Popular Zoo Mammals and Their Best Exhibits

[15399]

For today's post, we will be returning to the African mainland, and we're not horsing around... as this post is dedicated to Zebras! Arguably the most iconic African ungulate smaller than a giraffe, these black-with-white-stripes equids are a mainstay of any African savanna exhibit. There are three species, all of which are present in US Zoos: Mountain Zebra, Grevy's Zebra, and Plains Zebra.

The criteria for this post are:

• Mixed Species Exhibits (Or Not?): Zebras, as African ungulates, are often displayed in mixed-species savannas. Unfortunately, these kinds of displays have often proved difficult given the aggressive nature of zebras. While it wouldn't be right to completely disqualify any zebra mixed-species exhibits, this list does prioritize exhibits that are either single-species, or provide large enough spaces to alleviate the tensions of mixed-species exhibits. Generally speaking, zebras are better mixed with larger, hardier species (e.g. Giraffes) than they are with smaller, more fractious antelope or birds.
• Space: While space is not everything, zebras are fairly large ungulates that roam over large swaths of land in the wild. As such, I looked for zebra exhibits that provided more than minimal space requirements for their zebras.
• Social Structure: Zebras, like most ungulates, are herd species. Unfortunately, it's way too common to see zoos with only two or three zebras making up an entire herd. This thread prioritized zoos who exhibited larger zebra herds, rather than only pairs/trios.

The zoos selected for zebras are:

• Not many zoos care for multiple species of zebra, however one that does is the Disney's Animal Kingdom. Twelve Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, the largest herd of this species at any AZA zoo, can be found in the Kilimanjaro Safaris, in a large, mixed-species exhibit alongside other ungulates and ostriches. While a mixed-species exhibit, Disney did choose the less aggressive of the zebra species for it and the exhibit has an excess of space available (over 20 acres!), allowing any conflicts to be resolved and allowing flight space for other species. Furthermore, the natural scaping of this exhibit and carefully positioned plants also allow visual barriers to further de-escalate the mix. Also at Disney's Animal Kingdom is a single-species exhibit for Grevy's Zebra, which provides an impressive panorama behind a meerkat exhibit. This zebra exhibit is home to three Grevy's Zebras, and is an impressive size habitat for only a single species:

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @HowlerMonkey

Photo By: @Andrew_NZP

Photo By: @AndyJ08

• One zoo that shows zebras don't need to be in a mixed-species exhibit to make for an impressive display is the ABQ BioPark in New Mexico. While unfortunately only home to two Hartmann's Mountain Zebras, this single species exhibit is spacious and contains a number of rocky features to replicate their wild habitat. Many zoos exhibit Hartmann's Mountain Zebras alongside Savanna species, so it's great to see a habitat highlighting this species in a unique, naturalistic manner:

Photo By: @SwampDonkey

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @geomorph

Photo By: @geomorph

• Disney is not Florida's only amusement park with two zebra species. Busch Gardens Tampa also impressively displays two zebra species, in this case Plains and Grevy's. Busch Gardens does display both these species in mixed-species yards, however alongside larger, less flighty species, making these mixes less risky than when smaller, flightier species are mixed with zebras. Furthermore, both of these savannas are over 20 acres in size, providing the other species with plenty of space to alleviate conflicts. These zebra herds are also both very large, with eight zebras of each species living in these large savannas:

Photo By: @SwampDonkey

Photo By: @Azamat Shackleford

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @Mr.Weasel

• Six Plains Zebras can be found alongside a number of other species in the sixteen-acre African Savanna at Michigan's Binder Park Zoo. This sprawling savanna also contains plenty of areas for species to escape each other, and the rolling hills/elevation changes help provide additional visual barriers as well. While a tad smaller than either of the Florida amusement parks on the list, this remains a very large home for the zebras and other species displayed here:

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @MountainBongo

• Oftentimes, non-massive zoos/safari parks aren't home to large herds of ungulates, instead aiming for species diversity and/or space-saving measures rather than displaying herd dynamics. One exception to this with zebras is the Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey, which displays a herd of five Plains Zebras in a single-species exhibit. While many zoos would've opted to put 2-3 zebras in this space alongside one or two other species, I commend Cape May for truly highlighting the zebra in a spacious, single-species exhibit:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

 

[birdsandbats]

For today's post, we will be returning to the African mainland, and we're not horsing around... as this post is dedicated to Zebras! Arguably the most iconic African ungulate smaller than a giraffe, these black-with-white-stripes equids are a mainstay of any African savanna exhibit. There are three species, all of which are present in US Zoos: Mountain Zebra, Grevy's Zebra, and Plains Zebra.

The criteria for this post are:

• Mixed Species Exhibits (Or Not?): Zebras, as African ungulates, are often displayed in mixed-species savannas. Unfortunately, these kinds of displays have often proved difficult given the aggressive nature of zebras. While it wouldn't be right to completely disqualify any zebra mixed-species exhibits, this list does prioritize exhibits that are either single-species, or provide large enough spaces to alleviate the tensions of mixed-species exhibits. Generally speaking, zebras are better mixed with larger, hardier species (e.g. Giraffes) than they are with smaller, more fractious antelope or birds.
• Space: While space is not everything, zebras are fairly large ungulates that roam over large swaths of land in the wild. As such, I looked for zebra exhibits that provided more than minimal space requirements for their zebras.
• Social Structure: Zebras, like most ungulates, are herd species. Unfortunately, it's way too common to see zoos with only two or three zebras making up an entire herd. This thread prioritized zoos who exhibited larger zebra herds, rather than only pairs/trios.

The zoos selected for zebras are:

• Not many zoos care for multiple species of zebra, however one that does is the Disney's Animal Kingdom. Twelve Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, the largest herd of this species at any AZA zoo, can be found in the Kilimanjaro Safaris, in a large, mixed-species exhibit alongside other ungulates and ostriches. While a mixed-species exhibit, Disney did choose the less aggressive of the zebra species for it and the exhibit has an excess of space available (over 20 acres!), allowing any conflicts to be resolved and allowing flight space for other species. Furthermore, the natural scaping of this exhibit and carefully positioned plants also allow visual barriers to further de-escalate the mix. Also at Disney's Animal Kingdom is a single-species exhibit for Grevy's Zebra, which provides an impressive panorama behind a meerkat exhibit. This zebra exhibit is home to three Grevy's Zebras, and is an impressive size habitat for only a single species:

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @HowlerMonkey

Photo By: @Andrew_NZP

Photo By: @AndyJ08

• One zoo that shows zebras don't need to be in a mixed-species exhibit to make for an impressive display is the ABQ BioPark in New Mexico. While unfortunately only home to two Hartmann's Mountain Zebras, this single species exhibit is spacious and contains a number of rocky features to replicate their wild habitat. Many zoos exhibit Hartmann's Mountain Zebras alongside Savanna species, so it's great to see a habitat highlighting this species in a unique, naturalistic manner:

Photo By: @SwampDonkey

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @geomorph

Photo By: @geomorph

• Disney is not Florida's only amusement park with two zebra species. Busch Gardens Tampa also impressively displays two zebra species, in this case Plains and Grevy's. Busch Gardens does display both these species in mixed-species yards, however alongside larger, less flighty species, making these mixes less risky than when smaller, flightier species are mixed with zebras. Furthermore, both of these savannas are over 20 acres in size, providing the other species with plenty of space to alleviate conflicts. These zebra herds are also both very large, with eight zebras of each species living in these large savannas:

Photo By: @SwampDonkey

Photo By: @Azamat Shackleford

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @Mr.Weasel

• Six Plains Zebras can be found alongside a number of other species in the sixteen-acre African Savanna at Michigan's Binder Park Zoo. This sprawling savanna also contains plenty of areas for species to escape each other, and the rolling hills/elevation changes help provide additional visual barriers as well. While a tad smaller than either of the Florida amusement parks on the list, this remains a very large home for the zebras and other species displayed here:

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @MountainBongo

• Oftentimes, non-massive zoos/safari parks aren't home to large herds of ungulates, instead aiming for species diversity and/or space-saving measures rather than displaying herd dynamics. One exception to this with zebras is the Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey, which displays a herd of five Plains Zebras in a single-species exhibit. While many zoos would've opted to put 2-3 zebras in this space alongside one or two other species, I commend Cape May for truly highlighting the zebra in a spacious, single-species exhibit:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

DAK actually keeps all three species of zebra, since Kilimanjaro also has Grant's Zebra.

 

[ZooNerd]

For today's post, we will be returning to the African mainland, and we're not horsing around... as this post is dedicated to Zebras! Arguably the most iconic African ungulate smaller than a giraffe, these black-with-white-stripes equids are a mainstay of any African savanna exhibit. There are three species, all of which are present in US Zoos: Mountain Zebra, Grevy's Zebra, and Plains Zebra.

The criteria for this post are:

• Mixed Species Exhibits (Or Not?): Zebras, as African ungulates, are often displayed in mixed-species savannas. Unfortunately, these kinds of displays have often proved difficult given the aggressive nature of zebras. While it wouldn't be right to completely disqualify any zebra mixed-species exhibits, this list does prioritize exhibits that are either single-species, or provide large enough spaces to alleviate the tensions of mixed-species exhibits. Generally speaking, zebras are better mixed with larger, hardier species (e.g. Giraffes) than they are with smaller, more fractious antelope or birds.
• Space: While space is not everything, zebras are fairly large ungulates that roam over large swaths of land in the wild. As such, I looked for zebra exhibits that provided more than minimal space requirements for their zebras.
• Social Structure: Zebras, like most ungulates, are herd species. Unfortunately, it's way too common to see zoos with only two or three zebras making up an entire herd. This thread prioritized zoos who exhibited larger zebra herds, rather than only pairs/trios.

The zoos selected for zebras are:

• Not many zoos care for multiple species of zebra, however one that does is the Disney's Animal Kingdom. Twelve Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, the largest herd of this species at any AZA zoo, can be found in the Kilimanjaro Safaris, in a large, mixed-species exhibit alongside other ungulates and ostriches. While a mixed-species exhibit, Disney did choose the less aggressive of the zebra species for it and the exhibit has an excess of space available (over 20 acres!), allowing any conflicts to be resolved and allowing flight space for other species. Furthermore, the natural scaping of this exhibit and carefully positioned plants also allow visual barriers to further de-escalate the mix. Also at Disney's Animal Kingdom is a single-species exhibit for Grevy's Zebra, which provides an impressive panorama behind a meerkat exhibit. This zebra exhibit is home to three Grevy's Zebras, and is an impressive size habitat for only a single species:

Photo By: @AndyJ08

Photo By: @HowlerMonkey

Photo By: @Andrew_NZP

Photo By: @AndyJ08

• One zoo that shows zebras don't need to be in a mixed-species exhibit to make for an impressive display is the ABQ BioPark in New Mexico. While unfortunately only home to two Hartmann's Mountain Zebras, this single species exhibit is spacious and contains a number of rocky features to replicate their wild habitat. Many zoos exhibit Hartmann's Mountain Zebras alongside Savanna species, so it's great to see a habitat highlighting this species in a unique, naturalistic manner:

Photo By: @SwampDonkey

Photo By: @Coelacanth18

Photo By: @geomorph

Photo By: @geomorph

• Disney is not Florida's only amusement park with two zebra species. Busch Gardens Tampa also impressively displays two zebra species, in this case Plains and Grevy's. Busch Gardens does display both these species in mixed-species yards, however alongside larger, less flighty species, making these mixes less risky than when smaller, flightier species are mixed with zebras. Furthermore, both of these savannas are over 20 acres in size, providing the other species with plenty of space to alleviate conflicts. These zebra herds are also both very large, with eight zebras of each species living in these large savannas:

Photo By: @SwampDonkey

Photo By: @Azamat Shackleford

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @Mr.Weasel

• Six Plains Zebras can be found alongside a number of other species in the sixteen-acre African Savanna at Michigan's Binder Park Zoo. This sprawling savanna also contains plenty of areas for species to escape each other, and the rolling hills/elevation changes help provide additional visual barriers as well. While a tad smaller than either of the Florida amusement parks on the list, this remains a very large home for the zebras and other species displayed here:

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @Rhino0118

Photo By: @MountainBongo

• Oftentimes, non-massive zoos/safari parks aren't home to large herds of ungulates, instead aiming for species diversity and/or space-saving measures rather than displaying herd dynamics. One exception to this with zebras is the Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey, which displays a herd of five Plains Zebras in a single-species exhibit. While many zoos would've opted to put 2-3 zebras in this space alongside one or two other species, I commend Cape May for truly highlighting the zebra in a spacious, single-species exhibit:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

I’m really surprised that the Columbus Zoos African savannah isn’t featured in this list!

 

[15399]

DAK actually keeps all three species of zebra, since Kilimanjaro also has Grant's Zebra.

Huh, I was under the impression all of the Plains/Grant's Zebras were kept at the DAKL. It's confusing trying to look for this info, however, since the AZA treats them as the same facility. Wouldn't surprise me if there're still some at the park, however.

I’m really surprised that the Columbus Zoos African savannah isn’t featured in this list!

That's certainly a good exhibit, but compared to the others I included it simply isn't at the same level as a zebra exhibit. There were a good five or six other zebra exhibits, many of them large savannas, I could've easily included on this list, zebras are one of those species there are simply plenty of good exhibits for. Columbus wasn't strongly considered, however, mainly because they have a smaller herd than the three mixed savannas included and that the Heart of Africa also contains a few more fractious species that I wouldn't consider it good practice to mix with zebras.

What about the Smithsonian national zoo? It’s pretty good, isn’t it?

Yeah, it's a pretty good exhibit. However, this thread is for the five best exhibits, and there are a lot more than five "pretty good" exhibits for ring-tailed lemurs. If this was top ten, there would be a chance Smithsonian got included, however the five chosen are, in my opinion, on a tier above Smithsonian's exhibit.

 

[SwampDonkey]

I would actually toss out the rather unknown candidate of Wild Adventures in Valdosta GA. They keep at least 8 Grants zebra in their African paddock along with common ostrich.

 

[15399]

Today's post will be dedicated to one of the most endangered animals to be featured in this thread, and in my opinion one of the most beautiful, the Amur Leopard! The only leopard subspecies held by more than a single US zoo, these cats are native to only a small region near the Russia-China-North Korea border. Unfortunately, while the big cats mentioned so far (lions and tigers) both had a surplus of excellent exhibits, the pickings for amur leopard exhibits were slimmer. That said, there are still some zoos out there with excellent amur leopard exhibits worthy of highlighting.

The criteria for this post are:

• Climbing Opportunities: Compared to tigers and lions, leopards are much more arboreal cats. As such, they require exhibits with plenty of opportunities to climb, whether that be through live trees, rockwork, or artificial climbing structures doesn't necessarily matter- but having a plethora of different climbing opportunities is important.
• Space: Unfortunately, leopards are another taxa that has historically been exhibited in much smaller exhibits than they deserve. These are fast, agile climbers that can really make great use out of larger exhibits- and ideally are given enough space to truly display their entire repertoire of natural behaviors.
• Shade and Access to Cooler Spaces: Amur leopards are well-adapted to cold, harsh conditions, and unfortunately are less adapted for hot, sunny days. Zoos keeping amur leopards should be cognizant of this, and include shaded areas, cooled rocks, and/or access to climate-controlled spaces during the warmer months.

The exhibits chosen for this post are:

• For its eleventh mention in this thread, Minnesota Zoo has a very impressive amur leopard exhibit included in its Russia's Grizzly Coast complex. This exhibit features both impressive rockwork and a number of live trees creating a naturalistic, shady environment with plenty of opportunities for the leopards to climb. The Minnesota Zoo has multiple exhibits available for their amur leopards, providing the zoo maximal flexibility in housing multiple individuals and/or breeding:

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

• One zoo known for making excellent use of their unique natural terrain is the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Their amur leopard exhibit is no exception, containing a lot of impressive, natural rock formations alongside wooden climbing structures to make an all-around great home for amur leopards. This is a tall, spacious exhibit, and contains a number of rock crevices and trees to allow shady areas for the leopards as well. Unfortunately, only one picture exists in the ZooChat gallery for this exhibit:

Photo By: @MGolka

• The Rosamond Gifford Zoo did an excellent job transforming a once-inadequate lion exhibit into an excellent home for an amur leopard. This tall habitat contains a number of climbing structures, allowing the leopard to make great use of the exhibit's vertical space. Plenty of live plants are also included here, providing shade and hiding opportunities for the leopard as well. During the summer, the leopard is also given the option to stay inside a climate-controlled, behind-the-scenes area. When that option is chosen, the leopard exhibit rotates with black-and-white ruffed lemurs- providing an enriching, rotational design that maximizes the exhibit's use in all weather conditions:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @Neil chace

Photo By: @TinoPup

• One thing that is great to see in small zoos is a commitment to housing a smaller number of animals in excellent enclosures. At the Staten Island Zoo, amur leopards are the only charismatic megafauna displayed, and are afforded a large, naturalistic outdoor habitat that is far superior than how amur leopards are displayed on the other side of the city (in a much, much larger zoo I might add ). This exhibit is not perfect, but it does contain a good amount of climbing structures, plenty of rockwork, and is a spacious home for this species. Overall, however, this exhibit best shows how smaller zoos can still have excellent exhibits if they carefully plan what animals they'd like to display, and choose appropriately:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @zoo_enthusiast

• Utah's Hogle Zoo contains an impressive Asian Highlands exhibit, providing an all-around excellent home for a number of Asian cat species. One of those species is the amur leopard, which lives in a large, naturalistic home complete with an excellent use of rockwork:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

 

[Emanuel Theodorus]

Today's post will be dedicated to one of the most endangered animals to be featured in this thread, and in my opinion one of the most beautiful, the Amur Leopard! The only leopard subspecies held by more than a single US zoo, these cats are native to only a small region near the Russia-China-North Korea border. Unfortunately, while the big cats mentioned so far (lions and tigers) both had a surplus of excellent exhibits, the pickings for amur leopard exhibits were slimmer. That said, there are still some zoos out there with excellent amur leopard exhibits worthy of highlighting.

The criteria for this post are:

• Climbing Opportunities: Compared to tigers and lions, leopards are much more arboreal cats. As such, they require exhibits with plenty of opportunities to climb, whether that be through live trees, rockwork, or artificial climbing structures doesn't necessarily matter- but having a plethora of different climbing opportunities is important.
• Space: Unfortunately, leopards are another taxa that has historically been exhibited in much smaller exhibits than they deserve. These are fast, agile climbers that can really make great use out of larger exhibits- and ideally are given enough space to truly display their entire repertoire of natural behaviors.
• Shade and Access to Cooler Spaces: Amur leopards are well-adapted to cold, harsh conditions, and unfortunately are less adapted for hot, sunny days. Zoos keeping amur leopards should be cognizant of this, and include shaded areas, cooled rocks, and/or access to climate-controlled spaces during the warmer months.

