The North Carolina Zoo is very solid with exhibits ranging from average to great. It has a lot to its advantage; tucked in the middle of nowhere with a huge range of land, Southern zoo with constant warm weather, and it’s a new zoo to have been built in the past century. The only major flaw is the zoo only features two continents. Were it allowed to have one or two more and this zoo would be completely amazing.
NORTH AMERICA:
Walking into this section of the zoo, you must cross a bridge over a lake and it is a view to take in. The water from the lake is used to create Cypress Swamp. This section features alligators, cougars, and a various range of North American reptiles and amphibians. The alligator exhibit is spacious and a big pond for them to use. The cougar exhibit is glass fronted which allows great viewing of these animals. There are also shelter areas in the back for the cougars.
The Marsh area next door does not feature any animal exhibits. Instead you are able to see the natural animals and plants in this natural habitat. It is a little breather to take in nature before you tackle Rocky Coast.
Rocky Coast features seals, peregrine falcon, Arctic puffins and other sea birds, arctic fox, and it’s featured animal, the polar bear. The seal exhibit is still quite nice being built when the zoo first opened in the 70’s. Like the former section of the polar bear exhibit, the rockwork has a more natural look to it opposed to what you see today in other zoos. There are two areas to view underwater as well. The peregrine falcon is situated right before coming to the underwater windows of the seals. After seeing the seals, you go inside a cool building that features puffins and other sea birds. This area allows quite a bit of space for the birds with a cliff back drop with crevices to be used. There is also a nice section with many graphics discussing puffins.
The Arctic fox exhibit is situated between the old and new sections of the polar bear exhibit. It is well planted with mostly mesh around it and a window at the end. I was going to say it’s a bit small, however, it only has one fox and compared to other zoos I have been to it’s one of the larger exhibits for this animal.
The main reason for me to visit this zoo was to see the polar bear exhibit. The former section has held up nicely after all these years. Among the rocky land area, there is a huge pool with two areas for visitors to view underwater. There is also a small grassy area for the polar bear to roll around in (former to the new section with lots of grass). In the center two doors are able to open and a training wall is there for training session.
When you first walk into the building to view the new section, there are ice blocks in the sea on the floor and walls and a huge TV screen with polar bear video clips. There is also an ice formation sprouting out water. Around the corner are large glass windows to show visitors into the exhibit. The first section is a cave area for the polar bear to avoid the heat and take a nap (straw bedding in one section of this area). Then you are able to see the outside section of the exhibit, very well landscaped with trees and shrubs. You will notice that the back and right corner of the exhibit are for show and the polar bear has no access to it. It is blocked off by electric fencing. However, the actually space the polar bear does has is quite spacious. There is a stream in the middle of the exhibit and a cave in the back as well. If you exit the building you will be able to see the perpendicular end of the exhibit known as Piper’s Den. Here is a narration and graphics on the wall to engage guests. The top part mentions details about polar bears while the bottom section is narrated by Piper the cub who takes the above information and condenses it for children. The only flaw to this is many visitors think the zoo has a cub named Piper, but it is no where to be found in the actual exhibit. There are also touch screens for visitors to play games and take quizzes about polar bears. A nice feature is meshing fencing above the large window. This allows visitors to be able to hear right into the exhibit, such as when I heard the polar bear scraping ice in an enrichment bucket.
Columbus Zoo has always had my favorite polar bear exhibit because it’s beautiful and naturalistic. However, with North Carolina’s exhibit being so beautifully landscaped and have two areas for the polar bear to go and providing many vantage points for visitors, I think this exhibit has crawled to the top of my list. The only downfall is if you are visitor, you may have to search to see what exhibit section the polar bear is in. But to me, that was the fun challenge.
Further up the trail is the Streamside section. You first enter a building with fish and I believe some reptiles/amphibians. I apologize for the lack of details, but it was not thrilling to me so I just walked through it. Leaving the building, you are able to see the river otter exhibit. The first section allows underwater viewing for visitors. If you go up the stairs, you are able to see the rest of the exhibit that features a steam and land area. Further up the trail is another building with North American reptiles and amphibians. When you leave this building, you are able to see the outdoor lynx exhibit. Viewing is from the front and side of the exhibit.
To complete the North American section the black bear, brown bear, and red wolf exhibit are all quite similar. Naturalistic exhibits that are spacious and all feature a water feature in the front for its inhabitants. Between black bear and brown bear exhibit is the huge prairie for bison and elk. There are four viewing areas, with small stadium seating, to take it in the vast size of this exhibit. View 3 also features the prairie geyser which sprouts out water in full height every five minutes.
I will include a description of the desert building in this section, however the name has been changed recently to just The Desert so animals, beyond North America, could live inside the building. I cannot go into much detail about the exhibit because being a mammal enthusiast; I sort of brushed through this section rather quickly. It consisted of exhibit areas for variety of birds, like kookaburra, roadrunner, quail, and terrariums built into the walls for reptiles and amphibians. The final part was a dark area for nocturnal animals. The ocelot exhibit inside the building is now empty and they are currently working on building an outside exhibit for them. It will be located off to the side of the desert building.
