DAY 5: Friday, July 6th, 2012
Zoo/Aquarium Review # 2: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Omaha’s website:
Home | Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | Entertainment Omaha | Visit Omaha | Things to do in Omaha
Zoo map:
http://www.omahazoo.com/Post/sections/22/Files/2011 Zoo Map.pdf
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is an AZA-accredited facility in Omaha, Nebraska. It was established in 1894 as Riverview Park Zoo and it was not until the 1960’s before it was renamed. Over 1.6 million people tour the zoo’s 130 acres each year, and it is one of the largest and most popular zoos in America. It is a zoo that has become known for building the biggest exhibit complexes of their kind, and this is a proud feature as in all of the advertising literature in motels, billboards, brochures and signs in the general area there is always some kind of slogan announcing that the zoo has the largest aquarium of any American zoo, the largest rainforest building, the largest desert dome, the tallest orangutan exhibits, the largest nocturnal house, etc. Omaha makes no excuses for wanting to be one of the best zoos on the planet, and according to several zoo authors and historians it is already in that category even without the upcoming $180 million Master Plan.
Since the zoo is enormous and I was touring it with my wife and two very small children I quickly realized that it would be impossible to see all of it within the time frame of a single visit. In addition to that was the fact that it was just over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and we were boiling hot just standing in line buying our tickets as the zoo opened for the day. It was actually a bit of a relief that there were so many animal buildings as that allowed us to cool down considerably. In 2008 my wife Debbie and I saw every single exhibit and it took us 8 hours (from opening to closing: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) to accomplish that task. In the last four years the zoo has added a Skyfari ride which we did not go on because it does not have buckets like San Diego and thus little kids are not allowed as the ride is more like a ski lift. Also, Expedition Madagascar opened in 2010 and that is the one major addition in the past few years. Next month Rosenblatt Stadium will be demolished and the zoo will then have a tremendous amount of new space for an improved parking area, expanded entrance and a future Arctic exhibit complex.
This time around we still saw a tremendous amount of the zoo, and we made sure to enter the major buildings early to beat some of the rush from the large crowds. This establishment has become a premier tourist destination as the parking lot was jammed with vehicles displaying what seemed like every license plate in the nation. We completely skipped the two worst sections of the zoo (Cat Complex and Bear Canyon – both to be demolished in the future) along with the Butterfly & Insect Pavilion, the Simmons 4-acre Aviary and the Children’s Area. Those 5 zones are areas that I saw in 2008 and even with missing them this time around we still spent a full 6 hours at the zoo.
THE BEST:
Lied Jungle – This rainforest complex is outstanding, and if anything I was even more impressed than on my 2008 visit. It is twenty years old this year (opened in 1992) and its age actually plays into its favour as the aroma of a jungle is created and nourished. It is 1.5 acres in size and one of the largest rainforest buildings ever constructed, and the hanging vines, dirt pathways, wet swinging bridges and dark caves combine to immerse visitors. Three continents are represented (Asia, Africa and South America) and there are plenty of primates jumping from limb to limb in a variety of exhibits. Black howler monkeys, blue monkeys, Francois langurs, DeBrazza monkeys, dourocouli monkeys, white-handed gibbons, squirrel monkeys, capuchin monkeys, cotton-top tamarins, golden lion tamarins, black spider monkeys, red-backed bearded saki monkeys and others all catch the eye as they move with energy and verve in their treetop homes. Spot-necked and small-clawed otters have large pools to swim in, Philippine crocodiles have a deep pool, and there are almost 100 species within the 80-foot (8-storey) building.
I’ve seen so many tropical rainforest buildings in zoos that I think I’m up to at least 30 of them at this point and Lied Jungle is in my opinion clearly the best. Like all things in life there are deficiencies if one wishes to nitpick, and for instance both the Malayan and Baird's tapirs have too little land, and while one pygmy hippo had lots of space with its monkey acquaintances the other two hippos also had a very small land area. The clouded leopard has been removed in favour of Indian crested porcupines, and other than the tapir and hippo enclosures I’m not sure that there is much to quibble over in terms of space allotted to the inhabitants. The fact that the jungle trails pathway is made out of dirt and contains real pools and rocks adds authenticity, I enjoyed the fact that I had to keep ducking to miss being hit by hanging vines and branches, and that there was a tiny bridge that was soaking wet from a waterfall. The entire building actually reeked of a rainforest, the attention to detail is amazing, and even though I listed some of the larger mammals and 11 species of primates the number of reptiles, amphibians and even fish is staggering.
To top off the exciting time in the jungle we ate lunch in the Durham Treetops Restaurant that looks into the white-handed gibbon exhibit and across the steamy jungle landscape via vast viewing windows. Treetops must be one of the very best zoo restaurants simply for that view, and there is also a range of food from hot burgers n’ fries off the grill to more healthy choices. A baby gibbon was harassing its parents as we polished off our meals and headed back into zoological bliss.
