Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park Zoo Tampa, what happened?

SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

In the Swamp
Premium Member
5+ year member
Let me preface this by saying that I have been going to Zoo Tampa/Lowry Park Zoo since it was the "old" zoo. I was a twice weekly volunteer in the aviary and primate departments for around 6 years in the late 90's and early 2000's. I participated in the general development of Safari Africa and Wallaroo Station. I have an enormous respect for the employees and institution of the zoo. I don't question the dedication of the keepers and animal care teams, I know they work tirelessly to care for the animals.

All that said, I have watched a steady decline in the zoo over the last 10 years or so. The decline has been slow, but steady. I don't have any connections at the zoo that can add insight for me, so I am left as an outside observer that sees a zoo that is, honestly, sad.

This past weekend I visited and tried to observe with a more critical eye. Overall the impression is of a facility that was once grand, but is in decline from neglect. I have my own theories on what is and did happen, but without insider information I can only offer my observations.

I did not go through Florida this time as it is mostly under renovation, so I can't comment there.

I am going to break this observational thread into a few parts: general neglect, horticultural issues, and animals. Horticulture and general neglect overlap, but this is a zoo after all.

General Neglect noticed:
  • The aviary is in poor shape, to the point it would be better to close it down for a month and try and rehab it as best as possible.
    • The landscape is terrible, it looks like a hurricane came through and no one bothered to replace or trim the plants.
    • The small aviary at the entrance that once had pine bark glued to it (to disguise the support beam) is missing large portions of the bark and the rest needs to be removed or replaced. I know it was just glued on bark because I did the initial work.
    • The observation deck is closed, the stairs have been removed. Fine, but the entire deck needs to be removed. It looks like an abandoned shack taking up a large percentage of the middle of the aviary - because it basically is.
  • Pavers that have been replaced near the giraffe and in Wallaroo station were replaced with totally different colored pavers. I understand the exact pavers may not be available, but similar ones could have been found.
  • The cave between the tigers and sun bears is blocked off by plywood. This appears to be the permanent solution as it has been that way for quite some time now. I get that they may have closed that area permanently, but there needs to be a better solution. At least paint the plywood to look like rocks so it matches the space.
  • The disaster of an area that used to be the delta aviary and camel ride in Safari Africa remains an embarrassing overgrown grass lot.
  • The fiasco that was the chimp removal to be replaced by bonobos, but I understand that is soon to be rectified.
  • The building past the manatees just looks tired and old. The size of the enclosures seem much to small these days, it is in sore need of a redo.
  • The raw wood fenced in walkway between the red river hogs and the Africa plaza area. In times past this area would have been lined with potted plants at least.
  • What was once the gardens around the lake behind the bird show is just a mess and forgotten area used for random things like the dinosaurs, etc. when they have that. At one time this was a great little garden to walk around.
Horticulture issues:
Let me preface this by reminding people that this is Florida, and we are just coming out of the rainy season. Grass and plants grow incessantly through the summer. When I was at the zoo they used to grow most of their own plants, they had a horticulture staff of at least 3 full time employees.
  • Enclosures that were once lush and planted that have become dirt enclosures:
    • Gharial there is no excuse here, these animals are not messing up the landscape on the land portion of their habitat.
    • Nyala/stork - at one time there were plants there, no longer.
    • Red river hogs - I understand landscaping hog habitat is more of a challenge, but it is possible.
    • Tiger
    • Sun Bear
    • Wallaby/Emu - This one looks particularly bad compared to what it once was.
    • The embarrassment that is the Main Aviary.
  • General landscaping just needs a lot of work throughout the zoo.
Animals:
Animals that are no longer represented or are down to one or two. I am not going to make this an exhaustive list, this is just a couple that are recent to me. I am sure some were not on display, but this has been the same the last three times I was there.
  • Bongo
  • Nyala (only one on display in main habitat)?
  • Mountain Zebra (only one on display)?
  • Masai giraffe (one was out, but I am pretty sure there is a second)
  • Grevy's Zebra
  • Okapi (only one animal that I am aware of)
  • Greater Hornbill
  • Bird of Paradise
  • Meerkats (replaced with African porcupine supposedly)

In conclusion, the biggest issues I see at this time is the horticulture. Un-kept plants and plantings just make the entire zoo look tired. The zoo as a whole was once easily a top ten facility, at this point I would not put it in my personal top 15.

