After just visiting Cincinnati Zoo, I had the chance to visit the Milwaukee County Zoo. (I'll also be going this Saturday as well, if the plans work out.) Despite the zoo having many outdated exhibits, the zoo itself wasn't bad at all.
I'll be going through all the exhibits in the order they're shown on the website, explaining how I personally got to the experience them and how they appeared.
Aquatic and Reptile Center
There wasn't anything I could critique about this building. All of the animals had well-made enclosure that were pleasing to look at. The large tank for Wisconsin fish was also something to note. It was one of the largest tanks of this type, as well as the most species-diverse, tanks I've ever seen. Seeing the Asian tank with the Fly River Turtle was also very interesting. I'm surprised that all of the animals in this building had such large exhibits. One of most notable exhibits had to be the enclosure containing a group of young Komodo Dragons. I have never seen them so young and active. Watching as their tails coiled around the branches was very interested. The new octopus wasn't on exhibit. There was also a Flying Snake either being designed or torn down.
Herb and Nada Mahler Family Aviary
I've heard mixed reviews on the aviary at the Milwaukee Zoo, but I personally really enjoyed it. The exhibits looked comfortable for the animals, and the lack of thick mesh made it extremely nice for viewing the animals. Almost all of the birds were visible, many of them were also a first for me. The chevrotain were very active, giving me a great first look at this species. The only thing about this area that really bothered me was the way species from different continents were mixed in the free-flight area. Seeing Inca Terns, Waldrapp Ibis, Green Heron, and Scarlet Ibis all in the same area wasn't pleasing.
North America
Overall, this exhibit area has more negative than positive. The zoo had four bears crammed into one small grotto. I mean, really? The badger exhibit wasn't bad, the old mock-rock grotto made it somewhat ugly, but it didn't make the exhibit work any less. The caribou and elk exhibits also fit their residents well. It wouldn't hurt to make them look a little more immersive, though. The harbor seal and polar bear exhibits were horrible, they're not pleasing to look at in any aspect. There was an exhibit claiming to house black bear, but Borris was out there instead, eaten some icy treats. Does anyone know what the zoo intends to do with all of these old exhibits?
Northwestern Mutual Family Farm
Farms aren't uncommon where I live. We didn't visit this area of the zoo.
Florence Mila Borchert Big Cat County
Despite many of the exhibits being undersized, the viewing of the animals was good, due to the lack of space for them to escape human eyes. The African lion and Amur tiger exhibits had to be the worst in the building. You couldn't fit many of the animals in one of the exhibits. The rotation of the hyenas and lions is a wise choice when put in their situation. The Amur tigers don't have much of a choice. Many of the outdoor cat exhibits were not big enough. The Lions/Spotted Hyenas had a well-sized outdoor area, it had to be the best outdoor exhibit the zoo has in this area. The new serval exhibit was nice, we stopped and saw as he was being fed, which was interesting. I had AMAZING viewing of the Jaguars. I couldn't have asked for a better view. The red panda and snow leopard exhibits were blocked off, so I didn't get to see them.
Africa/Asia/South America
This exhibit area is nothing special. The exhibits could defiantly be worse, but they could also be much better. The thing that bothered me the most out of this area was the HIDEOUS indoor areas for elephants, rhino, and tapirs. I wouldn't be disappointed if this area bad been off-display to the public. The new expansion for elephants will be much appreciated by its residents. It would be interesting to see of the zoo could connected the existing giraffe exhibit to the old elephant exhibit, giving their herd more room to roam. The exhibit for the giraffes wasn't awfully undersized, but it wasn't very large either. The exhibit for the Bactrian camels wasn't large either for housing four camels. Henry Vilas Zoo's exhibit is around the same size and currently houses one camel. (It housed two not long ago.) The mixed South American exhibit wasn't bad, I thought it was a good size for all its residents. The black rhino had two exhibits, one of which was quite small. The hippo exhibit was the worst I have ever seen. It had disgusting metal coil-like pieces on the edge of the water. I don't know how old the zoo's hippo is, but I wouldn't replace it once it's gone. The Malayan tapir wasn't out, but its exhibit wasn't anything special. It competes with Henry Vilas's old exhibit for being the worst that I've seen. (I'll go into more depth on other residents once I hit the list of seasonal zoo residents.)
Stearns Family Apes of Africa + Primates of the World
Due to the residents it houses, this was my favorite part of the zoo, but its exhibits were not the best I've seen. The bonobos were active, I got to get a great view of the entire troop as they moved around the exhibit. The Western lowland gorillas are back on exhibit, despite the deaths of two of their troop members. I had a beautiful interaction with Shalia and Sulaiman, which pleased me immensely. (The zoo wasn't heavily populated, so we had some nice alone time with some of the animals.) The duo was walking around their outdoor exhibit, where they came up to the glass to get out of the sun. Shalia was somewhat close to my friend, his brother, and his mother. Sulaiman was over by me, he looked at me through the glass, but it didn't last long. He tried to catch a fly, which was a behavior I've never seen from a gorilla.
