Thanks @snowleopard! The zoo is definitely worth a visit, but is indeed remote. I guess I now have the distinction of being the first zoochatter who made it that far
Zoo_enthusiast's Canadian Roadtrip
- Thread starter zoo_enthusiast
- Start date
ANyhuis
Well-Known Member
Hey, thank you for mentioning my book -- my OLD book! I should tell you that I've personally never been to this Saint Felicien zoo, but it sounds like I described it well. I included it in my list of best Canadian zoos because AAA gave it a "star" in their Tourbook of Quebec. Also, as you mention our 2008 book did not include a chapter listing foreign zoos -- but actually we DID have such a chapter written, but our publisher cut it due to a number of pages limit.
Thanks Allen! Yours was the first book that I bought soon after coming to United States in 1998, and I've been using this great resource (and the subsequent edition) to plan all my US zoo trips ever since! Most US zoos that I have visited I have first read about in your books. But then, if even you haven't been to Saint Felicien, then I may very well be the first zoo-chatter to get there
I have finished uploading my Saint Felicien photos to the gallery. Unfortunately I've only took a couple of exhibit photos, so most of what you'll see are animal photos. Usually when I go to the zoos my main priority is taking animal photos for my personal collection (especially new species), and I get so preoccupied with this that I usually take photos of exhibits on my last zoo round, if at all (and in this instance we decided not to do another round as we already spent more time at the zoo than anticipated and had a long drive ahead of us). I've only decided to write these reviews after we came back from Canada, otherwise I would have asked my wife to take some photos of exhibits and general zoo views. She did shoot quite a few exhibit videos on her camera and (after her camera's battery died) on her cellphone. We haven't had a chance to watch them yet, but if they turned out OK and if any of the folks here would like to watch them, I'll post some to the gallery
Aquarium du Quebec
This aquarium was founded in 1950s as a marine biology research center. It is located on the shore of Saint Laurence River, about 25 minutes’ drive from the old district of Quebec City. According to Wikipedia, there used to be a zoo (Jardine Zoologique du Quebec) right next to the Aquarium, and it closed as recently as 2005.
The Aquarium’s layout reminded me of the New York Aquarium (pre-Hurricane Sandy) and Mystic Aquarium. Like those two establishments, the Aquarium du Quebec has a couple of fairly unremarkable buildings full of tanks with aquatic wildlife, and several outdoor exhibits showcasing marine mammals. Being more of a mammal person than a fish person, I always tend to pay much more attention to such outdoor exhibits, especially if they house species that are rare in captivity. And this Aquarium does not disappoint marine mammal enthusiast. They have a total of three marine mammal exhibits outdoors: one houses several harbor seals, the second contains grey seals (0.2) and harp seals (0.3), and the largest one (and the only one with underwater viewing) has two walruses of two subspecies (Pacific male Boris and Atlantic female Arnaliaq). Since I’ve seen and photographed harbor seals and grey seals in the wild and in multiple other zoos before, I was especially interested in harp seals and walruses.
ZIMS lists Aquarium du Quebec as the only institution currently housing harp seals – I have heard that some can occasionally be seen in the Sea World parks, but I have been to both Orlando and San Diego Sea World parks multiple times and have yet to see one… Besides those, zootierliste lists two European holders – Brest Oceanopolis in France and an obscure aquarium in Russia (both housing single individuals). I only know of two other places housing this species since the turn of the millennium – Baltimore Aquarium had one male in late 1990s-early 2000s (and I saw it on several occasions, but that was in my pre-camera days), and more recently Detroit Zoo had two males (one of which, I believe, came from Baltimore and was the one that I saw in early 2000s). Since it’s been almost 20 years since I last saw a harp seal, and I because I didn’t have any prior photos, my immediate concern was to find out if there are any planned feeding sessions (since I wanted to photograph them on land). Fortunately, there was one scheduled, about 2 hours after we arrived. And so, after we finished out walk around the aquarium, my wife took the kids to the playground, while I ran to the seal pool and waited there for the feeding session to commence (my photos are coming up).
Aquarium du Quebec and Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg appear to be the only two facilities in the world that house two subspecies of walrus. Both Hamburg and Quebec facilities house a single female Atlantic walrus, while the Pacific subspecies is more common (though still a great zoo rarity nowadays). We were lucky enough to catch a walrus training session that started soon after we arrived, so I could see both Pacific and Atlantic specimens side by side. I did not really detect any differences between the two taxa – the female, of course, was significantly smaller than the male, but that’s a gender difference rather than a subspecific one. Up until last year the aquarium housed a 2nd female (also Pacific), and two calves were born in 2016 (one pure Pacific, and one sub-specific hybrid). Both were reared and sent to Vancouver Aquarium when about one and half years old.
