Fall North American Zoo Road Trip

M

m30t

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
So, this Friday (October 6) I will be starting a 24-day trip that will bring me to a total of 22 zoos. This is the sixth zoo road trip I have taken; this one being the longest by far. In the past I never did a thread for my trips. This time around I decided to try a thread and at a minimum provide a brief review/overview of each facility I visit. I doubt my reviews will be as thorough as some of the others on this site, but hopefully they will offer a contribution.

Below is the itinerary, previous visits to a facility are in brackets.

Friday Oct 6 – Cincinnati (June 2014; October 2014; July 2016)

Saturday Oct 7 – Brookfield (October 2014, August 2016)

Sunday Oct 8 – Minnesota Zoo

Monday Oct 9 – Assiniboine Park Zoo

Wednesday Oct 11 – Calgary Zoo

Friday Oct 13 – Woodland Park Zoo

Saturday Oct 14 – Point Defiance Zoo

Sunday Oct 15 – Oregon Zoo

Monday Oct 16 – Zoo Boise

Tuesday Oct 17 – Hogle Zoo

Wednesday Oct 18 – Wild Animal Sanctuary

Thursday Oct 19 – Denver Zoo

Friday Oct 20 – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Saturday Oct 21 – Sedgwick County Zoo (April 2015)

Sunday Oct 22 – Oklahoma City Zoo (April 2015)

Monday Oct 23 – Dallas Zoo (April 2015)

Tuesday Oct 24 – Fort Worth Zoo (April 2015)

Wednesday Oct 25 – Houston Zoo (April 2015)

Thursday Oct 26 – Audubon Zoo

Friday Oct 27 – Memphis Zoo (April 2015)

Saturday Oct 28 – Nashville Zoo (April 2015)

Sunday Oct 29 – Columbus Zoo (June 2014, July 2016, October 2016)
 
This is very exciting! I'm looking forward to your mini-reviews as I've visited all of the zoos except for two of them: Assiniboine Park and Wild Animal Sanctuary (which doesn't seem to fit with the rest of your choices. :))
 
This is an excellent list - you are hitting all the biggies (except Wild Animal Sanctuary, though it will make for an interesting comparison to a traditional zoo). October is a GREAT time to visit a zoo. Just be aware that your final weekend is the weekend before Halloween and a lot of zoos have massive Halloween themed events and may or may not be closing early.
 
Sounds great! One zoo every day (Besides Oct. 10 and 12) is an awesome experience. Best of luck and this will surely be a fun read :).
 
First, thank you all for the kind words.

I agree that Wild Animal Sanctuary is an outlier from the rest of the trip, I’m hopeful that it will offer some unique photo opportunities.

Thank you for that heads-up AD. I have learned those lessons the hard way on previous trips, with one zoo closing early and nearly getting trampled by screaming tykes in costumes at another. I will likely face some of the latter at my last stop in Columbus.

I’m a day behind in the reviews, hopefully I will catch up in the next few days.


Day 1 - Cincinnati Zoo

This was the fourth time I have visited Cincinnati, and it hit me on this visit how much my opinion of it has changed. The first time I visited, Cincinnati was the fourth zoo I had ever been to. At that point I was blown away by the zoo. Since then my opinion has slid, and several areas of the zoo stand out to me as in desperate need of an overhaul. With that said, there are still many solid exhibits at Cincinnati and I always enjoy stopping by.

Africa

This section of the zoo is the newest and one of its strongest. When you first enter the area you come across an acceptable cheetah exhibit. On my visit two cats were out, and fortunately I was by early in the day and they were exploring their habitat. As you move on you come off a beautiful mixed species habitat, which includes: ostriches, wildebeest, impalas, thompson gazelles, east African crowned crane and more. I was particularly impressed with this exhibit on this visit at it has become increasingly populated. On previous visits, this exhibit was sparsely populated. With so many different species this area really stands out to me, and while none would be classified as marquee species, the variety causes a lot of guests to spend at least a few minutes at the multiple vantage points of this exhibit. The lions have a solid if not spectacular habitat. The lushness is particularly strong in this exhibit. The giraffes have a decent exhibit that can be viewed from ground level and an elevated platform where guests can feed the giraffes. At the other end of Africa, meerkats have a fairly standard exhibit while an above average habitat is home to a large pack of painted dogs. Finally, the star of this section is the hippo exhibit. The hippo area was packed all day long, largely thanks to baby Fiona. If you are unaware of Fiona’s story, she was born premature and had to be hand raised for the first few months of her life. Her celebrity status is clear by the long lines to visit the exhibit for most of the day. The exhibit itself would have ideally been larger with more grazing room, yet it is still a modern exhibit that offers plenty of underwater viewing.

Asian Elephants

In my mind this exhibit is always smaller than it actually is. Yet even in person, this exhibit is still too small. The multiple vantage points for the female yard, along with the enrichment opportunities are a plus. However, that does not detract from the fact that these creatures deserve more space.

Wildlife Canyon

Visiting here always feels empty now without Sumatran rhinos. The exhibits here are all adequate, yet I wonder how many guests bother to head down to it? Perhaps I am over analyzing this as average guests may not have been aware of the significance of seeing a Sumatran rhino. Yet I feel like something else is needed to help draw people down into this region.

