Houston Zoo Houston zoo
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jbnbsn99
Well-Known Member
I am going to assume that this is the official Houston Zoo thread and post this here. If all goes well this week I am going to try and make a trip down to the Houston Zoo either on Tuesday or Thursday. I will bring camera along to document the whole zoo for all of the ZooChatters who are interested and I will be posting a review. I am particularly interested to see the new elephant expansion. I have only see it in an incomplete state. Hopefully sometime this summer I can get to some of the other Texas zoos and do the same (at least San Antonio and Tyler, no way I'm driving 10 hours one way to Brownsville).
I would be very interested in seeing pictures of Houston and San Antonio's reptile and amphibian collection. They are supposed to be some of the best in the country (along with Dallas, Ft Worth and Ellen trout). Thanx
jbnbsn99
Well-Known Member
I can certainly get some pics of the reptiles. Last time I went about a year and a half ago I remember seeing quite a few reptile species held there but no where near what Dallas or Fort Worth has. Even working at Dallas, I can't tell you how big our collection is. I've heard only about 1/5 is out on display and the building is pretty big. Sounds like I might have to add Ellen Trout to my list this summer.
Thanks again. I personally want to take a trip over to Texas around December. All the zoos mentioned I plan on visiting including DWA, Caldwell, Cameron Park, Tulsa, OKC and Audubon. From what I hear Dallas, Ft Worth, and San Antonio have amazing herp collections (you're lucky at Dallas to have Perenties and Tuatara) but the rest of the Texas zoos are not lacking either. Enjoy your visit.
jbnbsn99
Well-Known Member
Houston Zoo Review
OK, here goes, I think I am fully recovered from yesterday to write a review of the days events. As I live in Fort Worth, it is not very convenient to just drive to Houston. So I got up around 4 in the morning and left around 4:30. I loaded up on a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper (needed some caffeine that early) and headed out. BTW the new Cherry Dr. Pepper I found out later tastes like carbonated prune juice - not recommended. Anyway I had a long drive of me ahead (about 4.5 hours). I once heard a Loony Tunes cartoon where Foghorn Leghorn described a girl like the road between Dallas and Fort Worth - no curves. I can tell you compared to the road between Dallas and Houston, the road between Dallas and Fort Worth is an S-curve. I had to chuckle when my GPS said "next turn go straight in 176 miles."
Anyway, I got to the Zoo a little before it opened with camera in hand and ready to go (as soon as I found the bathroom as the case of Dr. Pepper and over 4 hours in a car don't mix). At the entrance were lots of signs announcing the arrival of "The Cutest Animal in the World" Toby a male red panda. It had been probably close to 2 decades since I had seen a red panda so I was fairly excited about that prospect.
As a good zoo chatter I headed straight for the new elephant area. On the way I passed the cheetah exhibit. A fairly large yard for the 2 males kept there. Also housed with Anatolian Shepards. The dogs even had their own sign telling all about the declining habitat of the domestic dog (ok so it was really about how the dogs help out with the cheetahs). Next to the cheetahs is the Masai Giraffe exhibit. Its a treat to see something other than reticulateds. Not the greatest giraffe exhibit around, probably about .75 acres, but no grass, all soft sand substrate. As I recall there were about 6 or 7 giraffes including a 17 week old. The big male followed me around quite a bit . My complaint here is the fencing. The main fence is 10 to 12 feet tall - and hot wired. If you have a fence like that, is there really a need to hot wire that fence?
Anyway on to the elephants. I walk up and the mom and calf are out in the main yard while the other 2 females are inside getting a scrub down. The new barn is great, spacious with lots of stalls. A plus for the guests are 4 big windows that can be opened up to look into the barn while work is being done. Inside the barn was a definitely non-elephantine creature, a dog that wondered about the barn, in and out of the stalls, and even came up to greet me. I'm not sure how safe this is with all the diseases that could pass between species. At first I was disappointed with the new elephants digs (not the barn though), as the yards were very small for the herd. It finally dawned on me that I was still looking at a work in progress. At the moment the small yard that the heard is in will be one of two smaller bull yards. The big yard with a pool and lots of space is yet to be built. Good reason for that is that the yard will be located right where the giraffes are. The giraffes will be moved to the new African Forest section once it opens. All told, the area will be about 3 acres or as the keeper said about 3 football fields (and no that's not soccer for you non-Americans). I will talk more about the Forest later, but I will remark that - giraffes - forest - qué? Back to the elephants. I was able to get to a keeper demonstration and find out some about the elephants kept there. Thai the bull is 43 and one of the biggest elephants in the country at around 13,000 lbs. His tusks would be impressive, if they were not cut every few years to prevent cracks. The herd has 3 adult females and on male calf. Mac the other male calf died in Nov. of the elephant herpes virus, but his death has resulted in a huge study on finding cures and a vaccine for the virus, so he may not have died in vain. The main bull yard was small, but had some shade, while the other yard had no shade, just lots of dirt to roll around in.
