Last week I had the chance to visit the Detroit Zoo. This is definitely one of the best zoos I've visited and I have decided to post a review about it.
I had the good fortune of visiting on a day where the temperature was in the mid-70s so the animals were pretty active.
At the entrance to the Detroit Zoo is the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery. The first part of this contains several different photographs describing human-caused challenges. In a room off the left is sphere with an animated graphic describing climates and particularly climate change. The next room you enter is a butterfly garden containing several species of butterflies as well as some songbirds that I did not see signage for. This is located in a building that was built in 1927 and is likely one of the original zoo buildings, which adds to the appeal. In the next room is a sizeable free flight aviary. I don't remember all the bird species there but I do remember several scarlet ibises. This one was well-planted with tropical foliage and had plenty of places for birds to land. The Penguinarium is next to this aviary but I will describe it at the end of the review as it was the last place we visited.
After leaving the aviary there is a nice river otter exhibit with indoor underwater viewing and the otters are outdoors. For those of you that are familiar, it was a set up like the Gorilla Forest in Omaha with the animals outdoors and visitor indoors. This exhibit had lots of interpretive signs describing wetlands. Next to this is a beaver habitat with underwater viewing and trout living in the pond. We did not see the beavers. The food stand near there serves some French fries they call "baked potato fries" which are French fries served with sour cream, cheese, and bacon. Definitely worth it. Adjacent to the beaver exhibit is a boardwalk that goes over a wetland habitat. In the wetland habitat there were wild mallards, Canada geese, painted turtles, snapping turtles, and even a family of wood ducks.
Next to the wetland boardwalk is the reptile house. This is a small building built in 1960 that has the typical gallery setup in most reptiles houses. The center of it contained Siamese crocodiles, Chinese alligators, a caimen species I can't remember, and some large river turtles that I believe were from South America. There was also a matamata in one and this was the first time I had seen one of them. Koi were in with the big turtles, I'm guessing for food. Reptiles I remember from there were forest cobra, reticulated python, eastern Massauga rattlesnake, gila monster, chuckwalla, star tortoise, Aruba rattlesnake, and several others that I can't think of right now. The reptiles all seemed to be pretty well cared for although I like the geographic approach more than taxonomic. I also appreciated them using their old buildings that were still good.
After leaving the reptile house you come to an open area that contains a beautiful fountain built in the late 1930s. The historical aspect of this zoo is something I found interesting. The fountain has bears in the center and seals on either end. The only exhibit I did not care for was in this section. There was a paddock containing several species of African vultures. I am not a fan of wing-clipped birds in general, but especially vultures. The exhibits are so unsightly with the droppings all over where the birds sit. The other paddock contained a curious mix of species in the area labeled on the map as "Asian Forest." There was a big herd of fallow deer, a lone white-lipped deer doe, a pair of Mongolian wild horses, and a pair of Bactrian camels with a three month old foal. A volunteer was there holding camel hair for visitors to touch. Although it was a strange mix, the animals had lots of space and strangely, the camels stuck to their sand patches even though they had room to roam.
One nice thing about this zoo is that there are several pathways you can take and so traffic keeps moving. We decided to go to the South American section next. In this section there is a spacious paddock with guanaco (first time I had seen them), greater rhea, crested screamer, Chilean flamingo, and curiously, more fallow deer. This zoo likes fallow deer for some reason. This paddock was only does. Like the previously described paddock (and all others in the zoo) these animals had ample space.
The next area is a small animal area and has no theme with the species except that they are small animals. There were separate enclosures for wolverine (which was hiding in a cave), Chilean pudu, giant anteaters (which were very active, including one that stuck out its tongue several times), binturong, and a tree kangaroo that had a very tall tree to climb. The kangaroo was probably about 20 feet up in the tree. I do wonder where this kangaroo goes in the winter.