Gorilla World

I was pleasantly surprised that the outdoor exhibit was still open during my visit. Their printed map as well as posts on social media had indicated that this area would close on October 2nd to prepare the final work on the renovation and indoor exhibit construction. I stopped by twice during my zoo visit and was treated to an active troop on both instances. The younger members were jumping and running throughout this decent habitat, while the adults relaxed and occasionally got up and briefly explored. I really look forward to seeing the indoor exhibit once it is complete.

Cat Canyon

I feel that this area is really a mixed bag. The cougar habitat is exceptional and probably the best exhibit in the area. The white tiger habitat is a solid size and offers the cats hiding opportunities, shade, a decent sized pool and enrichment opportunities. My biggest complaint here is that the viewing opportunities are not superb for guests. Similarly, a large but more barren exhibit is home to Malayan tiger cubs offers only one viewing option. The snow leopard exhibit is adequately sized, offering natural substrate and some climbing opportunities for the cats. This exhibit offers multiple view points, but would benefit from additional space.

Jungle Trails

This is my second favourite area in the zoo, and is especially strong in its vegetation and immersive features. Orangutans and bonobos are the two most prominent residents in this densely planted area.

Bear Grottoes

From a favourite to the worst, this is a section of the zoo that I would really like to see overhauled. I spent barely anytime at this area, as I do not enjoy the mock rock, lack of vegetation and overall dated exhibits. The polar bear exhibit is still more modern; however, an overhaul is needed. Given the amazing work Cincinnati’s research wing, CREW, is doing on polar bear reproduction, it is unfortunate that the bears do not have a state of the art exhibit to showcase the work.

Rhino Reserve

The same could be said for this area. CREW’s research has contributed to Toronto Zoo’s Indian rhino successfully caring a pregnancy to term. The Indian and black rhino exhibits at Cincinnati are far from horrible; the same with the rest of the inhabitants of the area (zebras, flamingos, bongos, okapi). Yet except for the baby black rhino calf currently at Cincinnati there is little that excites or inspires in this section.


Well I would not grade Cincinnati nearly as highly as I did after my first visit, it is still a near full day experience for me and always an enjoyable visit. One random observation from the day is the impact that Fiona has had on the zoo. As I noted above, the hippo exhibit regularly had a line leading into it (on a Friday in October when school was in session). In addition to that, there were numerous individuals walking into the zoo wearing Fiona and team Fiona merchandise. These weren’t individuals that had just visited her and bought the merchandise, they had done so on previous visits and were now wearing it proudly on their return trip; comparable to sports fans showing up to games in their team’s jersey. That’s a pretty remarkable feat, and demonstrates a really strong basis of support for the Cincinnati zoo.
 
Your experience and opinion of Cincinnati mirrors mine almost exactly. A little over twenty years ago I was newly divorced and dirt poor and dreamed (both figuratively and literally) of scraping up enough money (or credit card space) to visit Cincinnati's famed Cat House. When it finally happened I was like a kid at Christmas. I returned a couple times since. But now looking back (and having seen dozens more zoos) I realize it is a decent zoo but not so spectacular.
 
Day 2 – Brookfield Zoo

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that aside from it’s traffic and obsession with toll roads, I love the city of Chicago. As a life long Chicago Blackhawks fan and a worshipper of deep dish pizza, Chicago has always been a favourite stop of mine. With that said, Brookfield offers a lot to like, yet lacks much to love.


Big Cats

Amur Leopards enjoy the best exhibit in this section, with a large area of space, areas to hide and numerous climbing opportunities. Snow leopards don’t fare quiet as well. Their exhibit is spacious and has some climbing areas, but begs for more. The remaining amur tiger, African lion and sloth bear (I have never grasped why they are here) are all fairly standard but uninspiring exhibits that do little to excite.


Clouded Leopard Rain Forest/The Fragile Desert

Adjacent to the big cats are these two immersive indoor exhibits. Both do a strong job providing educational information and above average indoor habitats for the animals. This small area, while not ideal for photography, is a stronger part of the zoo.


Pachyderms

Particularly spacious exhibits are provided for pygmy hippos and tapirs along sided average sized exhibits for black rhinos. Again, there is little here that excites or inspires guests. The exhibits are all adequate and offer enrichment opportunities for the animals but they lack anything close to a “wow” factor.


Hoofed Animals

This area contains zebras, Przewalski horse and hoof stock in decently sized pens. There isn’t much to say on this area as it is relative standard exhibit space.


Habitat Africa: The Savannah

This area comprises one of the strongest parts of the zoo. Giraffes have a large, enjoyable to look at exhibit. My only real gripe is that with viewing opportunities on almost all sides, you regularly find yourself staring back at other visitors. African Painted Dogs have an above average exhibit that is completed by an immersive viewing hut with educational information about the dogs.


Habitat Africa: The Forest

This is a really nice area of the zoo; Okapi have several above average habitats. The area also includes rarities such as Royal Antelope and pangolin. Even though I wasn’t fortunate to see the pangolin active or even have a decent view of it sleeping, it was still a treat to see such a rare species in North American zoos.


Great Bear Wilderness

You start off your journey in this area with a decent bison habitat before arriving at the excellent Wolf Woods. In addition to being an excellent habitat for the wolves with multiple viewing angles allowing for very different perspectives, the zoo also does a great job telling the story of their conservation efforts with Mexican Gray Wolves. Unfortunately, I’ve never been impressed by the bear habitats here. The exhibits meet all the basic criteria for the animals, yet they don’t seem to do much more. This is unfortunate as the rest of this section is quite strong.


