I spent both days of New Year's weekend (Jan 1-2, 2011) at Dallas Zoo. This review will focus solely on the savannah portion (elephants and hoofstock) of the new Giants Of The Savannah exhibit. I will forego the other parts of this new addition (two species each of wild pigs and big cats) and will comment on them in the photos I post. Prior to this visit, my favorite elephant exhibit was Nashville Zoo. Thanks to Dallas staffer JBNBSN99 (who I rode on the monorail with and had dinner with downtown), we have lots of photos and information on this exhibit already. Based on those, I was expecting Dallas to knock Nashville down to number two and replace it as my new favorite. After visiting, however, I have to say it is a tie - Dallas and Nashville get equal ranking for number one elephant exhibit. Dallas has a lot of things that Nashville does not. They have mixed species (sometimes), they have streams and waterfalls, they have an imitation tree with treats inside for an up-close look, they have an indoor education building with an outdoor patio and large chairs for viewing the savannah. So why can't Dallas knock Nashville down a notch? Because of the ugly sight lines. Dallas has HUGE black metal gates in plain view, has a chain link fence all along the back, has three large metal platforms for keepers along the back, has several tall metal shade structures. This last feature is not the zoo's fault, as they were not there originally if you look at the early photo postings of this exhibit. It was forced upon them by a USDA inspector, but the other features (unhidden gates, etc) are clearly a design flaw in this otherwise outstanding exhibit. Nashvilles' sight lines are really clean, even though visitors can walk a circe around three fourths of the exhibit. With that being said, it is of course an outstanding exhibit, as you all know from the photos and descriptions on ZooChat. I like the undulating, varied terrain. I like the very realistic mud banks. I like the multiple viewing areas with nice African themed shade structures. I like seeing six elephants, the most I have seen at any zoo. During my visit there were four in the large central yard and two in the smaller right-hand yard. When I say smaller, of course it is still as big as many zoo's complete elephant exhibits. This smaller yard is where the artificial fig tree is where you can get up close and see elephants using their trunk to get treats from holes in the tree. It also has a low rock outcropping and I was surprised at the end of the day Sunday to see one of the elephants standing on top - the first rock-climbing elephant I have seen! The far left yard, which is where you can do giraffe feeding (five bucks - kind of a ripoff considering Reid Park Zoo is only two bucks), had four giraffes. The larger left yard had five or six giraffes, one plains zebra, five or six ostrich and a dozen or so guineafowl. Sadly, the impalas were not out either day (it was too cold for the new babies to go out). The ability to connect these yards and mix the animals is fantastic. However, they could have done more to hide the gates. By extending the mud banks the gates are connected to, it seems they could have hid them from public view. The three large metal towers along the back for keepers - well there is no excuse for an obstruction like that in such a groundbreaking world class exhibit. I mean, for me, they just ruin the whole experience. I really had to work hard to get photos without these towers or the gates in them. When you do manage to crop out the man-made elements, the photos and views are unsurpassed. I still really like this exhibit, don't get me wrong, it is just these unnatural elements that keep it from being an undisputed number one. (Just slightly off topic, but this now gives me hope that the exhibit at Reid Park Zoo that is scheduled to open in a year actually has a shot at becoming number one. I thought there was no way we could beat Dallas, but if our sight lines are cleaner, then just maybe...)
Thank you for this detailed review, you probably know I love these! I hope to visit this exhibit and you have piqued my interest further!
The Dallas Zoo did not care when it came to those industrial buildings. They were constructed to maximize the movement of the elephants and open the door to researchers. Through different activities (food, baths, enrichment, training). They actually showed a presentation of the potential distance walked. Up to a mile a day. And this distance could be increased via placing logs/ sand mounds to walk around. Also researchers the world over are coming to Dallas to watch behaviors that some experts have not seen outside of the wild. Also, addressing the gates: the exhbits is not even a month old, and it is still subject to renovations based on trial and error, and the vegetation still needs time to grow. This growth show cover some of the gates. And the shade structures make me sad. I was hoping that log one in the back would be enough. But Concerned citizens for Jenny had Dallas "Investigated" gahh! Please, the zoo knew what they were doing. Aren't the trees the shade structure at Nashville? If they were "investigated" I"m sure it would have the same result
The sightlines in the Dallas elephant exhibit can definitely disarm a visitor from believing that they are in some African nation, and barriers are something that are tough to eradicate in modern zoos due to the restraints needed for such enormous mammals. In terms of elephant exhibits in American zoos Dallas is #3 for me, and I've posted two photos from both Nashille and North Carolina below: #2 = Nashville Zoo (4 elephants on 3 acres): http://www.zoochat.com/1129/3-acre-african-elephant-exhibit-181206/ http://www.zoochat.com/1129/3-acre-african-elephant-exhibit-181234/ #1 = North Carolina (7 elephants on 7 acres): http://www.zoochat.com/590/7-acre-african-elephant-exhibit-179167/ http://www.zoochat.com/590/7-acre-african-elephant-exhibit-179149/
Latest perspective on the exhibit: Elephants And Giraffes And Zebras, Oh My! - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee
