Day 10 – Tuesday, August 5th
A LONG UPDATE: (hence the capital letters)
Odds n’ Sods Comments:
Musical highlights were Live’s 1994 album “Throwing Copper” (again) and Smashing Pumpkins and their great record “Siamese Dream” (1993).
Favourite signs of the past few days: (don’t people triple-check these things???)
1- “Black-Backed Jackel” (DeYoung Family Zoo)
2- “Spectacled Caimen” (Alligator Alley)
3- Asiatic Black Bear – with a photo of an American Black Bear (Lincoln Park Zoo)
4- “Besia Oryx” (Timbavati Wildlife Park)
The 6 zoos in one day is a new record for me and at my current pace there should now be a grand total of 64 zoos in 20 days on this road trip and almost 250 in total. I’ve taken thousands of photos and I take a photo of every sign and at least 1 photo of every exhibit and so it is not like I’m jogging through zoos…haha. For larger exhibits like Gorilla Forest at Como Zoo I ended up taking photos from every possible angle and I feel like I take my time but going solo makes a huge difference. I miss my wife and kids being with me but that would then become a different style of zoo trip (lots of stopping to use the potty, hours at playgrounds, etc).
After never once visiting a reptile zoo in my life I’ve been to 4 of them in less than 8 months. In order:
1- Reptile Gardens – The best of the lot and with about 135 reptile/amphibian species on show in Rapid City, South Dakota.
2- RAD (Reptile & Amphibian Discovery) Zoo – Ultra-low budget accommodation but also with approximately 135 reptile/amphibian species on show near Minneapolis.
3- The Living Reptile Zoo & Museum – On the outskirts of Seattle and with about 85 reptile/amphibian species on show.
4- Alligator Alley – An abysmal Wisconsin tourist trap with perhaps 40 reptile/amphibian species on show.
A representative from the Denver Zoo in Colorado has contacted me in regards to using some of my photos for a new cellphone app that is part of an audio guide that will be created for the zoo. I enjoy it when magazines or zoos email me in regards to my photos (almost all exhibit shots) and I wonder how popular an audio guide app would be for the great Denver Zoo. I know that I’ve personally used an audio guide at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, Texas, at Alcatraz in San Francisco, California, and at Port Arthur Prison in Tasmania, Australia. Would it be good at a zoo? What do people think?
Mini-Reviews:
International Crane Foundation – This is a brilliant facility with a conservation ethos that would do well to be replicated elsewhere and the only place on the planet to see all 15 species in one location. Cranes are showcased in a beautiful manner and the entire establishment scarcely puts a foot wrong. The Spirit of Africa addition in 2009 offers up the first 4 habitats and the Wattled Crane exhibit is enormous and with a large pond in the center. It is a travesty that only 28,000 people visit this establishment each year as it is unique and all 15 species were very easy for me to see as I found that in the central “roundhouse” zone (10 species and 20 exhibits – each pair has an extra yard) the cranes were eager to approach visitors. The crown jewel of the entire facility is the huge Whooping Crane exhibit, arguably one of the world’s great bird exhibits. A short trail winds through tall grass to reveal an interpretative center with an amphitheater specially designed for viewing the pair of birds in a wetlands environment. The pond is in the foreground and the grassy backdrop melds into a hill so that it seems as if there are no barriers stopping the cranes from escaping. The visual spectacle is fantastic and a hidden fence behind the hilly backdrop is the secret to confinement. It is a wonderful achievement in a world-class establishment and when the cranes were whooping away to each other I struggled to think of a better bird exhibit in the almost 250 zoos that I’ve visited. A must-see park and an hour is plenty of time to see it all unless you wish to spend the day watching cranes. It would almost be worth it as today made me really appreciate birds again as I’ve always been more of a “mammal guy”.
Timbavati Wildlife Park – This place is a real mixed bag as it is brand-new and partly a construction zone a year after opening. Spacious hoofstock paddocks for giraffe, blackbuck, rhea, nilgai (at least 25 of them) and eland are all good. Clouded leopards and Eurasian lynx on cement are not cool; neither is holding baby tigers down for photo shoots. Here you can pet a baby nilgai, zebu, zebra or giraffe plus see many smaller mammals in outdated enclosures even though the exhibits were built in 2013. I saw fishers yet again but no penguins and I didn’t bother with the pig racing. Rarities include the clouded leopards, a white tiger that is 80% white with very faint stripes, fisher, binturong, tawny eagle, galah, dourocouli and mountain coatis (very pale, almost yellowish creatures). The worst is the nursery section with two buildings of animals in tiny containers. Owl monkeys huddled in the corner of a 6-foot box, a badly pacing tamandua, etc, leave a nasty taste in one’s mouth.