Tropic World

I feel comfortable assuming that everyone reading this already has a pretty firm opinion on Tropic World one way or another. I tried to imagine what it was like when this exhibit first opened, how spectacular is must have seemed at the time. Sadly, I do not feel that it has aged well. Aside from the problematic issue of orangutans and gorillas having no outdoor access, the tropic world exhibits are excellent representatives of a bygone era. The lighting, mock rock, and even the paint job on the walls all seem very out of place compared with many modern exhibits. I do think there are some upsides to the exhibit, when I entered the South American section a large crowd was gathered as a sloth moved across a vine over their heads. To be blunt, that was a cool experience. Surely all the guests around me had a memorable experience there. But those positives cannot out way the negatives with this exhibit.


This was my third visit to Brookfield, and I hope my comments indicate that there is a lot I like about the zoo. There are certainly some areas in need of an upgrade, but there are also many good areas that are a treat to visit. Where I think Brookfield is limited is that there is no knock out exhibit. Habitat Africa and Great Bear Wilderness have many positives about them, but nothing specifically that is must see.
 
m30t said:
Day 2 – Brookfield Zoo

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that aside from it’s traffic and obsession with toll roads, I love the city of Chicago. As a life long Chicago Blackhawks fan and a worshipper of deep dish pizza, Chicago has always been a favourite stop of mine. With that said, Brookfield offers a lot to like, yet lacks much to love.


Big Cats

Amur Leopards enjoy the best exhibit in this section, with a large area of space, areas to hide and numerous climbing opportunities. Snow leopards don’t fare quiet as well. Their exhibit is spacious and has some climbing areas, but begs for more. The remaining amur tiger, African lion and sloth bear (I have never grasped why they are here) are all fairly standard but uninspiring exhibits that do little to excite.


Clouded Leopard Rain Forest/The Fragile Desert

Adjacent to the big cats are these two immersive indoor exhibits. Both do a strong job providing educational information and above average indoor habitats for the animals. This small area, while not ideal for photography, is a stronger part of the zoo.


Pachyderms

Particularly spacious exhibits are provided for pygmy hippos and tapirs along sided average sized exhibits for black rhinos. Again, there is little here that excites or inspires guests. The exhibits are all adequate and offer enrichment opportunities for the animals but they lack anything close to a “wow” factor.


Hoofed Animals

This area contains zebras, Przewalski horse and hoof stock in decently sized pens. There isn’t much to say on this area as it is relative standard exhibit space.


Habitat Africa: The Savannah

This area comprises one of the strongest parts of the zoo. Giraffes have a large, enjoyable to look at exhibit. My only real gripe is that with viewing opportunities on almost all sides, you regularly find yourself staring back at other visitors. African Painted Dogs have an above average exhibit that is completed by an immersive viewing hut with educational information about the dogs.


Habitat Africa: The Forest

This is a really nice area of the zoo; Okapi have several above average habitats. The area also includes rarities such as Royal Antelope and pangolin. Even though I wasn’t fortunate to see the pangolin active or even have a decent view of it sleeping, it was still a treat to see such a rare species in North American zoos.


Great Bear Wilderness

You start off your journey in this area with a decent bison habitat before arriving at the excellent Wolf Woods. In addition to being an excellent habitat for the wolves with multiple viewing angles allowing for very different perspectives, the zoo also does a great job telling the story of their conservation efforts with Mexican Gray Wolves. Unfortunately, I’ve never been impressed by the bear habitats here. The exhibits meet all the basic criteria for the animals, yet they don’t seem to do much more. This is unfortunate as the rest of this section is quite strong.


Tropic World

I feel comfortable assuming that everyone reading this already has a pretty firm opinion on Tropic World one way or another. I tried to imagine what it was like when this exhibit first opened, how spectacular is must have seemed at the time. Sadly, I do not feel that it has aged well. Aside from the problematic issue of orangutans and gorillas having no outdoor access, the tropic world exhibits are excellent representatives of a bygone era. The lighting, mock rock, and even the paint job on the walls all seem very out of place compared with many modern exhibits. I do think there are some upsides to the exhibit, when I entered the South American section a large crowd was gathered as a sloth moved across a vine over their heads. To be blunt, that was a cool experience. Surely all the guests around me had a memorable experience there. But those positives cannot out way the negatives with this exhibit.


This was my third visit to Brookfield, and I hope my comments indicate that there is a lot I like about the zoo. There are certainly some areas in need of an upgrade, but there are also many good areas that are a treat to visit. Where I think Brookfield is limited is that there is no knock out exhibit. Habitat Africa and Great Bear Wilderness have many positives about them, but nothing specifically that is must see.
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Your review is spot on. Brookfield is a fine zoo with no terrible exhibits, but also lacks a truly fantastic complex. Giraffes, bison, wolves, okapi and duikers all have fantastic habitats in my opinion. While I cant think of a real terrible complex, parts of tropic world and the cat grottos really need a facelift. Rumor has it that a master plan is being developed, and hopefully then the zoo will have a must see area.
 