AFRICA
Once you get past Junction Plaza, you are at the aviary building. The aviary has a variety of birds, not all African species, in a beautiful lush area. Some of the birds that I can remember are sun bittern, electus parrot, Victoria crowned pigeon, and scarlet ibis. There are many plants and trees for the birds to hide away from visitors.
Since the gorilla exhibit is under renovation I went up the baboon trail to the Hamadryas baboon exhibit. They have a huge hill side exhibit for their big troop of monkeys, with a few new borns from last year. Right by them is the former African pavilion, which is now closed and expected to be demolish soon. Continuing up the trail you come to one side of the rhino and antelope savanna. This area is huge and I only saw two of the many antelope species that the zoo has in its collection. There is an overlook to this area and also a trail to get to the very end of it, with trees that the white rhinos are under sleeping. Red clay is in the exhibits as you can see a reddish coloration to the rhinos and elephants. There is a huge lake on the backside of the exhibit and I think there is a small area that the animals are able to access. I only saw greater kudu and pringe eared oryx, but the zoo also has sitatunga, Nile lechwes, Thomson’s gazelle, bongo, blesbok, and Depassa waterbuck. There large area is truly breathtaking!
I went to the elephant exhibit next and I think is one of the best African elephant exhibits in the country. The exhibit is huge, there is a good size herd mixed with males and females, two pool areas, different vantage points for visitors, and interactive areas. The only downside to me was the electric wiring around all the trees. I know the purpose of it, but it was always to the shadow line which made me wonder if the elephants could even get shade from any of the trees.
Up next was the spacious yard for giraffe, zebra, and ostrich. There was also a feeding station for visitors to feed the giraffes. At the other end was a watering hole or a small pond if you want to be exact. This seemed like a nice, shaded area for all of its inhabitants.
Up next was a nice shaded area for the red river hogs, a spacious exhibit on a hill for the lions, and a basic, yet spacious island exhibit for lemurs. In between the lions and lemurs was the chimpanzee exhibit, which is the best I have seen at a US zoo. One side has a great artificial tree climbing structure. There area is quite big and the zoo has a large troop of these apes. I am not sure if they are separated in groups, but I hardly saw any of them. Perhaps there are also some good hiding spots within the exhibit.
As mentioned above, the only noticeable flaw of the zoo is the lack of other continents displayed. Recently I read an article that mentioned only 550 acres are being used of its full 2,220 acres. The article also mentions it hopes to expand in phases in the next 10 to 20 years. The first phase would be an Australasia Tropical Forest in place of the former African pavilion. They also hope to have safari experiences for visitors. Here is hoping the zoo expands to make it one of the best zoos in the country.
NORTH AMERICA:
Walking into this section of the zoo, you must cross a bridge over a lake and it is a view to take in. The water from the lake is used to create Cypress Swamp. This section features alligators, cougars, and a various range of North American reptiles and amphibians. The alligator exhibit is spacious and a big pond for them to use. The cougar exhibit is glass fronted which allows great viewing of these animals. There are also shelter areas in the back for the cougars.
The Marsh area next door does not feature any animal exhibits. Instead you are able to see the natural animals and plants in this natural habitat. It is a little breather to take in nature before you tackle Rocky Coast.
Rocky Coast features seals, peregrine falcon, Arctic puffins and other sea birds, arctic fox, and it’s featured animal, the polar bear. The seal exhibit is still quite nice being built when the zoo first opened in the 70’s. Like the former section of the polar bear exhibit, the rockwork has a more natural look to it opposed to what you see today in other zoos. There are two areas to view underwater as well. The peregrine falcon is situated right before coming to the underwater windows of the seals. After seeing the seals, you go inside a cool building that features puffins and other sea birds. This area allows quite a bit of space for the birds with a cliff back drop with crevices to be used. There is also a nice section with many graphics discussing puffins.
The Arctic fox exhibit is situated between the old and new sections of the polar bear exhibit. It is well planted with mostly mesh around it and a window at the end. I was going to say it’s a bit small, however, it only has one fox and compared to other zoos I have been to it’s one of the larger exhibits for this animal.
The main reason for me to visit this zoo was to see the polar bear exhibit. The former section has held up nicely after all these years. Among the rocky land area, there is a huge pool with two areas for visitors to view underwater. There is also a small grassy area for the polar bear to roll around in (former to the new section with lots of grass). In the center two doors are able to open and a training wall is there for training session.