OK, enough with the elephants. I kept going on the same path and got to another area, I wish I could give it a name, but the zoo isn't laid out into area. This actually is a highly disappointing aspect of the zoo. The is no organization at all for most of the exhibits. This area had okapi, bongo, maned wolf, tapir, and anteater. No congruity at all. There has been a thread on the best okapi exhibits out there. This does not qualify as one of them. There are two yards with a few trees in each. The first exhibit had 0.1 okapi, 1.1 yellow-backed duiker, 0.0.1 red-flaked duiker, a few spur-thighed tortoises, and a black crowned crane. Interesting mix, but it is a boring exhibit. I could see it holding domestic cattle quite well. The second exhibit was no better, but a slightly different mix. 1.0 okapi, 1.1 YBD, and 1.1 southern ground hornbills. A 3rd male okapi was off exhibit and was the breeding male. The main difference between the two exhibits was that the first had an elevated viewing area, while the second was on ground lever so I had to look through an 8 foot high fence. The latter will be a recurring feature with the hoofstock exhibits. Nest to the okapi were the bongo. A real treat here. Not that I don't get to see bongo often, I do, its that they had 3 babies all born within a few weeks of each other a couple of months ago. Evidently this came as a shock to the keepers when all were born in a short span. It seems that they just got a new overly eager male. If there is anything much cuter than a baby bongo I haven't seen it, and the addition of having three was a bonus. Next to the bongo were the three South American large animal exhibits. Tapir, Maned Wold, and Tapir and Anteater. The two yards that held the tapirs (lowland) were quite nice with lots of tall grass and pools to play in. The drawback here is again that horrendous fencing, although one tapir habitat was plexiglass on the bottom half of the fence (i.e. a decent photo could be had here). The maned wolf exhibit again had a raised wooden platform, but there was a lot of vegetation (banana plants?) in between the viewing areas and the animals; very hard to see. On a side note the last time I was there the maned wolves, anteater, and tapirs were all kept in the same yard together, not sure how well that works. Across from all of these aforementioned exhibits was a yard for 3 Ankole cattle. I'm not a big fan of having domesticated animals, but these were impressive. Evidently this used to be the yard for white rhinos. The rhinos have since passed and the time I saw them 2 years ago they were in a different part of the zoo. There is talk about bringing them back to this yard when the new section opens up. It wouldn't make a bad yard for rhinos, maybe a little small though.
Ok it looks like this is going to be a long review so I am going to post this part now and start in on the second part, maybe after having some cookies.
OK, here goes, I think I am fully recovered from yesterday to write a review of the days events. As I live in Fort Worth, it is not very convenient to just drive to Houston. So I got up around 4 in the morning and left around 4:30. I loaded up on a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper (needed some caffeine that early) and headed out. BTW the new Cherry Dr. Pepper I found out later tastes like carbonated prune juice - not recommended. Anyway I had a long drive of me ahead (about 4.5 hours). I once heard a Loony Tunes cartoon where Foghorn Leghorn described a girl like the road between Dallas and Fort Worth - no curves. I can tell you compared to the road between Dallas and Houston, the road between Dallas and Fort Worth is an S-curve. I had to chuckle when my GPS said "next turn go straight in 176 miles."
Anyway, I got to the Zoo a little before it opened with camera in hand and ready to go (as soon as I found the bathroom as the case of Dr. Pepper and over 4 hours in a car don't mix). At the entrance were lots of signs announcing the arrival of "The Cutest Animal in the World" Toby a male red panda. It had been probably close to 2 decades since I had seen a red panda so I was fairly excited about that prospect.
As a good zoo chatter I headed straight for the new elephant area. On the way I passed the cheetah exhibit. A fairly large yard for the 2 males kept there. Also housed with Anatolian Shepards. The dogs even had their own sign telling all about the declining habitat of the domestic dog (ok so it was really about how the dogs help out with the cheetahs). Next to the cheetahs is the Masai Giraffe exhibit. Its a treat to see something other than reticulateds. Not the greatest giraffe exhibit around, probably about .75 acres, but no grass, all soft sand substrate. As I recall there were about 6 or 7 giraffes including a 17 week old. The big male followed me around quite a bit . My complaint here is the fencing. The main fence is 10 to 12 feet tall - and hot wired. If you have a fence like that, is there really a need to hot wire that fence?
Anyway on to the elephants. I walk up and the mom and calf are out in the main yard while the other 2 females are inside getting a scrub down. The new barn is great, spacious with lots of stalls. A plus for the guests are 4 big windows that can be opened up to look into the barn while work is being done. Inside the barn was a definitely non-elephantine creature, a dog that wondered about the barn, in and out of the stalls, and even came up to greet me. I'm not sure how safe this is with all the diseases that could pass between species. At first I was disappointed with the new elephants digs (not the barn though), as the yards were very small for the herd. It finally dawned on me that I was still looking at a work in progress. At the moment the small yard that the heard is in will be one of two smaller bull yards. The big yard with a pool and lots of space is yet to be built. Good reason for that is that the yard will be located right where the giraffes are. The giraffes will be moved to the new African Forest section once it opens. All told, the area will be about 3 acres or as the keeper said about 3 football fields (and no that's not soccer for you non-Americans). I will talk more about the Forest later, but I will remark that - giraffes - forest - qué? Back to the elephants. I was able to get to a keeper demonstration and find out some about the elephants kept there. Thai the bull is 43 and one of the biggest elephants in the country at around 13,000 lbs. His tusks would be impressive, if they were not cut every few years to prevent cracks. The herd has 3 adult females and on male calf. Mac the other male calf died in Nov. of the elephant herpes virus, but his death has resulted in a huge study on finding cures and a vaccine for the virus, so he may not have died in vain. The main bull yard was small, but had some shade, while the other yard had no shade, just lots of dirt to roll around in.
