mweb08
Well-Known Member
I visited the Virginia Zoo for the first time yesterday. The zoo is located in Norfolk, VA and is open from 10-5. Admission is $11.
Here's a blurb from their website:
After a drive of a little over three and a half hours, I arrived at the Virginia Zoo at 10:40 yesterday morning. I parked for free and then approached the zoo and its attractive entrance that features a long 3 story plantation style building that is led to by a nice walkway that includes a scenic statue featuring lots of butterflies that form an elephant.
After walking in you stand on part of a very large compass made out of the brick pathway that has a black globe in the middle surrounded by individual small geyser style fountains that kids enjoyed playing with on this relatively warm day.
From here you can go right to the N. America/reptile/nocturnal/children's farm area or left to the new Trail of the Tiger exhibit, which can be seen from the entrance area. I chose left.
Trail of the Tiger:
From the website:
From the entrance the first thing you come upon is the siamang exhibit, but I made the short walk over to the official exhibit entrance to start off. The entrance includes a fountain with cool tiger statue on it, a tall pagoda, and the entrance sign. I then made the short walk up to the first viewing window into the Malayan tiger exhibit and the first window into the orangutan exhibit, which are right next to each other. The orangutan window is quite large while the tiger one is maybe 6 feet wide. Both exhibits have at least 3 official viewing sections, including ones that that the visitor encounters after viewing other animals. These exhibits have tall mock beige colored rock walls surrounding much of them and serving as a sort of center for the exhibit as a whole. I will conclude my thoughts on the exhibit with reviews of these two featured animal exhibits. One note is that the orangutans were not outside today as some work was being done on a couple of their climbing structures, which may have been damaged by Hurricane Irene.
The siamang is in between the orangutan exhibit and the zoo entrance and can be seen from the attractive boardwalk that goes through much of the exhibit. The exhibit itself is a simple long and slender moated island with wooden poles with attached ropes for climbing. There are also platforms, canvas sheets setup for shade, small trees, and a short grass covered ground. The exhibit can be clearly seen for almost the entire length of the exhibit and at the top of it, where a 20 or so foot waterfall from mock rock cliff that attaches to the orangutan exhibit (the walkway passes under the connection). There were two siamangs out.
Next is the very large binturong exhibit. This exhibit can be seen from above on the boardwalk and is sloped to rise as further away from the path. It features multiple trees standing and fallen of various sizes. This is by far the best space I have seen for this species, which they had 2 of. Unfortunately, like much of the non-mock rock and glass barriers of Trail of the Tiger, the exhibit is surrounded by a tall black chain link fence. The viewing is not obstructed by this since the boardwalk rises above the height of the fence in the sloped down part of the exhibit, but the backdrop is obviously affected.
After this the path takes you behind the orangutan exhibit(no views of it) where you walk past a series of attached and rather basic birds of paradise exhibits on the left and then the indoor siamang and orangutan exhibits on the right inside the mock rock structure. Both exhibits have the mock rock as the base and walls, have barren small tree structures, ropes, and glass covered views into the outdoor orangutan exhibit. These seem pretty average for indoor holding areas.
Then along the rock wall is a cave that has in the middle a large stalactite going into a large rock. There is a decent sized glass viewing on both sides of the cave for the orangutans and the tigers.
After walking out of the cave you walk away from the large mock rock structure on the boardwalk through a pagoda to the red panda/demoiselle crane exhibit that you look down upon. There was only 1 of each species out. Both sides of the board walk are part of the exhibit and have a couple large trees on each side that the red panda has access to. One branch that the red panda can use on the largest tree even goes directly above and across the boardwalk at only about 9 feet high. There are also multiple small trees, some fallen trees, some tall grass and plants, and wooden shelter for the red panda that is propped up by wooden logs/ladders. This is also a huge exhibit for the species. Like the binturong exhibit, its main issue is the black chain link fence that surrounds it. Otherwise a great exhibit.
