Popular Zoo Mammals and Their Best Exhibits

[15399]

Today's post will be dedicated to one of my favorite genera, and one kept in a large number of zoos: the Ruffed Lemurs! While not in quite as many zoos as the ring-tailed lemur, this genus, containing two species, is still a very common sight in zoos, and for good reason as they are popular, active, and endangered.

(Note: Duke Lemur Center was not considered for this post due to difficulty figuring out which species were held in the lemur forests, which are easily the country's best lemur exhibits. I know they have both ruffed lemur species at the facility, but it is unclear whether or not they are a part of one of the forests, hence not including them. They may make an appearance in one of the honorable mention posts, however).

The criteria for this post are:

• Social Structure: In the wild, ruffed lemurs live in complex, matriarchal social groupings. Zoos housing ruffed lemurs should try to replicate this natural social structure by housing groups of at least three, if not more, lemurs.
• Climbing Opportunities: Ideal lemur exhibits should feature multiple different climbing opportunities for the lemurs to choose, as these are in the wild a rather arboreal species of lemur.
• Space: While they do climb quite frequently, ruffed lemurs are not completely arboreal. Ideal habitats for this species should consider this in design, and build habitats in a way so that they still provide plenty of opportunities for terrestrial locomotion.
• Natural Lighting: Sunning behavior is important for lemurs to properly thermoregulate, and while indoor lemur exhibits can be successful, it is important that natural sunlight is incorporated into this design.

The zoos selected for ruffed lemurs are:

• An impressive, large group of seven red ruffed lemurs can be found at the San Diego Zoo, which houses them in the Africa Rocks section of the park. A series of large, naturalistic exhibits can be found here, rotating between a number of lemur species including the red ruffed, and are great at encapsulating the fact not all lemurs live in tropical rainforests (even if red-ruffed lemurs happen to be one of the species that do). Another great aspect of this complex is that the lemur exhibits are mixed-species, balancing the popularity of ruffed and ring-tailed lemurs with the ability to also house more unusual, endangered Eulemur species:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @timmychompchomp

Photo By: @timmychompchomp

Photo By: @timmychompchomp

• Eight red-ruffed lemurs share an impressive island home at the Woodland Park Zoo. A number of live trees and other plants can be found in this exhibit, all together creating a very large, very naturalistic habitat for lemurs to display natural behaviors in:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @animalman0341

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While not as large or complex a social grouping as either other zoo mentioned so far, another great red-ruffed lemur exhibit can be found at the Nashville Zoo. Three red-ruffed lemurs share this large habitat, part of the Bamboo Trail, and a large number of branches and other climbing features make this an excellent lemur exhibit with plenty of opportunities to move around both in the trees and on the ground:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @Bisonblake

Photo By: @Bisonblake

• An impressive group of eleven red-ruffed lemurs, along with seven black-and-white ruffed lemurs can be found at one of the few US zoos with a dedicated Madagascar complex, the Omaha's Henry-Doorly Zoo! This exhibit is anchored by a large walk-through red-ruffed lemur exhibit, also very unique in US zoos, is where both of these species can be found, impressive due to not only being walk-through but also being of a large size and with plenty of foliage and climbing opportunities. A separate exhibit also exists for the black-and-white ruffed lemurs, which while not walk-through is similarly excellent:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While so far all the zoos mentioned in this post are amongst the heaviest of hitters in the zoo world, a zoo doesn't need to be one to have an excellent lemur exhibit. One great example of this is the San Francisco Zoo, which houses five black-and-white ruffed lemurs and three red-ruffed lemurs in the impressive Lipman Family Lemur Forest, alongside multiple other lemur species as well. This exhibit contains a number of large climbing structures, providing excellent opportunities for these animals to climb, including reaching some impressive tall heights in this massive exhibit:

Photo By: @Pier-Luc Chouinard

Photo By: @TheoV

Photo By: @Hipporex

Photo By: @Hipporex

 

[Bactrian Deer]

I’ve (not really as there are no pictures) surprised that Mesker Park didn’t make it, the habitat area is about the size of Nashville and are mixed with Ring-Tailed Lemur and Sifakas

 

[15399]

I’ve (not really as there are no pictures) surprised that Mesker Park didn’t make it, the habitat area is about the size of Nashville and are mixed with Ring-Tailed Lemur and Sifakas

If there aren't any photos, that's why it wouldn't have made it. It wouldn't have shown up in my research, especially as Mesker Park is not a zoo I've ever visited.

