Snowleopard's 2014 Road Trip

I'm not qualified to make a comment on whales being in captivity and suffice to say I have an open mind on the issue.

But I do find it surprising and a bit disappointing that some people here seem to be only concerned with "taking away the zoos/aquariums we love" rather than being willing to engage with the real issue, which is animal welfare.

It's not so very long ago that zoos and aquariums were failing to provide adequate care for a great many species. They've arguably only just started to crack the code of successfully maintaining elephants and bears, for instance. I don't think it's uncontroversial to say that we're not quite there yet on whales.

My question to you, ANyhuis - do you actually care if Sea World's orcas are being kept in a manner that appropriately provides for their physical and mental health? Or do you think that the only issue is whether you get to see them when you visit San Diego? In other words - is this about the animals, or just the visitors?
 
zooboy28 said:
@SL, sorry for derailing your thread with captive cetacean chatter!

Couple of other comments:

74 turtle/tortoise species is definitely the largest number I have ever heard of, and I suspect the largest on display anywhere. It'd be great to see all that diversity together. How do they display them - terrariums in walls? Rather odd that it is a temporary exhibition, they must have obtained them from a great many sources. Singapore's Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum has a heap of species (~50), but I'm not sure of what other facilities would even come close to this level of diversity.

Also, I'd love to see a "Wall of Eels", it sounds slippery and slimy! :D

The trip sounds like it is going great, except for missing Sea Life. Keep the mini-reviews coming!
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- I don't mind what I call "Cetacean Conversation" at all! I have become a firm believe that orcas and belugas should in no way be in captivity and dolphins only if unable to be released back into the wild. With elephants I feel that many zoos have moved towards larger social groupings in spacious habitats and with many other animals (big cats, great apes, bears) there has been significant progress. Whales and dolphins are still in big cement tanks that are not at all appropriate for their well-being. My thoughts have nothing to do with "Blackfish" or animal wackos as lately most press releases concerning cetaceans in captivity have been by scientists and zoologists. Many of them are the ones that are having second thoughts.

- The temporary turtle display at the National River Museum & Aquarium featured terrariums in walls and nothing too elaborate. However, turtles don't seem to need a great deal of space and seeing 74 in one shot was incredible. It reminded me of seeing all 15 crane species at the International Crane Foundation on this trip or all 23 crocodilian species at St. Augustine Alligator Farm & Zoological Park in 2012.
 
Day 16 – Monday, August 11th

Today I met up with a zookeeper from Bramble Park Zoo in South Dakota (Jen) and a keeper from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo (Kevin) and we toured the Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari as well as the Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium together. They were both great to spend the morning with and Jen is one of 5 keepers at her zoo and by comparison Kevin works exclusively in the Lied Jungle and he is one of 84 keepers in Omaha.

Mini-Reviews:

Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari – This facility is mainly a drive-through park with two sections to get out and walk (Wolf Canyon and the Visitor Center) and we finished seeing everything in about an hour and 15 minutes. My 500 word review highlights several large areas, such as the 50-acre Elk Prairie, 10-acre Deer Woods, half-an-acre Bald Eagle aviary, 12-acre Crane Meadows and 40-acre Bison Plains. There is certainly room for native wildlife at this facility and smaller animals plus American Black Bears and Grey Wolves can be seen in two different walking areas.

Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium - This place is a free, non-AZA-accredited facility located in Gretna, Nebraska, and it opened in 1990. The establishment is 12,000 sq. ft. but that includes a classroom, auditorium, display area and office space. There are 12 tanks on display, with the largest being 1,450 gallons in size. The other 11 tanks hold either 480 or 580 gallons and all of the species within the exhibits are native to Nebraska or have at one time been introduced to the state. There is a nice turtle display near the front counter and several smaller terrariums in a side room and overall around 55 different species are on display. It takes perhaps 20 minutes to tour this facility.

Lincoln Children’s Zoo – This facility is definitely geared towards little kids and other than an Amur Leopard the entire establishment seems as if it is full of tiny, popular, charismatic animals. The crocodilians are West African Dwarf Crocodiles; the primates are all tamarins, marmosets, Squirrel Monkeys and 2 species of lemur; there are otters, penguins, a butterfly walk-through and “The Hive” which is half Reptile House and half Insect House with 32 species on show. The zoo is only 10 acres in size and it was absolutely crammed on my visit as I had to park in an empty lot a block away. The first zoo of the day I’m always the first one in the door; the last zoo of the day I’m usually the only person in the joint; but the middle zoo is the one that I often end up battling the crowds and lots of big families were present during my visit.