Here’s a story for you all: (it goes back and forth in past and present tense)
While I’m taking photos of the giraffe barn a truck pulls up with two men inside and the driver sarcastically asks if I like barn photos. I nod and tell him about how I document everything in zoos and he reveals that he is the owner and operator of Timbavati Wildlife Park. We end up having a long chat and the first half I would classify as “tense” as he initially seemed to think that I was some kind of animal rights activist taking photos of barns and signs all over the place. He asks me what I think of the park and it is a loaded question and so I respond with honesty and we have a mild debate that showcases our points with clarity. Behind me visitors are leaning into a cage to pet a baby giraffe and he yells out the window to encourage them because the “giraffe needs to adjust to this park”. Then I bash the tiger and lion exhibits as they each have a tiny pool of water, 3 boulders and the rest is almost entirely sand. He tells me that the sand cost a small fortune and it was trucked in from far away especially for big cats. That is all well and good but having desert tigers in a zoo seems odd as there is literally not a tree stump or a branch or anything green in the barren enclosure. (Just check out Trip Advisor to read visitor reviews ripping this place). The owner tells me that the big cat ponds are slightly bigger than the size of a cat and they are 18 inches deep (“plenty for a tiger”) and I honestly think that he feels that is acceptable. I mentioned the clouded leopard cement cage and he shrugs and says that he’ll build them a new one in the future.
We discuss the baby tiger and animal petting and he points out that he needs to make money and the park is situated on a glitzy street of attractions. That is all true as the zoo is within a mini Las Vegas in south-central Wisconsin but that hardly encourages bad husbandry. He told me that all of the puny cages in the nurseries (3 mara in a 6-foot metal cage; two alligators on a straw and cement floor with a 3-foot tub that can barely accommodate one gator; African crowned cranes in an 8-foot metal cage) are all temporary and he said that it bothers him that he has received so many bad reviews online. I could go on but eventually I steered the conversation to a more positive area as we talked about his off-site breeding farm with herds of hoofstock and how he has lots of mountain coatis as well. This place sucks and it is using animals for pure profit and the key factor is that everything has been built with amazing speed (timeline photos are posted) and it is slapdash and utilitarian. The enormous Feline House, with beautifully intricate rockwork around the edges, was built for $250,000 (according to the owner) and he admitted that all the work was done in-house and that he had to “get those big cats in the cages before summer arrived”. I’m going to stop there and I don’t even care if he or his minions reads this posting.
Alligator Alley – This is an absolutely dire facility with 25% of the tanks having no signs and a general air of apathy about the place. The fold-out brochure is enormous and from the outside it gives off the appearance of being a half-decent reptile zoo but in reality it is brutal. This is the type of place that heavily advertises its two-headed snakes and turtles and where juvenile American Alligators are sold for $159.99 each. There are maybe 40 species and lots of albino specimens with the notable rarities being a New Guinea Crocodile and a Philippine Sailfin Dragon. Live rat feeding is encouraged and I saw one of this grim spectacles take place and I shudder to tell the tale. I’m okay with the feeding of rodents to crocodilians, monitor lizards and snakes (which costs a minimal amount at this minor zoo) but what occurred is that a live rat was simply tossed into the white alligator tank and as the rat splashed into the water the alligator awoke from its slumber. The rat spent 5 minutes desperately treading water and attempting to outmaneuver the gator and while the rodent clawed away at the glass and bobbed under water the gator would repeatedly strike and crash its jaws against the glass. This happened on a number of occasions and I was at the end of the hallway and checking out how much it cost to purchase a green basilisk ($69.99) or Brazilian black tarantula ($149.99 – expensive!) and I’d hear the occasional crack of jaw against glass. Just as I was leaving there was a resounding cheer and the rat must have met its maker as the crowd dispersed and I was left pondering why people would take sick pleasure over such a one-sided contest.
Wisconsin Deer Park - There is a total of over 100 deer at the establishment and aside from a few small mammals, birds and the farmyard zone the entire 40 acres of land basically has one large loop for visitors. Deer are found by the dozens and they can be fed with crackers sold at the gift shop. Side exhibits holding a variety of species are along the edge of the pathway but the incredibly tame deer that proliferate all over the grounds are the main attraction. A pleasant yet minor zoological footnote that takes about 45 minutes to completely tour. Species List: European Fallow Deer (black, white, brown and spotted varieties), Japanese Sika Deer, White-Tailed Deer, American Bison, Rocky Mountain Elk, Reeve’s Muntjac, Yak, Llama, Raccoon, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Emu, Rhea, Wild Turkey, Helmeted Guineafowl and many domestic animals.
Henry Vilas Zoo – Here is a snippet from my 900-word review. Henry Vilas Zoo is an AZA-accredited facility located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it opened in 1911. The annual attendance is 700,000 and this free establishment is situated on almost 30 acres. It is an ever-growing zoo that appeals to the masses with a nice selection of mega-fauna (orangutans, monkeys, lemurs, lions, tigers, giraffes, seals, penguins, otters) and being free and with a great Children’s Zoo its popularity has not waned for many years. The top-notch Children’s Zoo has White-Handed Gibbons and what a wonderful species to have in a Children’s Zoo as their hooting and brachiating drew major crowds. Aardvarks surprised me; the Herpetarium and Discovery Center have a combined 41 species (including Cook’s Tree Boa, Seba’s Short-Tailed Bat and Lemur Leaf Frog); a small Tropical Rain Forest building has its moments; and Arctic Passage is a huge development with workmen, cranes and a large building rising fast. Two hours is good at this zoo but with kids you could easily spend half the day.
Racine Zoo – Here is a snippet from my 700-word review. The crown jewel is a stunning Lesser Adjunct/Western Tufted Deer aviary as very few zoos focus on either of those species. At one point the big male stork did a quick loop of his enclosure and it was a thrill to see such a large bird in full flight. Wallaby Walkabout is one of the better walk-through kangaroo yards; Vanishing Kingdom has orangutans, gibbons, fossas, coatis, blue-eyed black lemurs and other primates; Land of the Giants has Masai giraffe, black rhinos and camels; elsewhere there are lions, tigers, lynx, penguins, meerkats, Andean bears, West Caucasian Tur and a few other bits and bobs. A location almost directly on the shores of Lake Michigan means that it is possible to see people swimming in the lake from the center of this tiny zoo.
A LONG UPDATE: (hence the capital letters)
Odds n’ Sods Comments:
Musical highlights were Live’s 1994 album “Throwing Copper” (again) and Smashing Pumpkins and their great record “Siamese Dream” (1993).
Favourite signs of the past few days: (don’t people triple-check these things???)
1- “Black-Backed Jackel” (DeYoung Family Zoo)
2- “Spectacled Caimen” (Alligator Alley)
3- Asiatic Black Bear – with a photo of an American Black Bear (Lincoln Park Zoo)
4- “Besia Oryx” (Timbavati Wildlife Park)
The 6 zoos in one day is a new record for me and at my current pace there should now be a grand total of 64 zoos in 20 days on this road trip and almost 250 in total. I’ve taken thousands of photos and I take a photo of every sign and at least 1 photo of every exhibit and so it is not like I’m jogging through zoos…haha. For larger exhibits like Gorilla Forest at Como Zoo I ended up taking photos from every possible angle and I feel like I take my time but going solo makes a huge difference. I miss my wife and kids being with me but that would then become a different style of zoo trip (lots of stopping to use the potty, hours at playgrounds, etc).
After never once visiting a reptile zoo in my life I’ve been to 4 of them in less than 8 months. In order:
1- Reptile Gardens – The best of the lot and with about 135 reptile/amphibian species on show in Rapid City, South Dakota.
2- RAD (Reptile & Amphibian Discovery) Zoo – Ultra-low budget accommodation but also with approximately 135 reptile/amphibian species on show near Minneapolis.
3- The Living Reptile Zoo & Museum – On the outskirts of Seattle and with about 85 reptile/amphibian species on show.
4- Alligator Alley – An abysmal Wisconsin tourist trap with perhaps 40 reptile/amphibian species on show.
A representative from the Denver Zoo in Colorado has contacted me in regards to using some of my photos for a new cellphone app that is part of an audio guide that will be created for the zoo. I enjoy it when magazines or zoos email me in regards to my photos (almost all exhibit shots) and I wonder how popular an audio guide app would be for the great Denver Zoo. I know that I’ve personally used an audio guide at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, Texas, at Alcatraz in San Francisco, California, and at Port Arthur Prison in Tasmania, Australia. Would it be good at a zoo? What do people think?
