Do you seriously think that Southwick's has better exhibits? Yes, some of their exhibits are good. However, many of their exhibits, particularly for primates, fall VERY short of what I consider I quality habitat for the species. Roger Williams, as well as any of the other AZA facilities in New England, all have exhibits that are of much better quality than Southwicks. For that reason, I actually consider Southwicks the WORST zoo in New England. Yes, many of the others leave stuff to be desired. Capron could use a slightly bigger lion exhibit, Roger William's and Franklin both waste a faur amount of space, Buttonwood's elephant exhibit is outdated, etc. Southwicks, on the other hand, I feel has more that is on the negative side of the spectrum than the positive.
What is the best zoo in new england
- Thread starter Dyl0526
- Start date
I wouldn't call it the worst zoo in New England but not the best, I'll say this it's the best non AZA zoo in the region. It has a really good collection sure but, those primate exhibits besides the new lemur enclosures aren't good. I will say I quite like their hoofstock yards. For me personally Southwick's fits in somewhere in the middle in my rankings.
Lol was waiting for it. Anyway, exhibitry is far and away better than any of the other zoos afformentied. In fact, I'd put some enclosures, i.e. leopard, hyena, giraffe, chimp far and away better, especially from a public perspective, let alone a professionals perspective better than comparable NE zoological facilities, let alone on a national level. RWP in particular, with arguably their most notable species program at their facility, African elephants, second to Commerford. Considering both are failed breeding programs, RWP having a worse reputation, Commeford gives its Africans a more stimulated existence compared to the girls at RWP. And I can go down the line ( and will only use comparable species): gibbon, giraffe, elk, auodad, cheetah, camel, kangaroo, crocodilians, leopard, tapir, tiger, lion, great ape( chimps to FPZs gorillas), ostrich, zebra, etc. Once again Southwick has no political bull**** to deal with and has massive tracts of land do what they want. Trust me, would love a proper Boston zoo, but ain't going to happen.
Seems a certain person is continuing their anti-accredited zoo rhetoric. Where private collections are instantly better, especially when it comes to elephants. Ignoring how the animals at Southwicks live, especially during the winter months. And where zoos are judged entirely off the breeding success of their female elephants, ignoring all other factors that contribute. Breeding animals is obviously important yet this nonstop breeding of species you seem to advocate is the reason many non-accredited zoos have a zoo to roadside zoo pipeline.
Edit: Also are we really gonna praise an institution that moves elephants around in trailers to various fairs to give rides, and has an extremely shady record? Over the Roger Williams Park Zoo while not a perfect exhibit has a great enrichment program for its trio.
Edit: Also are we really gonna praise an institution that moves elephants around in trailers to various fairs to give rides, and has an extremely shady record? Over the Roger Williams Park Zoo while not a perfect exhibit has a great enrichment program for its trio.
I would argue most of those species actually have better exhibits or enrichment opportunities at the other New England facilities. I will agree that Southwicks chimp exhibit is better than the gorillas at Franklin Park Zoo. The chimps is one of the stronger Southwicks exhibits, although more climbing opportunities would be appreciated. The elk at Southwicks also have a nice exhibit, although I don't think any other New England facility has elk to compare them to. The gibbon exhibit at Roger Williams is not necessarily their best exhibit, although I think it is a fair exhibit and they do provide a lot of enrichment opportunities for the gibbons. At Southwicks the siamang exhibit is also acceptable, although if I am not mistaken they had white-cheeked gibbons in a not so great habitat. Franklin Park Zoo's giraffe exhibit is much larger than Southwicks, which for a species like giraffes makes a huge difference. For aoudads and camels, I have no issue with either Roger Williams or Southwicks. Many animals, however, live in much worse enclosures at Southwicks. I have no issue if you like Southwicks, and I feel there are some very nice areas, like the deer forest. However, I wish you could admit that Southwicks is not the perfect zoo. There is a lot of room for improvement at Southwicks, such as better primate enclosures, better signage, the ending of parrot on a stick enclosures, and grouping animals in logical exhibit areas instead of a random mish-mash of exhibits. I will admit that EVERY New England zoo, even ones like Roger Williams, Buttonwood, and Capron, which I hold near and dear to my heart, has room to improve. Southwicks is not an inherently bad zoo and there are a lot of good things about it (Deer and Elk Exhibits, size, animal collection). Simply put, I just can't support a facility that keeps primates, some of the most intelligent species, in tiny enclosures with minimal enrichment. There is a minimum exhibit standard that I feel zoos should follow, a standard much stricter than the USDA standard Southwicks follows. It has nothing to do with not being part of the AZA. There is nothing wrong with a zoo not being part of the AZA. However, I feel a zoo outside the AZA needs to establish a reputation somehow to be a respectable institution. Some, like Pittsburgh, have done this. Southwicks has not.