Thanks very much for posting these reviews and your assessment of bits and bobs of Cincinnati and Brookfield are accurate. Both zoos are "must-see" establishments for any zoo enthusiast but the level of exhibitry is perhaps not as great at maybe 20 other facilities in the United States. Several of the zoos that are upcoming on your trip have more of a WOW factor when it comes to world-class habitats...starting with your tour of Minnesota Zoo's Russia's Grizzly Coast.
 
Day 3 – Minnesota Zoo

A little bit of back story here. This was not the first time I’ve been to Minneapolis. When I did a lengthy spring zoo trip in 2015, I ended up in Minneapolis following a day in Omaha. Back to then I was still relatively new to the zoo world, and had only limited exposure to resources such as this site. Accordingly, I planned trips and picked which zoos to visit from articles on “best zoos” in google searches. The tipping point for me moving away from that method was an article that strongly endorsed Como Park Zoo. Based on that article I had a largely uninspiring visit at Como and only months later would I come to realize what I had missed by not going to the Minnesota Zoo.

Over two years later, I was thrilled to have the chance to finally visit the Minnesota Zoo and I was not disappointed. The Minnesota Zoo is one of the most beautiful and breath-taking zoos I have visited. The vast majority of habitats are at least good and many are great quality. Focusing primarily on animals that can thrive in a cooler climate, Minnesota is able to offer large, high quality habitats to the majority of its animals. Aside from a few minor exhibit grievances, the only critique that could be levelled against the zoo is the limitedness of its collection.

Russia’s Grizzly Coast

I lack the linguistic capabilities to adequately describe the excellence of this exhibit. Beginning with a strong Sea Otter exhibit, this area also includes a trio of well sized Amur Leopard exhibits full of natural climbing opportunities and perhaps the best grizzly exhibit I have ever seen. After viewing the otters, I moved up the pathway when through a clearing in the trees/bushes, you could see a bear perched high upon a hill. While the bear is obviously behind a secure exhibit; coming upon it in such a manner left the impression of stumbling upon a bear while walking through the woods (an impression the existing trees left in the zoo strongly contribute to). There are a multitude of other opportunities to the view the bears, including in the water through glass. The exhibit itself offers the bears multiple choices on location, privacy, enrichment and substrate. As a final bonus, there is a substantial amount of educational information provided throughout the exhibit.

Amur Tigers

There are three tiger exhibits at Minnesota Zoo. Tiger Base Camp follows Russia’s Grizzly Coast and it may be the largest tiger exhibit I have seen. Visitors walk on an elevated boardwalk overlooking the massive and densely planted exhibit. In addition to the lushness, the exhibit offers climbing opportunities and a body of water for the tigers to utilize. The second exhibit is reached on the other side of Northern Trail section, here guests look out from a moated set up to another massive (although smaller than the first) hilly yard, that is even more densely planted than the first. Finally, Tiger Base Camp follows this exhibit and it is a much smaller grass yard viewed through grass that was home to a mother and her young cub on my visit. These exhibits may have spoiled tiger exhibits for me on the rest of the trip as it’s hard to imagine any other exhibit providing such a larger and natural habitat for tigers. I can see some visitors complaining that these exhibits afford the tigers too much opportunity to hide and makes it very difficult to see them. While I think that is a notable risk, the benefits of having such a naturalistic habitat for the tigers outweighs these concerns.

Northern Trail

This section of the zoo has picturesque and spacious exhibits for animals such as bison, pronghorn, takin, dhole, moose and caribou. On more than one occasion, it is easy to feel as if you were stumbling upon these animals in their natural habitat in the wild. It was a real treat to see dholes, and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of educational material offered on these animals that are rare in AZA zoos.

Kangaroo Crossing

This is the most recent addition to the zoo, and it provides a decent walk through area with animals such as wallabies. Emus are in a fenced in yard, and a large pack of kangaroos rested on a hill side away from the walkway.

Snow Monkeys

These primates enjoy a particularly spacious grassy habitat that provides numerous climbing structures. There are multiple vantage points offered, including a rampway that provides views at different heights of the exhibit. My only gripe with this exhibit is that after so many exhibits with beautiful surroundings, the grey concrete wall for this exhibit is rather uninspiring.

Minnesota Trail

This is a nice combination of indoor and outdoor exhibits for North American species. It was nice to finally see a wolverine here. It was curled in a ball sleeping, however any other zoo I have been at with wolverines, I have never been able to see them as they were in a cave curled up sleeping. So it being curled up sleeping on a rock was a nice progression. A pair of Canadian lynx enjoy an exhibit with some significant climbing opportunities. I found the cougar exhibit to be rather disappointing as it seemed like there was a limited amount of space afforded to these cats; an observation that was out of place with the rest of the zoo.

Tropics Trail

Tropics trail is an interesting immersive building that for most the part does a good job of providing spacious exhibits to a variety of species. Ring tailed lemurs and gibbons for example both have decent exhibits. This building is not as immersive as the Lied Jungle in Omaha; however, I think that benefits the exhibits as more space is dedicated for the animals. Like in Omaha, I was disappointed to see a tapir with an indoor only exhibit. A red panda was also confined to an indoor exhibit. These examples are a concern with an otherwise solid exhibit.

