That's one of the other exhibits I strongly considered including. As I said in my post yesterday, there is no shortage of good Grey Wolf exhibits in US zoos, and Brookfield is another excellent one.There are plenty of terrific wolf exhibits in American zoos and you did a great job in highlighting five of them. However, I think that a notable omission would be Brookfield Zoo's Regenstein Wolf Woods. It's arguably the single best exhibit at that zoo. With its innovative one-way windows and two acres of space, @pachyderm pro was so impressed that he included it in his thread America's 100 Must See Exhibits. Here are some photos:
@geomorph
@pachyderm pro
@Moebelle
Popular Zoo Mammals and Their Best Exhibits
- Thread starter 15399
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Hoping to see Red wolf done too
Gray Wolves are a species that is often given large, impressive exhibits, but one downside of this is that they are often a difficult species to see, as the wolves themselves are usually out of visitor view. In how many of these exhibits are the wolves consistently visible to visitors? I'm only familiar with Bay Beach of these, and that exhibit has always stuck out to me for having wolves that are usually visible.Today's post is dedicated to the largest of the canid species, the Grey Wolf! While many of the individuals kept in US zoos are generic, there is also a sizeable population of Mexican Grey Wolves managed through the AZA and USFWS, which has also served as a reintroduction program. Grey wolves are by and large the most commonly seen large canid in US Zoos, and are often found in everything from large AZA zoos, to roadside attractions, to facilities specializing in native wildlife. There are even a handful of US zoos almost exclusively dedicated to grey wolves! For this post, the main criteria being used are:
Before listing my five choices for wolf exhibits, I feel it deserves mentioning that there is no shortage of impressive wolf exhibits in US Zoos. While I chose five that I feel stand out from the rest, I could've easily made a list of five entirely different exhibits that would be equally defendable. While I don't expect any of these choices to be controversial, someone could easily make an equally valid list that includes five completely separate exhibits:
- Size: Wolves are fairly large animals that in the wild will live across large territories. This can best be replicated in captivity through giving extremely large enclosures, even more so than what should be given to other, similarly sized species. In fact, I'm pretty certain every exhibit on this list is at least an acre large!
- Social Structure: Wolves are pack species. While many zoos have traditionally (and even to this day) kept wolves in pairs, many of the better exhibits for wolves are those that display larger packs of wolves.
- Plants: Wolves typically live in dense, forested areas. Due to this, exhibits that are more densely planted were prioritized for this thread.
- Hiding Opportunities: While size and plants partially accounts for this, it warrants additional mention that wolves are shy, timid creatures. The best exhibits for them account for this by giving the wolves plenty of spaces to hide. One way this is achieved is by ensuring exhibits are properly deep (allowing areas far from the visitor path) rather than building long, yet narrow, exhibits.
- Like with many native wildlife species, some of the best exhibits in the country are at facilities that specialize in native species. One of the best examples of this is at Washington's Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, whose wolf exhibit is essentially just a spacious area of forest dedicated to the wolves. When a zoo's location is similar or identical to the animal's wild habitat, oftentimes it doesn't require much to build a stand-out exhibit, and what essentially amounts to a fenced off section of forest can be the best option for a species such as wolves. Features for visitors include viewing tunnels and other options for unobstructed views of the exhibit. The only problem with this exhibit is that unfortunately the Northwest Trek only has three wolves in its collection, and per their website the two females rotate time on exhibit:
Photo by: @Ituri.
Photo by: @snowleopard.
- A very large exhibit for grey wolves is located on Oakland Zoo's California Trail. This exhibit may not be as densely forested as the rest on this list, but still dedicates a large area to its wolves and is still nicely planted, providing a strong aesthetic to an already strong exhibit. Oakland Zoo keeps a pack of six grey wolves, which is commendable in its own right, a breeding pair and their four adult pups.
Photo by: @Coelacanth18.
Photo by; @TheEthiopianWolf03.
- Another zoo with a pack of six wolves, in this case six Mexican grey wolf brothers, is Massachusetts' Stone Zoo, the only exhibit on this list I've personally seen. This exhibit is particularly commendable because it shows how a small or medium zoo can dedicate substantial space and resources to a high profile species: in this case by having a two-acre area dedicated to the pack of wolves, located in what is essentially undisturbed forest. For a zoo that is only approximately 20 acres, it's impressive when two of them are dedicated to a single species! While not the most aesthetically pleasing exhibit on this list, it is very naturalistic in its own right, and certainly warrants a mention in this post:
Photo by: @Newzooboy.