The black-handed spider monkey indoor exhibit would seem much worse if they didn't have an outdoor exhibit as well. The black-and-white colobus didn't have an impressive exhibit. They didn't much enrichment to keep them stimulated. The Goeldi's monkey had exhibits in the primate and small mammal areas, the exhibit in the primate house was much nicer then the one in the small mammal area. They also had the company of a wattled currasow in the primate house. The Japanese macaque exhibit was a classic island, but it served the residents justice. They had lots of room to walk around, lots of climbing structures, and plenty of places to get away from the public eye. The indoor mandrill exhibit isn't awful, but it's much better then the siamang exhibit. The siamang have nothing besides a few climbing structures and black metal walls to for their exhibit. The orangutans at the zoo NEED the outdoor exhibit. If they didn't, they'd have nothing but three puny indoor areas to live in.
Small Mammals
The Small Mammals building was extremely hot. There isn't any air flow in the building. The Hoffmann's two-toed sloth and agouti exhibit was not a very nice exhibit. Frankly, it was quite ugly and it didn't have much to stimulate the agouti. They had two exhibits for African straw-colored fruit bat, one housing a large colony and a smaller housing only a few bats. Only a small handful of common vampire bats in their exhibit, which is different from all of the other large colonies I've seen. The Cotton-Top Tamarin, Owl Monkey, and Golden Lion Tamarins were all very similar in size and decoration. Despite them not being the best, all of the animals seemed enriched and pleased. Today, the Ring-Tailed Lemurs had the indoor, frontal exhibits, while the Red Ruffed Lemurs had the outdoor area, where they could be seen through the Ring-Tailed lemur exhibit. The dwarf mongoose exhibit was enriching for the animals, but only one mongoose was out and about. The Fennec fox had three exhibits, but only one fox was out. The Ruwenzori long-haired fruit bats weren't on exhibit, they must've been in the smaller of the two straw-colored fruit bat exhibits. Yet, the sign said that the straw-colored were inside that exhibit as well. The Mohol bushbaby and potto were both not visible. The Southern three-banded armadillo had THREE exhibits. The springhaas was adorable, it was also much bigger then I imagined. Finally, the sugar gliders weren't on exhibit.
Seasonal Animals
Out of all the seasonal animals, I saw most of them on my visit. The Chilean and Caribbean Flamingos were both on exhibit in very large exhibits. The crested screamers also had spacious exhibit. The Baird's Tapir, Eastern Bongo, Greater Kudu, Greater Rhea, Impala, Plains Zebra, Red River Hog, South American Yellow-Footed Tortoise, Sourhern Ground Hornbill, Thomson's Gazelle, and Yellow-Backed Duiker were all on exhibit.
I'll be going through all the exhibits in the order they're shown on the website, explaining how I personally got to the experience them and how they appeared.
Aquatic and Reptile Center
There wasn't anything I could critique about this building. All of the animals had well-made enclosure that were pleasing to look at. The large tank for Wisconsin fish was also something to note. It was one of the largest tanks of this type, as well as the most species-diverse, tanks I've ever seen. Seeing the Asian tank with the Fly River Turtle was also very interesting. I'm surprised that all of the animals in this building had such large exhibits. One of most notable exhibits had to be the enclosure containing a group of young Komodo Dragons. I have never seen them so young and active. Watching as their tails coiled around the branches was very interested. The new octopus wasn't on exhibit. There was also a Flying Snake either being designed or torn down.
Herb and Nada Mahler Family Aviary
I've heard mixed reviews on the aviary at the Milwaukee Zoo, but I personally really enjoyed it. The exhibits looked comfortable for the animals, and the lack of thick mesh made it extremely nice for viewing the animals. Almost all of the birds were visible, many of them were also a first for me. The chevrotain were very active, giving me a great first look at this species. The only thing about this area that really bothered me was the way species from different continents were mixed in the free-flight area. Seeing Inca Terns, Waldrapp Ibis, Green Heron, and Scarlet Ibis all in the same area wasn't pleasing.
North America
Overall, this exhibit area has more negative than positive. The zoo had four bears crammed into one small grotto. I mean, really? The badger exhibit wasn't bad, the old mock-rock grotto made it somewhat ugly, but it didn't make the exhibit work any less. The caribou and elk exhibits also fit their residents well. It wouldn't hurt to make them look a little more immersive, though. The harbor seal and polar bear exhibits were horrible, they're not pleasing to look at in any aspect. There was an exhibit claiming to house black bear, but Borris was out there instead, eaten some icy treats. Does anyone know what the zoo intends to do with all of these old exhibits?
Northwestern Mutual Family Farm
Farms aren't uncommon where I live. We didn't visit this area of the zoo.
Florence Mila Borchert Big Cat County
Despite many of the exhibits being undersized, the viewing of the animals was good, due to the lack of space for them to escape human eyes. The African lion and Amur tiger exhibits had to be the worst in the building. You couldn't fit many of the animals in one of the exhibits. The rotation of the hyenas and lions is a wise choice when put in their situation. The Amur tigers don't have much of a choice. Many of the outdoor cat exhibits were not big enough. The Lions/Spotted Hyenas had a well-sized outdoor area, it had to be the best outdoor exhibit the zoo has in this area. The new serval exhibit was nice, we stopped and saw as he was being fed, which was interesting. I had AMAZING viewing of the Jaguars. I couldn't have asked for a better view. The red panda and snow leopard exhibits were blocked off, so I didn't get to see them.