OK, enough with the elephants. I kept going on the same path and got to another area, I wish I could give it a name, but the zoo isn't laid out into area. This actually is a highly disappointing aspect of the zoo. The is no organization at all for most of the exhibits. This area had okapi, bongo, maned wolf, tapir, and anteater. No congruity at all. There has been a thread on the best okapi exhibits out there. This does not qualify as one of them. There are two yards with a few trees in each. The first exhibit had 0.1 okapi, 1.1 yellow-backed duiker, 0.0.1 red-flaked duiker, a few spur-thighed tortoises, and a black crowned crane. Interesting mix, but it is a boring exhibit. I could see it holding domestic cattle quite well. The second exhibit was no better, but a slightly different mix. 1.0 okapi, 1.1 YBD, and 1.1 southern ground hornbills. A 3rd male okapi was off exhibit and was the breeding male. The main difference between the two exhibits was that the first had an elevated viewing area, while the second was on ground lever so I had to look through an 8 foot high fence. The latter will be a recurring feature with the hoofstock exhibits. Nest to the okapi were the bongo. A real treat here. Not that I don't get to see bongo often, I do, its that they had 3 babies all born within a few weeks of each other a couple of months ago. Evidently this came as a shock to the keepers when all were born in a short span. It seems that they just got a new overly eager male. If there is anything much cuter than a baby bongo I haven't seen it, and the addition of having three was a bonus. Next to the bongo were the three South American large animal exhibits. Tapir, Maned Wold, and Tapir and Anteater. The two yards that held the tapirs (lowland) were quite nice with lots of tall grass and pools to play in. The drawback here is again that horrendous fencing, although one tapir habitat was plexiglass on the bottom half of the fence (i.e. a decent photo could be had here). The maned wolf exhibit again had a raised wooden platform, but there was a lot of vegetation (banana plants?) in between the viewing areas and the animals; very hard to see. On a side note the last time I was there the maned wolves, anteater, and tapirs were all kept in the same yard together, not sure how well that works. Across from all of these aforementioned exhibits was a yard for 3 Ankole cattle. I'm not a big fan of having domesticated animals, but these were impressive. Evidently this used to be the yard for white rhinos. The rhinos have since passed and the time I saw them 2 years ago they were in a different part of the zoo. There is talk about bringing them back to this yard when the new section opens up. It wouldn't make a bad yard for rhinos, maybe a little small though.
Ok it looks like this is going to be a long review so I am going to post this part now and start in on the second part, maybe after having some cookies.
jbnbsn99
Well-Known Member
Houston Zoo Review part 2
Back to the review (and dang it I had no cookies). Next up was the carnivore area. First exhibit I came to was the African Wild Dogs. They were very active running around the enclosure pretty much all day. There was nothing special here about the habitat, just a fenced in area with a little raised area for the dogs to sleep on. This is a fairly new exhibit about 2 years old. Now for the crown jewel of the zoo, the lion exhibit. It is spacious with lots of rocks to climb on and places to hide or lay about. The visitors can see this area from 3 sides. The side nearest to the wild dogs was completely glass walls so you can get right up close to the lions. In the from and on the other side is a raised platform that looks out across a large pond. Evidently the pond is stocked with fish that one of the lions will catch occasionally (but wont eat them). Talk about enrichment, real hunting in a zoo is something unheard of, with the exception of the rogue squirrel. If all this wasn't good enough - its a walk-through exhibit. Ok not what you're thinking. On either side of the exhibit is a staircase that goes underground and leads to a tunnel that goes through the lion enclosure, so you can actually feel like you are inside the lion habitat. This maybe one of the best lion exhibits around, and whats more it isn't a new exhibit, but was built in the 1960's. Talk about standing the test of time.
I wish I could rave about the rest of the carnivore habitats. The Malayan Tiger area was ok. One tiger could be seen sleeping at times, and at other times it was hidden underneath a bush. Again a raised platform viewing area that looks across a pond. Two species of bear were kept here, Spectacled and Grizzly. The single Spectacled had the larger enclosure, a typical bear grotto with moat. An abandoned exhibit separated the two species. Two grizzlies (brothers I think) shared a fairly small area, but this is evidently a paradise for them as they were rescued in the Houston area from a life living in a small cage as someones pets.
Other exhibits here were; 2 clouded leopard exhibits, fossa, margay, leopard (a spotted and a black rotated mid-day), mountain lion cubs, adult mountain lion, and jaguar. All except the adult mountain lion and jaguar were in a row of older looking cages that had been retrofitted over the years. A keeper later confirmed this saying all of the carnivore exhibits (except the lion and wild dogs) were built in the 1940's and retrofitted in the 80's. Almost all of these exhibits were very well planted and I could hardly see some of the animals even if they were a few feet in front of my face. I never did get a good look at the margay. Thats a shame too, as they aren't that common in zoos.