Kingdoms of the Night – This building opened in 2003 and it is the best nocturnal house I’ve ever seen, and no other even comes close. There is a tiny wildlife park in central Australia (Alice Springs) that perhaps has my second favourite, but Kingdoms of the Night is magnificent and almost as impressive as the Lied Jungle. It is the world’s largest nocturnal house, featuring the world’s largest indoor swamp, beneath the world’s largest desert building and all under the world’s largest glazed geodesic dome. Things don’t come in small packages at this incredible zoo.
The entrance to this amazing structure features naked mole rats in a canyon area, followed by an African zone that has such animals as aardvarks, springhaas, greater bushbabies, fossas and many other wonders. A wet cave has a 16-foot deep pool with blind cavefish, and there are 2,400 stalactites in this region of the building. There are hundreds of bats, a churning waterfall, a Japanese giant salamander exhibit and countless terrariums for reptiles and amphibians. Eucalyptus Forest has wallabies, bats and many other delights, plus a huge tank that is packed with 4 species of turtle and fresh-water crocodiles. A South American exhibit has 8 species in one enclosure: kinkajou, agouti, two-toed sloth, dourocouli, coendou, three-banded armadillo, hairy armadillo and screaming hairy armadillo.
The Dry Bat Cave is a highlight as it is 70 feet high and features a series of large enclosures for at least 6 bat species. The swamp is the final destination, and 9 adult American alligators (including a white one), alligator snapping turtles, beavers, nutrias, turtles, bullfrogs by the dozen and a total of almost 40 species exist in this ominous, blackened environment. Before exiting the darkness there is one final delight as a huge exhibit features these 8 species: American alligator, American crocodile, alligator snapping turtle, snapping turtle, Florida soft-shelled turtle, alligator gar, longnose gar and largemouth bass. I could honestly spend all day in either the Lied Jungle or Kingdoms of the Night as they might well be two of the greatest all-time exhibit complexes ever constructed in North America.
Scott Aquarium – This top-notch aquarium, the best and biggest of its kind within an American zoo, first opened in 1995 at a cost of $16 million but somewhat curiously it has recently been remodeled at a cost of $6.5 million and has only just reopened this year. There is an excellent Antarctic penguin exhibit with 60 feet of viewing windows, and four snow machines enables it to continuously pour white flakes on some of the birds. King, gentoo, macaroni and rockhopper are the 4 species amongst the 85 birds in the habitat. A puffin/common murre habitat is very well done; a 500-gallon touch tank that is a new addition is very popular; Japanese giant spider crabs are exciting to see, and also in the aquarium are lots of colourful tanks displaying predatory fish, sea horses, 4 species of eel, jellyfish, sharks, octopus...and a huge Amazon habitat (no longer with squirrel monkeys) with massive freshwater fish. The major highlight of the tour is venturing through the 70-foot long tunnel and being surrounded by the 900,000 gallons of Shark Reef.
Reptiles & Amphibians – I can recall once having an online discussion with my good friend Allen Nyhuis, co-author of “America’s Best Zoos”, and I questioned his decision to place Omaha in the top 10 American zoos for reptiles and amphibians. I no longer doubt him in his research! There are plenty of terrariums in Exploration Station, Expedition Madagascar, Lied Jungle, Desert Dome and Kingdoms of the Night and all combined my best estimate would be that the zoo has around 110 exhibits of reptiles and amphibians in those 5 buildings. By my calculations that is quite possibly more than zoos in Fort Worth, Dallas, Detroit or San Diego, and I’m now curious if any American zoo can match Omaha in this department. Maybe Saint Louis? Since there is not a stand-alone, specific Reptile House in Omaha it is easy to walk away from a visit not realizing the sheer volume of reptile and amphibian terrariums, but because I was conscience of exploring that idea I am a little shocked to find that Omaha might be #1 in yet another category. With its 110 exhibits it has a vast collection, but a major complaint of mine would be the very poor signage as on many terrariums there is only the common name and then Latin name of a reptile or amphibian and nothing else!
Exploration Station – The full title is Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Pavilion (opened in 1987) but the 2007 renovation brought about a new name and a complete overhaul. Within this building, which serves as a sort of introduction to the zoo, are loads of interactive elements for youngsters and approximately 35 terrariums of mainly reptiles, amphibians and rodents. There is actually a lot to see here and some rare animals along the walls in tanks, and it takes a while to tour the facility. The star attraction would be the 20-foot high Discovery Tree with many exhibits around its base, but there are also many animal skeletons and historical information about the zoo.
