San Diego Zoo What´s So Great About San Diego Zoo?

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Arizona Docent said:
Having pandas and koalas is cool, but I would not say they are some of the best exhibits. The only really good koala exhibit I have seen is at Albuquerque and the only good giant panda exhibit at National D.C. It is amazing that an animal as popular and expensive and crowd-drawing as giant pandas are given poor exhibits from the visitor's standpoint. I know they have extensive off-exhibit areas, but the public space at both San Diego and Memphis is below average (I haven't been to Atlanta).
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No offense, but I disagree. What, I wonder, makes you call these exhibits "poor ... from a visitor's standpoint"? While San Diego's panda and koala exhibits are not architecturally wonderful, they do offer an unparalleled experience for visitors. That "experience" includes panda cubs (usually) and their vast number of koalas. They aren't perfect exhibits, but they're far from "poor".

I also don't know what makes you say the public space for the panda exhibit in Memphis is "below average". I've heard some complaints (perhaps justified) about the space the Memphis pandas live in, the "public space" (the amazing CHINA exhibit) is wonderful! It's full of authentic Chinese architecture and atmosphere. I ranked it as a Top 10 exhibit in the nation! Did you really mean to say the "public space" in Memphis is bad?
 
Great debate going on here, guys! I am glad that I initiated it. Special thanks to snowleopard and miniturezoo954 for their long and passionately written posts! Thanks to all other participators and I hope the debate will go on for a while. I learn so much from it! I think I might be getting the hang of it: San Diego might not have the very best exhibits in the worlds but the overall quality makes it the best? Forumster Reduakari seems to think otherwise but most of you guys seem to agree?

But right now I am most intrigued about the statement from ANyhuis claming that the awards given to Woodland Park were "political".

Would you like to expand on that, ANyhuis?

It might be of-topic, but still?
 
Dan said:
But right now I am most intrigued about the statement from ANyhuis claming that the awards given to Woodland Park were "political".

Would you like to expand on that, ANyhuis?
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I've gotta be careful here, as I was taken to task for this in the past by the current chairman of the AZA Awards Committee -- a man I greatly respect!

I didn't mean to say that ALL of the awards are political, nor are all of Woodland Park's awards political. There just happens to be certain zoos that are considered the "vogue" or "politically correct" zoos, and certain zoos that are clearly politically incorrect. Omaha, Columbus, and Disney's Animal Kingdom are in that latter category, which is why they've never won an Exhibit Award -- despite some amazing new exhibits at them!

I can point to one particular year's award, where there definitely was a political result. In 1993, Woodland Park's Tropical Rain Forest building won the award over Omaha's amazing Lied Jungle. Nothing against Seattle's TRF exhibit, but I defy anyone to tell me how it is even in the same league with the Lied Jungle! I can't give you the specific details, but let's just say the judges' voting for that award was quite similar to the famous 2002 Olympic figure skating scandal, in which the French judge, on her own, rigged the results so that the Russian skating pair beat the Canadian pair. The voting for the 1993 AZA Exhibit of the Year award was very similar, where one judge, on his own, swung the award away from Lied Jungle over to Woodland Park. Nothing illegal -- just sleazy!

This, more than anything, is why I can't take the AZA Exhibit of the Year awards seriously.
 
If by Woodland Park's TRF you are including the jaguar and gorilla exhibits then it is without a doubt way better than any exhibit in Lied Jungle.
 
Let me tack on here that I have NOTHING against the Woodland Park Zoo. I love the zoo! The Northern Trail is wonderful, as is the Tropical Asia area. I'm a huge fan of their exotic Thai theming of the Elephant Forest and Trail of Vines areas. I've also heard great things about Jaguar Cove.

I'm just saying that the EOY awards they've won are NOT a measure of it's greatness, any more than Yasser Arafat's Nobel Peace Prize is a good measure of what a great humanitarian he was.
 
BlackRhino said:
If by Woodland Park's TRF you are including the jaguar and gorilla exhibits then it is without a doubt way better than any exhibit in Lied Jungle.
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"way better" -- LOL!!! Again, you've not been to Omaha, right?