The jaguar/mountain lion exhibits were much larger, but terrible viewing. The glass you look through into the exhibit was scratched and fogged making viewing (and photo taking) difficult. The animals can rotate between the two exhibits, but this hasn't happened in a while from what I gather. When talking to a keeper he said that the two are actually going to switch soon as the habitats are more appropriate for the animals. The glass will be soon replaced as well so that shouldn't be held against them. All in all a decent collection of cats/bears/dogs, but small exhibits (although for what they have they make them look as nice as possible.
Next a quick romp through the Children's Zoo. This is a weird mix of Dallas' CZ and Fort Worth's Texas Wild! Its not a good mix either as it takes some of the lesser aspects of each. The animals were all native Texan and in smaller cages than in Fort Worth's exhibit. A real highlight was a lady who got mad at me for blocking the entrance to a walk through aviary while I waited for both doors to be shut (hey I work at a zoo and know what can happen here). She just literally pushed me aside and barreled on through. Better exhibits for these animals can be found in other zoos (Waco and hell even Fort Worth is better). I didn't spend too much time in the actual kids area (a single male adult in a children's zoo is a little creepy). A few event pavilions and a place for kids to splash about in the water were there as well as a petting zoo, but nothing special.
That's going to be it for now, I have at least one more post coming (maybe 2), but I feel the call of fresh enchiladas calling.
Back to the review (and dang it I had no cookies). Next up was the carnivore area. First exhibit I came to was the African Wild Dogs. They were very active running around the enclosure pretty much all day. There was nothing special here about the habitat, just a fenced in area with a little raised area for the dogs to sleep on. This is a fairly new exhibit about 2 years old. Now for the crown jewel of the zoo, the lion exhibit. It is spacious with lots of rocks to climb on and places to hide or lay about. The visitors can see this area from 3 sides. The side nearest to the wild dogs was completely glass walls so you can get right up close to the lions. In the from and on the other side is a raised platform that looks out across a large pond. Evidently the pond is stocked with fish that one of the lions will catch occasionally (but wont eat them). Talk about enrichment, real hunting in a zoo is something unheard of, with the exception of the rogue squirrel. If all this wasn't good enough - its a walk-through exhibit. Ok not what you're thinking. On either side of the exhibit is a staircase that goes underground and leads to a tunnel that goes through the lion enclosure, so you can actually feel like you are inside the lion habitat. This maybe one of the best lion exhibits around, and whats more it isn't a new exhibit, but was built in the 1960's. Talk about standing the test of time.
I wish I could rave about the rest of the carnivore habitats. The Malayan Tiger area was ok. One tiger could be seen sleeping at times, and at other times it was hidden underneath a bush. Again a raised platform viewing area that looks across a pond. Two species of bear were kept here, Spectacled and Grizzly. The single Spectacled had the larger enclosure, a typical bear grotto with moat. An abandoned exhibit separated the two species. Two grizzlies (brothers I think) shared a fairly small area, but this is evidently a paradise for them as they were rescued in the Houston area from a life living in a small cage as someones pets.
Other exhibits here were; 2 clouded leopard exhibits, fossa, margay, leopard (a spotted and a black rotated mid-day), mountain lion cubs, adult mountain lion, and jaguar. All except the adult mountain lion and jaguar were in a row of older looking cages that had been retrofitted over the years. A keeper later confirmed this saying all of the carnivore exhibits (except the lion and wild dogs) were built in the 1940's and retrofitted in the 80's. Almost all of these exhibits were very well planted and I could hardly see some of the animals even if they were a few feet in front of my face. I never did get a good look at the margay. Thats a shame too, as they aren't that common in zoos.
The jaguar/mountain lion exhibits were much larger, but terrible viewing. The glass you look through into the exhibit was scratched and fogged making viewing (and photo taking) difficult. The animals can rotate between the two exhibits, but this hasn't happened in a while from what I gather. When talking to a keeper he said that the two are actually going to switch soon as the habitats are more appropriate for the animals. The glass will be soon replaced as well so that shouldn't be held against them. All in all a decent collection of cats/bears/dogs, but small exhibits (although for what they have they make them look as nice as possible.
Next a quick romp through the Children's Zoo. This is a weird mix of Dallas' CZ and Fort Worth's Texas Wild! Its not a good mix either as it takes some of the lesser aspects of each. The animals were all native Texan and in smaller cages than in Fort Worth's exhibit. A real highlight was a lady who got mad at me for blocking the entrance to a walk through aviary while I waited for both doors to be shut (hey I work at a zoo and know what can happen here). She just literally pushed me aside and barreled on through. Better exhibits for these animals can be found in other zoos (Waco and hell even Fort Worth is better). I didn't spend too much time in the actual kids area (a single male adult in a children's zoo is a little creepy). A few event pavilions and a place for kids to splash about in the water were there as well as a petting zoo, but nothing special.
That's going to be it for now, I have at least one more post coming (maybe 2), but I feel the call of fresh enchiladas calling.
jbnbsn99
Well-Known Member
Houston Zoo Review part 3
On with the review.
