The absolute best zoo exhibits in the world that are models for other zoos

Interestingly, l was just reading that a European zoo. I think it was Rotterdam had a display of insects in 1902.
 
Jurek7 said:
Singapore zoo seems to have "absolute best exhibits" for most animals. :)
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Can you tell us what some of the major highlights are for you? Someone posted some video of their giant flying squirrel exhibit which was fantastic (maybe it was you).
 
Arizona Docent said:
I am actually a fan of their sister park Port Lympne, as I have never been to Howlett's. I don't mind (lack of immersion) because the actual exhibits are well foliated and quite natural (especially the grouping at Fishing Cat Corner). The only thing I don't like are the few exhibits that are set way back from the railing and impossible to photograph, namely clouded leopard and black footed cat.

I would like to visit both Howlett's and Port Lympne next time out, if I have the time. As for USA, small cat exhibits of any kind are few and far between. And not many stellar ones, but a few that seem good (some I have seen in person and some photos only) are fishing cat at San Diego and National, clouded leopard at Nashville, bobcat at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and Northwest Trek (plus several others), canada lynx at Northwest Trek, caracal at Living Desert and Oregon, serval at Out Of Africa.
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Sorry for the late reply, missed your post completely and was wondering why you never got back to me. :o
It's interesting to know that the fencing doesn't bother you even though you're a keen photographer, I know it puts some people off. And as far as I can recall the exhibits you mentioned are set back for the cats well-being and for breeding which both Aspinall parks do very well at. :)
 
I haven't seen any mention of Edinburgh Zoo's Budongo Trail for chimpanzees. An exhibit that comes with the Jane Goodall seal of approval! It's also been planted with the chimpanzees in mind, including an interesting primate seed mix developed by the gardens team which provides a mix of edible and toxic plants which the chimpanzees seem to know which plants are safe to eat. Indeed the chimps at Budongo have been seen eating plants which are related to ones that in the wild would be used to "self medicate". A huge range of very natural behaviours have been noted by researchers.
 
Simon McGlary said:
I haven't seen any mention of Edinburgh Zoo's Budongo Trail for chimpanzees. An exhibit that comes with the Jane Goodall seal of approval! It's also been planted with the chimpanzees in mind, including an interesting primate seed mix developed by the gardens team which provides a mix of edible and toxic plants which the chimpanzees seem to know which plants are safe to eat. Indeed the chimps at Budongo have been seen eating plants which are related to ones that in the wild would be used to "self medicate". A huge range of very natural behaviours have been noted by researchers.
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This sounds cool Simon. Over in the Kansas City Zoo photo gallery several of us marveled at some of the photos of their chimpanzee exhibit posted by KCZooFan. Perhaps Kansas City's exhibit is the North American equivalent to Edinburgh.

Where are the best bonobo exhibits in Europe? For that matter where are the best bonobo exhibits period?

The only bonobos that I have seen are the ones at the San Diego Zoo and SD Safari Park. The exhibit at the zoo is great. Watching the social dynamics of these animals is great fun. The exhibit at the SDWAP is unfortunately no longer viewable since they messed up their monorail tour.
 
New question: Where are the great zoo bat exhibits? I'll split this into Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera.

Disney Animal Kingdom has a fantastic flying fox exhibit. Oakland Zoo has the only equivalent on the West Coast. It is very good but not as atmospheric.

The best cave bat exhibits that I have seen are in the Kingdom of the Night complex in Omaha.

I would love to hear other opinions on bat exhibit excellence.
 
The caves in Omaha are great, but the bat collection is outstanding. Short-tailed fruit bats, Greater bulldog bats, Ruwenzori long-haired fruit bats, spear-nosed bats, Egyptian fruit bats, little golden-mantled fruit bats, and giant Indian fruit bats all live down there. There are also Seba's short-tailed bats, common vampire bats, straw-colored fruit bats, and Egyptian fruit bats in different areas of the zoo.

Omaha, Sedgwick County, and Topeka have large Megachiroptera bats free-flying in their rainforests. Species are Egyptian fruit bats, Indian flying foxes, and Ryukyu flying foxes respectivly.
 
I particularly enjoyed the up close, eye-level viewing of the Malayan flying foxes within Singapore's Fragile Forest.

