Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

The Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium is a small zoo, but a few years ago constructed a multi-million dollar, 5 enclosure habitat full of Asian species. The great thing about the Asian exhibits is that instead of a particular pair of animals spending their entire lives wandering around the same dusty cage, they can be haphazardly rotated throughout the day.

Occasionally the animals spend two days in one enclosure, and at times they spend half a day before being enticed by food into an entirely different exhibit through the use of hidden tunnels. This creates enrichment for the animals, and is also exciting for the zoo visitors. There is a spinning sign on the exhibits telling the zoo visitor that there could be any one of several animals in that specific section. You never know what will be in there on a given day, as they are at times rotated a few times within a 24 hour time period.

There are sumatran tigers, malayan tapirs, siamang gibbons, indian-crested porcupines, asian small-clawed otters, lowland anoa, and white-cheeked gibbons...and 5 out of those 7 species rotate through the different enclosures, as the otters and porcupines share an established exhibit. I know that several other zoos have tested out this policy (like the St. Louis Zoo), and there have been significant decreases in stereotypic behaviour.
 
Well perhaps, but as I have written in another thread, the exhibits all look like crap.
The Pt. Defiance Zoo themselves are unhappy with the barrenness of their exhibits.

These rotational exhibits are largely the work of CLR (for whom I have great admiration) and each one I've seen is too small to be made to look good. They end up being moderate sized cages/aviaries bare of anything but grass. We had that in zoos a century ago! Now we added the wrinkle of switching the animals from one to another so they can smell each others poop up close. In my observations, they don't behave any differently in these cages than in the ones their relatives are in who don't commute.

I think the concept is brilliant. I have yet to see it realized successfully.
 
@Zooplantman: I agree that the concept is brilliant, and rotating animals through different environments and different exhibits has to be more enriching than the captives being inside the same four walls for their lifetime.

I've been to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium twice, and would agree that their "Asian Sanctuary" could have been designed much better. However, there is one beautifully landscaped exhibit with a large pool, waterfall, and a steep grassy section. I think that particular enclosure is the best of the lot.
 
I recently spent time at Pt. Defiance, and learned that the one attractive exhibit in the Asian Forest complex (described by Snow Leopard) is used almost exclusively by tigers. Tapirs and anoas don't like the steep slopes, and in fact cannot even access the wide water moat), and have tended to bust through the hotwires into the bamboo planting zone that hides the tiger barrier fence. The complex's gibbons and siamangs cannot for obvious reasons be introduced to this open-topped area.

The other mesh enclosures are ugly, too small and simply serve as "cages." It was distressing to watch a crested porcupine pacing back and forth in this theoretically "enriched" environment.

The other sad update is that the Polar Bear exhibit--one of the great icons of 1980s zoo design--is being "modified" post-San Francisco--with a hideous 5 foot mesh addition to the rear moat that has for over 25 years successfully contained polar bears--ruining the once mind-bending panorama of distant musk oxen and coniferous forest in the background.

Very depressing....
 
The first time I went to the zoo the sumatran tigers were in the waterfall exhibit in the "Asian Sanctuary", and the second time the lowland anoa were in there. That's too bad that the zoo itself is disappointed with the outcome of what certainly cost a lot of money, and has yielded the solitary modern exhibit.

The polar bear/musk ox/reindeer/arctic fox section of the zoo is quite well done, and it is indeed depressing to hear about the so-called "renovations" to the polar bear exhibit. The zoo is very tiny, but the views from the front entrance are quite spectacular. Water and forest all around...
 
snowleopard said:
The first time I went to the zoo the sumatran tigers were in the waterfall exhibit in the "Asian Sanctuary", and the second time the lowland anoa were in there. That's too bad that the zoo itself is disappointed with the outcome of what certainly cost a lot of money, and has yielded the solitary modern exhibit.

The polar bear/musk ox/reindeer/arctic fox section of the zoo is quite well done, and it is indeed depressing to hear about the so-called "renovations" to the polar bear exhibit. The zoo is very tiny, but the views from the front entrance are quite spectacular. Water and forest all around...
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The zoo had been neglected for awhile and at last was getting some public support and had to do something special. I should not want to second guess them on which was the better choice: build beautiful exhibits for these Asian species...in which they would not rotate, or have fewer, but larger enclosures done well and have them rotate. With limitations of land and funds (they are part of a metro park system) trade offs were necessary.