The exhibits chosen for this post are:

• For its eleventh mention in this thread, Minnesota Zoo has a very impressive amur leopard exhibit included in its Russia's Grizzly Coast complex. This exhibit features both impressive rockwork and a number of live trees creating a naturalistic, shady environment with plenty of opportunities for the leopards to climb. The Minnesota Zoo has multiple exhibits available for their amur leopards, providing the zoo maximal flexibility in housing multiple individuals and/or breeding:

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @Dhole dude

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

• One zoo known for making excellent use of their unique natural terrain is the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Their amur leopard exhibit is no exception, containing a lot of impressive, natural rock formations alongside wooden climbing structures to make an all-around great home for amur leopards. This is a tall, spacious exhibit, and contains a number of rock crevices and trees to allow shady areas for the leopards as well. Unfortunately, only one picture exists in the ZooChat gallery for this exhibit:

Photo By: @MGolka

• The Rosamond Gifford Zoo did an excellent job transforming a once-inadequate lion exhibit into an excellent home for an amur leopard. This tall habitat contains a number of climbing structures, allowing the leopard to make great use of the exhibit's vertical space. Plenty of live plants are also included here, providing shade and hiding opportunities for the leopard as well. During the summer, the leopard is also given the option to stay inside a climate-controlled, behind-the-scenes area. When that option is chosen, the leopard exhibit rotates with black-and-white ruffed lemurs- providing an enriching, rotational design that maximizes the exhibit's use in all weather conditions:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @Neil chace

Photo By: @TinoPup

• One thing that is great to see in small zoos is a commitment to housing a smaller number of animals in excellent enclosures. At the Staten Island Zoo, amur leopards are the only charismatic megafauna displayed, and are afforded a large, naturalistic outdoor habitat that is far superior than how amur leopards are displayed on the other side of the city (in a much, much larger zoo I might add ). This exhibit is not perfect, but it does contain a good amount of climbing structures, plenty of rockwork, and is a spacious home for this species. Overall, however, this exhibit best shows how smaller zoos can still have excellent exhibits if they carefully plan what animals they'd like to display, and choose appropriately:

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @TinoPup

Photo By: @zoo_enthusiast

• Utah's Hogle Zoo contains an impressive Asian Highlands exhibit, providing an all-around excellent home for a number of Asian cat species. One of those species is the amur leopard, which lives in a large, naturalistic home complete with an excellent use of rockwork:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

I know this is rather arbitrary but one of the criterias you should add is definitely the theming of the exhibit.

Because how many zoos try to pass off Amur Leopards as their African counterparts and display them in an African themed exhibit? (*cough* San Diego)

Or trying to pass it off in a jungle exhibit when Amur Leopards literally lives in cold region of Russia and China (*cough* Bronx)

Yes I know getting African Leopards are essentially almost impossible for American Zoos, but seriously, its kinda annoying for zoos to pass of Amurs as animals that they aren't supposed to be. It's like exhibiting Asian Elephants in African exhibit and try to pass it off as African Elephants.

 

[birdsandbats]

Yes I know getting African Leopards are essentially almost impossible for American Zoos, but seriously, its kinda annoying for zoos to pass of Amurs as animals that they aren't supposed to be. It's like exhibiting Asian Elephants in African exhibit and try to pass it off as African Elephants.

I think there's a pretty big difference in passing off a totally separate species (in a totally separate genus, no less) as another species for an exhibit, in comparison to pretending the subspecies you have lives in the environment of a different subspecies.

Does it annoy me a little? Sometimes, yeah. But it really isn't a very big deal at all.

 

[15399]

I know this is rather arbitrary but one of the criterias you should add is definitely the theming of the exhibit.

Because how many zoos try to pass off Amur Leopards as their African counterparts and display them in an African themed exhibit? (*cough* San Diego)

Or trying to pass it off in a jungle exhibit when Amur Leopards literally lives in cold region of Russia and China (*cough* Bronx)

Yes I know getting African Leopards are essentially almost impossible for American Zoos, but seriously, its kinda annoying for zoos to pass of Amurs as animals that they aren't supposed to be. It's like exhibiting Asian Elephants in African exhibit and try to pass it off as African Elephants.

That's outside the scope of this thread. While I have made passing references to interpretive displays and/or visitor features, the rankings of this thread are purely based on animal welfare related criteria. Personally, I'd be surprised to find out that an amur leopard cares about what the "theming" of its exhibit is.

Furthermore, it's a moot point in this case anyways. Two of the five best amur leopard exhibits were standalone attractions, two were in Asian Highlands themed exhibits, and the fifth is in a Russian themed exhibit, so even without discussing theming the exhibits were all in areas that amur leopards "fit" the theme.

 

[15399]

Today's post, the 50th in the thread (!) will be dedicated to a very popular marine mammal that's had a number of multi-million dollar new exhibits in recent years: the California Sea Lion! California Sea Lions are the most common pinniped species in US zoos, and for good reason. They are a large, charismatic species that is always a popular attraction, especially when underwater viewing is involved.

The criteria for this post are:

• Pool Size: Many traditional sea lion pools are unfortunately on the small side. These are, however, very large animals (sometimes up to 700 pounds!) that are quite active when in the water. As such, providing as large a pool as possible is the main key to a successful sea lion exhibit.
• Land Access: While primarily aquatic, California sea lions do sometimes go onto dry land, and a good exhibit for them should have a large enough land area for all individuals to be comfortably on the land at the same time. The layout of this land area is less important, and there are many excellent examples of either island-style set-ups and/or land areas on one side of the exhibit.
• Social Structure: In the wild, sea lions can be found in very large social groups. As such, the ideal exhibit for them holds more than a single pair of sea lions, and instead replicates a somewhat natural social grouping.

The exhibits chosen for California Sea Lions are:

• Not many zoos have the budget to be able to dedicate $26 million to a sea lion exhibit, however the results when a zoo does can be seen in Sea Lion Shores at the Omaha's Henry-Doorly Zoo, home to a total of six California Sea Lions. This large exhibit is notable for its impressive underwater viewing windows, as well as being one of the few pinniped exhibits to take advantage of the pool's bottom. The bottom of this exhibit includes incorporates natural elements, plants, and carefully sculpted rockwork to make an enriching and engaging exhibit for pinnipeds and people alike:

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @Dhole dude

• The Sea Lion Sound at the Saint Louis Zoo would've easily been considered the best sea lion exhibit prior to Omaha's 2020 opening of Sea Lion Shores. This exhibit opened in 2012, and was revolutionary at the time as having the first underwater tunnel in a sea lion exhibit. An impressive eight sea lions call this large exhibit home, which contains both a very large pool and impressive land areas and rockwork as well. This exhibit is also a mixed-species exhibit, as it is also home to harbor seals:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @geomorph

• Unique in that it uses California Sea Lions as a stand-in for Galapagos Sea Lions, Houston Zoo's one-of-a-kind Galapagos exhibit is also home to an impressive sea lion pool. An impressive nine California sea lions are present in this exhibit, which features both land sections with impressive rock work, and a very large pool complete with an underwater tunnel:

Photo By: @nczoofan

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

• 2012 was a good year for pinniped exhibits to open in the United States, as this year brought not only Saint Louis' exhibit, but also an impressive exhibit at California's Fresno Chaffee Zoo. In fact, both exhibits also ended up winning AZA exhibit awards in 2013 and 2014, respectively. While only home to three sea lions, this exhibit is large and impressive regardless, featuring both large underwater viewing windows and impressive rockwork:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Arizona Docent

Photo By: @DavidBrown

• Despite being the 50th post, today's is also the first one in this thread to feature an aquarium, specifically SeaWorld Orlando's impressive Pacific Point Preserve. An incredible number of seventy four sea lions can be found at SeaWorld Orlando! Even more remarkable is that the vast majority of these 74 sea lions were actually born at SeaWorld Orlando, showing the incredible commitment and dedication the facility has to this species. The exhibit here is over 15,000 square feet, and provides many impressive views at its pinniped residents. In addition to a large pool, impressive rockwork allows the sea lions access to the land as well:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

 

[MGolka]

A couple other things about Omaha's exhibit that are notable, the pool has a wave machine that will simulate surf and was the first I believe to incorporate a "Pupping Beach" such that they don't have to drain the pool for when there are births as there is a dedicated area of shallow water for the youngsters to learn.

 

[Gibbonsagainstgravity]

Today's post, the 50th in the thread (!) will be dedicated to a very popular marine mammal that's had a number of multi-million dollar new exhibits in recent years: the California Sea Lion! California Sea Lions are the most common pinniped species in US zoos, and for good reason. They are a large, charismatic species that is always a popular attraction, especially when underwater viewing is involved.

The criteria for this post are:

• Pool Size: Many traditional sea lion pools are unfortunately on the small side. These are, however, very large animals (sometimes up to 700 pounds!) that are quite active when in the water. As such, providing as large a pool as possible is the main key to a successful sea lion exhibit.
• Land Access: While primarily aquatic, California sea lions do sometimes go onto dry land, and a good exhibit for them should have a large enough land area for all individuals to be comfortably on the land at the same time. The layout of this land area is less important, and there are many excellent examples of either island-style set-ups and/or land areas on one side of the exhibit.
• Social Structure: In the wild, sea lions can be found in very large social groups. As such, the ideal exhibit for them holds more than a single pair of sea lions, and instead replicates a somewhat natural social grouping.

The exhibits chosen for California Sea Lions are:

• Not many zoos have the budget to be able to dedicate $26 million to a sea lion exhibit, however the results when a zoo does can be seen in Sea Lion Shores at the Omaha's Henry-Doorly Zoo, home to a total of six California Sea Lions. This large exhibit is notable for its impressive underwater viewing windows, as well as being one of the few pinniped exhibits to take advantage of the pool's bottom. The bottom of this exhibit includes incorporates natural elements, plants, and carefully sculpted rockwork to make an enriching and engaging exhibit for pinnipeds and people alike:

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @Dhole dude

• The Sea Lion Sound at the Saint Louis Zoo would've easily been considered the best sea lion exhibit prior to Omaha's 2020 opening of Sea Lion Shores. This exhibit opened in 2012, and was revolutionary at the time as having the first underwater tunnel in a sea lion exhibit. An impressive eight sea lions call this large exhibit home, which contains both a very large pool and impressive land areas and rockwork as well. This exhibit is also a mixed-species exhibit, as it is also home to harbor seals:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @geomorph

• Unique in that it uses California Sea Lions as a stand-in for Galapagos Sea Lions, Houston Zoo's one-of-a-kind Galapagos exhibit is also home to an impressive sea lion pool. An impressive nine California sea lions are present in this exhibit, which features both land sections with impressive rock work, and a very large pool complete with an underwater tunnel:

Photo By: @nczoofan

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

• 2012 was a good year for pinniped exhibits to open in the United States, as this year brought not only Saint Louis' exhibit, but also an impressive exhibit at California's Fresno Chaffee Zoo. In fact, both exhibits also ended up winning AZA exhibit awards in 2013 and 2014, respectively. While only home to three sea lions, this exhibit is large and impressive regardless, featuring both large underwater viewing windows and impressive rockwork:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Arizona Docent

Photo By: @DavidBrown

• Despite being the 50th post, today's is also the first one in this thread to feature an aquarium, specifically SeaWorld Orlando's impressive Pacific Point Preserve. An incredible number of seventy four sea lions can be found at SeaWorld Orlando! Even more remarkable is that the vast majority of these 74 sea lions were actually born at SeaWorld Orlando, showing the incredible commitment and dedication the facility has to this species. The exhibit here is over 15,000 square feet, and provides many impressive views at its pinniped residents. In addition to a large pool, impressive rockwork allows the sea lions access to the land as well:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

No Smithsonian national zoo?

 

[Ituri]

I know this is rather arbitrary but one of the criterias you should add is definitely the theming of the exhibit.

Because how many zoos try to pass off Amur Leopards as their African counterparts and display them in an African themed exhibit? (*cough* San Diego)

Or trying to pass it off in a jungle exhibit when Amur Leopards literally lives in cold region of Russia and China (*cough* Bronx)

Yes I know getting African Leopards are essentially almost impossible for American Zoos, but seriously, its kinda annoying for zoos to pass of Amurs as animals that they aren't supposed to be. It's like exhibiting Asian Elephants in African exhibit and try to pass it off as African Elephants.

it’s a subspecies. Your analogy is not very good because the elephants are in entire different genera. It’s more akin to using a northern white tailed deer in a Florida exhibit.

 

[15399]

No Smithsonian national zoo?

No, it's a good exhibit for sure, but simply not of the same caliber as the five mentioned. It's only home to four sea lions, which is less than all the ones listed except Fresno, and Fresno's exhibit is simply larger and more impressive. That's not to say Smithsonian doesn't have an excellent sea lion exhibit, and along with Riverbanks Zoo is one of the closest to making the cut.

 

[BenFoxster]

Today's post, the 50th in the thread (!) will be dedicated to a very popular marine mammal that's had a number of multi-million dollar new exhibits in recent years: the California Sea Lion! California Sea Lions are the most common pinniped species in US zoos, and for good reason. They are a large, charismatic species that is always a popular attraction, especially when underwater viewing is involved.

The criteria for this post are:

• Pool Size: Many traditional sea lion pools are unfortunately on the small side. These are, however, very large animals (sometimes up to 700 pounds!) that are quite active when in the water. As such, providing as large a pool as possible is the main key to a successful sea lion exhibit.
• Land Access: While primarily aquatic, California sea lions do sometimes go onto dry land, and a good exhibit for them should have a large enough land area for all individuals to be comfortably on the land at the same time. The layout of this land area is less important, and there are many excellent examples of either island-style set-ups and/or land areas on one side of the exhibit.
• Social Structure: In the wild, sea lions can be found in very large social groups. As such, the ideal exhibit for them holds more than a single pair of sea lions, and instead replicates a somewhat natural social grouping.

