Someone on ZooChat finally visited this zoo...me! I uploaded 24 photos of the zoo into the gallery today, and here is the full review from my 50 day, 50 zoo/aquarium road trip. It is 4 years after this thread began and the zoo is yet to receive AZA-accreditation.
DAY 33: Friday, August 3rd, 2012
Road Trip Review # 37: Hattiesburg Zoo
Hattiesburg Zoo’s website:
Welcome to the Hattiesburg Zoo
Zoo Map:
http://www.zoohattiesburg.com/zoo/assets/File/HBURGzoo_map.pdf
Hattiesburg Zoo is a non-AZA-accredited facility located in Kamper Park, and it is one of only two zoos in the entire state of Mississippi. It was founded in 1950 and attracts over 100,000 visitors per year on its 12 acres. At the moment there are a long list of construction projects that are happening and once they are all complete (possibly within the next year) the goal of AZA-accreditation could become a reality. The zoo has remained focused on joining the big league of American zoos and the staff is intent on becoming accredited so that animal transfers can occur and many doors will be opened to the establishment.
We spent an hour and a half at Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in Louisiana before driving for less than 2 hours and visiting Hattiesburg Zoo in Mississippi and we spent about 45 minutes at that tiny attraction. This review can be considered Part II of our August 3rd experience.
THE BEST:
Nothing fits this category.
THE AVERAGE:
South America – This area of the zoo is comprised of a large paddock for 3 species (llama, Baird’s tapir and capybara) and a muddy pond for waterfowl. A decent jaguar exhibit with a ruined-temple theme and lush plantings is a surprise to see at a small zoo, and a long habitat for black howler monkeys and blue-and-gold macaws is very good. Right before this section begins is a very long, narrow cage with black metal wire as containment that features 3 species of lemur: ring-tailed, black-and-white ruffed and crowned. A prairie dog exhibit is across the pathway and it has a tunnel for kids and is a decent enclosure for those common critters.
Amur Tiger Exhibit – An adequate-sized tiger habitat has several Asian statues inside of it (like a mini Buddhist carving) and yet the only way to see the cats is through a black metal chain-link fence. Ugh. A rickety wooden ramp takes visitors up a little higher but nowhere is there a proper overlook into the exhibit or even glass viewing windows. Also, somewhat bizarrely there are prayer flags strung along the sides and even across the exhibit and they are distractingly tacky.
American Alligator Exhibit – A typical swampy pool that makes it virtually impossible to locate a crocodilian within it due to the proliferous weeds. There was a greater chance of me finding God than a gator in that murk! A nearby lake is much cleaner and it contains these 5 species: mute swan, black swan, black-necked swan, Australian shelduck and Egyptian goose – 4 continents represented in one pool as geographical accuracy is flushed down the toilet.
THE WORST:
Africa – An African Veldt is essentially a large paddock for eland, grant’s zebra and ostriches that is mainly a couple of overlooks over wire fencing and with a nifty Ranger Station with muddy viewing windows. A nearby DeBrazza guenon/blue duiker exhibit is very nicely furnished and a serval cage is well-shaded but uninspiring. Emus and Galapagos tortoises are together and that must be a common sight on the Australian grasslands, and to have those two species in an African section is just sheer laziness. Nigerian dwarf goats and an African spurred tortoise complete this insipid zone.
Temporary Exhibits – This section was labeled as temporary on the map and one can only cross their fingers and hope that is the case. A pair of corn-crib cages for red-tailed hawks and a great horned owl are ugly and disrespectful to the animals; another pair of much smaller black metal cages house cotton-top tamarins and kookaburras; and the last ugly monstrosity has a black curassow, green iguana and a blue-fronted Amazon parrot residing within it.
THE FUTURE:
Directly by the entrance there is a “surprise” exhibit being constructed and it looks to be about half-way finished; there is a new zebu yard being built in the African zone; a tiger holding building is well underway; a new quarantine structure is also being constructed; a Zoo School/Educational building has its frame finished and will be open this year; and a long set of exhibits ranging from an Asian habitat to a series of Mississippi exhibits will complete a loop of the zoo and significantly add to the animal collection. The long list of projects that are half-finished means that touring the zoo involves dead-ends and half-completed enclosures and while that is frustrating now hopefully in the long run it allows the zoo to settle and expand without overwhelming it at the same time.
OVERALL:
Hattiesburg Zoo is a minor attraction that takes about 45 minutes to see and by my estimate has exactly 20 animal exhibits. There is a train, carousel and fountain area for kids to splash around in and I suspect that some families might drag out a stay for a couple of hours. The future looks much better than the present as with the addition of all of the new exhibits a full loop that will incorporate North American, South American and Asian animals will be complete. With a host of other improvements around the zoo it seems as if the grounds are one big construction zone, but I truly hope that this tiny zoo can pull up its socks and gain AZA-accreditation as then it can participate in the SSP (Species Survival Plan) program and gain the respect of its peers. The goal is attainable but based on what I saw the zoo still has a lot of work to do in the near future.