 

[Brayden Delashmutt]

While I do agree that certain exhibits are great for animal welfare, a lot of this exhibits featured aren’t exactly great for viewing. While obviously the animal welfare does come first, in order for an exhibit to be good the animals have to actually be visible. Otherwise it’s just a forest or a bunch of rocks

 

[15399]

Seeing as today is Halloween, I figured it'd be fitting to do a post dedicated to some animals often associated with spooky season, Flying Foxes! Some of my personal favorite animals, these large fruit bats from Asia can be found at a number of US Zoos.

The criteria for this post are:

• Space: These are large bats, so having plenty of room to fly and explore is essential to a good exhibit.
• Social Structure: These bats are known to live in large colonies, something that is best to replicate in captivity in an ideal exhibit.
• Climbing Opportunities: While flying foxes can fly, that isn't their only means of locomoting. An ideal flying fox exhibit will also include plenty of climbing opportunities and other bat-specific designs to move around the exhibit without flying.

The five zoos selected for this post are:

• A colony of eleven Malayan flying foxes can be found on the Mahajarah Jungle Trek at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This is a very large exhibit, which allows visitors an up-close look at the bats, and is one of the few large flying fox-specific exhibits in US zoos. Plenty of ropes and trees provide a number of climbing opportunities for these bats, while there is also plenty of space to fly if desired:

Photo By: @Mr.Weasel

Photo By: @geomorph

Photo By: @Mr.Weasel

Photo By: @AndyJ08

• While unusually placed inside the Australia House, another large exhibit for (in this case Rodrigues) flying foxes can be found at Brookfield Zoo. Twelve of these bats can be found in this exhibit, which provides both a number of trees but also wide open areas to enable the bats to fly:

Photo By: @geomorph

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Andrew_NZP

• Six island flying foxes and eleven Malayan flying foxes can be found in the children's zoo section of the Oakland Zoo. This large exhibit contains plenty of space for the bats to fly, but also has a mesh roof and a number of ropes for the bats to climb on. While a children's zoo may not be the first place zoochatters think to look for incredible exhibits, sometimes there are impressive exhibits located in unexpected places:

Photo By: @geomorph

Photo By: @geomorph

Photo By: @geomorph

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While the three zoos above really highlight flying foxes individually, many zoos house them within larger aviaries or tropical buildings. One excellent example of this is Jungle World at the Bronx Zoo. An impressive colony of 23 Indian flying foxes and 42 Rodrigues flying foxes can be found in this building (albeit split into multiple sections), which provides plenty of space for the bats to both fly and climb. While I'm not 100% certain which sections of Jungle World currently have flying foxes, @ThylacineAlive is likely to know the answer:

Photo By: @ThylacineAlive

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @gulogulogulo

Photo By: @gulogulogulo

• Along with Jungle World, the country's other massive indoor jungle is the Lied Jungle at Omaha's Henry-Doorly Zoo. This massive jungle dome contains free-flight Indian flying foxes, and while technically not flying foxes, a massive colony of over 1,000 Egyptian fruit bats can also be found in the building. Similar to Bronx, this is a very large space with plenty of opportunities for the bats to both fly and climb. For fruit bat enthusiasts, Omaha is certainly the place to go since there are even more fruit bat species to be found in the Kingdoms of the Night:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Baldur

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

 

[Coelacanth18]

Disney's Animal Kingdom has never been a zoo high on my bucket list, but one of the few things there that I've always wanted to see is that flying fox exhibit. I wish more zoos had something like that, or like the one at Oakland (which I *have* seen, but unfortunately the bats were not using the outdoor space when I visited).

The bat experience in Lied Jungle is really unparalleled among US zoos though. There are so many Egyptian fruit bats in that building, the air at ground level gets choked with them in the afternoons and the rocky overhangs on some of the paths are more bat than rock. It's an overwhelming experience, although it is cool to see how incredible they are at maneuvering around visitors and each other in a tight space - you think they're going to smack you in the head, yet they always manage to swerve at the last second.

 

[15399]

Disney's Animal Kingdom has never been a zoo high on my bucket list, but one of the few things there that I've always wanted to see is that flying fox exhibit. I wish more zoos had something like that, or like the one at Oakland (which I *have* seen, but unfortunately the bats were not using the outdoor space when I visited).

The bat experience in Lied Jungle is really unparalleled among US zoos though. There are so many Egyptian fruit bats in that building, the air at ground level gets choked with them in the afternoons and the rocky overhangs on some of the paths are more bat than rock. It's an overwhelming experience, although it is cool to see how incredible they are at maneuvering around visitors and each other in a tight space - you think they're going to smack you in the head, yet they always manage to swerve at the last second.

I can concur the flying foxes are a highlight at Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's one of the zoos I've been to that I rank slightly lower than the average zoochatter would, but the real highlights are the flying fox exhibit, both massive walk-through aviaries, and the impressive gorilla exhibit. Other than that, most of the exhibits I'd describe as good, but nothing has anywhere near the "wow factor" I've experienced in some exhibits of Bronx, Detroit, and Toledo. Of course the elephant and hippo exhibits are also impressive, but that impressiveness is lessened by the limited viewing opportunities.

Omaha is one I haven't been to yet, but is very high on my list of places I'd love to go, with Lied Jungle and the Desert Dome being the two biggest reasons. That does sound like a really impressive bat experience, so as a fan of fruit bats it's definitely something I'd love to see for myself.

I also wish more zoos would house bats like DAK or Oakland. While on a smaller scale, during COVID-19 Capron Park Zoo moved its Rodrigues fruit bat colony from the Tropical Rainforest to their own exhibit, and it was this move that allowed me to really appreciate fruit bats and realize how awesome of animals they are. So many zoos don't allow their bats to really shine when they are displayed either in nocturnal exhibits with bad lighting or in large rainforest buildings where they are over-shadowed by other free-ranging animals.

 

[MGolka]

When the Lied Jungle was open during Late Nights at the Zoo, it made for an absolutely terrifying experience for some guests to go down amongst the floor trails at night. The bat activity was so much that I saw a college-aged person have an emotional breakdown and would not leave a cave for fear of the bats flying around down there. (Even though the completely dark cave was probably a worse place to stay...)

I was on full alert walking those trails that night and had multiple bats come swooping through the dense undergrowth and buzzed me. It sure does get the heart racing if you aren't used to it!

The last couple years has seen the Lied Jungle closed during Late Nights, and I'm not sure it will be going forward making having this experience possibly one that is no more.

 

[15399]

Today's post will be dedicated to an iconic, native species that is significantly more common in the Western half of the country. That species is the bighorn sheep! There are multiple subspecies found in US zoos, with the AZA managing the desert bighorn sheep (primarily zoos in the southwest), while some zoos in other regions house the rocky mountain bighorn sheep.

The criteria for this post are similar to those used for takin:

• Rocky Terrain: Bighorn sheep live in rocky areas in the wild, and as such it's important for zoos to replicate this terrain as much as possible. Exhibits with rocky terrain allowing for climbing opportunities were as such prioritized over zoos that did not provide rocky terrain.
• Herd Size: One common theme in this thread has been that oftentimes species are kept in bare-minimum social groupings. Like other social species covered in this thread, zoos that keep larger herds of bighorn sheep were prioritized over zoos that only much smaller herds.
• Space: While space isn't as important as how it is used, when comparing multiple rocky exhibits with large herds, the larger exhibits were the ones prioritized.

The exhibits chosen for bighorn sheep are:

• A large herd of 23 desert bighorn sheep can be found in the impressive Desert Lives exhibit of the Phoenix Zoo. This is a very naturalistic habitat for the species, containing entire large rock structures for the bighorn sheep to climb, but also providing plenty of flatter areas. This choice and control aspect is another big positive of the exhibit, as the highly variable terrain provides the bighorn sheep the ability to choose their habitat type:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Ituri

• Outside of the AZA, seven bighorn sheep can be found in the drive-through component of the Bearizona Wildlife Park. This exhibit is, as many drive-throughs are, very large, and contains both large forested patches and rocky areas for the sheep to climb. While this exhibit is not as visually impressive as Phoenix's, it's large size and varied habitat types make it one of my choices for this thread:

Photo By: @Arizona Docent

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While an exhibit called "Condor Ridge" may not be where you'd expect an impressive bighorn sheep exhibit, fifteen desert bighorn sheep call San Diego Zoo Safari Park's Condor Ridge their impressive home. This is a very rocky habitat, with some sandier sections interspersed, allowing these sheep plenty of space to climb and a varied terrain:

Photo By: @Brayden Delashmutt

Photo By: @Julio C Castro

Photo By: @IndianRhino

Photo By: @TheoV

• Joining Phoenix and SDZSP as the trio of impressive desert bighorn sheep habitats, a herd of eleven can be found at The Living Desert. This exhibit is similarly very spacious, with a large, naturalistic rock formation making many of the pictures taken in this exhibit seem as though they could've been taken in the wild. It's hard to be a massive mountain when it comes to bighorn sheep exhibits:

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @BigNate

Photo By: @Kudu21

Photo By: @DevinL

• For an older style of exhibitry, but still impressive in its own right, a small herd of rocky mountain bighorn sheep can be found at the Great Plains Zoo. A spacious, grassy area in this exhibit surrounds a large rock formation that allows plenty of space for the bighorn sheep to climb. While not to the same size or caliber as Phoenix or The Living Desert, small zoos can still make great exhibits for ungulates in their own right:

Photo By: @Ituri

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

 

[birdsandbats]

Today's post will be dedicated to an iconic, native species that is significantly more common in the Western half of the country. That species is the bighorn sheep! There are multiple subspecies found in US zoos, with the AZA managing the desert bighorn sheep (primarily zoos in the southwest), while some zoos in other regions house the rocky mountain bighorn sheep.

The criteria for this post are similar to those used for takin:

• Rocky Terrain: Bighorn sheep live in rocky areas in the wild, and as such it's important for zoos to replicate this terrain as much as possible. Exhibits with rocky terrain allowing for climbing opportunities were as such prioritized over zoos that did not provide rocky terrain.
• Herd Size: One common theme in this thread has been that oftentimes species are kept in bare-minimum social groupings. Like other social species covered in this thread, zoos that keep larger herds of bighorn sheep were prioritized over zoos that only much smaller herds.
• Space: While space isn't as important as how it is used, when comparing multiple rocky exhibits with large herds, the larger exhibits were the ones prioritized.

The exhibits chosen for bighorn sheep are:

• A large herd of 23 desert bighorn sheep can be found in the impressive Desert Lives exhibit of the Phoenix Zoo. This is a very naturalistic habitat for the species, containing entire large rock structures for the bighorn sheep to climb, but also providing plenty of flatter areas. This choice and control aspect is another big positive of the exhibit, as the highly variable terrain provides the bighorn sheep the ability to choose their habitat type:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Ituri

• Outside of the AZA, seven bighorn sheep can be found in the drive-through component of the Bearizona Wildlife Park. This exhibit is, as many drive-throughs are, very large, and contains both large forested patches and rocky areas for the sheep to climb. While this exhibit is not as visually impressive as Phoenix's, it's large size and varied habitat types make it one of my choices for this thread:

Photo By: @Arizona Docent

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While an exhibit called "Condor Ridge" may not be where you'd expect an impressive bighorn sheep exhibit, fifteen desert bighorn sheep call San Diego Zoo Safari Park's Condor Ridge their impressive home. This is a very rocky habitat, with some sandier sections interspersed, allowing these sheep plenty of space to climb and a varied terrain:

Photo By: @Brayden Delashmutt

Photo By: @Julio C Castro

Photo By: @IndianRhino

Photo By: @TheoV

• Joining Phoenix and SDZSP as the trio of impressive desert bighorn sheep habitats, a herd of eleven can be found at The Living Desert. This exhibit is similarly very spacious, with a large, naturalistic rock formation making many of the pictures taken in this exhibit seem as though they could've been taken in the wild. It's hard to be a massive mountain when it comes to bighorn sheep exhibits:

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @BigNate

Photo By: @Kudu21

Photo By: @DevinL

• For an older style of exhibitry, but still impressive in its own right, a small herd of rocky mountain bighorn sheep can be found at the Great Plains Zoo. A spacious, grassy area in this exhibit surrounds a large rock formation that allows plenty of space for the bighorn sheep to climb. While not to the same size or caliber as Phoenix or The Living Desert, small zoos can still make great exhibits for ungulates in their own right:

Photo By: @Ituri

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

No ASDM?

 

[15399]

No ASDM?

Surprisingly, no. I expected given it's a species native to the Southwestern US they'd have an impressive exhibit, but based on the photos in the gallery it appears to be fairly small and entirely fake rock It's far from the worst bighorn sheep exhibit (the only zoo I've seen this species in houses them in an infamous gray blob), but also doesn't reach the same caliber as the five zoos listed:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Someone who has been to the zoo can correct me, but based on the photos it appears viewing opportunities are awkward as well.

 

[birdsandbats]

Surprisingly, no. I expected given it's a species native to the Southwestern US they'd have an impressive exhibit, but based on the photos in the gallery it appears to be fairly small and entirely fake rock It's far from the worst bighorn sheep exhibit (the only zoo I've seen this species in houses them in an infamous gray blob), but also doesn't reach the same caliber as the five zoos listed:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Someone who has been to the zoo can correct me, but based on the photos it appears viewing opportunities are awkward as well.

Viewing is generally pretty good actually. It may be all mock rock but it's pretty tall and there's viewing on all levels. I'd definitely rank it above the exhibit at Great Plains, at the very least.

 

[BenFoxster]

Surprisingly, no. I expected given it's a species native to the Southwestern US they'd have an impressive exhibit, but based on the photos in the gallery it appears to be fairly small and entirely fake rock It's far from the worst bighorn sheep exhibit (the only zoo I've seen this species in houses them in an infamous gray blob), but also doesn't reach the same caliber as the five zoos listed:

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Someone who has been to the zoo can correct me, but based on the photos it appears viewing opportunities are awkward as well.

Today's post will be dedicated to an iconic, native species that is significantly more common in the Western half of the country. That species is the bighorn sheep! There are multiple subspecies found in US zoos, with the AZA managing the desert bighorn sheep (primarily zoos in the southwest), while some zoos in other regions house the rocky mountain bighorn sheep.

The criteria for this post are similar to those used for takin:

• Rocky Terrain: Bighorn sheep live in rocky areas in the wild, and as such it's important for zoos to replicate this terrain as much as possible. Exhibits with rocky terrain allowing for climbing opportunities were as such prioritized over zoos that did not provide rocky terrain.
• Herd Size: One common theme in this thread has been that oftentimes species are kept in bare-minimum social groupings. Like other social species covered in this thread, zoos that keep larger herds of bighorn sheep were prioritized over zoos that only much smaller herds.
• Space: While space isn't as important as how it is used, when comparing multiple rocky exhibits with large herds, the larger exhibits were the ones prioritized.

