Put Me In The Zoo Review: Honolulu Zoo
Date of visit: January 21, 2017
Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
The Honolulu Zoo has reticulated giraffes in their African savanna exhibit and Asian elephants in a new elephant exhibit that opened on 2011. The old elephant exhibit still stands as of January 2017 and looks like it was a small concrete set from the Flintstones (there are pictures of it in the Zoochat gallery for the Honolulu Zoo). The new elephant exhibit is a vast improvement as is expansive for the two Asian female elephants with plenty of room to amble and large ponds for swimming.
The Honolulu Zoo is located along the shore of Waikiki in a large park. It is a medium-sized zoo with a large Africa exhibit complex built in the 1990s, a collection of Asian animals (elephants, tigers, gharials, Komodo dragons, orangutans, gibbons), and a large bird collection. Their reptile collection was mostly off-exhibit when I visited because the reptile house is under construction.
The zoo is laid out in a more or less loop configuration and is very easy to navigate. The grounds are lushly vegetated, as one would imagine a Hawaiian zoo would be. One of the unique features of this zoo is that the wild birds abounding through it are species that would normally be zoo exhibits themselves in most zoos, but live feral and free in Hawaii (e.g., Brazilian cardinals, Japanese white-eyes, mynah birds). This is an unfortunate demonstration of how invasive species pervade Hawaii.
Does this zoo have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
Gharials, Hawaiian hawk, and aardvark were some of the uncommonly exhibited species that I saw at the Honolulu Zoo. Possibly this is the only Hawaiian hawk (‘io) exhibited at any zoo? The individual on exhibit as of 2017 is an unreleasable female who was shot and lost part of a wing. The Honolulu Zoo had a Hawaiian owl also at some point in the recent past, but the owl exhibit had a non-native barn owl when I visited. There are several bird of paradise species (Raggiana, superb, magnificent) at the zoo.
Does this zoo have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
The major exhibit complex at the Honolulu Zoo is a large African savanna complex that opened in phases in the early 1990s. Some of it is highly immersive – a lush, grassy savanna for bongos and several bird species like white pelicans feels like you are looking into an African savanna and has continuous views into the adjacent cheetah habitat. The species diversity and general quality of the exhibits is very good and compares favorably with great Africa complexes in other zoos. There is a large mixed species savanna for giraffes and plains zebra (I’ve seen photos that show white rhinos were there once also – why are they gone?). Lions, wild dogs, warthogs, aardvark, black rhinos, a large walk-through aviary with a serval exhibit inside it (!), ground hornbills, meerkats, African penguins, and Hamadryas baboons are all featured. There is an excellent chimpanzee exhibit anchoring the exhibit also. There is a hippo exhibit, but it was being renovated when I visited – I don’t know if the zoo currently has hippos. The African penguin exhibit is apparently a relatively new renovation of a Nile crocodile exhibit.
The Honolulu Zoo has an excellent gharial exhibit. There were three large and impressive individuals in it and it was cool to see a very large male swimming through the murky water. You can imagine how these large reptiles disappear into the muddy rivers of their native habitat.
One of the criticisms I thought that I would have of the Honolulu Zoo was that it did not have a native Hawaiian exhibit to showcase the unique wildlife and ecology of the islands, but I was wrong. There is a recreation of a Hawaiian wetland area with native plants and a large wetland exhibit for nenes, the native Hawaiian goose. There are interpretive exhibits about the bird species that went extinct when humans showed up in Hawaii 1200 years ago, including a life-sized model of one of the large extinct species of goose. There is an exhibit in this area for a Hawaiian hawk, which only breeds on the island of Hawaii, aka the Big Island (Honolulu is on Oahu).
The zoo has none of the Hawaiian honeycreeper species on exhibit, which seems a missed opportunity to interpret a very important conservation and natural history story. The honeycreepers are the Hawaiian equivalent of the Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos. A finch-like bird evolved in a spectacular radiation to fill several bird niches. Most of the remaining species are hyper-endangered. I went looking for honeycreeper species in native rain forest on Kauai, and found none despite my 2010 field guide telling me that several species would be common. The honeycreepers are confined to patches of native rain forest at high elevation where non-native mosquitoes carrying avian malaria cannot penetrate. As temperatures increase due to climate change the mosquitoes are moving up the mountains and the honeycreepers have nowhere to go but extinct. It is a shocking story that is little known to the world and one that zoos could help tell with live exhibits and interpretive exhibits, but even the Honolulu Zoo does not tell the story beyond a sign that few people read.
Does this zoo have any good basic exhibits?
As mentioned earlier there is a new Asian elephant exhibit that opened in 2011. It compares favorably to new Asian elephant exhibits in Los Angeles, Smithsonian National, and San Diego Zoos in terms of size, water features, and enrichments. There was no attempt at naturalism with the exhibit, but this does not detract from it being a good exhibit for watching elephants. I saw a behavioral interpretive talk that was interesting, well-presented, and delivered good information on elephant natural history and conservation.