Check out all the small, popular animals in the “Animal Kingdom” building:

Animal Kingdom (27 species) – This is a large building that contains a random assortment of small and popular creatures from all over the globe. Outdoors are 3 exhibits (a pair for Bobcats and a Red Panda enclosure that allows the animals to climb on wire above visitor heads) and inside is a small loop with a variety of adequate yet fairly generic exhibits. The interesting species list includes: Pygmy Marmoset, Golden Lion Tamarin, Naked Mole Rat, Meerkat, Prevost’s Squirrel, Acouchi, Common Tree Shrew, Three-Banded Armadillo, Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, Fennec Fox, Two-Toed Sloth, Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo, Rodrigues Flying Fox, Ruwenzori Long-Haired Fruit Bat, Seba’s Short-Tailed Bat, American Kestrel, Panther Chameleon, Side-Necked Turtle, Spiny Softshell Turtle, Gila Monster, Frilled Lizard, Dumeril’s Monitor, Honduran Milk Snake, Green Tree Python, Boa Constrictor, Brazilian Rainbow Boa and Greenbottle Blue Tarantula.

Clay Center Zoo – This is the worst zoo I’ve seen out of 250. Almost every single cage is all chain-link fencing with a small cement floor. Most distressing of all was seeing an American Black Bear in a cement/metal hellhole about 20 feet long and perhaps 12 feet wide. Ugh. I’m surprised that this zoo is still in existence and my daily black panther fix was complete and there was even a Grey Wolf in one of the ghastly cages. Clay Center is an awful little zoo that is about an acre in size and at extreme odds with the scenic, green park that it is adjacent to. The deer and Emu yards are reasonable but every other cage should meet the end of a bulldozer. The species list includes: American Black Bear, African Leopard (black), Japanese Macaque, Fallow Deer, Japanese Sika Deer, Grey Wolf, Red Fox, Arctic Fox, Bobcat, Raccoon, Coati, Red Squirrel, Prairie Dog, Emu, Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Common Raven, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, Silver Pheasant, Reeve’s Pheasant, Red Golden Pheasant, Yellow Golden Pheasant, Bobwhite Quail, Gambel’s Quail, Scaled Quail, Homing Pigeon, Wood Duck, Mandarin Duck, Marbled Teal and various other species of waterfowl.

Kansas Fishes Aquarium – This place is a non AZA-accredited facility located in Salina, Kansas, and it is a single 15,000 gallon tank in an establishment called Central Mall. Brochures around the state proclaim it to be Kansas’s largest free-standing aquarium and it acts as an incentive to get visitors into the shopping complex. The tank is 25 feet long, 12 feet wide and 6.5 feet deep and focuses on Kansas native fish with an authentic-looking mud-bank backdrop and large viewing windows. The species list includes: Striped Bass, White Bass, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, Blue Gill, Saugeye and Gizzard Shad.
 
As always, loving the mini-reviews. Clay Center seems so horrible it has to be seen to be believed.

All whales are gone from traditional zoos and Indianapolis and Brookfield are the last two holdouts with dolphins and which one will blink first? Will they both still have dolphins in 10 or even 20 years? It seems unlikely as the industry is moving in the opposite direction.
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Brookfield seems to have a fairly good track record compared to what you've said of Indianapolis, so I imagine they'll be the last traditional zoo to hold on to dolphins, though Seven Seas could easily use a renovation. Not touching the broader issue though.
 
CGSwans said:
My question to you, ANyhuis - do you actually care if Sea World's orcas are being kept in a manner that appropriately provides for their physical and mental health? Or do you think that the only issue is whether you get to see them when you visit San Diego? In other words - is this about the animals, or just the visitors?
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CGSwans, of course I care about animal welfare! I've been an animal-lover since I was a toddler. But I don't claim to be a biologist, zoologist, or zookeeper. I'm a travel writer. When it comes to what I think about the way that animals are kept in zoos, aquariums, or ocean parks, there a select few "experts" on the subject whose opinion I strongly value. One of those experts (and a personal hero of mine) is Jack Hanna. I generally support almost everything that Jack says. When he criticized the Copenhagen Zoo's unnecessary culling of the baby giraffe Marius, I was with him! But Jack Hanna is still a strong supporter of the Sea Worlds and their orcas. When the movie "Blackfish" came out, Jack was all over the media, strongly and effectively countering the foolish propaganda of that silly movie.

