Best and worst local zoo exhibits

Alex Bensky said:
Detroit Zoo:

Best--Arctic Ring of Life
Worst-bears.

They are in the process of a major expansion of the tiger exhibit and when it's finished it would be nice if they'd get a couple more tigers. They only have one. It's a bit sad but then again "sad" and "Detroit Tigers" are words you'll be hearing a lot for a while.

I see several people have mentioned the Kovler Lion House in Lincoln Park as that zoo's worst, which last time I was there it was. A couple of years ago the zoo announced plans for a major renovation, although I don't know how far along that is.
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I should have added the new penguin exhibit although a lot of the space is taken up by an exhibit about Shackleton's voyage. But the viewing is both above and below the water line.
 
Alex Bensky said:
I've been to the LA Zoo a few times and yes, I can't believe those roundhouses are the best they could do.
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Oh, I definitely believe that those are the best they can do. The LA Zoo has had pretty bad funding issues, like budget and staff cutbacks. There was a series conversation about possible privatization a while back to combat these funding issues if I recall correctly, but it went nowhere. At the moment the Zoo is simply trying its best with what resources they have. Not everybody can be San Diego, sadly.
 
I realized I didn’t do the national aviary in Pittsburgh

Best: Penguin Point
Worst: Tropical rainforest, but that is old and getting remodeled so this will change soon.
 
Cincinnati
Best: Jungle Trails/Night Hunters
Worst: Bear Grottoes

Louisville
Best: Glacier Run
Worst: Elephant Complex (As of 2018)

North Carolina
Best: Watani Grasslands
Worst: Grizzly Bear
 
Metro Richmond Zoo
Best: Markhor, Blackbuck, and Tahr exhibit
Worst: African clawless otters(better exhibit planned.
 
Saint Louis Zoo
Best: River's Edge
Worst: Primate House

Grant's Farm
Best: Deer Park
Worst: Tier Garden

Animal Gardens Petting Zoo
Best: Indian Village
Worst: Baby Barn

World Aquarium
Best: Basment
Worst: Ground Floor
 
I want to update my National Aviary best and worst now.
Best:Tropical Rainforest (worst to first!)
Worst: there aren’t any terrible areas here but I think canary’s call because of the lorikeet and canary exhibits
 
Memphis Zoo
Best: the new hippo enclosure at Zambezi River Hippo Camp
Worst: African Veldt, specifically the elephant, rhino, and giraffe exhibits

Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo
Best: white-handed gibbons
Worst: red-ruffed lemurs
 
JVM said:
The problem here is that when Brookfield Zoo was constricuted in 1934, the layout intention was that the northern area would be home to almost exclusively outdoor habitats for the warm summers, and the southern area to primarily indoor exhibits for the harsh winters - so visitors would not have to pass the empty enclosures, for example, and could take a shorter visit.

In more recent years, the intention has slowly been to divide the zoo into four continental zones - Africa in the northwest, Asia in the northeast, and the Americas in the southwest, chiefly, but a lot of this progress has been stalled since Great Bear Wildernass was complete. The ambitious plans drawn up over ten years ago suggested that the former Perching Bird House would be dismantled, and Feathers and Scales' area would be home to a larger combined building that would again contain both birds and reptiles. I would speculate a new exhibit of that type could talk about the evolution of reptiles into birds.

The problem today is that the zoo is too low on money to dismantle these historic buildings and the baboon habitat (or Bear Grotto) and has therefore converted them to staff buildings, and what remains is mostly non-charismatic species in the relatively simple terrariums. With the poorly bordered-up Bear Grottos, the second half of the zoo is almost entirely anchored by the childrens' area in the furthest southeast and the Americas' areas in the furthest southwest.

The current state of Brookfield is becoming a little sorry by now - it's a blessing it was a world-class institution before it came upon such difficult times...
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Though I know they were outdated and alot of people dislike them for obvious reasons why not still keep them in use smaller bear species different baboon species maybe different cat species. In the mean time till funds can build back up people want to see things that you dont normally see, for instance Cincinnatis canyon wildlife yes it was outdated but to see the rarer hoofstock made it worth the while. It was a shame they didn't keep the forest buffalo area going, and would of been great to see the antelope building on the inside in its hayday most everyone wants to see these world amazing exhibits but till these massive funds can come through and you could buy more land utilize what you have in the mean time. I mean if it was up to all of us I'm sure one would wish for a 100000 acre place to make they world class exhibits that could house as many species as possible
 
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There are four zoos and which I would consider "local" and they are...

Sacramento Zoo
Some bad exhibits, many subpar ones, and a few good ones
Best: Caribbean flamingo and waterfowl (American Flamingo Exhibit - ZooChat)
Worst: Aardvark (Aardvark Exhibit - ZooChat). I love this zoo but this is honestly just sad.)

Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary
Many bad exhibits, many subpar ones, and a few ones
Best: Mule deer (Mule deer exhibit - ZooChat)
Worst: Tiger (there are two halves: the original (Bengal Tiger Exhibit #2 - ZooChat) and the slightly newer extension (Bengal Tiger Exhibit #1 - ZooChat). This exhibit holds two rescue tigers and while it is certainly better than where then came from, a man's attic, it's still bad)

Oakland Zoo
A few bad exhibits, a few subpar ones, and many good ones
Best: Hamadryas baboon (Hamadryas Baboon Exhibit - ZooChat)
Worst: Common chimpanzee (Chimp exhibit - ZooChat)


San Francisco Zoo
Some bad exhibits, many subpar ones, and some good ones
Best: African savannas (there are two: a north savanna (African Savanna exhibit - ZooChat) and south one (African Savanna - Middle Viewing Area - ZooChat))
Worst: Common chimpanzee (the new indoor playroom is nice but it doesn't make up for the fact (Indoor chimp room - ZooChat) but it doesn't make up for the fact that the outdoor grottoes are horrible (Chimp passage - ZooChat))
 
Mumbai Zoo
Best: if a flying fox or three-striped palm squirrel enters one of the exhibits
Worst: everything else about the exhibits
 
Also the exhibit for lions is awful,while De Brazza's monkey exhibit and the African Savanna are good (although the last one isn't very original)
 
birdsandbats said:
Henry Vilas Zoo
Best - Arctic Passage
Worst - Not really sure, the whole zoo is pretty solid
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With some recent renovations, I now have a different opinion:

Henry Vilas Zoo
Best - Arctic Passage, Wisconsin Heritage
Worst - Tanzanian Red-Clawed Scorpion terarrium

Also some new ones:

Glacier Ridge Animal Farm:
Best - Bison and Longhorn Cattle yards
Worst - Crowded Pen

Stevens Point Herptelogical Society
Best - Vivarium
Worst - Vivarium :p (There's only one enclosure at this facility)

Menominee Park Zoo
Best - North America
Worst - Corncrib Cages
 
Louisiana... 2019 ...
Brec's Baton Rouge zoo...
Best :flamingo exhibit (chilean?)
And new Asian walk-through aviary.

Worst:everything else, especially the pygmy hippo, cheetah, rhinos, baby American alligator,

Alexandria zoo:
Best:education building ,Gabon viper, dog trot house, snake house, venom house, American alligators, lowland Anoa.

Worst:fennec fox, howler monkey,
 
Time for a NY perspective, starting with NYC zoos then moving upstate

Bronx Zoo: best (Congo Gorilla Forest) worst (either mouse house, pheasants, or aquatic bird house)

Queens Zoo: best (Andean bears) worst (sea lions, I know that they're old males, but even they deserve something bigger and more dynamic)

*I'm leaving out Prospect Park & Staten Island Zoos and NY Aquarium only because I haven't been to them in a long time, so I'm not necessarily the best judge of those zoos*

Buffalo Zoo: best (Arctic Edge) worst (gorilla)

Seneca Park Zoo: best (wolf, baboon, red panda) worst (elephant [it's not horrible, but the zoo's small and narrow space makes their future with elephants, in my view, up in the air)
*Haven't seen the new giraffes/rhino/ostrich/zebra enclosures yet so I can't really judge them*

Rosamond Gifford Zoo: best (elephants) worst (lions, but I think it's now empty)

Aquarium of Niagara: best (penguins) worst (all the pinniped enclosures, especially the California sea lion)
 
Toledo Zoo and Aquarium
Best: Aquarium
Worst: Snow Leopard Habitat

Detroit Zoo
Best: Polk Penguin Conservation Center
Worst: Tiger Habitat (fortunately a new, larger one will be opening soon)

Potter Park Zoo
Best: Moose Habitat
Worst: Big Cat & Primate Building

John Ball Zoo
Best: Tigers of the Realm
Worst: Snow Leopard & Puma Exhibits (not awful, mind you, but a little short on space and viewing opportunities aren’t that good)
 
National Zoo DC:
Best: Asian Small-Clawed Otters
Worst: Some of the indoor exhibits

Maryland Zoo:
Best: The Stream
Worst: Arctic Fox (the cage is relatively small and they must get hot in the summer even though they have fans blowing in)
 
Lincoln Park Zoo
-Best: Regenstein Macaque Forest, Walter Family Arctic Tundra
-Worst: Kovler Lion House

Brookfield Zoo
-Best: Great Bear Wilderness
-Worst: Tropic World, especially the orangutan and gorilla exhibits (I mean, what else would it be)
 
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