The exhibits chosen for bighorn sheep are:

• A large herd of 23 desert bighorn sheep can be found in the impressive Desert Lives exhibit of the Phoenix Zoo. This is a very naturalistic habitat for the species, containing entire large rock structures for the bighorn sheep to climb, but also providing plenty of flatter areas. This choice and control aspect is another big positive of the exhibit, as the highly variable terrain provides the bighorn sheep the ability to choose their habitat type:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Ituri

• Outside of the AZA, seven bighorn sheep can be found in the drive-through component of the Bearizona Wildlife Park. This exhibit is, as many drive-throughs are, very large, and contains both large forested patches and rocky areas for the sheep to climb. While this exhibit is not as visually impressive as Phoenix's, it's large size and varied habitat types make it one of my choices for this thread:

Photo By: @Arizona Docent

Photo By: @snowleopard

• While an exhibit called "Condor Ridge" may not be where you'd expect an impressive bighorn sheep exhibit, fifteen desert bighorn sheep call San Diego Zoo Safari Park's Condor Ridge their impressive home. This is a very rocky habitat, with some sandier sections interspersed, allowing these sheep plenty of space to climb and a varied terrain:

Photo By: @Brayden Delashmutt

Photo By: @Julio C Castro

Photo By: @IndianRhino

Photo By: @TheoV

• Joining Phoenix and SDZSP as the trio of impressive desert bighorn sheep habitats, a herd of eleven can be found at The Living Desert. This exhibit is similarly very spacious, with a large, naturalistic rock formation making many of the pictures taken in this exhibit seem as though they could've been taken in the wild. It's hard to be a massive mountain when it comes to bighorn sheep exhibits:

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @BigNate

Photo By: @Kudu21

Photo By: @DevinL

• For an older style of exhibitry, but still impressive in its own right, a small herd of rocky mountain bighorn sheep can be found at the Great Plains Zoo. A spacious, grassy area in this exhibit surrounds a large rock formation that allows plenty of space for the bighorn sheep to climb. While not to the same size or caliber as Phoenix or The Living Desert, small zoos can still make great exhibits for ungulates in their own right:

Photo By: @Ituri

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

I know you said the Bongo would be the only antelope featured, but I think it would be worth considering covering the best Pronghorn exhibits too, as they are a species with unique captivity requirements and I believe are only held captive in America due to their delicacy and inability to adapt to different temperatures outside their range.

 

[15399]

I know you said the Bongo would be the only antelope featured, but I think it would be worth considering covering the best Pronghorn exhibits too, as they are a species with unique captivity requirements and I believe are only held captive in America due to their delicacy and inability to adapt to different temperatures outside their range.

Thanks for the suggestion. I considered a pronghorn post, but there aren't enough notable holders to make it worthwhile in my opinion. Plus, not to be pedantic, but pronghorn are not antelope, and are more closely related to giraffes and okapi.

 

[BenFoxster]

Thanks for the suggestion. I considered a pronghorn post, but there aren't enough notable holders to make it worthwhile in my opinion. Plus, not to be pedantic, but pronghorn are not antelope, and are more closely related to giraffes and okapi.

Wow I never knew they were related to okapi and giraffes, very interesting! A shame they aren't more commonly held, again I guess due to their difficulty to manage and keep healthy in captivity.

 

[15399]

Today's post will be featuring an iconic African species, albeit not quite as famous in zoos as their Lion King co-star, Warthogs!

The criteria for warthogs will be almost identical to that of red river hogs:

• Social Structure: Warthogs tend to live in small groups of six to ten in the wild. In zoos, however, they are commonly housed in much smaller groups, sometimes even singularly. As such, this post prioritized zoos housing larger groups of warthogs.
• Natural Substrate: Warthogs forage through digging, so ideally their habitats should contain natural substrate that allows the hogs to manipulate their environment- just like other digging species mentioned so far in this thread.
• Size: Perhaps the most common criteria on this thread, this is another species that I've often seen in fairly small exhibits. That being said, there are some truly remarkable, large exhibits for the species that deserve praise in this thread.

The exhibits I chose for warthogs are:

• One very spacious, excellent warthog habitat can be found at the Detroit Zoo. This is easily the best exhibit I've seen for the species in the United States (Toronto's is slightly better in my opinion), and is home to a large group of six warthogs. Not only is this exhibit large, but it is also a fairly complex habitat featuring varied elevation, substrates, and shade levels:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Azamat Shackleford

Photo By: @Bisonblake

• While unfortunately only home to a singular warthog, another very impressive exhibit is part of the Water's Edge: Africa at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Not only does this warthog have an impressive, large single-species exhibit, but also at least sometimes has access to the adjacent hippo exhibit (which was already featured on this list). Due to this unique mix, the warthog at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has one of the largest and most complex warthog habitats in any zoo:

Photo By: @MGolka

Photo By: @MGolka

Photo By: @Echobeast

• An impressive grouping of eight warthogs can be found in a large, complex habitat at The Living Desert. This habitat contains plenty of rocks and other natural elements, as well as varied terrain that increases complexity and provides plenty of digging opportunities:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @snowleopard

• One of the country's newer Africa sections, but with a similarly impressive warthog exhibit, can be found at Zoo Atlanta. Five warthogs share this impressive, large habitat, which is designed with varied terrain and a number of natural elements to create a complex, naturalistic home for the warthogs:

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

• While its most well-known exhibits are fairly controversial, many of the other exhibits at the Indianapolis Zoo are quite excellent. One of these excellent, complex exhibits is the unique cape porcupine/warthog mixed-species exhibit, a mix I am only aware of at one other zoo. While far from the largest habitat on the list, there's still plenty of space to be shared by the two warthogs and porcupines that call it home. This is also an indoor-outdoor exhibit, which must be appreciated by both hogs and visitors during the winter months:

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

 

[Spike]

Today's post will be featuring an iconic African species, albeit not quite as famous in zoos as their Lion King co-star, Warthogs!

The criteria for warthogs will be almost identical to that of red river hogs:

• Social Structure: Warthogs tend to live in small groups of six to ten in the wild. In zoos, however, they are commonly housed in much smaller groups, sometimes even singularly. As such, this post prioritized zoos housing larger groups of warthogs.
• Natural Substrate: Warthogs forage through digging, so ideally their habitats should contain natural substrate that allows the hogs to manipulate their environment- just like other digging species mentioned so far in this thread.
• Size: Perhaps the most common criteria on this thread, this is another species that I've often seen in fairly small exhibits. That being said, there are some truly remarkable, large exhibits for the species that deserve praise in this thread.

The exhibits I chose for warthogs are:

• One very spacious, excellent warthog habitat can be found at the Detroit Zoo. This is easily the best exhibit I've seen for the species in the United States (Toronto's is slightly better in my opinion), and is home to a large group of six warthogs. Not only is this exhibit large, but it is also a fairly complex habitat featuring varied elevation, substrates, and shade levels:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Azamat Shackleford

Photo By: @Bisonblake

• While unfortunately only home to a singular warthog, another very impressive exhibit is part of the Water's Edge: Africa at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Not only does this warthog have an impressive, large single-species exhibit, but also at least sometimes has access to the adjacent hippo exhibit (which was already featured on this list). Due to this unique mix, the warthog at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has one of the largest and most complex warthog habitats in any zoo:

Photo By: @MGolka

Photo By: @MGolka

Photo By: @Echobeast

• An impressive grouping of eight warthogs can be found in a large, complex habitat at The Living Desert. This habitat contains plenty of rocks and other natural elements, as well as varied terrain that increases complexity and provides plenty of digging opportunities:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @snowleopard

• One of the country's newer Africa sections, but with a similarly impressive warthog exhibit, can be found at Zoo Atlanta. Five warthogs share this impressive, large habitat, which is designed with varied terrain and a number of natural elements to create a complex, naturalistic home for the warthogs:

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

• While its most well-known exhibits are fairly controversial, many of the other exhibits at the Indianapolis Zoo are quite excellent. One of these excellent, complex exhibits is the unique cape porcupine/warthog mixed-species exhibit, a mix I am only aware of at one other zoo. While far from the largest habitat on the list, there's still plenty of space to be shared by the two warthogs and porcupines that call it home. This is also an indoor-outdoor exhibit, which must be appreciated by both hogs and visitors during the winter months:

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

I know Indianapolis used to have a ton of babies. Do you know what happened to them?