Mini-Reviews:
International Crane Foundation – This is a brilliant facility with a conservation ethos that would do well to be replicated elsewhere and the only place on the planet to see all 15 species in one location. Cranes are showcased in a beautiful manner and the entire establishment scarcely puts a foot wrong. The Spirit of Africa addition in 2009 offers up the first 4 habitats and the Wattled Crane exhibit is enormous and with a large pond in the center. It is a travesty that only 28,000 people visit this establishment each year as it is unique and all 15 species were very easy for me to see as I found that in the central “roundhouse” zone (10 species and 20 exhibits – each pair has an extra yard) the cranes were eager to approach visitors. The crown jewel of the entire facility is the huge Whooping Crane exhibit, arguably one of the world’s great bird exhibits. A short trail winds through tall grass to reveal an interpretative center with an amphitheater specially designed for viewing the pair of birds in a wetlands environment. The pond is in the foreground and the grassy backdrop melds into a hill so that it seems as if there are no barriers stopping the cranes from escaping. The visual spectacle is fantastic and a hidden fence behind the hilly backdrop is the secret to confinement. It is a wonderful achievement in a world-class establishment and when the cranes were whooping away to each other I struggled to think of a better bird exhibit in the almost 250 zoos that I’ve visited. A must-see park and an hour is plenty of time to see it all unless you wish to spend the day watching cranes. It would almost be worth it as today made me really appreciate birds again as I’ve always been more of a “mammal guy”.
Timbavati Wildlife Park – This place is a real mixed bag as it is brand-new and partly a construction zone a year after opening. Spacious hoofstock paddocks for giraffe, blackbuck, rhea, nilgai (at least 25 of them) and eland are all good. Clouded leopards and Eurasian lynx on cement are not cool; neither is holding baby tigers down for photo shoots. Here you can pet a baby nilgai, zebu, zebra or giraffe plus see many smaller mammals in outdated enclosures even though the exhibits were built in 2013. I saw fishers yet again but no penguins and I didn’t bother with the pig racing. Rarities include the clouded leopards, a white tiger that is 80% white with very faint stripes, fisher, binturong, tawny eagle, galah, dourocouli and mountain coatis (very pale, almost yellowish creatures). The worst is the nursery section with two buildings of animals in tiny containers. Owl monkeys huddled in the corner of a 6-foot box, a badly pacing tamandua, etc, leave a nasty taste in one’s mouth.
Here’s a story for you all: (it goes back and forth in past and present tense)
While I’m taking photos of the giraffe barn a truck pulls up with two men inside and the driver sarcastically asks if I like barn photos. I nod and tell him about how I document everything in zoos and he reveals that he is the owner and operator of Timbavati Wildlife Park. We end up having a long chat and the first half I would classify as “tense” as he initially seemed to think that I was some kind of animal rights activist taking photos of barns and signs all over the place. He asks me what I think of the park and it is a loaded question and so I respond with honesty and we have a mild debate that showcases our points with clarity. Behind me visitors are leaning into a cage to pet a baby giraffe and he yells out the window to encourage them because the “giraffe needs to adjust to this park”. Then I bash the tiger and lion exhibits as they each have a tiny pool of water, 3 boulders and the rest is almost entirely sand. He tells me that the sand cost a small fortune and it was trucked in from far away especially for big cats. That is all well and good but having desert tigers in a zoo seems odd as there is literally not a tree stump or a branch or anything green in the barren enclosure. (Just check out Trip Advisor to read visitor reviews ripping this place). The owner tells me that the big cat ponds are slightly bigger than the size of a cat and they are 18 inches deep (“plenty for a tiger”) and I honestly think that he feels that is acceptable. I mentioned the clouded leopard cement cage and he shrugs and says that he’ll build them a new one in the future.
We discuss the baby tiger and animal petting and he points out that he needs to make money and the park is situated on a glitzy street of attractions. That is all true as the zoo is within a mini Las Vegas in south-central Wisconsin but that hardly encourages bad husbandry. He told me that all of the puny cages in the nurseries (3 mara in a 6-foot metal cage; two alligators on a straw and cement floor with a 3-foot tub that can barely accommodate one gator; African crowned cranes in an 8-foot metal cage) are all temporary and he said that it bothers him that he has received so many bad reviews online. I could go on but eventually I steered the conversation to a more positive area as we talked about his off-site breeding farm with herds of hoofstock and how he has lots of mountain coatis as well. This place sucks and it is using animals for pure profit and the key factor is that everything has been built with amazing speed (timeline photos are posted) and it is slapdash and utilitarian. The enormous Feline House, with beautifully intricate rockwork around the edges, was built for $250,000 (according to the owner) and he admitted that all the work was done in-house and that he had to “get those big cats in the cages before summer arrived”. I’m going to stop there and I don’t even care if he or his minions reads this posting.
