DAY 23: Wednesday, August 3rd
Zoo/Aquarium Review # 19: Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium
Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium’s website:
Welcome to Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium
Zoo Map:
Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium | Zoo Map
Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium began as a breeding facility in 1975, opened to the public for the first time in 1984, and is now blossoming as in late 2008 an aquarium complex was added to the approximately 100-acre zoo. It is a privately owned and operated facility with many sponsors of exhibits all over the grounds, and more than 500,000 visitors tour the zoo each year.
I have set the bar high in my reviews in terms of listing many of the species I’ve seen, but this time around I literally took hundreds of photos of signs in order to type out an extensive list of almost all of the animals at the zoo. For a non AZA-accredited establishment there is a phenomenal collection of hoofstock, primates, reptiles and small mammals that would put most zoos to shame. Wildlife World Zoo used to be AZA-accredited but they either chose not to participate any longer or possibly their accreditation was taken away due to their breeding of generic white tigers that lack any conservation focus (that is what I’ve heard from the rumor mill). They have a posted sign stating that they are one of the top 30 zoos in America in terms of animal collection diversity and after my visit today I would have to probably agree with that statement. Most of the enclosures range from average to mediocre, but there is an incredible collection on display and the new aquarium section is the obvious highlight.
THE BEST:
Aquarium Buildings – On a day when the temperature reached about 45 degrees Celsius (112 Fahrenheit) this part of the zoo was by far the most popular. Thankfully I toured it first and at times I was the only one there and thus I managed to snap loads of photos without any other visitors around. There are 3 large buildings that make up the 2008 addition of the aquarium, and there are about 80 exhibits in total. Due to the overwhelming success of the first 3 buildings a 4th structure is almost complete and due to open in a few months. The new building with have Asian small-clawed otters, a 40,000 gallon arapaima tank called River Monsters, arowana, payara, marine turtles, moon jellyfish and many other aquatic creatures.
Aquarium: Predators Building – There is a Caribbean flamingo outdoor exhibit adjacent to this structure, inside the first pair of exhibits to greet visitors are large enclosures for an argus monitor and a Bengal monitor; then comes a floor-to-ceiling circular tank for lookdown fish; a series of 4 tanks (2 on the wall and 2 on the ceiling) for zebra moray eels, snowflake moray eels, green moray eels, honeycomb moray eels and cleaner shrimp; red-bellied piranha tank; Port Jackson shark/puffer/harlequin tusk tank; epaulette shark/banded cat shark exhibit; freshwater ray/pacu; arapaima; a large touch tank with cownose stingrays, southern stingrays, whitespotted bamboo sharks and banded cat sharks; then the centerpiece huge tank with blacktip reef sharks, zebra sharks, whitetip reef sharks and other fish in a spectacular setting; a payara exhibit; Asian arowana, balloon fish, a white alligator, Asian small-clawed otters and a few other tanks round out the building.
Aquarium: Diversity of Life in Water Building – There is a channel catfish/blue catfish exhibit that is striking; a rainbow trout/brown trout open-topped exhibit with a rehabilitated red-tailed hawk on a perch above it; butterfly peacock bass; a blueline snapper/squirrel fish exhibit; a standard touch tank area that includes the usual assortment of sea creatures plus horseshoe crabs and slipper lobsters; alligator snapping turtle; common snapping turtle, mata mata turtle; fly river turtle; a giant day gecko/White’s tree frog exhibit; figure 8 puffer; a jam-packed African cichlid pool with at least a dozen species; silver arowana/white-blotched river stingray/orangespot freshwater stingray; a Caribbean reef tank; Asian small-clawed otters; an American gamefish tank with gar, sturgeon, paddlefish and other species; a woefully bleak Nile crocodile exhibit; a colorful South American cichlid tank; trumpetfish; butterflyfish; goatfish; brittle stars; a South Pacific tank that has a flume ride going through it; and an Amazon tank with a bizarrely placed red-tailed boa that has a single branch as a home, as well as some perching macaws near it.
Aquarium: The Wild and the Wonderful Building – There are about a dozen Caribbean spiny lobsters in a large exhibit; snake-neck turtles; lionfish; poison dart frogs; about 7 greater barracuda in a pier-themed tank; a Coral Reef exhibit; leopard sharks; an African lungfish; chambered nautilus; axolotl; jawfish; elephantnose fish; blind cave fish; snowflake moray eel/zebra moray eel; an electric eel exhibit; knifefish; yellow seahorse/lined seahorse/longsnout seahorse exhibit; an outdoor koi pool; and the main attraction is an attractively designed African black-footed penguin exhibit.
The entire aquarium complex of 80 exhibits took me a full hour to tour and the exhibitry is definitely hit-and-miss. Some of the animals (Nile croc, otters, arapaima in their temporary home) are really pushed for space, and at other times the aquarium has so many animals in one tank (lionfish, enormous Caribbean spiny lobsters, cichlids) that I wonder how the animals feel about swimming a few inches and coming into contact with another animal. There are also some exhibits that would fit in well with the best aquariums of America, such as the main shark tank, barracuda exhibit, catfish tank and a few of the large, mixed-species habitats. It really is a mixed bag but tremendously popular with visitors as folks can escape the blistering heat and see quite a diverse display of aquatic life.