 

[Bactrian Deer]

I know Indianapolis used to have a ton of babies. Do you know what happened to them?

I remember this to, but it was years ago, they might have either warthog on something that can’t make them reproduce

 

[pachyderm pro]

Today's post will be featuring an iconic African species, albeit not quite as famous in zoos as their Lion King co-star, Warthogs!

The criteria for warthogs will be almost identical to that of red river hogs:

• Social Structure: Warthogs tend to live in small groups of six to ten in the wild. In zoos, however, they are commonly housed in much smaller groups, sometimes even singularly. As such, this post prioritized zoos housing larger groups of warthogs.
• Natural Substrate: Warthogs forage through digging, so ideally their habitats should contain natural substrate that allows the hogs to manipulate their environment- just like other digging species mentioned so far in this thread.
• Size: Perhaps the most common criteria on this thread, this is another species that I've often seen in fairly small exhibits. That being said, there are some truly remarkable, large exhibits for the species that deserve praise in this thread.

The exhibits I chose for warthogs are:

• One very spacious, excellent warthog habitat can be found at the Detroit Zoo. This is easily the best exhibit I've seen for the species in the United States (Toronto's is slightly better in my opinion), and is home to a large group of six warthogs. Not only is this exhibit large, but it is also a fairly complex habitat featuring varied elevation, substrates, and shade levels:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @Azamat Shackleford

Photo By: @Bisonblake

• While unfortunately only home to a singular warthog, another very impressive exhibit is part of the Water's Edge: Africa at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Not only does this warthog have an impressive, large single-species exhibit, but also at least sometimes has access to the adjacent hippo exhibit (which was already featured on this list). Due to this unique mix, the warthog at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has one of the largest and most complex warthog habitats in any zoo:

Photo By: @MGolka

Photo By: @MGolka

Photo By: @Echobeast

• An impressive grouping of eight warthogs can be found in a large, complex habitat at The Living Desert. This habitat contains plenty of rocks and other natural elements, as well as varied terrain that increases complexity and provides plenty of digging opportunities:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @snowleopard

• One of the country's newer Africa sections, but with a similarly impressive warthog exhibit, can be found at Zoo Atlanta. Five warthogs share this impressive, large habitat, which is designed with varied terrain and a number of natural elements to create a complex, naturalistic home for the warthogs:

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

Photo By: @Milwaukee Man

• While its most well-known exhibits are fairly controversial, many of the other exhibits at the Indianapolis Zoo are quite excellent. One of these excellent, complex exhibits is the unique cape porcupine/warthog mixed-species exhibit, a mix I am only aware of at one other zoo. While far from the largest habitat on the list, there's still plenty of space to be shared by the two warthogs and porcupines that call it home. This is also an indoor-outdoor exhibit, which must be appreciated by both hogs and visitors during the winter months:

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @Grizzly Hound

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Detroit's warthog enclosure really is impressive both in size and in how green they've been able to keep it. One other enclosure I would tag in is the warthog yard at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Some years have past since I've last visited, but I distinctly recall that enclosure being considerably larger than any other I had seen at that point. Me personally, I'd probably swap it with Indianapolis.

@IndianRhino

 

[15399]

Detroit's warthog enclosure really is impressive both in size and in how green they've been able to keep it. One other enclosure I would tag in is the warthog yard at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Some years have past since I've last visited, but I distinctly recall that enclosure being considerably larger than any other I had seen at that point. Me personally, I'd probably swap it with Indianapolis.

@IndianRhino

Interesting, to be completely honest that SDZSP exhibit didn't come up at all in my research. Had I known about it, it likely would've made the list instead of Indianapolis.