There is a new orangutan exhibit that is essentially a large grassy area surrounded by a fence. There is a very large tree in the center of the exhibit that the orangs can climb, as well as several climbing structures typical of orang exhibits. The unusual layout of the orang exhibit is far from naturalisitic, but then outside of Asia almost all orang exhibits are.
The large bird collection is housed in a series of lushly planted aviaries. The tigers are in a complex of large cages that are thickly planted with a forest of shrubs and grass.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that should be bulldozed?
The black-handed spider monkey was in a cage that looked like it was out of the 1940s. Although aesthetically bad, it had enrichment and climbing structures and space-wise probably is not much different from monkey exhibits found in other zoos. The siamang exhibit is a small island. Their neighboring white-handed gibbons have three islands. Both of the gibbon exhibits appear to be many decades old. With the exception of the new orangutan exhibit the whole primate area could probably use an overhaul at some point.
Does this zoo have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
There were many families visiting the zoo on the day I was there, and it was a rainy, windy day. It is clear that children and families are an important constituency of this zoo. There is a modern looking Keiki Zoo (Hawaiian for children). I didn’t go in it, but it looked like it had a large farm animal area and contact yard. There was at least one large playground in the zoo. The zoo has many of the megafauna and zoo superstar species that families want to see.
Does this zoo have any interesting plans for the future?
The zoo is working on a new reptile and amphibian house. Signs say that it will open later in 2017. The hippo exhibit was closed and undergoing remodeling when I visited – I don’t know what will change about it, but it looked like there was significant construction going on.
Would a zoo aficionado like this zoo enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
Despite having seen many pictures of the Honolulu Zoo and talking with people who had been there, I really didn’t know what to expect. The zoo does not have much of a reputation as a destination, probably because it is likely the most isolated zoo in the United States, being 2500 miles from the mainland.
I was very pleasantly surprised at what I found. The zoo is in a gorgeous setting and most of the exhibits are very good. The chimpanzee exhibit is excellent. The animal collection is an interesting mix of zoo superstar and megafauna species and some real rarities like gharials and a Hawaiian hawk. The Africa complex is very impressive in its scope and execution. The newish elephant and orangutan exhibits provide good homes for these species and interpret them well. The nene forest is likely the best native Hawaiian animal exhibit in any zoo, as one would hope.
The Honolulu Zoo is a delightful zoo that I think any zoo aficionado or casual zoo goer would enjoy. Behind the scenes the zoo has been undergoing great turmoil, resulting in lost AZA accreditation. The zoo has gone through five directors in as many years, a sign of administrative turmoil. Those problems have not diminished the upkeep of the zoo grounds or quality of animal care. One hopes that the background turmoil will stabilize and continue to advance the quality of the Honolulu Zoo.
Date of visit: January 21, 2017
Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
The Honolulu Zoo has reticulated giraffes in their African savanna exhibit and Asian elephants in a new elephant exhibit that opened on 2011. The old elephant exhibit still stands as of January 2017 and looks like it was a small concrete set from the Flintstones (there are pictures of it in the Zoochat gallery for the Honolulu Zoo). The new elephant exhibit is a vast improvement as is expansive for the two Asian female elephants with plenty of room to amble and large ponds for swimming.
The Honolulu Zoo is located along the shore of Waikiki in a large park. It is a medium-sized zoo with a large Africa exhibit complex built in the 1990s, a collection of Asian animals (elephants, tigers, gharials, Komodo dragons, orangutans, gibbons), and a large bird collection. Their reptile collection was mostly off-exhibit when I visited because the reptile house is under construction.
The zoo is laid out in a more or less loop configuration and is very easy to navigate. The grounds are lushly vegetated, as one would imagine a Hawaiian zoo would be. One of the unique features of this zoo is that the wild birds abounding through it are species that would normally be zoo exhibits themselves in most zoos, but live feral and free in Hawaii (e.g., Brazilian cardinals, Japanese white-eyes, mynah birds). This is an unfortunate demonstration of how invasive species pervade Hawaii.
Does this zoo have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
Gharials, Hawaiian hawk, and aardvark were some of the uncommonly exhibited species that I saw at the Honolulu Zoo. Possibly this is the only Hawaiian hawk (‘io) exhibited at any zoo? The individual on exhibit as of 2017 is an unreleasable female who was shot and lost part of a wing. The Honolulu Zoo had a Hawaiian owl also at some point in the recent past, but the owl exhibit had a non-native barn owl when I visited. There are several bird of paradise species (Raggiana, superb, magnificent) at the zoo.
Does this zoo have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
The major exhibit complex at the Honolulu Zoo is a large African savanna complex that opened in phases in the early 1990s. Some of it is highly immersive – a lush, grassy savanna for bongos and several bird species like white pelicans feels like you are looking into an African savanna and has continuous views into the adjacent cheetah habitat. The species diversity and general quality of the exhibits is very good and compares favorably with great Africa complexes in other zoos. There is a large mixed species savanna for giraffes and plains zebra (I’ve seen photos that show white rhinos were there once also – why are they gone?). Lions, wild dogs, warthogs, aardvark, black rhinos, a large walk-through aviary with a serval exhibit inside it (!), ground hornbills, meerkats, African penguins, and Hamadryas baboons are all featured. There is an excellent chimpanzee exhibit anchoring the exhibit also. There is a hippo exhibit, but it was being renovated when I visited – I don’t know if the zoo currently has hippos. The African penguin exhibit is apparently a relatively new renovation of a Nile crocodile exhibit.