Next on the boardwalk is a very long and narrow chain-link rhinoceros hornbill exhibit that is maybe 20 feet high. There are trees on each side with space to fly in between, which I did witness one of the 2 birds do.
After this you go through another pagoda and then down to ground level as you pass the end of the Malayan tapir exhibit. I then went across the path to the Asiatic black bear exhibit, which is partially enclosed by mock rock-work that has a waterfall into a stream that runs into a pool. The rest of the exterior besides the viewing areas are more of the chain linked fence. The exhibit has 3 viewing sections, 2 harp wire, and one glass. It's a well planted exhibit that is of decent size and features 2 bears.
Across from the bear exhibit is an extremely spacious tapir exhibit that has a nice pool in the front of the middle part, where viewing is unrestricted. Otherwise, the black chain link fence surrounds the rest of it. There are plenty of protected trees in the exhibit.
The final exhibit before reaching the last tiger viewing section and the end of Trail of the Tiger is a mixed species exhibit featuring Asian small-clawed otters(at least 4) and white-cheeked gibbons(2). No chain link fence here as the backdrop is mock rock with a waterfall, the top is netting, and the 3 viewing windows are glass, the middle one being very large and featuring underwater viewing. There is a metal pole that extends to the top of the exhibit to serve as a base for the netting. Surrounding that are wooden poles and platforms that have ropes attached to them. There are also some trees in the exhibit. There is a stream stemming from the waterfall that leads into a very large pool for the otters. I wish the underwater viewing was higher though as it's only about 3 feet high. The pool itself is a little deeper. This is a good sized exhibit and pretty attractive, but it does have a couple of toys that hurt its aesthetics. One of which being a kids playground item that has a small slide into the pool.
Lastly you visit a large window in the side of the tiger exhibit that includes underwater viewing on both sides of the large windows that intersect at a 90 degree angle.
Overall the tiger exhibit is a good size, is lush with grass and plants, has multiple fallen trees and large rocks, and has a waterfall that leads to steam and then the large pool with underwater viewing. However, there are no standing trees and the chain-link fence surrounds the parts where the rock-work do not. The three viewing windows are quite nice. You can also view into the exhibit through the fence from paths not part of the Trail of the Tiger. I would have liked open viewing as well though. Overall a very good tiger exhibit, but it could have been a lot better.
The orangutan exhibit is large, covered in grass, has both open and glass viewing, has a stream, and has a lot of climbing opportunities via wooden structures and ropes. No trees though and not a great deal of plants. No chain-link fencing though. One of the windows is very large and I very much like the open viewing. I didn't get to see the apes use the climbing structures, but I'm sure it would be great to witness that. This is one of the best orangutan exhibits out there I think.
Overall, I liked Trail of the Tiger a lot. A lot of great species are included here and all of have at least good exhibits other than the birds of paradise. The red panda and binturong exhibits are both excellent other than the fencing. Pretty much all of the other exhibits are very good as well. The size of some of the exhibits is tremendous, especially for the aforementioned two species and the tapirs. The overall theme is nicely executed as well. The signing is also well done. There are lots to nitpick here though as the chain-link fencing is a problem, the toys in the otter/gibbon exhibit are unattractive, there is some glare issues with some of the glass viewing areas, and it would be nice if the exhibit complex was more enclosed by surrounding trees rather than it being so open to the entrance area. Also a big problem for some on here is that there are usually cross views to people when you’re at the viewing areas. I do like how you keep coming back to the orangutans and tigers as you go through the exhibit complex. But then again, that's the main reason for the cross views.
Okavango Delta:
I will be briefer here. This is the other main exhibit complex here and is very nicely put together. At the nice looking village area you can view the Southern White Rhino/Grant’s Zebra exhibit (one of each), which is moated. In the background though, you can see the giraffe/ostrich/Thompson’s gazelle(2, 2, 1 that I saw) exhibit and the lion exhibit (one could be seen on top of a large rock). The exhibit has a loop trail and I went past the decent aldabra exhibit to a nice somewhat secluded by plant life pathway that goes uphill and took me to average meerkat and blue-bellied roller exhibits. Then there was a solid glass fronted white-throated monitor exhibit built into rockwork, which now borders both sides of the path. Then on the right are decent exhibits for fennec foxes, weavers, and pancake tortoises. Then on the left is open viewing above the lion exhibit, but eye level with the large mock-rock structure the male lion was lying on. This exhibit is surrounded by rock-work(where I was) and a water filled moat that created the boundary between them and the rhino and elephant exhibits. This is a nice, fairly large grass covered exhibit featuring a multiple small trees and two large rock structures that allows them to see over the surrounding exhibits, and allows visitors to see them doing so. There is 3 open viewing spots and one harp wire viewing area.
The last open viewing area is on a bridge over the water that goes from the lion exhibit to the elephant one and provides the pachyderms with a pool. This is the first of many open viewing areas of the elephants, which end from above as people walk through the poor elephant/giraffe barn to continue on the loop. The elephant exhibit is a respectable size and looks decent. Nothing special and there are only 2 elephants. Before going into the barn, you get to look at the giraffe/gazelle/ostrich exhibit. You see it again after exiting the barn and walking on the boardwalk. It is a nice, spacious exhibit surrounded by a low fence and the water moat that connects to the rhino/zebra exhibit. Trees only surround the exhibit though as there are none in it. Bongo(at least 6) and African Crowned crane occupy the large exhibit on the other side of the boardwalk that doesn’t have any grass, but does have a lot of trees.
After getting back to ground level and walking along the nice trail, you come upon the water moated mandrill exhibit. This is a pretty good exhibit with a rock backdrop as it is spacious, has some fallen and standing trees, and a decent amount of plants. The trees are not good for climbing though and I wish they had better climbing opportunities.
Lastly on the right is an average red river hog exhibit. Views of the giraffe exhibit are on the opposite side of the path as well, although it heavily planted at times. Then you’re back in the African village and can view the rhino/zebra exhibit, which is spacious and quite nice. It also has a water moat surrounding it to separate it from the visitors and the giraffe and lion exhibits. Only one of each species though, at least when I was there.
Overall, this is a very cohesive exhibit complex and has a well executed theme. Most of the exhibits are spacious and look attractive. I really like how the lion exhibit is integrated into the elephant, rhino, and giraffe exhibits to the point where there is just water separating them and you can look at the lions and those other animals in the same view. The village and the signing are both positives. Problems include a low number of animals in most exhibits, a lack of certain species, cross views of people at times, and a few other issues that I mentioned. Despite those issues, this is a very nice African section.
I’m not going to talk about the rest of the zoo much, but I will post pictures later today. There is a small N. American section with bison and prairie dogs being the main animals. The latter having the pop up bubbles for kids to look through. There is an average reptile section and nocturnal section in the same building. And there is a couple of small monkey exhibits attached to the building as well with goeldi’s monkeys and squirrel monkeys. There is also a nice garden area that randomly has a kangaroo/emu/royal palm turkey exhibit that is spacious but surrounded by wire fencing. Lastly, there is a children’s zoo farm area that is pretty standard. There is also a zoo train geared for kids.
This zoo does not have a big species list, but it does at least have some of the more popular animals (elephants, lions, tigers, orangutans, gibbons, bears, red pandas, rhinos, giraffe, zebra, and mandrills). For what they do have, they generally do a very good job with as Trail of the Tiger and the Okavango Delta exhibits are both quite nice. I would compare this zoo to the Maryland Zoo as one that only has a few primary sections and is lacking in overall collection, but does nicely with what is has. I think this zoo is slightly better than the Maryland Zoo and can really become quite good with one more major addition. And they do have the space in case you were wondering.
I left the zoo at about 2, so I spent about 3 hours and 15 minutes there, and that includes going through both Trail of the Tiger and Okavango Delta twice.