Africa/Asia/South America
This exhibit area is nothing special. The exhibits could defiantly be worse, but they could also be much better. The thing that bothered me the most out of this area was the HIDEOUS indoor areas for elephants, rhino, and tapirs. I wouldn't be disappointed if this area bad been off-display to the public. The new expansion for elephants will be much appreciated by its residents. It would be interesting to see of the zoo could connected the existing giraffe exhibit to the old elephant exhibit, giving their herd more room to roam. The exhibit for the giraffes wasn't awfully undersized, but it wasn't very large either. The exhibit for the Bactrian camels wasn't large either for housing four camels. Henry Vilas Zoo's exhibit is around the same size and currently houses one camel. (It housed two not long ago.) The mixed South American exhibit wasn't bad, I thought it was a good size for all its residents. The black rhino had two exhibits, one of which was quite small. The hippo exhibit was the worst I have ever seen. It had disgusting metal coil-like pieces on the edge of the water. I don't know how old the zoo's hippo is, but I wouldn't replace it once it's gone. The Malayan tapir wasn't out, but its exhibit wasn't anything special. It competes with Henry Vilas's old exhibit for being the worst that I've seen. (I'll go into more depth on other residents once I hit the list of seasonal zoo residents.)
Stearns Family Apes of Africa + Primates of the World
Due to the residents it houses, this was my favorite part of the zoo, but its exhibits were not the best I've seen. The bonobos were active, I got to get a great view of the entire troop as they moved around the exhibit. The Western lowland gorillas are back on exhibit, despite the deaths of two of their troop members. I had a beautiful interaction with Shalia and Sulaiman, which pleased me immensely. (The zoo wasn't heavily populated, so we had some nice alone time with some of the animals.) The duo was walking around their outdoor exhibit, where they came up to the glass to get out of the sun. Shalia was somewhat close to my friend, his brother, and his mother. Sulaiman was over by me, he looked at me through the glass, but it didn't last long. He tried to catch a fly, which was a behavior I've never seen from a gorilla.
The black-handed spider monkey indoor exhibit would seem much worse if they didn't have an outdoor exhibit as well. The black-and-white colobus didn't have an impressive exhibit. They didn't much enrichment to keep them stimulated. The Goeldi's monkey had exhibits in the primate and small mammal areas, the exhibit in the primate house was much nicer then the one in the small mammal area. They also had the company of a wattled currasow in the primate house. The Japanese macaque exhibit was a classic island, but it served the residents justice. They had lots of room to walk around, lots of climbing structures, and plenty of places to get away from the public eye. The indoor mandrill exhibit isn't awful, but it's much better then the siamang exhibit. The siamang have nothing besides a few climbing structures and black metal walls to for their exhibit. The orangutans at the zoo NEED the outdoor exhibit. If they didn't, they'd have nothing but three puny indoor areas to live in.
Small Mammals
The Small Mammals building was extremely hot. There isn't any air flow in the building. The Hoffmann's two-toed sloth and agouti exhibit was not a very nice exhibit. Frankly, it was quite ugly and it didn't have much to stimulate the agouti. They had two exhibits for African straw-colored fruit bat, one housing a large colony and a smaller housing only a few bats. Only a small handful of common vampire bats in their exhibit, which is different from all of the other large colonies I've seen. The Cotton-Top Tamarin, Owl Monkey, and Golden Lion Tamarins were all very similar in size and decoration. Despite them not being the best, all of the animals seemed enriched and pleased. Today, the Ring-Tailed Lemurs had the indoor, frontal exhibits, while the Red Ruffed Lemurs had the outdoor area, where they could be seen through the Ring-Tailed lemur exhibit. The dwarf mongoose exhibit was enriching for the animals, but only one mongoose was out and about. The Fennec fox had three exhibits, but only one fox was out. The Ruwenzori long-haired fruit bats weren't on exhibit, they must've been in the smaller of the two straw-colored fruit bat exhibits. Yet, the sign said that the straw-colored were inside that exhibit as well. The Mohol bushbaby and potto were both not visible. The Southern three-banded armadillo had THREE exhibits. The springhaas was adorable, it was also much bigger then I imagined. Finally, the sugar gliders weren't on exhibit.
Seasonal Animals
Out of all the seasonal animals, I saw most of them on my visit. The Chilean and Caribbean Flamingos were both on exhibit in very large exhibits. The crested screamers also had spacious exhibit. The Baird's Tapir, Eastern Bongo, Greater Kudu, Greater Rhea, Impala, Plains Zebra, Red River Hog, South American Yellow-Footed Tortoise, Sourhern Ground Hornbill, Thomson's Gazelle, and Yellow-Backed Duiker were all on exhibit.
Pachyderm pro beat me to the punch on some things, and here's a couple other notes: