Woodland Park Zoo Review - 5 hours
Of course this review isn't technically part of my road trip as I've been home for almost a month now, but I spent the day at my "local" zoo and so thought that this would be a nice way to round the entire number up to an even 30 animal collections. The drive from southwestern Canada (I live 10 minutes from the Canada-U.S.A. border) down to Seattle is between 2 and 2.5 hours depending on how long it takes to get through the border lineup. Today I spent about 4.5 hours driving to and from the zoo, and it is something that my wife and I do on average two or three times a year.
I placed Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo in the #5 slot in my list of North America's top ten zoos, with a disclaimer that there were a handful of big-name collections that I hadn't been to, along with the fact that I might have shown bias toward Seattle simply because the zoo is so well known to me. In actuality my visit was on a gorgeous sunny day, and today I think that the zoo looked as good as it ever has. I have more than 300 photos to upload to ZooBeat during the next couple of weeks, and there is no doubt that this zoo is one of the premier collections on the continent. There isn't the vast list of animals that some other zoos have, nor are there areas that take hours to see...but in terms of exhibitry Woodland Park Zoo is at the very least in the top 5 zoos on the continent. Many people already sent me their private lists with this zoo in the top 5 or top 10, and for those that find that information dubious then simply check out my photos that I will upload in the next week. Exhibit after exhibit is award-worthy, and for what it's worth only the Bronx Zoo has won more exhibit awards than Woodland Park. I do realize that not all zoos actually bid for the yearly AZA awards, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the winners each year still have highly impressive new habitats added to the grounds of their zoo.
The Best:
Northern Trail - the grizzly bear habitat might be the best on the continent, seeing the grey wolves marking their territory in front of a small herd of elk (exhibit immersion at its best) is fabulous, and the bald eagle, rocky mountain goat and river otter enclosures are all brilliant. The arctic fox and snowy owl mesh cages could definitely be bigger, but this award-winning section of the zoo is top-notch.
Tropical Asia: Trail of Vines - the zoo is divided neatly into geographic zones, and this is another award-winning section. The orangutan exhibit is amongst the best of its kind, and seeing the zoo in summer it is staggering how overgrown the enclosure was. I'll upload some photos where it's difficult to make out the red hair of the great apes amongst the 3 foot grass and tangle of bushes. The siamangs have a gorgeous island exhibit that allows for close viewing, and the photos here are fantastic. The area looks exactly like a forest, with massive trees far above the heads of visitors. The siamangs climb high up into the stratosphere, and they were hootin' and hollerin' for everyone to come and watch. The malayan tapirs have side-by-side spacious yards, and the lion-tailed macaque exhibit is perhaps the 2nd best in existence (outside of San Diego) simply because it is an impenetrable tangle of bushes, trees, vines and branches. I didn't see any macaques today simply due to the fact that their exhibit is like a densely packed Asian jungle. Some folks would get upset that it is tough to find the animals, but my response is to urge them to simply come back another time.
Tropical Asia: Elephant Forest - this was an award-winning exhibit in 1989 and still holds up remarkably well. The trio of elephants is dysfunctional (1 African, 1 Asian with behavioural problems and 1 Asian that is relatively normal) but the 1.5 acres winds through dense undergrowth and contains a deep pool. I still feel as if a pair of indian rhinos might be the better choice here due to all the mega-acre elephant exhibits opening up and controversy of housing elephants, but Seattle seems intent on situating an indian rhino habitat next to the elephants in a couple of years. If hypothetically the elephants were phased out then would the zoo actually lose a single visitor? I bet that lots of visitors would ask about elephants, but the annual attendance would not alter at all.
Tropical Rain Forest - yet another award-winning set of habitats, and the gorilla exhibits (two adjacent to each other) are often claimed to be the first naturalistic gorilla habitats in the history of zoos. They hold up well, even with 30 years of great apes rampaging through them. The colobus monkey exhibit is excellent, but not the best for viewing opportunities. The red ruffed lemur and red-flanked duiker island exhibits are shaggy and overgrown, which makes it tough to see the animals but at the same time there is the appearance that one is gazing into a wild jungle. The Jaguar Cove is another award-winning exhibit, and it is a brilliant mini-jungle with a huge pool that allows for underwater viewing. I've never actually seen a jaguar enter the water (except in online videos) but the habitat is definitely eye-catching. The rainforest building has a small yet impressive walk-through aviary, and there are a series of small glassed exhibits all along both walls.
Zoomazium - an award-winning, $10 million building that is basically a huge children's play area. It's mainly inside, with fake trees and mountains for little rugrats to climb on.
