What do you like best and least about your zoo?

Moebelle

Moebelle

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
So what's the best thing that your home zoo has to offer and what is the worst.

My zoo is the Cincinnati Zoo. The best thing(s) I like about it is that they lead in conservation for many different species and earned the name "Sexy" because of it. They offer two amazing Sumatran rhinos in two amazing natural, complete shade covered, all muddy floor habitats. The zoo has the most progressive gorilla family in the nation. They even have/had the highest rated cat collection. The zoo has the "World of the Insect", the first and largest building and collection dedicated to invertebrates that opened in 1978. Manatee Springs also offers a great viewing of the zoo's two manatees face-to-face. Jungle Trails is certainly the greatest part of the zoo period. It is lush everywhere you turn and showcases a vast collection of endangered and exotic primates from Asia and Africa. Every exhibit that is part of the trail is "A" okay, especially the greatest habitat at the zoo and the greatest one (for the species) on the planet. The amazing bonobo enclosure.

What I don't like about it is the fact that they worry about renovating the better/average attractions and don't worry about the worst part of the zoo, the Bear Line. I am not counting the polar bear exhibit which I think does not fall under my "worst" list. Anyways the problem with it is that both of the grottoes were built in 1934 and last renovated in 1937(I think). They both are all made of concrete and nothing else, no standing trees or plants in the habitat. They are also very small and the only enrichment they have are logs and a 7X4X6 pool in the middle of each exhibit. They are the single worst bear exhibits I have ever seen. I can't wait to see how they will be renovated which will have to be near 2020ish. I think that they should 1. put grass mats all over the floor. 2. maybe even transfer the bears to the Columbus Zoo. 3. add smaller animals and make them part of Lords of the Arctic, the exhibit next to this. 4. Add Arctic foxes in one and wolverines in the other(of course fill in the pool).
 
About the Cincinnati Zoo... Sexy??? :confused:

Anyway, my zoo is the Bronx Zoo. It is AZA-accredited and is managed by the WCS, another leader in world conservation. It is also the world's largest metropolitan zoo, which I think is a nice little title to have. According to the majority of ZooChatters, it is the 2nd best zoo in the nation behind San Diego. It has won quite a few exhibit awards. It has undoubtedly the best gorilla exhibit in any zoo, the Congo Gorilla Forest, which is also a place where you can donate money to conservation efforts with literally the click of a button! The African Plains exhibit is great, complete with nyalas, lions, African wild dogs, hyenas, zebras, gazelles, ostriches Rothschild's giraffes, and the Carter Giraffe Building, where the giraffes live during the colder months. This building also contains aardvarks, mongooses, and gives guests an opportunity to see the giraffes in very close proximity. The Baboon Reserve is another gem; it is an enormous hillside exhibit for a large troop of geladas, Nubian ibexes and rock hyraxes. There are the terrific indoor exhibits, the World of Birds, Madagascar!, and Jungleworld, and the Reptile House. The Himalayan Highlands exhibit is fantastic if you realize how much work went into recreating it as efficiently as possible, what with the Himalayan-"endemic" flora and the great exhibits for red pandas, cranes, and snow leopards. The Bears section has a polar bear in one exhibit and grizzlies in another and is a great exhibit to see during winter. The Zoo Center now has two huge white rhinos as well. Tiger Mountain, which opened earlier this decade, is an amazing exhibit for Malayan and Siberian tigers. There are large pools, dense foliage and open spaces for the animals. This exhibit has won an Exhibit of the Year award, I believe.

Unfortunately, the Bronx Zoo is about 50% closed during the winter. Very few of the outdoor animals are on exhibit, and the zoo looks drab as oppose to bright and green during the summer. The Wild Asia Monorail is closed during winter, which takes away a number of awesome Asian ungulate species. Also, the Bronx Zoo is never open long, not even in the summer. The latest it stays open is 5:30, whereas in San Diego, they close at 9:00 during summer. Because the zoo is fairly large, I always find myself rushing through at least two key exhibits because I want to see everything in one visit. The Bronx Zoo is 265 acres. I'm not sure how much land is developed, but a lot of the undeveloped land acts as a refuge for the native species of the Bronx River. Although this is great for the native wildlife, it's unfortunate because I would love to see the Bronx build another outdoor exhibit with species that haven't been exhibited in quite some time. I am honestly shocked that the Bronx ranks so high in US zoos because although it has many outstanding exhibits, it is half-closed for half of the year, and it really lacks a couple of the extraordinary species that define zoos such as pandas, hippos, kangaroos, koalas, etc. The elephants residing there will be phased out relatively soon, too. The Monkey House recently closed, and something new is going to be built there. While it has been hinted of what will become of it, I am a little uneasy about it because I do not want to be disappointed. However, the last renovation, which was of the Lion House, became one of the zoo's best exhibits, Madagascar!.
 
My zoo is Beardsley Zoo. It's AZA accredited, and while definately no world-class zoo, it is a gem in Connecticut. I really like the WOLF (Wolf Observation Learning Faculty) that allows you to get very up close with wolves, and really changes guests' minds about wolves. I also love the Chacoan Peccary exhibit, with some glass viewing that allows you to get pretty close to these unique creatures. In addition, the Pronghorn exhibit is pretty big and gives the pronghorn lots of room to roam, the Alligator Alley is a good exhibit (except for the Red Fox enclosure), the Rainforest building, and I like how the Guinea Hog exhibit is filled each summer with adorable little piglets. I also like (and Moebelle will like this too) the zoo cooperating with the Cincinnati Zoo's CREW to artificially inseminate Beardsley's Brazilian Ocelot Kuma. Kuma's first kitten was Milagre, and he was only the third ocelot to be born through artificial insemination, and the first to be born for conservation purposes. Kuma also had Alya, who was the first endangered cat to be born through oviductal artificial insemination, and makes Kuma the first ocelot to have multiple births through artificial insemination. Kuma is a great mother, despite missing her tail and one leg because of an incident as a kitten.
However, Beardsley has flaws. The Predators section of the zoo is the section that needs the most improvement desperately. This section has an Andean Bear, Canada Lynx, and Amur Tigers, each of them in small enclosures. I also REALLY hate how the zoo canceled Andes Adventure. This $7 million exhibit would have given a much-needed new home for the Andean Bear, would have included the Maned Wolf and Chacoan Peccary enclosures, and have new animals such as Andean Condors, Capybara, Darwin's Rheas, Giant Anteaters, Spider Monkeys, and Jaguars. I'd also like Beardsley to make a new Asian exhibit as new space is needed for the Amur Tigers, and the tigers are the only Asian animals in a North-South American themed zoo. In addition to a new tiger exhibit, they could make exhibits alongside it for Red Pandas, Snow Leopards, Sun Bears, and White-Naped Cranes. With those exhibits built, the tiny lynx exhibit could be expanded into the former bear and tiger exhibits, making a huge lynx exhibit. But stepping away from exhibit ideas, other things I don't like are how two Snowy Owls are in the back of the Rainforest Building, two Snowy Owls are still in quarantine for almost a year, and the Greater Rheas are in a New England themed exhibit. Also, the Turkey Vulture, Barred Owl, and Great Horned Owl enclosures are appallingly small, even if they can't fly. If the Bald Eagles at the zoo can't fly but have a gorgeous, spacious enclosure, why can't the owls and vultures have one?
 
There are two zoos in Tucson (both AZA), so I get to do a double review!

ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM
best:
1. Exhibits blend naturally with the surrounding desert.
2. Docents are always visible on grounds (more than at any other zoo I have been to).
3. Best puma exhibit in the United States.
4. Stay open until 10pm on summer Saturdays.
5. Best food offerings of any zoo I have been to.
6. Innovative new LIFE ON THE ROCKS has creative views (e.g. pick up the rock) for every major class of animal (mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, invertebrate).

worst:
1. Missing two of the most iconic animals of the sonoran desert: jaguar and pronghorn.
2. Grasslands area only has a couple small exhibits (does not do justice in representing a major ecosystem).
3. Outdated LIFE UNDERGROUND has exhibits that are atrociously small.
4. No public transportation from metro Tucson.

