Zoo/Aquarium Hot Takes

My hot take is that Mystic Aquarium is one of the best aquariums in the country and deserves more recognition. All of the habitats are appropriately sized and beautifully done, they do a lot for rescue and research, and their veterinary hospital is state-of-the-art. I don’t hear people talking about it nearly as much as Georgia or Shedd when it’s just as good as those facilities. Also, I feel like the AZA should require big cat enclosures to be slightly bigger. I know they spend most of their time asleep but I think all big cat exhibits should be at least 3/4 of an acre so they have more room to act out their natural behaviors and more room for enrichment.
 
A lot of aquariums are under-appreciated IMO. Georgia and Shedd probably get the most attention, but there are other great aquariums with good animal collections that mostly get overshadowed by zoos. A good example is Newport Aquarium, which often gets overshadowed since Cincinnati Zoo is less than a 20 minute drive away.
 
Galapagos Penguin said:
A lot of aquariums are under-appreciated IMO. Georgia and Shedd probably get the most attention, but there are other great aquariums with good animal collections that mostly get overshadowed by zoos. A good example is Newport Aquarium, which often gets overshadowed since Cincinnati Zoo is less than a 20 minute drive away.
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Newport is okay. If anything I find Tennessee to be the most underrated.

My hot aquarium rankings take: Monterey Bay is better than Georgia.
 
KatherineLionessHornbillX said:
My hot take is that Mystic Aquarium is one of the best aquariums in the country and deserves more recognition. All of the habitats are appropriately sized and beautifully done, they do a lot for rescue and research, and their veterinary hospital is state-of-the-art. I don’t hear people talking about it nearly as much as Georgia or Shedd when it’s just as good as those facilities. Also, I feel like the AZA should require big cat enclosures to be slightly bigger. I know they spend most of their time asleep but I think all big cat exhibits should be at least 3/4 of an acre so they have more room to act out their natural behaviors and more room for enrichment.
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Disagree with Mystic because of their tiny Steller's space. That species needs way more room, and the exhibit itself is so ugly.
 
TinoPup said:
Disagree with Mystic because of their tiny Steller's space. That species needs way more room, and the exhibit itself is so ugly.
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Interesting, I've always found the weakest of their outdoor exhibits to be the penguin habitat, not the sea lions. However, I'd also disagree with it being one of the best aquariums, and instead just think it's a rather decent aquarium with an outstanding Beluga habitat.
 
Galapagos Penguin said:
A lot of aquariums are under-appreciated IMO. Georgia and Shedd probably get the most attention, but there are other great aquariums with good animal collections that mostly get overshadowed by zoos. A good example is Newport Aquarium, which often gets overshadowed since Cincinnati Zoo is less than a 20 minute drive away.
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I lived in Iowa for a little bit before I was really into the zoo community (I always loved going to zoos and was interested in animal care but didn't really know there were 'zoo stans') and I loved going to the National Mississippi River Museum. It was pretty simple, but I had never lived anywhere that had an aquarium down the road from where I lived and it was so nice to have around.

I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific within the last few years and really liked it! You don't hear much about it - but I thought it was the perfect size (even if it was on the smaller side) but the exhibits were really nice and well done.
 
Neil chace said:
Interesting, I've always found the weakest of their outdoor exhibits to be the penguin habitat, not the sea lions. However, I'd also disagree with it being one of the best aquariums, and instead just think it's a rather decent aquarium with an outstanding Beluga habitat.
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The penguin exhibit is a bit dated at the point, being one of the older ones still around, but I think it's still great for the number of animals it holds. There's underwater viewing outside and inside, as well, which is uncommon. I agree with your description of it. The indoor aquarium is fairly small when compared to the amount of mammals they have, and it's not organized well. I wish they'd put the spotted and harbor seals in different pools, too, since it's so difficult to tell them apart.
 
TinoPup said:
I wish they'd put the spotted and harbor seals in different pools, too, since it's so difficult to tell them apart.
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Mixing species that do well together in captivity can be very enriching - and it’s probably not worth adding a whole new exhibit if they have adequate space :p
 
Galapagos Penguin said:
Mixing species that do well together in captivity can be very enriching - and it’s probably not worth adding a whole new exhibit if they have adequate space :p
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They have three different species in the pool, for a total of 14 animals, including 8 harbors. Another exhibit wouldn't be an issue, and would help highlight the spotted seal. IMO build a new Steller's exhibit, and move a few of the others into their old one.
 