So a simple answer for you, CGSwans, is when Jack Hanna comes out against dolphins, belugas, and/or orcas in captivity, so will I. Until then, I'll remain glad and hopeful that my kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids will have the opportunity to see these magnificent creatures up close.

One more thing that further explains my viewpoint: Unlike some people (including all of the zoo-haters), I do NOT transfer human emotions and human thinking into the minds of animals. As much as we care about them and want to see them treated right, we must always remember that they ANIMALS, not people. They do not comprehend principles like liberty, freedom, and justice. They don't support or oppose Obamacare or comprehensive immigration reform. They just don't care! What they do care about is being comfortable, being well-fed, being cared for when they're sick, being protected from predators or environmental threats, and having the opportunity to mate when in season. This is why the wacko idea that zoos are "animal prisons" is so wrong. Zoos are (mostly) animal resorts, where they are pampered, just as much as we would be if staying at a beautiful Hawaiian resort. This is also why I reject the question of whether or not we can "justify" keeping animals in captivity. If they are well cared for, of course it is justified!
 
ANyhuis said:
So a simple answer for you, CGSwans, is when Jack Hanna comes out against dolphins, belugas, and/or orcas in captivity, so will I. Until then, I'll remain glad and hopeful that my kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids will have the opportunity to see these magnificent creatures up close.

One more thing that further explains my viewpoint: Unlike some people (including all of the zoo-haters), I do NOT transfer human emotions and human thinking into the minds of animals. As much as we care about them and want to see them treated right, we must always remember that they ANIMALS, not people. They do not comprehend principles like liberty, freedom, and justice.
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Jack Hanna is a Sea World employee, so of course he is going to support them.

People are animals. Does that mean that we should also discount the suffering of people we don't agree with because their political viewpoints don't match ours? Your logic here makes no sense.

If you don't care about what science is learning about the complexities of cetacean behavior and whether this can adequately be cared for in a captive environment, then you don't care about their welfare.

In a related subject, Sea World's stock is plunging and they are now linking it to the orca controversy: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-seaworld-entertainment-low-earnings-20140813-story.html

And to be clear on my own position so I don't get tagged as "anti-zoo", I don't know if cetaceans can adequately be cared for in captivity or not. There doesn't seem to be much controversy over beluga welfare like there is about orcas. Maybe belugas can be kept adequately. Maybe other species too. The gathering evidence suggests that there are many problems with the way that some species like orcas are kept, but that may not apply to all cetacean species.
 
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DavidBrown said:
Jack Hanna is a Sea World employee, so of course he is going to support them.
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No he is not! He is the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. He's been associated with Busch Gardens Tampa in the past, through his TV shows, but never directly with the Sea Worlds. Jack Hanna is not compromised. He would criticize something if he felt it was wrong. To suggest otherwise is to insult the man.

DavidBrown said:
People are animals. Does that mean that we should also discount the suffering of people we don't agree with because their political viewpoints don't match ours? Your logic here makes no sense.
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I have no idea what you are implying about what I said. Yes, people are animals, but what I said is that animals are NOT people, and we should not treat them like they are people. Where in the world do you get that I'd tolerate the suffering of people? YOUR logic makes no sense. Sorry!

DavidBrown said:
If you don't care about what science is learning about the complexities of cetacean behavior and whether this can adequately be cared for in a captive environment, then you don't care about their welfare.
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Now who's being insulting? Again, where do you get the idea that I don't care about science? I just said that I trust experts (like Jack Hanna) who understand that science much better than I do.
 
I'll sort of self-correct myself. I just looked it up and yes, Jack Hanna is on the Board of Directors of the Seaworld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. This just means that he's a part of the parks' conservation efforts -- a noble role. That is NOT the same thing as being a Seaworld employee or even having any financial stake in the success or failure of Seaworld. Here's how one website puts it:
The board of directors is composed mainly of top SeaWorld and Busch Gardens staff members, including ..... and several others. The TV personality Jack Hanna, known best for his television shows and appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, is the only board member who does not have direct ties with the Anheuser-Busch corporation.

SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund: Grants for Animals andWildlife - Funding for Animal and Wildlife Protection - Inside Philanthropy
 
ANyhuis said:
No he is not! He is the Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. He's been associated with Busch Gardens Tampa in the past, through his TV shows, but never directly with the Sea Worlds. Jack Hanna is not compromised. He would criticize something if he felt it was wrong. To suggest otherwise is to insult the man.



I have no idea what you are implying about what I said. Yes, people are animals, but what I said is that animals are NOT people, and we should not treat them like they are people. Where in the world do you get that I'd tolerate the suffering of people? YOUR logic makes no sense. Sorry!



Now who's being insulting? Again, where do you get the idea that I don't care about science? I just said that I trust experts (like Jack Hanna) who understand that science much better than I do.
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Busch Gardens and Sea World are the same company. They make Hanna's show and he is a spokesman for them.

I didn't say that you don't care about people. You obviously do. The point I was making was that your logic suggests that animals aren't humans so we don't need to evaluate their welfare. The whole animal-human comparison is apples to oranges.

Apples to apples is whether captive cetaceans species have a physical and emotional life in captivity that adequately meets their baseline welfare needs as derived from study of wild members of their species.
 
DavidBrown said:
The point I was making was that your logic suggests that animals aren't humans so we don't need to evaluate their welfare. The whole animal-human comparison is apples to oranges.
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To be fair to Allen, I think the point he was making was most certainly not that we do not need to evaluate the welfare of captive animals, but rather that to suppose that such animals have any concept of 'liberty' is fallacious. I would agree with him on this one (and disagree on some others!).
 
ANyhuis said:
I'll sort of self-correct myself. I just looked it up and yes, Jack Hanna is on the Board of Directors of the Seaworld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. This just means that he's a part of the parks' conservation efforts -- a noble role. That is NOT the same thing as being a Seaworld employee or even having any financial stake in the success or failure of Seaworld. Here's how one website puts it:
The board of directors is composed mainly of top SeaWorld and Busch Gardens staff members, including ..... and several others. The TV personality Jack Hanna, known best for his television shows and appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, is the only board member who does not have direct ties with the Anheuser-Busch corporation.

SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund: Grants for Animals andWildlife - Funding for Animal and Wildlife Protection - Inside Philanthropy
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Annheuser-Busch doesn't own Sea World anymore. They are owned by the Blackstone Group, a private equity firm.

Jack Hanna's show is (was?) produced by the company, so he obviously has some financial ties to them.

I like Jack Hanna and I think that you are probably right that he would not sell his integrity, but there is also no question that he is financially connected to Sea World and his views are thus not neutral, however you look at it.
 
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sooty mangabey said:
To be fair to Allen, I think the point he was making was most certainly not that we do not need to evaluate the welfare of captive animals, but rather that to suppose that such animals have any concept of 'liberty' is fallacious. I would agree with him on this one (and disagree on some others!).
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If that was his point, then fair enough and thanks for the clarification.
 
DavidBrown said:
If that was his point, then fair enough and thanks for the clarification.
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Yes, thank for clarifying, Sooty. For those who care, David Brown and I have exchanged a few private messages and we've thus cleared the air of any ugly talk. We've both agreed that while we may still have some minor disagreements on certain topics, we agree on much more, especially when it comes to defending zoos and aquariums from those who attack them. We both would rather be friends than enemies, and I'll just add that I personally find David to be an admirable person. Similar things could be said about my friendship with SnowLeopard (Scott), the subject of this thread. While we disagree on some things, those disagreements in no way deter us from maintaining a strong friendship!
 
Cheers ANyhuis, I think I understand your position a bit better now.

