JBZvolunteer
Well-Known Member
lots of grass. They don't have underwater viewing but that doesn't really affect whether it was a good exhibit for the animals.
Best hippo exhibit?
- Thread starter mweb08
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The only one I've seen on this list is Disney's Animal Kingdom and I think that is an outstanding exhibit. They are outside and they share it with birds. Strangely enough, many of the zoos I've seen haven't had hippos. The last one I remember before this one was the Brookfield Zoo's and it was being remodeled in 1993.
Brookfield Zoo has updated the hippo exhibit many times since 1993.
Brookfield is a zoo I've wanted to visit again for quite some time. Maybe I'll see for myself the newest version.
Best hippo exhibit
I realise this is an American thread, but here in the UK we have two female Hippos loose in the lake at Longleat, with a large grazing field adjoining. While not a 'bells & whistles' exhibit, there is something of the African experience about seeing a Hippo surface unexpectedly next to the boat, and wiggle its ears 'just like a proper one'.
I realise this is an American thread, but here in the UK we have two female Hippos loose in the lake at Longleat, with a large grazing field adjoining. While not a 'bells & whistles' exhibit, there is something of the African experience about seeing a Hippo surface unexpectedly next to the boat, and wiggle its ears 'just like a proper one'.
The exhibit is about the same size as the old one and not very big but it has a nice pool and a cool looking tree hanging over the pool also the pool continues over into another exhibit that is empty but if Brookfield Zoo gets some more black rhinos you could see a rhino in the backgroung as you see a hippo swimming. I think that DAK has a better exhibit but Brookfield Zoo's is pretty nice.
JBZvolunteer
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know what is the deepest of these exhibits? As I keep gaining more information I can't wait to see how these exhibits compare to the one at the deyoung zoo which has now been announced as being 14 feet deep at the deepest end.
I'm partial to San Francisco's exhibit just because you can get *that* close to Tucker.
Realistically, I would have to vote for San Diego's. It's a great update from that sad pool at the bottom of the hill. I agree largely with what everybody has said so far, but I do wish the exhibit had some more land area and above water viewing. That said, I really dig it. The few times I've passed through, mom & baby were putting on quite the show.
Full disclosure: It's also the only one I've seen in its current state. I haven't been back to St. Louis since the whole Rivers makeover, and the last time I was in Florida DAK didn't exist.
I would put San Diego's at ~6ft. We seem to be roughly the same height.
Realistically, I would have to vote for San Diego's. It's a great update from that sad pool at the bottom of the hill. I agree largely with what everybody has said so far, but I do wish the exhibit had some more land area and above water viewing. That said, I really dig it. The few times I've passed through, mom & baby were putting on quite the show.
Full disclosure: It's also the only one I've seen in its current state. I haven't been back to St. Louis since the whole Rivers makeover, and the last time I was in Florida DAK didn't exist.
JBZVolunteer said:
I would put San Diego's at ~6ft. We seem to be roughly the same height.
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I spent a long time watching these two in 2012, they played continually!
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Cleveland Hippo
Ok, now, I know that Cleveland had a crappy hippo exhibit, but I voted for it under 'other' because that's my local Zoo, Cleveland
Ok, now, I know that Cleveland had a crappy hippo exhibit, but I voted for it under 'other' because that's my local Zoo, Cleveland
Just because it's your local zoo doesn't mean that you have to vouch for it all the time. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but you mention that you know that Cleveland Zoo has a subpar hippo exhibit, making your comment a little nonsensical.
I am only familiar with Busch Gardens. What suprises me is that no one in the UK has attempted to create a hippo exhibit along the lines of the examples listed-unless I'm mistaken! Its a shame, and a missed opportunity to exhibit such a unique animal.
Panthera, I don't know the numbers in UK zoos but myself I was personally shocked by how few are in AZA zoos (compared to say the African rhinos). I don't know how Memphis is going to find enough to fill Zambezi River Hippo Camp unless several zoos completely drop Hippos in the same time frame.