The exhibits chosen for California Sea Lions are:

• Not many zoos have the budget to be able to dedicate $26 million to a sea lion exhibit, however the results when a zoo does can be seen in Sea Lion Shores at the Omaha's Henry-Doorly Zoo, home to a total of six California Sea Lions. This large exhibit is notable for its impressive underwater viewing windows, as well as being one of the few pinniped exhibits to take advantage of the pool's bottom. The bottom of this exhibit includes incorporates natural elements, plants, and carefully sculpted rockwork to make an enriching and engaging exhibit for pinnipeds and people alike:

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @Pleistohorse

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @Dhole dude

• The Sea Lion Sound at the Saint Louis Zoo would've easily been considered the best sea lion exhibit prior to Omaha's 2020 opening of Sea Lion Shores. This exhibit opened in 2012, and was revolutionary at the time as having the first underwater tunnel in a sea lion exhibit. An impressive eight sea lions call this large exhibit home, which contains both a very large pool and impressive land areas and rockwork as well. This exhibit is also a mixed-species exhibit, as it is also home to harbor seals:

Photo By: @pachyderm pro

Photo By: @ZooNerd1234

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @geomorph

• Unique in that it uses California Sea Lions as a stand-in for Galapagos Sea Lions, Houston Zoo's one-of-a-kind Galapagos exhibit is also home to an impressive sea lion pool. An impressive nine California sea lions are present in this exhibit, which features both land sections with impressive rock work, and a very large pool complete with an underwater tunnel:

Photo By: @nczoofan

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

Photo By: @TheImmigrant1

• 2012 was a good year for pinniped exhibits to open in the United States, as this year brought not only Saint Louis' exhibit, but also an impressive exhibit at California's Fresno Chaffee Zoo. In fact, both exhibits also ended up winning AZA exhibit awards in 2013 and 2014, respectively. While only home to three sea lions, this exhibit is large and impressive regardless, featuring both large underwater viewing windows and impressive rockwork:

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @snowleopard

Photo By: @Arizona Docent

Photo By: @DavidBrown

• Despite being the 50th post, today's is also the first one in this thread to feature an aquarium, specifically SeaWorld Orlando's impressive Pacific Point Preserve. An incredible number of seventy four sea lions can be found at SeaWorld Orlando! Even more remarkable is that the vast majority of these 74 sea lions were actually born at SeaWorld Orlando, showing the incredible commitment and dedication the facility has to this species. The exhibit here is over 15,000 square feet, and provides many impressive views at its pinniped residents. In addition to a large pool, impressive rockwork allows the sea lions access to the land as well:

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

Photo By: @Moebelle

Don't forget that Fresno Chaffee's sea lion exhibit is also a mixed species exhibit as well, containing harbor seals (not sure how many) and at one point brown pelicans (not sure they still do).

 

[MidwestFan]

Don't forget that Fresno Chaffee's sea lion exhibit is also a mixed species exhibit as well, containing harbor seals (not sure how many) and at one point brown pelicans (not sure they still do).

Omaha is also multi species exhibit with currently 2 harbor seals. I do think they had a sea lion death and are at 5 currently. It was not announced but was noted in an August MMIR on NOAA's website.

 

[15399]

Don't forget that Fresno Chaffee's sea lion exhibit is also a mixed species exhibit as well, containing harbor seals (not sure how many) and at one point brown pelicans (not sure they still do).

Omaha is also multi species exhibit with currently 2 harbor seals. I do think they had a sea lion death and are at 5 currently. It was not announced but was noted in an August MMIR on NOAA's website.

Saint Louis is also a mixed-species exhibit. I felt it wasn't unique enough to require mentioning since so many facilities have harbor seal/California sea lion mixes.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Ok, I will add my .02c. SeaWorld Orlando is also multi-species with harbor seals, a harp seal and freeloader cormorants, herons, and gulls. I am not sure if the harp seal is always in that habitat though, I have heard it has been in Wild Arctic in the past as well, so I am not really sure. As far as all being outdoor and no underwater viewing, Pacific Point Preserve is probably the best exhibit of it's kind other than Omaha, IMO.

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

Ok, I will add my .02c. SeaWorld Orlando is also multi-species with harbor seals, a harp seal and freeloader cormorants, herons, and gulls. I am not sure if the harp seal is always in that habitat though, I have heard it has been in Wild Arctic in the past as well, so I am not really sure. As far as all being outdoor and no underwater viewing, Pacific Point Preserve is probably the best exhibit of it's kind other than Omaha, IMO.

I thought the Harp Seal passed away, did they get a new one?

 

[SwampDonkey]

I thought the Harp Seal passed away, did they get a new one?

Ah, I had not heard that. They only had the one as far as I am aware.