ANyhuis said:
CGSwans, of course I care about animal welfare! I've been an animal-lover since I was a toddler. But I don't claim to be a biologist, zoologist, or zookeeper. I'm a travel writer. When it comes to what I think about the way that animals are kept in zoos, aquariums, or ocean parks, there a select few "experts" on the subject whose opinion I strongly value. One of those experts (and a personal hero of mine) is Jack Hanna. I generally support almost everything that Jack says. When he criticized the Copenhagen Zoo's unnecessary culling of the baby giraffe Marius, I was with him! But Jack Hanna is still a strong supporter of the Sea Worlds and their orcas. When the movie "Blackfish" came out, Jack was all over the media, strongly and effectively countering the foolish propaganda of that silly movie.
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This is all reasonable, though I do think that Hanna's connection to Sea World renders his independence at least questionable. That's not to say that he should be ignored, only that I want to draw on a wider field of expertise as a hedge against bias.

As I said, I'm agnostic on keeping whales in captivity - I just don't know. In my case, that prompts me to lean against keeping them at present because I'm not satisfied that they are being properly maintained, and I'd prefer to give the benefit of the doubt to the whales rather than the marine parks.

I realise that releasing at least some of the current captive population is going to be impossible, and to release all of them would preclude the possibility of learning more from them anyway. I think an appropriate middle ground is a moratorium on further captures and breeding, at least for the moment. We have, what, about 50 captive orcas across multiple facilities and of a mix of captive and wild-born origins. That's enough to see if we make captive management work.

One more thing that further explains my viewpoint: Unlike some people (including all of the zoo-haters), I do NOT transfer human emotions and human thinking into the minds of animals. As much as we care about them and want to see them treated right, we must always remember that they ANIMALS, not people. They do not comprehend principles like liberty, freedom, and justice. They don't support or oppose Obamacare or comprehensive immigration reform. They just don't care! What they do care about is being comfortable, being well-fed, being cared for when they're sick, being protected from predators or environmental threats, and having the opportunity to mate when in season. This is why the wacko idea that zoos are "animal prisons" is so wrong. Zoos are (mostly) animal resorts, where they are pampered, just as much as we would be if staying at a beautiful Hawaiian resort. This is also why I reject the question of whether or not we can "justify" keeping animals in captivity. If they are well cared for, of course it is justified!
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I agree with all of this. The only qualifier I would add is that a lack of ideology is not the same thing as a lack of cognitive function or capacity for psychological distress. They are neither thinking reeds nor automatons. Anybody who has seen a compulsively pacing bear or a feather-plucking parrot knows that. Given this, their human keepers (and by extension, the paying public) have an obligation to do all they can to ensure that the mental as well as physiological needs of captive animals are met. For most species, the evidence suggests that we know how to do that (whether it actually happens in specific zoos obviously being a different question). If we can't do that, the only ethical thing to do is to not keep the species in question.
 
Day 17 – Tuesday, August 12th

Mini-Reviews:

Tanganyika Wildlife Park – This zoo was a treat to visit as it is packed with mainly mammals and there is scarcely a bird, reptile, amphibian or fish in sight. In fact, other than a couple of tortoises, a white American Alligator, kookaburras and lorikeets I believe that the entire zoo is all mammals and that really appeals to someone like me. It was a great visit for several reasons, as the park was much better than I had anticipated and I think that it is the second best zoo in the state and I’ve seen 10 now in Kansas. Also, for the 4th time on this trip I met up with someone who runs a zoo! The assistant director Matt Fouts is the day-to-day operations manager and while his father Jim is the animal collections go-to guy Matt is in charge of the running of the zoo. He graciously agreed a couple of weeks ago to meet up with me and in the end he spent a full 2 hours and we went around the entire park. I learnt a lot about the facility and all of its animals, I had a couple of Ring-Tailed Lemurs on my lap inside the walk-through yard, and we also saw a variety of monkeys, lemurs, gibbons and hoofstock behind the scenes as Tanganyika has an extensive off-exhibit section that the public never sees. Matt was very candid with me and we discussed all the good, bad and ugly of the ZAA and AZA and he told me about a number of future plans for the park. Much of it I cannot reveal but I will say that next up will be the arrival of 2 male Okapi and the plans in the next few years involve the importation of 15-20 rhinos (white and black) from South Africa. However, nothing is set in stone just yet and some of the other plans could be fantastic for the ever-growing establishment.

