Potter Park Zoo Book
- Thread starter Shirokuma
- Start date
I've never visited, but this 20-acre zoo (500 animals) seems tiny in comparison to the many larger zoos south of it. The zoo opened 90 years ago, and the Feline House was originally built in 1930!
Here is the zoo's masterplan:
http://www.potterparkzoo.org/sites/default/files/u5/FINAL Potter Park Zoo MP.pdf
Here is the zoo's masterplan:
http://www.potterparkzoo.org/sites/default/files/u5/FINAL Potter Park Zoo MP.pdf
Fascinating to see this, thank you snowleopard, I love reading these. The masterplan seems ambitious without being ridiculously unrealistic in scale although I'm surprised to see species like okapi and in particular mountain tapir and golden snub nosed monkey there.
They had a very ambitious (and I think unrealistic) masterplan in the 1980s and the only development which was realised from this was the refurbishment of the Feline House into more modern exhibits for big cats and primates.
Recent developments include a bald eagle exhibit and a very nice otter enclosure.
They had a very ambitious (and I think unrealistic) masterplan in the 1980s and the only development which was realised from this was the refurbishment of the Feline House into more modern exhibits for big cats and primates.
Recent developments include a bald eagle exhibit and a very nice otter enclosure.
Hi there - This thread popped up in my hootsuite feed, and I just wanted to pop in and thank you both for your comments, and checking out our masterplan. I manage the online communities for Potter Park Zoo (of course, among many other things that I do at the Zoo!), so I can't help but get involved in conversations about PPZ
We are a fairly small zoo in comparison to our surrounding AZA friends, but actually - we like that, and so do our visitors! Our goal daily, and in the very long term is to be the BEST small zoo we can be for our community. Our masterplan is very reflective of that. Our location, which is central in Michigan's capital city of Lansing, doesn't really allow us to build out to increase the acreage. This is why if you take a look at our current layout, and our masterplan, we've anchored the design to some of our key buildings, while really increasing the visitors ability to flow through our grounds, and continue to get REALLY close to our exhibits.
We think the masterplan is pretty ambitious - but also achievable through some hard work and the support of our community.
The otter exhibit isn't the last thing we've built, BUT it sure is helped in popularity by having a really active otter named Mike. Mike loves crowds, and is quite the show off when people are around; often doing backflips into the water so that everyone can get a picture of him
We are a fairly small zoo in comparison to our surrounding AZA friends, but actually - we like that, and so do our visitors! Our goal daily, and in the very long term is to be the BEST small zoo we can be for our community. Our masterplan is very reflective of that. Our location, which is central in Michigan's capital city of Lansing, doesn't really allow us to build out to increase the acreage. This is why if you take a look at our current layout, and our masterplan, we've anchored the design to some of our key buildings, while really increasing the visitors ability to flow through our grounds, and continue to get REALLY close to our exhibits.
We think the masterplan is pretty ambitious - but also achievable through some hard work and the support of our community.
The otter exhibit isn't the last thing we've built, BUT it sure is helped in popularity by having a really active otter named Mike. Mike loves crowds, and is quite the show off when people are around; often doing backflips into the water so that everyone can get a picture of him
It's great to hear from someone at the zoo. I actually find small zoos much more interesting and I'm always curious to see which species and environments they choose to showcase and how they interact with the local community.
By the way, in the masterplan it mentions the 'Institutional Collection Plan'
"Potter Park Zoo’s animal care staff have assembled criteria to evaluate
existing animals and provide guidance for future determinations. The
staff acted on behalf of the animal population while supporting the
zoo’s mission. Existing animals scoring highly in this exercise include
the North American river otter, snow leopard, Magellanic penguin,
bald eagle, Puerto Rican crested toad, massasauga rattlesnake, firefish
and giant clam. The results of this study are available in a separate
document titled Potter Park Zoo Institutional Collection Plan."
Do you have any further information about this? It sounds very interesting.
By the way, in the masterplan it mentions the 'Institutional Collection Plan'
"Potter Park Zoo’s animal care staff have assembled criteria to evaluate
existing animals and provide guidance for future determinations. The
staff acted on behalf of the animal population while supporting the
zoo’s mission. Existing animals scoring highly in this exercise include
the North American river otter, snow leopard, Magellanic penguin,
bald eagle, Puerto Rican crested toad, massasauga rattlesnake, firefish
and giant clam. The results of this study are available in a separate
document titled Potter Park Zoo Institutional Collection Plan."
Do you have any further information about this? It sounds very interesting.
Good catch - I'm not sure if that document is actually in my possession or not - but I'll check! I know it obviously refers to which animals in the collection fall in line with our mission statement and where we'd like to be with the masterplan. That, just like the physical structures, is a multi-year shift. It's a intricate balancing act when it comes to moving animals from one organization to another. And on top of that, we're planning for our own resources. What kinds of animals are interesting, important, or survivable in our climate and care, and what can we afford to staff for.
Many animals require specialized staff, and in addition to that, to train them and make sure they are living as enriched lives as possible in our care, it requires a lot of dedicated time. To us, it's not fair to our animals or our staff (all keepers care very much about their animals!) if we can't provide better than minimal care; and our current collection is reflective of that.
Enough of my rambling! I'll keep an eye out for that document, and post it when I can find it.
Many animals require specialized staff, and in addition to that, to train them and make sure they are living as enriched lives as possible in our care, it requires a lot of dedicated time. To us, it's not fair to our animals or our staff (all keepers care very much about their animals!) if we can't provide better than minimal care; and our current collection is reflective of that.
Enough of my rambling! I'll keep an eye out for that document, and post it when I can find it.
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polar bear
Well-Known Member
I visited Potter Park Zoo in 2005 when they had Amur tiger cubs in the nursery. The river otter exhibit was not yet open. I enjoy visiting smaller zoos and find they frequently have species or subspecies not common in larger zoos. In my opinion, no matter how small the zoo, there is always at least one exhibit which makes the trip worthwhile. I especially enjoyed the yak, (which you rarely see at larger US zoos) and the primate house, which had a nice variety of lemurs. The only recent images I have of mongoose lemurs are from Potter Park. They also had (and probably still have) a very nice collection of pheasants. I would definitely visit again if I travel to the area.