Hi everyone, the point of this thread is to talk about zoos you've been to and what you think they could do to improve. I'll go first, with my home zoo, the North Carolina Zoo.
The North Carolina Zoo is one of if not the largest zoo by land area in the country, so all the animals have adequate space. However, when watching Secrets of the Zoo North Carolina on National Geographic, I noticed that some of the indoor holding areas are very old and rusty, etc, not anywhere near as good as facilities like the National Zoo.
Also, the zoo hasn't done any major renovations since opening. I am excited to see what the Asia and Australia sections bring.
I also feel like the zoo needs to bring in more new animals. For example, I believe that the NC Zoo has the oldest lion in North America (someone can correct me if I'm wrong), and they also have a very old grizzly bear. They recently focused their time on a large renovation for the grizzly exhibit that didn't change that much. Also, who knows how much longer they're going to have the bear?
The Desert Dome includes animals that do not live in the desert, namely, a komodo dragon. I believe he is supposed to be moved to the Asia area when it opens though. I will give them credit for building an outdoor exhibit for the ocelots, though. Their indoor space was not great. They have also had success in breeding vampire bats and sand cats.
The flamingo exhibit is old and doesn't look very good, and the zoo has not bred their flamingos in a while. I would also love to see the zoo acquire some new dart frogs. They have a very large terrarium at the moment with only two Panamanian golden frogs. The aviary is very large but only has ~60 individual birds in it. I would like the zoo to add some more birds to this area.
The zoo has a large area for ostriches, giraffes, and Grant's zebras, but they only have 4 giraffes, 2 zebras, and 2 ostriches. I would love to see this fill up with either more of the aforementioned species or some new species.
The zoo is phasing out of sea lions, so I'm wondering what will go in that area. The zoo has not had success breeding polar bears, so I don't know if that's a viable species for them to hold anymore. They recently brought in a new male, so hopefully babies will follow. If not, maybe they should look to exhibit post-reproductive bears or a different species. They do however have some very rare seabirds that are not often seen in zoos.
The gorilla exhibit needs to be redone. It is way too small, and there is not enough naturalistic enrichment for their troop.
Once the Asia and Australia areas are finished, I would love to see some general revamping of the North America and Africa areas, as well as hopefully the addition of a South America area.
Some species that I think the zoo would do well with: antelope and gazelle, Pallas's cat, penguins, bald eagles, sandhill or whooping cranes, macaws, hippos
Some exhibits that I think the zoo should open: South America, Reptile House, Nocturnal House
The North Carolina Zoo is one of if not the largest zoo by land area in the country, so all the animals have adequate space. However, when watching Secrets of the Zoo North Carolina on National Geographic, I noticed that some of the indoor holding areas are very old and rusty, etc, not anywhere near as good as facilities like the National Zoo.
Also, the zoo hasn't done any major renovations since opening. I am excited to see what the Asia and Australia sections bring.
I also feel like the zoo needs to bring in more new animals. For example, I believe that the NC Zoo has the oldest lion in North America (someone can correct me if I'm wrong), and they also have a very old grizzly bear. They recently focused their time on a large renovation for the grizzly exhibit that didn't change that much. Also, who knows how much longer they're going to have the bear?
The Desert Dome includes animals that do not live in the desert, namely, a komodo dragon. I believe he is supposed to be moved to the Asia area when it opens though. I will give them credit for building an outdoor exhibit for the ocelots, though. Their indoor space was not great. They have also had success in breeding vampire bats and sand cats.
The flamingo exhibit is old and doesn't look very good, and the zoo has not bred their flamingos in a while. I would also love to see the zoo acquire some new dart frogs. They have a very large terrarium at the moment with only two Panamanian golden frogs. The aviary is very large but only has ~60 individual birds in it. I would like the zoo to add some more birds to this area.
The zoo has a large area for ostriches, giraffes, and Grant's zebras, but they only have 4 giraffes, 2 zebras, and 2 ostriches. I would love to see this fill up with either more of the aforementioned species or some new species.
The zoo is phasing out of sea lions, so I'm wondering what will go in that area. The zoo has not had success breeding polar bears, so I don't know if that's a viable species for them to hold anymore. They recently brought in a new male, so hopefully babies will follow. If not, maybe they should look to exhibit post-reproductive bears or a different species. They do however have some very rare seabirds that are not often seen in zoos.
The gorilla exhibit needs to be redone. It is way too small, and there is not enough naturalistic enrichment for their troop.
Once the Asia and Australia areas are finished, I would love to see some general revamping of the North America and Africa areas, as well as hopefully the addition of a South America area.
Some species that I think the zoo would do well with: antelope and gazelle, Pallas's cat, penguins, bald eagles, sandhill or whooping cranes, macaws, hippos
Some exhibits that I think the zoo should open: South America, Reptile House, Nocturnal House
