Zoo/Aquarium Hot Takes

Xavier GM said:
sirenians usualy don't get very good exhibits.
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I strongly disagree, at least from a European perspective. In fact I think that since Tierpark Berlin went out of the species there is not a single remotely poor exhibit for manatees in the entire continent, with Faunia maybe being the weakest. Besides those mentioned by Batto, the exhibits at Vincennes, Beauval, and, from what I've heard Randers are also great.

I don't have much of an idea of the manatee exhibits on the other side of the pond but I remember thinking Columbus's looked fantastic and I've heard some good things about Tampa's too.
 
gerome said:
i think it is okay for zoos to get certain species from the wild if there not endangered and are not highly intellegent.
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Quite honestly I would argue that even endangered/highly intelligent species are okay to source from the wild if done thoughtfully and sustainably.
Take the multiple US imports of wild African elephants for example, there were simply too many in a fragmented habitat and in that case it was better to remove them. In many cases I believe, endangered species are facing circumstances where it would be best to remove individuals from the wild to put less strain on their habitat. Honestly I think this approach will be needed more and more as time goes on as there is less and less room for animal habitats. Not to mention that most captive populations will likely eventually reach a bottleneck without fresh blood.
 
Here is another take of mine: petting zoos are an essential part of every zoo, and their design can actually be very interesting.

Having a petting zoo is a good way to secure regular visits from families with children, which are the core demographic of zoo visitors. The way the petting zoo is designed says a lot about the zoo's philosophy as a whole.

For instance, I think the lack of a petting zoo area played a big role in the failure of zoo de Vincennes to become popular.
 
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Wanderer said:
For instance, I think the lack of a petting zoo area played a big role in the failure of zoo de Vincennes to become popular.
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You could be right, but I would broaden it to an overall approach that really isn't oriented towards families. The zoo has no playgrounds, no petting zoo, and only one gift shop near the exit. Compare this to my local, London, which has a huge petting zoo, one huge playground with several smaller ones littered throughout, a carousel, a water player area, a massive gift shop and two additional kiosks selling souvenirs. Vincennes has nothing in that aspect.

While I do suspect you are right to associate this with the zoo's relatively low attendance numbers compared to other city zoos, and I do not blame places like London at all for installing non-animal attractions to help increase the place's appeal to charity (so long as the animals remain the ultimate focus, I see little issue with it), I found that, on my one and to date only visit to the collection in July 2018, Vincennes not being a family-oriented attraction is part of the charm of the place. Being in a major zoo, in the heart of a sprawling metropolis, in the middle of the summer, and yet having none of the noise of playgrounds, or the constant overcommercialism of endless gift shops, even having large parts of the zoo all to myself - it was just beautiful. I doubt funding is an issue for the scientific and (if I am not mistaken) government-funded 'Muséum Nationale d'Historie naturelle' as a whole, and therefore I don't see Vincennes being desparate for more visitors and adding more family-oriented features. If they do, I won't blame them, but I do feel the place would lose a large part of its character in the process. Only time will tell.
 
I find Bronx Zoo’s “Madagascar!” to be slightly overrated. It’s still a very good exhibit overall, but aside from the fantastic Spiny Forest display, not that many of the enclosures exactly stun me. I’d even argue that the fossa and especially Nile crocodile enclosures, while well-designed, are too small.

Then again, maybe I’m thinking in comparison to other exhibits at Bronx. It’s still definitely a good exhibit that I make sure to stop by, but when you’re going up against JungleWorld, Wild Asia Monorail, and Congo Gorilla Forest, your flaws might be easier to notice.
 
NNM. said:
I find Bronx Zoo’s “Madagascar!” to be slightly overrated. It’s still a very good exhibit overall, but aside from the fantastic Spiny Forest display, not that many of the enclosures exactly stun me. I’d even argue that the fossa and especially Nile crocodile enclosures, while well-designed, are too small.

Then again, maybe I’m thinking in comparison to other exhibits at Bronx. It’s still definitely a good exhibit that I make sure to stop by, but when you’re going up against JungleWorld, Wild Asia Monorail, and Congo Gorilla Forest, your flaws might be easier to notice.
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I can understand this, but a big reason why the Bronx's Madagascar exhibit is so highly regarded is because it is unique in its focus on the island of Madagascar beyond a couple of lemur species like a majority of zoos, while also being very well done in terms of exhibitry. There are very few other Madagascar exhibits out there, at least in the US and none of the others even come close to being on the Bronx's level. Omaha's was very disappointing when it opened and has only gotten worse in the decade since. The only other "Madagascar" specific exhibit I can think of out there is at the Abilene Zoo in Texas and fairly is fairly small by comparison. Not bad, just small and nothing even close to the Spiny Forest level. San Francisco I believe has one in the works, but that still only gives us 4 actual "Madagascar" exhibit complexes and the Bronx's is by far an away better than anything else.

I can understand that not all of the exhibits live up to the Spiny Forest one in there, but also none of them are worse than average. Also, if that is the standard that exhibit complexes are being measured by ("Well not everything was the best of the best so it's overrated") almost every single exhibit complex out there is going to be deemed overrated.
 
NSU42 said:
I can understand this, but a big reason why the Bronx's Madagascar exhibit is so highly regarded is because it is unique in its focus on the island of Madagascar beyond a couple of lemur species like a majority of zoos, while also being very well done in terms of exhibitry. There are very few other Madagascar exhibits out there, at least in the US and none of the others even come close to being on the Bronx's level. Omaha's was very disappointing when it opened and has only gotten worse in the decade since. The only other "Madagascar" specific exhibit I can think of out there is at the Abilene Zoo in Texas and fairly is fairly small by comparison. Not bad, just small and nothing even close to the Spiny Forest level. San Francisco I believe has one in the works, but that still only gives us 4 actual "Madagascar" exhibit complexes and the Bronx's is by far an away better than anything else.

I can understand that not all of the exhibits live up to the Spiny Forest one in there, but also none of them are worse than average. Also, if that is the standard that exhibit complexes are being measured by ("Well not everything was the best of the best so it's overrated") almost every single exhibit complex out there is going to be deemed overrated.
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Well okay I didn’t mean to say it was only overrated compared to other exhibits at Bronx. That was just something I thought of that might affect my judgement. I do just think it’s mildly overrated outside of that.
 
NSU42 said:
I can understand this, but a big reason why the Bronx's Madagascar exhibit is so highly regarded is because it is unique in its focus on the island of Madagascar beyond a couple of lemur species like a majority of zoos, while also being very well done in terms of exhibitry. There are very few other Madagascar exhibits out there, at least in the US and none of the others even come close to being on the Bronx's level. Omaha's was very disappointing when it opened and has only gotten worse in the decade since. The only other "Madagascar" specific exhibit I can think of out there is at the Abilene Zoo in Texas and fairly is fairly small by comparison. Not bad, just small and nothing even close to the Spiny Forest level. San Francisco I believe has one in the works, but that still only gives us 4 actual "Madagascar" exhibit complexes and the Bronx's is by far an away better than anything else.

I can understand that not all of the exhibits live up to the Spiny Forest one in there, but also none of them are worse than average. Also, if that is the standard that exhibit complexes are being measured by ("Well not everything was the best of the best so it's overrated") almost every single exhibit complex out there is going to be deemed overrated.
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For me some of Madagascar’s other big strengths are the building’s layout (in terms of the sequence of the exhibits and the sight lines) as well as the interpretive elements (ie lifting up the bark on a fake tree to see how water would be stored underneath, or touching a model elephant bird egg to see a giant skeleton of the animal suddenly appear on the wall)
 
Madagascar exhibits are uncommon in the United States, so I might be inclined to say I am more grateful that Bronx and Omaha have tried at all to build these unique exhibits that cover an atypical subject for an American zoo than would feel disappointed that they do not measure up to the facilities' best exhibits respectively. That doesn't mean I don't believe they should be improved but I feel like both exhibits, which would be highlights at almost any other zoo, attract disproportionate negativity because they are at 'better' facilities.
 
We need more Zoo exhibits in America dedicated to india. The only one I know of is at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but we have so many species from the region:
Asian Elephants
Indian Rhinos
Amur Leopards (Not native but would make more sense)
Sloth Bears
Dholes (rare, but could work)
Gharials
Peafowl and other birds
Star tortoise
Burmese and Reticulated Pythons
Clouded Leopard
Caracal
Other species not found commonly in zoos.
Plus the theming could be really good
 
@RandomZooVisitorYT I agree with your hot take, although, while it is true that the Disney-created Kingdom of Anandapur does takes inspiration from India (and to some extent, Nepal). The animal selection seen along the Maharajah Jungle Trek mostly consists of general Southeast Asian fauna; with their Lion-Tailed Macaques being the most notable animal to actually hail from India.
 
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