lovebird, bushbaby, slender-snouted crocodile, kori bustard, secretary bird, kori bustar, leopard tortoise, hippo, and wild dog.
Other contenders for the title according to that book are
SDWAP
Brookfield
Busch Gardens
Dallas
DAK
Honolulu
Jacksonville
North Carolina
Toledo
Other average to above average exhibits for these animals: warthog, saddle-billed stork, leopard, bongo, red-capped mangabey, black mangabey, yellow-backed duiker, red river hog, lappet-faced vulture, bateleur eagle, aldabra giant tortoise, red-flanked duiker, blue duiker, southern ground hornbill, an aviary, serval, meerkat, black-footed cat, bat-eared fox, black-throated monitor, rock hyrax, masked lovebird, bushbaby, slender-snouted crocodile, kori bustard, secretary bird, kori bustar, leopard tortoise, hippo, and wild dog.
Other contenders for the title according to that book are
SDWAP
Brookfield
Busch Gardens
Dallas
DAK
Honolulu
Jacksonville
North Carolina
Toledo
Phoenix Zoo actually has a pretty good sloping field exhibit with giraffes, two or three antelope species and several bird species. The background is the existing cliffs of Papago Park which look like they belong. The only problem is they added watusi cattle a few years ago and it drives me nuts to see domestic animals in zoo exhibits.
Although I love seeing large mixed species field exhibits of african animals, I think this is more of a fantasy of what African savannahs look like than the reality. Although I have not been to Africa (yet
), I have heard that mostly you see one species at a time, not several mixed. Even at watering holes, they take turns at different times of day. From what I have heard (maybe someone can confirm), the only place in Africa where you actually see several species at a watering hole at once is Etosha National Park.
That being said, I am still in favor of mixed species exhibits of savannah animals. Out Of Africa (also in Arizona) has thick bush instead of open grass, which I think portrays more realistically what many parts of sub-Saharan Africa looks like. Although they are local Mesquite trees and not true African foliage, it still looks very much like pictures I have seen from African safaris. Giraffe, zebra, sable antelope, and a couple other antelope (I forget).
Although I love seeing large mixed species field exhibits of african animals, I think this is more of a fantasy of what African savannahs look like than the reality. Although I have not been to Africa (yet
), I have heard that mostly you see one species at a time, not several mixed. Even at watering holes, they take turns at different times of day. From what I have heard (maybe someone can confirm), the only place in Africa where you actually see several species at a watering hole at once is Etosha National Park.That being said, I am still in favor of mixed species exhibits of savannah animals. Out Of Africa (also in Arizona) has thick bush instead of open grass, which I think portrays more realistically what many parts of sub-Saharan Africa looks like. Although they are local Mesquite trees and not true African foliage, it still looks very much like pictures I have seen from African safaris. Giraffe, zebra, sable antelope, and a couple other antelope (I forget).