Besides the pinnipeds, the Aquarium has an outdoor exhibit for Arctic foxes, and a polar bear exhibit which is currently under renovation (the bears are temporarily housed in another facility). Then there are the two pavilions: Le Pavillion des Eaux (Water Pavilion) and Le Pavillion des Profondeurs (Deep Pavilion). The first appears to be older and houses invert touch pools and numerous moderate-size tanks on two levels (these mostly focus on Saint Laurence River’s species and marine species native to Canadian offshore waters, but there are also some Amazonian species deposited by the Montreal Biodome while that facility is being renovated). There is also a larger tank with underwater tunnel and various local fishes. The second pavilion is newer and contains exhibits of jellyfish, seahorses, and stingray touch pool.
Overall I have enjoyed my visit to the aquarium, especially due to the presence of rare pinnipeds, and strongly recommend the visit to any zoo nerd staying in Quebec City. I personally found this aquarium to be on par with Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and superior to the one in New York (which has lost most of the rare mammal species post Hurricane Sandy - only sea otters are left, besides rather commonplace California sea lions and harbor seals)
This aquarium was founded in 1950s as a marine biology research center. It is located on the shore of Saint Laurence River, about 25 minutes’ drive from the old district of Quebec City. According to Wikipedia, there used to be a zoo (Jardine Zoologique du Quebec) right next to the Aquarium, and it closed as recently as 2005.
The Aquarium’s layout reminded me of the New York Aquarium (pre-Hurricane Sandy) and Mystic Aquarium. Like those two establishments, the Aquarium du Quebec has a couple of fairly unremarkable buildings full of tanks with aquatic wildlife, and several outdoor exhibits showcasing marine mammals. Being more of a mammal person than a fish person, I always tend to pay much more attention to such outdoor exhibits, especially if they house species that are rare in captivity. And this Aquarium does not disappoint marine mammal enthusiast. They have a total of three marine mammal exhibits outdoors: one houses several harbor seals, the second contains grey seals (0.2) and harp seals (0.3), and the largest one (and the only one with underwater viewing) has two walruses of two subspecies (Pacific male Boris and Atlantic female Arnaliaq). Since I’ve seen and photographed harbor seals and grey seals in the wild and in multiple other zoos before, I was especially interested in harp seals and walruses.
ZIMS lists Aquarium du Quebec as the only institution currently housing harp seals – I have heard that some can occasionally be seen in the Sea World parks, but I have been to both Orlando and San Diego Sea World parks multiple times and have yet to see one… Besides those, zootierliste lists two European holders – Brest Oceanopolis in France and an obscure aquarium in Russia (both housing single individuals). I only know of two other places housing this species since the turn of the millennium – Baltimore Aquarium had one male in late 1990s-early 2000s (and I saw it on several occasions, but that was in my pre-camera days), and more recently Detroit Zoo had two males (one of which, I believe, came from Baltimore and was the one that I saw in early 2000s). Since it’s been almost 20 years since I last saw a harp seal, and I because I didn’t have any prior photos, my immediate concern was to find out if there are any planned feeding sessions (since I wanted to photograph them on land). Fortunately, there was one scheduled, about 2 hours after we arrived. And so, after we finished out walk around the aquarium, my wife took the kids to the playground, while I ran to the seal pool and waited there for the feeding session to commence (my photos are coming up).
Aquarium du Quebec and Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg appear to be the only two facilities in the world that house two subspecies of walrus. Both Hamburg and Quebec facilities house a single female Atlantic walrus, while the Pacific subspecies is more common (though still a great zoo rarity nowadays). We were lucky enough to catch a walrus training session that started soon after we arrived, so I could see both Pacific and Atlantic specimens side by side. I did not really detect any differences between the two taxa – the female, of course, was significantly smaller than the male, but that’s a gender difference rather than a subspecific one. Up until last year the aquarium housed a 2nd female (also Pacific), and two calves were born in 2016 (one pure Pacific, and one sub-specific hybrid). Both were reared and sent to Vancouver Aquarium when about one and half years old.