REID PARK ZOO
best:
1. World class elephant exhibit (opens in two weeks).
2. Easy to see entire zoo in 2-3 hours.
3. Consistent feel - very few (if any) truly awful exhibits.
4. Platinum LEED certified Education Center (with messages about how visitors can live "green").
5. Several bus lines run past Reid Park.
6. Good turtle and tortoise collection (for a zoo of this size).
7. Open until 8pm on summer Fridays.

worst:
1. Lack of small animal exhibits (no small mammals, no reptile house, etc).
2. Polar bear in the desert (in an exhibit that is a bit small and is in the Africa section).
3. Asia section is too small (only a few species).
 
I have three different zoos that I go to multiple times a year.

John Ball Zoo

Good
I love the African section! I think that the lion exhibit is the 2nd best in the world (only to San Diego Zoo's Safari Park). The bongo/duiker exhibit is very lush and big with a nice stream in front of it and the chimpanzee exhibit is the best chimp exhibit in the US for sure! The chimps exhibit is huge and very naturalistic. The South American boardwalk is nice and the capybaras have a big pool. The aquarium was the first good exhibit to come to the zoo and still one of the best. The monkey exhibits are all nice and enriching (spider monkey, colobus monkey, saki monkey and Guinea baboons). The Red Barn area is interactive, yet normal for a barn area. Most of the zoo is naturalistic and interactive.

Bad
The far side of the world trail has really small cages for birds, lemurs and small mammals. The camel ring is fun for people, but not for the 3 camels. They have almost no space to walk around, and they a chained to a post. The tropics building is bland, normal and the black footed cats exhibit is just concrete and sand. Otherwise it is okay. Tiny cages are spread around the south side of the zoo that aren't that good including porcupines, owls, and birds.

Binder Park Zoo

Good
Wild Africa is one of the best exhibits in the world (and I've been to many zoos). It has artificial props like old African bikes, boxes, magazines, and cars. Feeding the giraffes is always fun, but the best part is just watching all of the animals in the main exhibit together. The African wild dog, red mangabey, and aviary are all excellent also. In the main part of the zoo the snow leopard, cheetah, and kangaroo exhibits are all nice.

Bad
The gibbon exhibit looks boring and they look sad in it. Like John Ball Zoo it has tiny cages with birds and other small animals. The zoo is larger, but it does not have many animals at all. When people come here they expect more then there actually is.

Detroit Zoo

Good
The Arctic Ring of Life is the best polar bear exhibit in the US. You see the bears from 5-6 different vantage points. The exhibit also has good views of arctic fox and seals. The river otter, tiger, lion, penguin, and most other exhibits are world class and naturalistic. The bear exhibits are actually very good for being a bear line. Amphibiville is the best and one of the only amphibian exhibits. The reptile house is also one of the best with underwater views of crocodilians and almost every species of reptiles. The African exhibit portrays the giraffes, zebras, kudu, rhinos, lemurs, meerkats, warthogs, aardvarks, and more well. The second best part of the zoo are the ape exhibits. The gorilla and chimps enclosures are extremely huge and natrualistic.

Bad
Even though the ape exhibits are awesome and they are almost to big. You can almost never see the apes.
 
Arizona Docent said:
There are two zoos in Tucson (both AZA), so I get to do a double review!


worst:
1. Lack of small animal exhibits (no small mammals, no reptile house, etc).
2. Polar bear in the desert (in an exhibit that is a bit small and is in the Africa section).
3. Asia section is too small (only a few species).
Click to expand...

@Arizona Docent: do you think that the Reid Park Zoo has made a conscious decision to avoid small mammals and reptiles so as not to compete with the ASDM, and ASDM has likewise not built a jaguar exhibit because Reid Park already has them?

Has there ever been any talk of Reid Park building a great ape exhibit? This is another noticeable absence from their collection, although perhaps they have decided that if people want to see apes that the orangs in Phoenix are close enough?
 
DavidBrown said:
@Arizona Docent: do you think that the Reid Park Zoo has made a conscious decision to avoid small mammals and reptiles so as not to compete with the ASDM, and ASDM has likewise not built a jaguar exhibit because Reid Park already has them?

Has there ever been any talk of Reid Park building a great ape exhibit? This is another noticeable absence from their collection, although perhaps they have decided that if people want to see apes that the orangs in Phoenix are close enough?
Click to expand...