Anyways, in 1993 Woodland Park's "Tropical Rain Forest" (which won the award) ONLY referred to the little Rain Forest building -- which currently displays ocelots, anacondas, toucans and other birds. Jaguar Cove wasn't even a thought back then, and the historic Gorilla Exhibit was considered another exhibit. Plus, remember that this was an award for "new" exhibits, which the Gorilla Habitat was not (new).
 
The Jaguar Cove exhibit is one of the most amazing exhibits I have ever seen. Jaguar Cove impressed me more than anything in Lied Jungle, and I would make a trip up to Seattle just to see the near flawless exhibit.
 
ANyhuis said:
"way better" -- LOL!!! Again, you've not been to Omaha, right?

Anyways, in 1993 Woodland Park's "Tropical Rain Forest" (which won the award) ONLY referred to the little Rain Forest building -- which currently displays ocelots, anacondas, toucans and other birds. Jaguar Cove wasn't even a thought back then, and the historic Gorilla Exhibit was considered another exhibit. Plus, remember that this was an award for "new" exhibits, which the Gorilla Habitat was not (new).
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Oh your right Allen. My bad, I had forgotten that Jaguar Cove didn't open until June 2003!
 
BlackRhino said:
Jaguar Cove impressed me more than anything in Lied Jungle, and I would make a trip up to Seattle just to see the near flawless exhibit.
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Again, BRhino, have you actually SEEN the Lied Jungle? Have you been there? Or are making this statement based on what others have said? (and based on still photographs?) For that matter, have you actually seen Jaguar Cove?
 
No, but

1) jaguars are one of my favorite zoo animals thus I am being very biased when saying I like jaguar cove more then Lied Jungle

2) Its 4000 square feet making it one of the largest jaguar exhibits in America

3) They don't rely on the mayan temple theme that Jacksonville relies on making the exhibit look way better

4) They have underwater viewing of jaguars

5) Although photos can be misleading they don't lie, and from the photos one can clearly see the exhibit is extremely lush with foliage

Those are 5 things I know without visiting the exhibit, and I have heard nothing but great things about from those who have seen it in person.
 
SDZ is still the mecca for zoo lovers, I can't wait till I get the chance to visit it and WAP... It will surely be one of the highlights of this zoo lovers life... No other zoo in NA (or the World) provokes this anticipation in me...

This is in part due to the history of the place as well...
 
Haha kind of funny when I read what Rick Schwartz said in regards to EO: "It is even better than we thought it would be"

Clearly none of you zoochatters think that!
 
ANyhuis said:
I've gotta be careful here, as I was taken to task for this in the past by the current chairman of the AZA Awards Committee -- a man I greatly respect!

I didn't mean to say that ALL of the awards are political, nor are all of Woodland Park's awards political. There just happens to be certain zoos that are considered the "vogue" or "politically correct" zoos, and certain zoos that are clearly politically incorrect. Omaha, Columbus, and Disney's Animal Kingdom are in that latter category, which is why they've never won an Exhibit Award -- despite some amazing new exhibits at them!

I can point to one particular year's award, where there definitely was a political result. In 1993, Woodland Park's Tropical Rain Forest building won the award over Omaha's amazing Lied Jungle. Nothing against Seattle's TRF exhibit, but I defy anyone to tell me how it is even in the same league with the Lied Jungle! I can't give you the specific details, but let's just say the judges' voting for that award was quite similar to the famous 2002 Olympic figure skating scandal, in which the French judge, on her own, rigged the results so that the Russian skating pair beat the Canadian pair. The voting for the 1993 AZA Exhibit of the Year award was very similar, where one judge, on his own, swung the award away from Lied Jungle over to Woodland Park. Nothing illegal -- just sleazy!

This, more than anything, is why I can't take the AZA Exhibit of the Year awards seriously.
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OK, thanks for your answer, ANyhuis.

(BTW, I agree with your views on the "Nobel Peace Prize", although it is a bit off-topic ;))
 
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