Next up were the birds. Lots of birds. I mean lots. There were three long rows of bird cages with various species. I've never been a huge bird enthusiast, but I do appreciate them greatly. I tend to like seeing my birds in a mixed species exhibit, but that's just me. Most of these birds were in smallish aviaries. There was also a large waterbird pond. I didn't see to many birds here (they could have been hiding though). What I did see were quite a few Nenes. In addition to the rows of birds, there is also a bird garden with yet more bird cages. In addition to that is the Tropical Bird House with a large free flight area, plus more bird cages. All in all a hell of a lot of birds. So if you are really, really into birds - go to Houston.
Next to the birds were more hoofstock (and birds). Birds included Japanese Cranes, a new cassowary exhibit, and Great Indian Hornbills. With the hoofstock area I will first give a little back story on what I've seen there. When I first visited 2 years ago there were 5 or 6 enclosures with white rhinos, giant elands, dorcas gazelle, Grant's zebra, nyala each with their own exhibit. My second time there the rhinos had passed away and the giant eland exhibit had expanded into the old rhino yard. Now only the nyala exhibit hasn't changed. The nyala were housed with blue cranes. Here's the fun part; everything else was together. This is a mixed species exhibit that might cause some discussion.
Grant's Zebra
Dorcas Gazelle
Warthogs
Blue Duiker (not out the day I was there)
GIANT ELAND
I had never heard of giants being held in a mixed species exhibit like this, and a quick check of the Antelope TAG confirms this. I was able to ask a keeper about the mix. The warthogs seem to be the biggest problem being a little aggressive. They were at first concerned with how the zebra and dorcas gazelle would get along, but that hasn't been a problem at all - in fact just the opposite. It seems that one of the zebras and the gazelle have fallen in love with each other and are nearly inseparable! I probably watched this exhibit for nearly an hour through 3 or 4 visits to it throughout the day. I found this a fascinating mix and have lots of photos to show how this exhibit work. Its not the most beautiful place, but it works. The high fences that marred the previous hoofstock/South American section were here as well. The nyalas could only be seen behind this fence, but the larger area had a nice raised platform. I have to admit that the first time I went to Houston Zoo 2 years ago was just to see their Giant Eland so its not surprising that I stayed at this area so long, plus in 3 visits the area has been different each time.
The next area was back near the entrance: the Kipp Aquarium. This is your typical smaller aquarium for zoos. Nothing truly spectacular here, but some nice tanks both fresh and salt.
From here I headed to the reptile building. The sea lion exhibit that was in between was closed while some construction. Not a real disappointment. It not your biggest pool around (which is a euphemism for I think its pretty small, and looks like your backyard pool with bleachers).
On to the reptile building. Compared to what I'm used to (Dallas and Fort Worth) its a small building but with a decent collection. Some highlights are a white alligator (not albino but leucistic, which is basically a huge white birthmark over the whole animals body), a Cuban crocodile, large snakes, Komodo dragons and crocodile monitors (the last two were out doors). The biggest plus of the reptile house was new flat-screen monitors (TV's not lizards) that displayed the animal information above the exhibits so to free up the area around the exhibits themselves. The screens also showed short video clips of the animals that they focused on. There was about 1 screen for each 3-5 animals. I quite liked this approach and would love to see it incorporated in other zoos - not just for reptiles.
Two more areas to go. Next was Natural Encounters. Evidently this was an AZA winner for best new exhibit. I honestly don't see why. Not that its bad, but I seem to remember it was against Oklahoma City's new exhibit, which I have heard nothing but rave reviews about. The exhibit is a remodeled version of the old small mammal building. There were a few outdoor exhibits for meerkats (which was quite honestly the best meerkat exhibit I have ever seen with lots of animals, over a dozen, over a fairly big area) and a tropical area with birds, saki monkeys, and tamarins. Indoors, it was kind of a mishmash with no real theme. A South American area with pygmy marmosets, golden-lion tamarins, birds, tortoises, and acouchi. Across from this was an Asian area with small-clawed otters and a slow loris. Not a very big area for the otters in my opinion. The otter pool spilled over into a South American pool with pacu and another for piranha. The piranha tank had a crawl through tube so kids could swim with flesh eating fish. A good idea if you ask me. Further down was an African exhibit with vulturine guinea fowl, rock hyrax, tortoise, and antelope ground squirrels. A decent area, and the ground squirrels were active and fun to watch. Next to this was an area for mole rats - both naked and Damara. To finish out the Natural Encounters was a large floor to ceiling tropical reef aquarium. This was quite a beautiful tank and the best part of Natural Encounters.
Last area (hooray I'm sure if you've followed this review this far you are asking "when will he be done"). Wortham World of Primates. I quite liked this area. Obviously monkeys, apes and lemurs are here. This is one of the largest collection of primates I've seen. Cotton-top, pied, and golden-lion tamarins, 2 species of lemur, Coquerel's Sifaka (with a young baby), patas monkeys, mandrills and DeBrazza's monkeys (rotated in the same exhibit), Allen's swamp monkey and red-capped mangabey (same exhibit with one other I can't remember right now), siamang and agile gibbon (rotated I think), babyrousa, and orang-utans. Now, let's play that old Sesame Street game which one of these doesn't belong. The babyrousa was a little out of place, but it worked. The whole of the exhibit was laid out bio-geographically. First were the primates from Madagascar, then South America, Africa, and Asia. The babyrousa fit into the Asian area. This is the only part of the zoo laid out this way and I greatly appreciated it. Most of these exhibits were nice, lots of trees and climbing areas. I didn't stay long enough at the orang area long enough to get a good overall impression of it. It seemed ok, with a fairly large climbing structure and a koi pond.
