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I never thought I'd see the day, a modern hippo exhibit with an actual land area! Just from the videos and photos I've seen, this already looks to be the best hippo complex built within the past decade. As mentioned above all of the recent ones at Cincinnati, Dallas, Fort Worth and probably the new one Milwaukee as well all severely lack major components of hippo life, aka a proper grazing area and space for more than just two animals. The newish exhibit at Memphis seems a bit better in this regard, and I believe San Antonio allows their hippos to graze in the painted dog yard at night. Here at Cheyenne, they still managed to provide underwater viewing and a nice looking indoor area along side the additional land space, not to mention the possibility of creating a mixed species exhibit with warthogs. Brilliant! This exhibit should be the model for every upcoming hippo habitat in the future. Combine this with the equally superb looking walkthrough African penguin exhibit, and Waters Edge looks like an extremely promising development.

@Echobeast, would you be able to post some photos of the exhibit to the site, or is that not allowed by the zoo? I'm sure many zoo chatters would be eager to see more from this new exhibit.
 
Not only a great outdoor habitat complex suitable for breeding (the ability to divide up the pool is clever), but the indoor pool appears to be very large and deep compared to others I've seen. I agree with the others that this looks amazing, and I hope this will allow Cheyenne Mountain to become a top breeding facility and encourage other zoos to build similar habitats. Also really looking forward to when @Echobeast or someone else gets the chance to post photos so we can all get a better sense of everything!
 
pachyderm pro said:
Here at Cheyenne, they still managed to provide underwater viewing and a nice looking indoor area along side the additional land space, not to mention the possibility of creating a mixed species exhibit with warthogs.
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Just one correction there is no underwater viewing for hippos but honestly I don’t think it needs it. The zoo cut it early in development as the filtration system needed to keep water clean for hippos in a pool this big would double the cost of the exhibit (think over $20 mil for the life support system alone). You still get extremely close to the hippos though.

I’ll get pictures once the zoo is open as we plan on allowing guests in the new exhibit when the zoo reopens. There are still a few finishing touches on the exhibit and I don’t want to show everything until the zoo is ready.
 
Echobeast said:
Just one correction there is no underwater viewing for hippos but honestly I don’t think it needs it. The zoo cut it early in development as the filtration system needed to keep water clean for hippos in a pool this big would double the cost of the exhibit (think over $20 mil for the life support system alone). You still get extremely close to the hippos though.

I’ll get pictures once the zoo is open as we plan on allowing guests in the new exhibit when the zoo reopens. There are still a few finishing touches on the exhibit and I don’t want to show everything until the zoo is ready.
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I appreciate you sharing all the info you could offer.

Looks indeed like one of the best common hippo exhibits in US zoos in a long time.

I am afraid, here in Europe, we are making mistakes not dissimilar to ones in most US zoos in providing basin based exhibitry with underwater viewing (and usually also ... only the one pool (and not to speak of the drama on indoor). The one I love here is the Berlin Zoo exhibit - give it a look in you can, it is really nice -.
 
The same as Kifaru Bwana. I think a natural enclosure with a real hippo group can be a very pleasant view for visitors.
Le Pal in France has a beautiful and large pond for three adult hippos with an interesting walkway. At feeding time, you can enjoy the place like no other.
I keep a good memory of Gelsenkirchen's one too. A good combination of natural and artificial landscape.
 
Echobeast said:
Here's a short video tour the zoo put out of Water's Edge. Note that not everything is shown in the video.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=561955688056893
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That ocean surge rock thing for the penguins is brilliant! The zoo has really outdone themselves with this one. It's not perfect - the lemur island seems a bit on the small side and there is a bit of exposed steel which is unattractive - but overall, I think I hear an AZA exhibit award knocking on the zoos door. :D
 
I watched the Water's Edge video and there are some innovative features. (The large building in the background is an annoyance however). A walk-thru Africa penguin exhibit is very cool. I just hope they have staff or volunteers in there at all times to keep unscrupulous people from trying to grab the penguins. The outdoor hippo underwater viewing is a unique design I have not seen. Instead of the glass going up above the water line, the top of the glass is the water line (and water spills over into a catch basin). This allows for clear views and photos of them from just above water. However the water appears to be unfiltered and murky so underwater viewing may be somewhat pointless, especially with the glare on the uncovered glass. Still bonus points for doing something different.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I watched the Water's Edge video and there are some innovative features. (The large building in the background is an annoyance however). A walk-thru Africa penguin exhibit is very cool. I just hope they have staff or volunteers in there at all times to keep unscrupulous people from trying to grab the penguins. The outdoor hippo underwater viewing is a unique design I have not seen. Instead of the glass going up above the water line, the top of the glass is the water line (and water spills over into a catch basin). This allows for clear views and photos of them from just above water. However the water appears to be unfiltered and murky so underwater viewing may be somewhat pointless, especially with the glare on the uncovered glass. Still bonus points for doing something different.
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Correct me if I'm mistaken, but that's not a piece of glass for the outdoor hippo viewing, it's a metal plate. The edge is too thin for glass, and no matter how murky the water, glass would allow some light through rather than the consistent color as seen in the video.
 