On the plus side, the zoo is remodeling most of the outside habitats of Wild Florida and building something where the chimps were. The quality of these habitats and construction will be telling on how the management has envisioned the zoo going forward. Also, the barrier pond in front of the guenon has been redone recently.
 
Last edited:
As someone who has visited TampaZoo/Lowry Park Zoo at Tampa before Covid for many times, I share your opinion even my last visit was about 3 years ago. But eveb then I had the impression that the area became less cultivated every year and there were less (animal) attractions since about 2010/2012. The huge Africa aviary disapeared as well as rarely seen animals like Gerenuks, Royal Antelopes, Orinoko Crocodiles, Persian Leopards and New Guinea Singing Dogs. Other common zoo animals were - as already mentioned by SwampDonkey - not or at least not adequately replaced.
However: I still like this zoo. But they should more invest (again).
 
Now I have only visited 6 zoos in FL so I can't say I am well versed in FL zoos. However Zoo Tampa is on my bottom three. On my visit, I always felt like some parts of the zoo were outdated such as the primate area, the Asian aviary, parts fo the African area. I can't say much about the animals except for the fact that I wish I went to ZT when they still had bushbabies and bearded pigs. That and the black bear I saw in 2019 was disturbingly chunky and its enclosure was full of vultures which I understand that not much can be done about them.
 
Don't get me wrong, this is still a really good zoo, and with some time and effort it could improve a lot; and I am not intending this to be a "bash ZT" (not that it has become that), it is just that at this point there seems to be something missing, I am not sure if it is management, staff, or something else. I am sure they are short staffed, based on the open positions listed online, but this has been a growing problem for years now - and it is really showing.

Primate World is the last major area to have been left out of the renovations since it opened. Some animals have changed, but it is largely the same as when the zoo opened. Albeit, the new habitat where the chimps were will change the area quite a bit as it is a large part of the zone.

The Sulawesi Aviary is relatively new (as it goes), having replaced another habitat (I think that is where the Arabian Oryx?), but it has lost focus, I mean....Saddle-billed storks? It also suffers the landscaping issues.
 
If I sounded like I was bashing ZT, my apologies. I do think it is the kind of I wish I couşd visit and volunteer in my childhood town growing up. I remember seeing european storks in the sulawesi aviary but I might have been confusing that stork for another animal.
 
PossumRoach said:
If I sounded like I was bashing ZT, my apologies.
Click to expand...
Not at all, I just wanted to head that off if it was how my post was received :)
I do think it is the kind of I wish I couşd visit and volunteer in my childhood town growing up. I remember seeing european storks in the sulawesi aviary but I might have been confusing that stork for another animal.
Click to expand...
It's entirely possible they had some sort of European stork there, I can't remember the different species that have been placed in that aviary over time.
 
I stopped by this past week for Zoo Boo. I was able to take a few pictures of some of the issues above. Below are pictures of the tiger habitat and the plywood blocking the access to the tiger/bear cave. On further thought, these two issues could be worse, but it also could be significantly better.
full

full
 
I should also mention that I am pretty sure I spied the Greater Hornbill (one) in the flight cages off exhibit behind the tomistoma habitat. Why it is not in the main aviary is a mystery, but at least they are still around.
 
One thing about horticulture is remember we are still coming out of COVID closures, where zoos were affected inordinately hard. Most zoos laid off almost all of their non-essential staff (read: horticulture) and some zoos are just now bringing them back on. Most zoos are still understaffed and struggling financially.
 
Youssarian said:
One thing about horticulture is remember we are still coming out of COVID closures, where zoos were affected inordinately hard. Most zoos laid off almost all of their non-essential staff (read: horticulture) and some zoos are just now bringing them back on. Most zoos are still understaffed and struggling financially.
Click to expand...
Valid point for zoos overall. However, ZT was closed for 3 months and brought back all furloughed workers by July 2020, so it has been well over a year since the major covid employment issues.

Attendance summer 2020 was actually better than summer 2019. Further, 2020 matched the prior years operating revenues, amazingly.

I have not seen the reports for this past fiscal year to compare to 2020, but it should be out any day now.