Pics to come.
Here's a blurb from their website:
After a drive of a little over three and a half hours, I arrived at the Virginia Zoo at 10:40 yesterday morning. I parked for free and then approached the zoo and its attractive entrance that features a long 3 story plantation style building that is led to by a nice walkway that includes a scenic statue featuring lots of butterflies that form an elephant.
After walking in you stand on part of a very large compass made out of the brick pathway that has a black globe in the middle surrounded by individual small geyser style fountains that kids enjoyed playing with on this relatively warm day.
From here you can go right to the N. America/reptile/nocturnal/children's farm area or left to the new Trail of the Tiger exhibit, which can be seen from the entrance area. I chose left.
Trail of the Tiger:
From the website:
From the entrance the first thing you come upon is the siamang exhibit, but I made the short walk over to the official exhibit entrance to start off. The entrance includes a fountain with cool tiger statue on it, a tall pagoda, and the entrance sign. I then made the short walk up to the first viewing window into the Malayan tiger exhibit and the first window into the orangutan exhibit, which are right next to each other. The orangutan window is quite large while the tiger one is maybe 6 feet wide. Both exhibits have at least 3 official viewing sections, including ones that that the visitor encounters after viewing other animals. These exhibits have tall mock beige colored rock walls surrounding much of them and serving as a sort of center for the exhibit as a whole. I will conclude my thoughts on the exhibit with reviews of these two featured animal exhibits. One note is that the orangutans were not outside today as some work was being done on a couple of their climbing structures, which may have been damaged by Hurricane Irene.
The siamang is in between the orangutan exhibit and the zoo entrance and can be seen from the attractive boardwalk that goes through much of the exhibit. The exhibit itself is a simple long and slender moated island with wooden poles with attached ropes for climbing. There are also platforms, canvas sheets setup for shade, small trees, and a short grass covered ground. The exhibit can be clearly seen for almost the entire length of the exhibit and at the top of it, where a 20 or so foot waterfall from mock rock cliff that attaches to the orangutan exhibit (the walkway passes under the connection). There were two siamangs out.
Next is the very large binturong exhibit. This exhibit can be seen from above on the boardwalk and is sloped to rise as further away from the path. It features multiple trees standing and fallen of various sizes. This is by far the best space I have seen for this species, which they had 2 of. Unfortunately, like much of the non-mock rock and glass barriers of Trail of the Tiger, the exhibit is surrounded by a tall black chain link fence. The viewing is not obstructed by this since the boardwalk rises above the height of the fence in the sloped down part of the exhibit, but the backdrop is obviously affected.
After this the path takes you behind the orangutan exhibit(no views of it) where you walk past a series of attached and rather basic birds of paradise exhibits on the left and then the indoor siamang and orangutan exhibits on the right inside the mock rock structure. Both exhibits have the mock rock as the base and walls, have barren small tree structures, ropes, and glass covered views into the outdoor orangutan exhibit. These seem pretty average for indoor holding areas.
Then along the rock wall is a cave that has in the middle a large stalactite going into a large rock. There is a decent sized glass viewing on both sides of the cave for the orangutans and the tigers.
After walking out of the cave you walk away from the large mock rock structure on the boardwalk through a pagoda to the red panda/demoiselle crane exhibit that you look down upon. There was only 1 of each species out. Both sides of the board walk are part of the exhibit and have a couple large trees on each side that the red panda has access to. One branch that the red panda can use on the largest tree even goes directly above and across the boardwalk at only about 9 feet high. There are also multiple small trees, some fallen trees, some tall grass and plants, and wooden shelter for the red panda that is propped up by wooden logs/ladders. This is also a huge exhibit for the species. Like the binturong exhibit, its main issue is the black chain link fence that surrounds it. Otherwise a great exhibit.