We took the pathway to the Australian Outback area next. This goes along the Arctic Ring of Life exhibit although does not provide an entrance. I was able to glimpse the polar bears from their vantage point on the walk. We got near the Pierson Lake area of the zoo and found a wood duck duckling that had crawled under the fence and been separated from its mother. After herding this duckling into an opening in the fence (I think these were wild ducks and not actually on display) we then looked at the brown and black bears. These bears are in grottos, however they have plenty of climbing areas and natural substrate, as well as pools. The bears were all active. One grotto stated the bear was a Syrian brown bear. We then went into the Australian Outback area. This exhibit is a trail with red kangaroos and Parma wallabies running loose. The visitor stays on the trail and the marsupials have free range, although the visitor has to keep their distance. A volunteer was present with a kangaroo hide for the visitors to touch. This exhibit also contains a lone emu in a fenced off area. The keeper at the door to the exhibit said they had a brother and sister pair of emus and they fought so only one was out at a time.
After Australian Outback we skimmed over the North American section as both of us had been to Yellowtone and Grand Teton and so had seen these animals in the wild. The North American Grasslands section has a large enclosure for bison, a medium sized elk enclosure (elk were not visible) and a prairie dog town with the obligatory viewing bubbles. There was also and open exhibit containing two permanently injured bald eagles. Leading down the path is the farm area which we skipped. We then crossed one of the pathways to the African Savannah area, getting another view of the bear grottos.
The savannah area has numerous large enclosures and a decent hoofstock collection. Near the bears is a nice habitat for aardvarks which did not make an appearance. There is also a pair of reticulated giraffes in the habitat complete with a feeding deck. The giraffe exhibit is spacious but has a very strange theme. It has Egyptian hieroglyphics on the walls and statues of a king and queen seated. It looks like a very old building, maybe someone on here knows the history of it. The aardvark building has hieroglyphics as well. Next to the giraffes are spacious paddocks for Grevy's zebras, ostriches, and warthogs. The warthog exhibit had a sow with three piglets that were very active. Across from the warthogs is a paddock with white rhinos. Apparently this is where the elephants were kept. The zoo made a good decision to ship out its elephants as the enclosure is too small. Also Asian elephants were out of place in the African area. There is a plaque describing the zoo's decision to do away with their elephant exhibit. Across from the rhino exhibit is a paddock containing eland, kudu, and, curiously, fallow deer. As I said before, this zoo does like fallow deer. Another area near the eland, kudu, and fallow deer paddock contains African birds like greater flamingos, saddle billed storks, crowned cranes, and pink-backed pelicans. The sign also said there were crested porcupines but they were not visible. A smoking area is near this and for some reason a lot of the zoos free roaming peafowl hung out there, including several peahens with their chicks. The last three exhibits in the Africa area were snow monkeys in a nice habitat but it seemed that it should have been a baboon enclosure instead with the rockwork and Africa theming. Even so, the snow monkeys had a great enclosure with plenty of water. They are also tolerant of Detroit's harsh winters. A pair of lions resided in the neighboring enclosure that was mostly glass in the front. The lions had lots of space and rockwork to climb on.
The African Forest area has an exhibit called Great Apes of Harambee. In the building there are windows for viewing chimpanzees and gorillas while they are indoors or out. I assume this is also for winter viewing and both the gorillas and the chimps have enormous indoor habitats with lots of climbing structures. The chimps were inside and there was also a window to view the drills while they were outside. One big male drill made an appearance. The drills did not have indoor habitats that could be viewed. My only gripe on this particular day was that there was no keeper in the building. A VERY loud and rude group of school kids was in there and aside from the racket they made there were kids banging on the windows of the chimp habitat. The outside enclosures for chimps and gorillas are both enormous and although there are plenty of viewing areas, the gorillas were nowhere to be seen. The zoo map states that gorillas and chimps could be in either habitat so I assume this is a rotation exhibit.
The last part of the zoo is the Asian Forest area. This area has a spacious outdoor exhibit for lion-tailed macaque (including one missing part of its tail) a big exhibit with a very active Amur tiger, and an enclosure for a red panda. The red panda had some tall trees and was asleep about 20 feet up in a maple.