Photo by: @TinoPup.
- For another facility to focus on native species, Wisconsin's Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary dedicates an acre to its pack of grey wolves, which as of 2022 consisted of five individuals. Impressive viewing windows overlook an exhibit that is similarly very forested and large:
Photo by: @snowleopard.
Photo by: @snowleopard.
- While not as well known as their sister facility in Omaha, Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park, which also specializes in native species, has its fair share of impressive exhibits as well. Their grey wolf pack consists of five individuals, and similarly to some of the other exhibits mentioned in this post this amounts to essentially a large fenced off section of forest:
Photo by: @snowleopard.
Photo by: @Dhole dude.
I've seen two of these, Stone Zoo I didn't have any problem on my one visit. The wolves were super active on the day I was there, so I may have gotten lucky.
As for Simmons Wildlife Safari, I've only seen the wolves 2 times out of 10+ visits the last four years. Really depends on when you go, early in the season, the grasses and weeds are short and the exhibit really opens up, but by the time mid-summer rolls around and those grasses/weeds are over two feet tall... good luck.
If visitors can't ever see the wolves, is it really a good exhibit then? A good enclosure from an animal welfare standpoint, sure, but an awful exhibit for the public.
Aardwolf
Well-Known Member
Wolves are tricky. They are one of those animals that visitors absolutely love to see and want to see... but seldom do. If the exhibit is big enough and natural enough, they tend to hide. If it's not big enough or too exposed, they tend to show a lot of stereotypic behaviors. I've worked with wolves at two past zoos - grays in one, with a tiny, crappy exhibit, where they were neurotic as all heck, and reds in another, with a large, densely planted exhibit where I had to spend half an hour looking for them every morning... even going in the exhibit with them they were tricky to spot.
And at either exhibit, you're going to have to deal with a lot of annoying people trying to howl at them.
When you *do* see wolves in a good, large, naturalistic enclosure, though, I feel like it's a really special experience. Maybe because most zoos with wolves in the US feature their native species (either red or gray) in a landscape of native plants and natural terrain, it's a lot easier to really visualize that species in the wild.
And at either exhibit, you're going to have to deal with a lot of annoying people trying to howl at them.
When you *do* see wolves in a good, large, naturalistic enclosure, though, I feel like it's a really special experience. Maybe because most zoos with wolves in the US feature their native species (either red or gray) in a landscape of native plants and natural terrain, it's a lot easier to really visualize that species in the wild.
Interestingly, I find that while wolves often aren’t great exhibit animals, they aren’t difficult animals to exhibit either. I realize that sounds like I’m directly contradicting myself, but even though they aren’t reliably visible much of the time it isn’t difficult to make a decent wolf enclosure. They aren’t damaging to vegetation like bears and are much easier to contain than cats, plus can be outdoors year-round no matter the climate. These factors are the reason it’s relatively easy to create a good wolf exhibit compared to other carnivores; even some of the worst zoos I’ve visited had solid wolf enclosures.
I’d also like to concur that Brookfield’s wolf exhibit should definitely be among the top five here, especially if one factors in the conservation success as a result of smart design choices. Just a few months ago a litter of six pups born at the zoo were moved to dens in Arizona and New Mexico to be raised by wild individuals.
I’d also like to concur that Brookfield’s wolf exhibit should definitely be among the top five here, especially if one factors in the conservation success as a result of smart design choices. Just a few months ago a litter of six pups born at the zoo were moved to dens in Arizona and New Mexico to be raised by wild individuals.
Red wolves will be featured in this thread, however it'll be a little while before I get to them. I made it a point to avoid monotony of posts and not place similar species next to each other.Hoping to see Red wolf done too
I agree that difficulty seeing wolves is common, however I did not use this as a criteria for a few reasons:
- Firstly, as I have only seen one of these five exhibits, I did not feel qualified to judge their visibility. While welfare standards, naturalism, and other criteria used are easy to judge based on online research, it's a lot more difficult to judge how easy it is to see the animals without going to the zoos in question.
