GraysonDP
Well-Known Member
Los Angeles Zoo Review
Date of Visit: June 2006
The Los Angeles Zoo is a fairly large zoo located in Griffith Park. The collection is fairly comprehensive except it is surprisingly weak on birds. Since my visit, the zoo has spent a fortune on several new exhibits: Camp Gorilla Reserve, Elephants of Asia, a nice langur exhibit intended to house golden monkeys, LAIR and Rainforests of the Americas. For the most part, these exhibits have been well received and I assume I would like the zoo much better if I visited now. However, I was very disappointed when I visited and even 11 year old me could see a lot was wrong with this zoo.
Excellent
Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountain- Quite a good chimpanzee exhibit that is quite lush and naturalistic. Immersive features such as termite mounds, palm trees, detailed rockwork, ample vegetation and changes in terrain and elevation successfully replicate the habitat of the apes. It is quite good for climbing and enrichment opportunities as well. The backdrops are not the most realistic around and are fairly simple but do the job well. A crashing waterfall is found in the exhibit as well. One thing I appreciate about this exhibit is the amount of shade and privacy it provides the chimps. Also, it is a breath of fresh air to see how rugged the land is and the rocky outcrops are brilliant. This is definitely a top ten chimpanzee exhibit in the nation.
Sealife Cliffs- On my visit, this habitat housed sea lions while now it has seals. While not enormous, it is quite immersive and replicates the Pacific coastline quite well. The rockwork is excellent, the attention to detail is admirable and the underwater viewing is fantastic. Not the best pinniped exhibit but a good first impression to the zoo.
Meerkat Habitat- Quite similar to the one at the San Diego Zoo. It is quite solid and features lots of realistic rocks, sand and opportunities for digging. I give it a thumbs up.
Ocelot Exhibit- A surprisingly good and lush exhibit. It has plenty of opportunities for climbing and privacy and is decently naturalistic.
Children’s Zoo- Decent area featuring species such as hedgehogs, sloths, armadillos, roadrunners, tarantulas and duikers.
Average
Flamingo Pool- Decent but not unlike others at countless zoos.
Red Ape Rainforest- A half decent habitat for orangutans. It is mesh and netted but at least is reasonably naturalistic and lush. Some ropes and enrichment opportunities increase the quality of this exhibit. What this habitat fails in aesthetics it gains in quality of life for the orangs. It is by no means fantastic but good enough.
Babirusas- This yard is better than most hoofstock yards in the zoo despite being simple and average.
Snow Leopard Habitat- Not really a good exhibit but better than several other snow leopard habitats I’ve seen. It is largely a pile of rocks but at least the cats have a decent amount of space and opportunities to climb.
Koala House- Koalas and wallabies share an average sized dry habitat. The koalas have some good climbing opportunities although the design is quite simple.
Komodo Dragon- Decent set of three habitats.
Nubian Ibex- Outdated but adequate. It has a good amount of height and climbing opportunities for the ibexes. However, the rock is old school and a clear product of the 1960s.
Okapi- A smallish but lush and well-planted yard houses the closest relative of the giraffe. It provides a good amount of privacy for the okapis and is more naturalistic than most of the hoofstock yards.
Bongo- Basic habitat that is slightly more lush and naturalistic than the others.
Tiger- Borderline poor exhibit that is saved by being reasonably lush and having a decent amount of water for the cats to swim.
Poor
Hoofstock yards- Tufted deer, Visayan warty pig, calamain deer, serow and goral live in subpar chain-link fence yards at the edge of the zoo. Barren, substandard and generic yards for species such as red river hogs, ostriches, lesser kudus, duikers, gerenuks, pronghorns, bighorn sheep, ibex, anoa and peccary.
Grevy’s Zebra Paddock- This yard is quite bare and dry.
Giraffe Yard- One of the smallest I’ve seen and lacking in terms of naturalism and enrichment.
Indian Rhinoceros Exhibit- Quite weak and disappointing. It is bone dry and way too small.
Takin Exhibit- A smallish dry exhibit that lacks climbing opportunities for the takins or any level of naturalism.
Nile Hippopotamus- A grossly outdated exhibit that’s one of the worst hippo habitats I’ve ever seen. The land area is tiny and the pool is all concrete. Yuck.
Lions- Absolutely awful exhibit and possibly the worst I’ve seen for the species. The king of the jungle is given a shockingly small exhibit enclosed by an ugly mural. No enrichments or naturalism whatsoever. It needs to be replaced immediately.
Black Bear Habitat- Ugly, bowl-shaped exhibit that is much too small. The rockwork is heavily outdated and it is obviously not designed with the bear’s wellbeing in mind.
Roundhouses- Disgraces of animal husbandry. Species such as spider monkeys, howler monkeys, king vultures, sea eagles, mandrills, lemurs, mangabeys, sifakas, colobus monkeys, duikers, fossas, bat-eared foxes, river otters, hyraxes and hawks live in despicable C-shaped cages that need to be torn down now. In short, they are absolute rubbish.
Asian Elephant Exhibit (Extinct)- A monstrosity that fortunately has been replaced by a state-of-the-art exhibit since my visit.
The Los Angeles Zoo has spent a lot of money improving and getting new exhibits in the past two decades but the reality is at its base there are many highly outdated exhbiits which make up the majority of the zoo. The roadhouses are disgraceful and many charismatic megafauna are found in unacceptable exhibits. There was potential shown at parts of the zoo, especially the chimpanzee exhibit, but it was ultimately subpar. I would need to visit again (as I plan on) to feel comfortable ranking it accurately but I can’t imagine ranking it in the top 40 in a list of America’s best zoos.
