Echobeast’s Summer 2019 Zoo Trip

Echobeast

Echobeast

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Hello friends,

Ever since I joined this forum more than two years ago, I’ve envied those who could travel the country and see the great zoos that I read about everyday here. The past two years, I have been able to finally see amazing facilities such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Saint Louis, and Cleveland. These were some of my first major zoos I’ve visited outside Colorado and I had a massive blast seeing them. Now, I’ve finally made the time and taken a week off of work to travel east and see six major institutions. Only one of which I’ve been to before. This is my first major zoo focused trip and I am looking forward to sharing the experience here.

The six facilities I plan on visiting are:

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
The only place that I have been to before this trip, but also the one I am most excited to see. I visited the Henry Doorly Zoo three summers ago in 2016. This was right after the amazing African Grasslands complex opened up so I am excited to see how that area looks today after 3 summers worth of growth. Amazingly, TWO brand new exhibits have been constructed since my last visit (three if you count both phases of Asian Highlands) which is insane compared to how long it takes to open up one new exhibit of similar costs at my home zoos.

Blank Park Zoo
After spending a day in Omaha (wish I could spend two), I am traveling further east towards Chicago. This was a late addition to my plan but I pass right through Des Moines and the zoo seems like it can be done in a few hours so I added it to my travel day. This zoo has multiple animals that I want to see including Japanese macaques, Aldabra tortoises, and a brand new baby black rhino calf.

Brookfield Zoo
I hear so much about Brookfield Zoo both on this site and from my family who are from the Chicago area. I am hoping that I will be able to see most of this place, especially the indoor exhibits but I will have family from the area joining me on this visit so I may have to pick and choose my priorities. If anyone has suggestions as to which exhibits are a must see, please let me know.

Shedd Aquarium
A close second only to Omaha in terms of how excited I am to visit is Shedd. I haven't been to many aquariums and the only major stand alone one I have been to is the Downtown Aquarium in Denver which isn't super exciting to me as they have not added any new expansions since I was a kid and it was still called Ocean Journey. Now I get to see what a real modern aquarium is like and I plan on seeing everything here.

Milwaukee County Zoo
Another one I hear a lot about. Mostly due to the amazing reviews from multiple members here that visit often. I'm glad that I am visiting after the new elephant complex is open. I am also a fan of old school zoo architecture and I hear Milwaukee has a lot.

Lincoln Park Zoo
My last zoo of the trip, I wanted to add Lincoln Park as its a smaller zoo like Blank Park (coincidentally another zoo with a new baby black rhino calf) and I can probably do it in a few hours before I start my long trip home.

I leave for Omaha on June 25. I'd like to post reviews of the zoos here when I am done.
 
This sounds awesome! I'm really jealous that you're going to Omaha, I've wanted to visit for a long time so it'll be interesting to hear about others thoughts on it. I've also been to Chicago fairly recently (around 6 months ago), so I could give you some tips on those places.
Echobeast said:
Brookfield Zoo
I hear so much about Brookfield Zoo both on this site and from my family who are from the Chicago area. I am hoping that I will be able to see most of this place, especially the indoor exhibits but I will have family from the area joining me on this visit so I may have to pick and choose my priorities. If anyone has suggestions as to which exhibits are a must see, please let me know.
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The absolute must-see exhibit at Brookfield is Habitat Africa! The Forest, it's a nice complex but the fact that they have African White-Bellied Pangolins makes it an absolute must see. The best time to see them is at 4 pm when they're fed, this is the only time they'll be guaranteed to be active. Other must see areas are TropicWorld and the Clouded Leopard Rainforest.
Echobeast said:
A close second only to Omaha in terms of how excited I am to visit is Shedd. I haven't been to many aquariums and the only major stand alone one I have been to is the Downtown Aquarium in Denver which isn't super exciting to me as they have not added any new expansions since I was a kid and it was still called Ocean Journey. Now I get to see what a real modern aquarium is like and I plan on seeing everything here.
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Shedd is a great aquarium, although it gets really busy so I'd advise seeing your top targets as quickly as possible. Amazon Rising is a great exhibit, but I'd assume your must-see species would be the Belugas and Pacific White-sided Dolphins, so I'd make a beeline for that area.
Echobeast said:
My last zoo of the trip, I wanted to add Lincoln Park as its a smaller zoo like Blank Park (coincidentally another zoo with a new baby black rhino calf) and I can probably do it in a few hours before I start my long trip home.
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Lincoln Park is a nice zoo, although you're correct in saying that it takes only a couple hours to fully visit. I'd advise combining it with a tour of Downtown Chicago, or maybe combining it with the Shedd, it's do-able but probably not ideal (you could alternatively combine the Shedd with the excellent, and close-by Field Museum)
 
TZDugong said:
This sounds awesome! I'm really jealous that you're going to Omaha, I've wanted to visit for a long time so it'll be interesting to hear about others thoughts on it. I've also been to Chicago fairly recently (around 6 months ago), so I could give you some tips on those places.