- Secondly, the individuals in an exhibit can have a large impact on visibility and it's not always in the zoo's control. For example, when I was younger it was very difficult to see Stone's wolves, which were a few elderly individuals, but since they've gotten the newer wolves it's a lot easier to see them (both anecdotally and by others' reports). Just because a zoo's current wolves happen to be more or less timid shouldn't determine whether it makes the list or not.
- Thirdly, better visibility is great if that also correlates with strong welfare. Unfortunately, in many cases increasing visibility is not correlated with such. For example, one way to increase visibility is to make an exhibit visible on more sides. While this may be great for visitors, having an exhibit completely surrounded by visitor areas is not ideal for the wolves. Likewise with long and narrow exhibits, great for visitors but terrible for the wolves.
This is definitely true. Wolves are one of the simplest animals to make great exhibits for that get featured in this thread. It's no coincidence most of the exhibits featured in yesterday's posts amount to little more than a section of natural habitat surrounded by some sort of barrier, and there are countless more wolf exhibits in these molds as well.
Brookfield could've easily been featured, and I'm not saying it isn't an excellent exhibit, however in some cases there are more than five equally excellent choices that could have made the thread. Just like with bobcats, while NEW Zoo wasn't featured, it easily could have made the list instead of one of the five chosen habitats. One of the big criteria that pushed Brookfield off the list is social structure, since as of 2022 the zoo only had a single pair of wolves.
Breeding success wasn't factored in at all for a few reasons. The big two are:
- Factoring in breeding success would put zoos that don't breed the species at a disadvantage. I don't think Stone Zoo's exhibit is worse than one that breeds wolves solely because all of Stone's wolves are male. Many great exhibits that will be featured on this thread are not home to breeding pairs/groups, and that doesn't mean the exhibits aren't amongst the best.
- There are many cases in which exhibit quality and breeding success don't correlate. Polar bears at Toledo might be the textbook example of this, where a below average exhibit has surprisingly high breeding success, however I'm certain there are plenty of examples on both sides.
- There are a few big components of breeding success that exhibits don't account for, including the luck of having compatible animals. There are countless examples of zoos that were unsuccessful at breeding a species have their success change once either the male or female was swapped with another individual.
I fully agree that leaving out visibility for this thread was probably the best choice based on these first two reasons, but I have to disagree with the third one. Yes, in many species, including wolves, increased visibility does mean decreased welfare. However, this isn't a thread of the best enclosures for animal welfare, the title says "best exhibits". The best exhibits manage a balance between visitor experience and animal welfare, so that it excels at both. If it fails at either one, then it isn't a good exhibit.
Today's post will be dedicated to a charismatic large rodent species, the Capybara! The capybara is the largest of all rodent species, and is native to South America, where they reside in large groups along riverbeds. Capybaras are a common species in US zoos, prevalent in both accredited and unaccredited facilities.
The criteria in this post include:
Photo by: @birdsandbats. (note: this is the only photo of this exhibit in the ZooChat Gallery).
Photo by: @BeardsleyZooFan.
Photo by: @geomorph.
Photo by: @MGolka.
Photo by: @MGolka.
Photo by: @TheImmigrant1.
Photo by: @Zooplantman.
Photo by: @Dhole dude.
Photo by: @Dhole dude.
The criteria in this post include:
- Social Structure: While many zoos keep capybaras in smaller groups, large groups of capybara are ideal from a welfare and exhibitry perspective. This has been a common criteria in any social creature, and capybaras are another species that benefit from larger social groupings.
- Spacious Access to Water and Land Areas: Many zoos succeed in one of these two areas, however few succeed in both. As a semi-aquatic species, capybaras benefit from the ability to choose between land or water areas.
- Vegetation: Capybaras reside in forested areas in the wild. While this criteria was secondary to sociality and access to water and land, exhibits that were more densely planted were prioritized to exhibits that were not planted.
- Wisconsin's Wildwood Wildlife Park Zoo has what is perhaps the most impressive capybara exhibit in the country. As of 2021, four capybaras resided in an exhibit that consists of naturally forested area including both land sections and natural wetland areas, mixed with swans:
- Florida's Palm Beach Zoo is another zoo with an excellent forested area dedicated to capybaras, in this case mixed with Baird's Tapir and waterfowl. This exhibit features a large water feature at the front of the exhibit, along with plenty of land areas for the animals as well. Unfortunately, as of 2023 this exhibit only has a single individual, however hopefully Palm Beach Zoo has a good reason for this:
- As of 2023, Kansas' Rolling Hills Zoo featured two capybaras in a spacious exhibit. The capybaras at Rolling Hills Zoo have access to an entire central water feature, along with both riverbeds. This spacious area may not be the most forested capybara exhibit, but it does have an impressively large size that warrants mention:
- Houston Zoo's famous Pantanal exhibit features capybaras as part of the large mixed-species exhibit. As of 2023, there were eleven capybaras at the Houston Zoo, and they share this large habitat with a number of other Pantanal species as well:
- Safari North Wildlife Park in Minnesota features a nice forested area for their capybaras, complete with a nice water feature around the perimeter of the exhibit. This is a mixed-species exhibit along with waterfowl. As of 2021, there were two capybaras at Safari North, however I looked again today while writing this post and a new USDA inspection report from February no longer lists any capybaras at Safari North, making it unclear if they still keep the species:
AnActualFan
Well-Known Member
I've been loving this list, but I need to comment about a certain zoo
As someone who went to the zoo a lot as a kid, this is because this is not the main Capybara exhibit; the big exhibit is near the main restaurant, though it's been a few years since I've been, so maybe that's changed, seems it's now occupied by flamingos, but I swear they are probably still there.
King of Komodo Dragons
Well-Known Member
Some info as I volunteer at Palm Beach Zoo when I'm at collage. This exhibit doesn't have any Capybaras, the capys are by the restaurant with waterfowl and chilean flamingos. As far as the tapir goes, the zoo has three, a pair and their offpsring, when doing my volunteer training I was told they are desperately trying to find a place to send the now fully grown calf as he had to stay longer due to covid. They plan to breed their pair again after. The zoo currently only has 1 capybara, a male named Zeus, but they are on a list to obtain a female to breed with Zeus when one is available.
AnActualFan
Well-Known Member
Huh good to know.
I would never in my wildest dreams have expected Safari North of all places to be in this thread! I'm still not quite sure why this of all enclosures was chosen, considering the Capybaras don't really have that much privacy and the exhibit isn't as large as it appears in photos. I'll be back at Safari North sometime this summer to confirm if the Capybaras are still there or not.
- Safari North Wildlife Park in Minnesota features a nice forested area for their capybaras, complete with a nice water feature around the perimeter of the exhibit. This is a mixed-species exhibit along with waterfowl. As of 2021, there were two capybaras at Safari North, however I looked again today while writing this post and a new USDA inspection report from February no longer lists any capybaras at Safari North, making it unclear if they still keep the species:
Photo by: @Dhole dude.
Photo by: @Dhole dude.
Huh. When I looked "capybara" in the ZC gallery, every photo for Palm Beach showed this exhibit (granted, none showed the actual animal!) I will have to make my first retraction of a pick for this one, and my next post will feature a replacement pick instead of a new animal.
Safari North is on the list for capybaras due to the exhibit being nicely planted and including a good amount of both land and water access. I will say that this will not be the last exhibit on this list from a zoo that is otherwise not the greatest quality.
Today's post will be dedicated to a charismatic large rodent species, the Capybara! The capybara is the largest of all rodent species, and is native to South America, where they reside in large groups along riverbeds. Capybaras are a common species in US zoos, prevalent in both accredited and unaccredited facilities.
The criteria in this post include:
The five zoos chosen for capybaras are:
- Social Structure: While many zoos keep capybaras in smaller groups, large groups of capybara are ideal from a welfare and exhibitry perspective. This has been a common criteria in any social creature, and capybaras are another species that benefit from larger social groupings.
- Spacious Access to Water and Land Areas: Many zoos succeed in one of these two areas, however few succeed in both. As a semi-aquatic species, capybaras benefit from the ability to choose between land or water areas.
- Vegetation: Capybaras reside in forested areas in the wild. While this criteria was secondary to sociality and access to water and land, exhibits that were more densely planted were prioritized to exhibits that were not planted.
- Wisconsin's Wildwood Wildlife Park Zoo has what is perhaps the most impressive capybara exhibit in the country. As of 2021, four capybaras resided in an exhibit that consists of naturally forested area including both land sections and natural wetland areas, mixed with swans:
Photo by: @birdsandbats. (note: this is the only photo of this exhibit in the ZooChat Gallery).