We have a conscious decision not to exhibit native North American wildlife so as not to compete with ASDM. However, this is not the reason we avoid small mammals and reptiles overall, as there are scores of exotic animals in this category from outside North America. I think the main reason is staff feel visitors are just not interested in them. I strongly disagree of course.

We can never have any great apes in Tucson due to a local dust-born condition known as Valley Fever. (Phoenix has it too, so I am not sure how they get away with housing orangutans).
 
My zoo is Zoo Atlanta.

Good
Overall, it is a decent zoo. It has many signature species of animals (lions, tigers, pandas, giraffes, elephants, orangutans, gorillas, etc.). The gorilla exhibit is huge, the orangutan exhibit is great for the orangutans, the lion exhibit is above average, and the guenon, drill, and colobus exhibits are great.

Bad
Some of the bird aviaries are on the small side; the orangutan viewing is terrible, as they never venture far from their climbing structures that are high on a hill away from visitors. It is a very small, 35 acre zoo. The new Binturong, Bush Dog, and Fossa exhibits are on the small side.
 
Mrgibbon11 said:
My zoo is Zoo Atlanta.

Good
Overall, it is a decent zoo. It has many signature species of animals (lions, tigers, pandas, giraffes, elephants, orangutans, gorillas, etc.). The gorilla exhibit is huge, the orangutan exhibit is great for the orangutans, the lion exhibit is above average, and the guenon, drill, and colobus exhibits are great.

Bad
Some of the bird aviaries are on the small side; the orangutan viewing is terrible, as they never venture far from their climbing structures that are high on a hill away from visitors. It is a very small, 35 acre zoo. The new Binturong, Bush Dog, and Fossa exhibits are on the small side.
Click to expand...

How are the hoof stock exhibits? Good or Bad?
 
I don't really have a home zoo, but I like to consider Aalborg Zoo my home zoo as I've visited it tons of times.

What I like about it: It has the classical zoo feel with almost all the typical zoo animals like elephants, giraffes, (pygmy) hippos, chimpanzees, bears, lions, tigers, penguins, sea lions etc. (lacks rhinos). With classical, I mean that it's not a really old city zoo where the history is sometimes a bigger attraction than the animals. It's not an open-range zoo, neither is it trying to be as modern that it ruins the "old school" feeling. It's simply cosy. And it has a very nice park feel. And compared to its modest size, you can actually spend a lot of time in there.

What I don't like about it: It's very small (8 hectares) and doesn't have too many species (about 100). Except for a few animals that cannot be seen in other Danish zoos (like orangutans and African elephants), it doesn't really have any rarities, the most unusual animal probably being Fiji banded iguanas. Furthermore, the development is quite slow-paced compared to, say, Copenhagen. Only two new major exhibits being built the last 12 years, with a third one coming this summer.
 
Dublin Zoo

Good - Educational Centre and their program and activities for kids. Every time I see the program, I wish I was a child again.

Bad - lack of events for adults and nothing extra for adult members. The only thing you get as a member is a free magazine four times a year, magazine, which you could otherwise buy for 2 euro. Email newsletters don´t work - haven´t got anything since I subscribed. As a member and zoo enthusiast, paying 100 euro every year and spending money in their shops regularly, you feel kind a riped off. When there are some important changes going on, you don´t get any extra information, unless you go there and bother keepers with your questions.
I think I wrote about it somewhere else on the forum, but just to give an example - Arctic Fox was moved off exhibit earlier this year to make place for tigers, which were moved from their enclosure, because it is being rebuild.They simply removed the Arctic Fox sign, didn´t give any information at all and now it looks like they´ve never had the fox before. When I saw it, I thought that the fox died. Only later, after bothering one keeper, I found out, that the fox is alive and well, just off exhibit. Why wouldn´t they put a simple sign explaining the situation, or inform their members about it via the newsletters? The signs in general are very poor, e.g. visitors are always looking for male lions and don´t know, that there is only last old female left. Simple sign could explain that.

Edit - one more bad thing - they don´t do internships. Being the best and biggest place with exotic animals in Ireland, I don´t understand why they wouldn´t create few internship positions for Veterinary or Zoology students.
 
