mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
Yeah, the LA Zoo was very surprised by the great review by the book. The los angeles zoo even sent out an email to all of it's staff and volunteers telling everyone about the great review.
Yeah, the LA Zoo was very surprised by the great review by the book. The los angeles zoo even sent out an email to all of it's staff and volunteers telling everyone about the great review.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
Thanks & LA Zoo
Zoogoer2000: Thanks so much for your kind comments. We're so glad you find our book useful and informative. Please feel free to help us by posting a review on Amazon.com. Also feel free to check out our website (America's Best Zoos - America's Best Zoos) or to ask me any questions.
MStickmanp: The positive review I gave to the LA Zoo was well deserved. When I was there, they had a lot under construction, so I saw tremendous potential. Their newer exhbits (great apes, Children's Zoo) are excellent, and where the exhibits are older -- the animal collection is so amazing, it makes up for it. Koalas, uakaris, mountain tapirs, and so much more!
Zoogoer2000: Thanks so much for your kind comments. We're so glad you find our book useful and informative. Please feel free to help us by posting a review on Amazon.com. Also feel free to check out our website (America's Best Zoos - America's Best Zoos) or to ask me any questions.
MStickmanp: The positive review I gave to the LA Zoo was well deserved. When I was there, they had a lot under construction, so I saw tremendous potential. Their newer exhbits (great apes, Children's Zoo) are excellent, and where the exhibits are older -- the animal collection is so amazing, it makes up for it. Koalas, uakaris, mountain tapirs, and so much more!
Zoogoer2000
Well-Known Member
When you went to Animal Kingdom,did you see the hippos on Pangani?The view is amazing and when we went there were two that were play fighting right near the glass.
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
The big surprise was that everyone that goes to the LA zoo and does a review about it always has negative things to say about the zoo.
Great book by the way!
Zoogoer2000
Well-Known Member
i know eh.There was one person who said the rockwork in Chimps of The Mahale Mountains was ugly,well...isn't that to bad for them,do the chimps care?,noooooooo!Another said there was to much glare on the underwater viewing for Sea Life Cliffs.Again,thats there loss I guess and do the seals really care?,noooooo!I think of the zoo like this,i'd rather have fun than sit there critizizing ever little thing
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
I don't get it, I was there when the Chimp exhibit opened and Jane Goodall was a guest, Jane later called it one of the best chimp exhibits in the US.
The sea life cliffs (used to be Sea Lion Cliffs) was built without considering the animals. At the time of the opening, the zoo had 5 sea lions, 4 which were rescued from the wild, 1 had arthritis (i'm not sure about the spelling) and 2 were blind. It was hard for the disabled sea lions to get out of the exhibit, so they took the sea lions back to their old exhibit, which is not that bad. Now it has 5 Harbor Seals, 1 which is blind but is getting more used to the exhibit than the sea lions did. To help with the glare, the floor of the exhibit was painted with some dark paint and was made to look realistic. The zoo also put two big tarps to block most of the sun to the exhibits.
I guess I should forget about all the bad reviews that the zoo gets, now that I realize that those people were thinking for themselves and not the animals.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
LA Zoo & glare
Zoogoer2000 said: "I think of the zoo like this, i'd rather have fun than sit there critizizing ever little thing". That is EXACTLY my philosophy! While some zoo critics are clearly pessimists, I am eternally an optimist.
As for glare at Sea Life Cliffs, I didn't see any, but then again, I was there late in the day. The worst glare I've ever seen at a zoo exhibit is the penguin exhibit at Knoxville. It is really, really hard to see the penguins! But I didn't (in the book) overly bash the Zoo. I just matter-a-factly wrote, "African penguins are displayed behind a long row of windows, which are sometimes difficult to see through due to glare from the sun." But that does NOT make the Knoxville Zoo bad -- it's just an unfortunate design flaw.
This of course illustrates, I believe, the strength of our book being written by two of us. Jon was assigned to write the chapter for New Orleans' Audubon Zoo, but unfortunately he ended up touring the zoo in the middle of a mile hurricane, making it hard for him to get a clear picture of that zoo. But I had been to that zoo many times in the past, so I was able to "fill in the holes" that Jon's hurricane-experience gave him.
