Well, I never made an "official" ranking in numbered order, but definitely top ten and probably top five.
Minnesota Zoo The Future Of The Zoo
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
Actually, I rather liked the first one. How do we know there isn't a 'guy' lobby?
In any case -- Our litigation-happy, nanny-state oriented culture tends to drive me up the wall as well. The first time I visited Mexico (Playa del Carmen area), back in 2000, I was actually in awe of two things I saw exhibited by the local population, and one of them was a clear concept of personal responsibility.
The other, in case you're curious, was the strong 'family' orientation. I saw several parents spending a lot of time actively playing with their kids, a sight which is, unfortunately, increasingly rare in the USA.
To return to the actual topic: I love the idea of a walk-through style lemur exhibit! The photo opportunities alone would be amazing, with the possibility for contact being the icing on the cake.
I question, though, whether it would work within US borders in the long term. It'd be only a matter of time before some ***** did something stupid, got nipped, and (probably) decided to sue, rather than trying to figure out what they did which motivated one of the critters to defend themselves.
Happy travels.
For the second consecutive year this extremely impressive zoo has over 1.3 million visitors:
Minnesota Zoo reports near-record attendance - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Minnesota Zoo reports near-record attendance - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
jusko88
Well-Known Member
At the moment most of the future seems a little vague, although the Adventure Park zone (carousel, ropes course, play area) is obviously geared towards a younger crowd and it is a smart move to incorporate that into the establishment. Discovery Bay, the old dolphin pool, could be a future home for sea lions, walruses, a tropical atoll or an Amazon forest. That is quite the range of possibilities! Does anyone have a link to the actual master plan?
Photos: Minnesota Zoo's new master plan
Asian Highlands on pages 6 & 7, looks great. Markhor, Snow Leopard, an expanded Takin exhibit, Red Panda, Musk Deer, Pallas' Cat and Tragopan, round out Asian Highlands.
Asian Highlands on pages 6 & 7, looks great. Markhor, Snow Leopard, an expanded Takin exhibit, Red Panda, Musk Deer, Pallas' Cat and Tragopan, round out Asian Highlands.
Seems exciting. I'm really interested in learning more about the Asian Highlands.
I agree, BZF. The Highlands area looks very promising. I also wonder what some of those other areas on the bottom right of the African area are. Not sure where Africa is going to go or if it will replace an already existing exhibit. They didn't get to do the Kopje in Heart of the Zoo, last time. Since there is no guaranteed funding for any of this, I wonder if some of the new areas won't come to fruition. Time will tell.
A really good snow leopard exhibit here would make it a winter photographer's paradise. Coupled with their already brilliant amur tiger exhibit and decent amur leopard exhibit and brown bear, cat and carnivore photographers like me visiting in the snow of January or February would be in paradise. (Well, except that I hate the cold, but I doubt Minnesota can figure out a way to make it snow when it is hot 
).
).
jackieo
Well-Known Member
They just sent out their master plan for the next 10-15 years. It looks like the Snow Leopard is in the future plans
Minnesota Zoo Master Plan
Minnesota Zoo Master Plan
Looks awesome. Looking forward to go seeing it. Going to be hard pressed not to put it in the top five for zoos. it will certainly be one of if not the greatest "northern" zoo.
This is a really nice master plan. Something for everyone from the casual zoo visitor to the rabid zoo fanatic. It makes sense to build Africa as a seasonal exhibit as there is still plenty indoors to see in the winter. The options for Discovery Bay are intriguing. I like them all but I think the coral attol option fits best with the rest of the exhibit. This is a very fascinating plan indeed.
arcticwolf
Well-Known Member
I love this master plan! There are so many great ideas in here. I'm especially interested in the African and Himalayan exhibits. I also think that they should use the reef idea for discovery bay, because they are already making a south american rainforest exhibit in the tropics trail, and it might not be a good idea to keep walruses and sea lions indoors.
I printed off the Master Plan while I was at work (all 76 pages) as I find it handy to sometimes have a paper copy that can be used as a reference guide in the future. That makes it far more accessible than an online version. Anyway, here are some of my thoughts:
- there have been many improvements over the past decade and there are many ZooChatters that feel confident in stating that Minnesota has one of the dozen best zoos in the nation. The idea of the establishment being a zoo with a focus on northern-based animals both helps and hurts the status of the animal collection, but with a 40% increase in attendance since 2005 it goes to show that if a zoo has the cash to build exciting new exhibits then the public will respond in a big way.
- snow monkey "natural hot spring" in the new exhibit? Sweet!
- Discovery Bay has 4 major options and all are a big improvement on what I toured in 2008
- Northern Trail, which is already outstanding, becoming exclusively Asian cold-weather species makes perfect sense and is a highlight of the Master Plan. Going from Russia's Grizzly Coast and into an Asian Higlands and Asian Trail zone looks brilliant on paper.
- some ZooChatters (single guys with no family) will groan at the sight of Crossroads Park in the plan, but having a family-friendly zone with a money-making carousel, play area, adventure section, etc, makes perfect sense as zoos are for families.