Hoofstock Paddocks – For the most part the hoofstock at the zoo fare best in terms of exhibitry, as they are kept in huge grassy fields that force visitors to sometimes peer closely at clumps of grass in order to locate a particular animal. It almost appears as if the zoo is still a breeding facility as there are babies in all directions. Species list: reticulated giraffe, Grant’s zebra, white rhino, Brazilian tapir, addax, Arabian oryx, red lechwe (in 2 exhibits around the zoo), defassa waterbuck, ellipsen waterbuck, Reeve’s muntjac, Chinese water deer (2 exhibits), blue duiker (3 exhibits), Gunther’s dik-dik, llama, red river hog, warthog (2 exhibits), scimitar-horned oryx, beisa oryx, dromedary, axis deer, impala, nyala, springbok, Thomson’s gazelle (2 exhibits) and sable antelope.
When I put in brackets that the animals are in 2 or 3 exhibits it does not mean the enclosures are next to each other but in fact the zoo has 2 separate exhibits in different sections of the zoo with the same species. Some of the hoofstock herds are quite large, as for example there must be at least 10-12 red lechwe, close to 20 axis deer, 7 sable antelope and perhaps 14 Thomson’s gazelles. Almost all of the enclosures are basic paddocks with zero effort at an immersive experience but the spacious room given to the hoofstock is very impressive.
THE AVERAGE:
Small Mammal Building – This structure contains a fantastic collection of animals, much like the entire zoo, but the exhibits are all average at best and some are mediocre. There is nothing outstanding in terms of enclosure design but I was shocked at some of the rarely seen species on display. Species list: squirrel monkey, geoffrey’s tamarin (2 exhibits), cotton-top tamarin (2 exhibits), red-handed tamarin, golden lion tamarin, meerkat, Colorado chipmunk, cliff chipmunk, chinchilla, cotton rat, naked mole rat, pack rat, hairless rat, natal rat, banner-tailed kangaroo rat, common kangaroo rat, clawed jird, spiny mouse, common mouse, pocket mouse, pocket gopher, Peruvian guinea pig, degu, agouti, round-tailed ground squirrel, Harris’ antelope ground squirrel, southern flying squirrel, Prevost’s squirrel, Siberian dwarf hamster, two-toed sloth, bettong (2 exhibits), prehensile-tailed porcupine, African hedgehog, hedgehog tenrec, kinkajou, fennec fox, Neotropical fruit bat and pygmy slow loris.
Tropics of the World: Reptile Building – The exhibits are nothing to write home about, and in fact some are far too small for their occupants, but I once again diligently photographed all the signs so that I could include a comprehensive species list for this review. There are exactly 49 exhibits in the Reptile Building, many constricting snakes, and other than about 8 invertebrate terrariums here is the entire species list: curl-crested aracari, vampire bat, carpet python, blood python, ball python, Stimson’s python, Burmese python, Amethystine python, Hog Island boa, Dumeril’s boa, rainbow boa, rosy boa, boa constrictor, green anaconda (2 exhibits), red tegu, spiny-tailed agama, flame belly armadillo lizard, Russian tortoise, Indian star tortoise, Arizona desert tortoise, pancake tortoise, radiated tortoise, blue-tongued skink, prehensile-tailed skink, common snapping turtle, alligator snapping turtle, snake-necked turtle, spotted turtle, Arizona mountain kingsnake, gray-banded kingsnake, Colorado river toad, day gecko, tokay gecko, white American alligator, Asian water monitor, black tree monitor, crocodile monitor, Timor monitor, western bearded dragon, sandfish and gila monster. There are also outdoor exhibits for juvenile American alligators; red-eared slider turtles; African spurred tortoises; rhinoceros iguanas; common water snakes and Galapagos tortoises; as well as a terribly small dwarf crocodile enclosure.
Odds n’ Ends Exhibits – Brown-nosed coati, African crested porcupine, prairie dog, nutria, meerkat (2 outdoor exhibits plus one in the Small Mammal Building) and assorted macropods are found throughout the zoo. The animal nursery had baby Abdim’s storks, a bettong and ultra-cute, 5 week-old African crested porcupines.
THE WORST:
Primate Exhibits – There are at least 6 primate islands that are scenic, full of ropes and tall trees to climb, and are more than acceptable even though they are not lush but instead consist of a few huge palm trees. The rest of the primate collection is housed in either the Small Mammal Building (see above), a few wood and wire cages that are okay, and then many metal boxes that are aesthetically atrocious and in almost every case far too small for the occupants. Several species can be found in enclosures all over the zoo, and including the 5 species in the Small Mammal Building there are 17 primate species at the zoo.
Species list: white-handed gibbon, siamang, DeBrazza monkey (3 exhibits), patas monkey (2 exhibits), colobus monkey, black mangabey, white-faced capuchin monkey (3 exhibits), Schmidt’s spot-nosed guenon, mona monkey, black spider monkey, brown-handed spider monkey (3 exhibits) and ring-tailed lemur (3 exhibits).