As I noted to, this has been a decline of around a decade, so COVID certainly presented challenges, but it was not the major contributor like it may be in other zoos.
 
I'm less familiar with Zoo Tampa, but I was looking for more information on a few things I had hear dlesewhere and directed from some searching to this thread. Forgive me if this feels invasive or like a useless bump.

Would any ZT regulars be so kind as to elaborate on the defunct Wetlands aviary and the renovations to the Florida region? What is the status of the animals mentioned in the first post of this thread? What replaced the former singing dogs?
 
JVM said:
I'm less familiar with Zoo Tampa, but I was looking for more information on a few things I had hear dlesewhere and directed from some searching to this thread. Forgive me if this feels invasive or like a useless bump.
Click to expand...
I would be happy to add some detail :)
Would any ZT regulars be so kind as to elaborate on the defunct Wetlands aviary
Click to expand...
That aviary was fantastic, apparently it was demolished due to poor build quality. Currently the space is just a weedy lot as they filled in the marsh area. Some of those animals moved to other parts of the zoo, such as the saddle bill storks, some were removed entirely, such as the pelican and flamingoes.
What is the status of the animals mentioned in the first post of this thread?
Click to expand...
I have a much more detailed thread on the previous animals at the zoo that you can find here: Formerly kept Species Zoo Tampa/Lowry Park Zoo [Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park]
But as for the ones in this thread, I will update in red:
  • Bongo (can be seen from safari ride sometimes)
  • Nyala (consistently on display in main habitat, have several)
  • Mountain Zebra (I have not seen him for months, I am not sure if they still hold the last one)
  • Masai giraffe (they have three or four now)
  • Grevy's Zebra (long gone)
  • Okapi (only one animal)
  • Greater Hornbill (consistently on display in their main flight cage in the main aviary)
  • Bird of Paradise (long gone)
  • Meerkats (replaced with African porcupine)
and the renovations to the Florida region?
Click to expand...
I still feel it was done poorly. I get that they mainly did it to spruce it up and add outdoor space for all the animals, and that is noble, but the overall build is not great, certainly not to the standards of the previous additions in the late 90s and early 00s. At least plants have started to grow well in the panther and wolf habitats. Now that the rainy season is over I expect those to die back somewhat, however. The small black bear cage is worse than when it opened as they removed parts of the main climbing platform, but at least they added shade cloth.
What replaced the former singing dogs?
Click to expand...
That part of the children's zoo was remodeled and the dogs and surrounding space are now a playground and "flying bananas" ride. While I lament the loss of a animal species, the playground and ride are more fitting for a children's zoo area, especially the playground as there was not one elsewhere in the zoo already.
 
Last edited:
SwampDonkey said:
I still feel it was done poorly. I get that they mainly did it to spruce it up and add outdoor space for all the animals, and that is noble, but the overall build is not great, certainly not to the standards of the previous additions in the late 90s and early 00s. At least plants have started to grow well in the panther and wolf habitats. Now that the rainy season is over I expect those to die back somewhat, however. The small black bear cage is worse than when it opened as they removed parts of the main climbing platform, but at least they added shade cloth.

That part of the children's zoo was remodeled and the dogs and surrounding space are now a playground and "flying bananas" ride. While I lament the loss of a animal species, the playground and ride are more fitting for a children's zoo area, especially the playground as there was not one elsewhere in the zoo already.
Click to expand...
Thank you for all the information. It certainly sounds like the zoo could use a new shipment of zebra from somewhere considering they've run out of two species, but that's not something I'd have asked about on its own. It's good to see most of the missing species are still present. I am not surprised by the singing dogs being gone, unfortunate though.

So by 'poor build quality' in the Wetlands aviary, does this mean it was flimsy and not sustainable? Are there any images left of this exhibit? Was it the exhibit itself that people enjoyed or just the animals in it?

I would be curious to hear more about the Florida renovations in general. What animals were formerly only indoors? I know many posters have pointed out a lot of horticulture issues with Tampa.

I'm not sure I follow about the black bear cage. I did find a few images. It sounds like it has always been too small, but what is this about a climbing platform?
 