- Africa Trail is one part of the plan that I'm not so keen on. There are lots of proposed warm-weather species that will only be seen seasonally, and locked in barns for months on end in the winter. Why not focus on the hardy, Asian species and leave an African zone off any future proposals? It is not cool to keep large mammals such as giraffes, hippos, rhinos, lions, cheetahs and all of the assorted hoofstock indoors for long periods of time. Also, the cost factor of any African section is immense. I expect that this area would be hugely popular in the summer, but is it worth it for less than half the year?
- the extension of the Tropics Trail to include the Sumatran Longhouse Orangutan Forest & Events Center seems promising, and yet another section of the zoo will focus exclusively on Asian animals. The possible addition of great apes is a smart move, and will be massively popular.
Overall, there is a lot of positive ideas in the Master Plan, and it will be interesting to see how many of them come to fruition over the years. Already the zoo is a top-notch facility, and as long as the establishment continues to receive support from the community then it should solidify itself as one of the great modern American zoos of the 21st century.
- there have been many improvements over the past decade and there are many ZooChatters that feel confident in stating that Minnesota has one of the dozen best zoos in the nation. The idea of the establishment being a zoo with a focus on northern-based animals both helps and hurts the status of the animal collection, but with a 40% increase in attendance since 2005 it goes to show that if a zoo has the cash to build exciting new exhibits then the public will respond in a big way.
- snow monkey "natural hot spring" in the new exhibit? Sweet!
- Discovery Bay has 4 major options and all are a big improvement on what I toured in 2008
- Northern Trail, which is already outstanding, becoming exclusively Asian cold-weather species makes perfect sense and is a highlight of the Master Plan. Going from Russia's Grizzly Coast and into an Asian Higlands and Asian Trail zone looks brilliant on paper.
- some ZooChatters (single guys with no family) will groan at the sight of Crossroads Park in the plan, but having a family-friendly zone with a money-making carousel, play area, adventure section, etc, makes perfect sense as zoos are for families.
- Africa Trail is one part of the plan that I'm not so keen on. There are lots of proposed warm-weather species that will only be seen seasonally, and locked in barns for months on end in the winter. Why not focus on the hardy, Asian species and leave an African zone off any future proposals? It is not cool to keep large mammals such as giraffes, hippos, rhinos, lions, cheetahs and all of the assorted hoofstock indoors for long periods of time. Also, the cost factor of any African section is immense. I expect that this area would be hugely popular in the summer, but is it worth it for less than half the year?
- the extension of the Tropics Trail to include the Sumatran Longhouse Orangutan Forest & Events Center seems promising, and yet another section of the zoo will focus exclusively on Asian animals. The possible addition of great apes is a smart move, and will be massively popular.
Overall, there is a lot of positive ideas in the Master Plan, and it will be interesting to see how many of them come to fruition over the years. Already the zoo is a top-notch facility, and as long as the establishment continues to receive support from the community then it should solidify itself as one of the great modern American zoos of the 21st century.
This looks fantastic. It looks like Minnesota will go up further on the list of great American zoos.
Asia Trail look phenomenal and I agree with jbnsn99 that Minnesota will become the greatest American zoo in terms of Asian animals.
I'm still not sure of my feelings on Africa Trail. During the summer, it will surely be a major hit, with Giraffes, Rhinos, Hippos, Lions, Cheetahs, and more. However, when winter hits, snowleopard brings up an excellent point with the fact that MN winters are cold, and African animals will have to be indoors for about half the year. Is it worth taking the chance? It seems that guest expectations once again win over animals' needs.
The orang exhibit seems like a great idea. Great apes are in my opinion, the most popular animals at a zoo. Thankfully, an outdoor exhibit is included as well, so during the warmer months, they can spend some time in the great outdoors.
Asia Trail look phenomenal and I agree with jbnsn99 that Minnesota will become the greatest American zoo in terms of Asian animals.
I'm still not sure of my feelings on Africa Trail. During the summer, it will surely be a major hit, with Giraffes, Rhinos, Hippos, Lions, Cheetahs, and more. However, when winter hits, snowleopard brings up an excellent point with the fact that MN winters are cold, and African animals will have to be indoors for about half the year. Is it worth taking the chance? It seems that guest expectations once again win over animals' needs.
The orang exhibit seems like a great idea. Great apes are in my opinion, the most popular animals at a zoo. Thankfully, an outdoor exhibit is included as well, so during the warmer months, they can spend some time in the great outdoors.
arcticwolf
Well-Known Member
I think that if the zoo provides large indoor areas for the african animals, they should be ok. Even though the african area can be considered good or bad, the plan still looks great, and I love how they are exhibiting almost all of the major african animals, except for elephants and gorillas for good reason.
If the zoo actually goes through with all of these plans, it will definitely be one of the greatest zoos in North America.
If the zoo actually goes through with all of these plans, it will definitely be one of the greatest zoos in North America.