@Neil chace no zoo is perfect, believe me. Appreciate your comments. I dont know the last time you visited but the primate enclosures were very much an improvement, especially compared to other NE facilities, the fact they were outside was better than most. Going back to the original point of this thread, my answer is still Southwick. Seeing siamang, white rhino, wolf's guenon, aldabra tortoise, Brazilian tapir and my favorite, Vicuna... no contest
I can definitely agree that the animal collection itself is better than any other New England zoo. Being the largest does help with that. (Although Roger Williams has aldabra tortoises now.) I guess it comes down to what we each think is the most important thing in a zoo. Is it seeing a lot of rare animals, or is it seeing animals in quality exhibits and a strong educational component? Personally, I think the quality of exhibits and educational aspects of zoos are more important than simply seeing a lot of rare animals.
Southwick's primate enclosures are pretty bad. The animals can literally leave the enclosures and return at will, I've posted photos of this in the gallery. Southwick is by far one of the shadiest zoos in New England with their elephant and felid shenanigans, though I do not think it's the worst one. Lupa is definitely worse. Still, Southwick prefers to keep an abundance of parrots on sticks, small mammals and birds in tiny cages, herps in awful pet store displays, flamingos in a literal kiddie pool, and not to mention the loads of completely incorrect and misleading signage. It's a little ridiculous to insist this zoo is better than the likes of Roger Williams, the Zoo New England collections, and Beardsley. Southwick is unaccredited and has a lot of rarities, yes, but that doesn't automatically make it a good zoo. If it did, Wildlife World would be a top US collection.
~Thylo
~Thylo
I forgot about Lupa Zoo. I have only visited it once, about ten years ago now, and my memories of it are very limited. I remember they had a fairly large camel exhibit and seeing a zedonk.That is about all I remember, also the fact you can feed hoofstock. I can probably agree with you it is worse than Southwicks though.
I wish I could interject, but I seriously have not been to a zoological park in over a year. But if I would rate them I guess I would do:
1. RWPZ (Biased cause I'm from Rhode Island)
2. Capron Park Zoo
3. Stone Zoo
4. Southwick's Zoo
5. Franklin Park Zoo
6. ZooQuarium
1. RWPZ (Biased cause I'm from Rhode Island)
2. Capron Park Zoo
3. Stone Zoo
4. Southwick's Zoo
5. Franklin Park Zoo
6. ZooQuarium
The ZooQuarium has been closed for at least seven or eight years. I used to really enjoy it there, although it didn't exactly have many rarities, more of a tourist attraction for children than a true zoo.
Southwicks giraffe yard greatly diminishes the amount of space the animals have access to due to the decorative rock piles and blocked off patches of trees. Additionally, their yard appears to have a much harder substrate as opposed to RWPZ's and FPZ's grass. Not to mention both RWPZ and FPZ keep Masai Giraffe whereas Southwicks keeps generic hybrids.
~Thylo
~Thylo
@Dyl0526 thanks for response. Also didnt realize RWP had Aldabras and thought they still kept elk. Having cared for giraffes, I prefer the hard surface, easier to maintain hooves but grass is always nice.
@ThylacineAlive what elephant and felid shenanigans are you referring too? Also ridiculous to think a place such as Beardsley or FPZ is anywhere better than Southwick
@Neil chace I agree with your stance but from a husbandry standpoint Southwick does an excellent job. Having in house vet, head educator and construction foreman (they are all siblings) is pretty lacking in zoological facilities (accredited or not). Not to mention keeps costs way down.
@ThylacineAlive what elephant and felid shenanigans are you referring too? Also ridiculous to think a place such as Beardsley or FPZ is anywhere better than Southwick
@Neil chace I agree with your stance but from a husbandry standpoint Southwick does an excellent job. Having in house vet, head educator and construction foreman (they are all siblings) is pretty lacking in zoological facilities (accredited or not). Not to mention keeps costs way down.