Las Vegas Zoo (Closed) Las Vegas Zoo?

A few photos were uploaded of a crappy roadside zoo in Las Vegas. Geomorph has review a few of the animal attractions in Vegas, might want to check those out.
 
If you do a search on "Las Vegas Zoo" here you will find a lot of bad news about it. Apparently San Diego Zoo was giving them animals like foosas, but there was a recent negative evaluation of the zoo that made them kill this relationship.

You might Google "Las Vegas Zoo" and several reviews on Yelp and other sites will pop up, as well as news reports. They also have a website: Las Vegas Zoo Home Page

I have been to Vegas a few times and have never been able to convince myself to visit the zoo based on the news reports and user reviews that I have read. The guy running the place has done several interviews defending the zoo by saying that they are providing a valuable education resource and that this is the only zoo Las Vegas can support, given lack of community support. I would give this view some consideration if the evidence of the zoo's basic crapiness did not come from so many sources.

I would love to hear from anyone who has actually visited this place and thinks that it has any redeeming qualities. I hope it does.

Las Vegas does actually have a very high quality AZA-accredited aquarium, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. geomorph has reviewed it:http://www.zoochat.com/22/review-shark-reef-aquarium-197869/
There are photos and a link to the website in the gallery on this site.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I have visited the zoo and I can assure you it has no redeeming qualities and no reason to exist.
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Arizona Docent's response confirms what I thought. I feel sorry for the kids and zoo nerds of Las Vegas that they have no decent zoo to visit. At least they have a good aquarium at Shark Reef.
 
Yes, it is the only major city in America I know of that does not have a real zoo. I lived there for four months (against my will - long story involving my now ex-wife) and it is just a terrible place to live. Unless you want to party and gamble your life away, there is very little to do. Not even any major museums or parks.
 
Any one think a major zoo could ever work in Las Vegas?The city certainly has money as well as a growing population.There are also major tourist dollars good weather nearly year round and plenty of space to build.all this being said we are still 50/50 on whether it could ever work.

Team Tapir
 
Arizona Docent said:
Yes, it is the only major city in America I know of that does not have a real zoo. I lived there for four months (against my will - long story involving my now ex-wife) and it is just a terrible place to live. Unless you want to party and gamble your life away, there is very little to do. Not even any major museums or parks.
Click to expand...

For anyone visiting Las Vegas, there is actually a wonderful museum-garden complex there now called the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. It is located on the land where the original spring that caused people to stop in the area and settle. Miraculously this land was preserved as open space. The gardens are fantastic and there are several acres of restored native habitat. The crown jewel is a museum interpreting the history and natural history of the desert. There are exhibits on prehistory with mammoth bones, a reconstruction of the springs, and a fascinating interactive display on the geological history of Nevada. There is a whole gallery on the Indian history complete with artifacts and reconstructions of hunting, agricultural practices, spiritual practices, etc. There is a reconstruction of a Shoshone Indian village in the outdoor section of the museum. For the zoo enthusiast the highlight is the living desert section of the museum. They have a collection of snakes and lizards, a colony of bats, a Merriam's kangaroo rat, grey fox, and invertebrates. The webpage for the living collection: Living Collections at the Origen Museum at the Springs Preserve
The museum has a recreation of a flash flood where you go in a room and stand on a platform as water rushes all around and under you, simulating a flash flood. It is in the context of exploring plant life in a desert canyon.

I highly recommend this place to anyone interested in desert life, natural history, or cultural history. It is designed for kids and adults. I should write up a formal review and post some photos.
 
Very glad to hear about the new Origen Museum (opened after I lived there). It seems like the logical zoo choice would be to expand their native animal section, along the lines of Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum or Living Desert State Park.

As for whether a zoo would work here, obviously the tourists would not be into it (they go there just to gamble and party and see shows) but I think there is a large enough population base that the local residents would make it work. I feel so sorry for the kids who live there - they really need something.
 
I agree that the Springs Preserve is fantastic...and the Nevada State Museum will also open in the same complex in the future to expand the offerings there.
 
Another place that I can highly recommend for anyone interested in the plants, animals, ecosystems, and/or geology of the Mojave Desert is the Red Rocks Canyon Visitor Center in the Red Rocks Canyon Recreation Area located adjacent to Las Vegas. The beautiful red-colored mountain scenery is enough in itself, but there is also a wonderful visitors center with very engaging interactive exhibits about the natural history of the area. There are several large desert tortoise habitats in the outside section of the visitors center that are essentially native desert habitat with low fences and man-made tortoise burrows. I assume that these are non-releasable animals that were rescued. Website about the visitor center and recreation area: Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association
 
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