TinoPup said:
They have three different species in the pool, for a total of 14 animals, including 8 harbors. Another exhibit wouldn't be an issue, and would help highlight the spotted seal. IMO build a new Steller's exhibit, and move a few of the others into their old one.
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I agree the Steller’s could definitely use an update, but I think considering the much smaller amount of spotted seals compared to harbor seals, it might just be better to instead make their current exhibit larger instead of adding a whole new one.

The Steller’s on the other hand could definitely get a new one.
 
Honestly I don’t think there is a best aquarium in North America. I definitely think there are underwater ones like Tennessee River Aquarium and Aquarium of the Pacific but there isn’t one that is clearly above the rest. Places like Georgia or SeaWorld have the collection but not the exhibits and places like Aquarium of the Pacific and Tennessee River Aquarium have the exhibits but not the collection. Honestly I think if we wanted a true best and most underrated aquarium @snowleopard would be the one to ask.
zoogoer92 said:
I lived in Iowa for a little bit before I was really into the zoo community (I always loved going to zoos and was interested in animal care but didn't really know there were 'zoo stans') and I loved going to the National Mississippi River Museum. It was pretty simple, but I had never lived anywhere that had an aquarium down the road from where I lived and it was so nice to have around.

I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific within the last few years and really liked it! You don't hear much about it - but I thought it was the perfect size (even if it was on the smaller side) but the exhibits were really nice and well done.
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I agree with the Aquarium of the Pacific there is very little wrong with it and it’s very enjoyable overall. I’ve also found it’s gallery style very different from most aquariums but still quite pleasing.
 
Most of Aquarium of the Pacific is really nice, but I disliked the shark lagoon exhibit when I visited around 5 years ago. Maybe I am misremembering, but the exhibit felt like a lazily thrown-together round tank with very few naturalistic or immersive features.
 
ZooElephantsMan said:
Most of Aquarium of the Pacific is really nice, but I disliked the shark lagoon exhibit when I visited around 5 years ago. Maybe I am misremembering, but the exhibit felt like a lazily thrown-together round tank with very few naturalistic or immersive features.
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The large shark lagoon tank from what I remember was built after opening to bring in more guests. The touch tanks are actually very well put together and are pretty nice as far as touch tanks go. The main exhibit has gotten better with some new coral implants added but I do agree it is definitely out of place with the other stellar exhibits.
 
Westcoastperson said:
Honestly I don’t think there is a best aquarium in North America. I definitely think there are underwater ones like Tennessee River Aquarium and Aquarium of the Pacific but there isn’t one that is clearly above the rest. Places like Georgia or SeaWorld have the collection but not the exhibits and places like Aquarium of the Pacific and Tennessee River Aquarium have the exhibits but not the collection. Honestly I think if we wanted a true best and most underrated aquarium @snowleopard would be the one to ask.
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Quite often there have been various references to the 'Big 5' North American aquariums. I would personally regard Shedd as #1, as it has magnificent 1930s architecture, amazing exhibits and an enormous collection of species. There's also Monterey Bay, Georgia, Tennessee and Baltimore that are all excellent.
 
The Tennessee Aquarium just might be the most underrated and unique aquarium in the US, and I would personally put it above Georgia (got to visit both last month) as my favorite aquarium.

I am not sure how one can say that Tennessee "doesn't have the collection". It might have one of the most unique collections of any aquarium I have visited thanks to its freshwater focus. I am not aware of any other place where you can see such a huge and diverse array of freshwater fish. I mean, where else are you going to see so many freshwater turtles in once place? Where else are you going to see Jeremy Wade's entire resume in one setting? Where else would you see such a comprehensive collection representing a single river system?

And even if you are not a freshwater fan like I am and prefer saltwater, TN still has a great Ocean exhibit building.
 
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Steelcan said:
I wish more Zoos would do areas that attempt to recreate paleofauna, ala Elephant Odyssey. I think particularly in North American and European Zoos its worth showing off just what kind of species used to roam the wilds of France or Illinois.
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Akron sort of did this with their Grizzly Ridge area, showcasing the past, present and future of wildlife in Ohio. @Moebelle covered it well here:
 
snowleopard said:
Quite often there have been various references to the 'Big 5' North American aquariums. I would personally regard Shedd as #1, as it has magnificent 1930s architecture, amazing exhibits and an enormous collection of species. There's also Monterey Bay, Georgia, Tennessee and Baltimore that are all excellent.
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I'm going to Shedd later this week, very excited!
 
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