After leaving this area we visited the exhibit the zoo is probably most famous for; the Arctic Ring of Life. This is the famed polar bear exhibit. The exhibit can only be entered in one area. The exhibit contains numerous simulations of Inuit architecture. The first animal exhibit contains arctic fox. Their enclosure is well-planted and the foxes were not able to be viewed. The pathway has views into the tundra area where the bears can be seen, although they were not here. I am not sure if they are rotated into this exhibit or always have access. The next section of the Ring of Life is an underwater tunnel resembling ice floes. The polar bears can swim in this area and can be seen underwater. In an area seemingly connected, is underwater viewing for ringed seals. The seals were active today and swam all around the simulated ice floes. The seals had above water viewing as well. The above ground area contains an elevated ice floe simulation that houses the polar bears. This can be seen in other areas of the zoo. The bears were not here as well. The last part of the Ring of Life contains what looks like an Arctic explorer's base with lockers and coats. There is a window with underwater viewing for the polar bears. In this area is also a thermal imaging screen there you can stand in front of a camera.
The last part of the zoo we visited was the Amphibiville section that housed numerous species of amphibians in the typical gallery walk that most reptile and amphibian houses seem to be. It is adjacent to the wetland boardwalk and has windows to view under the water. A mallard hen was feeding in this area.
The last exhibit we viewed was the Penguinarium. This is an outdated building from the 60s. It is an indoor habitat for king, rockhopper, and macaroni penguins. The birds have plenty of space but the exhibit is a bit dark and the penguin habitat looks like a gravel pit surrounded by water. According to the map they are planning on building a different penguin habitat.
The Detroit Zoo is a zoo I think is a great zoo. There are no exhibits that are too small for the animals and it is evident they are well cared for. While I always like to see more hoofstock, I understand space is limited. I do think this zoo could also exhibit some more cold weather species as this does get severe winters and I can imagine there are days where many animals are not able to be on display. I also really enjoyed seeing the old buildings. This zoo would be enjoyable for a history buff. I highly recommend anyone who visits Detroit pays this zoo a visit.
I had the good fortune of visiting on a day where the temperature was in the mid-70s so the animals were pretty active.
At the entrance to the Detroit Zoo is the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery. The first part of this contains several different photographs describing human-caused challenges. In a room off the left is sphere with an animated graphic describing climates and particularly climate change. The next room you enter is a butterfly garden containing several species of butterflies as well as some songbirds that I did not see signage for. This is located in a building that was built in 1927 and is likely one of the original zoo buildings, which adds to the appeal. In the next room is a sizeable free flight aviary. I don't remember all the bird species there but I do remember several scarlet ibises. This one was well-planted with tropical foliage and had plenty of places for birds to land. The Penguinarium is next to this aviary but I will describe it at the end of the review as it was the last place we visited.
After leaving the aviary there is a nice river otter exhibit with indoor underwater viewing and the otters are outdoors. For those of you that are familiar, it was a set up like the Gorilla Forest in Omaha with the animals outdoors and visitor indoors. This exhibit had lots of interpretive signs describing wetlands. Next to this is a beaver habitat with underwater viewing and trout living in the pond. We did not see the beavers. The food stand near there serves some French fries they call "baked potato fries" which are French fries served with sour cream, cheese, and bacon. Definitely worth it. Adjacent to the beaver exhibit is a boardwalk that goes over a wetland habitat. In the wetland habitat there were wild mallards, Canada geese, painted turtles, snapping turtles, and even a family of wood ducks.
Next to the wetland boardwalk is the reptile house. This is a small building built in 1960 that has the typical gallery setup in most reptiles houses. The center of it contained Siamese crocodiles, Chinese alligators, a caimen species I can't remember, and some large river turtles that I believe were from South America. There was also a matamata in one and this was the first time I had seen one of them. Koi were in with the big turtles, I'm guessing for food. Reptiles I remember from there were forest cobra, reticulated python, eastern Massauga rattlesnake, gila monster, chuckwalla, star tortoise, Aruba rattlesnake, and several others that I can't think of right now. The reptiles all seemed to be pretty well cared for although I like the geographic approach more than taxonomic. I also appreciated them using their old buildings that were still good.
