The key to Calgary Zoo's success is that there is clearly a focus on charismatic megafauna and there are also 3 excellent areas: Penguin Plunge, Canadian Wilds and Destination Africa.
All large US and Canadian zoos, including the Calgary Zoo, have a focus on charismatic megafauna; however, the Calgary Zoo has fewer species of charismatic megafauna than the average for the US and Canada’s top 50 zoos. There are now no elephants or rhinoceros at the Calgary Zoo and there are no plans to acquire any in the future. Minnesota Zoo is the only other top 50 zoo in Canada and the US with paid admission and without elephants or rhinoceros. The only species of non-human ape at the Calgary Zoo is gorillas. There are no polar bears or pinnipeds at the Calgary Zoo even though they have a 21-acre themed Canadian Wilds exhibit complex that was developed in several stages. Besides having a much bigger overall variety of animals, the Toronto Zoo also has more charismatic animals than the Calgary Zoo. The Calgary Zoo now has giant pandas, but the Toronto Zoo has all the other charismatic megafauna that the Calgary Zoo has plus: Sumatran tiger, white lion, cheetah, polar bear, orangutan, Indian rhinoceros, black rhinoceros, pygmy hippopotamus, and Aldabra tortoise.
Panda Passage (2018) is the first of the last four major exhibit developments at the Calgary Zoo to display a species of animal heavier than 20kg. Land of Lemurs (2017) displays three species of lemur. Penguin Plunge (2012) has four species of penguins, which are certainly mega-charismatic and large for birds, but not really megafauna. The Enmax Conservatory (2009) has butterflies in the peak season. Smaller scale renovations in the past few years brought Indian rhinoceros to the Calgary Zoo (2014), but that was temporary (2014-2016) and only required slight modifications of the elephant exhibit in Elephant Crossing (opened in 2007). In the past decade (2008-2018) the focus of major developments at the Calgary Zoo hasn’t been on charismatic megafauna except for Panda Passage.
I think the biggest key to the Calgary Zoo’s success has been close and interesting experiences with a variety of animals. The Calgary Zoo has an exceptional variety of walk-through exhibits, including: penguins at Penguin Plunge; birds of prey in the Jihad Shibley Rocky Mountain Aviary in Canadian Wilds; mule deer and golden eagles in the Canadian Wilds; lemurs in Land of Lemurs; a large variety of birds in the TransAlta Rainforest; and butterflies in the Enmax Conservatory. Destination Africa has significant facilities for year-round viewing of tropical charismatic megafauna. The indoor hippopotamus exhibit has underwater viewing. The giraffes have a prominent exhibit that’s visible from most of the African Savannah building. The gorillas in the TransAlta Rainforest are often close to the front of the large viewing windows. Daily changes to the gorilla exhibit keep the apes busy and more engaged with their surroundings. At Panda Passage the large viewing windows let you get closer to the giant pandas than you can get at the San Diego Zoo. Recently, the Calgary Zoo has added training walls to their tiger and grizzly bear exhibits for positive reinforcement presentations. These have been very popular, and both exhibits have amphitheater seating to accommodate many guests. Feeding presentations for other charismatic carnivores include: otters, snow leopards, lions, cougars, and Komodo dragons. The walk-through exhibits, close viewing of charismatic megafauna, and carnivore feedings, create memorable experiences with the animals at the Calgary Zoo and elevate the Zoo beyond some zoos with more impressive collections.
