Audubon Zoo Visit » Audubon Zoo

Audubon Zoo Visit
02-08-2008

Excellent Southern Zoo...a new favorite of mine.

The zoo is well laid out and the design complements the historical structures and the modern enclosures. At first glance...I would have said the zoo's designs were late 1980s/early 1990s. But after further reading of my literature, the Audubon Zoo that we know of today was designed in the late 1970s. After an hour in this zoo I found myself very familiar with the exhibit layouts and structural designs...only to realize that I have already visited a zoo almost identical in design...the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL. Further research found that both zoos were designed by the Torre architecture firm. I have seen a lot of their work in many US zoos and find their designs the easiest to decipher from the zoo design of other firms...unfortunately their designs haven’t seemed to evolve that much from their work done in the 1970s.

Back to the zoo…it is divided into three sections the Historical campus, the expansion property, and the old Aquarium.

The HISTORICAL CAMPUS, contains the zoo’s entrance, children’s area, and Asian Domain. Still present are the original 1940’s WPA buildings that have been modified to serve a new purpose. This was the original zoo before the zoo was renovated and expanded in the 1970s/80s. The Asian Domain contains a wide variety of Asian species (Amur Leopard, Lion, Tiger, Dromedary, Barasingha, Babirusa, Sun Bear, Cranes, Crested Porcupine, Hornbills) and does more to showcase the species themselves than an actual environment. It is also very similar to the Lowry Park Zoo’s Asian area but on a larger scale. This area is due for an upgrade including a new elephant house with 2-3 acres worth of pens for their two elephant girls and two more.

The OLD AQUARIUM. The original aquarium and sea lion pool were built outside the zoo’s original boundaries. When the zoo expanded nearly 30 years ago, they acquired this property, along with much more to create the zoo’s modern campus. The old aquarium building is now a small natural history museum and two brick buildings of similar size flank just beyond the aquarium’s east and west wings. These two buildings contain the zoo’s reptile house and tropical bird house. All three buildings were closed upon my visit. The bird house is under renovation. The other building were closed due to my lack of planning and visiting the zoo when it is normally closed to the public.

The EXPANSION PROPERTY contains the bulk of the zoo’s mammalian collections: World of Primates, African Savannah, Louisiana Swamp, Jaguar Jungle, and the Pampas.

The World of Primates is your typical 1980s primate exhibits, but has a nice geographically diverse collection. The African Savannah is well laid out with four hoofstock yards, a small hippo pool to be converted to a red river hog pen, and an African Wild Dog exhibit that has opened when the zoo reopened after Katrina. The Louisiana Swamp does more to showcase local bayou culture than flora and faua, but still does well at that too. The Black Bear exhibit was my favorite with plenty of vertical space…and a Cajun style bath tub…I was hoping they could play the bajo too! Hahaha

The Jaguar Jungle was built as a region in progress, however its benefactor died before its completion and their heirs have not contributed to the exhibit. This is one of the best neotropical exhibits that I have seen (Miami has yet to open their’s). It has a small collection, but is well laid out with heavy foliage. The collection is complete with Jaguar, Maguri Stork, Currasow, Toucan, Spider Monkey, Giant Anteater, Sloth, and Macaws. The Pampas exhibit left over from the zoo’s 1970s “Grasslands of the World” exhibit that once contained the African yards, Pampas, and a now empty North American Prairie. The Pampas is large and contains Guanaco, Baird’s Tapir, Capybara, Screamer, Rhea, and a variety of Neotropical waterfowl. It show’s its age. The zoo rounds out with a Maned Wolf yard, Emu yard, and IndoAustralia Aviary (the aviary was also closed when I visited).

This zoo has class and the well-known southern charm. I hope to visit the zoo again when the elephant expansion is complete and at a time when the zoo is actually open.

05-09-2008

I'm in the process of uploading picitures of my visit.

06-09-2008

This is regarded as one of the better zoos in North America, and I appreciated the review okapikpr. It's one of the few major collections that I didn't get to on my summer road trip...maybe next time!

08-01-2009

I think it's interesting that they're still keeping lions in the Asian Domain. I have visited twice, once in 01 and once in 04 during Mardi Gras season. I was always most excited to see the Gir lions...... Until I discovered ISIS a year or so ago. It listed no Asian lions at Audubon. I emailed them and they said that the lions were indeed Africans brought in for companions to the old Asian, now long gone. DO they still call them Asian lions, or are they labeled as Africans now?

08-01-2009

That said, I still love this zoo. It reminds me of good times in New Orleans. It's also in a beautiful part of town.

31-01-2009

giant anteater born at the zoo two weeks ago goes on exhibits.