At the point when I got the the orangs, the final exhibit for me to see at the zoo a heavy thunderstorm hit. Lots of thunder and lightening and m e without an umbrella. So what is an idiot like me going to do. I walk the half mile across a nice park to the Museum of Natural Science and arrived soaking wet to the amusement of many of the museum patrons. A big plus if you go to the Houston Zoo is that a lot of the city's museums are within walking distance. Here I saw some stuffed animals that you never see at the zoo, but it just wasn't the same. I still have yet to see a live bushbuck (I guess that should now be kewel or imbabala now), but I've now seen a dead one! Main attraction was the Chinese Terra Cotta Army, which I was actually disappointed in. I stayed an hour and a half and decided to go back to the zoo and do it all over again (it was dry by this time too). One more animal note here was the wild nutria hanging out by the reflecting pool in the park between the zoo and the museum.
I stayed at the zoo until 6:00 Pm, latest I've ever been to a zoo (when not working). I could have stayed an hour longer, but 9 hours is enough there. Some other notes. Lots of places for food, pretty pricey though (I should have read the prices on the drinks before I got the big one - ouch). The zoo serves beer! I didn't partake as I still had a 4.5 hour drive home, but maybe one day. I honestly wonder, how many zoos actually sell alcohol on grounds for anything other than a VIP party. I did find out that the zoo is no longer a city run operation and became a private entity 4 or 5 years ago (probably when they stated charging admission).
Last note is on the new expansion: the African Forest. Ground breaking will begin in late Summer, finally. The only thing that will be there for sure right now is just the giraffes (to make room for a bigger elephant yard). Chimps are pretty sure to be there plus gorillas, but probably not at first. The idea is to have a rotational exhibit for the chimps and gorillas. It seems a lot of the private donors are getting a little antsy as its been several years without any actual work done on the site. So soon construction will be under way. This is a completely unused area of the zoo, so no demolition will have to take place, so maybe construction will go quickly.
Finally, I am finished with my epic post. I figured the Houston Zoo needed a bit of a review on here as there was almost nothing posted on here about it. So if you've made it this far in my epic post - congratulations. Overall, I was fairly disappointed with the zoo, but not overly so. On a scale from 1 to 10 maybe around a 5. Only one really outstanding exhibit (the lions) and a lot of mediocre ones. Nothing gut-wrenchingly bad except for some of the children's zoo exhibits. Later in the summer after I've made a trip to several other Texas zoo, I will be posting a thread ranking them and comparing/contrasting them. That should be enough for now. Pictures will follow (I've got about 350) in the next few weeks.
On with the review.
Next up were the birds. Lots of birds. I mean lots. There were three long rows of bird cages with various species. I've never been a huge bird enthusiast, but I do appreciate them greatly. I tend to like seeing my birds in a mixed species exhibit, but that's just me. Most of these birds were in smallish aviaries. There was also a large waterbird pond. I didn't see to many birds here (they could have been hiding though). What I did see were quite a few Nenes. In addition to the rows of birds, there is also a bird garden with yet more bird cages. In addition to that is the Tropical Bird House with a large free flight area, plus more bird cages. All in all a hell of a lot of birds. So if you are really, really into birds - go to Houston.
Next to the birds were more hoofstock (and birds). Birds included Japanese Cranes, a new cassowary exhibit, and Great Indian Hornbills. With the hoofstock area I will first give a little back story on what I've seen there. When I first visited 2 years ago there were 5 or 6 enclosures with white rhinos, giant elands, dorcas gazelle, Grant's zebra, nyala each with their own exhibit. My second time there the rhinos had passed away and the giant eland exhibit had expanded into the old rhino yard. Now only the nyala exhibit hasn't changed. The nyala were housed with blue cranes. Here's the fun part; everything else was together. This is a mixed species exhibit that might cause some discussion.
Grant's Zebra
Dorcas Gazelle
Warthogs
Blue Duiker (not out the day I was there)
GIANT ELAND
I had never heard of giants being held in a mixed species exhibit like this, and a quick check of the Antelope TAG confirms this. I was able to ask a keeper about the mix. The warthogs seem to be the biggest problem being a little aggressive. They were at first concerned with how the zebra and dorcas gazelle would get along, but that hasn't been a problem at all - in fact just the opposite. It seems that one of the zebras and the gazelle have fallen in love with each other and are nearly inseparable! I probably watched this exhibit for nearly an hour through 3 or 4 visits to it throughout the day. I found this a fascinating mix and have lots of photos to show how this exhibit work. Its not the most beautiful place, but it works. The high fences that marred the previous hoofstock/South American section were here as well. The nyalas could only be seen behind this fence, but the larger area had a nice raised platform. I have to admit that the first time I went to Houston Zoo 2 years ago was just to see their Giant Eland so its not surprising that I stayed at this area so long, plus in 3 visits the area has been different each time.