The absolute must-see exhibit at Brookfield is Habitat Africa! The Forest, it's a nice complex but the fact that they have African White-Bellied Pangolins makes it an absolute must see. The best time to see them is at 4 pm when they're fed, this is the only time they'll be guaranteed to be active. Other must see areas are TropicWorld and the Clouded Leopard Rainforest.

Shedd is a great aquarium, although it gets really busy so I'd advise seeing your top targets as quickly as possible. Amazon Rising is a great exhibit, but I'd assume your must-see species would be the Belugas and Pacific White-sided Dolphins, so I'd make a beeline for that area.

Lincoln Park is a nice zoo, although you're correct in saying that it takes only a couple hours to fully visit. I'd advise combining it with a tour of Downtown Chicago, or maybe combining it with the Shedd, it's do-able but probably not ideal (you could alternatively combine the Shedd with the excellent, and close-by Field Museum)
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Thanks so much! This advice is great!
 
I visit Chicago often, and I must say Shedd and Lincoln Park in the same day is not the way to go. If you want to see all that Shedd has to offer, I would spend a whole day here. This will allow you take a few minutes to admire each well-done, colorful tank and all of its inhabitants. The best sections are Caribbean Reef, the Oceanarium, Underwater Beauty, Wild Reef, and Amazon Rising, but the whole place is truly great.

As for what to do on the same day as Lincoln Park, a tour of downtown Chicago isn't a bad idea. The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a small but enjoyable zoo with a large reptile, fish, and invert collection as well as a very impressive taxidermy bird collection. It is within walking distance from LPZ.

Alternatively, if you are into wildlife watching, Lincoln Park is great for birding. There is a wetland boardwalk within the zoo that has just about the best birding within Cook County. On S Ave M in Chicago (off E 100th St) there is a view of underneath the Chicago Skyway, where a large colony of Monk Parakeets live. If you are okay with getting up early, you can see the parakeets, then head over to Brookfield.

The Field Museum is a truly amazing natural history museum, with very impressive fossil and taxidermy collections, among other things. I highly recommend a visit. If you are interested in seeing the fossil and taxidermy collections alone you could spend close to a day here. You could maybe squeeze that in with LPZ but it would be a tight fit.


As for Milwaukee, I have one tip. Make sure the aviary is either the first or second thing you do. If you wait any longer, the birds won't be very active and you be able to see any of them.
 
Echobeast said:
Hello friends,

Brookfield Zoo
I hear so much about Brookfield Zoo both on this site and from my family who are from the Chicago area. I am hoping that I will be able to see most of this place, especially the indoor exhibits but I will have family from the area joining me on this visit so I may have to pick and choose my priorities. If anyone has suggestions as to which exhibits are a must see, please let me know.
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I'd say if your on a time crunch you can skip the two "Hamill Family" attractions. They cost an extra fee and contain relatively common species. The dolphin show can also be missed if time does not allow. Great Bear Wilderness, Habitat Africa, The Swamp, The Living Coast and Tropic World are certainly the key exhibit areas. Have a nice trip, I look forward for your thoughts.
 
I look forward to reading about your adventures and by commenting on this thread it will ensure a steady supply of zoo reviews hitting my email inbox. :)

A few bits n' bobs:

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium - Obviously one that you know about due to your 2016 visit and this beauty of a zoo will take a long time to tour. On the same day that you started this thread, fellow ZooChatter @Giant Eland who has visited more than 230 zoos in 35 countries, mentioned that Omaha is one of the best zoos that he's ever seen. It didn't make his Top 5, but anyone who visits Omaha realizes that it has become one of the world's great zoos with changes happening so fast it makes one's head spin.

Blank Park Zoo - This zoo can easily be seen in two hours, which means a 9-11 a.m. visit would be sufficient and then you could tag on another zoo in the afternoon! One option would be the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium (also in Iowa but several hours away) or any number of smaller zoos in the state of Illinois.

Brookfield Zoo - A large zoo that takes at least 6 hours to tour, which automatically makes it a worthwhile experience, but there is still the 'ugh' factor of seeing dolphins in an outdated concrete stadium and great apes within all-indoor enclosures. There is some good stuff here (The Swamp, Australia House, wolves, large animal collection) amidst the relics.

Shedd Aquarium - Here's an interesting statistic: 1,500 species is how many are at Shedd Aquarium, including the myriad behind-the-scenes tanks. Only Berlin Zoo reaches that total anywhere on the planet. Georgia Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium combined do not have the diversity of fauna on display as what can be seen at Shedd...plus the exhibits are amazing.

Milwaukee County Zoo - A zoo that I've always been lukewarm towards, as most of it was built more than 40 years ago and there is Hagenbeck-styled rockwork and smallish enclosures all over the place. However, the collection is large (almost 400 species) and the many animal houses are interesting.

Lincoln Park Zoo - Polar bears, penguins and Japanese Macaques have all been added in recent years, making this zoo a place of innovation and progress. Even the 1912 Lion House is getting a makeover!

Have fun and enjoy your trip!
 
snowleopard said:
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium - Obviously one that you know about due to your 2016 visit and this beauty of a zoo will take a long time to tour. On the same day that you started this thread, fellow ZooChatter @Giant Eland who has visited more than 230 zoos in 35 countries, mentioned that Omaha is one of the best zoos that he's ever seen. It didn't make his Top 5, but anyone who visits Omaha realizes that it has become one of the world's great zoos with changes happening so fast it makes one's head spin.
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Indeed, it barely missed my top 5! But that's only because it's being put against other zoos across the world. It would definitely be #3 in my USA top 5. I'll never forget the first time I visited- the snow was so bad that schools in the area were closed. I was quite worried on my way to the zoo, but once I got there I was able to spend the majority of the time inside the many incredible indoor exhibits- shielded from the weather. There is nothing quite like walking from knee high snow into a lush tropical rain-forest or a calm arid desert in a matter of seconds.
 
pachyderm pro said:
I'd say if your on a time crunch you can skip the two "Hamill Family" attractions. They cost an extra fee and contain relatively common species. The dolphin show can also be missed if time does not allow. Great Bear Wilderness, Habitat Africa, The Swamp, The Living Coast and Tropic World are certainly the key exhibit areas. Have a nice trip, I look forward for your thoughts.
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Mostly common, but also Screaming Hairy Amadillos. ;):p

On Fridays and Saturdays, Brookfield hosts concerts that go past the zoo's closing. Because of this, parts of the zoo stay open a couple hours more. If you choose to visit the two Hamill Family portions (as PP noted they are not that important) you will have to go on one of these days and carefully plan your visit in order to see it all. If not, normal hours should be fine, as long as you get there at opening.
 
I’m typing this in my motel bed after my long travel day. I left my home in Colorado at a little before 8am MT and arrived in Omaha around 5:30pm CT. Around 8 1/2 hours through nothing but grasslands. I couldn’t see the mountains anymore after only about 30mins of driving. Really the only geographical feature I could see for the next 8 hours was the curve of the Earth as little towns and grain silos kept suddenly appearing out of nowhere. I did see quite a bit of wildlife on my drive. I saw plenty of pronghorn when I was in eastern Colorado. I saw two large turkey vultures on separate occasions being harassed by small unidentified birds. Loads of red-wing blackbirds in Kansas and Nebraska. I also saw 3 roadkill skunks and 2 does. One thing that made me literally laugh out loud was a large NFL logo on the side of a warehouse in Kansas with a big circle with a slash over it. I guess football and politics mean a lot to the locals. Tomorrow, I’m planning on getting to the zoo around 30 mins before opening just so I can beat the rush. The high is supposed to be 94F tomorrow so I want to get to Asian Highlands first as I highly doubt those animals will want to make an appearance later that day. With plenty of indoor exhibits, I’ll have plenty of relief from the sun. Hopefully the crowds won’t be too bad but I’m not holding my breath with the College World Series in town. Funnily enough, my Facebook reminded me a couple days ago that my trip to this zoo 3 years ago occurred on the same week. I’ll try and update tomorrow night when I’m done as I’m spending the night here again before traveling towards Chicago on Thursday.
 
First zoo is conquered. Omaha definitely has improved since the last time I was there and looks to be even better in the future. I’ll go through my thoughts on the exhibits as I visited them.

It was thunder storming when I arrived this morning which was odd for me to comprehend. Being from Colorado, I’m only used to having thunderstorms in the afternoons and perfect weather in the mornings. It was the opposite today so my exhibit order went a bit different than I planned last night.

Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Pavilion

I went here first to avoid the rain. I’d probably spend more time here if I was a parent with kids but the exhibits were very well set up and there was a good variety of species. I even saw a couple snakes being fed. It was a good sampling of the quality left to come although I did notice throughout the day that many of these species are also exhibited elsewhere in the zoo. My favorite exhibit was the harvest mouse exhibit which looked like it had dozens of mice climbing and building nests. Every exhibit was above average at least which becomes the theme of the entire zoo as my visit continued.

Desert Dome

The rain hadn’t stopped quite yet at this point so I decided to head to the nearby Desert Dome. To my surprise, it wasn’t crowded with people avoiding the rain so I had a easy going time in here as well as the Kingdoms of the Night. I love this exhibit. The rock work is amazing (another theme), the immersion is outstanding (although the dome was leaking a bit). I’d say all the reptile exhibits are outstanding in quality with all being standard size or larger for the species (holy Western diamondback rattlesnake Batman). I think the free roaming birds also have it great with plenty of opportunities to avoid people if they want. The netted bird exhibits are above average and are appropriate for the species. They fit multiple species in almost all the bird exhibits and that really bumps up the species count compared to other zoos. Where the Desert Dome falls short is the mammal exhibits. I’d say most if not all the mammal exhibits fall around the smaller end in terms of space. This is rightly because the Dome is limited in size so multiple exhibits are placed in the rocks above the paths. The rock wallaby exhibit is neat to look at but all you’re really ever going to see of a wallaby in it is the top 2/3 of the animal. That particular exhibit is probably at the bare minimum in space for the species. The cat exhibits in the building are also on the small end but the perching and enrichment is appropriate for the species. Overall, this is a world class exhibit in terms of architecture and design and would be the best exhibit in nearly any other zoo but falls behind compared to this zoo’s other exhibits, especially to its neighbor downstairs...

Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night

I don’t remember liking this exhibit last time as much as I did this time. This is by far the best nocturnal exhibit I’ve ever been to and I don’t think there’s another one in the states that could rival it. There are a lot of species but I’ll name my highlights. It starts with an average naked mole rat and fossa exhibits but only gets better from there. The Africa (plus one sloth) exhibit had so much activity. Springhaas, pottos, aardvarks, and the sloth were all active and moving around. The South America exhibit was a bit less active but I still saw a prehensile-tailed porcupine, two night monkeys (first time seeing this species), and one of the three armadillo species moving around. The cave was spectacular. The pool with fish right at the beginning is one of the best designed exhibits I’ve seen. There are more bat species here than I’ve ever seen in another zoo. But the real highlight is the swamp. This is my favorite sub exhibit complex in the zoo (very hard for me to say that). The immersion is unmatched. The level of light is just enough to see the animals but also make you look hard for them. The beavers were active and swimming. They have a huge space with multiple fish in the same pool. I love how the netting over the alligator exhibits are themed to fishing nets. Overall, this exhibit is spectacular. The only exhibit I’d say was not great would be the dwarf caiman exhibit right before the swamp. The poor thing is as long as it’s pool and it’s not close to deep enough for him to submerge. I hope they remove that species and find a more appropriate species for that space. Other than that, Kingdoms of the Night is amazing and sits as my second favorite exhibit complex in the zoo.

Bay Family Children’s Adventure Trails

This is a very high quality exhibit and the investment in it shows. If I had kids, they’d probably spend hours here. I do wish that they would have more smaller exhibits in between the larger ones such as herps and invertebrates but all the animal spaces are high quality. The new budgie aviary is no longer an eyesore like the old one was. One thing that confuses me is why the zoo needed two goat contact yards? Especially when the one in African Grasslands is only 3 years old.

Asian Highlands

This exhibit in one word is quality. All the habitats are above average to excellent and the theming is amazing. I’d say phase two is better than phase one. The phase one exhibits are all above average but they aren’t much more than grassy yards with perching in the case of the red panda. The rhino/deer yard was extremely muddy which seemed to be an issue for all the zoo’s large hoofstock enclosures. But after you go under the train tracks, this exhibit jumps from good to crazy good. The takin/goral exhibit made me going “wow” out loud. The rock work of this exhibit is jaw dropping good. With crevasses, hidden areas, arches, a running stream, grassy areas in the back, this is the best exhibit in the complex. In a close second is the snow leopard exhibit. Similar rock work in a large netted exhibit. Unfortunately the tiger exhibit was empty but this exhibit continues the high quality theming. I’d like to see more trees here as Amur tigers are more forest adapted than mountain but I’d still call it one of he best tiger exhibits I’ve seen and a huge improvement over the old cat house. The sloth bear exhibit is the weakest of the phase two exhibits and just seems bare compared to the other exhibits. Still a great exhibit but I think if it had similar rock work to the takin exhibit, this would have been another excellent habitat added to this complex. Overall, Asian Highlands is another home run for Omaha.

Hubbard Expedition Madagascar

Overall this exhibit complex is above average. All the exhibits are good. I think many of the species could have used outdoor spaces but the indoor exhibits were all good. Where this exhibit shines isn’t immersion like Asian Highlands or Desert Dome but the amount of species which is apparently one of the largest collections of Malagasy species outside Madagascar according to the train driver.

Hubbard Gorilla Valley and Orangutan Forest

I’m going to group these together for time’s sake. These are both very high quality great ape habitats. Each have multiple spaces for their species in addition to multiple other primate, bird and mammal species. I had a nice conversation with a docent who was by the new baby gorilla who is being hand raised. Apparently both the baby’s mother and grandmother were hand raised. She also mentioned that when Gorilla Valley was being built, Simmons made sure that it would be designed to house multiple males together and has various designs that allow males to be housed together safely. I did like the guest sections of Gorilla Valley better than Orangutan Forest. The guest areas of Orangutan Forest are dark and looks like wall art and signage is just lower quality than its neighbor. The two outdoor orangutan exhibits are amazing.