Besides the pinnipeds, the Aquarium has an outdoor exhibit for Arctic foxes, and a polar bear exhibit which is currently under renovation (the bears are temporarily housed in another facility). Then there are the two pavilions: Le Pavillion des Eaux (Water Pavilion) and Le Pavillion des Profondeurs (Deep Pavilion). The first appears to be older and houses invert touch pools and numerous moderate-size tanks on two levels (these mostly focus on Saint Laurence River’s species and marine species native to Canadian offshore waters, but there are also some Amazonian species deposited by the Montreal Biodome while that facility is being renovated). There is also a larger tank with underwater tunnel and various local fishes. The second pavilion is newer and contains exhibits of jellyfish, seahorses, and stingray touch pool.
Overall I have enjoyed my visit to the aquarium, especially due to the presence of rare pinnipeds, and strongly recommend the visit to any zoo nerd staying in Quebec City. I personally found this aquarium to be on par with Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and superior to the one in New York (which has lost most of the rare mammal species post Hurricane Sandy - only sea otters are left, besides rather commonplace California sea lions and harbor seals)
Last edited:
This is likely wrong. A marine sciences center in Newfoundland also has a few harp seals which I saw during a visit approx. 1 year ago.
Keep in mind that ZIMS only has data about its member institutions, and if that place in Newfoundland is not a member then there will be no records in ZIMS
Since my Quebec Aquarium review is heavily focused on their collection of pinnipeds, here is my life list of pinniped taxa for those who are interested:
- Harbor Seals (Atlantic and Pacific subspecies) – seen and photographed in multiple zoos and aquariums, as well as in the wild in California
- Grey Seals – seen and photographed in several zoos and aquariums, as well as in the wild in Cape Cod
- Harp Seals – seen in Baltimore Aquarium in early 2000s; seen and photographed in Quebec Aquarium in 2019
- Hawaiian Monk Seals – seen and photographed in Minnesota Zoo
- Northern Elephant Seals – seen and photographed in Pittsburgh Zoo
- California Sea Lions – seen and photographed in multiple zoos and aquariums, as well as in the wild in California
- Steller’s Sea Lions – seen and photographed in Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut
- Northern Fur Seals – seen and photographed in New York Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, and Boston’s New England Aquarium
- Guadelupe Fur Seals – seen and photographed in Sea World San Diego
- South African Fur Seals – seen, but not photographed, in Toronto Zoo in early 200s
- Pacific Walruses – seen and photographed in New York Aquarium, Sea World Parks in Orlando and San Diego, and Quebec Aquarium; also seen in Niagara Marineland in early 2000s (I assume these were of Pacific subspecies?)
- Atlantic Walrus – seen and photographed 0.1 in Quebec Aquarium
I've uploaded some of my pinniped photos from Aquarium du Quebec
Zoo de Granby
This was the last zoological institution that we have visited on this trip. The zoo is located about an hour away from Montreal and was founded in 1950s. Besides the proper zoo, there is a water park, an amusement park with rides and games arcade, and a “dinozoo” with animatronic dinosaurs, so this definitely is a popular family destination that even sells 2-day tickets (so I imagine that some families spend a whole weekend at the zoo). The zoo itself is not too large and showcases for the most part a typical ABC collection. There appear to be no Canadian species, and the collection is split between 4 zones, each with appropriate theming: Africa, South America, Asia, and Australia. There is also a petting farm (which we didn’t go to) and a nocturnal cave. The zoo’s layout is very easy to navigate. There is a central plaza with visitor facilities (giftshop, food venues, restrooms), from which the paths to different zones radiate. On the map, each path has a different color: Australian path is colored green, Asian – yellow, dinozoo – brown, South American – red, and African – orange. The zoo also has a monorail going above some of the exhibits, but, fortunately, all exhibits can be seen by walking.
The cave is located close to the Asian zone’s entrance and is truly built to resemble a cave, with narrow labyrinthine paths, fake stalactites and stalagmites, and semi-dark glass-fronted terrariums set into the rockwork. In some places the paths were so narrow that I could barely squeeze through with a backpack, and once or twice I bumped my head into the ceiling (I am 5 feet 10 inches tall and of an average build, so I imagine that for a large person this building could get claustrophobic). I did not take any notes, but from what I remember the pavilion housed a kinkajou (asleep during my two visits to the cave), a colony of Jamaican fruit bats, several reptile tanks (I remember a Cuban boa, Children’s python, Elaphe taeniura ridleyi ratsnake, and a Goniurosaurus hainanensis gecko), and some tarantulas and cockroaches.