Alligator Alley – This is an absolutely dire facility with 25% of the tanks having no signs and a general air of apathy about the place. The fold-out brochure is enormous and from the outside it gives off the appearance of being a half-decent reptile zoo but in reality it is brutal. This is the type of place that heavily advertises its two-headed snakes and turtles and where juvenile American Alligators are sold for $159.99 each. There are maybe 40 species and lots of albino specimens with the notable rarities being a New Guinea Crocodile and a Philippine Sailfin Dragon. Live rat feeding is encouraged and I saw one of this grim spectacles take place and I shudder to tell the tale. I’m okay with the feeding of rodents to crocodilians, monitor lizards and snakes (which costs a minimal amount at this minor zoo) but what occurred is that a live rat was simply tossed into the white alligator tank and as the rat splashed into the water the alligator awoke from its slumber. The rat spent 5 minutes desperately treading water and attempting to outmaneuver the gator and while the rodent clawed away at the glass and bobbed under water the gator would repeatedly strike and crash its jaws against the glass. This happened on a number of occasions and I was at the end of the hallway and checking out how much it cost to purchase a green basilisk ($69.99) or Brazilian black tarantula ($149.99 – expensive!) and I’d hear the occasional crack of jaw against glass. Just as I was leaving there was a resounding cheer and the rat must have met its maker as the crowd dispersed and I was left pondering why people would take sick pleasure over such a one-sided contest.
Wisconsin Deer Park - There is a total of over 100 deer at the establishment and aside from a few small mammals, birds and the farmyard zone the entire 40 acres of land basically has one large loop for visitors. Deer are found by the dozens and they can be fed with crackers sold at the gift shop. Side exhibits holding a variety of species are along the edge of the pathway but the incredibly tame deer that proliferate all over the grounds are the main attraction. A pleasant yet minor zoological footnote that takes about 45 minutes to completely tour. Species List: European Fallow Deer (black, white, brown and spotted varieties), Japanese Sika Deer, White-Tailed Deer, American Bison, Rocky Mountain Elk, Reeve’s Muntjac, Yak, Llama, Raccoon, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Emu, Rhea, Wild Turkey, Helmeted Guineafowl and many domestic animals.
Henry Vilas Zoo – Here is a snippet from my 900-word review. Henry Vilas Zoo is an AZA-accredited facility located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it opened in 1911. The annual attendance is 700,000 and this free establishment is situated on almost 30 acres. It is an ever-growing zoo that appeals to the masses with a nice selection of mega-fauna (orangutans, monkeys, lemurs, lions, tigers, giraffes, seals, penguins, otters) and being free and with a great Children’s Zoo its popularity has not waned for many years. The top-notch Children’s Zoo has White-Handed Gibbons and what a wonderful species to have in a Children’s Zoo as their hooting and brachiating drew major crowds. Aardvarks surprised me; the Herpetarium and Discovery Center have a combined 41 species (including Cook’s Tree Boa, Seba’s Short-Tailed Bat and Lemur Leaf Frog); a small Tropical Rain Forest building has its moments; and Arctic Passage is a huge development with workmen, cranes and a large building rising fast. Two hours is good at this zoo but with kids you could easily spend half the day.
Racine Zoo – Here is a snippet from my 700-word review. The crown jewel is a stunning Lesser Adjunct/Western Tufted Deer aviary as very few zoos focus on either of those species. At one point the big male stork did a quick loop of his enclosure and it was a thrill to see such a large bird in full flight. Wallaby Walkabout is one of the better walk-through kangaroo yards; Vanishing Kingdom has orangutans, gibbons, fossas, coatis, blue-eyed black lemurs and other primates; Land of the Giants has Masai giraffe, black rhinos and camels; elsewhere there are lions, tigers, lynx, penguins, meerkats, Andean bears, West Caucasian Tur and a few other bits and bobs. A location almost directly on the shores of Lake Michigan means that it is possible to see people swimming in the lake from the center of this tiny zoo.
But I'm glad you posted the review because I was actually going to visit the Wildlife Park in the future, but it doesn't sound like a place I should spend any time at.
