Where are the best exhibits for the most important non-human species in N. America?

[DavidBrown]

There has been some discussion in the Smithsonian National Zoo gallery page about where the best beaver exhibits are.

Beavers are an incredibly important species historically in North America and Europe because 1) they were a major part of the economies of these regions because their pelts were valuable and 2) they are keystone species that shaped the ecology of these continents through building dams and creating wetlands. Beavers were massively hunted in North America and this affected the ecology of the entire continent by altering where wetlands were.

At any rate, beavers are very interesting animals and some zoos have them, but strangely on the west coast there are hardly any. No AZA zoos in California have them (only the unaccredited Orange County Zoo which does have a pretty nice exhibit), and only the Oregon Zoo and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum have them that I know of.

So where are the best North American and Eurasian beaver exhibits in the world? Minnesota Zoo historically has been cited as a model for having a good beaver exhibit.

 

[snowleopard]

I've seen beavers at zoos like Cleveland, Birmingham, National Zoo, Zoo Montana, Montreal Biodome, Knoxville, ASDM, Oregon, Minnesota, Lincoln Park, Cheyenne Mountain, Omaha, Point Defiance (show animal only), Toronto, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Northwest Trek, etc. Woodland Park and Greater Vancouver also had beavers at one time, among others. That makes almost 20 zoos with beavers, but what is more surprising is how the species is almost unheard of in aquariums even though they are clearly an aquatic creature. Is it because otters are far more active? Also, nutrias are definitely rare in North American zoos but incredibly common in European collections.

Examples:

Cleveland Zoo (outstanding beaver/wolf exhibit!!):

http://www.zoochat.com/557/northern-trek-wolf-wilderness-wolf-beaver-174186/

http://www.zoochat.com/557/northern-trek-wolf-wilderness-wolf-beaver-174183/

Minnesota Zoo (highly impressive):

http://www.zoochat.com/584/beaver-exhibit-minnesota-zoo-43272/

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (above average):

http://www.zoochat.com/541/beaver-exhibit-239151/

Oregon Zoo (decent exhibit):

http://www.zoochat.com/594/great-northwest-beaver-exhibit-206534/

Lincoln Park Zoo (above average):

http://www.zoochat.com/577/childrens-zoo-beaver-exhibit-156132/

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (average exhibit):

http://www.zoochat.com/592/beaver-exhibit-99350/

 

[tetrapod]

snowleopard - there is without any doubt one main reason for otter exhibit popularity over beavers: visibility.

I have only worked with Europeans, and although the exhibits were not a patch on your examples (all very aesthetically beautiful), the biggest problem I ever had was how to best display them. Having looked at all your nice North American examples, I am interested to know: how well did you see the actual animal? How long did you have to wait to see one? How long was the animal/s visible? Did any of them allow you to see inside the lodge (a common, if less then satisfactory way, to view captive beavers)? I guess what I getting at are the examples you gave of beautiful exhibits or a nice display of captive beavers?

 

[siamang27]

I have only seen the beaver exhibit at ASDM, but it was very nice in my opinion. Aren't there still a few aquariums with beavers though?

 

[elefante]

Omaha has beavers in the Kingdoms of the Night exhibit in the swamp area. They swim up the boardwalk and there is a viewing area in the lodge. There are also nutrias in that exhibit.

 

[siamang27]

elefante: nutrias and beavers mixed in the same exhibit, or in separate exhibits within the swamp section?

 

[snowleopard]

@tetrapod: I think that possibly all 6 of the beaver exhibits that I listed (and 5 of them for sure) have dens so the beavers are visible 100% of the time. That may mean that the rodents are simply a bundle of brown fur but they are still seen by the general public. I agree with you about the visibility of otters, and the fact that they are so active means that seemingly every zoo (and many aquariums) that I visit have otters. Maybe I did give you a list of beautiful exhibits as captive beavers are not necessarily exciting and difficult to showcase. However, 95% of the lions that I see in zoos are just as motionless as beavers and that does not seem to hinder their popularity.

 

[elefante]

elefante: nutrias and beavers mixed in the same exhibit, or in separate exhibits within the swamp section?

I think they are separate.