Butterfly & Insect Pavilion – This very impressive building opened in 2008 and is 14,000 square feet in size. Almost 2,500 square feet is devoted to the Butterfly Conservatory structure, hummingbirds flit around the heads of visitors, and there is a long list of invertebrates to be found here. I can only think of two zoos in the United States that have a more extensive and well-designed set-ups for insects: Cincinnati and Saint Louis.
Orangutan Forest – This is not really much of a forest at all, and I feel that normally this type of habitat wouldn't appeal to me due to the mountains of mesh but it totally works for the apes. The enormous 65-foot trees (complete with multiple branches) allow for lots of brachiating opportunities and there are two large outdoor enclosures and indoor areas as well and the whole complex was completed in 2005. A group of Bornean orangutans were moving freely around in the habitat closed to the boardwalk, while siamangs and orangs frequent the adjacent enclosure. Indoors there was a family of agile gibbons taking up space in an exhibit packed with enrichment zones. Overall this is perhaps one of the 5 best orangutan exhibits in any American zoo, as the great red ape is notoriously tricky to design a captive environment for.
Hoofstock Yards – This section of the zoo usually goes unmentioned, but there are some truly excellent paddocks for a range of animals. A reticulated giraffe/ostrich/African penguin veldt is enormous; a herd of sable antelope have a huge yard; a very large herd of gaur are near the train station; red river hogs, Abyssinian ground hornbills, bongo, addax, Grevy’s zebras, okapis, dama gazelles, Stanley cranes and cheetahs are also found in a long line of enclosures and all are above average in quality. Almost all of these exhibits face change in the zoo’s master plan, but as it stands right now they are all spacious and impressive.
THE AVERAGE:
Expedition Madagascar – This exhibit complex opened in 2010 at the cost of about $10 million, and it features a 300 foot long building with 14 exhibits and then a series of outdoor netted habitats. Seeing an aye-aye moving in is well-designed indoor exhibit was exhilarating, but the much vaunted outdoor walk-through lemur exhibit was hugely disappointing as there was only a couple of red ruffed lemurs and plenty of empty space amongst the fake trees. The outdoor fossa exhibit is very nice, as is the netted black-and-white ruffed lemur exhibit, and yet the ring-tailed lemur island features two incredibly fake-looking baobab trees. Indoors the exhibits are nicely furnished but I couldn’t help feeling a bit dismayed to see so many lemurs with zero access to an outdoor area and I believe that in ten years’ time this building might well be outdated for the primates. The collection of Madagascan animals is perhaps not equaled by any other American zoo, but the exhibitry is hit-and-miss.
Here is the total species list for Expedition Madagascar. Red ruffed lemur (two exhibits), black-and-white ruffed lemur, black lemur, ring-tailed lemur (two exhibits), Hubbard’s sportive lemur, common brown lemur, collared brown lemur, mongoose lemur, aye-aye, fossa, giant jumping rat (two exhibits), Madagascar flying fox, straw-coloured fruit bat, lowland streaked tenrec, Madagascar tree boa, Madagascar ground boa, Malagasy hognose snake, powder blue reed frog, tomato frog (two exhibits), mantella frogs (of various species), panther chameleon, Cheke’s day gecko, velvet gecko, standing day gecko, spiny-tailed iguana, plated lizard, flat-tailed tortoise, radiated tortoise, Madagascar big-headed turtle, northern crested coua, lesser vasa parrot, Madagascar teal, Madagascar ibis, cattle egret and Madagascar button quail.
Desert Dome – This imposing structure features the largest desert complex in the world and visually it is stunning. It opened in 2002 and focuses exclusively on three deserts of the world: Namibia, Australia and the Sonoran Desert. There is 42,000 square feet of space (another 42,000 is for Kingdoms of the Night beneath the desert) and the entire creation is 13 stories in height. It can easily be seen from a distance as one drives to the zoo! The Namib Desert area greets visitors with a 30-foot tall, 300 ton pile of bright red sand that is awe-inspiring to behold. The Red Center of Australia has Wave Rock and an Uluru feature with rock wallabies gazing down on visitors. The Sonoran Desert landscape has immense saguaro cacti and other plants indigenous to that area. The whole thing is spectacular and it takes your breath away, and the 3 deserts combine to focus on an array of mammals, birds, fish and close to 40 species of reptiles and amphibians. It was cool to see deadly Aussie snakes such as a death adder and inland taipan, and the Sonoran area had at least 7 species of rattlesnakes living in well-lit terrariums.