The next area was back near the entrance: the Kipp Aquarium. This is your typical smaller aquarium for zoos. Nothing truly spectacular here, but some nice tanks both fresh and salt.
From here I headed to the reptile building. The sea lion exhibit that was in between was closed while some construction. Not a real disappointment. It not your biggest pool around (which is a euphemism for I think its pretty small, and looks like your backyard pool with bleachers).
On to the reptile building. Compared to what I'm used to (Dallas and Fort Worth) its a small building but with a decent collection. Some highlights are a white alligator (not albino but leucistic, which is basically a huge white birthmark over the whole animals body), a Cuban crocodile, large snakes, Komodo dragons and crocodile monitors (the last two were out doors). The biggest plus of the reptile house was new flat-screen monitors (TV's not lizards) that displayed the animal information above the exhibits so to free up the area around the exhibits themselves. The screens also showed short video clips of the animals that they focused on. There was about 1 screen for each 3-5 animals. I quite liked this approach and would love to see it incorporated in other zoos - not just for reptiles.
Two more areas to go. Next was Natural Encounters. Evidently this was an AZA winner for best new exhibit. I honestly don't see why. Not that its bad, but I seem to remember it was against Oklahoma City's new exhibit, which I have heard nothing but rave reviews about. The exhibit is a remodeled version of the old small mammal building. There were a few outdoor exhibits for meerkats (which was quite honestly the best meerkat exhibit I have ever seen with lots of animals, over a dozen, over a fairly big area) and a tropical area with birds, saki monkeys, and tamarins. Indoors, it was kind of a mishmash with no real theme. A South American area with pygmy marmosets, golden-lion tamarins, birds, tortoises, and acouchi. Across from this was an Asian area with small-clawed otters and a slow loris. Not a very big area for the otters in my opinion. The otter pool spilled over into a South American pool with pacu and another for piranha. The piranha tank had a crawl through tube so kids could swim with flesh eating fish. A good idea if you ask me. Further down was an African exhibit with vulturine guinea fowl, rock hyrax, tortoise, and antelope ground squirrels. A decent area, and the ground squirrels were active and fun to watch. Next to this was an area for mole rats - both naked and Damara. To finish out the Natural Encounters was a large floor to ceiling tropical reef aquarium. This was quite a beautiful tank and the best part of Natural Encounters.
Last area (hooray I'm sure if you've followed this review this far you are asking "when will he be done"). Wortham World of Primates. I quite liked this area. Obviously monkeys, apes and lemurs are here. This is one of the largest collection of primates I've seen. Cotton-top, pied, and golden-lion tamarins, 2 species of lemur, Coquerel's Sifaka (with a young baby), patas monkeys, mandrills and DeBrazza's monkeys (rotated in the same exhibit), Allen's swamp monkey and red-capped mangabey (same exhibit with one other I can't remember right now), siamang and agile gibbon (rotated I think), babyrousa, and orang-utans. Now, let's play that old Sesame Street game which one of these doesn't belong. The babyrousa was a little out of place, but it worked. The whole of the exhibit was laid out bio-geographically. First were the primates from Madagascar, then South America, Africa, and Asia. The babyrousa fit into the Asian area. This is the only part of the zoo laid out this way and I greatly appreciated it. Most of these exhibits were nice, lots of trees and climbing areas. I didn't stay long enough at the orang area long enough to get a good overall impression of it. It seemed ok, with a fairly large climbing structure and a koi pond.
At the point when I got the the orangs, the final exhibit for me to see at the zoo a heavy thunderstorm hit. Lots of thunder and lightening and m e without an umbrella. So what is an idiot like me going to do. I walk the half mile across a nice park to the Museum of Natural Science and arrived soaking wet to the amusement of many of the museum patrons. A big plus if you go to the Houston Zoo is that a lot of the city's museums are within walking distance. Here I saw some stuffed animals that you never see at the zoo, but it just wasn't the same. I still have yet to see a live bushbuck (I guess that should now be kewel or imbabala now), but I've now seen a dead one! Main attraction was the Chinese Terra Cotta Army, which I was actually disappointed in. I stayed an hour and a half and decided to go back to the zoo and do it all over again (it was dry by this time too). One more animal note here was the wild nutria hanging out by the reflecting pool in the park between the zoo and the museum.
I stayed at the zoo until 6:00 Pm, latest I've ever been to a zoo (when not working). I could have stayed an hour longer, but 9 hours is enough there. Some other notes. Lots of places for food, pretty pricey though (I should have read the prices on the drinks before I got the big one - ouch). The zoo serves beer! I didn't partake as I still had a 4.5 hour drive home, but maybe one day. I honestly wonder, how many zoos actually sell alcohol on grounds for anything other than a VIP party. I did find out that the zoo is no longer a city run operation and became a private entity 4 or 5 years ago (probably when they stated charging admission).
Last note is on the new expansion: the African Forest. Ground breaking will begin in late Summer, finally. The only thing that will be there for sure right now is just the giraffes (to make room for a bigger elephant yard). Chimps are pretty sure to be there plus gorillas, but probably not at first. The idea is to have a rotational exhibit for the chimps and gorillas. It seems a lot of the private donors are getting a little antsy as its been several years without any actual work done on the site. So soon construction will be under way. This is a completely unused area of the zoo, so no demolition will have to take place, so maybe construction will go quickly.