To answer an earlier question - Singapore, in my opinion, has quite a few exhibits that are right up there. Of particular note, exhibits for gharials, pygmy hippos, sun bears, proboscis monkeys, saltwater crocs, Hamaydras baboons, are all fantastic when compared to other exhibits for these species I've seen.

For my money, the free ranging orangutan 'exhibit' at Singapore Zoo is the best exhibit of any kind that I've seen - my definite favorite.

Also, looking back at this thread I'd throw in to the mix Prague's mixed species Savannah exhibit (including 13 giraffes I believe) - it has the feel of a San Diego WAP type safari park but within a traditional zoo setting - not too fancy, but huge space.
 
Terp924 said:
I particularly enjoyed the up close, eye-level viewing of the Malayan flying foxes within Singapore's Fragile Forest.

For my money, the free ranging orangutan 'exhibit' at Singapore Zoo is the best exhibit of any kind that I've seen - my definite favorite.

Also, looking back at this thread I'd throw in to the mix Prague's mixed species Savannah exhibit (including 13 giraffes I believe) - it has the feel of a San Diego WAP type safari park but within a traditional zoo setting - not too fancy, but huge space.
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Thanks for your feedback Terp924. Can you describe the Singapore orang exhibit? Can you watch them climbing through real trees or do they have some kind of climbing set up like the O-Line at your own local National Zoo?

What species does Prague have out on its savanna? Do they have rhinos, giraffes, antelopes, and birds mixed together like at SDWAP? I'll look to see if there are pictures of it in the gallery.

I found this picture by the late Sun Wukong: http://www.zoochat.com/416/prague-zoo-2011-a-225566/
This does look especially impressive for an urban zoo (or is the Prague Zoo out in the country?).
 
The orangs in the free-ranging exhibit are in real trees, blended almost seamlessly into the forest that makes up a couple different areas of the park. One section in particular is right above a footpath, on my visit a curious young male hung above the crowd by his feet reaching down. (I've tried to attach a photo I took in April 2010, hope it works.) Also amazed to see a very young baby orang with mother high up in the trees. The O-line at the National Zoo is certainly a positive but it really doesn't come close. Honestly, in dozens upon dozens of visits I've actually never seen the orangs crossing the thing.

There are a few existing threads regarding the Singapore exhibit, and Zooish has posted a number of photos which show the exhibit very well.

The zoo in Prague is on the outskirts of town but easy to get to via subway/bus from the city center, so I'm not sure whether it's really urban. It is built in an interesting way on a large hillside, there are nice views of downtown Prague from the peak. The savannah encompasses a large plateau area at the top. There is a large barn where the animals are brought in at night, open during the day but empty except for three aardvarks during my visit. Based on my visit this past summer - Rothschild Giraffe, Ostrich, Grevy's Zebra, Lechwe, Eland, Blesbok, Beisa Oryx (also, meerkats and aardvark in smaller exhibits adjacent). No rhinos at the Prague Zoo at this time, they are currently building large elephant and hippo exhibits near the savannah area.
 

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Terp924 said:
The orangs in the free-ranging exhibit are in real trees, blended almost seamlessly into the forest that makes up a couple different areas of the park. One section in particular is right above a footpath, on my visit a curious young male hung above the crowd by his feet reaching down. (I've tried to attach a photo I took in April 2010, hope it works.) Also amazed to see a very young baby orang with mother high up in the trees. The O-line at the National Zoo is certainly a positive but it really doesn't come close. Honestly, in dozens upon dozens of visits I've actually never seen the orangs crossing the thing.
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Thanks for the info Terp924. The orang exhibit at Singapore Zoo does look amazing. I think that the National Zoo experience does attempt a similar experience, but of course it cannot match the real jungle of Singapore. My wife, sister, brother-in-law, 6 year old nephew, and 1 year old niece all spent a couple hours waiting to watch 2 orangs (Bonnie and Kyle) cross the O-Line. When they did it was one of the coolest zoo experiences that I have had, especially with the 6 year old narrating the crossing as we watched it. If you are ever around when the orangs are crossing, would highly recommend it.

I am hearing a lot of good things about the Prague Zoo on this site. It sounds like it is one of the most highly regarded European zoos.

National Geographic did a story on modern zoo exhibits in the early 1990s. Maybe it is time for an updated article?
 
Speaking of Prague, ibex and aoudad exhibits on a huge, natural, vertical cliffside are absolute best.
 
