I visited the El Paso Zoo in late July and figured it's about time that I do a review of it. I was actually going to review it a few months ago but never got around to it.
This zoo is small, but there are very few outdated cages anywhere. Also on the day of my visit it was not crowded at all. It is divided up into 3 areas: Affrica, Asia and the Americas. Africa was just recently opened, the other 2 sections are older.
I went to the Americas first. The first exhibits seen are the zoo's worst: a few bird of prey cages for various hawks, and another for a macaw. These are really the only bad exhibits in the zoo. Nearby to these cages is a nice island for Black-handed Spider Monkeys. Also in this section of the zoo are exhibits for California Sea Lions and Black-tailed prairie Dogs. All of these are nice exhibits, and the sea lion pool comes with underwater viewing.
The largest exhibits in the Americas are the savannas. One is for North America, one for South America. The North America side has Collared Peccary, Wild Turkey and Bolson Tortoise. The South America one is larger and has a great mix of Guanaco, Mara, Greater Rhea and Southern Screamer. I think they used to have Yellow-footed Tortoises in here as well but I didn't see any.
Spectacled Bears and Mexican Wolves have deep grottoes. However, these are much more lushly-planted than most. The bears have 2 grottoes and the wolves have 1. I only saw bears in 1 of their 2 grottoes, so I don't know if they rotate between them.
There is also a small glass South American pavilion for tamarins, sloths and various reptiles and fish. This leads into a nice outdoor aviary for various species of birds, including Magpie Jay, American Avocet, Red-crested Cardinal and Yellow-billed Cardinal. There were a few other species as well but it seemed very underpopulated which is disappointing as I think they used to have many more small South American birds.
Asia is probably the best part of the zoo. Asian Elephants have an enclosure that is not over-large but isn't bad either and does come with a large pool. Nearby grottoes for tigers and Sun Bears are actually quite good as they are large and full of natural substrate rather than concrete. Orangutans have another nice exhibit with a variety of enrichment for the at least 2 apes. Siamangs have an island and behind it is a Malayan Tapir exhibit. Long, narrow exhibits are for Amur Leopard and Lion-tailed Macaque.
An indoor exhibit similar to the South American one has a few nocturnal exhibits and then opens up into a free-flight aviary. Species inside include Marbled Teal, Masked Lapwing, White-throated Kingfisher, Nicobar Pigeon, Bali Starling and Yellow-vented Bulbul. Like the South American aviary, it seemed a little underpopulated, but the foliage is very dense and it can be hard to find the birds. There are also 3 glassed exhibits for Rhinoceros Hornbill, Burmese Python and Sand Cat. The hornbill aviary is too small, and the Sand Cat exhibit really doesn't match the theme but it was cool seeing them. I just think they could've been placed somewhere besides a southeast Asian rainforest. The last exhibit in Asia is outdoors again, and is an Asian grassland. It has a pond in the front and the exhibit has Hooded Crane, Blackbuck and Nilgai.
The newest section is Africa. An enclosure listed as zebra and antelope on the map had no antelope and instead had some Crowned Cranes. I'm guessing the antelope will be added later. The giraffe yard has several animals and is very long and narrow. I think the weakest exhibit in Africa would be the lion exhibit. It isn't bad but the design is just odd and there's lots of hotwire. Several areas allow the public to view the sleeping lions up close. This section is still not complete, so it is smaller than the other 2 sections.
There are lots of developments going on. The reptile house will be opening to the public soon, Red River Hogs will be added to Africa and a few other animals will be added soon as well.
Overall I liked this zoo. It is one of those zoos that may be small but what it does it does well. The only really outdated exhibits are those bird cages for birds of prey and macaws.
This zoo is small, but there are very few outdated cages anywhere. Also on the day of my visit it was not crowded at all. It is divided up into 3 areas: Affrica, Asia and the Americas. Africa was just recently opened, the other 2 sections are older.
I went to the Americas first. The first exhibits seen are the zoo's worst: a few bird of prey cages for various hawks, and another for a macaw. These are really the only bad exhibits in the zoo. Nearby to these cages is a nice island for Black-handed Spider Monkeys. Also in this section of the zoo are exhibits for California Sea Lions and Black-tailed prairie Dogs. All of these are nice exhibits, and the sea lion pool comes with underwater viewing.
The largest exhibits in the Americas are the savannas. One is for North America, one for South America. The North America side has Collared Peccary, Wild Turkey and Bolson Tortoise. The South America one is larger and has a great mix of Guanaco, Mara, Greater Rhea and Southern Screamer. I think they used to have Yellow-footed Tortoises in here as well but I didn't see any.
Spectacled Bears and Mexican Wolves have deep grottoes. However, these are much more lushly-planted than most. The bears have 2 grottoes and the wolves have 1. I only saw bears in 1 of their 2 grottoes, so I don't know if they rotate between them.
There is also a small glass South American pavilion for tamarins, sloths and various reptiles and fish. This leads into a nice outdoor aviary for various species of birds, including Magpie Jay, American Avocet, Red-crested Cardinal and Yellow-billed Cardinal. There were a few other species as well but it seemed very underpopulated which is disappointing as I think they used to have many more small South American birds.
Asia is probably the best part of the zoo. Asian Elephants have an enclosure that is not over-large but isn't bad either and does come with a large pool. Nearby grottoes for tigers and Sun Bears are actually quite good as they are large and full of natural substrate rather than concrete. Orangutans have another nice exhibit with a variety of enrichment for the at least 2 apes. Siamangs have an island and behind it is a Malayan Tapir exhibit. Long, narrow exhibits are for Amur Leopard and Lion-tailed Macaque.
An indoor exhibit similar to the South American one has a few nocturnal exhibits and then opens up into a free-flight aviary. Species inside include Marbled Teal, Masked Lapwing, White-throated Kingfisher, Nicobar Pigeon, Bali Starling and Yellow-vented Bulbul. Like the South American aviary, it seemed a little underpopulated, but the foliage is very dense and it can be hard to find the birds. There are also 3 glassed exhibits for Rhinoceros Hornbill, Burmese Python and Sand Cat. The hornbill aviary is too small, and the Sand Cat exhibit really doesn't match the theme but it was cool seeing them. I just think they could've been placed somewhere besides a southeast Asian rainforest. The last exhibit in Asia is outdoors again, and is an Asian grassland. It has a pond in the front and the exhibit has Hooded Crane, Blackbuck and Nilgai.
The newest section is Africa. An enclosure listed as zebra and antelope on the map had no antelope and instead had some Crowned Cranes. I'm guessing the antelope will be added later. The giraffe yard has several animals and is very long and narrow. I think the weakest exhibit in Africa would be the lion exhibit. It isn't bad but the design is just odd and there's lots of hotwire. Several areas allow the public to view the sleeping lions up close. This section is still not complete, so it is smaller than the other 2 sections.
There are lots of developments going on. The reptile house will be opening to the public soon, Red River Hogs will be added to Africa and a few other animals will be added soon as well.
Overall I liked this zoo. It is one of those zoos that may be small but what it does it does well. The only really outdated exhibits are those bird cages for birds of prey and macaws.