LA's "Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountain" is one of the 2 best chimp exhibits in the nation. The other contender is Kansas City exhibit.
Zoogoer2000 said: "I think of the zoo like this, i'd rather have fun than sit there critizizing ever little thing". That is EXACTLY my philosophy! While some zoo critics are clearly pessimists, I am eternally an optimist.
As for glare at Sea Life Cliffs, I didn't see any, but then again, I was there late in the day. The worst glare I've ever seen at a zoo exhibit is the penguin exhibit at Knoxville. It is really, really hard to see the penguins! But I didn't (in the book) overly bash the Zoo. I just matter-a-factly wrote, "African penguins are displayed behind a long row of windows, which are sometimes difficult to see through due to glare from the sun." But that does NOT make the Knoxville Zoo bad -- it's just an unfortunate design flaw.
This of course illustrates, I believe, the strength of our book being written by two of us. Jon was assigned to write the chapter for New Orleans' Audubon Zoo, but unfortunately he ended up touring the zoo in the middle of a mile hurricane, making it hard for him to get a clear picture of that zoo. But I had been to that zoo many times in the past, so I was able to "fill in the holes" that Jon's hurricane-experience gave him.
LA's "Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountain" is one of the 2 best chimp exhibits in the nation. The other contender is Kansas City exhibit.
I would submit that Detroit, North Carolina, Busch Gardens, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, John Ball, Lincoln Park, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Jacksonville AND Kansas City zoos all have chimp exhibits far superior to LA's. My complaints about the exhibit's bad rockwork may be a matter of personal taste (although if the intent is to educate people about an animal's natural environment by replicating it accurately, then bad rockwork defeats the purpose). But LA's exhibit offers very little in the way of vertical climbing opportunities or other enrichment, and is basically a south-facing concrete bowl with no tree cover that must be broiling in the summer. Not to mention the serial animal escapes and the death of a chimp bitten by a rattlesnake in the exhibit a few years ago!
My complaint with LA is that they have spent literally hundreds of millions of dollars in the past 10 years and do not have one top-notch exhibit to show for it.
My complaint with LA is that they have spent literally hundreds of millions of dollars in the past 10 years and do not have one top-notch exhibit to show for it.
Zoogoer2000
Well-Known Member
But how do you know that the Pachyderm Forest,Rainforests Of The Americas,Golden Monkeys (if they do arrive),or the Reptile House isn't going to be great,you haven't seen them yet and I believe that one person said that they're concerned about Billy because he's alone until next fall.I think he'll survive,anyways....bull elephants live on there own in the wild so i bet he doesn't mind.
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
I agree with reduakari that the LA zoo could have used the money better, but I think the zoo officials did not know how to use it since it's the first time the city of LA has ever given the zoo that amount of money for exhibits, but that still doesn't make it a bad zoo.
I agree the LA zoo is far better today than it was ten years ago. Hopefully the exhibits now being built or planned will be better that than what has been done in the past (I've heard the Golden Monkey exhibit is quite nice--they just need the monkeys!). Unfortunately, many of the decisions about the exhibits were made under an administration that did not have much zoo experience, and the LA City bureaucracy no doubt made things worse. LA is one of the world's most important cities--it should have a great zoo. I hope Pachyderm Forest, Reptile House etc. turn out great--new zoo staff and experience with the last projects will hopefully make it so.
The fact that the sea lions had to be moved out of their new (salt water) exhibit into an old (freshwater) gunite pond is in fact very discouraging. The concept of coming into the zoo and immediately hearing the barks of active sea lions was a great IDEA (certainly better than looking at silent, slug-like harbor seals motionless on the rocks). But as so often is the case, the execution of the idea can really fall short of the mark.....
The fact that the sea lions had to be moved out of their new (salt water) exhibit into an old (freshwater) gunite pond is in fact very discouraging. The concept of coming into the zoo and immediately hearing the barks of active sea lions was a great IDEA (certainly better than looking at silent, slug-like harbor seals motionless on the rocks). But as so often is the case, the execution of the idea can really fall short of the mark.....
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
Actually the Harbor Seals are way more active than all of the old Sea Lions. I think two of the Sea Lions died last year of old age and one was sent out to Sea World or somewhere else, and now the zoo is left with an old male and his dauther.