Falcosparverius said:
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but that's not a piece of glass for the outdoor hippo viewing, it's a metal plate. The edge is too thin for glass, and no matter how murky the water, glass would allow some light through rather than the consistent color as seen in the video.
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Since you asked, I will correct you (no offense). I just watched that part of the video again and it is a thick piece of acrylic for underwater viewing. The water is so dark that it is hard to tell. But if you look towards the right side you can see one of the underwater rocks through the glass. This makes more sense because if there was no viewing why would they put an ugly metal wall right up front? They would have instead put more rockwork like what is on the right of the acrylic panel.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Since you asked, I will correct you (no offense). I just watched that part of the video again and it is a thick piece of acrylic for underwater viewing. The water is so dark that it is hard to tell. But if you look towards the right side you can see one of the underwater rocks through the glass. This makes more sense because if there was no viewing why would they put an ugly metal wall right up front? They would have instead put more rockwork like what is on the right of the acrylic panel.
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That is actually an infinity wall, as seen in most higher-end swimming pools. The Zoo originally intended to have underwater viewing but as that would double water usage and require an even more intricate filtration system, they effectively scrapped that idea. (In the future I do hope they renovate one area of the hippo yards and add underwater viewing akin to Mzima Springs, of course maintaining the grazing area for the hippos (and even adding animals like sitatunga).
 
Arizona Docent said:
Since you asked, I will correct you (no offense). I just watched that part of the video again and it is a thick piece of acrylic for underwater viewing. The water is so dark that it is hard to tell. But if you look towards the right side you can see one of the underwater rocks through the glass. This makes more sense because if there was no viewing why would they put an ugly metal wall right up front? They would have instead put more rockwork like what is on the right of the acrylic panel.
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It's not acrylic. It's a black tile texture wall that is definitely not see through. Also with the pool being so large keeping water clear for underwater viewing would double the cost of the exhibit as I mentioned before. Also because the hippos were just put into the pool I think the pool is murky as the bacteria bloomed. It should clear up over the next week or so but it won't be crystal clear like in exhibits with underwater viewing.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I just watched that part of the video again and it is a thick piece of acrylic for underwater viewing. The water is so dark that it is hard to tell. But if you look towards the right side you can see one of the underwater rocks through the glass.
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That is a reflection of what is in front of the wall, not something seen through the wall. In front of the wall is the metal grate, then a concrete strip, and then a strip of grass (and then the fence the visitors are behind, which isn't visible in that shot). It is a reflection of those elements.
 
My apologies to all. I could have sworn I saw an underwater rock in that first linked video. But I guess it was a reflection. This video gives a much better view and it is indeed black. It also includes some aerial shots that show they have a nice amount of space to roam on land - a welcome sight in the zoo world.
 
This looks like a great exhibit that breaks the unfortunate trend of unsuitable cookie-cutter exhibits for hippos. Too many US zoos, in the east coast especially, think that the only proper way to exhibit a common hippo is in a cristal-clear pool with underwater viewing and expensive filtration system. And because of the filtration expense they more often than not simply go out of keeping hippos, even though much more suitable, less expensive, and still very attractive exhibits are possible - though it takes creativity and willingness to try a different approach. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo deserves praise for that!

My only complaint (more of a nit-picking really) is that the lemurs don't really belong in a hippo exhibit. Guenons, mangabeys, or colobus would be more appropriate... Also it would be interesting to see how warthogs mix.
 
zoo_enthusiast said:
This looks like a great exhibit that breaks the unfortunate trend of unsuitable cookie-cutter exhibits for hippos. Too many US zoos, in the east coast especially, think that the only proper way to exhibit a common hippo is in a cristal-clear pool with underwater viewing and expensive filtration system. And because of the filtration expense they more often than not simply go out of keeping hippos, even though much more suitable, less expensive, and still very attractive exhibits are possible - though it takes creativity and willingness to try a different approach. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo deserves praise for that!

My only complaint (more of a nit-picking really) is that the lemurs don't really belong in a hippo exhibit. Guenons, mangabeys, or colobus would be more appropriate... Also it would be interesting to see how warthogs mix.
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Second on putting guenons in there! (Blue monkeys might fit as well as they come from Tanzania). I'd honestly rather they switched the warthogs with the red river hogs, though it also depends on whether or not they are replicating a savanna or a riverine environment. Would dik diks or sitatunga be a good fit as well?
 
zoo_enthusiast said:
My only complaint (more of a nit-picking really) is that the lemurs don't really belong in a hippo exhibit. Guenons, mangabeys, or colobus would be more appropriate... Also it would be interesting to see how warthogs mix.
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Wyman said:
Second on putting guenons in there! (Blue monkeys might fit as well as they come from Tanzania). I'd honestly rather they switched the warthogs with the red river hogs, though it also depends on whether or not they are replicating a savanna or a riverine environment. Would dik diks or sitatunga be a good fit as well?
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I agree that lemurs are an odd choice but will say that other primate species were considered before going with lemurs. CMZ often has species that don’t fit necessarily with the exact biome or region in their different areas (okapi and colobus monkeys in African Rift Valley, American alligators and Matschie’s tree kangaroo in Australia Walkabout, etc.). For the zoo overall they want to commit to a message with their exhibits and if that can be done with a species that might not fit the specific region exactly, that’s ok. For Water’s Edge the main concept and theme is water conservation and the different ways animals and people use water. I believe They went with lemurs as a way to tie in the island of Madagascar and how islands are surrounded by water. Although I doubt this was the intention, there was until relatively recently a species of hippo that did live on Madagascar.

In the early planning phase, gazelle and storks were going to be the species that were mixed with the hippos. I think for animal safety they went away from fragile hoofstock and non-flighted birds and went with warthogs which are fast but also sturdy in case the hippos are not pleased with them. Red river hogs already are exhibited in the African Rift Valley exhibit.
 
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