Carnivores – Chain-link fence cages or metal boxes for these species: African leopard (2 exhibits with two spotted cats and one black cat), white tiger (3 exhibits), lion, jaguar (black) and ocelot (3 exhibits). There is also a spacious African wild dog yard near the hoofstock section of the zoo and a New Guinea singing dog enclosure surrounded by chain-link fencing.
Bird Exhibits – There are what seem like hundreds of silver metal aviaries dotted throughout the zoo’s grounds, and many of the enclosures are the same size of about 5 feet in width and maybe 20 feet in length. They are long, narrow rectangles and something that would be seen in an off-exhibit area of a major zoo but here they plague the grounds like rampant locusts. There are some adequate aviaries but of the innumerable ones that I saw perhaps the only exhibits that were impressive were the large Andean condor and king vulture aviaries.
African walk-through aviary: Some of the birds were in separate side exhibits (West African crowned crane, East African crowned crane, blue crane, African pied crow) while others were free-flying: white-cheeked turaco, vulturine guinea, western-grey plantain eater, Abdim’s stork, Hadada ibis, purple swamphen, cape thick-knee, grey hornbill, fulvous tree duck, white-faced tree duck, cape teal and a blue duiker.
Ratites – Ostrich (2 exhibits), emu (2 exhibits), rhea and cassowary.
Partial species list, and some of these birds can amazingly be found in 5-6 different aviaries around the zoo: Hyacinth macaw, severe macaw, scarlet macaw, green-winged macaw, blue + gold macaw, military macaw, red-fronted macaw, Moluccan cockatoo, sulphur-crested cockatoo, ducorp’s cockatoo, black palm cockatoo, umbrella cockatoo, African grey parrot, white-crowned parrot, hawk-headed parrot, red-rumped parrot, eclectus parrot, blue-fronted Amazon parrot, yellow-headed Amazon parrot, greater vasa parrot, Alexandrian parakeet, Derbyan parakeet, plum-headed parakeet, Indian ringneck parakeet, red-legged seriema, Lady Ross’s turaco, violet turaco, white-cheeked turaco, red-crested turaco, Guinea turaco, western grey plantain eater, vulturine guinea, African pied crow, nicobar pigeon, oscellated turkey, saddle-billed stork, blue crane, white-naped crane, demoiselle crane, West African crowned crane, East African crowned crane, Eurasian eagle owl, crested wood partridge, glossy starling, Reeve’s pheasant, golden pheasant, silver pheasant, Lady Amherst’s pheasant, plush-crested jay, Collie’s magpie jay, trumpeter hornbill, white-thighed hornbill, Egyptian goose, Andean goose, lesser Magellan goose, mute swan, whooper swan, black swan, greater curassow, helmeted curassow, red-wattled curassow, grey-handed chachalaca, masked lovebird, peach-faced lovebird, Java sparrow, zebra finch, society finch, white ibis, scarlet ibis, Abdim’s stork, crested screamer, buff-crested bustard, Abyssinian ground hornbill and Leadbeater’s ground hornbill.
OVERALL:
Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium is worth visiting for all zoo fans just to see the vast array of animals on display, and it took me close to 5 hours to see everything. There are some nice touches, such as the 6 tanks in the two main gift shops with fish, turtles and juvenile alligators. The unfortunate fact remains that almost all of the birds are in wire aviaries, the cats are in metal boxes, and the primates are in functional cages that are aesthetically brutal. However, most of the hoofstock exhibits are spacious paddocks and the large herds are impressive to see. By far and away the best section is the series of aquarium buildings near the entrance, as those structures contain many high-quality habitats even though there are some hit-and-miss sections.
It appears to me that the attraction is a bit of a hodge-podge of a variety of captive wildlife facilities. There are the basic aviaries in long rows that resemble a breeding facility for birds; primate cages that are similar to the ones found in long rows at Santa Ana Zoo (the “50 monkey zoo”); big cats in enclosures that would fit in well at Howletts in England; and large hoofstock paddocks that hold an excellent collection. Then there are the sleek and modern aquarium buildings that have transformed the zoo into a year-round destination for folks in Arizona, and yet there is also a theme park element as there are 5 different rides all over the grounds.
The Log Flume ride travels around some primate islands and through the South Pacific Reef exhibit in one of the aquarium buildings (literally through the wall); Safari Train Ride mainly passes around a couple of African field exhibits; Wildlife Skyride is typical of its kind and travels high above several hoofstock paddocks; Australian Boat Ride circles the kangaroos, wallabies and emus; and the Carousel Ride is an older, more decrepit version of the many that dot the zoological landscape. Of the 5 rides only one was open on my visit (the train) which left a number of visitors quite disgruntled. Due to the overwhelming, seriously fatalistic heat wave that has hit the southern United States the rides were all closed for the day. Phoenix has had many days of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit but I heard on the news today that Dallas, Texas, has had 32 consecutive days of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (around 40 Celsius). Is that a record?