Lied Jungle

Although it was built nearly 30 years ago, this exhibit is still the best exhibit complex in the zoo in my opinion. I love how you go around the whole building seeing everything from canopy level, literally have bats fly feet from you, explore three rainforests of the world and then go down and see everything from the floor level and soak up the immersion and all the details you missed the first time around. Some areas are showing their age such as the tapir and hippo exhibits which could be better. They did add some steps for the Malayan tapirs to go to the primate level of the habitat but it’s still on the small end. Baird’s tapirs seem to have left since 2016. The pygmy hippo was not in the exhibit where you could see it underwater which is actually a positive as that exhibit is way too small for it. All the herp habitats are high quality and well spaced throughout the building. The primate habitats are large vertically and provide lots of opportunities for the animals. I could go on but I think this review is going on long enough. Great exhibit even with its flaws.

Scott Aquarium

Even while under construction, this is a great aquarium. You are rerouted a bit but all exhibits are still viewable. The penguin and seabird exhibits are good. Penguins were super crowded with guests so I didn’t stay long. The highlight of the aquarium is the enormous shark reef tank. If you’re a big fish fan, this is a great exhibit for you. Overall, this aquarium wouldn’t be out of place as a stand alone aquarium. The fact that they are renovating it shows Omaha’s commitment to quality.

African Grasslands

Man I wish it hadn’t rained this morning. Both the giraffes and elephants were inside because their outdoor habitats were too muddy for them. Elephants did go out into their closest yard near the end of the day though. The kopje exhibits were above average but the views you get of the giraffe yard are amazing. That yard is grassy, with logs, tall trees, multiple species. Overall, my favorite giraffe exhibit I’ve seen. The rhinos are separated from the giraffes with a light fence. Elephants have a massive amount of space when they use it. Unfortunately, both times I’ve visited, I haven’t seen elephants in every yard. I was able to catch up to an elephant keeper I used to work with and had a good conversation with her. Immersion is great in this section with good rock work (give their rock work crew raises), amazing gardening and great building designs for the guests and animals. The section across the lagoon is great as well. The yards are spacious and a bit plain except for the lion habitat which has an amazing formation that the lions were happily napping on. They could probably see the whole zoo from there.

Oof. Sorry for the long post. I had a lot to say about a lot of things and I probably forgot a few things. Overall, I think this is an amazing zoo. It is improving at an unreal rate. Every year since 2016 some exhibit or part of one has opened up and that seems to be continuing with the upcoming sea lion exhibit which will replace the last outdated exhibit in the park and there are plans beyond that. This zoo rivals the very best in the country and is very close to being without issues. No zoo is perfect but Omaha has a pretty damn good zoo.
 
Yi Qi said:
Think you will be able squeeze other zoos between your options, Echo?
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Probably not. Squeezing 6 zoos in 7 days is quite a lot for my first dedicated zoo trip in my opinion.

I’m at a rest stop in Illinois right now. I’ll post my Blank Park Zoo review sometime this afternoon when I get to my final destination for the day.
 
After my insanely long Omaha review, I’m probably just going to highlight my thoughts on the major exhibits unless I have any specific thoughts on anything else.

Blank Park Zoo was a good break for me on another long travel day. I left Omaha at 6:30 and got to the zoo right at opening.

Discovery Center

I actually went into this exhibit after first going out and seeing the outdoor red panda exhibit which is really nice with lots of climbing opportunities and well themed platforms. This is a high quality entrance exhibit. After seeing the pandas outside, I went back into the entrance lobby and went into this odd cabin setup. There wasn’t much indication from signage that this was the entrance but that’s what it says on the map. You go through the cabin into this dimly lit open alpine area with a stream and fake snow. This leads to the red panda indoor viewing which had two pandas. After this, the path winds through caves, a free range bird aviary, and a small aquarium. Highlight exhibits include the golden-headed lion tamarin/ prehensile-tailed porcupine netted enclosure, a decent caiman exhibit, a large fruit bat exhibit and a very nice coral reef tank. The exhibit ends with an all indoor macaw exhibit and exits out to an average flamingo pool. This is a great small tropical/aquarium building. Perfect size for this zoo. It has great immersion and all the enclosures are adequate for the species. This is my second favorite exhibit at the zoo.

Australia Adventure

This is a above average Australia themed exhibit. It does more than most other zoos’ Australia exhibits but nothing super unique. The wallaby yard is enormous and the wallabies have lots of space to be away from people but a few did cross my path. There are a few generic aviaries with kookaburras and Eclectus parrots and a standard budgie feeding aviary and a corn snake tank for whatever reason. The path then leads to a decent size cassowary enclosure. I did not get a chance to see the new chick but there was a cassowary laying down. The last exhibit is a large netted aviary with frogmouths and other species of birds. Definitely the best looking aviary in the complex. This was a good Australia area. I do think adding some native reptile enclosures would do this area nicely.

After Australia Adventure, I walked over to the Aldabra tortoise enclosure and saw Barnaby, the zoo’s biggest tortoise and local celebrity. I’m a big tortoise guy and I love seeing giant tortoises. Especially since we don’t have any in Colorado. I then went through Kids’ Kingdom which is your average barn exhibit with goats, llamas, mini donkeys and other domestics.