DAY 33: Friday, August 3rd, 2012
Road Trip Review # 37: Hattiesburg Zoo
Hattiesburg Zoo’s website:
Welcome to the Hattiesburg Zoo
Zoo Map:
http://www.zoohattiesburg.com/zoo/assets/File/HBURGzoo_map.pdf
Hattiesburg Zoo is a non-AZA-accredited facility located in Kamper Park, and it is one of only two zoos in the entire state of Mississippi. It was founded in 1950 and attracts over 100,000 visitors per year on its 12 acres. At the moment there are a long list of construction projects that are happening and once they are all complete (possibly within the next year) the goal of AZA-accreditation could become a reality. The zoo has remained focused on joining the big league of American zoos and the staff is intent on becoming accredited so that animal transfers can occur and many doors will be opened to the establishment.
We spent an hour and a half at Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in Louisiana before driving for less than 2 hours and visiting Hattiesburg Zoo in Mississippi and we spent about 45 minutes at that tiny attraction. This review can be considered Part II of our August 3rd experience.
THE BEST:
Nothing fits this category.
THE AVERAGE:
South America – This area of the zoo is comprised of a large paddock for 3 species (llama, Baird’s tapir and capybara) and a muddy pond for waterfowl. A decent jaguar exhibit with a ruined-temple theme and lush plantings is a surprise to see at a small zoo, and a long habitat for black howler monkeys and blue-and-gold macaws is very good. Right before this section begins is a very long, narrow cage with black metal wire as containment that features 3 species of lemur: ring-tailed, black-and-white ruffed and crowned. A prairie dog exhibit is across the pathway and it has a tunnel for kids and is a decent enclosure for those common critters.
Amur Tiger Exhibit – An adequate-sized tiger habitat has several Asian statues inside of it (like a mini Buddhist carving) and yet the only way to see the cats is through a black metal chain-link fence. Ugh. A rickety wooden ramp takes visitors up a little higher but nowhere is there a proper overlook into the exhibit or even glass viewing windows. Also, somewhat bizarrely there are prayer flags strung along the sides and even across the exhibit and they are distractingly tacky.
American Alligator Exhibit – A typical swampy pool that makes it virtually impossible to locate a crocodilian within it due to the proliferous weeds. There was a greater chance of me finding God than a gator in that murk! A nearby lake is much cleaner and it contains these 5 species: mute swan, black swan, black-necked swan, Australian shelduck and Egyptian goose – 4 continents represented in one pool as geographical accuracy is flushed down the toilet.
THE WORST:
Africa – An African Veldt is essentially a large paddock for eland, grant’s zebra and ostriches that is mainly a couple of overlooks over wire fencing and with a nifty Ranger Station with muddy viewing windows. A nearby DeBrazza guenon/blue duiker exhibit is very nicely furnished and a serval cage is well-shaded but uninspiring. Emus and Galapagos tortoises are together and that must be a common sight on the Australian grasslands, and to have those two species in an African section is just sheer laziness. Nigerian dwarf goats and an African spurred tortoise complete this insipid zone.
Temporary Exhibits – This section was labeled as temporary on the map and one can only cross their fingers and hope that is the case. A pair of corn-crib cages for red-tailed hawks and a great horned owl are ugly and disrespectful to the animals; another pair of much smaller black metal cages house cotton-top tamarins and kookaburras; and the last ugly monstrosity has a black curassow, green iguana and a blue-fronted Amazon parrot residing within it.
THE FUTURE:
Directly by the entrance there is a “surprise” exhibit being constructed and it looks to be about half-way finished; there is a new zebu yard being built in the African zone; a tiger holding building is well underway; a new quarantine structure is also being constructed; a Zoo School/Educational building has its frame finished and will be open this year; and a long set of exhibits ranging from an Asian habitat to a series of Mississippi exhibits will complete a loop of the zoo and significantly add to the animal collection. The long list of projects that are half-finished means that touring the zoo involves dead-ends and half-completed enclosures and while that is frustrating now hopefully in the long run it allows the zoo to settle and expand without overwhelming it at the same time.
OVERALL:
Hattiesburg Zoo is a minor attraction that takes about 45 minutes to see and by my estimate has exactly 20 animal exhibits. There is a train, carousel and fountain area for kids to splash around in and I suspect that some families might drag out a stay for a couple of hours. The future looks much better than the present as with the addition of all of the new exhibits a full loop that will incorporate North American, South American and Asian animals will be complete. With a host of other improvements around the zoo it seems as if the grounds are one big construction zone, but I truly hope that this tiny zoo can pull up its socks and gain AZA-accreditation as then it can participate in the SSP (Species Survival Plan) program and gain the respect of its peers. The goal is attainable but based on what I saw the zoo still has a lot of work to do in the near future.