Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo 2020

Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Me too.

Yes I think that those sorts of things could be frustrating but I can't imagine that it is in such a state of decline and mismanagement as London zoo for example.
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Well they have a very strong conservation arm (in fact the Director's background is conservation rather than zoos) and recent exhibits such as penguins and southeast Asia are very good. I thibk one problem for Zoochatters is that so much of the zoo is so well done that they don't tear out exhibits to build cool new ones. The savanna remains great just as it is (for example)
 
Zooplantman said:
Well they have a very strong conservation arm (in fact the Director's background is conservation rather than zoos) and recent exhibits such as penguins and southeast Asia are very goods. I thibk one problem for Zoochatters is that so much of the zoo is so well done that they don't tear out exhibits to build cool new ones. The savanna remains great just as it is (for example)
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Are you referring to Woodland park or London ?

I'm personally not impressed with the direction of London zoo and wonder if there is anyone at the helm steering course at times.

That said I like parts of it and the wider ZSL conservation programs are in some ways world class.
 
Zooplantman said:
Well they have a very strong conservation arm (in fact the Director's background is conservation rather than zoos) and recent exhibits such as penguins and southeast Asia are very good. I thibk one problem for Zoochatters is that so much of the zoo is so well done that they don't tear out exhibits to build cool new ones. The savanna remains great just as it is (for example)
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With regards to Woodland Park I agree if something is good (in the general sense as in for both animals and people) and has stood the test of time then why "fix" it ?
 
As this is my local zoo I think I should probably quickly chime in with my thoughts on the subject. Overall WPZ is fantastic and still one of the best in the country, in fact in terms of immersion it is likely one of the best. And yet I and many others have had their gripes with the projects the zoo has done in the last 10-15 years. The zoo has an amazing foundation of older exhibits I honestly hope they never replace. However since the opening of the very nice penguin and jaguar exhibits in the early 2000s, far more has closed than opened, and the one major development the Banyan Wilds complex is in my opinion the worst in the entire zoo. First they closed the nocturnal house for budget reasons, then they closed the entire reptile house after a minor fire, opting to close it rather than fix or replace it. For a rainy city like Seattle indoor exhibits are an important draw for the zoo and it remains a depressing eyesore right by the entrance. From what I have heard it has gone way down their priorities list, and effectively been swept under the rug. Other than that other losses were the wild dogs, replaced with warthogs. The elephants, quite adequately replaced with Indian Rhinos, however they still occupy only half of the former elephant yard leaving a significant amount of space unused. And most recently they announced that they plan on getting rid of the hippos from the fantastic safari area, the reason they gave was that they wished to save water, however given that we are hardly a drought ridden region I find this explanation hard to understand. Yes they dont have the fancy underwater viewing with crystal clear water like San Diego, but the exhibit more than makes up for it by seemingly blending in the exhibit with the main safari in the background.

Dont get me wrong, I still love my zoo very much, however that doesnt change the worrying signs of recent developments. Much of these changes seem likely to be budget related which is understandable, and I very much hope that they can pursue more city funding in the way Portland did a number of years ago for future developments. Top of my list for developments would be to construct a doubtlessly expensive new day/night house which would definitely go a long way to improving the zoo as an attraction.
 
Zooplantman said:
Well they have a very strong conservation arm (in fact the Director's background is conservation rather than zoos) and recent exhibits such as penguins and southeast Asia are very good. I thibk one problem for Zoochatters is that so much of the zoo is so well done that they don't tear out exhibits to build cool new ones. The savanna remains great just as it is (for example)
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Some minor work is needed in my opinion (hippos and a new giraffe barn). But I believe the zoo is addressing the former, which really is one of the few bad exhibits in the zoo (if I remember correctly the exhibit lacked an indoor pool).

But besides that I largely agree. The zoos pretty great looking already and the exhibits have aged well. Yet they still take the time to continually improve exhibits even if it is nothing big and flashy.
 
DelacoursLangur said:
And most recently they announced that they plan on getting rid of the hippos from the fantastic safari area, the reason they gave was that they wished to save water, however given that we are hardly a drought ridden region I find this explanation hard to understand. Yes they dont have the fancy underwater viewing with crystal clear water like San Diego, but the exhibit more than makes up for it by seemingly blending in the exhibit with the main safari in the background.
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You do not need to be in a drought area to care about saving water. The exhibit from what I could see of it was older and probably lacked filtration at all which means it likely needed to be dumped and refilled every day which was probably wasting 1,000,000s of gallons every year.
 
Echobeast said:
You do not need to be in a drought area to care about saving water. The exhibit from what I could see of it was older and probably lacked filtration at all which means it likely needed to be dumped and refilled every day which was probably wasting 1,000,000s of gallons every year.
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Very true !
 
nczoofan said:
Some minor work is needed in my opinion (hippos and a new giraffe barn). But I believe the zoo is addressing the former, which really is one of the few bad exhibits in the zoo (if I remember correctly the exhibit lacked an indoor pool).

But besides that I largely agree. The zoos pretty great looking already and the exhibits have aged well. Yet they still take the time to continually improve exhibits even if it is nothing big and flashy.
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I hope they don't go down the superlative flashy route as I have the feeling that it could detract from the aesthetic and spirit of the place.
 
DelacoursLangur said:
As this is my local zoo I think I should probably quickly chime in with my thoughts on the subject. Overall WPZ is fantastic and still one of the best in the country, in fact in terms of immersion it is likely one of the best. And yet I and many others have had their gripes with the projects the zoo has done in the last 10-15 years. The zoo has an amazing foundation of older exhibits I honestly hope they never replace. However since the opening of the very nice penguin and jaguar exhibits in the early 2000s, far more has closed than opened, and the one major development the Banyan Wilds complex is in my opinion the worst in the entire zoo. First they closed the nocturnal house for budget reasons, then they closed the entire reptile house after a minor fire, opting to close it rather than fix or replace it. For a rainy city like Seattle indoor exhibits are an important draw for the zoo and it remains a depressing eyesore right by the entrance. From what I have heard it has gone way down their priorities list, and effectively been swept under the rug. Other than that other losses were the wild dogs, replaced with warthogs. The elephants, quite adequately replaced with Indian Rhinos, however they still occupy only half of the former elephant yard leaving a significant amount of space unused. And most recently they announced that they plan on getting rid of the hippos from the fantastic safari area, the reason they gave was that they wished to save water, however given that we are hardly a drought ridden region I find this explanation hard to understand. Yes they dont have the fancy underwater viewing with crystal clear water like San Diego, but the exhibit more than makes up for it by seemingly blending in the exhibit with the main safari in the background.

Dont get me wrong, I still love my zoo very much, however that doesnt change the worrying signs of recent developments. Much of these changes seem likely to be budget related which is understandable, and I very much hope that they can pursue more city funding in the way Portland did a number of years ago for future developments. Top of my list for developments would be to construct a doubtlessly expensive new day/night house which would definitely go a long way to improving the zoo as an attraction.
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Thanks for sharing @DelacoursLangur !

Very interesting to read your review of this zoo and I can definitely see both why you are fond of it but feel that it could be improved.
 
Echobeast said:
You do not need to be in a drought area to care about saving water. The exhibit from what I could see of it was older and probably lacked filtration at all which means it likely needed to be dumped and refilled every day which was probably wasting 1,000,000s of gallons every year.
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Perhaps, however I would hope that installing a new filtration system might be a more positive way to address this. After reading over their newest press release it seems that this is more of a secondary reason for the decision. The primary seems to be in order to breed the younger hippo Lupe, as the current facilities are unsuitable for a breeding pair. While I understand this, I find the decision to not seek replacement animals quite saddening, and to a degree indicative of the recent direction of developments at the zoo.
 
