(I Wish I Was In) California

[sooty mangabey]

And you are right A.D. - that diving duck exhibit at San Diego is indeed a little gem.

Wholly agreed - not least because alongside the various ducks can be seen birds which are not always familiar in zoos (at least not to the European zoo-goer - see the comments above re coyotes): blue-capped chickadee, bearded parrotbill, American robin....

As is Penguin Encounter at Sea World(a truly great zoo exhibit)..would you rather that wasnt there then ?..Or should i say"didnt exist".

I think I would rather it wasn't there, actually. It's a good exhibit - if, on the evidence of my one visit, one that is flawed (it was all-but-impossible to see the penguins, which rather defeated the purpose of the thing, and wholly impossible to photograph them, which for me is a major point fo a zoo visit). But, as discussed above, I think the mixing of funfair and animal is to the animals' detriment - not to the detriment of individual animals, as I don't think Boris the penguin or Nigel the dolphin is aware of the surroundings enjoyed by his exhibit - but to the detriment of the way in which those animals are perceived by the people who are there to see them.

So, if I had a choice, I would rather Penguin Encounter were in a 'real' zoo, or in a marine animal zoo without the funfair.

 

[Tim Brown]

So where else would you go to see Emperor or Adelie Penguins? Antarctica isnt exactly convenient/cheap - cant sleep in the back of yer car there! The exhibit is not only good but ground-breaking in its application - a zoo landmark for which a hundred corny sideshows,noisy rides and expensive fast food must be forgiven.

 

[Mehdi]

If I remember correctly Adelie is kept at Faunia and one aquarium in China (near the North Korean border, I don't remember the name of this establishment) keeps Emperor penguin (or kept recently). Even though I agree with your point and I guess the Chinese aquarium would be quite hard to reach.

 

[Arizona Docent]

As is Penguin Encounter at Sea World(a truly great zoo exhibit)..would you rather that wasnt there then ?..Or should i say"didnt exist".

If the only way for the penguin exhibit to exist is for the rest of Sea World to exist in its current incarnation, then yes I would wish that it didn't exist. What I would really wish, however, is that the penguin exhibit existed at a different zoo.

 

[MikeG]

Sooty wrote (about the penguin exhibit): "It's a good exhibit - if, on the evidence of my one visit, one that is flawed (it was all-but-impossible to see the penguins, which rather defeated the purpose of the thing...)
The reason the exhibit is dark during our summer months is because it's on an Antarctic light-cycle. Isn't this to SeaWorld's credit, rather than the alternative of sticking the birds into an unnaturally-bright exhibit just to please the public?