I disagree. There are so many other zoos that I would visit before I would even consider Omaha.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Thoughts
- Thread starter tigertiger
- Start date
I disagree. There are so many other zoos that I would visit before I would even consider Omaha.
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
You're usually "spot on", BRhino, but you simply have NOT been to Omaha yet! Go there and see that NO "Top 10 USA Zoos" is valid without San Diego, Bronx, Columbus, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and ..... Omaha. Any other inclusions are subject to differing opinions. But the above are clearly members of any valid, unbiased Top 10 list.
My thoughts on the original post.
-I'm not sure if they map is different now, but I thought it was useful. Of course there was advertising for the parks and so on, and I do wish that they added a demonstration schedule, but now it's foldable to fit in your pocket and I liked it.
-Manatee Coast was my favorite exhibit at the zoo. They may not have a stand out exhibit, but they have many good ones! I wish I could have spent more time at Polar Frontier to get a better feel for it. The polar bears have a beautiful naturalistic exhibit, but the sightlines trick visitors as to how far back it goes. It didn't look like a lot of land to me, but looking at the map it does go back a bit. I wasn't that impressed with the underwater viewing area, but they did have a nice lodge area with a gift shop, polar bear facts, and interactive, educational section for children. Even a bubble going into the Arctic Fox exhibit. The Brown Bears also had a very nice exhibit.
-I loved the bird aviaries and I wish I spent more time trying to find the birds.
-I wasn't that impressed with the elephant exhibit. I won't dispute that their barn is huge. And they do have nice outside area, but it looked barren and I thought it was an awkward design how their yard met up with the walking trail. I might have liked it more if I saw more of the elephants out there being active. I wasn't a big fan of the electric wiring going all around it as it was hard to take photos.
-I also loved the koalas! And I was so lucky to see them active and eating. The male koala was sleeping when I went to Cleveland Zoo. I also loved the tree kangaroo in the nocturnal house!
-I'm not sure if they map is different now, but I thought it was useful. Of course there was advertising for the parks and so on, and I do wish that they added a demonstration schedule, but now it's foldable to fit in your pocket and I liked it.
-Manatee Coast was my favorite exhibit at the zoo. They may not have a stand out exhibit, but they have many good ones! I wish I could have spent more time at Polar Frontier to get a better feel for it. The polar bears have a beautiful naturalistic exhibit, but the sightlines trick visitors as to how far back it goes. It didn't look like a lot of land to me, but looking at the map it does go back a bit. I wasn't that impressed with the underwater viewing area, but they did have a nice lodge area with a gift shop, polar bear facts, and interactive, educational section for children. Even a bubble going into the Arctic Fox exhibit. The Brown Bears also had a very nice exhibit.
-I loved the bird aviaries and I wish I spent more time trying to find the birds.
-I wasn't that impressed with the elephant exhibit. I won't dispute that their barn is huge. And they do have nice outside area, but it looked barren and I thought it was an awkward design how their yard met up with the walking trail. I might have liked it more if I saw more of the elephants out there being active. I wasn't a big fan of the electric wiring going all around it as it was hard to take photos.
-I also loved the koalas! And I was so lucky to see them active and eating. The male koala was sleeping when I went to Cleveland Zoo. I also loved the tree kangaroo in the nocturnal house!
team tapir
Well-Known Member
We were at the Columbus Zoo yesterday,it was our second time visiting the Polar Frontier the zoo's new polar bear exhibit.On our first visit the bears twin sisters Anna and Aurora were new to there exhibit and not very active,this time however they were going crazy on both land and water.One of the most interesting features of the enclosure is the the pool is stocked with live trout which provides the bears both enrichment and a tasty snack.We spent over an hour at the exhibit and we wanna recommend anyone who hasn't been to it yet check it out.It's not going to top Detroit but he going to move into the number two slot for polar bear exhibits.
Team Tapir
Team Tapir
What a perfect time to go to the zoo! I went to Buffalo Zoo today and was in bliss how it was so dead. Kids back in school!! Whenever I return to the Columbus Zoo, I'll have to spend more time at this exhibit. It was our last exhibit and we were tired out and there was a huge crowd blocking the view. They were active, but both feeding on bones so I only got to see them in one spot. I'd love to see them active on the land as well. So I'll enjoy the exhibit through photos for now.
I would agree that the entire Columbus Zoo is mostly just average. It has a good collection of animals but the whole layout reminds me of sea world instead of a zoo. Many of the aviaries are quite small and there are lots of theming that appear to be fake like the concrete bricks of the Islands section. The Asia area, African Forest, and Islands were just average sections with decent exhibits. There are some very good exhibits though. The bonobo exhibit is definitely amazing and probably the best I've seen. Another exhibit that was really good was the polar bear exhibit and the left portion of the brown bear's exhibit. I enjoyed the experience of watching the bears eat overhead while in the underwater viewing of polar bears, it's kind of shocking to be standing under the largest land predator on earth.