Keep, steal, demolish

Melbourne Zoo:

Keep - Absolutely would be the Gorilla Rainforest. Simply a world class enclosure for gorillas.

Steal - South East Asian Trek from Auckland Zoo. On the topic of world class enclosures, this complex has multiple imo including the Orangutan complex and the Tropical Dome. I feel like the addition of a complex like this to Melbourne would elevate the zoo as a whole.

Demolish - No question, Growing Wild...easily. A precinct that takes up too much space with little to no purpose and meerkats being the only species you can't see elsewhere in the zoo.
 
Aquarium of the Pacific:

Keep: Tropical Pacific. It’s a bit dated but the refreshed frog/amphibian exhibits and smaller coral tanks have vastly improved it. It also contains the biggest tank in the aquarium, which is a huge part of the Pacific theming and informative flow, so I’d say it needs to stay.

Steal: Georgia Aquarium’s Sharks: Predators of the Deep, replacing Shark Lagoon as the premier shark display and immediately becoming the new largest exhibit at the facility. I suppose it could be either a freestanding building in back (a la NY Aquarium’s Ocean Wonders: Sharks), or connected to the main building. Or it could even replace my choice for elimination, which is -

Demolish: Most of Pacific Visions. Temporary exhibit space is very easy to create or could just be kept, and the bulk of it is a theater that serves absolutely zero purpose. It could be turned into literally any kind of actual exhibit space other than what it is, and it would be an improvement.
 
StoppableSan said:
I guess I technically have *two* home zoos, since Brandywine Zoo's 20 minutes from where I live and Philly's an hour away.

Brandywine Zoo

Keep: The Madagascar exhibit. Simple, but highly well done.
Steal: Central Park's snow leopard habitat, for up the hill.
Demolish: The stone cages that hold red pandas, sandhill crane and serval.

Philadelphia Zoo

Keep: Big Cat Falls (and honestly a good chunk of the "newer" exhibits)
Steal: As far as a revamp of Bear Country goes, an amalgamation of Lincoln Park's Arctic Tundra and Nashville's Expedition Peru.
Demolish: I wouldn't demolish the Rare Animal Conservation Center as much as I would completely gut the interior and make it an Annamite Mountains Conservation Center on par with JungleWorld or Madagascar at Bronx.
Click to expand...
May as well revisit this after visiting a couple or so new zoos/aquariums.

Brandywine Zoo

Keep: Madagascar. I stand by my initial pick for this, it's the best habitat in Brandywine from an activity and welfare standpoint. Plus, baby crowned lemurs!
Steal: Big Cat Falls from Philadelphia Zoo. While the snow leopard exhibit at Central Park is a much more consistent quality (with incredible rockwork and some solid sightlines), Big Cat Falls is a brilliant example of melding old-school exhibitry with cutting edge practices like rotation/overhead passages, with an added bonus of maximizing the amount of big cat species the zoo would have on display.
Demolish: The old stone cages (now having red panda, caracal and binturong - all of which I'd move to different habitats throughout the zoo. (The renovated pudu exhibit that Brandywine's planning on building, once the pudus ideally move to South American Wetlands at the front of the zoo, that would be veritable red panda/binturong rotation space, and Blue the caracal could go into Squeakers the bobcat's exhibit.))

Philadelphia Zoo

Keep: Reptiles and Amphibians. Honestly I would keep a majority of the zoo's newer exhibits, though I would modify them a touch - the exhibit I'd touch the least would be Reptiles and Amphibians. Its ability to maximize its collection while presenting its animals in a fun and engaging way (the cobra temple especially, though it makes less sense without cobras) paved the way for more and more inventive ways of connecting the public with ectotherms. Philly's Reptiles and Amphibians walked so the LAIR could RUN.
Steal: Rivers' Edge from Saint Louis Zoo. A masterclass in providing optimized habitats for pachyderms in an urban (to an extent) environment. Rhinos and hippos would both get stellar new homes, elephants would (ideally) return, and even carnivores like cheetahs would get brand new digs. That could also mean the return of species like maned wolves, giant anteater, capybara, dwarf mongoose, I could go on. Water is Life, the giant otter, red panda and vampire bat exhibits would make a lot more sense as a bookend!
Demolish: I wouldn't demolish African Plains as much as I would heavily restructure it. Keep Tony the rhino and the zebras' yard with some touch-ups rockworkwise, the giraffe space gets expanded into The Phase, Cindy and Unna the hippos' habitat, and Bird Lake, badabingbadaboom. Southern end of the zoo too if Philly wanted to take the Rivers' Edge idea to the next level.
 
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Home Zoo: Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester New York
Keep: Rocky Coast (California Sea Lion, African Penguin, Polar Bear, Sandhill Crane, Snowy Owl)
Steal: Walkabout Australia (San Diego Safari Park)
Demolish: The Genesee River Trail(North American River Otter, Bald Eagle)
 
Detroit Zoo:
Keep: National Amphibian Conservation Center, it’s perfect
Steal: MOLA, phenomenal, love everything I’ve seen of it, if two, I’d also pick Smithsonian’s Amazonia.
Demolish: Wildlife Interpretive Gallery or Holden Reptile Conservation Center, both could be good locations for it. If two, I’d do both.

Toledo Zoo:
Keep: Museum of Science, it’s even more perfect
Steal: Predators of Asia and Africa, add both lions and fix the zoo’s tiger habitat
Demolish: Tiger Terrace, it’s horrendous is every single way
 
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