Next on the boardwalk is a very long and narrow chain-link rhinoceros hornbill exhibit that is maybe 20 feet high. There are trees on each side with space to fly in between, which I did witness one of the 2 birds do.
After this you go through another pagoda and then down to ground level as you pass the end of the Malayan tapir exhibit. I then went across the path to the Asiatic black bear exhibit, which is partially enclosed by mock rock-work that has a waterfall into a stream that runs into a pool. The rest of the exterior besides the viewing areas are more of the chain linked fence. The exhibit has 3 viewing sections, 2 harp wire, and one glass. It's a well planted exhibit that is of decent size and features 2 bears.
Across from the bear exhibit is an extremely spacious tapir exhibit that has a nice pool in the front of the middle part, where viewing is unrestricted. Otherwise, the black chain link fence surrounds the rest of it. There are plenty of protected trees in the exhibit.
The final exhibit before reaching the last tiger viewing section and the end of Trail of the Tiger is a mixed species exhibit featuring Asian small-clawed otters(at least 4) and white-cheeked gibbons(2). No chain link fence here as the backdrop is mock rock with a waterfall, the top is netting, and the 3 viewing windows are glass, the middle one being very large and featuring underwater viewing. There is a metal pole that extends to the top of the exhibit to serve as a base for the netting. Surrounding that are wooden poles and platforms that have ropes attached to them. There are also some trees in the exhibit. There is a stream stemming from the waterfall that leads into a very large pool for the otters. I wish the underwater viewing was higher though as it's only about 3 feet high. The pool itself is a little deeper. This is a good sized exhibit and pretty attractive, but it does have a couple of toys that hurt its aesthetics. One of which being a kids playground item that has a small slide into the pool.
Lastly you visit a large window in the side of the tiger exhibit that includes underwater viewing on both sides of the large windows that intersect at a 90 degree angle.
Overall the tiger exhibit is a good size, is lush with grass and plants, has multiple fallen trees and large rocks, and has a waterfall that leads to steam and then the large pool with underwater viewing. However, there are no standing trees and the chain-link fence surrounds the parts where the rock-work do not. The three viewing windows are quite nice. You can also view into the exhibit through the fence from paths not part of the Trail of the Tiger. I would have liked open viewing as well though. Overall a very good tiger exhibit, but it could have been a lot better.
The orangutan exhibit is large, covered in grass, has both open and glass viewing, has a stream, and has a lot of climbing opportunities via wooden structures and ropes. No trees though and not a great deal of plants. No chain-link fencing though. One of the windows is very large and I very much like the open viewing. I didn't get to see the apes use the climbing structures, but I'm sure it would be great to witness that. This is one of the best orangutan exhibits out there I think.
Overall, I liked Trail of the Tiger a lot. A lot of great species are included here and all of have at least good exhibits other than the birds of paradise. The red panda and binturong exhibits are both excellent other than the fencing. Pretty much all of the other exhibits are very good as well. The size of some of the exhibits is tremendous, especially for the aforementioned two species and the tapirs. The overall theme is nicely executed as well. The signing is also well done. There are lots to nitpick here though as the chain-link fencing is a problem, the toys in the otter/gibbon exhibit are unattractive, there is some glare issues with some of the glass viewing areas, and it would be nice if the exhibit complex was more enclosed by surrounding trees rather than it being so open to the entrance area. Also a big problem for some on here is that there are usually cross views to people when you’re at the viewing areas. I do like how you keep coming back to the orangutans and tigers as you go through the exhibit complex. But then again, that's the main reason for the cross views.