However, there are some serious issues with animal husbandry in terms of space requirements. The black-footed cat exhibit is perhaps 15 feet wide and 8 feet deep and that is small enough, but the feline has basically a huge slab of cement to spend the rest of its life. Both meerkat exhibits (one also containing klipspringers) have almost zero natural substrate; the collared peccaries were roaming around an enclosure that is almost all concrete; the bobcat, bat-eared fox, coati and rock wallaby exhibits are all far too small; the rock hyrax have small cement ledges to live on that are devoid of practically anything whatsoever; and many of the bird aviaries are way too small. Desert Dome is awesome to the average visitor but if one looks closely there are cracks in the seams and the amount of natural substrate available to many of the animals is of little to no consequence. While Lied Jungle and Kingdoms of the Night have a handful of space issues for larger mammals it is the Desert Dome that is by far the guiltiest of that fact.
Gorilla Valley - I'm not completely sold on this maze-like set of enclosures, which opened in 2004, but it is certainly innovative and the twists and turns of the public walkway allow visitors to be surprised at how close they can get to gorillas. The whole complex is rather complicated but I believe that there are 4 exhibits plus the indoor areas for gorillas, with many cool elements such as an overhead tunnel, pop-up bubbles, a cave viewing area, huge windows on both sides of the visitor area, and even at one point both colobus monkeys and Diana monkeys in with the apes. There are over a dozen gorillas in the area and they are divided up into pairs, bachelors and troops. There is also a steep Wolf’s guenon/rock hyrax exhibit and a central yard with yellow-backed duiker, West African crowned crane and Abyssinian ground hornbill.
Free Flight Aviary – The zoo claims that this 4-acre aviary, which opened in 1983, is the second largest on the planet (apparently after Birds of Eden in South Africa), and with 120 species and over 500 birds is this yet another accomplishment at the zoo that is one of the biggest and best in the world? Poor signage is the main detriment as the aviary is showing its age, but for a birder it is probably still spectacular.
Pachyderm Hill – White and Indian rhinos (two paddocks) inhabit this area that formerly held African elephants. Due for an overhaul to become an African Grasslands zone in the future, but the enclosures are more than adequate for the rhinos and in fact are quite large and grassy in size.
Children’s Area – This zone features the train station, a carousel, a farmyard, a goat petting paddock, a prairie dog exhibit and then more exotic creatures like river otters and a large herd of gaur. It now features a new fossil dig site but it is not a notable part of the zoo except for the fact that in 2008 I saw raccoon dogs here!
Koi Pool & Monkey Island & Odds n’ Sods – There are two islands filled with squirrel and spider monkeys and surrounded by a couple of thousand koi fish. A bridge is loaded with visitors tossing food to the animals and it is an entertaining sight as the nimble primates create lots of havoc amongst themselves in an attempt to earn their dinner. Near this area is Garden of the Senses, which opened in 1998 and is an area packed with plants, statues and a few tropical birds. Sea Lion Plaza is located near the monkey islands and it is an old-fashioned pool containing California sea lions.
THE WORST:
Bear Canyon – Here there are typically awful bear grottos for 4 different species that somewhat surprisingly opened as recently as 1989. There are polar bears, American black bears, sun bears and spectacled bears found here, and all of the enclosures are consistently awful and “unbearable”. This area will be demolished within a decade.
Cat Complex – This building was built about 35 years ago and even though it is enormous (37,000 square feet) and plays host to at least 9 cat species it is slated to be demolished in the future.
THE FUTURE:
Master Plan Report (7 pages):
http://www.omahazoo.com/Post/sections/131/Files/OHDZMasterPlanExecSummary.pdf
Master Plan Conceptual Framework (4 pages):
http://www.omahazoo.com/Post/sections/131/Files/OHDZMasterPlanConceptualFrame.pdf
OVERALL:
After touring Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium a second time (after my 2008 visit) I was surprised at how well both the Lied Jungle and Kingdoms of the Night held up. I think that there could be some rearranging in terms of the larger creatures but rather than nitpick I’d like to focus on how astounding they are to 99% of all visitors. Desert Dome certainly did not impress me as much the second time around, but visually it is still stunning and it effectively recreates a trio of deserts from three different continents. The rest of the zoo has some top-notch sections, such as a world-class collection of reptiles and amphibians; a fantastic insect house; very good orangutan and gorilla complexes; large hoofstock paddocks; an enormous aviary; a terrific collection of species from Madagascar; and at least 85% of the zoo is first rate. The two major areas that need work (Cat Complex and Bear Canyon) will probably be extinct within ten years and then how many ZooChatters would not rank Omaha in the top 5 American zoos? It is right up there with San Diego, Bronx, Columbus, Saint Louis and Sedgwick County and it is not far off being better than any of them. At this exact moment in time, and having visited practically every single large, medium and half-decent zoo in the nation (especially after this latest road trip) I’d place Omaha in a tie with the Bronx Zoo in the #2 position, and both of those zoos are not far behind San Diego.