After being a breeding center since the mid-1980’s Tanganyika has basically been built from scratch since 2006 and in 8 years around 40 exhibits have been created. Many of the primate enclosures are functional wood-and-wire exhibits but they are great for the animals and actually quite good for visitor viewing as well as there are grassy areas in all directions, lots of climbing opportunities and long overhead access tunnels that the monkeys use extensively to get to their large exhibits. The lemur walk-through is the only one in the country as Omaha’s does not involve any feeding of touching and at Tanganyika the lemurs will literally jump on you if you have a craisin (like a small red raisin) in your hand as I have the photos to prove it! There are a couple of gibbon islands with minimal water barriers and also 7 Javan Langurs from Howletts that are possibly the only ones in North America. This zoo has big numbers of animals as there are more than 20 Ring-Tailed Lemurs in 3 different groups that rotate onto the walk-through island; approximately 15 Reticulated Giraffe in 2 herds that rotate into the exhibit with Cuvier’s Gazelles – which is excellent and arguably the best one in the zoo; and probably 20 Red Kangaroos in the walk-through Aussie zone.

It is a great zoo if you are a lover of cats as including off-show there are around 15 Clouded Leopards and 15 Snow Leopards. Also, Bengal Tiger (white one), Cheetah, Jaguar (off-exhibit), Amur Leopard (off-exhibit), Caracal, Pallas’ Cat, Serval and Eurasian Lynx are at the park. That makes 10 species with 8 being able to be seen by visitors and in the year 2013 there was a grand total of 26 cats born at the zoo. In 2014 a black Amur Leopard was born, possibly one of only 3 such cats in existence. (Maybe if “Arizona Docent” is reading this he can confirm that information about the black Amur Leopard). The first animals that I saw in the zoo were a baby Clouded Leopard, 3 baby Snow Leopards, a baby Ratel and 2 baby Amur Leopards (including the ultra-rare black one). Elsewhere are 2 albino African Crested Porcupines, perhaps the only ones anywhere in captivity; a white American Alligator; a couple of Fossas; a Ratel named Diablo who climbed to a height of 6 feet when Matt was petting his claws from outside the cage; and rare hoofstock such as Springbok, Southern Black Rhino (this subspecies is now hardly ever seen in U.S. zoos), Indian Rhino and Pygmy Hippo. I even spotted a couple of Lowland Anoa when I was behind-the-scenes.

Finally, another highlight was meeting Drew from WDM Architects and he was child-hood friends with Matt and it was thanks to Drew that we all met for the morning. After Matt showed us around his zoo for 2 hours Drew was kind enough to buy me lunch and we sat and chatted for another hour before I hit the road and he headed back to his job as a zoo designer. Drew and I actually have a lot in common in terms of our views towards specific species in captivity, zoos in general as well as topics outside of the world of zoological delights. It was overall a great morning and meeting Matt and Drew confirmed once again that whenever I meet directors or zoo nerds from ZooChat, and there have been quite a few over the years, then 95% of the time they are all wonderful, like-minded people. Tanganyika’s exhibits range almost entirely from average to good in terms of quality but there were a few stinkers: the Eurasian Lynx cage, Caracal cage (although they are educational animals at times led around on leashes), the white American Alligator exhibit was too small and the African Black-Footed Penguin pool was the weakest exhibit in the zoo. I’m always honest with zoo directors and most of the time they are receptive to critical opinion and already realize the pros and cons of their zoo and Matt was no different. However, having 4 poor exhibits out of 40 is a decent batting average no matter how you slice it.

Hutchinson Zoo – This very small zoo can be seen in about 45 minutes and it only showcases wildlife native to the state of Kansas (other than the occasional Cotton-Top Tamarin!). The zoo opened in the 1980’s, has around 200 animals and is only 9 acres in size. It is in the middle of nowhere but the Wildlife Habitats building, which is essentially a Reptile House, does contain 44 species. Hutchinson Zoo offers its local community 9 acres of captive native wildlife but none of the exhibits are of a reasonably high quality and there is nothing essential to greet either a casual zoo fan or a hardcore zoo enthusiast. It is simply one more in a long list of small, community-driven zoos that eke out an existence in the United States.