Maguari said:
Here they be:

http://www.zoochat.com/416/west-caucasian-tur-exhibit-prague-24-a-153194/
http://www.zoochat.com/416/tahr-exhibit-prague-24-05-10-a-153184/
http://www.zoochat.com/416/himalayan-tahr-prague-24-05-10-a-153185/
http://www.zoochat.com/416/barbary-sheep-macaque-exhibit-prague-24-a-153197/

:)
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Thanks, Maguari. Stunningly impressive. I believe you're right in saying that these are the best exhibits for their respective species, Jurek7. :) Especially the West Caucasian tur exhibit, probably my favorite of the three! And I realize this may be a stupid question, but were these exhibits build on these rock faces/cliffs, or were the formations made for the exhibits?

(Yeah, I know... "Why would they even try making artificial cliffs?!") Told you it was a dumb question... :o
 
AnaheimZoo said:
Thanks, Maguari. And I realize this may be a stupid question, but were these exhibits build on these rock faces/cliffs, or were the formations made for the exhibits?

(Yeah, I know... "Why would they even try making artificial cliffs?!" :o)
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I don't know this as a certainty (they could be at least manipulated), but after seeing them it has never even crossed my mind that they are anything other than natural cliffs - perhaps with a little tree clearance.
 
Have the macaques ever escaped from the enclosure in Prague? It must work but looking at the picture, it does seem very easy for them to get out...
 
Here are my top 25 zoo exhibits that I've seen:
1.Congo Gorilla Forest- Bronx Zoo
2. Giants of the Savanna/Wilds of Africa- Dallas Zoo
3. Arctic Ring of Life- Detroit Zoo
4. Kiliminjaro Safaris- Animal Kingdom
5. Watani Grasslands- North Carolina Zoo
6. Asia Trail- National Zoo
7. Monkey Trails and Forest Trails- San Diego Zoo
8. Tiger Mountain- Bronx Zoo
9. Polar Frontier- Columbus Zoo
10. Field Exhibits- San Diego Safari Park
11. Range of the Jaguar- Jacksonville Zoo
12. Edge of Africa/ Serengeti Plain- Busch Gardens
13. China- Memphis Zoo
14. Baboon Reserve/African Plains- Bronx Zoo
15. Ituri Forest- San Diego Zoo
16. Museum of Living Art- Fort Worth Zoo
17. American Prairie- North Carolina Zoo
18. Jungle Trail- Cincinnati Zoo
19. Regenstein Center for African Apes- Lincoln Park Zoo
20. Giraffe Overlook- Jacksonville Zoo
21. Asia Quest- Columbus Zoo
22. African Savanna- Nashville Zoo
23. Myombe Reserve- Busch Gardens
24. Wings of Asia- Zoo Miami
25. Lion Camp- San Diego Safari Park
 
GraysonDP said:
Here are my top 25 zoo exhibits that I've seen:
1.Congo Gorilla Forest- Bronx Zoo
2. Giants of the Savanna/Wilds of Africa- Dallas Zoo
3. Arctic Ring of Life- Detroit Zoo
4. Kiliminjaro Safaris- Animal Kingdom
5. Watani Grasslands- North Carolina Zoo
6. Asia Trail- National Zoo
7. Monkey Trails and Forest Trails- San Diego Zoo
8. Tiger Mountain- Bronx Zoo
9. Polar Frontier- Columbus Zoo
10. Field Exhibits- San Diego Safari Park
11. Range of the Jaguar- Jacksonville Zoo
12. Edge of Africa/ Serengeti Plain- Busch Gardens
13. China- Memphis Zoo
14. Baboon Reserve/African Plains- Bronx Zoo
15. Ituri Forest- San Diego Zoo
16. Museum of Living Art- Fort Worth Zoo
17. American Prairie- North Carolina Zoo
18. Jungle Trail- Cincinnati Zoo
19. Regenstein Center for African Apes- Lincoln Park Zoo
20. Giraffe Overlook- Jacksonville Zoo
21. Asia Quest- Columbus Zoo
22. African Savanna- Nashville Zoo
23. Myombe Reserve- Busch Gardens
24. Wings of Asia- Zoo Miami
25. Lion Camp- San Diego Safari Park
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Just a quick note to say that for the most part this is an incredible list of top-notch exhibits. I've visited 24 out of 25, with the only omission being Polar Frontier at Columbus Zoo.
 
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