Great Cats

This complex consists of three yards and two species, African lion and Amur tiger. The two large yards are decent and provide the cats with everything they need. The middle smaller yard is netted and has some nice rock work on the walls. Two female lions were in there and there were two males in the main yard that I could see. Amur tiger was not on exhibit (second day in a row!).

Right next to Great Cats is a large mesh Lar gibbon/cinereous vulture enclosure. A unique pairing but it works well and the two species kept to themselves. It was nice hearing gibbons sing from around the park and they drew a crowd when they did.

The sea lion/harbor seal habitat is pretty nice but otherwise generic. Same with the Magellanic penguins. Grassy spaces with a generic pool and waterfall. Ring-tailed lemurs have a decent netted exhibit. North American river otters could have it much better though. Their exhibit is like a concrete bowl with a couple waterfalls and two pools. There was a small group of kids in front of the underwater viewing but the available guest space is very limited so I couldn’t make my way through. One of really only a few exhibits that needs immediate improvement.

I walked back by the entrance towards the Africa section. There is a really nice Japanese macaque exhibit right in front of the entrance to Jamaa Kwa Africa. It’s large with some elevation changes, multiple guest vantage points, and lots of macaques doing macaque things. One of the better exhibits in the zoo.

Jamaa Kwa Africa

This complex to me is the best in the zoo. The exhibits are all large and the variety of species is very good for a zoo this size. Species include common eland, grey crowned cranes (with a chick), kori bustard, African spurred tortoise (although the signage had a picture of a leopard tortoise on it), golden weavers (in an aviary with domestic chickens), Eastern black rhinos (with calf), okapi, Southern ground hornbill, nyala, slender-horned gazelle, addax (with calf, what is in the water in Iowa?), reticulated giraffe, and Hartmann’s mountain zebra. Every exhibit is well planted and spacious, the guest areas are well themed. From the lower giraffe viewing, you can actually see a mural the zoo painted on a building off exhibit of Mount Kilimanjaro which actually looks really nice and brings an added layer of theming to the area. Overall, this is a must see section of the zoo.

I really like Blank Park Zoo. It’s a small facility with some high quality exhibits. There are a few smaller exhibits that could use a renovation but I really don’t have much to complain about this zoo. If you’re in Des Moines, make a trip here. It only took me about 2 hours to see everything.

I’m off to Brookfield today. I’ll have a couple hours to myself before meeting with my family but we plan on seeing everything.
 
Thanks very much for the first couple of reviews that you have posted, and I genuinely appreciate the time and effort that it takes to create such interesting write-ups of zoos. Even after all of these years, I always love reading what others think about zoos that I've been to in the past.

Your review of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium was spot-on, from your recognizing the amazing reptile displays in the Desert Dome but also being honest in that the mammal exhibits inside that structure are far too small. Kingdoms of the Night is probably my all-time favourite zoo exhibit anywhere, plus there is the African Grasslands, Scott Aquarium, Lied Jungle, the 5-acre Children's Adventure Trails, all of those orangutans and gorillas, Asian Highlands and tons of other significant attractions. You didn't mention the Butterfly/Insect House...did you go inside? It's extremely well done but far too tiny for a zoo that now has 2 million annual visitors and improves dramatically every couple of years. The animal collection in Omaha is astonishing, with the mammals alone possibly putting the zoo in the Top 5 on the planet in terms of species. Also, it's fascinating that the zoo lacks a Reptile House and yet since there are so many reptiles and amphibians spread throughout the major buildings it means that Omaha has one of the largest collections of cold-blooded critters on the continent.

Your review of Blank Park Zoo was also a great read and I would agree that 2 hours is enough time to see everything at that small but nicely laid-out facility. The Discovery Center building is like a 'zoo within a zoo' and there isn't much to complain about there. I recall the Japanese Macaque exhibit had probably 20 monkeys many years ago, and that was a real highlight of the zoo.

Keep the reviews coming!
 
snowleopard said:
You didn't mention the Butterfly/Insect House...did you go inside? It's extremely well done but far too tiny for a zoo that now has 2 million annual visitors and improves dramatically every couple of years.
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I knew I missed something. It’s a well done insect house. The butterfly part seems a bit small. There was a line out the door to get in when I first got there but I made a return trip in the afternoon after the summer camp groups left and I was able to walk in. The other insect exhibits are nice as well but it’s nothing too spectacular compared to other insect houses such at Saint Louis or dedicated invertebrate zoos like the Butterfly Pavilion in CO. No super noteworthy species as far as I could tell.