Okavango Delta:
I will be briefer here. This is the other main exhibit complex here and is very nicely put together. At the nice looking village area you can view the Southern White Rhino/Grant’s Zebra exhibit (one of each), which is moated. In the background though, you can see the giraffe/ostrich/Thompson’s gazelle(2, 2, 1 that I saw) exhibit and the lion exhibit (one could be seen on top of a large rock). The exhibit has a loop trail and I went past the decent aldabra exhibit to a nice somewhat secluded by plant life pathway that goes uphill and took me to average meerkat and blue-bellied roller exhibits. Then there was a solid glass fronted white-throated monitor exhibit built into rockwork, which now borders both sides of the path. Then on the right are decent exhibits for fennec foxes, weavers, and pancake tortoises. Then on the left is open viewing above the lion exhibit, but eye level with the large mock-rock structure the male lion was lying on. This exhibit is surrounded by rock-work(where I was) and a water filled moat that created the boundary between them and the rhino and elephant exhibits. This is a nice, fairly large grass covered exhibit featuring a multiple small trees and two large rock structures that allows them to see over the surrounding exhibits, and allows visitors to see them doing so. There is 3 open viewing spots and one harp wire viewing area.
The last open viewing area is on a bridge over the water that goes from the lion exhibit to the elephant one and provides the pachyderms with a pool. This is the first of many open viewing areas of the elephants, which end from above as people walk through the poor elephant/giraffe barn to continue on the loop. The elephant exhibit is a respectable size and looks decent. Nothing special and there are only 2 elephants. Before going into the barn, you get to look at the giraffe/gazelle/ostrich exhibit. You see it again after exiting the barn and walking on the boardwalk. It is a nice, spacious exhibit surrounded by a low fence and the water moat that connects to the rhino/zebra exhibit. Trees only surround the exhibit though as there are none in it. Bongo(at least 6) and African Crowned crane occupy the large exhibit on the other side of the boardwalk that doesn’t have any grass, but does have a lot of trees.
After getting back to ground level and walking along the nice trail, you come upon the water moated mandrill exhibit. This is a pretty good exhibit with a rock backdrop as it is spacious, has some fallen and standing trees, and a decent amount of plants. The trees are not good for climbing though and I wish they had better climbing opportunities.
Lastly on the right is an average red river hog exhibit. Views of the giraffe exhibit are on the opposite side of the path as well, although it heavily planted at times. Then you’re back in the African village and can view the rhino/zebra exhibit, which is spacious and quite nice. It also has a water moat surrounding it to separate it from the visitors and the giraffe and lion exhibits. Only one of each species though, at least when I was there.
Overall, this is a very cohesive exhibit complex and has a well executed theme. Most of the exhibits are spacious and look attractive. I really like how the lion exhibit is integrated into the elephant, rhino, and giraffe exhibits to the point where there is just water separating them and you can look at the lions and those other animals in the same view. The village and the signing are both positives. Problems include a low number of animals in most exhibits, a lack of certain species, cross views of people at times, and a few other issues that I mentioned. Despite those issues, this is a very nice African section.
I’m not going to talk about the rest of the zoo much, but I will post pictures later today. There is a small N. American section with bison and prairie dogs being the main animals. The latter having the pop up bubbles for kids to look through. There is an average reptile section and nocturnal section in the same building. And there is a couple of small monkey exhibits attached to the building as well with goeldi’s monkeys and squirrel monkeys. There is also a nice garden area that randomly has a kangaroo/emu/royal palm turkey exhibit that is spacious but surrounded by wire fencing. Lastly, there is a children’s zoo farm area that is pretty standard. There is also a zoo train geared for kids.
This zoo does not have a big species list, but it does at least have some of the more popular animals (elephants, lions, tigers, orangutans, gibbons, bears, red pandas, rhinos, giraffe, zebra, and mandrills). For what they do have, they generally do a very good job with as Trail of the Tiger and the Okavango Delta exhibits are both quite nice. I would compare this zoo to the Maryland Zoo as one that only has a few primary sections and is lacking in overall collection, but does nicely with what is has. I think this zoo is slightly better than the Maryland Zoo and can really become quite good with one more major addition. And they do have the space in case you were wondering.
I left the zoo at about 2, so I spent about 3 hours and 15 minutes there, and that includes going through both Trail of the Tiger and Okavango Delta twice.
Pics to come.
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