My visit to the Minnesota Zoo was terrific; it was one that excited and inspired me as it progressed. It is not without some flaws, yet the positives are some of the best in-class exhibits to be found in North America. I agree with the relatively recent decision to step back from an ambitious plan for an African area expansion for the zoo. I do wonder though what the future holds, and if a more modest expansion plan is possible? The zoo is a must see for any zoo enthusiast.

Random Observations

Ran into some obstacles leading up to this day. After finishing at Brookfield the day before and heading to Minneapolis it was rather startling when somewhere along I94 my phone started blasting a warning from the National Weather Service of an impending tornado warning and suggested seeking cover immediately (of which there was none along this stretch of highway). Thankfully this warning passed without coming to fruition.

I followed along with great interest in snowleopard’s summer trip this past summer, and I recall a discussion on his sleeping in the back of his van rather than hotels. I lack that dedication and go the hotel route, although I think I saw the wisdom in his approach when at 12:30AM the hotel fire alarm went off with a false alarm that was apparently trigged by faulty wiring in the alarm.

I would say the lack of sleep due to this contributed to my slight slip up following my trip to the Minnesota Zoo. I punched in the address for what I thought was my hotel in Winnipeg, so you can imagine my surprise when the GPS brought me to Assiniboine Park Zoo at 10:30 on Sunday night. Thankfully the hotel was only 15 minutes away, and I was prepared for how to get the zoo in the morning.
 
I visited Minnesota Zoo quite a while ago (circa 1995-97) and was impressed as well. I would love to go back to see Grizzly Coast, especially in winter.
 
Day 4 – Assiniboine Park Zoo

After the first three days featured temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius (that’s 77 Fahrenheit), it was quite a shock to the system in Winnipeg where it was a balmy 8 degrees (46 Fahrenheit). Assiniboine Park Zoo is a smaller facility that has predominantly poor to okay habitats, however it is highlighted by the magnificent Journey to Churchill, an exhibit that is world class.

Journey to Churchill

The first exhibit you come to is a large snowy owl exhibit home to at least half a dozen owls. The exhibit is large in both the ground area and vertical space offered to the owls. I’m not normally overly interested in bird exhibits yet I was struck by the beauty of this exhibited. The exhibit is especially lush. From there you come to caribou and artic fox exhibits, both of which are solid if not exceptional. Next up is a large exhibit for muskox and if you turn your head to the right you see a massive hill, home to a pack of Gray Wolves. The beauty of looking up at this natural grassy hill to see a pack of wolves spread out and observing their surroundings left me awe struck. The wolf exhibit is spectacular. This exhibit can also be viewed through glass, which is the wolves came down would provide an up close view of them. This wolf exhibit is apparently temporary, as a sign explains that when the polar bear population needs it, this exhibit will be utilized by the bears. A new exhibit is also being built for the wolves in the Grasslands and Boreal Forest section. Next up are the stars of the exhibit, the polar bears. You enter a building which contains numerous artifacts and is full of information on the bears and the challenges they are facing in the wild. A short movie can also be viewed on the bears. You then have your first opportunity to view the bears through glass. From there the bears can be viewed in an underwater tunnel comparable with the Arctic Ring of Life in Detroit. There is an amazing feeling to watching these powerful bears swimming above your head. The following tunnel offers underwater views of a pair of harbour seals. Exiting the building, you can head to a secondary area that according to the banners holds a pair of younger bears although I only saw one in this section. This area is the only blight on the section as it appears to be the old bear grottos, viewable through double layers of chain-link fencing. I really hope with the opening of the new wolf exhibit that any bears in this section will be able to move to the current wolf exhibit as this area is depressing. Heading back to the main bear exhibit, a series of windows offer views into a massive yard that contains varied substrate (grass, stones, sand) and hills throughout. During my second pass through the exhibit a total of six, yes six, bears were on exhibit together in this yard. It was remarkable to watch some of the bears play with each other while others explored the habitat or napped. I can’t ever recall seeing more than three bears together on exhibit, so this was particularly neat.

Grasslands and Boreal Forest

The highlight of this section were the cougar and Canadian lynx exhibits. Both exhibits were particularly spacious (more so than the ones at Minnesota) and had a tremendous amount of tree limbs to act as climbing opportunities. The only knock on these exhibits is the ugly metal fencing that surrounds them. The rest of this section contains rather standard functional exhibits for animals such as reindeer, elk and bison. There is nothing inherently flawed with these exhibits, but there is little exciting or intriguing.

Asia

After exiting the Journey to Churchill, I was excited to hear a zoo docent telling another guest to head over to the snow leopards as they were currently eating. I quickly proceeded to the snow leopard exhibit and was sadly shocked by the quality of the exhibits. There are three exhibits, none of which are especially large or tall. There are climbing and enrichment opportunities in each enclosure, yet the size limits these and the metal fencing surrounding the enclosures further detracts from the viewing experience. Coming to this exhibit after being in a world class polar bear exhibit further underscore the limits of this exhibit. Amur tigers have an above average exhibit that is particularly spacious with multiple climbing opportunities and hiding opportunities. The two tigers were on exhibit together, which is ideal as the secondary tiger exhibit is a much smaller and somewhat depressing enclosure. The rest of Asia is comparable with Grasslands and Boreal Forests offering standard and functional yet lacklustre exhibits for camels, takins, yak, markhor amongst others.