So, Brookfield. This is a pretty different zoo than others I’ve been to in terms of layout. Everything seems to be placed on a grid (the map even has XY axis on the borders like a battleship board) so locating exhibits is pretty easy but it makes the whole zoo seem disjointed in a way. Even the exhibits that are supposed to be connected seem like they are separated entirely. For example, you would think that Habitat Africa! The Savannah and The Forest would be two parts to an overall larger complex but there’s a guest path that runs right between them and The Forest sits by itself. It just feels a bit odd after visiting Omaha that had distinct areas but all the parts to that area are connected by one pathway that guides you through the whole thing. A similar thing occurs with Great Bear Wilderness where random paths just exit the exhibit after you go under the bison overpass. It also still has an old school zoo charm to it when you can see these grotto type habitats and original zoo architecture for the buildings. For the most part, they’ve seemed to have updated everything at least once so the animal exhibits don’t suffer as the building ages but the facades retain that classic look. I really liked that aspect of it. Anyways, I spent most of my day there and I was able to see everything and catch a dolphin show. It also rained around 11:30 so the rest of the day, the zoo was relatively empty.

Desert’s Edge

This is a great indoor desert exhibit. Unlike the Desert Dome in Omaha, the mammal exhibits are the ones that shine here. Meerkats and porcupines had relatively large indoor spaces. I loved how the mole rats were right under the porcupine exhibit. The caracal and hyrax exhibits were really nice. Lots of vertical space for those animals. Those were my favorite parts of the exhibit for me. I wish I could have seen the black footed cat or bat eared foxes active but they were all sleeping. The theming was very nice and never really broke. A really nice way to start the day. Definitely not Desert Dome level but I feel like it’s unfair to compare the two.

Big Cats

Big Cats (and some bears) are a line of 5 grotto style exhibits that are well planted but feel uninspired. There’s really nothing special about these but they are spacious and provide what the animals need. Only the Amur leopards, the lions, and the snow leopards provide up close viewing from glass rather than just viewing from the other side of a ditch. I did see my first tiger of the trip but these exhibits aren’t anything to write home about. The signage was really nice though and I actually learned a few things from them. Signage throughout the zoo is high quality.

Clouded Leopard Rain Forest

Sort of a nocturnal exhibit sort of not, I didn’t like this one as much as Desert’s Edge. But it’s still a nice exhibit. They start by putting the namesake animal right at the beginning. It’s a decent exhibit and the leopard was active but one odd thing occurred to me and it holds true for the other habitats here. The lighting was too bright for a nocturnal exhibit but the exhibits still seemed really dark. It was just a bit odd to me. The next room was nice and had tunnels above you for Prevost’s squirrels to travel on. The binturongs were active. Their exhibit has some nice vertical space and both animals were utilizing it. The fishing cat exhibit seemed average to me. Didn’t see the cats either. The last main exhibit was for the squirrels but they were no shows too. Both this exhibit and Desert’s Edge have smaller exhibits for herps through the path and they were high quality and well themed to the areas.

Seven Seas and Pinniped Point

Pinniped Point consists of some average sea lion and gray seal habitats. It was neat to walk the path and see more than just one enclosure. I believe there are three or four in total. Nothing really to make them unique other than the number of exhibits. There was this massive statue of a walrus named Olga though. Bigger than any walrus I’ve seen. If this was a real former animal that lived here, I don’t know how she’d fit in the exhibits. I really enjoyed the dolphin exhibit. It’s a pretty large tank about 30 or so feet deep and there is a holding pool behind the scenes. I could probably sit there for hours watching the dolphins. There are windows on the other side of the tank that seem to be keeper offices. I noticed multiple dolphins crowding around those windows instead of the guest windows. The show was entertaining as well. The person on the mic mostly talked about the daily care the dolphins get and how the behaviors shown are not tricks but things the dolphins do while playing or natural behaviors. One this that is odd is the name Seven Seas. It’s odd because there’s only one species and one viewable exhibit.

Australia

The outdoor yards surrounding this exhibit are average. Grassy with a lot of shade but pretty generic wallaby/kangaroo/emu yards. The indoor section is very nice though. You start in a room with lots of herps along the walls and a kookaburra aviary at the end. Then you follow a path up to a nocturnal area with short-beaked echidna and southern hairy nosed wombats. Brookfield has a lot of echidna. There were like 6-7 that I could see. I’m glad I saw them active as I missed the echidna at Omaha. Wombats were in a pretty spacious indoor exhibit. Nice to see such a rare animal in US zoos. After the wombats, you walk through a really large open fruit bag enclosure. I stood their for a bit just watching the bats climb and fly around. Really nice exhibit. After that, the exhibit is done. Overall an above average exhibit.

Pachyderms

I liked this exhibit for the most part but I’m really glad they are doing improvements to it. The outdoor yards are pretty spacious for the species held and have lots of shade, grass and the pools are nice and large. The indoor section is really showing its age and I hope as they are doing renovations that they increase the available space for the animals while they are indoors. Being Chicago, they’ll be indoors a good portion of he year. The architecture of the building is really cool.

