DAY 20: Sunday, July 31st
Zoo/Aquarium Review # 16: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
ASDM’s website:
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Zoo Map:
ASDM Exhibits
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a must-see for any serious fan of zoological collections, and it has over 300 animal species and over 1,200 plant species. It was bizarre visiting an attraction in July and being told that I was in the off season and that the park would not be as busy as normal. Usually every North American zoo jacks up the cost in the summer but in Arizona hardly anyone visits zoos due to the immense heat during July and August. This park is simply fantastic, and as long as a visitor can deal with the fact that there are no hippos, gorillas, tigers or elephants, and only denizens from the Sonoran Desert, then anyone seriously interested in exhibit design should visit this fabulous institution. Omaha's "Desert Dome" is an excellent replication of a desert environment, but in Arizona it is the real thing. As if I needed proof the temperature gauge just inside the zoo had 95 degrees listed at 9:30 a.m.
The entire park is gorgeously planted in an actual desert, and it has often been declared that the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has the #1 natural setting of any single zoo on the planet. For those of you that have visited this establishment, can anyone name another zoo that makes better use of its background? One has to embark on a 12 mile scenic drive outside of the city of Tucson, and amongst miles of cacti, shrubs and desert lays the park. It is an absorbing, beautiful, stunning setting that is surely unmatched.
THE BEST:
Wild Animals – There were birds constantly flying over my head as I strolled along the pathway through the center of a desert, and I only saw 2 wild lizards after spotting at least 50 on my visit in 2008. On the visitor map is a note explaining that sometimes lizards, rattlesnakes and even coyotes all make their way into direct contact with visitors and so I was told to be vigilant and to keep my eyes out for any “intruders”.
Desert Loop Trail - "Invisinet" was designed at this park, and it works wonders in terms of brilliant exhibitry on this half-mile path. The javelina (peccary) exhibit is 20,000 square feet and the small herd grunts and squeals its way across the rough terrain. There is a chuckwalla/eastern collared lizard habitat that consists of short glass windows around a slice of desert, and the coyote habitat is magnificent as the canids prowl within feet of visitors with only a thin barrier between the captive animals and the paying public.
Mountain Woodland – There are mountain lions, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, Mexican gray wolves and a black bear in naturalistic exhibits. Thick-billed parrots, an American kestrel and a western screech owl are all in basic aviaries set into rockwork and this area still holds up well as the exhibit design is top-notch. The puma habitat is open-topped, the deer can come surprisingly close to visitors, and it is nice to see that the zoo has finally filled the black bear exhibit with an actual bruin.
Desert Grassland – There is an active group of black-tailed prairie dogs digging furiously underground, burrowing owls, a desert box turtle exhibit, a marsh pool with frogs and invertebrates and a host of reptiles in wonderful enclosures. Species list includes: prairie rattlesnake, Mohave rattlesnake, desert-grassland massasauga, desert-grassland kingsnake, harvesting ant, giant vinegaroon, western tarantula, long-nosed snake and western box turtle.
Life on the Rocks – This is a great area of the park that has many exhibits that have glass viewing and are built into the surrounding rocks. There are over 20 exhibits and over 30 species displayed in this relatively new development. Many of these terrariums are situated at about knee-height, so I was bending over and crouching down in an attempt to spot elusive animals. There are all sorts of frogs, snakes, scorpions, spiders, lizards, ground squirrels, owls, insects and a skunk in this section. There is a large rock that you can lift up and then beneath it is a scorpion prominently displayed in a glass-fronted exhibit. The only problem with this section is that it was quite tough actually locating the animals and one habitat had a couple of snake species and a handful of frog species that were all almost impossible to find.
Partial species list for Life on the Rocks: western diamondback rattlesnake, bark scorpion, stripe-tailed scorpion, tiger rattlesnake, speckled rattlesnake, kissing bug, black widow spider, gila monster, gopher snake, coachwhip snake, Sonoran whipsnake, western tarantula, black-tailed rattlesnake, giant crab spider, desert night lizard, Sonoran lyre snake, banded gecko, lowland leopard frog, canyon tree frog, longfin dace, Sonora sucker, loach minnow, giant spotted whiptail lizard, black-throated sparrow, black-tailed gnatcatcher, elf owl, red-spotted toad, California leaf-nosed bat, Harris’ antelope squirrel and hog-nosed skunk.
Riparian Corridor - The word "riparian" apparently means "stream-side", and here are river otters, beavers, fish tanks, coatis, desert bighorn sheep and an outdoor marsh pool for invertebrates such as diving beetles. The coati exhibit is the best of the bunch as it is extremely naturalistic, the beaver and otter underwater viewing areas are a bit dated but still great, and the desert bighorn sheep have a large fake mountain to climb on.
Hummingbird Aviary – There are at least 5-7 species of hummingbird in a large, 3,300 square foot walk-through aviary and it is another brilliant exhibit, with plenty of opportunities for close contact with the birds. Species list (not all of the birds are on exhibit at any one time): calliope, Anna’s, Costa’s, broad-billed, magnificent, rufous and black-chinned.
Cat Canyon – The 4 enclosures house an ocelot, two bobcats, a porcupine and a gray fox in exhibits that were built in 1973 but almost 40 years later hold up better than most other small mammal habitats at countless other zoos. The bobcat exhibit is the only one that is not covered with a mesh roof, but years ago none of the enclosures were covered and there was even a margay and a jaguarundi instead of the fox and porcupine.