This zoo is really two separate facilities, the world class Journey to Churchill and the rest of the zoo. While aside from the snow leopard exhibit, there is very little that is poor quality yet there is also very little that excites or inspires in the rest of the zoo. As for Journey to Churchill, the obvious question is how does it compare to Arctic Ring of Life in Detroit. I’m hesitant to declare that either exhibit is better, but I have no issue stating that Journey to Churchill is in the same league as Arctic Ring of Life. Journey to Churchill is one of the best polar bear exhibits I have ever seen, only Detroit can compare to. The rest of the complex is also very strong, including the current wolf/future polar bear habitat. Does this exhibit make the zoo a must visit? Yes and no. I am very glad to have seen it and would fully recommended anyone who is able to visit do so. At the same time, I had still seen everything in the zoo within an hour and a half. And Winnipeg is not exactly convenient to get to. It is a long way to go for that one section. Hopefully, the new wolf exhibit being built will be of a similar nature and provide a more compelling justification for future visits. I think though the hardcore zoo enthusiasts would be thrilled to visit now, to take in Journey to Churchill.

Random Notes

I’m not sure if I have mentioned that I am taking pictures and do plan to post some. I likely won’t be posting any pictures though till after I get back and have a chance to review the photos.

A slight itinerary change was made for today (Tuesday). Initially the plan was to visit Calgary on Wednesday, however the forecast was less than stellar for that day. Accordingly, the drive after Assiniboine Park Zoo was lengthened and with an early start to the day today, we arrived at Calgary Zoo around noon. That means the next two days are zoo free, which should allow me to get the Calgary Zoo review up tomorrow and possible wade into a best zoo in Canada debate.
 
m30t said:
Day 1 - Cincinnati Zoo



Bear Grottoes

From a favourite to the worst, this is a section of the zoo that I would really like to see overhauled. I spent barely anytime at this area, as I do not enjoy the mock rock, lack of vegetation and overall dated exhibits. The polar bear exhibit is still more modern; however, an overhaul is needed. Given the amazing work Cincinnati’s research wing, CREW, is doing on polar bear reproduction, it is unfortunate that the bears do not have a state of the art exhibit to showcase the work.
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I went over the summer with a friend who talked with a chat interpreter about the condition of the exhibit. He gave her some lame excuse that construction on the exhibit would disturb its inhabitants and that this zoo is one of the top in the nation for polar bear reproduction. Although CREW is doing amazing work with A.I., no polar bear has yet had a successful birth with the procedure. Also in the past few years the male has not sired a cub with either females, and the current one at the zoo, Anana, is not one he is particularly fond of. On a personal level, it breaks my heart a little as I am a huge Anana fan who has seen her go from horribly outdated grottoes in Buffalo, to modern grassy grottoes at Brookfield, back to a modern exhibit in Buffalo, and now once again, stuck in one of the worst polar bear exhibits in the nation. With zoos still continuing to modernize their polar bear exhibits, it makes me wonder if these bears won't be moved somewhere else.
 
Day 5 – Calgary

The Calgary Zoo sets the tone from the moment you exit your car and head towards the entrance area. Walking through an extended underground tunnel to get to the ticketing station before entering the zoo through another tunnel you instantly get the feeling that this is a modern facility. The animal artwork on the tunnel walls with well executed coloured lighting gives the impression that you are entering a world class facility. The first exhibit you come to solidifies that notion.

Penguin Plunge

The first animals you come to are Humboldt Penguins in a spacious and lush outdoor habitat. The slightly cooler temperature on my visit might have contributed to the birds only being in the water. Entering the building on your left you can see the machinery necessary to maintain the next area, which is an open habitat for rockhopper, Gentoo and king penguins. The building is obviously kept at quiet a cool temperature and the birds are close enough to touch (staff and docents are on hand to make sure that doesn’t happen). The only comparable for this exhibit is the penguin exhibit at the St Louis Zoo, which is larger than Calgary. This exhibit is spectacular and frames the zoo in a tremendously positive light going forward.


Canadian Wilds

Home to a large variety of Canadian species, this area begins with massive and mountainous habitats for cougars, black bears and a grizzly bear. All of these species enjoy spacious habitats, with a large amount of climbing space for the cougars, and enrichment and privacy options for all the animals. From there, Gray Wolves have a spacious habitat followed by less extraordinary but still decent habitats for animals such as caribou and otters. This section is solid, with the real highlight being the first three species. The bison habitat felt a little small, but nothing that amounts to a serious concern.

Destination Africa

This section begins with what I found the most troubling exhibits of the zoo: river hippos and giraffes. The giraffes have access to a large yard that is shared with several other species, however it appears as if the giraffes are confined to a notably small indoor space when weather conditions prevent them from going outside. This is particularly troublesome as the zoo has a decent number of giraffes and the weather in Calgary is likely to keep them inside a good portion of the year. The hippo exhibit is even more troublesome. Beginning with a hard floor that offers no natural substrate two hippos live primarily in a pool that seemed to be adequately sized at best. There is a very small sandy area for the hippos outside of the pool; however, with that being outside of the building I assume they would not have access to this section during the cooler temperatures. This section of the zoo is really out of sync with the rest of the zoo and was the only part of the zoo I did not enjoy visiting.