Date of Visit: June 2006
The Los Angeles Zoo is a fairly large zoo located in Griffith Park. The collection is fairly comprehensive except it is surprisingly weak on birds. Since my visit, the zoo has spent a fortune on several new exhibits: Camp Gorilla Reserve, Elephants of Asia, a nice langur exhibit intended to house golden monkeys, LAIR and Rainforests of the Americas. For the most part, these exhibits have been well received and I assume I would like the zoo much better if I visited now. However, I was very disappointed when I visited and even 11 year old me could see a lot was wrong with this zoo.
Excellent
Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountain- Quite a good chimpanzee exhibit that is quite lush and naturalistic. Immersive features such as termite mounds, palm trees, detailed rockwork, ample vegetation and changes in terrain and elevation successfully replicate the habitat of the apes. It is quite good for climbing and enrichment opportunities as well. The backdrops are not the most realistic around and are fairly simple but do the job well. A crashing waterfall is found in the exhibit as well. One thing I appreciate about this exhibit is the amount of shade and privacy it provides the chimps. Also, it is a breath of fresh air to see how rugged the land is and the rocky outcrops are brilliant. This is definitely a top ten chimpanzee exhibit in the nation.
Sealife Cliffs- On my visit, this habitat housed sea lions while now it has seals. While not enormous, it is quite immersive and replicates the Pacific coastline quite well. The rockwork is excellent, the attention to detail is admirable and the underwater viewing is fantastic. Not the best pinniped exhibit but a good first impression to the zoo.
Meerkat Habitat- Quite similar to the one at the San Diego Zoo. It is quite solid and features lots of realistic rocks, sand and opportunities for digging. I give it a thumbs up.
Ocelot Exhibit- A surprisingly good and lush exhibit. It has plenty of opportunities for climbing and privacy and is decently naturalistic.
Children’s Zoo- Decent area featuring species such as hedgehogs, sloths, armadillos, roadrunners, tarantulas and duikers.
Average
Flamingo Pool- Decent but not unlike others at countless zoos.
Red Ape Rainforest- A half decent habitat for orangutans. It is mesh and netted but at least is reasonably naturalistic and lush. Some ropes and enrichment opportunities increase the quality of this exhibit. What this habitat fails in aesthetics it gains in quality of life for the orangs. It is by no means fantastic but good enough.
Babirusas- This yard is better than most hoofstock yards in the zoo despite being simple and average.
Snow Leopard Habitat- Not really a good exhibit but better than several other snow leopard habitats I’ve seen. It is largely a pile of rocks but at least the cats have a decent amount of space and opportunities to climb.
Koala House- Koalas and wallabies share an average sized dry habitat. The koalas have some good climbing opportunities although the design is quite simple.
Komodo Dragon- Decent set of three habitats.
Nubian Ibex- Outdated but adequate. It has a good amount of height and climbing opportunities for the ibexes. However, the rock is old school and a clear product of the 1960s.
Okapi- A smallish but lush and well-planted yard houses the closest relative of the giraffe. It provides a good amount of privacy for the okapis and is more naturalistic than most of the hoofstock yards.
Bongo- Basic habitat that is slightly more lush and naturalistic than the others.
Tiger- Borderline poor exhibit that is saved by being reasonably lush and having a decent amount of water for the cats to swim.
Poor
Hoofstock yards- Tufted deer, Visayan warty pig, calamain deer, serow and goral live in subpar chain-link fence yards at the edge of the zoo. Barren, substandard and generic yards for species such as red river hogs, ostriches, lesser kudus, duikers, gerenuks, pronghorns, bighorn sheep, ibex, anoa and peccary.
Grevy’s Zebra Paddock- This yard is quite bare and dry.
Giraffe Yard- One of the smallest I’ve seen and lacking in terms of naturalism and enrichment.
Indian Rhinoceros Exhibit- Quite weak and disappointing. It is bone dry and way too small.
Takin Exhibit- A smallish dry exhibit that lacks climbing opportunities for the takins or any level of naturalism.
Nile Hippopotamus- A grossly outdated exhibit that’s one of the worst hippo habitats I’ve ever seen. The land area is tiny and the pool is all concrete. Yuck.
Lions- Absolutely awful exhibit and possibly the worst I’ve seen for the species. The king of the jungle is given a shockingly small exhibit enclosed by an ugly mural. No enrichments or naturalism whatsoever. It needs to be replaced immediately.
Black Bear Habitat- Ugly, bowl-shaped exhibit that is much too small. The rockwork is heavily outdated and it is obviously not designed with the bear’s wellbeing in mind.
Roundhouses- Disgraces of animal husbandry. Species such as spider monkeys, howler monkeys, king vultures, sea eagles, mandrills, lemurs, mangabeys, sifakas, colobus monkeys, duikers, fossas, bat-eared foxes, river otters, hyraxes and hawks live in despicable C-shaped cages that need to be torn down now. In short, they are absolute rubbish.
Asian Elephant Exhibit (Extinct)- A monstrosity that fortunately has been replaced by a state-of-the-art exhibit since my visit.
The Los Angeles Zoo has spent a lot of money improving and getting new exhibits in the past two decades but the reality is at its base there are many highly outdated exhbiits which make up the majority of the zoo. The roadhouses are disgraceful and many charismatic megafauna are found in unacceptable exhibits. There was potential shown at parts of the zoo, especially the chimpanzee exhibit, but it was ultimately subpar. I would need to visit again (as I plan on) to feel comfortable ranking it accurately but I can’t imagine ranking it in the top 40 in a list of America’s best zoos.