@snowleapard: The first time I saw the zoo, perhaps 11 years ago, it took my breath away when I passed through the entry and saw the magnificent panoramic view of the water and woods! The new Amphitheater distracts from it a bit, but cannot really compete with the view.

I'll be sad to see substantial changes made to the tundra exhibits. They are subtly done and one might see them as spare except that they do indeed give a feel for the vast tundra. Sightlines were considered and animals look like they have plenty of space (except the belugas)

And of course today they are plopped into the middle of the controversy over the re-located sealions and the one that died. Pt. Defiance is an interesting zoo: small but not shy, they take on important tasks like the Red Wolf re-introduction program and these sealions. The zoo is laid out oddly but beautifully maintained. The deep water ocean tank in the little aquarium is one of my favorites of that type. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and, I believe, good at their jobs. They will never be Woodland Park Zoo, but they will make Portland proud.
 
This tiny Tacoma zoo has definitely done a wonderful job with its red wolves, but it's a pity that these canines have basic, old-style exhibits. I actually read somewhere a year ago about the zoo possibly raising funds for a new red wolf exhibit, as the current one is looking a bit threadbare and the glass viewing area is all scratched up.

A few of us have remarked on the tundra section, which is well done and doesn't really need to undergo an extensive renovation. It's always exciting to see walruses as they aren't often found in captivity, and the rocky shores set of exhibits has its good and bad points. The zoo as a whole only takes a couple of hours to see, and I feel as if they are due to raise funds for a new, attention-grabbing set of enclosures to bring in a higher number of visitors.
 
This tiny Tacoma zoo has definitely done a wonderful job with its red wolves, but it's a pity that these canines have basic, old-style exhibits. I actually read somewhere a year ago about the zoo possibly raising funds for a new red wolf exhibit, as the current one is looking a bit threadbare and the glass viewing area is all scratched up.
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See the first thread, it has a link to an article about the zoo's new red wolf exhibit.
 
Tribe gives zoo big donation for wolf exhibit | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA

This article is extremely similar to the one that okapikpr posted to kickstart this thread. However, it mentions that the red wolf exhibit will cost about $1 million, and that there is a capital campaign for the zoo to raise a total of just over $7 million for four different projects. Does anyone know what the other three projects are?
 
Renovation of the Rocky Shores scheduled for 2011
Renovation of the North Pacific Aquarium scheduled for 2013
Cats of the Canopy (Clouded Leopard exhibit) unknown date

It also appears that there maybe some land behind the Rocky Shores/Arctic Tundra area for expansion. And there is also the idea of moving the aquarium to the waterfront, freeing more space for zoo development.

Metro Parks Tacoma > Point Defiance Park Master Plan
 
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@okapikpr: thanks for posting the link to that website. The Point Defiance Zoo definitely has the ability to expand, and perhaps should if they want to maintain their position as a small, yet well-laid out zoo. Their four major development targets are all great to hear about, but it's just a pity that it will be many years until they are implemented.
 
Not really snowleopard, 2013 is only 5 years away...the improvements will come sooner than you think. I believe this year they are opening the second phase of the new children's zoo, this phase is supposed to have child interactive animal exhibits.
 
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium > Animal Avenue

The final touches on the $4.3 million "Kids' Zone" section of the zoo are now complete, and two weeks ago this area of the zoo was opened to the public. Black lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, damaraland mole rats, meerkats and 15 other species can now be found near playground equipment in this impressive children's section.
 
Thanks for the links okapikpr! I'm going to see if the zoo can ship me their new, 36-page book as I've visited there twice and it's a small and yet decent zoo.

The link for the upcoming projects is also intriguing, as the clouded leopard exhibit is now due for 2009, and the red wolf habitat is now 2010. Both are sooner than I had imagined, and hopefully the fundraising campaign is successful for those exciting new enclosures. The diagram for the red wolf exhibit is so much better than the current combination of chain link fence and smudged glass.
 
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