African Savanna - an award-winning set of habitats that is close to 30 years old and yet also holds up remarkably well. Often when I visit the giraffes are cramped in their barn and small chain-link yards, as they are kept off the savanna in poor weather. Today the sun was shining and the reticulated giraffes were roaming the huge open field with the grant's gazelles, burchell's zebras, ostrich and fringe-eared oryx. Side yards for hippos, patas monkeys, lions (massive and totally overgrown) and african wild dogs (splendid habitat!) take the viewer around this large section of the zoo.
Day & Night Exhibits - this nocturnal house isn't very large but contains brilliant habitats. Slow loris, dourocouli, springhaas, various species of bats, armadillos, prehensive-tailed porcupines, tamandou, sloths, galagos, etc abound in this extremely dark yet top-notch building. The "day" side contains a lot of reptiles and amphibians (along with golden lion tamarins) in glass exhibits along both walls.
The Average:
Australasia - large field with red-necked wallabies, emus and wallaroos is large yet average, and the kookaburra habitat is also a decent size. There is an impressive snow leopard exhibit near this area, and the zoo has long-term plans for a huge Asian Highlands area that will then relocate the leopards. There is no time frame of when (and if) that will ever happen, but it would leave the central path and join up with the Northern Trail habitats.
Temperate Forest - red panda, japanese serow, a huge walk-through waterfowl aviary, asian cranes, insect house, spider house, family barn, etc are all in this section of the zoo. It's very well done, but many visitors skip it as I sense that it doesn't have the big-name animals like the rest of the zoo. Whenever I visit the zoo this area is half empty, as many visitors see the red pandas at the entrance and then skip the birds and bugs.
Flamingo Lagoon - this just opened in May, and there are around 30 flamingos and 3 pudu in side-by-side exhibits. Very nice, but simply average and not very large at all.
The Worst:
Adaptations Building: the komodo dragon exhibit is excellent, but the fennec fox, clouded leopard, kea, pgymy marmoset and egyptian tortoise enclosures are weak. This building has a line of cages that has had many inhabitants over the years, as it is a part of the zoo where it seems as if excess animals without a home are placed. Every couple of years some elderly animal or new offspring finds a home here.
Grottoes: everyone knows how much I love these 100 year-old enclosures that are found in almost every zoo. There are 3 grottoes here, and they vary in quality. The Sumatran tiger grotto is terrible and should be bulldozed, the sloth bear grotto is not too bad but is basically piles of dead wood, and the sun bear grotto is one of the best and most densely planted grottoes I've ever seen. Of the past 15 times that I've been to the zoo, I'd guess that I've physically seen the sun bears on about 4 occasions. That includes today, as 2 of them were out and there is a 3rd that is rotated on exhibit.
The Future:
I'm excited for 2009, as in May the new Humboldt penguin exhibit will open to the public. The huge wooden structure that is currently being built is the initial frame and looks enormous, and the zoo is spending millions and millions on their penguins. Knowing the zoo's history, this has the makings of yet another award-winning habitat. Also, in December this year work starts on the crowded and convoluted west entry. By December 2009 there will be a brand new entrance, plaza, cafe, gift shop, washrooms, etc that will lead visitors directly to the multi-million dollar penguin exhibit. The entire west entry section of the zoo is getting what amounts to a $12 million overhaul.
Overall:
The Woodland Park Zoo has 3 grottoes and a long "Adaptations" building packed with cages that should really be bulldozed. There are also a couple of small bird aviaries scattered around the zoo that could also be terminated, but in my humble opinion 90% of the zoo is between average to brilliant. Not many zoos can claim that they are in such a fine position in terms of their infrastructure and enclosures, and in the case of the Pittsburgh Zoo I'd say that only 20% of the zoo is between average to brilliant. The Toronto and Brookfield zoos are going to be undergoing massive, multi-million dollar overhauls that will alter at least half of their respective zoos while Seattle is sitting on 30 year-old, award-winning exhibits that they have no intention of renovating simply because the habitats still remain modern and relevant.
Reviewing zoos is of course a subjective experience, and while most of you that have been to Seattle (especially when it's not raining and thus enjoyable) would rate the Woodland Park Zoo as one of the best of its kind. My personal opinion is that it is a slam-dunk to be a top 10 zoo in North America, and I stand by my decision to list it at #5 on my own list. One could point out that a zoo like Brookfield might be more complete overall, with a huge area to cover and more of a representation of animals. But I feel as if Brookfield is half the zoo that Woodland Park is, and strictly examining the quality of exhibits I'd say that only San Diego and the Bronx are in the same league as Seattle's excellent zoo.
P.S. I swear that this is the 30th and final zoo/aquarium review for 2008, and as some of you already know I leave for Trinidad & Tobago on September 26th. I'll still be checking up on ZooBeat daily if possible, but I'll also be super busy teaching high school for close to 3 months. If I do visit the Emperor Valley Zoo in Trinidad, or go on exotic wildlife excursions...then I'll come back at Christmas and post loads of photos!
