The zoo is on a nice preserve of land that provided a lot of shade and nice paths to walk on. It had extreme potential, except many exhibits are outdated and unoriginal in design. But being a family owned zoo, I know they have their limits with finances. Some of the trail consisted of Bamboo growing off the sides, and my partner and I joked around sticking our heads in it trying to find a Panda. The only thing I would suggest is bug spray because mosquitoes were everywhere!
Hot Stuff: This small indoor pavilion had a variety of different Snakes. I didn’t pay much attention to this exhibit as it was the last one I saw for the day and I already been to enough indoor pavilions with Snakes.
Babies Area: There was a baby White Tiger in a small paddock when I returned to this section at the end of the day. It was sad to see it segregated from its parents, but I almost wonder if the mother got too rough with the cub or it needed special care. There was a red growth above one of its eyes and it almost looked like it was going blind. There was a one year old camel in a small paddock nearby as well.
Amazon Aviary: This consisted of a little island with two pale pink Flamingoes, some ducks, and a variety of Macaw Parrots. It was nice to see all the parrots as some had beautiful coloring. A duo was on a branch together and were a lively pair. I did feel bad for the Flamingoes as it looked like there was no water at all in this little section.
Madagascar: Besides from a few exotic birds that I do not remember, this section pretty much consisted of a caged area with a mix of different types of Lemurs. It seemed they had a decent amount of space, but nothing groundbreaking in exotic design. A bit disappointing to see most of the exhibits consisting of caged areas.
Australia: When you first enter this exhibit, there’s a big cage of exotic Australian birds on your right and a pond with Black Swans and misplaced Mallard Ducks on your left. It was very cute to see Black Swan goslings. There were also some Geese walking along the pathways. There was a small pavilion with a porch and had to you stick your face up to the glass to see what was inside. Pretty much Snakes, Lizards, and some Sugar Gliders all in different enclosures. However the lighting was horrible and almost impossible see the inhabitants. There was a spacious paddock for a small Dingo, along with areas for two Emus, Kangaroos and Wallabies (not outside when I went), and a Cassowary. I’ve always wanted to see a Cassowary in person and their look and coloring is so beautiful.
Island: Consisted of caged areas with concrete floors for a variety of monkeys; Gibbons, and different types of Macaques just to name a few. If you ever been to Seneca Park zoo and seen their outdoor Primate and Ape exhibits, it pretty much looked like that. All had toys and things to swing from from for enrichment, but definitely outdated and uncreative. There was also a Butterfly Garden in this section which I skipped as I didn’t see any Butterflies flying around. The highlight of this section was the Sun Bears. As for their exhibit, it was probably the wordt Sun Bear exhibit I have ever seen. But since I’ve seen wonderful exhibits in the past that hides these Bears, it was nice to see them up close. Their exhibit was decent in size, but it was a caged area with a concrete floor! There looked like there was a water pool dug into the ground, but it was not filled up. Despite from a puddle of water on the ground, there was no water provided for these Bears. The exhibit did have to tree limbs in it, which the Bears used to their full advantage. One of them was displaying natural behavior by digging into the bark to find termites or other types of insects. I also read on the sign they will pound on the bark and the vibrations help determine where the insects might be. Sure enough I saw that as well. Later on we saw them lounging on the other tree branch. A random question, but do females have a protruding pink nipple near their lower legs? I only saw one in this area and didn’t know if it was a growth or a teet. A simple suggestion I would have for this zoo would simply to put hay down so they weren’t walking around on concrete all the time.
Eurasia: This was an area for families as they had a feeding station for Deer and another one for Llama, Alpacas, Goats, and Donkeys. Besides that there was another indoor pavilion that was called Giant Reptiles. It basically consisted of large Pythons and other types of Snakes. On the outside there was a yard that had quite a few African Spurred Tortoises and a grassy yard for a large Galapagos Tortoise. There was also a beautiful Koi pond where you could feed these fish, but unfortunately it was closed off for the day. Then there was a small grassy caged area for a White Tiger with its mate behind it in a smaller enclosure. I also noticed a Peacock in a caged area and I thought it was sad not to see them roaming as I have at other zoos. Although in a Wildlife Preserve, they may end up getting lost that way!
Latin America: On the map they incorporate the big pond with local birds in this section, although I think it be more appropriate to categorize it in North America. The rest of this area consisted of a small cage for a lone Jaguar, some Parrots, and a small wrapped around pavilion with a Sloth, Pied Tamarins, and some Reptiles next door.
Africa: A small cage area for a lone Lioness and an area where you could ride Camels, though none were out when I visited. This was also the entrance area where you could go into the Wooded Area and take the Safari Bus to feed animals. I opted not to do this as this cost even more money. But animals in this area consisted of Zebras, Buffaloes, Ostriches, Deer, and Antelopes.
North America: This was probably the best section of the zoo. Because the zoo is located in a Wooded Area, it’s perfect for these national animals. This area reminded me of the Outer Trail at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. It consisted of Pumas, Arctic Wolves, Coatis, Owls, and Raccoons. There’s a new indoor pavilion that opened up recently that will be another home to many Reptiles. Half of it was still closed off and some tanks still left empty. But it looked like it had some potential. The place that had the most charm was Alligator Bayou. There was a small pond with a bunch of Alligators, Turtles, some banjo music, and a little shed at the end of the pond with a rocking chair on the porch.
Although this little zoo did have some potential, I desperately hope they upgrade the exhibits with concrete floors! I look forward to the National Zoo, which I think I may visit in a couple of weeks!