The Australian zone is nicely themed, but the collection is very predictable. There is a walk-through yard with lots of Bennett’s wallabies and a few eastern grey kangaroos, and emus and black swans in attached non-walkthrough enclosures, a walk-through aviary for rainbow lorikeets, and an aquarium building with several coral reef tanks and stingray touch pool.
The Asian zone was a highlight for me and the main reason for my adding this zoo to our itinerary, due to the presence of Japanese serows. The zoo has a pair since 2018, and they are housed in a grassed paddock, together with a pair of African crowned cranes (the zoo also has a pair of Manchurian red-crowned cranes, which would be a more appropriate species to mix with serows, and I was told that the zoo felt safer about starting serows with African cranes initially, and is going to eventually replace African cranes with Manchurian if everything goes well). Japanese serows, of course, are becoming a great rarity outside of Japan – ZIMS only shows 4 institutions housing them currently (2 in Canada and 2 in the US, with the largest herd of 3.3 in Roosevelt Park Zoo in North Dakota), and the species appears to be completely gone from Europe in the recent years. I have seen the species before in San Diego and Los Angeles zoos, but didn’t take any photos, so was naturally very keen to secure good photographs. This turned out to be a challenge. When we first came to their enclosure, they were lying right next to the fence which made good photos impossible. After completing one zoo round, I had to leave my family in the amusement park zone and came back to the serows enclosure a total of 5 times(!), before they got up and started grazing. It was a cloudy day, and the enclosure is mostly in the shade, so taking photos was still difficult. At the end my patience was rewarded. and I did get a couple of decent ones
.
Besides the serows, the Asian section includes an aviary for Himalayan monal pheasants, Asiatic black bears in a grassy enclosure completely surrounded by rockwork with a few viewing windows, snow leopards in a nice rocky exhibit (with several viewing points, including from inside the Mongolian yurt replica), red pandas (their viewing area has lots of Chinese theming and many hanging lanterns), Przewalski’s horses and Bactrian camels in two a basic yards, Manchurian red-crowned cranes, Siberian tigers in two adjoining exhibits with indoor viewing area simulating Russian gold mine, Amur leopards, Japanese macaques, and a mountainous paddock for domestic yaks mixed with Himalayan tahrs. There are also two enclosures that don’t fit into overall Asian theme – between the macaques and yaks there is a large yard for a herd of alpacas, and a semi-spherical metal cage houses a family of mantled guereza monkeys. According to the zoo sign, that cage was originally built to house polar bears, and the monkeys are kept there during the summer for animal welfare reasons (the only alternative is, apparently, to house them entirely indoors all year round).
The South American zone has two large outdoor exhibits for jaguars and Andean condors. Both are round, fully covered with ironwork, and have some viewing windows. The jaguar exhibit is attached to a South American pavilion which has a number of Mayan-temple themed glass-fronted exhibit for a variety of (mainly South American) species. There is an indoor jaguar exhibit, exhibits for macaws (green-winged and blue-and-yellow), Geoffroy’s spider monkeys, mixed exhibit for white-faced sakis with white-tufted marmosets and two-toed sloth, Goeldi’s monkeys mixed with green aracaris, golden lion tamarins mixed with more white-tufted marmosets, terrariums for green basilisk and boa constrictor, and tanks for anaconda, spiny softshell turtles, and piranhas. At the end of the pavilion there is an all-indoor exhibit for 2 patas monkeys which is obviously out of place. Attached to the pavilion are fully covered outdoor enclosures for Patagonian maras, spider monkeys, and a capybara mixed with red-billed toucan. Outside, there are also a couple of paddocks for llamas and more capybaras, and two pools for American alligators separated by a low hanging bridge. Finally, there is a small shed right next to the alligator exhibit, with windows into two indoor exhibits for spectacled caimans.
The African zone starts with a camel ride station (with dromedary camels). Then there is a future exhibit for white rhinos (currently under construction), a mixed exhibit for meerkats and crested porcupines, two medium-sized but grassy yards for African elephants (the zoo has 1.1 living together, the male Tutume was born in Berlin Tierpark, while the female Sara was wild-caught in Namibia) with a large pool in one of the yards, fairly large and open African savanna exhibit (with Baringo giraffes, Grant’s zebras, elands, ostriches, and marabou storks), and a new exhibit for African lions (which includes an attached indoor exhibit where the lions can be viewed in winter). The nearby African pavilion houses gorillas (2.0 from Calgary Zoo), mandrills (indoor exhibit only), spot-necked otters (indoor exhibit only, and rather dark), and crested porcupines (the exhibit looked empty, so I am not sure if it is for the same individuals that live with meerkats). There is also a terrarium for veiled chameleon, and a small indoor walk-through aviary (white-cheeked turacos, superb starlings, and a few waxbill species). I believe that the guereza monkeys are also housed in this building during winter, while the summer yard for gorillas is outside. Further along the path there is a small island for ringtailed lemurs, an exhibit for Aldabra tortoises (kept, for some reason, with domestic geese), and a lake with a flock of Caribbean flamingos. The last exhibit along the African loop (or the first, depending on the walking direction) is the one for common hippos (currently houses 2.1, with 1.0 born at the zoo a few years ago). There is a covered underwater viewing area, and the hippos can also be viewed from the other side of the exhibit, when on land.