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My home Zoo is the Oregon Zoo

The best thing about the Oregon Zoo is the $125 million bond measure passed by voters in 2008. The measure is funding eight new projects at the zoo, which means new enrichment ideas, architectural and landscape design drawing enough for any zoo enthusiast to study and pour over. The Great Northwest is an excellent example of an emersion exhibit leading from the mountain goats at the entry plaza (representing the high cascades) down through forests with black bears, bald eagle and cougars into streams with salmon and beavers down to the coastline and Steller Cove's steller sea lions and sea otters. The other top exhibit is the Predators of the Serengeti integrating marquee animals such as lions and wild dogs with dwarf mongoose and scorpions. Of special interest in Predators of the Serengeti is the caracal enclosure, which as noted elsewhere on zoo chat is one of the nicest small cat exhibits in the any zoo.

The worst aspect of the Oregon Zoo is the 50-year-old mandrill cage. The entire primate building is slated for demolition but not until after the Asian elephant expansion the rebuilding of the polar bear exhibit and the addition of California condors into the Great Northwest; which in my opinion is too long to keep the mandrill eyesore in such a progressive zoo. The Amazon Flooded Forest is also disappointing; it houses many interesting species (howler monkeys, caiman, ocelot) which always draws me to the exhibit; but the presentation/execution makes me think I am looking into an urban department store window. The Africa Savanna is also somewhat broken up into smaller areas with less diverse mixed species exhibits. I believe this issue is going to be fixed in the 20-year plan.
 
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I have two home zoos, Adelaide and Monarto Zoo.

Adelaide Zoo: There's a couple of really lovely exhibits, I especially love the Dusky Leaf Monkey/Malayan Tapir exhibit, in which the monkeys have access to a beautiful and enormous fig tree. Although I'm much more a mammal person, I do appreciate that Adelaide Zoo has a very good bird collection.
I'm not keen on the large amount of space the entrance precinct takes up, for such a small zoo, I think it's a waste of space, especially as it is right next to a tiny hippopotamus exhibit. I think it would have been hugely better if the hippopotamus exhibit had been expanded, it would be a much better first impression as you walk into the zoo.

Monarto Zoo: I love the vastness of the enclosures, and the addition of the viewing platforms at some of the exhibits. My favourite exhibits would have to be the massive lion enclosure and the relatively new chimpanzee exhibit.
I don't like how long it takes to get around the zoo, I'm the sort of person who'd rather spend an hour or so each looking at a couple of species that interest me than go around and see everything each time I go to the zoo (because I go there fairly frequently). It's difficult to do this as you have to rely on the buses to get from place to place, and they go through all the enclosures. I hate the limited viewing of spotted hyenas, they can be seen only through the bus in the enclosure next to the hyenas. I find them a fascinating species to watch, but at the moment the only view you can get is a few seconds as the bus goes past.
 
I will cover my home zoo in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Deyoung Family Zoo:
Good
  1. The large carnivore collection: they have 3 species of tiger, 2 leopards, a pride of lions, a group of cougars, 3 bobcats, a pair of canadian lynx, two wolf packs (one artic, one grey), 2 dingoes, 4+ new guinea singing dogs, a group of coyotes, gray foxes, red foxes, fennec foxes, both color phases of arctic fox, a multigenerational spotted hyena pack, striped hyenas, possibly an aardwolf, 4 brown bears, 4+ american black bears, coatimundi, kinkajou, raccon, civet(african I think), binturoungs, fishers, american badgers, pine martens, european pole cat, striped skunk, zorilla and possibly more
  2. the new hippo exhibit. It is going to be one acre
  3. The human interaction. They are not one of those places that say you need to pay todo the interaction and say it is helping spread a conservation message. They truly believe its spreads conservation so they have you do it free of charge. They get everyone in the zoo involved in this way whether it be helping to bottle feed one of the babies,or giving Wallace the Hippo some of his daily carrot and lettuce.
  4. The way they go out of their way to help the patrons. Even though the zoo is considered wheelchair accessible, the owner will go out of his way to have the person sat down in the golf cart the employees use and give them a personal tour around the zoo.

Bad
The old concrete bottomed exhibits in the front of the zoo. Thankfully there are only five left with two slated to get new exhibits in the very near future. Allother outdoor exhibits have natural ground cover.
 
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