Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens Review - 3.5 hours
The Jacksonville Zoo is set on a beautiful tract of land, with gorgeous plants and flowers in all directions. It's not a particularly large zoo, but there is a ton of potential there due to the upcoming Asian section that should be opening in bits and pieces over the next few years. There is already construction on what appears to be an Asian pavilion, and in 2009 a bamboo garden and komodo dragon exhibit both open...and then in the next few years there are proposals for gibbons, tigers, sun bears and more Asian species to be added to the zoo.
The Australian section of the zoo was closed due to renovation of the wallaby exhibit, and the cassowary was in hiding in its small enclosure.
The Best:
Range of the Jaguar - this is the best zoo in North America for South American animals, just shading it past Miami Metrozoo's brand new "Amazon & Beyond". Jacksonville has a superb jaguar exhibit that is photogenic as it contains a lush assortment of plants, a deep pool, crashing waterfalls and countless hiding opportunites for the big cats. One of the habitats isn't very large, but it does have a lot of vertical room for the jaguars. It's the best jaguar exhibit I've ever seen, and this zoo also has more of the big cats than any other zoo in North America.
The aviary full of South American birds is impressive and scenic; the giant otter enclosure is decent and comes with an extremely deep pool; the baird's tapir/black howler monkey/saki monkey/capybara exhibit is not large enough for its inhabitants; and the giant anteater/black howler monkey enclosure is okay for the anteaters but seriously lacks climbing limbs for the primates. The true gem of the South American section, besides the fountain, statues and tiny town atmosphere that is created at the entrance, is the Mayan Temple which holds a surprising number of glass-fronted exhibits. There are all sorts of primates, reptiles, amphibians and insects in nicely designed habitats that are set in a dark hallway with ancient-looking bricks all around the passageways. It would make a cool haunted house at Halloween, and it is a really neat way to showcase some of the fauna from the "new world".
Miami Metrozoo has the better giant anteater, giant river otter and harpy eagle exhibits, but Jacksonville has the better jaguar enclosure, walk-through aviary, and smaller reptile and amphibian tanks. It's a tough call, but these two zoos are the two best I've been to for South American animals.
Plains of East Africa - this section of the zoo has an impressively long boardwalk that takes visitors past a series of spacious, naturalistic habitats. The nile crocodile, cheetah, cape buffalo and warthog enclosures are good but average; the bongo/ground hornbill/impala paddock is outstanding as it is enormous; and the 2.5 acre white rhino/ostrich/antelope habitat is also extremely large for an urban zoo. The reptile house is tiny and average at best, and the elephant paddock is also too ordinary and bare for the world's largest land mammals. The leopard and colobus monkey exhibits are also fairly routine, but overall the African section of the zoo has a large variety of species (including being the only North American zoo to showcase Africa's "big five") and I really enjoyed the boardwalk that curves around many of the enclosures. The 2.5 acre giraffe/kudu exhibit is also a real highlight of the zoo.
Play Park - the kids zoo here is top notch, with a cool river otter exhibit, a fantastic yet small squirrel monkey enclosure, a splash zone park, hedge mazes, a discovery building, and a playground. Built in 2006 and an impressive addition to the zoo.
The Average:
Wild Florida - some of the enclosures in this section of the zoo are pitifully small, and the mountain lions, black bears, bobcat and river otters all have very little room to explore. However, the reptiles and amphibians on display are varied and well exhibited, and enclosures for alligators, bald eagles, whooping cranes, white-tailed deer and red wolves are all adequate. A so-so area of the zoo that should have been more impressive as it showcases the native flora and fauna that surround the zoo.
The Worst:
Great Apes - a diabolical gorilla enclosure is the first thing to greet visitors as they stroll down the path from the end of the zoo. I covered up the exhibit's sign and got my wife to guess what animal resided in the large field. She was choosing any number of antelope or species of deer before I uncovered the gorilla sign. The zookeeper there told us that there are only 3 gorillas at the zoo, and a large male silverback spends 24-7 alone and never is put in with the other 2 gorillas due to conflict. This lone male has a quite large enclosure, but it is flat as a pancake and contains zero climbing opportunities, zero browse, and thus the great ape was leaning against the ugly cement wall and continually pounding his palm against his grey backdrop. Brutal, boring surroundings for such a splendid creature.
The bonobos have an enclosure that has a small climbing platform and then a lot of flat grassland surrounded by a massive grey wall. The second gorilla habitat is much more lushly planted than the first enclosure, but all the trees are hotwired and so once again it's basically a barren field. The lemurs also have an awful enclosure, the siamangs are surrounded by ugly wire, and the one truly impressive habitat is for the mandrills. Those lucky monkeys have loads of hiding places, climbing opportunities and rocky outlooks in the only decent primate exhibit at the zoo.
Overall:
After passing through the excellent African and South American sections of this zoo, and admiring the nicely planted gardens, I was prepared to rate this establishment very high on my list of great collections. However, the primate area is devoid of life and needs to be drastically overhauled, and the Florida section is disappointing due to the lack of space given to many of the animals. I'd have to say that about 60% of the zoo is above average and very impressive, while the other 40% could use some work and refurbishment. It's well worth visiting and better than the majority of the zoos in North America, but not yet a contender for the upper echelon of truly great collections.
This is indeed a bit of an "interactive" experience - great fun!