Really? I am suprised! I thought hippos would be quite common "across the pond."
My local zoo, Whipsnade, has housed both common and pygmy for many years and both breed well! However, it does let itself down with the exhibit. I personally would LOVE an exhibit with underwater viewing!
Maybe you should visit sometime?
I've visited all of the exhibits listed with the exception of DAK, which I may or may not see in September. I'd have to say that I favor Toledo in the warmer months. The pool seems to be a good size and the hippos are frequently active. San Diego was great, but I haven't seen it since the late 90's.
If i were to be honest, judging by the sheer number of animals it's able to hold, I'd guess that DAK is better than any of the ones listed.
I've read that the SSP is recommending that zoos building new hippo exhibits consider exhibiting larger groups. Considering the size of even the good hippo exhibits, I don't see this as a realistic plan. There just aren't that many zoos that can hold a herd of animals that large. Perhaps a more natural lake-type setting on a big chunk of land would be a better choice than a pool with a mega-expensive viewing window and a uber-mega-expensive filtration system. Certainly wouldn't be as much fun for the average zoo-goer, but would probably be a bit more practical in the warmer parts of the country.
If i were to be honest, judging by the sheer number of animals it's able to hold, I'd guess that DAK is better than any of the ones listed.
I've read that the SSP is recommending that zoos building new hippo exhibits consider exhibiting larger groups. Considering the size of even the good hippo exhibits, I don't see this as a realistic plan. There just aren't that many zoos that can hold a herd of animals that large. Perhaps a more natural lake-type setting on a big chunk of land would be a better choice than a pool with a mega-expensive viewing window and a uber-mega-expensive filtration system. Certainly wouldn't be as much fun for the average zoo-goer, but would probably be a bit more practical in the warmer parts of the country.
GraysonDP
Well-Known Member
The only genuinely good hippo exhibits I've seen are San Diego, Animal Kingdom, and Busch Gardens. All of these have great underwater viewing areas and opportunities for the hippos to swim. San Diego is probably my favorite, partially because of how much I love the immersiveness of the Ituri Forest. Fort Worth's exhibit is a disgrace(it's the tiniest exhibit I've seen for megafauna at a major zoo ever and a bit of an eyesore), Philadelphia's is nothing to write home about, and Memphis desperately needs the new one to come sooner rather than later. Compared to elephants and rhinos, there are rather few hippo exhibits in American zoos and I wish more were being built. I even have seen them get phased out at quite a few facilities. Columbus, North Carolina, Bronx, and Detroit are all zoos I'd love to see build a state-of-the-art hippo exhibit.
I agree that Bronx Zoo should get a hippo exhibit of any subspecies.
I think that Columbus Zoo still has tons of room for expansion in Heart of Africa, but can not verify that for sure.
I think that Columbus Zoo still has tons of room for expansion in Heart of Africa, but can not verify that for sure.
Columbus Zoo does indeed have huge amounts of room for expansion around the current Heart of Africa, and hippos are one of the species originally announced for the African savanna project (long before it earned its current name). I think most people would be happy if Columbus didn't so much "change" as "follow through" - I wish that had completed (1) the pinniped and alcid exhibits originally intended for Polar Frontier (though it's nice that the brown bear brothers got a great new exhibit, I still find it disappointing that such a major exhibit and large space is home to only three species (not counting the fish resident in the bear exhibits));(2) the hippo, African elephant, black rhino, meerkats, and more lost from the Heart of Africa; and (3) the once-promised (and overdue) South American section. Add to that the move of the animals from Congo forest nearer to the Heart of Africa, leaving the current Congo forest for an expanded Asian section (with better exhibit for the orangs), and it's close to the zoo I'd love to see Columbus become. With the renewed interest in this thread, I'm putting some thought into drafting a more complete post soon....