- Florida's Palm Beach Zoo is another zoo with an excellent forested area dedicated to capybaras, in this case mixed with Baird's Tapir and waterfowl. This exhibit features a large water feature at the front of the exhibit, along with plenty of land areas for the animals as well. Unfortunately, as of 2023 this exhibit only has a single individual, however hopefully Palm Beach Zoo has a good reason for this:
Photo by: @BeardsleyZooFan.
Photo by: @geomorph.
- As of 2023, Kansas' Rolling Hills Zoo featured two capybaras in a spacious exhibit. The capybaras at Rolling Hills Zoo have access to an entire central water feature, along with both riverbeds. This spacious area may not be the most forested capybara exhibit, but it does have an impressively large size that warrants mention:
Photo by: @MGolka.
Photo by: @MGolka.
- Houston Zoo's famous Pantanal exhibit features capybaras as part of the large mixed-species exhibit. As of 2023, there were eleven capybaras at the Houston Zoo, and they share this large habitat with a number of other Pantanal species as well:
Photo by: @TheImmigrant1.
Photo by: @Zooplantman.
- Safari North Wildlife Park in Minnesota features a nice forested area for their capybaras, complete with a nice water feature around the perimeter of the exhibit. This is a mixed-species exhibit along with waterfowl. As of 2021, there were two capybaras at Safari North, however I looked again today while writing this post and a new USDA inspection report from February no longer lists any capybaras at Safari North, making it unclear if they still keep the species:
Photo by: @Dhole dude.
Photo by: @Dhole dude.
Just for kicks I would like to throw out the absolutely massive rhea and capybara habitat at Wildlife World in Arizona. I am not sure of the acreage, but it is HUGE. It is only visible by climbing a large viewing tower at the end of Adventureland:
I do want to clarify that the Rolling Hills Zoo has two Capybara exhibits and you have a photo of each of them in the post and that they aren't the same exhibit. I will say though that the large exhibit with the water feature is truly great. I just don't think I took more than one photo of the exhibit!
Another one that is large and has a ton of water is Audubon's South America exhibit. While there was only one Capybara in it when I visited there, they do share the space with multiple other species.
Another one that is large and has a ton of water is Audubon's South America exhibit. While there was only one Capybara in it when I visited there, they do share the space with multiple other species.
Capybaras (revised):
After it has come to my attention that Palm Beach Zoo's exhibit does not hold capybaras, I have done some more research into holders, with special thanks for @MGolka and @SwampDonkey for some excellent options. Audubon Zoo's exhibit is certainly impressive (
), but it unfortunately only holds a single individual. Wildlife World's exhibit is of an impressive size, and holds a commendable four individuals, but amounts to little more than a grassy field, which while great for the rheas is less than ideal for the capybaras. Overall, however, the impressive size and larger social group meant the spot narrowly went to Arizona's Wildlife World Zoo.
Thank you for @SwampDonkey for bringing this exhibit to my attention, as in my original research this exhibit didn't even cross my research (it doesn't help that there's only one photo of it in the ZC Gallery).
After it has come to my attention that Palm Beach Zoo's exhibit does not hold capybaras, I have done some more research into holders, with special thanks for @MGolka and @SwampDonkey for some excellent options. Audubon Zoo's exhibit is certainly impressive (
and will likely make an appearance later on for a different species
Thank you for @SwampDonkey for bringing this exhibit to my attention, as in my original research this exhibit didn't even cross my research (it doesn't help that there's only one photo of it in the ZC Gallery).
That exhibit looks great from an animal welfare standpoint, but it looks like a massive waste of water in an area where that's running pretty low right now. That's a HUGE problem.Just for kicks I would like to throw out the absolutely massive rhea and capybara habitat at Wildlife World in Arizona. I am not sure of the acreage, but it is HUGE. It is only visible by climbing a large viewing tower at the end of Adventureland:
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As I said when I reviewed the zoo and you brought that up, the picture was taken a day or so after it rained. I don't know if it is usually so green, but it is likely both irrigated and benefiting from the rain. WW also collects their own water on site in two large storage ponds and uses it to irrigate.