Detroit Zoo Detroit Zoo Full Species List August 2019

birdsandbats said:
I didn't see the Polar Bear. The volunteer stationed there said that the Polar Bear is rarely seen. What use is a great exhibit if you never actually see the animal? Detroit has the same issue with the Aardvark exhibit.
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Volunteers are generally not the most knowledgeable individuals, and often get facts confused in my experience. On my visit I saw three active polar bears as well as an aardvark (which was sleeping) and really such sightings are probably circumstantial. You visited during one of the hottest parts of the year, even people don’t like to be outside at these temps.

And a great enclosure should be constructed whether the public can see it or not. Yes, seeing the animals is an integral part of the zoo-visiting experience. Zoos must not just cater to the visitors, but the animals themselves, and having large and enriching habitats is of course a fundamental part of that. Sure, the views of animals may not always be amazing - but as mentioned, it is conditional, and everyone has different experiences. It shouldn’t degrade your opinion of the zoo.
 
jayjds2 said:
Volunteers are generally not the most knowledgeable individuals, and often get facts confused in my experience. On my visit I saw three active polar bears as well as an aardvark (which was sleeping) and really such sightings are probably circumstantial. You visited during one of the hottest parts of the year, even people don’t like to be outside at these temps.

And a great enclosure should be constructed whether the public can see it or not. Yes, seeing the animals is an integral part of the zoo-visiting experience. Zoos must not just cater to the visitors, but the animals themselves, and having large and enriching habitats is of course a fundamental part of that. Sure, the views of animals may not always be amazing - but as mentioned, it is conditional, and everyone has different experiences. It shouldn’t degrade your opinion of the zoo.
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Usually zoo volunteers are not very knowledgeable, but Detroit is the exception. Every volunteer I met knew a lot about animals, I expect they were just as knowledgeable as some of us.

I think that if the animal rarely comes out, it is a fault of the exhibit - you've created a situation where the animal doesn't want to come out! In a good exhibit, the animal would want to come out and be active. It didn't really degrade the opinion of the zoo that much in this case. However, I do believe that this kind of thing should be able to, in some situations, change you opinion on a zoo. I believe that the role of the modern zoo is to help the public feel closer to wildlife by helping them understand and respect the animals they see. Forcing the visitor to have too look for the animal can be great exhibit design if it helps the public do this - especially when it comes to species like birds and reptiles. But looking for an animal you probably won't see because it spends too much time bts - especially one that is often popular with the public, like Polar Bears or wolves - often isn't the choise IMO.
 
birdsandbats said:
Usually zoo volunteers are not very knowledgeable, but Detroit is the exception. Every volunteer I met knew a lot about animals, I expect they were just as knowledgeable as some of us.

I think that if the animal rarely comes out, it is a fault of the exhibit - you've created a situation where the animal doesn't want to come out! In a good exhibit, the animal would want to come out and be active. It didn't really degrade the opinion of the zoo that much in this case. However, I do believe that this kind of thing should be able to, in some situations, change you opinion on a zoo. I believe that the role of the modern zoo is to help the public feel closer to wildlife by helping them understand and respect the animals they see. Forcing the visitor to have too look for the animal can be great exhibit design if it helps the public do this - especially when it comes to species like birds and reptiles. But looking for an animal you probably won't see because it spends too much time bts - especially one that is often popular with the public, like Polar Bears or wolves - often isn't the choise IMO.
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Not sure what volunteers you found - one I talked to didn’t even know there were two species of seal on exhibit. And again, you visited during a bad time for bear-spotting. I don’t know anybody else who’s had trouble finding them.
 
jayjds2 said:
Not sure what volunteers you found - one I talked to didn’t even know there were two species of seal on exhibit. And again, you visited during a bad time for bear-spotting. I don’t know anybody else who’s had trouble finding them.
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One volunteer I met actually told me when I asked him that they had 2 Gray and one Harbor Seal. Other ones I came across told me everything that has happened to the prairie dogs in the past several years, and the favorite hiding places of every amphibian in the ACC.
 
I know that they used to have black-and-white-ruffed lemurs with the ring-tails until a couple years ago. What happened to them?
 
dcamp023 said:
They haven’t returned the king brown snake yet?
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I haven't seen the king brown snake my last couple of visits--I live within walking distance and I hit the zoo once a month or so. I don't know if it died or is just off exhibit.
 
dcamp023 said:
They haven’t returned the king brown snake yet?
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I go about once a month and I haven't seen it for a long time. I don't know whether it died, is off exhibit, or was sent elsewhere.

The zoo got it because some idiot was keeping it as a pet in a Detroit suburb although at the time there was no antivenin for its bite in the western hemisphere. The guy said well, he was being careful and all I could think was people say they're careful and yet the maternity wards are full.

I've occasionally seen aardvarks but I have never seen a beaver.
 
Alex Bensky said:
I go about once a month and I haven't seen it for a long time. I don't know whether it died, is off exhibit, or was sent elsewhere.
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It was mentioned in one of the other Detroit Zoo threads that it was transferred to Omaha a few years ago.
 
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