The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore Review of the Maryland Zoo, June 2011
- Thread starter blospz
- Start date
mweb08
Well-Known Member
Not sure, but they don't have the finances to do much in the near future.
Dallaspachyderm
Well-Known Member
Well, then that's certainly exciting! Considering Tuffy's genetics have not been represented in the population! All pregnancies at Riddles were via a bull named Willie. So I assumed the other males weren't breeders. Hopefully we see a calf around 2013-2014 in Baltimore!
I returned to the zoo yesterday; a perfect cool day where I almost had the zoo to myself. One thing I do commend the zoo about is their friendly and informative staff. Maybe they were all eager since not a lot of people were around, but I found their demeanors all to be pleasant. There were docents following you around in the Chimpanzee Forest telling you all about the chimps; their names, personalities, and relationships. I was unable to see the new Sifaka Lemur, but I did manage to catch a limb here or there. I also got to meet Winnie, the education penguin. Since no one was around I asked what a penguin felt like and the staff was kind enough to lift her up and allow me to touch her feathers.
Being winter, foliage was more scarce so it was easier to see animals. For the first time I saw the fox and to my surprise, the zoo has three Arctic foxes. I've only ever seen the male with the gray coloration on his face. But both females were beautiful. The otters, as I expected, were both very active and I was finally able to see the swim above me when I was in the underwater tunnel. It really enhances the exhibit when you get to experience that.
The only animals of the day I really felt bad watching were some in the African section. The female giraffe was in a small indoor pen and she kept bumping her body into the door that would open up into another section. Her keeper seemed to be annoyed and shouted her name for her to stop. The male was in his small yard, no access to the longer one, and he too was pacing. The okapis seemed fine, but their yards weren't really updated at all and it's a shame to have one in the back section where it's harder for guests to see. Lastly, I would really like to see the male elephant transferred to another zoo. It saddens me to see such a big creature just stay in the same area, swaying his head back and forth. The zoo really isn't using him currently for breeding purposes, so I almost feel like it's a waste to keep him in such a small exhibit. They could maybe reconfigure the yards for the females if he left. However, I did hear talk last time they need to update the exhibit when Samson gets older so I wonder if he's going in that section or if they'll be able to actually update the exhibit.
Being winter, foliage was more scarce so it was easier to see animals. For the first time I saw the fox and to my surprise, the zoo has three Arctic foxes. I've only ever seen the male with the gray coloration on his face. But both females were beautiful. The otters, as I expected, were both very active and I was finally able to see the swim above me when I was in the underwater tunnel. It really enhances the exhibit when you get to experience that.
The only animals of the day I really felt bad watching were some in the African section. The female giraffe was in a small indoor pen and she kept bumping her body into the door that would open up into another section. Her keeper seemed to be annoyed and shouted her name for her to stop. The male was in his small yard, no access to the longer one, and he too was pacing. The okapis seemed fine, but their yards weren't really updated at all and it's a shame to have one in the back section where it's harder for guests to see. Lastly, I would really like to see the male elephant transferred to another zoo. It saddens me to see such a big creature just stay in the same area, swaying his head back and forth. The zoo really isn't using him currently for breeding purposes, so I almost feel like it's a waste to keep him in such a small exhibit. They could maybe reconfigure the yards for the females if he left. However, I did hear talk last time they need to update the exhibit when Samson gets older so I wonder if he's going in that section or if they'll be able to actually update the exhibit.
@blospz It has been a decade since your review of the Maryland Zoo. How are you feeling about the zoo these days?
Are there any future developments there that you know of that sound interesting? Are there any exhibits that have not aged well over the last decade that you would like to see improved or closed? Obviously they have upgraded the elephant and lion exhibits recently.
Are there any future developments there that you know of that sound interesting? Are there any exhibits that have not aged well over the last decade that you would like to see improved or closed? Obviously they have upgraded the elephant and lion exhibits recently.
And some species have been phased in and out, like they phased in the Bald Eagle, Flamingos, Bobcats, and even Grizzly Bears, but they phased out the foxes, rock hyraxes, and for a time, cheetahs. Also, the porcupines moved from the Chimp Forest to a portion of the cheetahs.
I also forgot to mention that they got new baby animals and individual animals, like they had two baby chimps, a baby duiker, and some sitatunga babies, plus they got two new polar bears.
They have modified exhibits, but not a lot new exhibits have happened. And with the current economy, I don't see that changing any time. It's a pleasant visit for a smaller zoo, but definitely not one of the top zoos in the nation.