This concludes the Zoo de Granby review and my Canadian road trip. Serows were the highlight for me, but I did like the rest of the zoo as well. It has a pretty complete ABC collection (missing only sea lions, polar bears, and penguins) and had no bad exhibits or weak points (besides species such as mandrills or otters being kept permanently indoors). My kids enjoyed the amusement park section a lot, and it turned out to be a blessing for me as well, since I was able to leave them there with my wife and concentrate on getting the shots of serows.
This was the last zoological institution that we have visited on this trip. The zoo is located about an hour away from Montreal and was founded in 1950s. Besides the proper zoo, there is a water park, an amusement park with rides and games arcade, and a “dinozoo” with animatronic dinosaurs, so this definitely is a popular family destination that even sells 2-day tickets (so I imagine that some families spend a whole weekend at the zoo). The zoo itself is not too large and showcases for the most part a typical ABC collection. There appear to be no Canadian species, and the collection is split between 4 zones, each with appropriate theming: Africa, South America, Asia, and Australia. There is also a petting farm (which we didn’t go to) and a nocturnal cave. The zoo’s layout is very easy to navigate. There is a central plaza with visitor facilities (giftshop, food venues, restrooms), from which the paths to different zones radiate. On the map, each path has a different color: Australian path is colored green, Asian – yellow, dinozoo – brown, South American – red, and African – orange. The zoo also has a monorail going above some of the exhibits, but, fortunately, all exhibits can be seen by walking.
The cave is located close to the Asian zone’s entrance and is truly built to resemble a cave, with narrow labyrinthine paths, fake stalactites and stalagmites, and semi-dark glass-fronted terrariums set into the rockwork. In some places the paths were so narrow that I could barely squeeze through with a backpack, and once or twice I bumped my head into the ceiling (I am 5 feet 10 inches tall and of an average build, so I imagine that for a large person this building could get claustrophobic). I did not take any notes, but from what I remember the pavilion housed a kinkajou (asleep during my two visits to the cave), a colony of Jamaican fruit bats, several reptile tanks (I remember a Cuban boa, Children’s python, Elaphe taeniura ridleyi ratsnake, and a Goniurosaurus hainanensis gecko), and some tarantulas and cockroaches.
The Australian zone is nicely themed, but the collection is very predictable. There is a walk-through yard with lots of Bennett’s wallabies and a few eastern grey kangaroos, and emus and black swans in attached non-walkthrough enclosures, a walk-through aviary for rainbow lorikeets, and an aquarium building with several coral reef tanks and stingray touch pool.
The Asian zone was a highlight for me and the main reason for my adding this zoo to our itinerary, due to the presence of Japanese serows. The zoo has a pair since 2018, and they are housed in a grassed paddock, together with a pair of African crowned cranes (the zoo also has a pair of Manchurian red-crowned cranes, which would be a more appropriate species to mix with serows, and I was told that the zoo felt safer about starting serows with African cranes initially, and is going to eventually replace African cranes with Manchurian if everything goes well). Japanese serows, of course, are becoming a great rarity outside of Japan – ZIMS only shows 4 institutions housing them currently (2 in Canada and 2 in the US, with the largest herd of 3.3 in Roosevelt Park Zoo in North Dakota), and the species appears to be completely gone from Europe in the recent years. I have seen the species before in San Diego and Los Angeles zoos, but didn’t take any photos, so was naturally very keen to secure good photographs. This turned out to be a challenge. When we first came to their enclosure, they were lying right next to the fence which made good photos impossible. After completing one zoo round, I had to leave my family in the amusement park zone and came back to the serows enclosure a total of 5 times(!), before they got up and started grazing. It was a cloudy day, and the enclosure is mostly in the shade, so taking photos was still difficult. At the end my patience was rewarded. and I did get a couple of decent ones
.Besides the serows, the Asian section includes an aviary for Himalayan monal pheasants, Asiatic black bears in a grassy enclosure completely surrounded by rockwork with a few viewing windows, snow leopards in a nice rocky exhibit (with several viewing points, including from inside the Mongolian yurt replica), red pandas (their viewing area has lots of Chinese theming and many hanging lanterns), Przewalski’s horses and Bactrian camels in two a basic yards, Manchurian red-crowned cranes, Siberian tigers in two adjoining exhibits with indoor viewing area simulating Russian gold mine, Amur leopards, Japanese macaques, and a mountainous paddock for domestic yaks mixed with Himalayan tahrs. There are also two enclosures that don’t fit into overall Asian theme – between the macaques and yaks there is a large yard for a herd of alpacas, and a semi-spherical metal cage houses a family of mantled guereza monkeys. According to the zoo sign, that cage was originally built to house polar bears, and the monkeys are kept there during the summer for animal welfare reasons (the only alternative is, apparently, to house them entirely indoors all year round).