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Zooplantman said:
There currently are plans to re-use these buildings for new exhibits
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Really!?!?!!! Do you have a source of any kind from this? I have talked to a couple of employees over the past year who seem to think that any development is on a semi-permanent hold. I dont mean to be overly skeptical, but I have heard far too many rumors about its future to not be, I do very much hope you are right though!!!
 
nczoofan said:
Is this still focused around New Guinea? Or is that idea no longer the plan?
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From the RFQ:

While we want to co-create the final theme of the exhibit with our design partner and stakeholders, we do know that we want to feature Matschie’s Tree Kangaroos, and other small to medium species of mammals, birds and reptiles. Additionally, a focus on conservation commerce (e.g. coffee), may be a more effective way to empower guests to take action than a more traditional bio-geographic lens.
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Ituri said:
From the RFQ:
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Sounds great IMO !

But no mention of cassowary and I think it would be a pity to be showcasing Papua New Guinea and not have these iconic birds so important to the forests and present within the human cultures.

I wonder what the small to medium sized mammals that they refer to are.

Echidna ?

Fruit bats ?

Cuscus?
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Sounds great IMO !

But no mention of cassowary and I think it would be a pity to be showcasing Papua New Guinea and not have these iconic birds so important to the forests and present within the human cultures.

I wonder what the small to medium sized mammals that they refer to are.

Echidna ?

Fruit bats ?

Cuscus?
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I am sure that the animal staff has lots of ideas. But as I read the document nothing is certain yet. This project hasn't even begun work yet.
 
DelacoursLangur said:
Perhaps, however I would hope that installing a new filtration system might be a more positive way to address this. After reading over their newest press release it seems that this is more of a secondary reason for the decision. The primary seems to be in order to breed the younger hippo Lupe, as the current facilities are unsuitable for a breeding pair. While I understand this, I find the decision to not seek replacement animals quite saddening, and to a degree indicative of the recent direction of developments at the zoo.
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Why invest thousands of dollars in a filtration system when that isn’t even the most inadequate part of the exhibit? I think WPZ is looking ahead and also looking at all the money that needs to be spent in order to have an appropriate hippo enclosure and facilities today and saying: “yeah our money is best spent elsewhere”.
 
Echobeast said:
Why invest thousands of dollars in a filtration system when that isn’t even the most inadequate part of the exhibit? I think WPZ is looking ahead and also looking at all the money that needs to be spent in order to have an appropriate hippo enclosure and facilities today and saying: “yeah our money is best spent elsewhere”.
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At this point, the fact that they are just coasting along with no sign of legitimate progress (other than the "Living Northwest Trail") is honestly disheartening. I look at the 1976 Master Plan and compare it to the zoo today, and I still think a lot can be done or implemented from that plan, albeit with modifications to fit modern zoo standards. As for hippo exhibits with no underwater viewing, Cheyenne Mountain and ABQ Biopark shows that it can be done, with the former utilizing the most sustainable methods possible. The only place I know of that one can view hippos in crystal clear water is Mzima Springs, and that is not what Woodland Park was trying to go for at all. A filtration system rooted in renewable energy can be considered a good investment rather than a burdensome cost.
 
Echobeast said:
Why invest thousands of dollars in a filtration system when that isn’t even the most inadequate part of the exhibit? I think WPZ is looking ahead and also looking at all the money that needs to be spent in order to have an appropriate hippo enclosure and facilities today and saying: “yeah our money is best spent elsewhere”.
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What exactly is inadequate about the exhibit? To the contrary I think even by todays standards it is really one of the best in the states. It has significantly more land area than the vast majority of AZA exhibits, and it is far more accurate to hippos natural habitat than the crystal clear cichlid filled exhibit at say San Diego, as impressive of an exhibit as that it. Now the areas I don't know as much about are the behind the scenes facilities, however if they need upgrading or replacement I would consider that a worthwhile investment.
 
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