After leaving the reptile house you come to an open area that contains a beautiful fountain built in the late 1930s. The historical aspect of this zoo is something I found interesting. The fountain has bears in the center and seals on either end. The only exhibit I did not care for was in this section. There was a paddock containing several species of African vultures. I am not a fan of wing-clipped birds in general, but especially vultures. The exhibits are so unsightly with the droppings all over where the birds sit. The other paddock contained a curious mix of species in the area labeled on the map as "Asian Forest." There was a big herd of fallow deer, a lone white-lipped deer doe, a pair of Mongolian wild horses, and a pair of Bactrian camels with a three month old foal. A volunteer was there holding camel hair for visitors to touch. Although it was a strange mix, the animals had lots of space and strangely, the camels stuck to their sand patches even though they had room to roam.
One nice thing about this zoo is that there are several pathways you can take and so traffic keeps moving. We decided to go to the South American section next. In this section there is a spacious paddock with guanaco (first time I had seen them), greater rhea, crested screamer, Chilean flamingo, and curiously, more fallow deer. This zoo likes fallow deer for some reason. This paddock was only does. Like the previously described paddock (and all others in the zoo) these animals had ample space.
The next area is a small animal area and has no theme with the species except that they are small animals. There were separate enclosures for wolverine (which was hiding in a cave), Chilean pudu, giant anteaters (which were very active, including one that stuck out its tongue several times), binturong, and a tree kangaroo that had a very tall tree to climb. The kangaroo was probably about 20 feet up in the tree. I do wonder where this kangaroo goes in the winter.
We took the pathway to the Australian Outback area next. This goes along the Arctic Ring of Life exhibit although does not provide an entrance. I was able to glimpse the polar bears from their vantage point on the walk. We got near the Pierson Lake area of the zoo and found a wood duck duckling that had crawled under the fence and been separated from its mother. After herding this duckling into an opening in the fence (I think these were wild ducks and not actually on display) we then looked at the brown and black bears. These bears are in grottos, however they have plenty of climbing areas and natural substrate, as well as pools. The bears were all active. One grotto stated the bear was a Syrian brown bear. We then went into the Australian Outback area. This exhibit is a trail with red kangaroos and Parma wallabies running loose. The visitor stays on the trail and the marsupials have free range, although the visitor has to keep their distance. A volunteer was present with a kangaroo hide for the visitors to touch. This exhibit also contains a lone emu in a fenced off area. The keeper at the door to the exhibit said they had a brother and sister pair of emus and they fought so only one was out at a time.
After Australian Outback we skimmed over the North American section as both of us had been to Yellowtone and Grand Teton and so had seen these animals in the wild. The North American Grasslands section has a large enclosure for bison, a medium sized elk enclosure (elk were not visible) and a prairie dog town with the obligatory viewing bubbles. There was also and open exhibit containing two permanently injured bald eagles. Leading down the path is the farm area which we skipped. We then crossed one of the pathways to the African Savannah area, getting another view of the bear grottos.