Following this area is the larger outdoor yard that the giraffes can utilize; on my visit it was primarily occupied by two zebras and crowned cranes. Across from them is a lion exhibit that provides a large grassy area with some hiding areas, that was occupied by two very playful male lions on my visit.

The next section is the most recent and marquee section of the zoo: Land of Lemurs. The cooler temperatures on the day of my visit meant that the outdoor section was closed, yet it was clear from looking out at it that this is a spectacular addition to the zoo and is a world class exhibit. In the cooler weather the lemurs are exhibited at the entrance of the exhibit inside a moderately sized glassed-in enclosure that offers plenty of climbing opportunities. I wasn’t overly impressed with this part of the exhibit as it seemed somewhat basic and uninspiring.

The final component of Destination Africa is a rainforest building that is home to amongst other animals, the zoo’s primate collection. Gorillas have a nice outdoor exhibit and I was pleased to see they also have a spacious indoor exhibit that offers lots of enrichment opportunities. This was one of the better indoor gorilla exhibits I have seen, I would only put Toronto’s above it as Toronto’s offers more space and privacy options to the gorillas. For viewing of the gorillas however, Calgary’s exhibit is superior. Mandrills also have a solid outdoor exhibit that two were utilizing on my visit despite the cooler temperatures.

Eurasia

The final section of the zoo is home to red pandas, snow leopards and amur tigers amongst others. All of the aforementioned animals have above average habitats the offer space, privacy and enrichment opportunities. There is no knock out exhibit in this section of the zoo…yet. Walking into this area you come across the signage and construction fencing for the up coming giant panda exhibit. I am quite intrigued to see how this exhibit will turnout.


The Calgary Zoo is an excellent mid sized facility that offers several standout exhibits in addition to many very good exhibits, and only one objectional area. While I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, I think this is a zoo that would be even more enjoyable in the summer months with warmer temperatures. That may seem obvious, yet it is somewhat problematic as the Calgary climate limits the outdoor time for many of the animals. Regardless, this zoo offers an enjoyable visit whatever the temperature.

During the summer on a thread in the Canadian section of this site, @snowleopard posed the question of whether Calgary was now ahead of Toronto and was now Canada’s best zoo? I’m going to sit on the fence a bit here, but it really comes down to how you quantify “best”. Calgary offers two exhibits that are best in-class and Toronto cannot compete with that. Yet if I were to try and compare the exhibit for each animal housed at the two zoos, I think it would be fairly equal and even if Calgary had a few more superior exhibits, Toronto would be uncontested for a large number of animals. If diversity and size of collection is your determining factor, Toronto winds by a land slide. At a leisurely pace I covered the Calgary Zoo in just over 2 hours, a feat not plausible at Toronto. Personally, I think it’s great that such a debate is needed. Hopefully Calgary’s upcoming panda exhibit will further swing the momentum in their favour and Toronto will be able to respond with future exhibits.
 
@Arizona Docent Grizzly Coast with snow fall would be amazing.

@blospz That reasoning is rather disappointing. I have to agree with wondering if the bears will eventually end up getting moved. If that is necessary for exhibit upgrades, I don't think many would object.
 
Great reviews...keep 'em coming! I particularly enjoyed reading about Calgary Zoo as while I live 11 hours away via vehicle, I have visited the zoo on numerous occasions in recent years due to having relatives in Calgary. I'm astonished that you only spent 2 hours there and were you by yourself? When I tour Calgary Zoo with my wife and 4 kids we usually spend about 4 hours there, have lunch, and at that point only see half the zoo. Then we go back on another day and spend at least another 4 hours walking around (including lunch) and we see the second half of the zoo. By then we've logged 8 hours and can safely say that we've seen every species on-show. Since Calgary is a facility that is clearly divided in two, with one half on the mainland and one half on an island accessed by a pedestrian bridge, it is easy enough to see everything in two long visits. I'm guessing that you don't have 4 little kids slowing you down if you were in and out in two hours! :) When I'm on my solo road trips I tour zoos at a greater pace as I don't have youngsters dawdling in playgrounds.

I agree with most everything you've said in all of your reviews at this point, but I will offer a bit more praise in favour of the Canadian Wilds section at Calgary Zoo. That area is 21 acres in size and larger than many entire zoos that I've visited. As you point out, some of the marquee species are bears, cougars, wolves and otters but the large walk-through bird of prey aviary with 3 owl species is spectacular and the trio of mock-rock hoofstock exhibits are fantastic. In fact, there are no less than 24 species in Canadian Wilds and I feel as if it is almost a zoo within a zoo! One thing that Calgary really lacks is a higher number of birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish...with a focus on megafauna that brings in the huge crowds. With the addition of Giant Pandas the zoo is estimating that a minimum of 1.6 million people will visit the establishment in 2018.
 
Thank you for these reviews! It always amazes me how quickly some zoochatters can write and post reviews while on trips; I'm always too exhausted while on trips to do so!
 
@snowleopard I should stress I had been to all the exhibits at Calgary within two hours. I spent over four hours there as I tend to try and visit each exhibit at least twice. You are correct though, there are no little one's tagging along.
I envy you being able to visit Calgary with some frequency, especially after travelling from Banff through to Seattle yesterday on what was one of the most scenic days I've experienced.
I agree with your thoughts on Canadian Wilds. It also has some what of a different feel than the other sections of the zoo, which further contributes to the idea of it being "a zoo within a zoo."
One point that this discussion made me think of that I forgot to include is my review was how impressed I was by the number of classrooms and education facilities throughout Calgary Zoo. This was a great indicator of how seriously the zoo takes its role in education.