Habitat Africa! The Savannah

This is a decent savannah exhibit. The yards for the animals are grassy with good rock work. The giraffes have a lot of space. I like the indoor sections. I don’t think that I’ve been in a giraffe building like that where there are multiple exhibits including a free flight aviary in the same building with the giraffes. I also liked seeing the wild dogs from multiple angles. Theming isn’t super immersive especially as you walk around the exhibit to see everything.

Habitat Africa! The Forest

This is a much more immersive complex. As you walk on the path you’ll catch a glimpse of the okapi and it just looks really cool. The building is also very high quality. Unfortunately the star of the show white-bellied tree pangolin was sleeping both times I came by to see them. The second outdoor part is just as good as the first part. One of my favorite exhibits here.

Great Bear Wilderness

This is probably my favorite section of the park. The bison exhibit is one of the best I’ve seen. It also looks really nice if you look down the West Mall from the center of the zoo. The immersion is also really nice. The bald eagle habitat has a lot of vertical space. They were just offered some rats but they were not interested at all. They seemed small to me and maybe it’s because these individuals came from Florida and I’m used to seeing eagles from Montana and Alaska. The path then leads to the Wolf Woods. What a nice habitat. Super large space with trees and rocks all over. I loved the feature that allowed you to move cameras around the exhibit to try and see wolves. I unfortunately did not see any but I still really liked this habitat. The next three exhibits were dedicated to the bears. All the exhibits look about the same in terms of theming and quality. They all have lots of grass and natural substrate, shade and huge pools for the bears to swim in. Luckily I arrived just after enrichment time and I say all the bears actives d chewing on some bones or corn or browse. The two grizzlies were in the first one and one bear was even in the pool. Polar bears were in the next two yards and were moving around. It was pretty hot yesterday so I’m glad I got to see them out. This is my favorite exhibit in the zoo because it mixed immersion and quality exhibits so well.

The Living Coast

Basically the aquarium section of this zoo, this is a very well done small aquarium that does its job. The tanks aren’t super large but all are appropriate for their species. The real gem is the penguin area. Free flight birds fly over the penguin exhibit in a really tall open space. The rock work is really good here and it’s overall an amazing habitat. The rest of the complex is pretty average.

Feathers & Scales and Reptiles & Birds

I’ll group these together. Both are really nice reptile/bird houses. I liked Feathers & Scales a bit better but mostly because it has more to offer and it doesn’t have the electronic signage. It’s awkward looking at a sign and waiting for it to change just so I can try and find whatever is in there. Other than that, the reptile enclosures are top notch and have lots of rare species. The bird enclosures are above average in quality but both exhibits are must sees for herp and bird fans.

Tropic World

Some mixed feelings about this complex. On one hand, it’s enormous for some of the animals. The South America room mixes more New World Primates in one space than I’ve ever seen before. The anteater on the ground level was active and swimming around. The other rooms are even bigger. On the other hand, for certain species, this habitat falls a bit short and becomes average to me. Specifically for the great apes. The gibbons and monkeys have lots of vertical and horizontal space. So much room to run around. The apes seem to have been short changed and have comparatively less space. The orangutans only had a small amount of vertical space compared to the gibbons next door. I believe I’ve seen videos of these species mixed here but they were separated when I was there. For winter housing, I feel the gorilla enclosure is adequate but I really hope they get outdoor spaces at some point soon. I think it would really be great for the animals and the visitors. Other than that, this is a really well themed exhibit and it gives me a unique view of these species that I don’t see often in zoos.

The Swamp

First off, the theming is amazing. It even smells like a swamp in there! Canoes, boats, cabins, this exhibit has a lot to offer. A nice large variety of species including some rarities like Orinoco crocodiles and albino alligator. There was an empty tank across from the caecilians that a keeper said that more caecilians were going to be going in that nobody has ever seen before. I don’t know what species he meant but you may want to make a trip to Brookfield soon. The only meh exhibit was the otters but they seemed to be enjoying their time there and that’s what matters.

Overall, I really enjoyed Brookfield. There is a lot to see and it almost makes it a two day zoo. Especially if you have kids and you want to see the Hamill Family attractions which I did not. I liked seeing that all of the exhibits were adequate for it being such an old zoo. All the old buildings have been or are currently being renovated to a modern standard. That being said, I feel most of the zoo is just above average with only a few exhibits that I’d say are really great. Those exhibits to me would be Great Bear Wilderness, parts of Tropic World, and The Swamp. Average yards and grottos and a lack of flow to the park subtract a bit from the overall park. But I still really liked my trip.

I’ll be heading to Shedd soon. I’m really excited for it.
 
What a great review of Brookfield! My feelings on the zoo are quite similar to yours, and I was nodding my head in agreement for most of your review. It’s unfortunate that the Pangolins were sleeping when you saw them, but it sounds like you had a great time which is very evident in your review.
 
If it makes you feel better the pangolins are always asleep when I visit. I look forward to your review of Milwaukee, it's been a couple years since I was last there so I'm curious about all the changes.
 
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