Great Bend Zoo – This zoo is in a shambles right now as I counted at least 8 errors on the zoo map and while that was extremely frustrating at the beginning of my tour after a while it became exciting. What, no binturongs here today but instead cougars…oh my! There are at least 3 closed-down exhibits, a “Reptile House” with only 4 terrariums and an “Aquarium” that is like a second-rate pet shop. There has been a relatively high amount of construction in the past couple of years. That has not necessarily signified progress and it is difficult to see the zoo gaining a lot of annual attendance as it is in the middle of nowhere and the only bonus is that a small waterpark is adjacent to the property. Some families spend the morning at the park and then drop by the free zoo afterwards but with 55,000 annual visitors I wonder how the bills are paid. It is a free zoo that has been around since the 1950’s and yet the nicely manicured lawns and leafy trees offer up a lot of potential. Surprisingly there are some well-known mammals at this tiny, middle-of-nowhere zoo.

Mammal Species List: Bengal Tiger (a white one), African Lion, African Leopard, Cougar, Serval, Bobcat, Grizzly Bear, American Black Bear, Grey Wolf, Arctic Fox, African Crested Porcupine, Agouti, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Vervet Monkey and Geoffrey’s Spider Monkey.

Lee Richardson Zoo – For the 2nd time on this trip it was a bit of a rush around a zoo, as I mentioned earlier that I would have liked an extra half-hour at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. I am consistently honest and forthright with my reviews and I had a full hour here but it was very tight as the zoo closed at 7:00 and I had to rush to fit most of it in after yet another very long day of zoo tours. However, I’m going to hit a final tally of 65 zoos on this trip and I’ve only been tight on time for 2 of them. Lee Richardson Zoo has been around since 1927 and it has 300 animals on 47 acres. Its African Elephant yard is going to be expanded and a third elephant obtained but my personal opinion is that the zoo should get rid of its elephants and focus on other species. Why spend millions on a single elephant when you could replace a quarter of the zoo at the same price?

Cat Canyon (Bobcat, Cougar and 2 black Jaguars – my daily panther fix) just opened in 2013 and is probably the best thing in the zoo although Wild Asia has its moments. I saw the Addax getting put in for the night and then I raced ahead, snapping photos all the time, to ensure that I saw all the other hoofstock, big cats, otters, foxes, bears and other creatures as at 6:15 some animals were getting put away. In the end I missed the Siamang and Snow Leopard exhibits, the pheasant aviary and small nocturnal house but still photographed and saw over 90% of the zoo. An extra half-hour would have been perfect but I have no regrets as it enabled me to add a solid zoo to the next day!

Rarities include: Sichuan Takin (although not really a rarity any longer as I’ve seen them everywhere on this trip), Gaur, Chinese Goral, Ellipsen Waterbuck, Baird’s Tapir, Sloth Bear, Amur Leopard and Maned Wolf.

Missouri Zoo Rankings:

1- Saint Louis Zoo - a serious contender for the best zoo in the country
2- Kansas City Zoo - huge, sprawling top 20 zoo
3- Wild Bird Sanctuary – 40 bird species and one hour
4- World Aquarium – bizarre to the extreme
5- Endangered Wolf Center – very good but only 5 canid species
6- Grant’s Farm – 2 hours to see it all thanks to tram rides but not much there
7- Butterfly House – some might like this but it is honestly not my thing

Kansas Zoo Rankings:

1- Sedgwick County Zoo – very complete, top 10 zoo
2- Tanganyika Wildlife Park – rarities galore and a focus on mammals
3- Topeka Zoo – the best of the rest
4- Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure – functional enclosures but great attached museum
5- Lee Richardson Zoo – mega-fauna in hit-and-miss exhibits
6- Sunset Zoo – small, hilly, yet slowly growing
7- Hutchinson Zoo – only native Kansas species and a small zoo
8- Great Bend Zoo – a bit of a shambles right now
9- Kansas Fishes Aquarium – a single large tank in a shopping mall
10- Clay Center Zoo – an abomination that should be bulldozed
 
snowleopard said:
. . . whenever I meet directors or zoo nerds from ZooChat, and there have been quite a few over the years, then 95% of the time they are all wonderful, like-minded people.
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I agree, and it was a pleasure sitting for a while and discussing many different topics and getting to know you a little better. Best of luck on the rest of your trip (although you are nearly done I think), and have a safe trip home.
 
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