Desert Aviary – There are more than 40 bird species (and over 100 in total) in a large walk-through aviary. It is one of the better aviaries that I've seen on this trip and there were some benches that were well situated for rest-stops. There is a somewhat randomly placed desert tortoise exhibit directly outside of the aviary.
Earth Sciences Center: Cave – This is a lengthy tunnel that goes partly underground as visitors are immersed into an extremely life-like cavern. Inside the main cave are bats, crayfish, stalactites and stalagmites...and there is even an offshoot tunnel from the main pathway that I managed to squeeze through. This 75-foot tunnel is only for skinny folks, as I had to inch my way along it in semi-darkness and I'm exactly 6 feet tall and banged my head twice as I hunched along. It is a great experience for both adults and children, and the lack of light and rocky floor makes for an intriguing detour from the main path.
Earth Sciences Center: Mineral Gallery & Ancient Arizona – There is a glass case with many minerals and gemstones; an evolutionary exhibit that showcases how Planet Earth has evolved over billions of years; and Ancient Arizona features a mock fossil of a Sonorasaurus as well as an archaeological dig site for kids.
Entrance Exhibit –By the entrance to the park there is a large lizard habitat with these 11 species: greater earless lizard, lesser earless lizard, zebra-tailed lizard, desert iguana, regal horned lizard, Clark spiny lizard, side-blotched lizard, desert spiny lizard, lined tree lizard, western whiptail and Sonoran spotted whiptail.
Butterflies, moths, bats and bees - Instead of paying a dollar or two at zoos that make you walk inside a huge tent here the butterfly garden was free and so were the butterflies! I strolled around some pollinating flowers, and there were hundreds of butterflies coming and going without any barriers whatsoever. Another section had a small group of moths, there were some bee homes that were completely open to the public and the bats are free to fly around at will when they emerge at night.
THE AVERAGE:
Life Underground – This is another dark, underground tunnel in a different section of the park, complete with tiny exhibits for kit foxes, kangaroo rats, scorpions, spiders, snakes, etc. This 60-foot long area is looking a little dated and the animal exhibits are incredibly tiny. There are larger exits for the captive specimens to enter when night falls, but they must still spend a great part of their day in minute enclosures. Species list (in order): kit fox, western tarantula, Merriam’s kangaroo rat, Sonoran lyre snake, white-throated wood-rat, western banded gecko, ringtail, night snake, glossy snake and desert millipede.
Fish Tanks - The main entrance building has a series of 3 average sized tanks for fish and none of them are remarkable except that they are located directly next to the excellent gift shop and mini-bookstore.
Reptiles & Invertebrates – This is part of the main entrance building and it has two large rooms of assorted terrariums of varying sizes. There are 22 exhibits with snakes and lizards and 20 with invertebrates. There are a handful of excellent reptile habitats but for the most part the terrariums are of average quality. The invertebrate exhibits are almost all excellent. Partial species list: Isla San Esteban chuckwalla, spiny-tailed iguana, western diamondback rattlesnake (a hypomelanistic specimen), red diamond rattlesnake, Sonoran desert sidewinder, western hog-nosed snake, green rat snake, Mexican beaded lizard, gopher snake, desert tarantula, funnel-web spider, black widow spider, fringe-toed lizard and gila monster.
THE WORST:
Opening Times – I hate to have a “worst” section for ASDM, but…the opening time of 7:00 a.m. is perfect for those who wish to beat the scorching heat of Tucson in the summer, but what is a MAJOR pet peeve of mine is when some facilities within a park do not open when the park opens. For example occasionally my wife and I visit a zoo’s gift shop first in order to peruse the shelves while the place is devoid of customers. Later in the day all gift shops are usually packed to the rafters, but the desert museum’s shop does not open at 7:00 but at least half an hour later and by then I was off on one of the trails.
Also, the gallery and restaurant (which is excellent) don’t open until at least 10:00. What a joke! The great food, air-conditioned environment and opportunity to lounge around without being burnt to a crisp is shut for the first few hours of the day. There was a crowd of people with me outside all wanting to order lunch but we all ended up leaving, and the same thing happened to my wife and I in 2008 but we waited around and were the first people inside the cool café. This time around I already had plans to visit the International Wildlife Museum (surprisingly very good, and more on that in another posting) and so I left earlier than expected. The Ocotillo Café, Ironwood Terraces Restaurant, The Cottonwood Snack Shack and Mountain House Gift Shop should all open much earlier as they ALL do not open at the same time as the zoo, and the same goes for the gallery and all visitor amenities. I can rattle off many situations when the same thing has happened, whether it is the new restaurant at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Family Barn at Happy Hollow Zoo or even the children’s zoo at San Diego Zoo. People rush off to see an exciting attraction only to come face-to-face with a sign that details how that area of the zoo doesn’t open until later in the day.
OVERALL:
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a brilliant zoo, museum and botanical garden isolated in what appears to be the middle of nowhere. One can drive for miles and see nothing but cacti and heat shimmering off of the surface of the road and then there appears an oasis that turns out to be a fabulous zoological park. It's difficult and perhaps pointless to attempt to rank this zoo in comparison to other North American collections as it is so specific and thus it possibly cannot compete with the major American zoos that have mega-fauna around every corner. I’ve visited the Alice Springs Desert Park in central Australia and it is almost a carbon copy of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and both collections do wonders in creating brilliant exhibits for animals.
