San Antonio Zoo Is the San Antonio Zoo really this bad?

It seems to me, the habitats are simply old, and just not replaceable based on the funds. The elephant enclosure is appalling to me though. They should have phased out elephants when Lucky was alone. The zoo recently opened a great new Africa zone, with Okapi and hippo!! The cat/bear grottoes are unfortunate, and the hoof stock yards, while functional are incredibly ugly. Maybe the worst AZA zoo in Texas...
 
I have been to the San Antonio Zoo as well as over half the AZA accredited zoos in Texas.and my opinion is that the zoo does not belong on a list next to third world zoos but I would agree with it being the weakest in AZA zoo in Texas.

Marty of Team Tapir
 
I like the San Antonio Zoo. It has its flaws sure, and a lot of the exhibits are older, but man what a great collection it has. As for the worst AZA zoo it is not in the bottom spot at all, there are one or two that I would put lower.
 
jbnbsn99 said:
As for the worst AZA zoo it is not in the bottom spot at all, there are one or two that I would put lower.
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I haven't been there so this is not directed to San Antonio: but third from the bottom is not a glorious position!
I can see the ad campaign "We're not the worst!"
 
Zooplantman said:
I haven't been there so this is not directed to San Antonio: but third from the bottom is not a glorious position!
I can see the ad campaign "We're not the worst!"
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Or do you remember the campaign slogan when Bill the Cat ran for president: "This time, why not the worst?"

Desperate times call for desperate actions.
 
We should probably create a petition to replace old, ugly enclosures with new, better enclosures at the San Antonio Zoo. Don't you think?
 
deanmo19 said:
We should probably create a petition to replace old, ugly enclosures with new, better enclosures at the San Antonio Zoo. Don't you think?
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This is a joke, right?
Petitions don't build exhibits, funding does.
Collect several million dollars for the zoo and they'll be thrilled to replace old exhibits.
 
Zooplantman said:
This is a joke, right?
Petitions don't build exhibits, funding does.
Collect several million dollars for the zoo and they'll be thrilled to replace old exhibits.
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Exactemente! It has been noted and discussed here before that San Antonio aint the richest region of Texas. Despite the latter it has been able to hold its own.

Should you wish to change things .... and not come up with these wonderful thread bare names, please put your money where you mouth is and give the SA Zoo a little dosh.
 
I have seen the San Antonio Zoo listed on IDA's list of worst zoos for elephants. There is video of Boo acting aggressively toward Lucky and it looks like a pretty barren enclosure. That being said, the worst zoo I ever visited was Point Defiance in Tacoma. Granted this was in 1995 and I hope things have changed, but the elephants had a tiny enclosure, the polar bears were yellow and had filthy brown water, the beluga whales were in a tiny tank, and the aquarium had dead fish in it.
 
No, San Antonio is definitely not that bad and to include it on that ten worst list is beyond laughable. If you read the article, the sole reason for the listing is the elephant exhibit. I would not call an entire zoo one of the world's worst based on one bad exhibit. And while the elephant exhibit is not great, it is not the world's worst. Plus it may be temporary because the AZA is instituting a minimum of three elephants per zoo (and they likely do not have the space to add a third, so maybe they will get out of elephants altogether).
 
Arizona Docent said:
No, San Antonio is definitely not that bad and to include it on that ten worst list is beyond laughable. If you read the article, the sole reason for the listing is the elephant exhibit. I would not call an entire zoo one of the world's worst based on one bad exhibit. And while the elephant exhibit is not great, it is not the world's worst. Plus it may be temporary because the AZA is instituting a minimum of three elephants per zoo (and they likely do not have the space to add a third, so maybe they will get out of elephants altogether).
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@Arizona Docent: You raise an excellent point about zoos being judged on one (or a few) bad exhibit(s). Many zoos would probably make a worst zoo list if that were the main criteria.
 
Enough said there.

What is the next project up for San Antonio?

With 2 fairly recent deaths what is to happen vis a vis black rhinos in SA. Are there already new candidates being looked at for their enclosure to set up a new breeding pair?
 
San Antonio appears to be a zoo in transition, and it is far superior to many non-AZA accredited roadside attractions such as Capital of Texas Zoo in Austin. The newer elements at San Antonio range from above average to excellent and it is laughable that it appears on a list of the worst zoos in the world. Nevertheless, there are many poor elements to this zoo.

Here is an excerpt (the opening paragraph) from my 2010 review:

Of all the zoos and aquariums that I have visited in my lifetime San Antonio Zoo has some of the ugliest animal exhibits of them all. There is an absolutely wonderful children’s section that is geared specifically for kids 5 years of age and under, and a terrific new African zone that seems oddly out of place because it is of fairly high quality, and after that I’d like to see 80% of the zoo bulldozed into obliteration. There is a South American section that is almost exclusively metal cages from some ancient zoo era, hoofstock paddocks with tiered levels that resemble mini Wal-Mart parking lots, bear pits from the 1920’s, a small aquarium from the 1940’s that badly needs a makeover, row upon row of bird aviaries that visitors skip as if they aren’t even there, and a splendid assortment of creatures trapped in a vaguely unknown epoch of zoo design that most closely resembles a postage stamp collection. I’ve seen all of the big-name, major zoos in Texas and this one is the worst.
 
If you want to see outdated enclosures check out the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. Their Great Ape House is out of the 70s as are many of the other ones. The giraffe exhibit is terribly small and the African hoofstock area is practically non-exist ant.
 
ShowMeElephants said:
You do realize the Onion is satirical and not a news agency, right?
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Oh yeah! And it deserves its posting on this thread because it is in line with the original posted article (that really doesn't show much merit) for this thread. Many zoos in this country and around the world can easily be on that list.

Including: Cleveland, Toledo, San Francisco, Cheyenne Mountain, Omaha, Fort Worth, Montgomery, and loads of small zoos across the country.
 
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