Finally, I am finished with my epic post. I figured the Houston Zoo needed a bit of a review on here as there was almost nothing posted on here about it. So if you've made it this far in my epic post - congratulations. Overall, I was fairly disappointed with the zoo, but not overly so. On a scale from 1 to 10 maybe around a 5. Only one really outstanding exhibit (the lions) and a lot of mediocre ones. Nothing gut-wrenchingly bad except for some of the children's zoo exhibits. Later in the summer after I've made a trip to several other Texas zoo, I will be posting a thread ranking them and comparing/contrasting them. That should be enough for now. Pictures will follow (I've got about 350) in the next few weeks.
I just spent several minutes of my life reading the epic review, and so thanks very much for taking the time to type up such a comprehensive recap of your trip. The Houston Zoo obviously didn't impress you very much, and since I can be rather critical at times I can guess that I would like it even less.
You mentioned that besides the lion exhibit there is no other enclosure that is outstanding, which is truly a shame in any collection.
You mentioned that besides the lion exhibit there is no other enclosure that is outstanding, which is truly a shame in any collection.
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
I found some photos that show parts of the lion exhibit.
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharrashina/3280548798/"]Lion Compound on Flickr - Photo Sharing!@@AMEPARAM@@http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3528/3280548798_0ea03e15dd.jpg?v=0@@AMEPARAM@@3280548798@@AMEPARAM@@0ea03e15dd[/ame]
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharrashina/3280549670/"]Paw Smears on Flickr - Photo Sharing!@@AMEPARAM@@http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/3280549670_3a1eebdd57.jpg?v=0@@AMEPARAM@@3280549670@@AMEPARAM@@3a1eebdd57[/ame]
Jonathan the Lion - Houston Zoo on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/etee/2147144251/"]20071224_5798 on Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/txgeek/7640088/"]Lions on Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]
Yes, along with San Antonio, I'd say those 2 zoos are one of the largest collections of birds in North America. I think San Antonio has about 300 species and Houston 250...but I could be wrong.
Thanks a lot for the great review! I visited this zoo in April, the day was very humid but other than that was great. The Agile Gibbon has always been inside when I've walked past the siamang enclosure.
jbnbsn99
Well-Known Member
Houston=humid. I think I recall seeing the Agile Gibbon on one of my previous trips and I seem to remember that it had kind of a sad story behind it. I think it was held as a pet and was completely antisocial towards other gibbons. Also I seem to remember that there was something about it being one of the only ones in captivity as it was smuggled into the country.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
As everyone else has said, nice review! A few points:
(1) In our book, America's Best Zoos, we ranked Houston as the #2 zoo in the nation for Birds. Not only do they have a great collection, but also some beautiful exhibits, including the Tropical Bird House.
(2) We also ranked Houston as among the Top Ten for Zoo Aquariums (not a lot of competition in this category-- the Kipp Aqm is at least quite complete!) and Children's Zoos (I think it takes a parent to see how nice and imaginative the McGovern Children's Zoo truly is!).
(3) I think one reason that Natural Encounters won the AZA award is because they had Koalas! But you didn't mention any koalas. Are they gone?
(4) That song you referrenced is from Mister Rogers, not Sesame Street. It's "One of These Things is Not Like the Others". By the way, I love your spelling of "babirusas".
jbnbsn99
Well-Known Member
No doubt they have a great bird collection and the bird house was great, but the rest of the exhibits left me felling "meh."
I did like the aquarium and I really don't have any other point of reference for judging it so I just gave an overall impression. You are quite right in that it has a fairly complete collection (although I don't seem to remember any sharks when I went).
I tend not to spend much time in Children's Zoos for the simple factor of "oooh, mommy look at the creepy man" stares I get. But with the actual animal exhibits I saw there they left a lot to be desired. I'm sure though, that the kids love it.
The Koalas are indeed gone. They have been replaced by a single Red Panda. It was the first Red Panda I had seen since I was a little kid maybe 15 years ago.
Yes sorry that Mr. Rogers and not Sesame Street. I'm nearly 28 I can't remember that far back. Aslo I cna't splel.
I did like the aquarium and I really don't have any other point of reference for judging it so I just gave an overall impression. You are quite right in that it has a fairly complete collection (although I don't seem to remember any sharks when I went).
I tend not to spend much time in Children's Zoos for the simple factor of "oooh, mommy look at the creepy man" stares I get. But with the actual animal exhibits I saw there they left a lot to be desired. I'm sure though, that the kids love it.
The Koalas are indeed gone. They have been replaced by a single Red Panda. It was the first Red Panda I had seen since I was a little kid maybe 15 years ago.
Yes sorry that Mr. Rogers and not Sesame Street. I'm nearly 28 I can't remember that far back. Aslo I cna't splel.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
>> I never get those stares (or at least I don't notice them). Maybe having a video camera helps, as I (at least hope) look like I'm "documenting" the zoo.
That's really disappointing about the Koalas! I'm surprised about not seeing Red pandas often. I thought they were in almost every zoo. Now that I think of it, though, they probably are more of a northern zoo animal.
