Miami Metro Zoo » Miami Metrozoo

10-11-2008

Hey snowleopard, are you keeping a diary of all your zoo visits either online, on hard drive or maually..?

I sense a North American zoo guide in the future..!

10-11-2008

A North American zoo guide has already been done (Allen and Jon's "America's Best Zoos") and so there's zero chance of me publishing another one. Besides, if I printed my reviews as they stand I'd have to include the best, the average and the worst of each zoo...and my comments on 100 year-old bear grottoes have been far from pleasant. I've already been to most of the major zoos in Canada, the U.S. and Australia...perhaps I should be playing the lotto in an attempt to fund a European zoo vacation? Or I could jet over to New Zealand...hahaha.

11-11-2008

I still think you should visit the St. Louis Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, Oakland Zoo, North Carolina Zoo and Cleveland Zoo (My original home zoo). All of these zoos especially Saint Louis have great exhibits.

11-11-2008

Hey, if we're voting, I think you should take the plunge and go to Australia. I know it's a longer drive from Miami then Orlando is, but are you hard core or aren't you?

11-11-2008

@Zooplantman: I've already seen 17 zoos and aquariums all over Australia, but my wife and I adore that country and perhaps we will live there one day...we'll see. If that is the case then we'll definitely have to nip over to New Zealand to add to our increasing zoo tally.

@BlackRhino: I'll have seen around 50 zoos and aquariums in North America after the brief road trip through Florida, but you have listed 6 good places that I've never been to. However, only St. Louis and North Carolina are ones that I feel would have any chance of making a top 10 or top 15 list. If you remember I posted my personal top 10 at the end of the "Snowleopard's Epic Road Trip" thread and I'm extremely curious as to whether the Miami Metrozoo, DAK or Jacksonville Zoo can bump a couple of big name zoos out of my top 10.

12-11-2008

I am especially looking forward to snowleopard´s in depth review of Disney´s Animal Kingdom and - please, please - as many pictures as possible.

Can´t wait for that!

12-11-2008

@snowleopard: This is really off-topic of this thread, but Kansas City has a 95 acre Africa exhibit rated as the #3 best exhibit in the U.S. by Allen. Also in my humble opinion the St. Louis Zoo is better than all the Florida zoos and is definitely a top 10 contender. With its world-class River's Edge (which is in both Jon and Allen's top 25 exhibits), Penguin exhibit, and many other above-average enclosures it is one of the best zoos America has. About the Florida zoos, that is just my opinion, many other people will probably disagree. Sedgwick County is also a top 10 contender. They will be finishing a world-class tiger exhibit. They also have an excellent Gorilla habitat and great Lion habitat. And someone correct me if i am wrong, but I don't think they have any grottoes. Oakland Zoo has a 6-acre African Elephant exhibit which has even been praised by Carol Buckley, head of the Elephant Sanctuary. Cleveland may not be a top 10 contender for you because it has a lot of types of enclosures you hate (7 bear grottoes, 2 tiger grottoes, cat cages, completely indoor orangs) but I personally love it because it is my original home zoo and I have gotten to know a lot a people who work there.

12-11-2008

So getting back to the Miami Metrozoo, does anyone know what their plans are beyond "Amazon and Beyond"?

12-11-2008

@BlackRhino: I sent you a lengthy private email so that we can discuss your top ten zoo list and all the zoos that you've visited in private. It will be cool to compare our thoughts, but we are both clogging up this thread.

@Ituri: I'm not sure if the zoo has planned anything beyond the $50 million "Amazon and Beyond", but it appears that the new loop basically completes the zoo. However, with the large amount of space between exhibits there is always room for expansion projects.

12-11-2008

A Florida exhibit will be next

12-11-2008

@snowleopard, in the NZ forum there is a list compiled by Chlidonais of all the NZ zoos, so if your decide to come down here you'll already have a hit list..!

12-11-2008

As okapikpr wrote, a new Florida exhibit as well as improvements at the entrance and in the Childrens Zoo. All are well underway already (at least design started ages ago)

The support organization, the Zoo Society, has gone through three chiefs in the past year which would mess up fund raising (the zoo is owned by the county)

28-02-2009

What is planned for the new Florida exhibit....I assume they took manatees out of the plan.

28-02-2009

Well, all the information i get is thru my friend, he is senior member of the board, so every time they have meetings, i get a phone call the next day and update the info i have, i have about 3 file boxes on Miami Metrozoo's history and future in my home, sadly i'm still in Tampa, so i can't get to the info on all the information, but i have a good enough memory to remember most of it, at least the important parts

Keep in mind that all the info about the master plan that has been posted before is probably mostly old and inaccurate, a lot has change, and i'm sure it will continue changing and evolving as time goes on, also in Wings of Asia they have a printed map of the zoo after the master plan has been completed, and is funny because that map is completely out of date, this are the small details i was talking about, their website hardly gets updated and in the zoo most of the info is not shared with the visitors.

In Europe, they usually share with the visitors as much information as possible about future developments, sometimes they even give you small details, here in the states, everything is a big secret, so i will give you the info i have so far:


As i mentioned before the next big project is the Florida exihbit area, aka florida encounters, the site is being marked at the present time, and as far as actual groundbreaking it could start early or late augoust, it all depends on the corporations awarded the contract. Construction of the exihbit will run thru the better part of 2010 and it should be completed before the year is over. So the exihibit is schedule to open sometime in late 2010, this information i will update as i get it.


I'm happy to inform you that manatees are still very much in the plan, for now anyways, the building that will show this animals has been reduced in space, actual exihbit space numbers i have to look up when i get back home, they are planing on including some small florida reptile species inside this exihbit in jewel box type of aquariums.

This will be the only indoor area of the exihbition, originally this area was supposed to be at the entrance of the zoo to your left, behind the flamingos, this all has been change, and this exihbit will not be moved closer to amazon, there will be a significant gap, because of the future exihbits to be added to amazon, and the becoming the andes. This doesn't make too much sense to me, since this will not be next construction area after florida, but then again maybe they are really looking at long term planning, if this is the case, then it might be a good thing.


the black bear exihbit, was taken out, since the popular believe in the board is that the zoo already has too many bear species, i don't agree with this, but the cost needed to be cut, is only 15 million, there will be a florida panter exihbit, nothing like the jaguar, much smaller, and right next to it a bald eagle enclosure, the actual entrance of the exihbit will have some type of florida native hut, much like what you can find in the indian reservations i'm told, as a matter of fact it will be constructed separate from the rest of the contract, since there are only specific construction crews that know how to built them properly.

Other animal species in this area will be, florida alligator,florida key deer, turtle species, and a small aviary.

this is all i have for this particular exihbit out of the top of my head, individual birds species and exihbit space, you will need to wait until i get home.

PS: What i'm really looking foward to is the re-design of the australian area of the zoo, this will begin 2010 and it is really one of the softest points of the zoo, but the actual plans will create a world class australian exihbit, i will give you the complete details when i get home, but it looks really good so far.

01-03-2009

to many bear species, total rubbish!!!
i've never personally been there, but looking at there website i know they have, asiatic black, sun and sloth, to me ots the pride of the collection!