JVM said:
Thank you for all the information. It certainly sounds like the zoo could use a new shipment of zebra from somewhere considering they've run out of two species, but that's not something I'd have asked about on its own.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I am not sure what the story is there. Maybe they don't feel there is really enough space in that habitat with the additional giraffe, and I suppose the mixed Grevy's and white rhino was not working out in some way either.

So by 'poor build quality' in the Wetlands aviary, does this mean it was flimsy and not sustainable? Are there any images left of this exhibit? Was it the exhibit itself that people enjoyed or just the animals in it?
Click to expand...
I am not really sure about it being poorly built or not sustainable, I think it was likely something to do with being more flimsy than desired, but it could also have something to do with the actual land it was built on, unfortunately I really don't know. People liked both the uniqueness of the aviary and the animals, it was pretty unique and really tied in that whole part of the zoo.

Here are a couple of pictures from the media gallery. The pictures are not mine (credit @snowleopard ), but they do a good job of showing the aviary:
full

full



I would be curious to hear more about the Florida renovations in general. What animals were formerly only indoors?
Click to expand...
They have two black bears and three panthers/cougars, so previously the animals had to rotate between being on exhibit and being kept in their night house. Now they can have all of them out at the same time in their own habitat. That is a great thing and should be applauded as to animal welfare. My issue is with the actual design, it is not that the design is so bad (it is not), but that it is not up to the standards of a zoo that wants to be top 10 in general and number 1 "for families".
I'm not sure I follow about the black bear cage. I did find a few images. It sounds like it has always been too small, but what is this about a climbing platform?
Click to expand...
There are two black bear habitats, I usually use #1 for the small new cage and #2 for the larger old habitat that was sort of remodeled in the re-work of the area.

#1 originally looked like this:
full

Now, it looks like this:
full


Notice that what once was three platforms is now just the one.

Bear habitat #2 is largely the same, they just cut off some of the space on either end for the new night house and habitat #1, but it was minimal space loss.
 
Regarding the Wetland Aviary, the wood post started rotting away and given the storms Tampa is prone to, it was deemed unsafe for the inhabitants.

Shame they no longer have Grevys with the whites. I remember going one time and they had both a Grevys foal and rhino calf in the enclosure together. Was quite interesting to see
 
I won't fight with a local about storms and weather conditions in Florida. But I allow myself some questions: Is the prone to storms really an argument looking at the fact, that ZooTampa has another large aviary close to the entrance? And that Zoo Miami, which was much more affected by hurricanes within the last 2 or 3 decades afaik, still has a (renovated) huge aviary?
 
Miami rebuilt the Aviary after Andrew using material other than wood (concrete or metal posts).

Even though the Main Aviary at Lowry is still mostly? wood it doesn't sit in the low wet spot the Wetlands Aviary, which caused the posts to rot.

Having built quite a few enclosures in the sunshine state I don't use wood when I can help it. It just doesn't last as long
 
Thanks for the explanation. So the real issue is humidity/wet ground AND wood. Wasn't it possible to replace the wood material in the former aviary at ZooTampa with concrete and/or metal posts (or create a new exhibit with this material) instead of getting rid of it completely?

Sorry for "ride around" on this (German saying, does in work in English as well?) that much, but the aviary was one of my favored exhibits at ZT.
 
zoomaniac said:
Wasn't it possible to replace the wood material in the former aviary at ZooTampa with concrete and/or metal posts (or create a new exhibit with this material) instead of getting rid of it completely?
Click to expand...
It would definitely be possible, but not practical at that time. I would imagine that the zoo had already spent the money they had allocated, it was not really in the budget to replace it. That and the area was later (and currently) planned to be another animal exhibit at some point.

The real issue with the African area is beyond just this aviary. That entire section was far better when it opened, the species it held compared to now is staggering. While some parts of it are better now, by and large it is not as good. The pinnacle for that section was just after they opened the "Ituri Forest" part.
 
Completely agree with @SwampDonkey. For me, the pinnacle was the time they had the striped hyena and cheetah rotating in the now hunting dog exhibit. The zoo had an amazing hoof stock collection (royal antelope, blue, black, red flanked, crowned duiker, Thompson gazelle, gerenuk, lesser kudu, Sable, bontebok, steenbok, Grevys, warthog). Also the secretary birds, numerous African hornbill species and, of course, the Wetland Aviary that held African birds (including shoebill), lemurs and waterbuck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top