The savannah area has numerous large enclosures and a decent hoofstock collection. Near the bears is a nice habitat for aardvarks which did not make an appearance. There is also a pair of reticulated giraffes in the habitat complete with a feeding deck. The giraffe exhibit is spacious but has a very strange theme. It has Egyptian hieroglyphics on the walls and statues of a king and queen seated. It looks like a very old building, maybe someone on here knows the history of it. The aardvark building has hieroglyphics as well. Next to the giraffes are spacious paddocks for Grevy's zebras, ostriches, and warthogs. The warthog exhibit had a sow with three piglets that were very active. Across from the warthogs is a paddock with white rhinos. Apparently this is where the elephants were kept. The zoo made a good decision to ship out its elephants as the enclosure is too small. Also Asian elephants were out of place in the African area. There is a plaque describing the zoo's decision to do away with their elephant exhibit. Across from the rhino exhibit is a paddock containing eland, kudu, and, curiously, fallow deer. As I said before, this zoo does like fallow deer. Another area near the eland, kudu, and fallow deer paddock contains African birds like greater flamingos, saddle billed storks, crowned cranes, and pink-backed pelicans. The sign also said there were crested porcupines but they were not visible. A smoking area is near this and for some reason a lot of the zoos free roaming peafowl hung out there, including several peahens with their chicks. The last three exhibits in the Africa area were snow monkeys in a nice habitat but it seemed that it should have been a baboon enclosure instead with the rockwork and Africa theming. Even so, the snow monkeys had a great enclosure with plenty of water. They are also tolerant of Detroit's harsh winters. A pair of lions resided in the neighboring enclosure that was mostly glass in the front. The lions had lots of space and rockwork to climb on.
The African Forest area has an exhibit called Great Apes of Harambee. In the building there are windows for viewing chimpanzees and gorillas while they are indoors or out. I assume this is also for winter viewing and both the gorillas and the chimps have enormous indoor habitats with lots of climbing structures. The chimps were inside and there was also a window to view the drills while they were outside. One big male drill made an appearance. The drills did not have indoor habitats that could be viewed. My only gripe on this particular day was that there was no keeper in the building. A VERY loud and rude group of school kids was in there and aside from the racket they made there were kids banging on the windows of the chimp habitat. The outside enclosures for chimps and gorillas are both enormous and although there are plenty of viewing areas, the gorillas were nowhere to be seen. The zoo map states that gorillas and chimps could be in either habitat so I assume this is a rotation exhibit.
The last part of the zoo is the Asian Forest area. This area has a spacious outdoor exhibit for lion-tailed macaque (including one missing part of its tail) a big exhibit with a very active Amur tiger, and an enclosure for a red panda. The red panda had some tall trees and was asleep about 20 feet up in a maple.
After leaving this area we visited the exhibit the zoo is probably most famous for; the Arctic Ring of Life. This is the famed polar bear exhibit. The exhibit can only be entered in one area. The exhibit contains numerous simulations of Inuit architecture. The first animal exhibit contains arctic fox. Their enclosure is well-planted and the foxes were not able to be viewed. The pathway has views into the tundra area where the bears can be seen, although they were not here. I am not sure if they are rotated into this exhibit or always have access. The next section of the Ring of Life is an underwater tunnel resembling ice floes. The polar bears can swim in this area and can be seen underwater. In an area seemingly connected, is underwater viewing for ringed seals. The seals were active today and swam all around the simulated ice floes. The seals had above water viewing as well. The above ground area contains an elevated ice floe simulation that houses the polar bears. This can be seen in other areas of the zoo. The bears were not here as well. The last part of the Ring of Life contains what looks like an Arctic explorer's base with lockers and coats. There is a window with underwater viewing for the polar bears. In this area is also a thermal imaging screen there you can stand in front of a camera.
The last part of the zoo we visited was the Amphibiville section that housed numerous species of amphibians in the typical gallery walk that most reptile and amphibian houses seem to be. It is adjacent to the wetland boardwalk and has windows to view under the water. A mallard hen was feeding in this area.
The last exhibit we viewed was the Penguinarium. This is an outdated building from the 60s. It is an indoor habitat for king, rockhopper, and macaroni penguins. The birds have plenty of space but the exhibit is a bit dark and the penguin habitat looks like a gravel pit surrounded by water. According to the map they are planning on building a different penguin habitat.
The Detroit Zoo is a zoo I think is a great zoo. There are no exhibits that are too small for the animals and it is evident they are well cared for. While I always like to see more hoofstock, I understand space is limited. I do think this zoo could also exhibit some more cold weather species as this does get severe winters and I can imagine there are days where many animals are not able to be on display. I also really enjoyed seeing the old buildings. This zoo would be enjoyable for a history buff. I highly recommend anyone who visits Detroit pays this zoo a visit.