Having finally got a copy of the book ( It was on back order ) I also must say how much I have enjoyed reading it .
(It sounds like the authors favourite bird must be the cassaworry )
It was interesting to find that San Francisco Zoo was selected as one of the slam dunk zoos -- perhaps it has made good improvements since I was there (?)
I would also be interested which zoos would be considered as the 10 worst zoos
in the US ( although from another source , rather than the authors of this wonderful book ) and then see how they rank in 10 years time .
(It sounds like the authors favourite bird must be the cassaworry )
It was interesting to find that San Francisco Zoo was selected as one of the slam dunk zoos -- perhaps it has made good improvements since I was there (?)
I would also be interested which zoos would be considered as the 10 worst zoos
in the US ( although from another source , rather than the authors of this wonderful book ) and then see how they rank in 10 years time .
The discussion on the Los Angeles Zoo reveals the subjectivity of reviewing zoos. ANyhuis pointed out that the chimpanzee exhibit in L.A. is one of the two best in the entire United States, while reduakari then retorted by pointing out that there are 11 zoos with much better chimp exhibits than Los Angeles. Who to believe? I've never been to the L.A. zoo, and so have no idea if the chimp enclosure is fantastic or simply average. One must visit L.A. to find the truth, as what one individual loves in a zoo won't necessarily translate well to others.
I agree with Nigel, and have already pointed out many times on ZooBeat how brilliant the book "America's Best Zoos" is. It was interesting to me to see the San Francisco Zoo in the top 60 zoos, as I visited it in 2006 and found it rather weak and disappointing. The lemur island and African Savannah were the newest and best exhibits, although there were many terribly old enclosures as well.
I agree with Nigel, and have already pointed out many times on ZooBeat how brilliant the book "America's Best Zoos" is. It was interesting to me to see the San Francisco Zoo in the top 60 zoos, as I visited it in 2006 and found it rather weak and disappointing. The lemur island and African Savannah were the newest and best exhibits, although there were many terribly old enclosures as well.
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
And that is the main reason I like Zoobeat so much, because I like hearing all the different opinions everyone has on all the different zoos.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
USA Today Article about Zoos & Our Book!
Hey! USA Today talked about our book today, in an article written by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (who wrote our Foreword):
10 great places to go wild over zoo animals - USATODAY.com
Hey! USA Today talked about our book today, in an article written by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (who wrote our Foreword):
10 great places to go wild over zoo animals - USATODAY.com
America's Best Zoos
America's Best Zoos is an amazing book. I read it nonstop and I reread things over and over again. However there are two flaws I find with the book. This does not mean I don't like the book in fact I love the book and I encourage anyone who does not have the book to buy because it truly is remarkable. Jon & Allen both did a spectacular job. The only quircks were--
1) I think Jon & Allen should have included Brookfield's Pachyderm House in the don't miss section because it has spacious exhibits for its Black Rhinos and has one of the best Black Rhino breeding records. Not only this but inside the building you can get very close to some of the pachyderms. It is very nice compared to 90% of the other Pachyderm houses around the country.
2) They should have mentioned the breeding group of Black Rhinos on Journey into Africa
Other than that I love the book and I encourage everyone to buy a copy.
America's Best Zoos is an amazing book. I read it nonstop and I reread things over and over again. However there are two flaws I find with the book. This does not mean I don't like the book in fact I love the book and I encourage anyone who does not have the book to buy because it truly is remarkable. Jon & Allen both did a spectacular job. The only quircks were--
1) I think Jon & Allen should have included Brookfield's Pachyderm House in the don't miss section because it has spacious exhibits for its Black Rhinos and has one of the best Black Rhino breeding records. Not only this but inside the building you can get very close to some of the pachyderms. It is very nice compared to 90% of the other Pachyderm houses around the country.
2) They should have mentioned the breeding group of Black Rhinos on Journey into Africa
Other than that I love the book and I encourage everyone to buy a copy.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
In case any of you are interested, my coauthor Jon Wassner and I are doing a 25-minute interview on the internet radio show, Vacation-Station this coming Friday, January 23rd, starting at 9:05am Pacific (12:05pm Eastern). We will be discussing zoos of the American Southwest. You all can listen to us by following the link below:
Vacation Station - Show January 23, 2009
Vacation Station - Show January 23, 2009