John Ball Zoo John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI)

As the zoo prepares to open this weekend, we learn more about one of our newest additions, Trogdor, the hatchling dwarf caiman.

Meet Trogdor at The John Ball Zoo

*Fun Fact: Since we got so much snow year, the zoo has had to bring in a backhoes and dump trucks to help clear the snow for the opening on Saturday. They say it is going to take approximately 100 truckloads to get it all out!
 
The zoos annual reports has a varying array of numbers relating to the zoo:
  • 470,000 visitors (a record number!)
  • 83,566 sting ray touches
  • 36,000 free JUMP admissions (JUMP is a program that lets low income families visit the zoo)
  • 13,432 adult volunteer hours
  • 7,165 teen volunteer hours
  • 389 school field trips
  • 280 zoo lab students (students spend a week of class learning at the zoo)
  • 125 traveling zoo programs
  • 45,318 funicular rides
  • 30,721 camel rides
  • 17,400 hot dogs sold
  • 9,983 mini animal figurines sold
 
Updates

Went to the zoo over the weekend, these were the new things I noticed.
  • Trogdor the baby caiman is on exhibit accross from the cotton top tamarins.
  • The three magellanic penguin chicks from last year have gone on exhibit.
  • The long tailed weasel exhibit instead had a argentinian black and white tegu inside.
  • Another american crow had been added to the exhibit in Red's Hobby Farm.
  • The majority of the fencing was up for the main amur tiger exhibit.
  • The camels were at the zoo for the summer.
  • One of the poison dart frog exhibits in the Treasure of the Tropics building now had golden mantella frogs, and the other one had emerald tree boas.
  • 6 kaiser newts have gone on display in the amphibian building.
 
The zoos has publicly announced that for the second year in a row, we have welcomed the birth of a baby howler monkey. He is currently on exhibit with his parents and sibling.
 
The zoo has had a very good couple of months recently. The zoo currently has multiple Vietnamese mossy frog tadpoles being raised on exhibit with parents.
Presenting the Pollywog
Over this past weekend , the zoo received it 500,000th visitor in a year for the first time ever!
 
JBZvolunteer said:
Here is the master plan:

JOHN BALL ZOO MASTER PLAN

Also, The local homeowner's association is saying that they are "vigorously opposed" to the master plan, due to it turning a current field area into parking.
Why some neighbors are 'vigorously opposed' to John Ball Zoo plan | MLive.com
Click to expand...

I printed off the Master Plan and spent some time reviewing it. The future seems much more realistic for John Ball Zoo in comparison to various other zoos that have Master Plans full of proboscis monkeys and unicorns. :) I was pleasantly surprised during my visit in 2012 and I'd like to see this zoo do well in the future. With an average attendance of around 500,000 in only 8 months of operation, it seems to me that the facility has carved out a niche for itself in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Some thoughts in point form:

- the new tiger complex appears to be much more impressive than the relatively new grizzly bear exhibit. Having two tiger exhibits and a 200-foot trail connecting the habitats reminds me of the trail system being built all around Philadelphia Zoo.

- the parking issues at the zoo are well known, with many folks simply parking on the nearby grassy fields. It seems that a lack of parking is a common theme for many growing zoos.

- the entrance to the zoo is arguably its weakest feature and it is wonderful to see that being addressed in the Master Plan. A pair of American black bear exhibits, connected via an overhead trail, is a brilliant idea and that notion of having black bears near the entrance is something that Oregon Zoo and Knoxville Zoo are also known for. The current uphill trek past minor exhibits at John Ball is a poor initial impression.

- together with the brand-new tiger exhibit, the future American black bear exhibit and now the future Primate Overlook Trail, John Ball is certainly adopting the trail system that is found at Philadelphia Zoo.

- the Africa Expansion section is very vague and there is a photo of an Indian rhino. That is an elementary error to be included in an official Master Plan document.

- I really like the idea of the hubs/plazas, which are visitor zones that can incorporate cafes/restaurants/gift shops into open spaces. Those areas can also separate sections of the zoo from one another with clarity and purpose.
 
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