Best Exhibit for Lions?

Best lion exhibit?

  • Denver

    Votes: 2 15.4%

  • Kansas City

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • John Ball

    Votes: 1 7.7%

  • Philadelphia

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Woodland Park

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Busch Gardens

    Votes: 2 15.4%

  • Sedgwick County

    Votes: 1 7.7%

  • SDWAP

    Votes: 7 53.8%

  • Oklahoma City

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Toronto

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    13
  • Poll closed .
mweb08

mweb08

Well-Known Member
I think it would be cool to a series of these threads regarding various species, rather than comparing apples to oranges as we often do on here with exhibits. So I just picked lions to kick it off.

Feel free to nominate any exhibits. Although I haven't been to them, I would think Denver and Philadelphia may also be contenders.

Lion Camp at SDWAP and the lion exhibit at Kansas City Zoo are the two best I've seen. You can see the one at KC in the Other section of the U.S. gallery.

I can post a poll once we have the contenders down.
 
I think Lion Camp is clearly the best lion exhibit in America. No zoo really puts that much emphasis on the conservation of lions as that exhibit does. Also the exhibit is much more realistic then the one is Kansas City, which seems to just be a big field.
 
I rather really like Toronto Zoo's lion exhibit, I think it would rank up there in amongst the best lion enclosures. It's not perfect, but a far cry from their old lion exhibits (the one they're in now is their original enclosure, but refurbished). Although not perfect, there's nice replicated kopjes, and hey have a tendency to let the grass grow longer, in opposed to the suburban lawn mower-type grass I've seen in some

http://tinyurl.com/mmczjo
 
The San Diego Wild Animal Park has what is generally regarded as perhaps the best lion exhibit in all of North America, but in all honesty there must be at least a dozen top quality enclosures for lions spread across the continent. Here are two more excellent ones:

Predator Ridge:

http://www.zoochat.com/561/predator-ridge-lion-exhibit-91443/
http://www.zoochat.com/561/predator-ridge-lion-exhibit-91444/

Woodland Park Zoo:

http://www.zoochat.com/622/lion-exhibit-89387/
http://www.zoochat.com/622/lion-exhibit-81373/
 
BlackRhino said:
I think Lion Camp is clearly the best lion exhibit in America. No zoo really puts that much emphasis on the conservation of lions as that exhibit does. Also the exhibit is much more realistic then the one is Kansas City, which seems to just be a big field.
Click to expand...

Well, Lion Camp has many great aspects (size, distant views to African Plains area, kopje viewing area, and the incredible grove of Yellow Fever Trees)....but the new loading station for the tram tour now sits right in the middle of the view, they did a poor job of disguising moats and fencelines. Worst of all to me is the insistence on sticking a land rover inside the exhibit to create--I guess--an "African" character. Just like you, I hate all the Mayan temples in jaguar exhibits--to me, jeeps in lion enclosures are equally cliched and distracting.

Sedgwick County has a great lion exhibit I've heard, and I actually prefer Seattle's over Lion Camp.
 
How would they disguise the moats when they're meant to provide unobstructed views of the lions?

I think the fences are pretty well disguised unless you go down towards the tram. I don't believe you see the fences from the normal viewing spots.

I don't have a problem with the jeep, and as I typically put animal needs over my view, the lions do love that thing, so that's a plus in my mind.
 
The best I have been to is the Lion Exhibit at the John Ball Zoo which was based on a park in Africa where lions have been known to climb trees. They have a large tree for them to climb on that is either heated or cooled depending on temperature. They also have a Boma (african hut) that is divided and lets lions and children go into. I believe the exhibit is great for the lions and great for visitors. Lion Camp is nice but I think John Ball's is better.
 
Lion Camp has so much more pluses than all the other exhibits, I gotta say Lion Camp is the best. One large glass window area with zoo keeper talks, numerous close and unobstructed zoos, a wooded, shaded viewing area with more close views, and a very nice uphill view of the lions and grassy areas of the enclosure from the Journey into Africa Tour. I don't mind the jeep, I always see the male lion on it and I hear other visitors claiming how cool it is to see the lion on the jeep.. And here's the background from probably the worst possible angle: http://www.zoochat.com/297/sdwap-nyala-east-africa-89580/ Its not that bad, I just don't like that chain link fence, the weird wood fence, and a huge lake that seems to serve no apparent purpose.

Predator Ridge in Denver looks good, but I just think Lion Camp has much more to offer.

oh and btw, would you all say that Tiger's receive far better exhibits and are more numerous in zoos than Lions?
 
Nope, I would say lions are given better exhibits more often. Although it seems pretty close. Take a look at all these above average to great lion exhibits in the U.S. :

SDWAP, Denver, Wichita, Toledo, Seattle, Bronx, Busch Gardens, Jacksonville, OKC, Kansas City, Philadelphia, John Ball, even Miami, Houston, and Atlanta all have decent exhibits. (That is not in any particular order). Soon the Oregon and Dallas Zoo will have a decent lion exhibits.

Here is for tigers:

Bronx, Minnesota, Wichita, OKC, Philadelphia, Miami, SDWAP, San Diego, Columbus, Dallas, Fort Wayne and I guess Atlanta and Busch Gardens (only for size, otherwise a very sterile exhibit). Again not in any order. These are all off the top of my head so I am sure I am forgetting some. It seems it would be easier to create a good exhibit for lions since they require a more open exhibit where as tigers need a more dense, forested exhibit.
 
Yeah, and that angle is towards the end of lion viewing area, a spot most people didn't even go to until they connected the trail to the trail that goes to JIA.
 
Maryland has a pretty good lion exhibit as well. I actually think Pittsburgh has an above average tiger exhibit. But yeah, probably more good lion exhibits than tiger ones, although there are still plenty of really bad ones for both species.
 
Poll up, so lets see who comes out on top.

I'm likely going to Philadelphia tommorrow, so I'll hold off so I can give Big Cat Falls a chance.
 
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