The South American zone has two large outdoor exhibits for jaguars and Andean condors. Both are round, fully covered with ironwork, and have some viewing windows. The jaguar exhibit is attached to a South American pavilion which has a number of Mayan-temple themed glass-fronted exhibit for a variety of (mainly South American) species. There is an indoor jaguar exhibit, exhibits for macaws (green-winged and blue-and-yellow), Geoffroy’s spider monkeys, mixed exhibit for white-faced sakis with white-tufted marmosets and two-toed sloth, Goeldi’s monkeys mixed with green aracaris, golden lion tamarins mixed with more white-tufted marmosets, terrariums for green basilisk and boa constrictor, and tanks for anaconda, spiny softshell turtles, and piranhas. At the end of the pavilion there is an all-indoor exhibit for 2 patas monkeys which is obviously out of place. Attached to the pavilion are fully covered outdoor enclosures for Patagonian maras, spider monkeys, and a capybara mixed with red-billed toucan. Outside, there are also a couple of paddocks for llamas and more capybaras, and two pools for American alligators separated by a low hanging bridge. Finally, there is a small shed right next to the alligator exhibit, with windows into two indoor exhibits for spectacled caimans.
The African zone starts with a camel ride station (with dromedary camels). Then there is a future exhibit for white rhinos (currently under construction), a mixed exhibit for meerkats and crested porcupines, two medium-sized but grassy yards for African elephants (the zoo has 1.1 living together, the male Tutume was born in Berlin Tierpark, while the female Sara was wild-caught in Namibia) with a large pool in one of the yards, fairly large and open African savanna exhibit (with Baringo giraffes, Grant’s zebras, elands, ostriches, and marabou storks), and a new exhibit for African lions (which includes an attached indoor exhibit where the lions can be viewed in winter). The nearby African pavilion houses gorillas (2.0 from Calgary Zoo), mandrills (indoor exhibit only), spot-necked otters (indoor exhibit only, and rather dark), and crested porcupines (the exhibit looked empty, so I am not sure if it is for the same individuals that live with meerkats). There is also a terrarium for veiled chameleon, and a small indoor walk-through aviary (white-cheeked turacos, superb starlings, and a few waxbill species). I believe that the guereza monkeys are also housed in this building during winter, while the summer yard for gorillas is outside. Further along the path there is a small island for ringtailed lemurs, an exhibit for Aldabra tortoises (kept, for some reason, with domestic geese), and a lake with a flock of Caribbean flamingos. The last exhibit along the African loop (or the first, depending on the walking direction) is the one for common hippos (currently houses 2.1, with 1.0 born at the zoo a few years ago). There is a covered underwater viewing area, and the hippos can also be viewed from the other side of the exhibit, when on land.
This concludes the Zoo de Granby review and my Canadian road trip. Serows were the highlight for me, but I did like the rest of the zoo as well. It has a pretty complete ABC collection (missing only sea lions, polar bears, and penguins) and had no bad exhibits or weak points (besides species such as mandrills or otters being kept permanently indoors). My kids enjoyed the amusement park section a lot, and it turned out to be a blessing for me as well, since I was able to leave them there with my wife and concentrate on getting the shots of serows
.
Yi Qi
Well-Known Member
That's odd. It apparently held a Eurasian eagle owl on my visit earlier this year in April.
Guerezas are definitely there now, but then the eagle owl may replace them when it gets too cold...