The Honolulu Zoo has an excellent gharial exhibit. There were three large and impressive individuals in it and it was cool to see a very large male swimming through the murky water. You can imagine how these large reptiles disappear into the muddy rivers of their native habitat.
One of the criticisms I thought that I would have of the Honolulu Zoo was that it did not have a native Hawaiian exhibit to showcase the unique wildlife and ecology of the islands, but I was wrong. There is a recreation of a Hawaiian wetland area with native plants and a large wetland exhibit for nenes, the native Hawaiian goose. There are interpretive exhibits about the bird species that went extinct when humans showed up in Hawaii 1200 years ago, including a life-sized model of one of the large extinct species of goose. There is an exhibit in this area for a Hawaiian hawk, which only breeds on the island of Hawaii, aka the Big Island (Honolulu is on Oahu).
The zoo has none of the Hawaiian honeycreeper species on exhibit, which seems a missed opportunity to interpret a very important conservation and natural history story. The honeycreepers are the Hawaiian equivalent of the Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos. A finch-like bird evolved in a spectacular radiation to fill several bird niches. Most of the remaining species are hyper-endangered. I went looking for honeycreeper species in native rain forest on Kauai, and found none despite my 2010 field guide telling me that several species would be common. The honeycreepers are confined to patches of native rain forest at high elevation where non-native mosquitoes carrying avian malaria cannot penetrate. As temperatures increase due to climate change the mosquitoes are moving up the mountains and the honeycreepers have nowhere to go but extinct. It is a shocking story that is little known to the world and one that zoos could help tell with live exhibits and interpretive exhibits, but even the Honolulu Zoo does not tell the story beyond a sign that few people read.
Does this zoo have any good basic exhibits?
As mentioned earlier there is a new Asian elephant exhibit that opened in 2011. It compares favorably to new Asian elephant exhibits in Los Angeles, Smithsonian National, and San Diego Zoos in terms of size, water features, and enrichments. There was no attempt at naturalism with the exhibit, but this does not detract from it being a good exhibit for watching elephants. I saw a behavioral interpretive talk that was interesting, well-presented, and delivered good information on elephant natural history and conservation.
There is a new orangutan exhibit that is essentially a large grassy area surrounded by a fence. There is a very large tree in the center of the exhibit that the orangs can climb, as well as several climbing structures typical of orang exhibits. The unusual layout of the orang exhibit is far from naturalisitic, but then outside of Asia almost all orang exhibits are.
The large bird collection is housed in a series of lushly planted aviaries. The tigers are in a complex of large cages that are thickly planted with a forest of shrubs and grass.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that should be bulldozed?
The black-handed spider monkey was in a cage that looked like it was out of the 1940s. Although aesthetically bad, it had enrichment and climbing structures and space-wise probably is not much different from monkey exhibits found in other zoos. The siamang exhibit is a small island. Their neighboring white-handed gibbons have three islands. Both of the gibbon exhibits appear to be many decades old. With the exception of the new orangutan exhibit the whole primate area could probably use an overhaul at some point.
Does this zoo have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
There were many families visiting the zoo on the day I was there, and it was a rainy, windy day. It is clear that children and families are an important constituency of this zoo. There is a modern looking Keiki Zoo (Hawaiian for children). I didn’t go in it, but it looked like it had a large farm animal area and contact yard. There was at least one large playground in the zoo. The zoo has many of the megafauna and zoo superstar species that families want to see.
Does this zoo have any interesting plans for the future?
The zoo is working on a new reptile and amphibian house. Signs say that it will open later in 2017. The hippo exhibit was closed and undergoing remodeling when I visited – I don’t know what will change about it, but it looked like there was significant construction going on.
Would a zoo aficionado like this zoo enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
Despite having seen many pictures of the Honolulu Zoo and talking with people who had been there, I really didn’t know what to expect. The zoo does not have much of a reputation as a destination, probably because it is likely the most isolated zoo in the United States, being 2500 miles from the mainland.
I was very pleasantly surprised at what I found. The zoo is in a gorgeous setting and most of the exhibits are very good. The chimpanzee exhibit is excellent. The animal collection is an interesting mix of zoo superstar and megafauna species and some real rarities like gharials and a Hawaiian hawk. The Africa complex is very impressive in its scope and execution. The newish elephant and orangutan exhibits provide good homes for these species and interpret them well. The nene forest is likely the best native Hawaiian animal exhibit in any zoo, as one would hope.
The Honolulu Zoo is a delightful zoo that I think any zoo aficionado or casual zoo goer would enjoy. Behind the scenes the zoo has been undergoing great turmoil, resulting in lost AZA accreditation. The zoo has gone through five directors in as many years, a sign of administrative turmoil. Those problems have not diminished the upkeep of the zoo grounds or quality of animal care. One hopes that the background turmoil will stabilize and continue to advance the quality of the Honolulu Zoo.