When you first walk into the building to view the new section, there are ice blocks in the sea on the floor and walls and a huge TV screen with polar bear video clips. There is also an ice formation sprouting out water. Around the corner are large glass windows to show visitors into the exhibit. The first section is a cave area for the polar bear to avoid the heat and take a nap (straw bedding in one section of this area). Then you are able to see the outside section of the exhibit, very well landscaped with trees and shrubs. You will notice that the back and right corner of the exhibit are for show and the polar bear has no access to it. It is blocked off by electric fencing. However, the actually space the polar bear does has is quite spacious. There is a stream in the middle of the exhibit and a cave in the back as well. If you exit the building you will be able to see the perpendicular end of the exhibit known as Piper’s Den. Here is a narration and graphics on the wall to engage guests. The top part mentions details about polar bears while the bottom section is narrated by Piper the cub who takes the above information and condenses it for children. The only flaw to this is many visitors think the zoo has a cub named Piper, but it is no where to be found in the actual exhibit. There are also touch screens for visitors to play games and take quizzes about polar bears. A nice feature is meshing fencing above the large window. This allows visitors to be able to hear right into the exhibit, such as when I heard the polar bear scraping ice in an enrichment bucket.
Columbus Zoo has always had my favorite polar bear exhibit because it’s beautiful and naturalistic. However, with North Carolina’s exhibit being so beautifully landscaped and have two areas for the polar bear to go and providing many vantage points for visitors, I think this exhibit has crawled to the top of my list. The only downfall is if you are visitor, you may have to search to see what exhibit section the polar bear is in. But to me, that was the fun challenge.
Further up the trail is the Streamside section. You first enter a building with fish and I believe some reptiles/amphibians. I apologize for the lack of details, but it was not thrilling to me so I just walked through it. Leaving the building, you are able to see the river otter exhibit. The first section allows underwater viewing for visitors. If you go up the stairs, you are able to see the rest of the exhibit that features a steam and land area. Further up the trail is another building with North American reptiles and amphibians. When you leave this building, you are able to see the outdoor lynx exhibit. Viewing is from the front and side of the exhibit.
To complete the North American section the black bear, brown bear, and red wolf exhibit are all quite similar. Naturalistic exhibits that are spacious and all feature a water feature in the front for its inhabitants. Between black bear and brown bear exhibit is the huge prairie for bison and elk. There are four viewing areas, with small stadium seating, to take it in the vast size of this exhibit. View 3 also features the prairie geyser which sprouts out water in full height every five minutes.
I will include a description of the desert building in this section, however the name has been changed recently to just The Desert so animals, beyond North America, could live inside the building. I cannot go into much detail about the exhibit because being a mammal enthusiast; I sort of brushed through this section rather quickly. It consisted of exhibit areas for variety of birds, like kookaburra, roadrunner, quail, and terrariums built into the walls for reptiles and amphibians. The final part was a dark area for nocturnal animals. The ocelot exhibit inside the building is now empty and they are currently working on building an outside exhibit for them. It will be located off to the side of the desert building.
AFRICA
Once you get past Junction Plaza, you are at the aviary building. The aviary has a variety of birds, not all African species, in a beautiful lush area. Some of the birds that I can remember are sun bittern, electus parrot, Victoria crowned pigeon, and scarlet ibis. There are many plants and trees for the birds to hide away from visitors.
Since the gorilla exhibit is under renovation I went up the baboon trail to the Hamadryas baboon exhibit. They have a huge hill side exhibit for their big troop of monkeys, with a few new borns from last year. Right by them is the former African pavilion, which is now closed and expected to be demolish soon. Continuing up the trail you come to one side of the rhino and antelope savanna. This area is huge and I only saw two of the many antelope species that the zoo has in its collection. There is an overlook to this area and also a trail to get to the very end of it, with trees that the white rhinos are under sleeping. Red clay is in the exhibits as you can see a reddish coloration to the rhinos and elephants. There is a huge lake on the backside of the exhibit and I think there is a small area that the animals are able to access. I only saw greater kudu and pringe eared oryx, but the zoo also has sitatunga, Nile lechwes, Thomson’s gazelle, bongo, blesbok, and Depassa waterbuck. There large area is truly breathtaking!
I went to the elephant exhibit next and I think is one of the best African elephant exhibits in the country. The exhibit is huge, there is a good size herd mixed with males and females, two pool areas, different vantage points for visitors, and interactive areas. The only downside to me was the electric wiring around all the trees. I know the purpose of it, but it was always to the shadow line which made me wonder if the elephants could even get shade from any of the trees.
Up next was the spacious yard for giraffe, zebra, and ostrich. There was also a feeding station for visitors to feed the giraffes. At the other end was a watering hole or a small pond if you want to be exact. This seemed like a nice, shaded area for all of its inhabitants.
Up next was a nice shaded area for the red river hogs, a spacious exhibit on a hill for the lions, and a basic, yet spacious island exhibit for lemurs. In between the lions and lemurs was the chimpanzee exhibit, which is the best I have seen at a US zoo. One side has a great artificial tree climbing structure. There area is quite big and the zoo has a large troop of these apes. I am not sure if they are separated in groups, but I hardly saw any of them. Perhaps there are also some good hiding spots within the exhibit.
As mentioned above, the only noticeable flaw of the zoo is the lack of other continents displayed. Recently I read an article that mentioned only 550 acres are being used of its full 2,220 acres. The article also mentions it hopes to expand in phases in the next 10 to 20 years. The first phase would be an Australasia Tropical Forest in place of the former African pavilion. They also hope to have safari experiences for visitors. Here is hoping the zoo expands to make it one of the best zoos in the country.