@geomorph I'm gaining more respect every day for everyone who has done these reviews in the past. It can be a bit of a challenge at times (hence, my lack of proof-reading on the reviews).

Day 8 – Woodland Park Zoo

After two days off from zoos for traveling from Calgary to Seattle, the next zoo visited left a lasting impression. Prior to visiting each zoo I try to gain as much information on possible for the visit such as keeper talks, feedings, scouring the map to plan an ideal route. At the same time, I also try to enter each facility with a blank slate of expectations, I aim to view each exhibit without any preconceived notions from other’s opinions. In ideal cases, I’m quickly blown away by stellar exhibits shortly after arriving at the zoo. Today was on one of those days.

Africa

African Savanna begins by looking out at a large mixed species exhibit. Multiple vantage points are offered on this truly stunning habitat; my personal favourite was at the hippo exhibit. The hippos have a large pool and a decently sized grazing area. The grazing area has an invisible border with the savanna allowing for the impression that the hippos are sharing the same space as the other animals; a fantastic perspective. This section includes impressive habitats for patas monkeys and warthogs. There is also a strong lion habitat that is incredibly spacious for the big cats.

Tropical Asia

Exiting Africa brings to another standout area, Tropical Asia. Tapirs have spacious exhibits, while François langurs have plenty of climbing opportunities. The gibbon habitat offers some very tall trees that had visitors beside me fearful that the gibbons would actually be able to escape. The true stars of the exhibit are the orangutans. While their indoor habitats are not inspiring, the outdoor habitat for these great apes is spectacular. Spacious, lush and offering plenty of naturalist climbing opportunities, this is easily the best orangutan habitat I have seen. As luck would have it, today was a slightly cooler day and as a result the orangs spent the day indoors.

Australiasia

In addition to emus and wallabies, this section is highlighted by a strong snow leopard habitat. Adequately sized, with numerous climbing opportunities and naturalistic, there was a crowd at this exhibit all day trying to get a glimpse of a young cub.

Banyan Woods

This was my least favourite section of the zoo, but with that said there wasn’t anything horrible or even not good in this section. The Asian Small clawed otters were my favourite in this area; with a fairly larger exhibit and lots of enrichment opportunities it was quite enjoyable to watch a large group of them run around. Sloth bears have a decent though not terrific exhibit, while the tiger exhibit feels on the small side. The frosting on the glass through out this section also detracts from its strength due to significantly limiting the viewing options.

Northern Trail

This section begins a very naturalistic gray wolf habitat. The visual appearance of this exhibit is stellar, although I felt that it was a little limited in space. I might be wrong on this, but it didn’t look to be as large of space as it could have been. Elk, mountain goats and stellar sea eagles all have above average habitats. The stars of this section are the grizzlies, with one of the best grizzly habitats I have seen. Guests have the opportunity to view the bears from several different perspectives all of which can offer excellent views of the active bears.

Tropical Rainforest

Tropic rainforest offers multiple world class exhibits, beginning with a naturalistic and large jaguar habitat. This exhibit offers enrichment, plenty of hiding opportunities, a large body of water, and climbing structures for the jaguar. Red ruffed and ring-tailed lemurs each have island style habitats that keep in-line with the rest of the section offering very naturalistic environments. The stars here are the gorillas who have two wonderful habitats, that are world-class.


I feel as if I didn’t write as much on Woodland Park as I have on other zoos. I attribute that to the overall quality of the zoo, and that my words really can’t do justice to the strengths of the zoo. It’s a zoo that I would love to live close to an have the opportunity to visit on a regular basis.
 
Thanks for the review of Woodland Park Zoo, a place that I visit 3 times each year. I would love to go more often but it is a 5-hour round-trip from my home in Canada to Seattle. You didn't mention the Temperate Forest section of the zoo..did you see that part? There are flamingos, southern pudus, red pandas, maned wolves, several crane species and many birds. Also in that zone is a small but interesting Insect House (Bug World) and a family farmyard.

Did you tour the Reptile House (Day Exhibit) or is it still shut? That building has been closed for almost a year now but at one time was due to reopen in 2018 along with the Nocturnal House (Night Exhibit) that closed down in 2010.

I found it interesting that you raved about the hippo enclosure because it is now almost 40 years old and somewhat outdated...although I think that I'm more critical of WPZ than most simply because I've visited the place on countless occasions. Here is a paragraph that I copied and pasted from the 2004 Master Plan:

"The present hippo exhibit is difficult to service. There are no indoor pools for off-exhibit use and the water is cold. The hippos have tolerated these conditions but these facilities do not meet the high standards expected at Woodland Park Zoo. The proposed underwater viewing carries a significant cost for construction and operation because of the challenging filtration requirements. However, public response to these underwater giants is exceptional and their aquatic behavior can be truly appreciated in no other way."
 
Enjoying the reviews so far! :)

I know I'm a little late in the game for this, but I saw no mention of Discovery Bay in your Minnesota review. Did you run out of time to see it? If so, what a shame as it houses the only Hawaiian monk seals on display outside of Hawaii.

Looking forward to the rest of the trip!
 
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